Waymo raises $5.6 billion in latest funding round

Autonomous ride-hailing service provider Waymo has announced $5.6 billion of oversubscribed investment in the latest funding round.

This round is led by parent Alphabet, and other partners including Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price.

Earlier today, Waymo published its safety impact report and announced that it has driven 25 million miles of autonomous rides across all operational areas. These include:

• 1+ million miles from Los Angeles
• 7.1+ million miles in San Francisco
• 17+ million miles in Phoenix
• 28k miles in Austin

Uber and Waymo signed an agreement to bring the Waymo One experience to Austin and Atlanta. This agreement includes fleet management services from Uber for vehicle cleaning, repair, and other general depot operations. Waymo on the other hand will be responsible for testing and operating the Waymo Driver.

Welcome rides in Austin began earlier this month across 37 square miles of the city. The company will launch its services in the city next year in partnership with Uber.

Earlier this month, the company announced a partnership with Hyundai for IONIQ 5 SUV inclusion in the Waymo One fleet in late 2025.

Boost with new Investment

Waymo will use this new $5.6 billion investment to increase capacity for customers in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. Other two cities Austin and Atlanta could see ride-hailing launch in 2025.

The investment will help the company advance the autonomous driving experience and improvements for AI technologies.

Future

The company could begin full autonomous freeway operations in Phoenix and San Francisco. The autonomous ride provider has also completed more than 100,000 paid weekly trips, a 10 times increase compared to last year.

Furthermore, Waymo is preparing to introduce the 6th generation of autonomous drivers to provide even better ride-hailing services with more auspicious space to house more passengers at once.