Uber and Wayve Obtain Licenses for Supervised Robotaxis in London

Uber and UK autonomous-driving startup Wayve have received private hire vehicle licenses from Transport for London, clearing the way to operate supervised robotaxis on the city's public roads. TfL approved modifications for up to 15 of Wayve's autonomous Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles, each carrying a licensed safety driver able to take control if needed.

The approval lands just as Uber heads into its own earnings report, putting the company's autonomous vehicle strategy in sharper focus for investors. Uber said some of the roughly 100,000 people who signed up to try the service will get rides "later this summer," ahead of a broader public launch.

Wayve has also partnered separately with Nissan on autonomous vehicle development, giving the startup exposure to multiple commercial paths rather than relying solely on its Uber tie-up.

London becomes one of the highest-profile European markets for supervised autonomy, testing whether Uber's asset-light model of partnering with AV developers like Wayve, rather than building self-driving technology in-house, can scale internationally. The next milestones to watch are whether TfL grants fully driverless approval and how quickly Uber converts its sign-up list into paying rides.

Related Stocks

• UBER