The self-driving technology company Waymo said on Wednesday that it added @2.5 billion in investment rounds, which will go toward advancing its autonomous driving technology and growing its team. The funding round comes after the company raised $3 billion in its first external funding round.
The round follows the departure of the CEO John Krafcik saying that the company is moving slower than expected towards commercialization of its technology. Waymo along with other self-driving companies found the adoption to be more difficult than expected. The company expanded testing of robotaxis without human backup drivers last summer.
“We’re going as fast as we can while holding to our safety principles. It is going to be gradual. It will not be overnight. But we’re taking this step to set us up for the next chapter of our journey” - said co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov.
Waymo has already deployed its autonomous vehicles in the Phoenix area and, more recently, along interstate 45 in Texas as a ride-hailing service. The self-driving company says it wants individuals to be able to own and operate vehicles with its autonomous driving technology.
The latest round includes funding from its parent company Alphabet, AutoNation, and global supplier Magna International, along with the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, Mubadala Investment Co., Fidelity Management & Research Co., Perry Creek Capital, T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. and global tech investment firm Silver Lake, and Tiger Global Management which led the first round.
