Autonomous driving startup Wayve has appointed former Waymo executive Elisa de Martel as its new chief financial officer as the company prepares to expand the deployment of its automated driving technology. De Martel succeeds Max Warburton, who has served as CFO since 2024 and will transition into a strategic advisory role supporting Wayve’s leadership team.
The appointment comes as Wayve moves beyond development and testing and prepares to commercialize its technology across two markets: robotaxis and passenger vehicles. The company is seeking to scale products designed for both assisted and fully automated driving applications.
Former Waymo Executive Joins At Key Growth Stage
De Martel will be based in Sunnyvale, California. Before joining Wayve, she served as chief financial officer at Waymo from 2022 until January 2026, a period during which the autonomous vehicle company expanded commercial operations into multiple cities and completed a $5.6 billion funding round that valued the business at more than $45 billion.
Her previous experience also includes serving as CFO at industrial 3D printing company Carbon and spending 11 years at Apple, where she held the role of manufacturing finance director.
According to people familiar with the hiring process, Wayve’s leadership viewed her experience in deep technology businesses as a key factor in the appointment. The company is entering a stage where operational scaling, commercial partnerships, and capital planning are becoming increasingly important.
Wayve Targets Wider Deployment Of Automated Driving Systems
Founded in 2017, Wayve is currently valued at approximately $8.5 billion and has raised $3.2 billion to date. The company has attracted investors and automotive partners through its self-learning approach to automated driving software.
Wayve’s technology is built on an end-to-end neural network system that does not rely on high-definition maps, custom hardware, or hand-coded driving rules. Instead, the software learns driving behavior through data collected from real-world environments.
The company currently offers two core products. One is an “eyes on” assisted-driving system that requires driver supervision, while the other is an “eyes off” automated driving system capable of handling driving tasks independently within specific operating environments.
Wayve says its hardware-agnostic approach has appealed to automakers that have already committed to existing vehicle hardware platforms. The strategy has also attracted interest from mobility companies seeking automated driving solutions for future robotaxi deployments.
Expanding Partnerships And Commercial Operations
As CFO, de Martel will oversee financial strategy, planning, capital allocation, governance, reporting, treasury, and tax functions. Wayve said she will also work closely with the executive team on commercial agreements, investor relations, and strategic partnerships.
The company has already secured partnerships with automakers including Nissan and Stellantis. It has also been working with mobility partners interested in deploying future robotaxi services powered by its technology.
Wayve recently launched public robotaxi rides in London with a human safety operator onboard. The company is also preparing for deployments in Tokyo following previously announced plans involving Uber and Nissan.
The startup is now focused on expanding beyond early-stage deployments as it works toward becoming a large-scale supplier of automated driving technology to the automotive industry.
Featured image credits: Welcome to the Jungle
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