Wayve offers $85M employee tender at $8.5B valuation

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Wayve, a UK-based self-driving tech startup, is allowing its employees to sell a portion of their vested equity through an $85 million tender offer. The offer, led by existing and new investors, values the company at $8.5 billion. This valuation was set in February when Wayve raised $1.2 billion in a Series D funding round led by Eclipse, Balderton, and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Baillie Gifford, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Uber.

This is Wayve’s second employee liquidity event, following a tender offer alongside its $1.05 billion Series C funding round in May 2024. The company is part of a growing trend of AI startups using tender offers as a retention tool, giving employees a reason to stay rather than leave for a competitor or start their own company. Other startups that have recently completed employee tender offers include Decagon, ElevenLabs, Linear, and Clay.

These companies are able to provide employee liquidity because investors are eager to buy more equity in high-growth companies, even at a premium. Wayve uses a self-learning approach to autonomous driving, relying on an end-to-end neural network that learns to drive from data. The company aims to develop a “general-purpose” AI driver that could work across countries, cars, and road conditions.

Wayve has more than doubled its headcount to 1,200 employees over the past year and is targeting robotaxi pilot launches with Uber later this year, as well as integrating its AI software into Nissan’s next-generation driver-assist systems starting in 2027. Why this matters: Wayve's tender offer is a strategic move to retain talent in a competitive AI landscape. By providing employees with liquidity, Wayve is betting on its long-term success and the potential for further growth.

This trend of AI startups using tender offers to retain employees is likely to continue, as companies look for innovative ways to keep their top talent engaged. For developers and businesses, this means that equity and retention are becoming increasingly important considerations. As AI technology continues to advance, the ability to attract and retain top talent will be crucial for companies looking to stay ahead of the curve.

Open questions remain about the sustainability of this trend and the implications for the broader tech industry, but one thing is clear: the AI startup ecosystem is evolving rapidly, and companies like Wayve are leading the charge.