"According to The New York Times, the new Waymo funding came from Alphabet, Dragoneer Investment Group, DST Global, and Sequoia Capital. The fact that investors outside Alphabet put money in is a vote of confidence. The investment puts Waymo's valuation at $126 billion. Ford's market cap is $55 billion and GM's is $78 billion. The disparity highlights the hurdles to the industry's growth."
"Waymo began in 2009 as the Google Self-Driving Car Project. Its name was changed to Waymo in 2016. Its first completely self-driving car hit the streets of Phoenix in 2020. These did not have an attendant on board, which was a huge advance. Today, it operates in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, and San Francisco, as well as Austin, Texas. It plans to add new markets soon, 10 in the United States and another in London."
"While the Tesla service operates on Tesla vehicles only, Waymo currently works on Jaguar I-PACE SUVs and Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans. It has been tested on several other models. In theory, other car companies can use it, which gives it a huge universe of manufacturer customers. Tesla has a great deal riding on its self-driving technology. It is a foot on Elon Musk's Tesla stool, along with Optimus robots. The new Waymo cash infusion is another threat to Tesla's plans."
Waymo raised $16 billion from Alphabet, Dragoneer, DST Global, and Sequoia, valuing the company at $126 billion. The company originated in 2009 as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, rebranded in 2016, and deployed unattended fully self-driving vehicles in Phoenix in 2020. Waymo now operates across several U.S. cities and plans expansion to ten more U.S. markets plus London. Tesla runs unsupervised vehicles in Austin and plans additional cities while maintaining supervised systems elsewhere. Waymo’s software runs on multiple vehicle models and can serve other manufacturers, contrasting with Tesla’s vehicle-locked system and raising competitive stakes.
Read at 24/7 Wall St.
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