Self-driving vehicle company Waymo gets $5.6B to expand, despite challenges

Oct 25

Jack Aylmer Energy Correspondent

By Jack Aylmer (Energy Correspondent), Zachary Hill (Video Editor)

Waymo, the self-driving car subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, announced the completion of its largest funding round to date, securing $5.6 billion to accelerate its autonomous vehicle initiatives. The investment aims to expand the company’s robotaxi services and explore new business applications for its driverless technology, although Waymo’s rollout has so far faced its share of challenges.

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Currently operating in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix, Waymo plans to use the new funds to expand to additional cities like Austin and Atlanta by 2025. The company is also testing its vehicles in places with colder climates and more complex urban areas, including Buffalo, New York City, and Washington, D.C., to prepare for future deployments. Waymo said that this expansion will be accompanied by improvements to its offerings in existing markets.

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Since 2020, the company’s driverless cars have been involved in at least 192 reported collisions. While Waymo claims these incidents are statistically fewer than those involving human-driven vehicles, some incidents have raised safety concerns.

In early October 2024, a passenger was reportedly trapped inside a Waymo robotaxi while it was being vandalized. Additionally, over the summer of 2024, neighbors near a Waymo parking lot in San Francisco complained of cars honking at each other throughout the night for several weeks.

Despite these setbacks, investors lauded Waymo’s technology, citing it as the safest and most advanced in the industry. The company’s vehicles have logged over 25 million miles on public roads, equal to the distance from Earth to Venus during its closest approach. As of August 2024, Waymo reported providing 100,000 customer trips every week.

The new funding will not only support the robotaxi business but also enable Waymo to explore other uses for its “Waymo Driver” technology. Potential business applications include food and package deliveries, long-haul trucking, and even privately owned autonomous vehicles.

Tags: Alphabet, Buffalo, Driverless Cars, Google, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix, San Francisco, Washington DC, Waymo

[JACK AYLMER]

GOOGLE IS BETTING BILLIONS ON THE FUTURE OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.

THE SEARCH GIANT’S CAR PROJECT – ‘WAYMO’ JUST SECURED SOME SERIOUS FUNDING THAT WILL ALLOW THE SERVICE TO EXPAND TO MORE MAJOR CITIES.

BUT WAYMO’S ROLLOUT HAS BEEN ANYTHING BUT SMOOTH – WITH SOME NOTABLE BUMPS ALONG THE ROAD OF PROGRESS.

INVESTORS HAVE HAILED WAYMO’S DRIVERLESS TECH AS THE SAFEST AND BEST THAT THE INDUSTRY HAS TO OFFER – AND THEY’RE PUTTING 5.6-BILLION DOLLARS BEHIND AN EFFORT TO EXPAND.

THE PROJECT’S LARGEST ROUND OF FUNDING EVER.

RIGHT NOW, WAYMO ONLY OPERATES IN SAN FRANCISCO, LOS ANGELES AND PHOENIX.

AND SINCE 2020 – THEIR DRIVERLESS VEHICLES HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN AT LEAST 192 COLLISIONS.

WHICH THE COMPANY CLAIMS IS STATISTICALLY SMALLER WHEN COMPARED TO ACCIDENTS INVOLVING HUMAN-DRIVEN VEHICLES – BUT THERE ARE OTHER NOTABLE INCIDENTS THAT COULD GIVE POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS CAUSE FOR CONCERN.

EARLIER THIS MONTH IT WAS REPORTED THAT A PASSENGER WAS LOCKED IN A WAYMO ROBOTAXI WHILE IT WAS BEING VANDALIZED.

AND OVER THE SUMMER NEIGHBORS COMPLAINED WHEN A WAYMO PARKING LOT FILLED WITH DRIVERLESS VEHICLES STARTED HONKING AT EACH OTHER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT FOR WEEKS.

DESPITE THE HURDLES – WAYMO’S INFLUX OF CASH WILL ALLOW THEM TO EXPAND INTO NEW CITIES LIKE AUSTIN AND ATLANTA BY 20-25-

WHILE TESTING OUT ITS SELF DRIVING VEHICLES FOR FUTURE DEPLOYMENT IN COLDER AND MORE COMPLEX URBAN ENVIRONMENTS-

SUCH AS BUFFALO, NEW YORK CITY, AND WASHINGTON, DC.

THE COMPANY SAYS ITS ALSO WORKING ON IMPROVEMENTS TO ITS OFFERINGS IN EXISTING MARKETS.

AND THAT THE NEW FUNDING WILL ALLOW THEM TO EXPLORE OTHER BUSINESS APPLICATIONS FOR THEIR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING SOFTWARE-

POTENTIALLY INCLUDING FOOD AND PACKAGE DELIVERIES, TRUCKING, OR EVEN PERSONALLY OWNED SELF-DRIVING VEHICLES.

TO DATE, THE COMPANY’S DRIVERLESS VEHICLES HAVE TRAVELED OVER 25 MILLION MILES-

ABOUT THE DISTANCE FROM EARTH TO THE PLANET VENUS DURING ITS CLOSEST APPROACH.

AS OF AUGUST, WAYMO HAS STATED IT IS NOW PROVIDING 100,000 CUSTOMER TRIPS EVERY WEEK.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS – I’M JACK AYLMER.