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.
Waymo
also
hinted
at
future
“business
applications”
for
its
“Waymo
Driver”
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.
“The
company
has
built
the
safest
product
in
the
autonomous
vehicle
ecosystem
as
well
as
the
best.”
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.
(Originally posted by Andrew J. Hawkins)
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