Wayve agrees deal with UK government to boost self-driving car tech

(Alliance News) - London-based self-driving car company Wayve Technologies Ltd has reached an agreement with the UK government to development the technology in the UK.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the partnership demonstrates that the government is "backing high-growth British scale-ups".

The memorandum of understanding with Wayve focuses on sharing research to "bring forward responsible deployment of self-driving cars," the Department for Business & Trade said.

It comes as the company prepares to launch self-driving taxis in London later this year as part of a partnership with ride-hailing platform Uber.

Wayve plans to launch commercial robotaxi trials in the city in 2026, with ambitions to deploy its "supervised autonomy software" in consumer vehicles from 2027.

The company's technology uses artificial intelligence models which learn how to drive using video content, driving data and recognising patterns.

Mountain View, California-based rival Waymo LLC, a subsidiary of Google owner Alphabet Inc, has also revealed plans to make its driverless private hire vehicles available in London from next year.

Kyle said: "This partnership with Wayve shows how government is backing high‑growth British scale‑ups through our modern industrial strategy to turn world‑leading research into real‑world deployment.

"By working hand‑in‑hand with innovative companies, we are accelerating self‑driving technology while anchoring jobs, investment and manufacturing here in the UK – making Britain the best place to start, scale and grow a business."

Wayve Co-Founder & Chief Executive Alex Kendall said: "We share the government's ambition to drive economic growth through the development of the self-driving vehicle sector in the UK and globally.

"Strengthening domestic capabilities will anchor high-value manufacturing in the UK, create thousands of skilled jobs across the supply chain, and support the future of the automotive industry.

"This is in addition to the transformative benefits to road safety to be gained from self-driving vehicles deployed at scale."

By Neil Lancefield, Press Association Transport Correspondent

Press Association: Finance

source: PA

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