The Self-Driving Startup Nobody Saw Coming

Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Self-driving just stopped being a science problem and became an engineering challenge instead. That's the through-line of today’s double-header with the CEOs of two of the most important AV companies in the world — Wayve's Alex Kendall and Waabi's Raquel Urtasun. Between them: ~$2B raised in the last six months, Uber as a partner, Nissan and Volvo as OEMs, and a shared bet that end-to-end AI plus world models beats Waymo's city-by-city map-and-pray approach.
If you want to understand the state of the self-driving industry beyond recent Waymo announcements, this is the episode for you.

Guest Links:

Wayve: wayve.ai
Waabi: waabi.ai
Alex Kendall linkedin.com/in/alexgkendall
Raquel Uratsun: linkedin.com/in/raquel-urtasun-298400139

Company Links:

Wayve’s GAIA-2 world model: wayve.ai/thinking/gaia-2
Wayve’s 500 city roadshow: wayve.ai/thinking/ai-500-roadshow-500-cities
Wavye’s most recent funding round: wayve.ai/press/series-d
Waybe + Uber: wayve.ai/press/wayve-nissan-uber-robotaxi-collaboration
Waabi closed-loop simulator: waabi.ai/insights/waabi-world
Waabi + Volvo: waabi.ai/insights/waabi-and-volvo-autonomous-solutions-partner-to-jointly-develop-and-deploy-autonomous-transportation-solutions
Waabi + Uber: uberfreight.com/en-US/blog/uber-freight-and-waabi-introduce-industry-first-autonomous-truck-deployment-solution
Other Links:
UNECE (United Nations self-driving regulations: unece.org/transport/vehicle-regulations
Alex Kendall’s most recent TWIST appearance: youtube.com/watch?v=MkvARAUCYZY

Timestamps:

0:00 Alex Kendall (Wayve) joins the show
0:33 The contrarian bet on end-to-end AI and world models in 2017
2:19 What is a world model? GAIA-2 and GAIA-3 explained
6:48 Sensor agnosticism: camera, radar, LiDAR and minimum bar for safety
9:10 $1.5B raised — have we cracked self-driving?
9:23 Render: Find out why 5 million developers are already using the all-in-one cloud platform, Render. Go to render.com/twist and apply for the Render Startup Program to get $500-$100,000 in free credits, depending on your stage and backers.
19:52 Squarespace: Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at Squarespace.com/TWIST
24:17 How consumers will actually pay: bundle, subscription, or free trial
27:55 Why robotics applications beyond cars get cheaper after autos
29:29 IM8 Health: Start feeling like your best self every day. Go to IM8health.com/twist and use the code TWiST to get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order.
35:13 Raquel Urtasun (Waabi) joins the show
35:39 World models as controllable simulators for physical AI
42:48 One AI brain across trucks, robotaxis, and beyond
46:49 What changed in AI to make 2026 the deployment year
51:42 Why Waabi raised $1B when they're capital-efficient
58:06 Where Waabi is today: Volvo VNL Autonomous, Dallas-Houston, Uber Freight
1:00:04 Per-mile pricing and the Driver-as-a-Service model
1:06:34 Has Uber tried to buy Waabi? "Not for sale"

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You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off! 7:19 Why Jason thinks Microsoft and Apple should work together on AI 8:55 China will block the Meta-Manus deal 11:28 Deel - Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, get visas handled fast, and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more. 11:33 Golden Shares and what they provide 14:07 How do you unravel a multi-billion-dollar deal? 21:25 Sentry - New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST 23:52 The Huawei ADC crash 28:59 What happens when something similar happens in the United States? 31:11 IM8 Health: Start feeling like your best self every day. 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Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp Follow Lon: X: https://x.com/lons Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis Thank you to our partners: IM8 Health - https://IM8health.com/twist Sentry - https://Sentry.io/twist Deel - https://Deel.com/twist Plaud - https://Plaud.ai/twist Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/ Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com$

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