Wayve’s charm offensive: How slick lobbying helped bag Europe’s biggest AI deal

But she said there was “a level of trepidation” in government about how other parts of the economy could react to “such a disruptive technology.”

Wayve and Hanbury also secured meetings and won the backing of key MPs and ministers, helped by test drives in vehicles kitted out with the company’s tech.

Several of those politicians posted favorable videos on their social media channels, and along with rides with Bill Gates, an investor, and a BBC News team, the clips were viewed by millions of people.

Lawmakers on the House of Commons’ transport committee, who visited last March, subsequently recommended the government introduce a “self-drive bill” in September.

“We were really helped by the transport committee’s inquiry and they were extremely helpful in making the case to the government and to the Department for Transport,” Gates explained. “That inquiry had a very big impact in creating very vocal supporters in government who carried that to the DfT and then to the cabinet.” 

Wayve also convinced a group of supportive politicians to form an “all party parliamentary group” (APPG) on Self-Driving Vehicles in early 2023, with Hanbury providing secretariat support. The group was backed by insurance group AXA and law firm Burges Salmon.

The lobbying pitch was built on road safety, reducing congestion and economic wins, Gates said. “We were very focused on safety but there needs to be more than that. We made sure that the benefits beyond safety were well known.”

Transport Secretary Harper, one of those to visit Wayve’s King’s Cross headquarters, was convinced of the benefits, but he had to get the approval of the U.K. Cabinet and No. 10 Downing Street.

Wayve linked the bill to the U.K.’s tech and AI ambitions which helped it get backing from Cabinet members, including Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

The government hadn’t planned to bring in a specific self-drive bill. Instead the legislation was initially introduced as a much wider Future of Transport Bill, and would have also addressed novel forms of transport like electric scooters.

But last summer Harper’s team decided to strip out other parts of the bill and just focus on self-driving vehicles. That led to a slimmed down law that was easier to pass – exactly as Wayve wanted.

Everyone’s a winner

The industry’s last chance to get the law on to the statute books before an election this year was November’s King’s Speech, an occasion full of pomp where the government sets out its legislative agenda for the parliament.

The bill was one of the few new pieces of legislation to make the cut, and on Wednesday this week completed its passage through parliament, meaning it will shortly become law.

On Tuesday, Sunak and Donelan took a victory lap with Kendall at Wayve’s headquarters, celebrating the $1 billion fundraising round, while a government press release hailed its own policies for facilitating the investment.

Gates said the government’s wider self-drive and AI policies had also helped. 

“The U.K.’s progressive testing framework for self-driving vehicles has played a crucial role in helping Wayve develop and grow at pace,” she said.

Started in a garage in Cambridge by two PhD students, Wayve is exactly the sort of company Rishi Sunak, with one eye on an AI legacy, wants to see thrive. And his government’s certainly given them a big helping hand.