Alphabet invests $5 billion in self-driving car unit Waymo

Alphabet is investing again in self-driving car unit Waymo — this time for $5 billion.

“This new round of funding will enable Waymo to continue building the world’s leading autonomous driving company,” outgoing Alphabet chief financial officer Ruth Porat said Tuesday on company second quarter earnings call, adding that Waymo is an “important example” of Alphabet’s long-term investments.

Porat announced the “multi-year” investment on the call and said more details would come in the company’s quarterly Securities and Exchange Commission filing, scheduled for Wednesday.

Alphabet’s “Other Bets” unit, which includes Waymo, generated $365 million in quarterly revenue, up from $285 million a year ago. But the unit’s loss widened to $1.13 billion from $813 million in the same period a year earlier.

CEO Sundar Pichai said on the earnings call that Waymo is providing 50,000 paid rides per week, mostly in San Francisco and Phoenix. The company has completed 2 million rides so far. In June, Waymo eliminated its waitlist and Waymo opens ride service to all San Francisco users.

The unit raised $2.25 billion in its first round of external funding in 2020. The company raised an additional $2.5 billion in 2021 in a funding round that included funding from Andreessen Horowitz, AutoNation, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Fidelity Management & Research Company and others.

Alphabet’s increased investment in Waymo comes after General Motors’ self-driving car unit Cruise said it would indefinitely postponed production of Origin, a self-driving shuttle designed for use in cities. On Tuesday, Tesla postponed the planned launch of CyberCab, a dedicated robot taxi, from August to October 10.

“Alphabet has committed to investing up to $5 billion in Waymo,” Waymo CEO Tekedra Mawakana said on X“We are grateful for their tremendous confidence in our team and recognize the incredible progress we have made with our technology, products and commercialization efforts.”