Waymo robotaxis operating in San Francisco
Gad (via Getty Images)
Waymo, a leading operator of artificial intelligence-powered robot taxis, has raised its latest round of funding as its Alphabet Inc. unit expands its ride-hailing service in three major U.S. cities and prepares to launch service in two new cities. It raised $5.6 billion in a round.
The amount is more than 10% more than parent company Alphabet announced it would invest earlier this year, and includes previous investors Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, T. Additional support from Lowe Price is also included, Waymo said in a blog post. on friday. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company currently books more than 100,000 paid rides a week.
“With this latest investment, San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin and Atlanta will continue to bring more riders to Waymo One ride-hailing service through our expanded partnership with Uber,” said co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri. We will welcome you,” he said. Dolgov said in the post. Waymo robotaxi testing is also set to begin in Buffalo, New York City, and Washington, D.C.
The additional funding brings Waymo’s total operating capital to well over $10 billion since it began developing self-driving technology 15 years ago as the Google Self-Driving Car Project. Since then, dozens of competitors have emerged, but the company currently has no meaningful competition in the U.S. robotaxi business. Elon Musk wants to change that by repositioning Tesla as a self-driving company, but it’s not at all clear when his company will be able to drive safely. Rival Waymo.
Even though revenue could approach $100 million this year, Waymo remains a risky bet. The company has so far avoided the serious accidents that have hampered Uber and Cruise’s competing programs, as well as crashes and fatalities related to Tesla’s partially automated software, but federal safety regulators say they have not reached a conclusion. The company is investigating several crashes and traffic violations related to its robotaxis. due to injury or death.
“The company has created the best product in the self-driving vehicle ecosystem, as well as the safest product,” Chase Coleman, founder of Tiger Global, said in a post.
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