TORONTO, Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Waabi, the pioneer of generative AI for the physical world, has entered a strategic partnership with Volvo Autonomous Solutions for the joint development and deployment of autonomous trucks. The partnership combines Waabi’s groundbreaking innovation in generative AI with Volvo’s leadership in automation and safety innovation to unleash autonomous trucking and usher in a new era of safer, more efficient, and sustainable freight transportation.
“At Waabi, we believe that vertically integrating next-generation AI technology directly into an OEM’s vehicle production is the path forward to bring safe, robust autonomous vehicles to the road, at scale,” said Raquel Urtasun, Founder and CEO of Waabi. “Volvo’s leadership in safety, commitment to excellence in engineering, and investment in forward looking innovation makes them an ideal partner to realize the future of self-driving trucks everywhere.”
Through this partnership, Volvo and Waabi are vertically integrating Waabi's virtual driver system, the Waabi Driver, into the Volvo VNL Autonomous, Volvo’s autonomous truck with redundant systems for enabling safe autonomous operations. The Volvo VNL Autonomous will be produced at Volvo’s flagship New River Valley assembly plant and is based on Volvo’s autonomous technology platform, supporting diverse operational needs, use cases, and Volvo Group truck brands. This collaboration aims to transform the $1 trillion North American freight industry by enabling the deployment of autonomous trucks that redefine safety and efficiency standards.
Waabi and Volvo are deeply committed to developing autonomous transportation solutions that prioritize safety, efficiency, and sustainability to tackle the challenges facing today’s transportation industry. Waabi’s next-generation AV2.0 approach, based on an end-to-end interpretable and verifiable AI model, powered by the industry’s most realistic neural simulator, enables autonomous trucks that can safely generalize to different scenarios on the road. This innovation, integrated with Volvo’s industry-leading purpose-built autonomous truck, is enabling a safe autonomous solution to support broad commercial deployment.
“Waabi is at the forefront of developing self-driving technologies leveraging the full power of AI,” said Shahrukh Kazmi, Chief Product Officer at Volvo Autonomous Solutions. “We are excited to integrate Waabi's cutting-edge technology into our autonomous truck platform and work together to jointly develop a safe, efficient, and scalable autonomous transport solution."
The partnership is a continuation of Volvo’s collaboration with Waabi over the past two years, with Volvo Group Venture Capital first becoming a strategic investor in the company in January of 2023 and later investing in the company’s $200M USD Series B round. The two companies have laid the groundwork for the integration of the Waabi Driver into the Volvo VNL Autonomous and are preparing for testing in 2025.
About Waabi
Waabi, founded by AI visionary Raquel Urtasun, is pioneering generative AI for the physical world, first by applying this technology to overhaul the autonomous trucking industry. Waabi is backed by best-in-class investors across the technology, AI, automotive, logistics and Canadian innovation ecosystems, including Khosla Ventures, Uber, NVIDIA, Volvo Group Venture Capital, Porsche Automobil Holding SE, Scania Invest, Ingka Investments, HarbourVest Partners, BDC, EDC, Radical Ventures, Incharge Capital, and others.
To learn more, visit www.waabi.ai or follow us on X or LinkedIn.
About Volvo Autonomous Solutions
The autonomous transport solution offered by Volvo Autonomous Solutions includes a vehicle purpose-built for autonomous driving, a virtual driver, required infrastructure, operations and uptime support as well as a cloud solution that controls the transport system and manages logistics flows. The solutions developed by Volvo Autonomous Solutions are tailor-made for each customer's needs and are intended to make their operations safer, and more productive and sustainable.
Media Contacts
Waabi
E-mail: press@waabi.ai
Ceren Wende
Head of Marketing and Communication, Volvo Autonomous Solutions
Phone: + 46 31 322 4536
E-mail: ceren.wende@volvo.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4dbadb24-afa6-4b75-9cb5-9555688c581d
