Waymo just closed one of the largest autonomous vehicle funding rounds in history - a $16 billion raise that values Google's self-driving subsidiary at $126 billion. The money will fuel an aggressive expansion to at least 20 new cities this year, including New York, London, and Tokyo, while the company scales its fleet of 2,500 robotaxis operating across six US markets. Led by Dragoneer Investment Group with backing from Sequoia and DST Global, the raise signals Wall Street's growing confidence that driverless taxis are ready to go mainstream.
Waymo just rewrote the playbook for autonomous vehicle funding. The Alphabet-owned robotaxi company closed a staggering $16 billion investment round that values it at $126 billion - nearly triple its $45 billion valuation from just 15 months ago. The raise, announced in a company blog post, represents one of the largest single funding events in self-driving tech history and signals that institutional investors are betting big on driverless transportation going mainstream.
The funding round attracted heavyweight backers, led by Dragoneer Investment Group, a crossover firm that specializes in late-stage tech companies preparing for public markets. New investors Sequoia Capital and DST Global joined the round alongside returning players Andreessen Horowitz, Abu Dhabi's Mubadala sovereign fund, Fidelity, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price. That roster reads like a who's who of tech investing, and their collective $16 billion bet suggests the robotaxi market is approaching an inflection point.
Waymo's co-CEOs outlined an ambitious expansion strategy in their announcement. The company plans to deploy robotaxis in at least 20 new cities throughout 2026, a massive leap from its current six-market footprint. High-profile destinations include New York City, London, and - dense urban environments that will test the technology's capabilities far beyond the sunny, grid-like streets of Phoenix and Los Angeles where Waymo first proved itself.
