Alphabet-Backed Waymo Closes Major Funding Round for Driverless Services

Waymo Secures $5.6 Billion in Funding to Boost Autonomous Ride-Hailing Expansion

Alphabet’s self-driving subsidiary, Waymo, announced on Friday the completion of a $5.6 billion funding round led by its parent company, Google, aimed at expanding its autonomous ride-hailing services.

Automotive and tech giants are increasingly pouring resources into autonomous ride-hailing to unlock commercial benefits from this cutting-edge technology, despite widespread public skepticism and stringent regulatory requirements.

The funding round included continued support from investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price, Waymo confirmed.

“With this latest funding, we’re excited to bring more riders into our Waymo One ride-hailing service in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, as well as in Austin and Atlanta through our partnership with Uber,” the company stated.

Alphabet had initially outlined a $5 billion multi-year investment plan for Waymo, according to finance chief Ruth Porat in July.

Waymo, which provides paid autonomous rides in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, Arizona, spent years gathering millions of test miles before receiving its first operational permit in 2022 from the California Public Utilities Commission, the governing body for ride-hailing services.

In a related development, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the electric vehicle manufacturer plans to launch driverless ride-hailing in California and Texas by next year.

Meanwhile, General Motors’ Cruise is conducting tests with human safety drivers following an incident last year that led to a temporary suspension of its fleet. Amazon’s Zoox is also advancing its testing for driverless vehicles that operate without traditional controls like steering wheels and pedals.

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