Interview With Wayve Founder, Alex Kendall, Who’s Just Raised $1.05b ??

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We’ve had some pretty encouraging developments in the UK AI sector this past week. Top US AI companies, Scale AI and CoreWeave, chose London for their regional HQs. CoreWeave also announced a $1b investment in UK data centres.

Oh and Alex Kendall’s Wayve just raised $1.05b in the biggest European AI investment to date. Read our quick-fire interview with Alex below.A

lso this week:

• We’re launching our inaugural FF Critical Technologies event, 'Navigating the Future of Defence and Innovation', at London Tech Week.
• What's next for AI and asset management? Read more from Liquidity Group.
• Plus, Google DeepMind launches AlphaFold3, Monzo valued at $5.2b, and another $1b fundraise?in our?FF Community Wrap.

Spotlight on Alex Kendall, Wayve

Alex Kendall is the Co-Founder & CEO of Wayve, a pioneering British startup developing embodied AI for self-driving technology in the UK and global markets.?

Last week, Wayve raised $1.05b in its Series C funding round led by SoftBank Group, with participation from NVIDIA and Microsoft, a landmark moment for UK AI.

What are you most excited about in the AI space?

We’re now witnessing AI extending its reach beyond chatbots and image generation, and giving machines the ability to interact and learn from our environment in the physical world. We call this latest wave of AI, Embodied AI. I believe Embodied AI will be the most transformative technology of our generation, enabling autonomy which is safe and trusted by society.?

What makes Wayve unique?

We’re developing the Embodied AI to enable any vehicle to drive autonomously in any city. By using end-to-end AI and learning from fleet-scale data, we’ve developed a system that mirrors the human learning process in driving but with enhanced reliability and safety. In reality, this means we can scale our technology to cities throughout the UK and globally without having to first map them.?

What’s next for UK AI?

The self-driving vehicle market in the UK alone is set to be worth ￡42b by 2035. This technology will revolutionise our cities, giving us safer, smarter, and more sustainable transport systems. With its AI heritage and landmark AV Bill, the UK has a real opportunity to drive forward this technology, attract international investment and establish itself as a global leader in Embodied AI.

FF Critical Technologies: Navigating the Future of Defence & Innovation

The dynamics of defence are shifting at an unprecedented pace. With the private sector taking the lead in pioneering solutions for national security challenges, it’s crucial for tech founders, investors, and ecosystem stakeholders to come together and shape the future.

With this in mind, we’re launching our inaugural FF Critical Technologies event during London Tech Week on 10 June, sponsored by Recorded Future.

You’ll get the chance to engage in discussions led by Minister of State, Thomas Tugendhat MBE, along with other leading figures, including Eliot Higgins (Bellingcat) Marie Brattberg (Recorded Future), Hélène Huby (The Exploration Company) and Lucy Mason (Capgemini Invent), as they share their insider insights on the changing intelligence and defence landscapes.

Are you a Series A founder, investor, or have a business in the critical technologies space? Contact [email protected] to register your interest.

Tech: The Next Big Thing in Asset Management

The market for AI in asset management is expected to grow at a 24.4% CAGR through 2030.?

More broadly, tech-enabled market intelligence platforms are becoming more prevalent, providing asset managers with real-time insights and predictive analytics to make informed decisions.

Financial services professionals are increasingly adopting AI tools and technologies to enhance their asset management capabilities, improving data analysis, risk assessment, investment strategies, and decision making.

What’s next for tech in asset management? Click here to read more.

FF Community Wrap:

New Launches & Announcements

• William Falcon’s Lightning AI launched its studio platform in AWS Marketplace.
• Grace Beverley’s Tala partnered with Selfridges to launch its first physical stores in the UK.
• Wendy Tan White’s Intrinsic partnered with NVIDIA to improve robotic programming tasks.
• Demis Hassabis’ Google DeepMind unveiled its new AlphaFold3 model that maps how proteins and molecules interact with each other.
• Markus Pflitsch’s Terra Quantum launched a new cryptography library for secure data transmission, storage, and authentication.
• Grant Aarons’ FabricNano partnered with Veolia to remove CO2 from the atmosphere using basalt rock.

Founders in the Media

• Silo AI’s Peter Sarlin discussed the future of European AI on the TNW Podcast.
• Figma’s Dylan Field shared his vision of his company's expansion in the design sector on Bloomberg TV.
• Mindstone’s Joshua Wohle discussed democratising Gen AI and AI upskilling in?UK Investor Magazine.

Exits, Raises & Acquisitions

• Assaf Rappaport’s Wiz raised $1b at a $12b valuation in a Series E funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Thrive Capital.?
• Monzo’s TS Anil announced an additional $190m in funding at a $5.2b valuation to fuel the fintech firm’s US expansion.?
• Nnamdi Emelifeonwu’s Definely raised $7m in a Series A funding round led by Octopus Ventures.

Investor & Corporate News

• Tim Steiner’s Ocado appointed Gavin Patterson as an Independent Non-Executive Director.
• Maya Ghosn Bichara invested in a $14m Series A funding round for children’s mental health startup, Backpack Healthcare.
• Amazon’s John Boumphrey announced the launch of a dedicated online store in Ireland in 2025.
• Virgin Atlantic’s Shai Weiss reported a 64% emissions reduction for its SAF-powered London to New York flight.

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