Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company under Alphabet, has announced the successful completion of a $5.6 billion funding round aimed at expanding its robotaxi operations. This funding will support the growth of its services currently available in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix.
The oversubscribed Series C round featured Alphabet as the leading investor, supported by prominent firms including Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price. Despite the significant investment, Waymo did not disclose specific contribution proportions from these investors.
Waymo's Co-CEOs, Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov, have expressed plans to leverage these funds to advance the commercial application of Waymo Driver technology. They aim to expand their partnership with Uber, increasing the availability of Waymo One ride-hailing services across cities like San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Austin, and Atlanta.
According to Tiger Global founder Chase Coleman (Trades, Portfolio), Waymo has developed what he sees as the safest and best product within the autonomous vehicle ecosystem. The company has demonstrated excellence in cultivating passenger loyalty, forming strategic partnerships, and collaborating with automotive industry leaders, positioning it as a future leader in this sector.
With this Series C funding, Waymo's total financing has reached $11.1 billion, following previous rounds of $3.2 billion and $2.5 billion. In a statement made earlier this year, Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat announced a potential investment of over $5 billion into Waymo.
Despite its advancements, Waymo faces pressure from investors to expedite its progress in the autonomous vehicle sector, particularly against Tesla. Although numerous companies, including Wayve, have conducted autonomous vehicle tests on U.S. roads, Waymo remains the only firm operating robotaxi services in multiple major cities.
Waymo currently offers over 100,000 weekly rides in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, more than doubling since May. Passengers can book rides through the Waymo One app.
Uber recently announced plans to introduce Waymo’s robotaxi services in Austin and Atlanta starting in early 2025, with Waymo handling vehicle testing and operations, including road assistance and certain passenger support functions.
Competition remains stiff, with Tesla planning to ramp up production of its Cybercab robotaxi by 2026. The company aims to produce at least 2 million units annually, with ride-hailing services slated for Texas and California pending regulatory approval. Meanwhile, General Motors' subsidiary Cruise has temporarily halted its operations following an incident in San Francisco, leading GM to redirect investments away from autonomous technology towards stock repurchase efforts to appease investors.
In response to growing demand, Waymo recently launched its "sixth-generation" robotaxi, incorporating redesigned hardware and software that enhance visibility, computational power, and functionality without the need for additional costly cameras and sensors, thereby reducing production costs.
