Waymo, an autonomous driving giant owned by Alphabet (GOOGL.US), is seeking financing of more than $15 billion, and the valuation is approaching the 100 billion mark

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Waymo, an autonomous driving subsidiary under Google's parent company Alphabet (GOOGL.US), is in financing negotiations with a consortium led by its parent company and plans to raise more than 15 billion US dollars at a valuation of nearly 100 billion US dollars.

According to people familiar with the matter, this leading company in the autonomous taxi sector is discussing equity financing matters with external investors and Alphabet to raise tens of billions of dollars. Some sources pointed out that the two sides have discussed a valuation plan of up to 110 billion US dollars, but the final financing amount and valuation have yet to be finalized.

Going back to October 2024, Waymo completed a round of financing led by Alphabet. At that time, the company's valuation had already exceeded 45 billion US dollars. This sharp jump in valuation highlights its leading position in autonomous driving technology — the company continues to invest more, expand its fleet size, and expand its business into new cities. People familiar with the matter further revealed that Waymo's current annualized revenue has exceeded 350 million US dollars.

Waymo has yet to respond to requests for comment in response to these financing rumors.

Waymo is competing fiercely with Tesla (TSLA.US) and other companies on the US autonomous driving commercialization circuit. Currently, the company ranks first in the industry in terms of fully driverless mileage, number of paying users, and approved operating areas in the US market. It is the only mainstream operator to launch autonomous driving services without safety personnel in multiple cities. In contrast, Musk's Tesla still needs to be equipped with human monitors during testing or early commercial pilots; although Zoox, a subsidiary of Amazon (AMZN.US), has launched customized autonomous taxis without driverless controls, it only provides limited free travel services to the public in Las Vegas and San Francisco.

Notably, Waymo is part of Alphabet's “Other Bets” (Other Bets) business segment — a division that brings together various high-risk innovation projects and is managed by Alphabet President Ruth Porat. In order to improve the overall operational efficiency of the Group, the business in this sector is under pressure to operate independently. Alphabet allows Waymo to bring in external capital, in part to hedge the operating risks brought about by the high investment nature of the autonomous driving business.