Alphabet’s robotaxi startup Waymo looks to raise $16B at $110B valuation – News

Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving car business Waymo LLC is looking to raise around $16 billion through a fresh funding round that would hike its valuation to about $110 billion, according to a report Saturday in the Financial Times.

Most of the funding is expected to come from Alphabet itself, with the technology giant that also owns Google LLC expected to contribute $13 billion of the amount. It’ll be joined by a number of prominent investors, including Silicon Valley-based Dragoneer and Sequoia Capital, plus DST Global, which is backed by Yuri Milner. Andreessen Horowitz, which has previously invested in Waymo, is also expected to contribute several hundred million dollars, along with Mudadala, the investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government.

Waymo declined to comment on the report, but said in a statement that its trajectory is clear: “With over 20 million trips completed, we are focused on the safety-led operational excellence and technological leadership required to meet the vast demand for autonomous mobility.”

The autonomous driving startup was born out of Google’s self-driving car project in 2016 and is so far the only operator in the U.S. that offers paid robotaxi services without a safety driver or in-vehicle safety attendant. Its fleet of more than 2,500 vehicles uses a mix of cameras, laser-based lidar sensors and comprehensive street maps to navigate through the cities it operates in. Its cars qualify as “level four autonomous,” which means they can operate without any driver present and do not require human oversight.

Waymo’s biggest rival is Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc., which launched its own robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, last year. Tesla’s robotaxis work differently because they do not rely on lidar technology but instead just use cameras.

Waymo has emerged as the clear leader in the autonomous vehicle industry. Its robotaxis have logged more than 125 miles of fully self-directed driving on American roads while having very few safety issues. The company aims to provide 1 million trips per week this year in multiple metropolitan areas, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami and Phoenix.

Part of the reason for Waymo’s leadership is its partnerships. While it offers its own mobile application for booking taxi rides, it has also partnered with Uber Technologies Inc. in cities such as Austin and Atlanta, so customers can book its robotaxis through the Uber app.

Looking forward, Waymo has plans to expand its robotaxi service to additional American cities, including New York City, as well as international locations such as London and Tokyo.

Waymo’s progress hasn’t all been plain sailing though. Last week, the United States’ auto safety agency said it’s opening an investigation into the company after one of its self-driving vehicles hit a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California, causing minor injuries. On Jan. 28, another Waymo robotaxi, which had been developed in collaboration with the Chinese automaker Zeekr, crashed into multiple vehicles in Los Angeles during a supervised testing exercise.

There have been other incidents too, such as when Waymo’s entire fleet of robotaxis in San Francisco stalled at intersections across the city as a result of a power outage. Because traffic lights went blank, Waymo’s vehicles came to a standstill, worsening the congestion in affected parts of the city.

Still, Waymo is not believed to have caused any fatalities, unlike Tesla, which recently lost a court battle in Florida and was ordered to pay $243 million in damages after a fatal collision that was blamed on its autopilot technology. Tesla’s autonomous vehicles only meet “level two” autonomy standards, which means they’re still required to have either a safety monitor inside the vehicle or following in a separate car.

Photo: Waymo