De Martel brings deep experience from her tenure at Waymo, where she oversaw financial strategy from 2022 through early 2026, a period defined by a $5.6 billion Series C funding round and expansion into multiple commercial markets. Before her time at Waymo, she held leadership roles at Carbon and spent over a decade at Apple. She will be based in Sunnyvale, California, reporting to CEO Alex Kendall.
In section Startups & Technology
Wayve Recruits Former Waymo CFO to Scale Autonomous Tech
Elisa de Martel, the former CFO of Alphabet’s Waymo, has joined London-based startup Wayve to lead its financial operations. Her arrival marks a critical transition for the company as it shifts from software development toward the large-scale deployment of its end-to-end autonomous driving systems for robotaxis and consumer vehicles.
Wayve, valued at approximately $8.5 billion, distinguishes itself with a self-learning software architecture that avoids high-definition maps and hand-coded rules. The company has secured $3.2 billion in total funding and established partnerships with major manufacturers like Nissan and Stellantis. With pilot programs currently operating in London, the leadership team is tasking de Martel with navigating the transition from limited testing to a high-volume supplier model. Outgoing CFO Max Warburton will remain with the firm in a strategic advisory capacity.
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