Waymo closes $5 billion debt financing to fund robotaxi expansion

Waymo said the loan’s other participants include Capital Group, Loomis Sayles, T. Rowe Price, Apollo, Blue Owl, Diameter Capital Partners, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity Management & Research Company, HPS Investment Partners and Oaktree. Goldman Sachs was the sole lead bookrunner. Waymo described the debt financing as an important step in its evolution into a “scaling commercial enterprise.”

Until this debt round, Waymo had relied on capital from its parent company and outside investors. In February, it raised $16 billion in equity from investors at a valuation of $126 billion, with Dragoneer Investment Group, DST Global and Sequoia Capital leading the round. Alphabet, which supported the round, remained majority investor. Waymo raised $5.6 billion in a Series C funding round in 2024, $2.5 billion in 2021 and $3.2 billion in 2020, according to TechCrunch.

A Waymo spokesperson said in an email that the debt financing would give the company financial flexibility to strengthen its balance sheet and position it to “capitalize on the significant opportunities ahead, especially as a scaling business with proven commercial demand and improved road safety outcomes in the communities in which we operate.”

Waymo began as a self-driving project inside Google and spent years testing autonomous vehicle technology on public roads in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area, while providing occasional public or media demonstrations. It expanded to Phoenix in 2016, which became its first robotaxi market. In August 2023, Waymo received the final permit needed to operate a robotaxi service and charge for rides in California, a milestone that led to a more aggressive commercial rollout. Since then, it has launched in California cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco and, more recently, San Diego, as well as in Austin, Dallas and Houston in Texas and Miami, Orlando and Tampa in Florida. Waymo now offers robotaxi services in 15 markets.

Waymo is also seeking to take its robotaxi services global. The company is testing in London and Tokyo and plans to launch in those cities, according to TechCrunch.

TechCrunch reported that Waymo’s growth has drawn criticism and regulatory scrutiny. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation opened an investigation into illegal behavior by Waymo robotaxis around school buses, and the federal safety regulator launched another investigation after a Waymo robotaxi hit a child near a school. The child sustained minor injuries and was struck at about 6 mph. Earlier this year, the National Transportation Safety Board opened its own investigation after Waymo robotaxis were seen illegally passing stopped school buses numerous times in at least two states.