As competition in the U.S. autonomous taxi market heats up, Waymo, the self-driving subsidiary of Alphabet, Google's parent company, has successfully raised $5.6 billion. This funding aims to expand its autonomous taxi services across multiple U.S. cities and enhance its self-driving technology.
Waymo plans to utilize the funds to broaden its driverless taxi services in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix, with potential expansion into new markets like Austin and Atlanta. This latest round of Series C funding, reported by CNBC, brings Waymo's total capital raised to over $11 billion. Previously, Waymo secured $3.2 billion and $2.5 billion in earlier funding rounds. Alphabet's CFO, Ruth Porat, announced in July a commitment from the parent company to invest up to $5 billion in Waymo over several years.
Leading this funding round is Alphabet, with participation from early investors such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Fidelity Investments, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price. Currently, Waymo offers driverless taxi services in several major U.S. cities, providing over 100,000 rides weekly through the Waymo One app.
Waymo's co-CEOs, Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov, explained in a CNBC interview that the new capital will further business expansion and advance Waymo Driver technology in commercial applications. They announced plans to launch driverless taxi services in Austin, Texas, collaborating with Uber, even as Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, revealed his intention to provide similar services in Texas and California next year. Despite Tesla's ambitions, Waymo maintains its leadership in the autonomous field as Tesla's fleet still requires human drivers due to the semi-automated system.
Waymo's driverless taxis are favored by women and parents for their safety, as they offer a stranger-free option compared to traditional cabs, allowing parents to send children to school safely. However, American autonomous vehicle manufacturers must still prove their safety compared to human-operated taxis and trucks. A Pew Research Center survey shows that nearly two-thirds of respondents are reluctant to ride in driverless vehicles if given a choice.
Waymo is actively working on enhancing its self-driving technology's safety. Although its autonomous vehicles occasionally face traffic disruptions or incorrect street navigation, these incidents have not resulted in any known fatalities or severe injuries, according to CNBC. In contrast, GM's Cruise, once a Waymo competitor in the U.S., temporarily halted operations following an October 2023 accident. A human driver hit a pedestrian, and the Cruise vehicle dragged the individual 20 feet. Cruise is now striving to resume services and plans a collaboration with Uber.
Waymo remains the only company offering genuine autonomous taxi services across several major cities, despite many testing self-driving cars on U.S. public roads. According to Timothy B. Lee, author of Understanding AI, Waymo's self-reported data shows that their vehicles have a collision frequency "far lower than human drivers" on public roads.
Waymo's next-gen driverless taxis will feature Geely's Zeekr model, equipped with custom sensors and AI "drivers." The company also has a strategic partnership with Hyundai, integrating the Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric vehicle into its autonomous fleet. Additionally, Waymo plans to test its vehicles in harsher winter conditions in Northern California, Upstate New York, and Michigan, aiming to expand services beyond the U.S. and ultimately achieve international reach.
