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New agreement strengthens UK leadership in automated
vehicles.
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Partnership focuses on shared research to bring forward
responsible deployment
of self‑driving cars.
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Deal backs innovative UK scale‑ups and helps make
Britain the best place to grow a business.
A partnership that will put the UK at the forefront of
next generation self-driving technology has been signed by
the Government today with one of the country's leading scale
ups.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Wayve,
a company pioneering AI for autonomous driving will deepen
collaboration
on next‑generation self‑driving technologies and
back the scale‑up as it continues to grow in
Britain.
The agreement brings government and industry together around
shared research interests,
supporting responsible deployment of automated vehicles
while reinforcing the UK's global leadership in autonomous
and AI‑enabled mobility.
By linking cutting‑edge AI research
with real‑world deployment and manufacturing, the
partnership aims to act as a catalyst for new investment, skilled
jobs and long‑term growth across the UK automotive
ecosystem, sending a clear signal that the UK is the best
place for ambitious tech companies to scale up.
Business Secretary said:
“This partnership with Wayve shows how government is backing
high‑growth British scale‑ups through our Modern Industrial
Strategy to turn world‑leading research into real‑world
deployment.
“By working hand‑in‑hand with innovative companies, we are
accelerating self‑driving technology while anchoring jobs,
investment and manufacturing here in the UK — making Britain the
best place to start, scale and grow a business.”
Kendall, Co-Founder and CEO, Wayve
said:
“I'm delighted to deepen our collaboration with the Department
for Business and Trade. We share the Government's ambition to
drive economic growth through the development of the self-driving
vehicle sector in the UK and globally.
“Strengthening domestic capabilities will anchor high-value
manufacturing in the UK, create thousands of skilled jobs across
the supply chain, and support the future of the automotive
industry. This is in addition to the transformative benefits to
road safety to be gained from self-driving vehicles deployed at
scale.
“Wayve has a proud history of developing our technology in the
UK. We look forward to working with DBT on a shared set of
priorities to ensure the UK continues to lead and that the full
set of benefits is realised across the country.”
Science and Technology Secretary said:
“Wayve is a true British AI success story, putting the UK at the
forefront of self-driving technology.
“This agreement will help secure high-skilled tech and advanced
manufacturing jobs in this country.
“By working with companies such as Wayve we are rebuilding
Britain for the modern age and sending a clear signal that the UK
is the best place for ambitious tech firms to start up and scale
up.”
The MoU sets out how DBT and Wayve will collaborate on
research that helps move automated vehicles from prototype
to large‑scale,
commercially viable services operating on UK
roads.
This includes work on safety assurance, simulation at scale and
integration of full self‑driving technology
into production‑ready vehicle platforms, helping the UK
lead internationally on responsible deployment.
The partnership also reinforces the UK's ambition to be a global
hub for automated vehicle manufacturing, strengthening domestic
supply chains in areas such as AI,
systems integration and advanced automotive
hardware.
Wayve will share insights from real‑world trials
with government and regulators, supporting learning
that can unlock national roll-out of self-driving
services and inform future regulations and
standards.
Through closer collaboration with industry and local partners,
the agreement supports the revival and evolution of UK automotive
manufacturing while demonstrating the government's
commitment to helping fast‑growing British companies
scale at home rather than overseas.
Through its Modern Industrial
Strategy, the UK Government has already set the
stage to crowd in vital private investment into key growth
sectors like advanced manufacturing, building on over £360
billion and 120,000 jobs we have secured since
publication.
