Waymo, Alphabet Inc.’s cutting-edge autonomous driving unit, has announced a groundbreaking $5.6 billion funding round—the largest in its history. This impressive investment was spearheaded by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, with significant contributions from venture capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz and major financial firms like Fidelity Investments and T. Rowe Price Group.
As a frontrunner in the race for robotaxi services in the U.S., Waymo operates a commercial ride-hailing platform in cities such as San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, where it charges fares for rides in its self-driving cars. The company recently made headlines with its partnership with Uber Technologies Inc., set to expand ride offerings through the Uber app in Austin and Atlanta next year.
Earlier this year, Alphabet pledged to invest up to $5 billion over several years to enhance Waymo’s autonomous driving technology, although the exact portion of this latest round attributed to Alphabet hasn’t been disclosed. Waymo’s valuation remains under wraps as well.
The news of the funding sent Alphabet shares up 1.5% to $165.10 on Friday morning in New York. This is not Waymo’s first successful fundraising effort; the company raised $2.25 billion in 2020, marking its first acceptance of outside investment, followed by an additional $2.5 billion in 2021.
By bringing in outside capital, Alphabet is smartly mitigating its risks in the unpredictable autonomous driving sector, which faces various regulatory challenges. Waymo is also in fierce competition with Tesla Inc. in the burgeoning multibillion-dollar market. Tesla recently faced a stock dip after a less-than-stellar preview of its own robotaxi plans.
Analyst Andrew Grant from BloombergNEF suggests that this funding could propel Waymo towards a public listing, joining the ranks of other autonomous vehicle competitors like Chinese firms WeRide and Pony AI, which have made strides in the market.
Waymo’s fleet, currently consisting of retrofitted Jaguar EVs, will soon be expanded to include Hyundai Motor Co. EVs equipped with advanced autonomous technology from Hyundai’s new plant in Georgia.
The company is already making waves by providing over 100,000 rides each week and has logged more than 25 million miles driven without a human behind the wheel. The future of transportation is unfolding, and Waymo is leading the charge!
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