Hugging Face Waabi Raises $1B from Uber and VCs
Jan 28, 2026
A deep dive into Waabi’s $1B raise and a major strategic tie-up with a ride platform. Discussion of an AI-first, simulation-driven approach that claims to cut real-world data needs. Examination of ambitions to generalize across cars and trucks and possible expansion into robotics. Overview of funding partners, commercial pilots, and plans for large-scale vehicle deployments.
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Major Uber-Backed $1B Raise
- Waabi raised $1B including $250M from Uber to deploy robo-taxis and expand beyond trucking.
- The Uber deal ties to deploying ~25,000 Waabi-powered robo-taxis exclusively on Uber's platform.
Uber Platform Enables Shared Data Scale
- Waabi joins many AV companies deploying on Uber's platform and will receive real-world data via Uber AV Labs.
- Shared platform data could help competitors improve their systems and rival Tesla's fleet advantage.
Founder’s Career Comes Full Circle
- Raquel Yratsu's career ties to Uber: she was chief scientist at Uber ATG before founding Waabi.
- Uber sold ATG, she left, started Waabi, and now Uber invested $250M in her new company.