Alphabet to invest an additional $5 billion in Waymo

Alphabet plans to invest an additional $5 billion in its self-driving subsidiary, Waymo, over the coming years.

“This new round of funding, which aligns with recent annual investment levels, will allow Waymo to continue developing as the world’s leading autonomous driving technology company,” Porat stated. She also emphasized that Google intends to enhance efficiency across its “other bets” segment, which encompasses innovative projects beyond the company’s core search and advertising businesses. This segment includes companies such as Verily, Calico, Google Ventures, and the drone company Wing.

Waymo currently provides over 50,000 paid rides each week, a figure also mentioned in a recent Waymo blog post. The self-driving company offers a fully driverless ride-hailing service in San Francisco and Phoenix and has recently expanded to Los Angeles and Austin.

Waymo is increasing efforts to secure access to the lucrative San Francisco International Airport rides. The company already possesses permits to operate its robotaxi service 24/7 in San Francisco, parts of the Peninsula, and the highways connecting to the airport.

Last month, Waymo began offering rides to the general public in San Francisco, eliminating its waitlist. Additionally, earlier this year, Waymo received approval to charge for rides in Los Angeles. Since July 1, Waymo has been providing paid, rider-only trips across a 63-square-mile area from Santa Monica to downtown LA. The company is also gearing up to launch a commercial driverless service in Austin later this year.