Internet and technology group Alphabet was among the investors that provided $2.25bn in funding for its US-based autonomous driving technology spinoff, Waymo, yesterday.
Silver Lake, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Mubadala Investment Company co-led the round, which also featured automotive component manufacturer Magna International, car retailer AutoNation, which invested $50m, and Andreessen Horowitz.
The capital is the first external financing to be raised by Waymo and was secured as the first close of a larger round. Silver Lake also led the first external round for another Alphabet spinoff, the life sciences-focused Verily, in January 2019.
Waymo is working on a unified autonomous vehicle that will combine internally developed technology in areas like cameras and lidar sensors in addition to versions of traditional automotive systems covering functions like brakes and steering.
The company was originally developed internally at Alphabet (then Google) through its moonshot technology development subsidiary, Google X, before becoming a standalone business in 2016.
The round comes after five years of Waymo self-driving cars being tested on US roads. The cars form the basis of a ride hailing service known as Waymo One in addition to a logistics-focused service called Waymo Via where the systems are being utilised in delivery trucks.
Waymo is partnering Magna in retrofitting existing models such as Jaguar’s plug-in electric I-Pace and Chrysler’s hybrid electric Pacifica minivan at a facility in the city of Detroit.
A report in March 2019 stated that Alphabet planned to spin off Waymo, raising funding at a valuation markedly higher than $15bn. It has not disclosed a valuation for the latest round, but Morgan Stanley analysts estimated it was worth $105bn as of September.
John Krafcik, Waymo’s chief executive, said: “We have always approached our mission as a team sport, collaborating with our [original equipment manufacturer] and supplier partners, our operations partners and the communities we serve to build and deploy the world’s most experienced driver.
“Today, we are expanding that team, adding financial investors and important strategic partners who bring decades of experience investing in and supporting successful technology companies building transformative products.
“With this injection of capital and business acumen, alongside Alphabet, we will deepen our investment in our people, our technology, and our operations, all in support of the deployment of the Waymo Driver around the world.”
Photo courtesy of Waymo LLC.
