Nvidia has placed a major bet on the future of autonomous logistics, backing UK self-driving technology firm Oxa in a £77m Series D funding round aimed at accelerating the deployment of driverless vehicles across industrial environments such as warehouses, ports and airports.
The investment includes £37.5m from the National Wealth Fund and backing from NVentures, alongside existing investors including IP Group, Hostplus and bp Ventures.
The funding reflects growing confidence that autonomous vehicle technology may find its first widespread commercial success not on public roads (where the technology has found widespread controversy), but in the structured and predictable environments that underpin global supply chains.
Who, or what, is Oxa?
Founded as a spin-out from the University of Oxford, Oxa develops self-driving software designed to automate repetitive industrial driving tasks. Its core platform, Oxa Driver, allows vehicles to tow or carry goods autonomously across industrial sites, while its development toolchain, Oxa Foundry, uses simulated environments and synthetic data to train systems for specific locations and conditions.
Rather than building its own vehicles, the company integrates autonomy technology into existing industrial machines, enabling manufacturers and operators to retrofit or line-fit self-driving capabilities at scale.
The technology is already being deployed with major industrial partners including DHL, Vantec and bp, suggesting growing commercial demand for automation in logistics and industrial transport.
For retailers, the implications are that autonomous towing vehicles capable of moving pallets, cages or inventory around distribution centres could help address labour shortages, improve efficiency and enable 24-hour operations with fewer safety risks.
Oxa founder and CTO Paul Newman said the company is deliberately prioritising industrial settings where autonomous systems can be deployed more quickly and reliably than on public roads.
“These investments validate our intensified focus on industrial mobility automation, where the path to commercial deployment at scale is clearest and most immediate,” he said, adding that the funding would accelerate technology development and allow customers to realise productivity gains and cost reductions sooner.
The rise of ‘physical AI’
For Nvidia, whose chips and software underpin much of the world’s AI infrastructure, the investment signals growing interest in what is often described as “physical AI”, applying artificial intelligence to real-world machines and robotics rather than purely digital applications.
Industrial autonomy is increasingly seen as one of the most commercially viable frontiers for AI, particularly in sectors where structured environments reduce the complexity of navigation.
The UK government also sees strategic value in the technology. Industry minister Chris McDonald said the investment highlights the country’s strength in advanced digital technologies and could help improve freight efficiency while boosting productivity.
“With advanced manufacturing and digital technologies being central to our Modern Industrial Strategy, we’re supporting firms like Oxa to strengthen the UK’s position as a global leader in connected and automated mobility,” he said.
As retailers face rising fulfilment costs and growing pressure to speed up delivery times, automation inside warehouses is becoming an increasingly important battleground. Autonomous vehicles capable of transporting goods around large facilities, without the complexity of urban traffic or pedestrians, may represent one of the most practical early applications of AI-driven robotics.
Oxa expects to complete a second close of its Series D funding in the first half of 2026, as it pushes to scale deployments globally across the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
If successful, the technology could become a key component in the next generation of automated logistics networks, and Nvidia’s investment suggests the AI giant believes that future may arrive sooner than many expect.
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