Alphabet to invest $5 billion in Waymo

Google’s parent company, Alphabet , will invest another $5 billion over the next few years in its autonomous driving operation, Waymo . Alphabet CTO Ruth Porat announced the news during the company’s quarterly financial results call with investors last week – “This is consistent with enabling Waymo to build the world’s leading self-driving technology,” Porat said.

Prior to this, Waymo raised $2.3 billion in its first external funding round in 2020. The company raised another $2.5 billion in 2021 in a round that included funding from Andreessen Horowitz, AutoNation , Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Fidelity Management and Research Company and more.

Last month, we reported that Waymo has opened up its driverless robotaxi service to everyone in San Francisco. Previously, the company had a waitlist for those looking to get a ride and nearly 300k people have signed up for it. Users can hail a Waymo robotaxi through the Waymo One app and the company says that rides will be available across the city 24/7.