Waabi

Waabi is a Canadian startup that develops self-driving technology for middle-mile delivery trucks. The company was founded in 2021 by a female chief scientist from Uber’s self-driving tech division Uber ATG (now Aurora-owned). Its next-gen autonomous trucking tech, dubbed “Waabi Driver,” comes with a machine learning and GenAI-based autonomy stack, sensors (LiDAR, radar, and cameras), and compute hardware, and is capable of Level 4 automation (i.e., fully autonomous vehicles limited to specific locations and/or conditions). It is an end-to-end trainable system that can be configured to learn from data and make decisions for safer navigation. The company conducts simulations using its “Waabi World,” a high-fidelity closed-loop simulator that virtually tests its self-driving software and teaches it in real time. Waabi’s self-driving software is designed for factory-level OEM integration, large-scale commercialization, and deployment.

The company unveiled its first-generation purpose-built, heavy-duty trucks powered by Waabi Driver in November 2022 for OEM integration. Waabs adopts a driver-as-a-service model where the company integrates Waabi Driver in partnership with OEMs and offers its service to fleet customers and shippers. The company launched a trucking terminal in Lancaster, Dallas (Texas), in April 2024, which was to serve as its central facility for operations in Texas.

Key customers and partnerships

Waabi’s customer partnerships include Uber Freight (a 10-year collaboration for a commercial delivery pilot in Texas; September 2023).

The company also has a partnership with NVIDIA to integrate NVIDIA’s next-gen computing platform, “Drive Thor,” into Waabi’s self-driving system (March 2024).