UK’s Wayve Self Driving Startup Sees Interest From Mercedes Benz
Wayve and Mercedes are set to work on autonomous cars together. That includes tech for you and robotaxis for fleets.
Mercedes always has a finger on the pulse of the next automotive technologies. One of those inevitabilities is autonomous and self driving cars. While Mercedes has a big suite of driving packages already, its always good to have strategic partnerships. Thats where Wayve comes in. Wayve is a startup that focuses on autonomous driving technology. With 1.2 billion dollars in startup money, you’ll be hearing a lot more about this company. But what do they actually do?
Based out of the UK, Wayve is a startup company aiming to adapt self driving technology to existing electric cars. Their website, and a report from Reuters, show extensive work already with the Ford Mustang Mach E. While it may seem that self-driving cars have kind of peaked, a renewed interest is now at hand due to significant developments in the artificial intelligence sector. Naturally, this is a benefit to self driving cars as a vehicle’s ability to think for itself is critical to success, and safety.
Wayve CEO Alex Kendall is quoted as saying “the future is that every vehicle is going to be autonomous.” He might be right, but the infrastructure is still needed. And that’s how a strategic partnership with Mercedes becomes beneficial. The initial plan is that Wayve provides “the intelligence platform” for Mercedes to develop the products that best suit their own cars. As we read it, Wayve has the software, and Mercedes does the hardware. Kendall also says work with Mercedes includes robotaxi services. So we could see a fleet of GLA‘s roaming around cities like Waymo has with the Jaguar I-Pace.
So how does that benefit Mercedes? Pretty simple. The alliance does more than just produce self driving cars. It also helps with driver assistance items as well. Crash avoidance technology, and other safety features are the ones to be most thankful for. But this will also expand to other tech as well, like Mercedes’ drowsiness monitor seen on their modern cars. Ironic since there won’t be a need for driver assistance when there is no driver…
Photos: Wayve
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