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

Waymo just completed an oversubscribed funding round of $5.6 billion, its largest investment round to date. The company said it will use the funds to support its robotaxi business in its current markets of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, as well as bring it to new cities, like Austin and Atlanta, where its vehicles will be available exclusively on the Uber app.

Waymo also hinted at future “business applications” for its “Waymo Driver,” which is the company’s branding for the hardware and software used to enable its vehicles to drive autonomously. This could be a reference to food and package deliveries, trucking, or even personally owned autonomous vehicles — all possibilities that Waymo has explored in the past.

The funding round was led by Waymo’s parent company Alphabet, and included investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price. Participants in the round lauded Waymo for its technological advancements, commitment to safety, and superior product experience.

“The company has built the safest product in the autonomous vehicle ecosystem as well as the best,” said Chase Coleman, founder of Tiger Global, in a statement provided by Waymo

The series C round brings Waymo’s total capital raised to $11.1 billion, after raising $3 billion and $2.5 billion in two earlier rounds. Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat said earlier this year that the company would invest $5 billion in the self-driving unit over several years.

While several companies are testing autonomous vehicles on public roads across the country, Waymo is nearly alone in offering a commercial service to customers. The company’s driverless vehicles have driven over 25 million miles to date. In August, Waymo said it crossed the threshold of providing 100,000 customer trips every week.

But Waymo still is a money-loser. Alphabet’s “Other Bets,” which includes the driverless company, brought in $365 million during the second quarter of this year, up from $285 million in Q2 2023. But the division lost $1.1 billion on operating income, an increase over $813 million lost in 2023. (Alphabet will report its third quarter results on October 29th.)

Waymo plans to launch robotaxi operations in Atlanta and Austin in 2025, where its vehicles will be exclusively available on the Uber app. The company has also recently began testing out routes in San Francisco and Phoenix that use freeways, in an effort to become a more useful service to more customers. And Waymo is testing different weather conditions and more complex urban environments in Buffalo, New York City, and Washington, DC.