Waymo is increasing robotaxi service to San Francisco Worldwide Airport and extra cities. Supply: Waymo
At the same time as builders of humanoid robots and synthetic intelligence profit from investor curiosity, autonomous automobiles present little signal of slowing down. Waymo LLC yesterday stated it has raised $16 billion, bringing its valuation to $126 billion.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based firm stated it plans to make use of the funding to convey its Waymo Driver to extra cities throughout the U.S. and the world. Waymo lately introduced autonomous ride-hailing service to San Francisco Worldwide Airport.
Prior to now yr, Waymo has rolled out robotaxis in Austin, Detroit, Las Vegas, and San Diego. It started testing in Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Miami, New Orleans, Minneapolis, Tampa, New York, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C., and it mapped Boston. The corporate additionally stated it plans to convey self-driving automobiles to London, in addition to Dallas, Houston, Orlando, and San Antonio this yr.
Waymo is hiring for 249 open software program engineering positions and 31 {hardware} engineer positions. Additionally it is in search of staffers for its operations and provide chain, product and design, AI, and common and administrative groups.
Waymo touts security document regardless of current incidents
“This milestone is constructed on a basis of security that’s now statistically superior to human driving,” asserted Waymo.
Waymo says autonomous driving has been confirmed safer than handbook operations. Supply: Waymo, through Instagram
“Throughout 127 million miles of totally autonomous operation—the equal of going to the moon and again over 260 occasions—we have now achieved a 90% discount in severe damage crashes,” it stated. “That is the direct results of a driver that’s by no means affected by the main causes of highway tragedy, together with distraction, impairment, and fatigue.”
A December 2024 research with insurer Swiss Re in contrast the Waymo Driver with human baselines, discovering a discount of 88% in property injury claims and a 92% discount in bodily damage claims. That could be a important discount, however current incidents confirmed that it’s very tough to fully eradicate accidents.
Simply final week, the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration opened an investigation into an incident through which a baby was struck as she ran throughout the road from behind a double-parked SUV. In December 2025, Waymo recalled its software program after a number of of its autonomous automobiles (AVs) did not cease for varsity buses.
In Might 2025, the corporate up to date 1,212 robotaxis to handle dangers of collisions with chains, gates, and different roadway obstacles. Waymo cited its rising mileage in autonomous operations as proof that its expertise is secure and that its providers have gotten important.
“In 2025 alone, we greater than tripled our annual quantity to fifteen million rides, surpassing 20 million lifetime rides thus far,” it stated. “Immediately, with greater than 400,000 rides offered each week throughout six main U.S. metropolitan areas, we have now demonstrated that our expertise isn’t just probably the most superior manifestation of AI within the bodily world, however a significant service that folks have come to depend on of their day by day lives.”
Funding to gasoline the following lap in AV race
Dragoneer Funding Group, DST International, and Sequoia Capital led Waymo’s newest funding spherical, along with help from Waymo and Google Inc. dad or mum firm Alphabet Inc. The buyers stated that Waymo’s lead in getting operational information will assist it keep forward within the AV commercialization race.
“Waymo has not solely taught a automotive to drive itself, however to take action meaningfully higher than any human or competing system, and we imagine that lead will endure,” said Jared Intermediary, a associate at Dragoneer. “We now have studied autonomous driving for over a decade and couldn’t be extra excited to again Tekedra [Mawakana, co-CEO], Dmitri [Doglov, co-CEO], the formidable engineering crew, and the complete Waymo group, who’re poised to completely change how folks and items transfer via communities across the globe.”
“As a expertise chief within the trillion-dollar transportation market, Waymo has moved past analysis milestones to realize operational excellence, tripling its weekly paid rides in only one yr whereas sustaining buyer delight,” famous Konstantine Buhler, a associate at Sequoia. “Waymo is an distinctive enterprise, leveraging its compounding information benefit to usher in a brand new period of transportation and a security tradition that may save hundreds of thousands of lives.”
Waymo additionally obtained important investments from Andreessen Horowitz and Mubadala Capital in addition to Bessemer Enterprise Companions, Silver Lake, Tiger International, and T. Rowe Value. As well as, individuals included BDT & MSD Companions, CapitalG, Constancy Administration & Analysis Firm, GV, Kleiner Perkins, Perry Creek Capital, and Temasek.
“Waymo has introduced autonomous driving from science fiction to actuality,” stated Saurabh Gupta, co-founder of DST International. ‘It’s saving lives already, with considerably fewer severe damage crashes in comparison with human drivers.”
Different current fundings of AV builders embody:
