Waymo, the Alphabet’s self-driving company unit, announced it has raised $2.25 billion in its first external round of funding. As per the company’s statement, several Silicon Valley investors participated in the funding round.
Investors that took part in the funding round include Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz, AutoNation and its parent company Alphabet.
The company will utilise the funds in further expanding its business. The investment will go toward hiring employees, and investments in technology and global operations, the company stated, adding that its driving technology has accrued more than 20 million miles on public roads and 10 billion simulated miles. Waymo’s betting on its ride-hailing service, Waymo One, which currently mostly operates in the Phoenix, Arizona area.
John Krafcik, CEO of Waymo said in a blog post, “We’ve always approached our mission as a team sport, collaborating with our OEM and supplier partners, our operations partners, and the communities we serve to build and deploy the world’s most experienced driver. Today, we’re expanding that team, adding financial investors and important strategic partners who bring decades of experience investing in and supporting successful technology companies building transformative products.”
In January, Waymo announced its plans on entering the markets of Texas and parts of New Mexico. The company will begin mapping and eventually testing its autonomous long-haul trucks in the regions.
