Self-Driving Vehicle Company Waymo Announces First Outside Investment: $2.25 Billion

Waymo, Alphabet Inc.'s GOOGL autonomous vehicle unit, announced Monday it had raised $2.25 billion in a round led by Silver Lake Management LLC, a private equity firm, with participation from auto manufacturer Magna International Inc., car seller AutoNation Inc. and Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Co.

It is the first time the company has taken outside funding.

"We've always approached our mission as a team sport, collaborating with our OEM and supplier partners, our operations partners, and the communities we serve to build and deploy the world's most experienced driver," said Waymo CEO John Krafcik in a blog post announcing the news.

"Today, we're expanding that team, adding financial investors and important strategic partners who bring decades of experience investing in and supporting successful technology companies building transformative products."

Waymo will use the funding to invest in technology and operators as it builds out its global autonomous driving operation, Krafcik worte.

This investment round comes as Waymo has hit new operational milestones.

The company's ride-hailing service, Waymo One, serves thousands of customers in Arizona, and Waymo Driver is now available across a variety of vehicle platforms and business applications, including Waymo Via, which is focused on all forms of goods delivery.

All told, Waymo Driver has driven more than 20 million miles on public roads across over 25 cities, and over 10 billion miles in simulation, Krafcik wrote.

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