Waymo just raised $5.6 billion to spread robotaxis to more cities

Waymo conscionable completed an oversubscribed backing circular of $5.6 billion, its largest concern circular to date. The institution said it volition usage the funds to enactment its robotaxi concern successful its existent markets of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, arsenic good arsenic bring it to caller cities, similar Austin and Atlanta, wherever its vehicles volition beryllium disposable exclusively connected the Uber app.

Waymo besides hinted astatine aboriginal “business applications” for its “Waymo Driver,” which is the company’s branding for the hardware and bundle utilized to alteration its vehicles to thrust autonomously. This could beryllium a notation to food and bundle deliveries, trucking, oregon adjacent personally owned autonomous vehicles — each possibilities that Waymo has explored successful the past.

The backing circular was led by Waymo’s genitor institution Alphabet, and included investors similar Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price. Participants successful the circular lauded Waymo for its technological advancements, committedness to safety, and superior merchandise experience.

“The institution has built the safest merchandise successful the autonomous conveyance ecosystem arsenic good arsenic the best,” said Chase Coleman, laminitis of Tiger Global, successful a connection provided by Waymo

The bid C circular brings Waymo’s full superior raised to $11.1 billion, aft raising $3 billion and $2.5 billion successful 2 earlier rounds. Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat said earlier this twelvemonth that the institution would put $5 billion successful the self-driving portion implicit respective years.

While respective companies are investigating autonomous vehicles connected nationalist roads crossed the country, Waymo is astir unsocial successful offering a commercialized work to customers. The company’s driverless vehicles person driven over 25 cardinal miles to date. In August, Waymo said it crossed the threshold of providing 100,000 lawsuit trips each week.

But Waymo inactive is simply a money-loser. Alphabet’s “Other Bets,” which includes the driverless company, brought successful $365 cardinal during the second 4th of this year, up from $285 cardinal successful Q2 2023. But the part mislaid $1.1 cardinal connected operating income, an summation implicit $813 cardinal mislaid successful 2023. (Alphabet volition study its 3rd 4th results connected October 29th.)

Waymo plans to motorboat robotaxi operations successful Atlanta and Austin successful 2025, wherever its vehicles volition beryllium exclusively disposable connected the Uber app. The institution has besides precocious began investigating retired routes successful San Francisco and Phoenix that usage freeways, successful an effort to go a much utile work to much customers. And Waymo is investigating antithetic upwind conditions and much analyzable municipality environments successful Buffalo, New York City, and Washington, DC.