Wayve hands London private market
Wayve has handed London’s fledgling private markets platform a major boost after unveiling an $85m (£63m) employee share sale.
In what has been labelled a “major boost” for the City’s efforts to keep tech firms on home soil, the British autonomous driving unicorn will use the London Stock Exchange’s new Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (Pisces) to allow employees to sell part of their vested equity.
The transaction, which values the company at $8.6bn, marks the first high-profile use of the platform by a major UK tech firm, and is set to test whether the government’s flagship private markets reforms can provide liquidity without companies rushing towards a US IPO.
Wayve stressed the transaction is an employee liquidity event rather than an investor sell-off, with staff selling existing shares to approved investors rather than the company raising fresh capital.
“This is ideal news for the fledgling private market”, IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp told City PM. “The fact that an AI company feels confident enough to test the waters in such a way is a big boost, particularly in a week when fresh doubts about the long-term future of London’s FTSE have reared their head.”
The sale follows Wayve’s $1.2bn Series D funding round earlier this year, which valued the company at $8.6bn, and comes as the self-driving software developer prepares to shift from years of research into commercial deployment, including robotaxi launches in London.
Chief executive Alex Kendall said the $85m deal reflected its commitment to “retain and reward the best talent in our industry”. “This is the second time Wayve has done this,” he posted on X.
Employees will be able to crystallise part of the value of their shareholdings without waiting for an IPO – a route increasingly being adopted by late-stage AI companies as they remain private for longer.
Pisces was created to bridge the gap between venture capital funding and a public listing, giving founders and early investors a way to unlock value without forcing companies into an IPO before they’re ready.
Wayve is the type of business ministers had hoped would use the platform, as a British AI champion with a multibillion-dollar valuation, no immediate plans to list publicly, and boasting blue-chip backers like Microsoft, Nvidia and Uber.
LSEG chief executive Dame Julia Hoggett said the auction demonstrated the “growing momentum” behind the market, adding it showed how Pisces could help companies deliver liquidity for employees while supporting the next stage of growth.
AI companies seem to be remaining private for longer as investors continue pouring capital into the sector, increasing pressure to find alternative ways for employees and early investors to realise some of the value they’ve helped create.
PitchBook senior analyst Navina Rajan told City PM that secondary share sales were rapidly becoming “a core feature of the late-stage venture market rather than an exception”, as companies look to retain top talent without sacrificing independence through an IPO or takeover.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, told City PM: “It is a test of investor demand for autonomous driving and to see if the London Stock Exchange’s new private markets platform is fit for purpose”, adding that a successful auction could encourage more high-growth tech giants to use the market ahead of a future flotation.
The employee tender comes as Wayve continues its rapid expansion, with the firm doubling its workforce to around 1,200 over the past year and recently securing a further $60m investment from AMD, Arm and Qualcomm after raising more than $1.2bn in February.
Rather than manufacturing its own vehicles, Wayve licenses its AI driving software to carmakers including Nissan and Stellantis, with commercial robotaxi services expected to begin in London later this year before broader deployment in consumer vehicles.