Alphabet’s autonomous driving unit is about to get a lot more cash.
Waymo is in talks to raise more than $15 billion in a new funding round that would value the company near $100 billion, according to Bloomberg. That would be more than double its last valuation from October 2024 and a clear signal that investors see Waymo as the early winner in the race to make driverless ride hailing a real business.
The robotaxi front runner
The round is expected to be led by Alphabet $GOOGL ( ▲ 1.86% ) , with additional outside investors potentially joining. Discussions have even floated valuations as high as $110 billion, though the final number and total raised are still in flux.
The jump reflects Waymo’s growing operational lead. The company has logged more fully driverless miles, served more paying customers, and secured more permitted operating zones than any competitor in the US. It is also the only major operator running a commercial robotaxi service with no safety driver inside the vehicle across multiple cities.
Waymo is already generating revenue, with sources saying it has crossed a $350 million annual run rate. That kind of traction is rare in a space where most rivals are still burning cash with limited real world deployment.
Pressure on rivals and Alphabet’s strategy
The timing matters. Tesla $TSLA ( ▲ 3.71% ) continues to test autonomous vehicles and push toward driverless ride hailing, but still relies on human oversight in most scenarios. Amazon’s Zoox has a purpose built robotaxi with no driver controls, yet its public rides remain limited and largely free.
For Alphabet, the funding round also fits a broader strategy. Waymo sits inside the company’s “Other Bets” division, which has faced increasing pressure to justify its spending and move closer to independence. Bringing in outside capital helps reduce the financial burden on Alphabet while validating Waymo’s standalone value.
If the deal closes anywhere near $100 billion, it would cement Waymo as not just a science project that worked, but one of the most valuable private tech companies in the world, and a serious threat to anyone hoping to dominate autonomous transportation.