Self-driving truck startup Waabi is working with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to work together to develop and deploy autonomous trucks, an important milestone as it is closer to a commercial launch.
TIE UP also marks Volvo's second cooperation to co-develop self-driving big rigs with start-up partner. In May 2024, Volvo cooperated with Aurora Innovation To reveal the Volvo VNL Autonomous truck.
Wabi uses the same truck, but it will have Waabi tech here, including the Wabi driver's sensor suite, compute, and software.
“We have everything we need to measure our product,” Rachel Urtasun, founder and CEO of Wabi, told Techcrunch. “We have the next generation of AV 2.0 technology, we have a approach that is better capital, and a faster market path.”
Wabi plans to launch commercial pilots with Volvo -developed trucks in Texas over the next few months, with a demonstration of unprepared products on public roads planned for the end of 2025.
A completely without driver commercial launch – directly between customer depots from the day one, rather than through terminals – will be followed soon after, according to Urtasun.
Urtasun, who previously served as Chief Scientist at Uber atg before launching Waabi in 2021, claims to have built ai models that can Cause as a personWhich speeds up commercial expansion and makes for a better system in general. He argues that a better AI quality will require less data and calculate to understand and react to the world around it.
Wabi relies on its technology simulation to not only try and train self -driving technology, but also to help the design of trucks for OEM integration. The startup opens the first goal developed by the truck-with sensors, computes, and software built on the assembly line- in 2022.
Conversely, competitor Kodiak robotics has developed a self-driving system that includes all redundant hardware and software system, but not tied to a manufacturer. Urtasun is more interested in integrating the Waabi driver with autonomous trucks at the factory level without interrupting the OEM assembly line.
Urtasun believes this is the best approach to developing a safe, reliable product.
Wabi's cooperation with Volvo builds on automaker Strategic investment At the beginning two years ago by the venture's arm, Volvo Group Venture Capital. Volvo eventually participated in Wabi's $ 200 million series B.
Volvo will set up trucks for Wabi at the Virginia -ready facility. Urtasun said the first “hand” would appear in the assembly line in 2025, and he expects a timeline of nearly two to three years to reach the volume.
Over that time, Urtasun also noted that the efficiency of capital would be “a full -time” to be successful in this industry. He said Waabi's “AI-first approach” means that the start-up capital needs to get to an uninhabited driver launch would be “a small part of what you see in the industry today.”
So far, Waabi has raised $ 282 million, per pitchbook data, and Urtasun said the start is enough to launch a no -driver operation on public roads and more. Its major competitors, Aurora and Kodiak, raised $ 3.46 billion and $ 243 million, respectively.
Aurora plans to launch a driver with no commercial trucking operation By Apriland Kodiak last month The first autonomous trucks were delivered to a commercial partner to use them for off-road operations.
“2025 is the year of the truck; it is a do it or break the situation,” Urtasun said. “I think there can be more integration.”
There aren't many players left in the game ever since Take a ride and Simplify shut down and Waymo was quiet The autonomous ambitions of its truck.
When asked if Wabi was considering a companion or acquisition, Urtasun replied: “Absolutely not. The truck is just beginning. We will do more than trucking – robotaxis, warehouse robotics. I have a huge plans for Company, and we will remain an absolute independent company. “
