Waymo, a US-based autonomous driving technology spinoff from technology conglomerate Alphabet, collected $750m in an extension yesterday to bring its round, already backed by corporates Magna International and AutoNation, to $3bn.
The extension was supplied by financial services and investment group Fidelity as well as funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price, Perry Creek Capital and a range of unnamed new backers.
Waymo obtained an initial $2.25bn tranche in March 2020 from Alphabet, automotive component manufacturer Magna International, car retailer AutoNation and Andreessen Horowitz.
The first close was co-led by Silver Lake, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Mubadala Investment Company, the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi. It marked the first time Waymo had secured external capital.
Waymo, which launched as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009 before becoming a standalone business in 2016, is working on autonomous driving technology for a ride hailing service called Waymo One and a logistics-focused offering called Waymo Via.
The additional capital will enable Waymo to drive recruitment, product development and the operations of Waymo One and Waymo Via.
John Krafcik, chief executive of Waymo, said: “Covid-19 has underscored how fully self-driving technology can provide safe and hygienic personal mobility and delivery services.
“We are grateful these partners share our mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they are going.”
– Image courtesy of Waymo
