Waymo, Alphabet's self-driving unit, raises $5.6 billion in funding as the race for robotaxis intensifies in the US.

• Waymo, the driverless vehicle unit owned by Alphabet, has secured $5.6 billion in funding to expand its robotaxi service throughout the United States.
• In July, CFO Ruth Porat announced that Google parent would invest up to $5 billion in Waymo over a multiyear period.
• Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov, co-CEOs of Waymo, announced they would utilize the funding to further develop and expand their technology.

Waymo has secured $5.6 billion in funding to expand its robotaxi service beyond its current locations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix.

Waymo, the autonomous vehicle venture, is owned by Alphabet, the parent company of Google, who led the series C investment in the company, along with earlier backers including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price.

The Waymo co-CEOs stated that the funding will be used for expanding the company and enhancing the Waymo Driver for commercial purposes.

Our Waymo One ride-hailing service in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles will welcome more riders with our latest investment, and we will expand our partnership with Uber to include Austin and Atlanta.

Waymo's total capital raised has reached $11.1 billion after it secured $3.2 billion and $2.5 billion in two earlier rounds, with Alphabet committing to a multiyear investment of up to $5 billion in the company.

In the U.S., Waymo is the only company operating a commercial robotaxi service in several major metro areas, while many other companies are testing autonomous vehicles on public roads.

Some women with safety concerns have adopted the service, while parents have utilized it to send their teens to school when other transit options were deemed less safe or convenient.

Waymo is currently providing over 100,000 weekly trips for passengers in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco through its robotaxi service, which can be hailed via the Waymo One app. Additionally, Waymo has recently partnered with Uber to launch its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, a city where Tesla, a potential competitor, is headquartered.

For over a decade, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made pledges regarding self-driving cars. This week, Musk announced that Tesla will provide a driverless ridehailing service in Texas and California next year, after the company enhances the partially automated systems in its current vehicles, which still necessitate a human driver at present.

Cruise, owned by General Motors, had been Waymo's closest competitor in the U.S. until it halted operations following an October 2023 incident in San Francisco where a pedestrian was dragged 20 feet by a Cruise AV after being first struck by a human driver in another car. Now, Cruise is working to resume its service and also plans to collaborate with Uber.

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. respondents to a Pew Research Center survey said they would not want to ride in a driverless passenger vehicle if they had the opportunity. Despite this, self-driving vehicle makers in the U.S. must still prove their technology is safer to use than taxis and trucks with human drivers.

According to an analysis by Understanding AI author Timothy B. Lee, Waymo's self-reported data indicates that their vehicles crash "less often than human drivers on public roads."

Waymo has recalled software to enhance the safety of its self-driving systems, and its AVs have occasionally obstructed traffic, taken the wrong direction on the road, or been involved in collisions (none resulting in a fatal or severe injury).

Waymo's next-generation robotaxi is the Geely Zeekr, which is equipped with its own sensors and AI "Driver." Additionally, Waymo recently formed a strategic partnership with Hyundai to add the Ioniq 5 electric vehicle to its fleet.

Waymo announced in August that it would test its driverless vehicles in harsher winter weather, including in northern California, upstate New York, and Michigan, with the aim of providing robotaxi services beyond the sunbelt and eventually internationally.