Uber and Wayve have announced that they will launch their first fully autonomous vehicle trial in London in Spring 2026, marking the UK’s entry into commercial robotaxi services. The companies will deploy SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicles—operating without human intervention—following the UK government’s accelerated framework for commercial self-driving pilots.
The trial represents the first deployment under Uber and Wayve’s August 2024 partnership agreement, wherein Uber made a strategic investment in the London-based startup as part of its Series C funding round. Other noteworthy backers of Wayve include Nvidia, Microsoft and SoftBank.
No automaker partner has been named thus far, but Wayve has indicated that it will release further details “in the coming months”. Waymo, the only Western robotaxi firm with live services operating at a meaningful scale, currently uses Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicles for the bulk of its fleet.
Wayve and Uber will work with Transport for London and the UK government on regulatory approvals before launching the service. “London and other UK cities represent complex driving environments, with significantly different road layouts and traffic laws compared to locations in the US,” the companies said in a joint press release.
Uber recently sounded the alarm about the UK’s relative slowness in embracing robotaxis. deployment. Andrew Macdonald, Uber’s Mobility Chief, recently told the BBC that his company stands “ready to launch robotaxis in the UK as soon as the regulatory environment is ready,” expressing concern that excessive caution could see Britain lose ground to markets already hosting commercial robotaxi services like China, the US and the UAE.
So far, Wayve has tested its AI-powered driver assistance technology in the US, UK, Germany and Japan, claiming its proprietary software model adapts to different countries faster than existing approaches. The firm signed its first commercial deal with Nissan in April. Meanwhile, Uber has recently embarked on a spree of partnerships with major robotaxi and self-driving firms, including Volkswagen, Waymo, WeRide, Pony.ai, Momenta and May Mobility.
“This is a defining moment for UK autonomy. With Uber and a global OEM partner, we’re preparing to put our AI Driver technology into real service on the streets of London, delivering on our AV2.0 vision for scalable autonomy,” said Alex Kendall, Chief Executive and Co-Founder of Wayve, in a statement. “Our Embodied AI learns to drive anywhere, in any vehicle, and this trial brings us closer to bringing safe and intelligent driving to everyday rides across the UK and beyond.”
Andrew Macdonald, President and Chief Operating Officer of Uber, added: “We’re excited to take the next step in our journey with Wayve, bringing autonomous mobility to one of the world’s busiest and most complex urban environments. Wayve’s globally scalable AV2.0 approach makes them an ideal partner to bring Uber’s autonomous vision to reality in new cities around the world. Our vision is to make autonomy a safe and reliable option for riders everywhere, and this trial in London brings that future closer to reality.”
Heidi Alexander, UK Secretary of State for Transport also chimed in: “Today’s agreement, between two leading names at the forefront of the sector, is a fantastic vote of confidence in this new technology. By fast tracking pilots of self-driving vehicles to spring 2026, we are excited to see safety-first tests that will drive growth, create 38,000 jobs and add £42bn to our economy.”
