Waymo Raises $2.5 Billion in Funding Round

The company on Wednesday said it wants to use Waymo Driver technology to move people and goods. Its autonomous ride-hailing service, Waymo One, has had thousands of trips in metro Phoenix where some customers are shuttled around in minivans without a person behind the wheel, Waymo said. Waymo is conducting tests of its autonomous vehicle technology with riders in San Francisco.

For its Waymo Via delivery unit, the company said it has joined with J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. to move freight across the country. Its clients on a local level include United Parcel Service Inc. and AutoNation Inc.

Waymo said existing investors Alphabet, private-equity firm Silver Lake, venture-capital giant Andreessen Horowitz and car-dealership chain AutoNation Inc. participated in the funding round, along with Fidelity Management & Research Co. and others.

Waymo remains the leader in autonomy, with more vehicles on the road and operations than anyone else in the field. However, it faces challenges as it looks to expand its fleet of robotaxis to other cities. Waymo has to secure government approval to operate, persuade local citizens to ride and monitor performance as the vehicles navigate local roads.

The company in April promoted Dmitri Dolgov and Tekedra Mawakana to co-chief executives from their previous roles as chief technology and operating officers to lead a decade-old effort to make self-driving cars a reality after John Krafcik stepped aside from his CEO role.

Waymo first took outside money last year, raising $3.25 billion, since Google began to develop the technology.

Write to Dave Sebastian at [email protected]