Mercedes-Benz has signed a definitive production agreement with British start-up Wayve to put its AI Driver software into future Mercedes models, the companies said on Tuesday.
The software will offer customers “advanced urban and highway point-to-point driving assistance,” starting in the next two years, according to Wayve’s release. Neither company named the first model, the markets or a launch year.
It is Wayve’s first production deal with a premium carmaker, and its third with a carmaker after Nissan and Stellantis.
“This partnership marks the world’s first integration of the Wayve AI Driver in the premium segment, expanding the availability of advanced urban and highway point-to-point driving assistance,” said Jörg Burzer, Chief Technology Officer of Mercedes-Benz.
“Together with Wayve, we are laying the foundation to roll out this technology worldwide and deliver an outstanding driving experience to a broader range of customers,” he said.
Already Running on Mercedes Hardware
The agreement builds on a multi-year technical partnership and on Mercedes’ investment in Wayve’s Series D funding round earlier this year, according to the release.
Wayve said it has already integrated its AI Driver into Mercedes’ production system architecture, using the carmaker’s hardware, its MB.OS operating system and its map interfaces.
The companies have tested the system in Stuttgart, London and San Francisco, on city streets, freeways and country roads, Wayve said.
“The pace and depth of our development work together reflect a deep technical alignment between our teams, integrating Wayve’s embodied intelligence with Mercedes-Benz’s vehicle engineering and safety expertise,” said Alex Kendall, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wayve.
Wayve’s software learns to drive from data rather than from hand-coded rules, and works without high-definition maps. The company says it does not need geofences or retraining for each city.
The model is trained on Nvidia AI infrastructure hosted on Microsoft Azure, according to the release. Wayve says the same AI Driver is designed to scale from driver assistance to fully driverless vehicles.
Burzer described the system as Level 2 driving assistance in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday, meaning the driver remains responsible at all times.
A Third Software Partner
Mercedes already works with two other companies on automated driving software.
Nvidia co-developed MB.DRIVE ASSIST PRO, the point-to-point Level 2 system Mercedes unveiled in the new CLA at CES in January.
Nvidia supplies its DRIVE AV software and DRIVE AGX computer for the system, which uses 10 cameras, five radars and 12 ultrasonic sensors, according to Mercedes.
Chinese company Momenta supplies the version sold in China, available since late 2025. Mercedes has been a Momenta investor since 2017, and the two are also developing a Level 4 S-Class robotaxi for operator Lumo in Abu Dhabi, announced in December.
“Progress in this complex field is not about choosing one path over another but about combining and integrating the most promising technologies,” Burzer wrote on LinkedIn. He said Mercedes is developing Level 2 to Level 4 capabilities with Nvidia.
Neither company said whether Wayve’s software will run alongside Nvidia’s on the same models, replace it on some vehicles, or use Nvidia’s hardware. Nor did they disclose the financial terms of the deal or the size of Mercedes’ stake in Wayve.
MB.DRIVE ASSIST PRO is due to launch in the US and Europe. Mercedes plans to start in Stuttgart and Munich by the end of 2026, with a nationwide rollout in Germany in early 2027.
Mercedes’ Shift From Level 3
The deal follows Mercedes’ retreat from Level 3 driving.
Mercedes was the first carmaker to sell a Level 3 system, Drive Pilot, which allowed drivers to take their eyes off the road in limited motorway conditions. In January, Handelsblatt reported that Mercedes would not offer Drive Pilot on the facelifted S-Class, the model that launched it.
Mercedes is instead focusing on Level 2 systems that work in cities as well as on motorways, with the driver supervising.
Wayve’s Production Deals
Wayve now has production agreements with three carmakers.
Nissan signed definitive agreements in December 2025 to use Wayve’s software in its next-generation ProPILOT system. The first model is due in Japan in the fiscal year starting April 2027.
In May, Stellantis agreed to integrate the Wayve AI Driver into its STLA AutoDrive platform, targeting hands-free driving in North America in 2028. Wayve said it had a prototype running on Stellantis vehicles in less than two months.
All three carmakers invested in Wayve’s $1.2 billion Series D in February, which valued the company at $8.6 billion after the investment. The round was led by Eclipse, Balderton and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with Microsoft, Nvidia and Uberalso taking part.
In March, Wayve agreed with Qualcomm to offer its AI Driver on the chipmaker’s Snapdragon Ride platform. AMD, Arm and Qualcomm added $60 million to the Series D in April.
First Public Rides in London
The Mercedes deal comes less than three weeks after Wayve began carrying members of the public.
On September 3, Uber and Wayve launched supervised autonomous rides in London, the first autonomous trips available in the UK. Riders requesting UberX, Uber Electric or Uber Comfort can be matched with a Wayve vehicle at no extra cost.
The rides use Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles fitted with the Wayve AI Driver. A trained driver licensed by Transport for London sits behind the wheel to supervise each trip.
Riders can travel anywhere within London except airports, and can switch to a regular Uber ride before the car arrives. Uber said it is starting with a small number of vehicles, and that more than 140,000 Londoners had opted in to be matched with one.
Uber’s investment covers putting Wayve-powered vehicles on its network in 12 markets, starting with London, according to the release. Wayve and Uber plan to add the Nissan Leaf, running the Wayve AI Driver on Nvidia DRIVE Hyperion, in Tokyo later this year.
Wayve appointed former Waymo finance chief Elisa de Martel as Chief Financial Officer on September 16.
