Waymo, the sister company of Google involved in developing autonomous vehicles, raised fresh investment of USD2.5 billion investment, which it wants to use toward advancing the technology and growing its team.
Among those participating in the round were parent company Alphabet, and Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment Company. Other companies involved were Andreessen Horowitz, AutoNation, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Magna International, Perry Creek Capital, Silver Lake, funds and accounts advised by T Rowe Price Associates, Temasek, and Tiger Global.
Even though Waymo did not release its valuation, it is now estimated to be valued at over USD30 billion.
In a blog post, Waymo said: “As we build, deploy, and commercialise the Waymo Driver, it’s gratifying to see so much interest in being part of our journey to transform mobility, making it safer, more accessible, and more sustainable along the way.
“We’ll use this latest round of investment to continue advancing the Waymo Driver, as well as continuing to grow our team.
“With tens of millions of miles driven on public roads across 25 US cities, and tens of billions of miles driven in simulation, our experience has shown us, and our investors, the massive opportunity ahead. We’re building and deploying the Waymo Driver to serve riders, deliver parcels, move freight, and eventually, to empower personal car ownership.”
Waymo is the first company to operate a fully autonomous, public ride-hailing service – Waymo One, and has served thousands of rider-only trips in Metro Phoenix. It has been driving in San Francisco and the Bay Area since the company was started in 2009. Recently, the company’s growing fleet of all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles have been deployed throughout San Francisco.
Through its delivery business unit, Waymo Via is working with freight partners, including JB Hunt, to efficiently move freight cross-country with its growing fleet of Class 8 trucks. On a local level, Waymo Via delivers safely and efficiently on behalf of clients like UPS and AutoNation.
“Experience has taught us so much, and we agree with those experts who say there’s no greater challenge in artificial intelligence than building and deploying fully autonomous technology at scale. But we love a challenge and – thanks to the unmatched talent of our team – the Waymo Driver is already serving thousands of Waymo One riders as they get to work, shop for groceries, bring their kids to school, or just experience the joy of a ride with no human behind the wheel,” the company blog post further stated.
“Our mission is to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they’re going, and we’re grateful to our investors for believing in this mission, in our technology, and in us.”
Waymo previously raised USD2.25 billion in its first external funding round last year. Prior to that, Alphabet supported the business itself, as it does the rest of its ‘Other Bets’, but experts feel that the funding move showed Waymo sought even more capital.
