Waymo is increasing robotaxi service to San Francisco Worldwide Airport and extra cities. Supply: Waymo
Whilst 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 carry 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 12 months, 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 carry self-driving automobiles to London, in addition to Dallas, Houston, Orlando, and San Antonio this 12 months.
Waymo is hiring for 249 open software program engineering positions and 31 {hardware} engineer positions. It is usually searching for staffers for its operations and provide chain, product and design, AI, and basic and administrative groups.
Waymo touts security report regardless of latest 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 guide operations. Supply: Waymo, by way of Instagram
“Throughout 127 million miles of totally autonomous operation—the equal of going to the moon and again over 260 occasions—now we have achieved a 90% discount in critical damage crashes,” it stated. “That is the direct results of a driver that’s by no means affected by the main causes of street tragedy, together with distraction, impairment, and fatigue.”
A December 2024 examine with insurer Swiss Re in contrast the Waymo Driver with human baselines, discovering a discount of 88% in property harm claims and a 92% discount in bodily damage claims. That may be a vital discount, however latest incidents confirmed that it’s very tough to fully get rid of accidents.
Simply final week, the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration opened an investigation into an incident wherein a toddler 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) didn’t cease for college buses.
In Could 2025, the corporate up to date 1,212 robotaxis to handle dangers of collisions with chains, gates, and different roadway boundaries. Waymo cited its rising mileage in autonomous operations as proof that its expertise is secure and that its companies have gotten important.
“In 2025 alone, we greater than tripled our annual quantity to fifteen million rides, surpassing 20 million lifetime rides up to now,” it stated. “Right now, with greater than 400,000 rides offered each week throughout six main U.S. metropolitan areas, now we have demonstrated that our expertise isn’t just probably the most superior manifestation of AI within the bodily world, however an important service that individuals have come to depend on of their each day lives.”
Funding to gas the following lap in AV race
Dragoneer Funding Group, DST World, and Sequoia Capital led Waymo’s newest funding spherical, along with help from Waymo and Google Inc. guardian 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 automobile 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 companion at Dragoneer. “We have now 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 your entire Waymo group, who’re poised to completely change how individuals and items transfer by means of communities across the globe.”
“As a expertise chief within the trillion-dollar transportation market, Waymo has moved past analysis milestones to attain operational excellence, tripling its weekly paid rides in only one 12 months whereas sustaining buyer delight,” famous Konstantine Buhler, a companion 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 tens of millions of lives.”
Waymo additionally acquired vital investments from Andreessen Horowitz and Mubadala Capital in addition to Bessemer Enterprise Companions, Silver Lake, Tiger World, and T. Rowe Value. As well as, members 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 World. ‘It’s saving lives already, with considerably fewer critical damage crashes in comparison with human drivers.”
Different latest fundings of AV builders embody:
