Wayve launches $85M employee tender offer at $8.5B valuation

These startups are able to provide employee liquidity primarily because investors are eager to buy more of the equity in these high-growth companies, even at a premium, betting the businesses will be worth even more down the line.

Wayve uses a self-learning approach to its autonomous driving. Instead of relying on the pre-built, high-definition maps most self-driving programs use, its software is an end-to-end neural network that learns to drive purely from data — closer to how a human picks up driving through experience, its founders argue.

In pursuit of a “general-purpose” AI driver — one that could, in theory, work across countries, cars, and road conditions — the company has more than doubled its headcount to 1,200 employees over the past year.

Wayve is targeting robotaxi pilot launches in partnership with Uber later this year, while separately planning to integrate its AI software into Nissan’s next-generation driver-assist systems starting in 2027.