Waymo Raises $5 Billion to Expand Further
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The following two things are no secrets: 1) Waymo has been expanding quite rapidly this year into new cities and regions. 2) Waymo isn’t yet making a profit on its self-driving vehicle business — not even close. So, it can’t come as total surprise to find out that the California company just raised more money to continue its expansion — $5 billion more.
“Today, Waymo closed a $5 billion term loan, marking our first debt financing and an important step in our evolution into a scaling commercial enterprise. PIMCO, Blackstone, and Sixth Street participated as lead syndicated lenders, with Capital Group, Loomis Sayles, T. Rowe Price as significant lenders. Additional lenders included Apollo, Blue Owl, Diameter Capital Partners, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity Management & Research Company, HPS Investment Partners, and Oaktree. Goldman Sachs served as the sole lead bookrunner.” (Quite a lot of financial firms…. Why do so many need to be involved? Who knows?)
“We are proud to have the backing of world-class financial partners who believe in our mission. This financing supports our long-term flexibility to execute with speed, scale thoughtfully, and continue leading the autonomous vehicle industry responsibly. As Waymo grows, we remain fiercely focused on improving road safety and making transportation more accessible.” Yes, billions of dollars would help any company to grow, right?
“Earlier this year, we closed a $16 billion equity investment to accelerate the expansion of the Waymo Driver. Last month, we launched service in our fifteenth U.S. city and announced new international cities as our commercial operations continue to grow at a record pace. Our strong momentum has enabled us to complement our equity financing with debt, providing additional financial flexibility to strengthen our balance sheet and position us to capitalize on the significant opportunities ahead.” Sounds good I guess … right? “This capital will accelerate the continued expansion of our fully autonomous ride-hailing service across the United States and internationally.”
With all of that said, what cities are people guessing Waymo will jump into next? And what countries will the company enter in 2026 and 2027?
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