Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving technology unit, announced on Friday the successful closure of a $5.6 billion funding round led by parent company Alphabet. This new funding supports Waymo’s plans to grow its autonomous ride-hailing services across key US cities.
The funding round saw participation from major investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price. With this investment, Waymo aims to extend its Waymo One ride-hailing service in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, as well as Austin and Atlanta through a partnership with Uber.
Earlier this year, Alphabet’s Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat confirmed Alphabet’s intention to invest $5 billion in Waymo over the next several years. Waymo, which has been offering paid autonomous rides in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, spent years conducting millions of miles in tests before it received its first regulatory approval in 2022 from the California Public Utilities Commission.
The autonomous vehicle sector is seeing growing competition, as both automakers and tech companies invest heavily in ride-hailing innovations despite facing significant regulatory and public skepticism. Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently announced plans to launch driverless ride-hailing services in California and Texas next year. General Motors’ Cruise, which recently faced an accident, is now testing vehicles with human safety drivers, while Amazon’s Zoox is expanding trials with vehicles built without traditional steering wheels or pedals.
