Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, has successfully raised $5.6 billion in a funding round led by Alphabet. This funding aims to expand their self-driving taxi services across the United States. Key investors in this round include Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price.
With this substantial investment, Waymo plans to enhance its Waymo One taxi service in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, providing more people access to self-driving rides. The collaboration with Uber extends their services to Austin and Atlanta.
Despite the challenges and regulatory scrutiny facing autonomous technology, both automotive and tech companies continue to invest in this field to leverage its potential for commercial success. Alphabet's CFO, Ruth Porat, announced plans earlier this year to invest $5 billion in Waymo over the coming years.
Waymo offers paid self-driving ride services in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, after extensive testing, including millions of miles before receiving the first permit for autonomous taxi operations from the California Public Utilities Commission in 2022.
In addition to Waymo, Tesla's CEO Elon Musk indicated plans to launch public self-driving taxi services in California and Texas next year. Other competitors in the autonomous taxi domain include General Motors' subsidiary Cruise, which is testing vehicles with human safety drivers after a significant traffic incident, and Amazon's Zoox, which is testing autonomous vehicles without steering wheels and pedals.
