Elisa de Martel, who previously served as Chief Financial Officer at Alphabet's autonomous vehicle company Waymo, has been appointed to the same position at self-driving vehicle startup Wayve. Max Warburton, the outgoing CFO at Wayve since 2024, will move into a strategic advisory role supporting the company's leadership team.
De Martel's appointment coincides with Wayve's transition from development and testing to preparing for the deployment of its automated driving technology. This technology is intended for both robotaxis and passenger vehicles.
Wayve, founded in 2017 and valued at approximately $8.5 billion, has developed a software layer using an end-to-end neural network. This approach does not rely on high-definition maps, custom hardware, or hand-coded rules, instead using data to teach vehicles how to drive. The company's technology underpins an "eyes on" assisted-driving system and an "eyes off" fully automated-driving system.
De Martel, who will be based in Sunnyvale, California, was CFO at Waymo from 2022 to January 2026. During her tenure there, Waymo began commercial operations in several cities and raised $5.6 billion in a Series C fundraising round. At Wayve, she will oversee financial strategy, capital allocation, reporting, governance, treasury, and tax, and will advise on commercial, investor, and strategic partnership deals.
Wayve has established partnerships with automakers including Nissan and Stellantis. The company has also launched public robotaxi rides in London, with a human safety operator present, and expects to follow with Tokyo soon.