Uber has opened a London waitlist for riders who want a chance to be matched with a Wayve-powered robotaxi, signalling that the two companies are ready to flick the switch on the UK capital's first commercial autonomous-ride service as soon as British regulators give the green light.
From Pilot to Public Sign-Up
Uber unveiled the interest list this week alongside a branded black Ford Mustang Mach-E fitted with Wayve's end-to-end Embodied AI driving system. The companies are running about 100 autonomous Jaguar I-Pace vehicles across a 100-square-mile London test area, and say they are ready to begin rides "as soon as approval comes." A trained safety operator will sit behind the wheel during the initial commercial phase.
A Three-Way Race In The Capital
The waitlist puts Uber on a direct collision course with Waymo, which has flagged a London passenger service for Q3 2026 — possibly without a safety driver from day one. Together with Wayve's own forthcoming consumer offer, that turns London into the first European city with three serious robotaxi contenders.
Wayve's Big Year
For Wayve, the launch is the commercial payoff for a year of partnership wins. The British startup has already shown a Nissan-built NVIDIA-powered robotaxi prototype for Uber's global fleet and recently spun out Wayve Labs to push Embodied AI into robots beyond cars. Uber is also stepping up — its Avride fleet in Dallas just crossed 60,000 trips.
Reporting based on coverage from TechCrunch, Bloomberg, The Next Web, and Engineering & Technology.