Ride-hailing company Waymo secures $5.6bn funding to fund expansion

Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle venture has secured the sum of $5.6 billion in funding from investors to enlarge its market footprint and expand its robotaxi service in Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

On its blog, the company said that it had obtained $5.6 billion in cash in an “oversubscribed investment round,” with Alphabet, the parent company of Google, providing the largest portion of the funding.

This is Waymo’s second round of outside funding and the company’s first since a $2.25 billion Series B funding deal in 2020 that subsequently grew to $3.2 billion.

READ ALSO: Ride-hailing company, Cruise, resumes tests for fleet of self-driving taxis

With the money, the self-driving car firm hopes to grow into more locations and improve its autonomous capabilities for “business applications.”

Currently, Waymo provides curbside transportation services for Sky Harbor International Airport through its Waymo One driving system for businesses in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. According to the company, it has also begun to provide “fully autonomous freeway operations in Phoenix and San Francisco.”

“With this latest investment, we will continue to welcome more riders into our Waymo One ride-hailing service in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, and in Austin and Atlanta through our expanded partnership with Uber,” Wyamo wrote in a statement.

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