UK startup gets $1B funding for self-driving car tech | Hacker News Reader

UK startup gets $1B funding for self-driving car tech

bbc.com

16 pointsyuvalhazaz18 comments

Unlike the pessimists on here, I hope Wayve AI does well.

We need more Autonomous Mobility startups, especially because most foundational model players are increasingly being acquired.

Having a couple dedicated foundational model firms can allow additional players in the automotive space to form.

Also, Wayve AI seems to be split between London, MTV, and Vancouver.

> Also, Wayve AI seems to be split between London, MTV, and Vancouver.

I spent a few minutes but have no idea what MTV means in this context.

Mountain View, CA.

Happens to be where the Google HQ is too.

UK has a great example for two things: 1.) What is possible with a working financial market when we compare to start up funding in the EU 2.) Big start up funding does not lead to wealth to the whole country. For a non - former - communist country UK is poor.

What difference does a "working financial market" make?

What would be different if the company was based in mainland Europe? Wouldn't Microsoft and Nvidia still be able to invest?

To reach the "Microsoft or Nvidia" lead round phase, you need an ecosystem of angel, seed, and early stage investors. This doesn't exist in much of mainland Europe, as that entire ecosystem has been in London for decades, and the entrepreneurship space is fundamentally power law driven.

What exactly is causing the fiction? Is it that there are some laws that make cross-border funding a challenge? Or is it simply that it is hard to network and gain the confidence of VCs if you don't live close to where they operate from?

> What exactly is causing the fiction

It's truth, not fiction.

Here are dealflow statistics by country [0]

There isn't enough dealflow in much of the EU, leading to a major issues as a founder where you don't have access to operators to give funding, advice, and open doors. This means you have to move, but this also means local champions don't develop who will fund local entrepreneurs.

It's a chicken and egg situation, as there aren't that many unicorns within mainland Europe (CH and DK for biotech, and SW excluded) meaning there isn't as much capital flowing around or experienced people who can found companies.

Edit: realized you meant friction

> is it simply that it is hard to network and gain the confidence of VCs if you don't live close to where they operate from

Pretty much this.

[0] - https://dealroom.co/guides/global

I think the person you are responding to meant friction instead of fiction?

The main problem IMO is that EU is still not really a single market and so a lot of the business models don't transfer as expected(an EU fintech entering DACH from like France or Denmark is like a massive step up in difficulty because the mentality is completely different).

Regarding point 2 I think that many in the British tech scene haven't reflected enough on the fact the ARM people didn't walk away as some of the richest people in the country. They made a lot, yes, but nothing like a comparable team would have done in the US.

This means that the happy feedback loop SV enjoys of success breeding more success is cut short, and inherited wealth is favoured to a greater extreme.

The UK is simply not a country that rewards people that do anything serious. The Liz Truss remark approximating "why do all the kids want to be pop stars or football players?" was dangerously close to the point: that's the only real chance they have, and they know it.

" The UK is simply not a country that rewards people that do anything serious. " this can be said about lots of European countries and yet they are richer.

> > For a non - former - communist country UK is poor.

Huh? I have seen much more desperation in the US compared to UK

Compared to Denmark or Germany ( one third communist !) UK is poor.

Compared to France, the UK is fine. And compared to Spain and Portugal, it's rich! It just happens that the UK's demographics, military, geopolitical situation and economic layout mirrors France rather than Germany.

Ah, of course. I guessed it before even opening the article. They are using "AI". No one needs specifics, it's just all magic.

Typical Masayoshi Son investment.

They go into specifics if you look for them - https://wayve.ai/technology/

It's a bit marketing-material but lots of stuff to look through there.

This feels like a last ditch effort to prevent google from taking over the entire industry

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