Alphabet to invest $5 billion in self-driving car unit Waymo

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

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

Porat announced the “multi-year” investment on the call and said more information would be available in the company’s quarterly SEC filing, expected on Wednesday. 

Alphabet’s “Other Bets” unit, which includes its self-driving car company Waymo, delivered $365 million in revenue during the second quarter, up from $285 million a year ago. But, the unit also lost $1.13 bilion, up from the $813 million it lost in the year-ago quarter.

CEO Sundar Pichai said on the earnings call that Waymo provides 50,000 weekly paid trips, primarily in San Francisco, California and Phoenix, Arizona. It has completed 2 million trips to date. In June, Waymo removed the waitlist and opened Waymo rides to all San Francisco users.

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

Alphabet’s increased investment in Waymo comes after General Motors’ autonomous vehicle unit Cruise said it would indefinitely delay the production of the Origin, a self-driving shuttle designed for use in cities. Tesla on Tuesday delayed plans to unveil its CyberCab, a dedicated robotaxi, from August to Oct. 10.

“Alphabet has committed up to $5B to Waymo,” Waymo CEO Tekedra Mawakana said on X. “We are grateful for their immense vote of confidence in our team and recognizing the amazing progress we’ve made with our technology, product, and commercialization efforts.”