Raquel Urtasun’s self-driving startup Waabi brings on Volvo as strategic investor: Reports
(Photo courtesy of Waabi)
University of Toronto researcher Raquel Urtasun’s self-driving startup Waabi has added the venture capital arm of Swedish carmaker Volvo to its list of high-profile investors.
Volvo Group Venture Capital AB is investing an undisclosed amount in Toronto-based Waabi’s AI-powered autonomous trucking technology, according to TechCrunch.
“We’ve been extremely selective in terms of who we bring on board as an investor and this is the right time for Waabi to bring on a strategic OEM [original equipment manufacturer],” Urtasun, a U of T professor of computer science and Waabi’s founder and CEO, tells the high-profile U.S. tech website.
Waabi has already raised more than $100 million from investors including Khosla Ventures, Uber and other Silicon Valley giants. Also among its backers are AI luminaries Geoffrey Hinton, a U of T University Professor Emeritus of computer science, and Sanja Fidler, an associate professor of computer science.
Urtasun tells the Globe and Mail that Volvo’s investment “significantly” increases Waabi’s valuation.