London-based autonomous driving startup Wayve is offering its employees the chance to sell $85 million worth of vested shares, marking the company’s second such liquidity event. The tender offer, led by existing and new investors, lets staff cash out some equity at the firm’s current $8.5 billion valuation — a figure set in February when Wayve raised $1.2 billion in Series D funding from Eclipse, Balderton, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and others including Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Uber.

The move follows a growing pattern among AI startups: instead of making employees wait for an IPO or acquisition, companies use tender offers as a retention play. Wayve first offered this option alongside its $1.05 billion Series C in May 2024. Similar programs have been run recently by Decagon, ElevenLabs, Linear, and Clay — some more than once. The reason investors are willing to buy these shares at a premium is simple: they believe the companies will be worth significantly more in the future.

Wayve’s technology stands apart in the autonomous driving world. The company’s software is an end-to-end neural network that learns to drive from raw data, rather than relying on pre-built high-definition maps. The goal is a general-purpose AI driver that can adapt across different countries, vehicles, and road conditions. Wayve has more than doubled its workforce to 1,200 employees over the past year. It plans to launch robotaxi pilots with Uber later this year, and to integrate its AI into Nissan’s driver-assist systems starting in 2027.

Source: TechCrunch