Well would ya look at that, the AI hype strikes again as Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle darling -Waymo - just closed a casual $5.6 billion funding round, bringing the company’s total capital raised to over $11 billion. Naturally, Alphabet (the proud parent who issued this massive allowance) led the charge, along with other usual suspects like Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, and T. Rowe Price.

(Source: PC Mag) 

Now this honestly isn’t too surprising considering Waymo’s been efficiently snappin’ necks and cashin’ checks in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, where it's running more than 100,000 self-driving trips a week. And now, thanks to this fresh infusion of cash, they’re gearing up to expand into Austin and Atlanta through a partnership with Uber. Yes, the same Uber that once tried to beat Waymo at its own game before crashing (literally) and burning. Oh, how the tables have turned.

(Source: Giphy) 

The co-CEOs Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov are understandably horned up about the expansion. In a statement, they practically promised to fill the streets with robotaxis, whether you like it or not. And given how things are going, it won’t be long before you’re hailing a Waymo One in Buffalo or Washington D.C. 

But let’s not forget the elephant in the autonomous vehicle room: Elon Musk. Our favorite billionaire meme lord has been talking about launching a driverless ride-hail service for over a decade—which, in Elon time, means we’re always just two years away from the next big thing. Musk now claims Tesla will have a robotaxi service up and running in Texas and California by 2025. “I’ll believe it when I see it” - every Tesla shareholder probably. 

(Source: Giphy) 

In all seriousness though, in the midst of Tesla making moves to upgrade its not-so-autonomous driver assistance features, Waymo’s already got the goods. While Tesla’s still playing catch-up, Waymo’s got data showing a 75% reduction in injury-causing accidents compared to human drivers. Which is the kind of stat that makes you think twice before trusting your Uber driver who’s blasting Joe Rogan while merging without a signal.

(Source: Understanding AI) 

Meanwhile, GM’s Cruise was poised to be Waymo’s biggest rival—until they experienced a clusterf***k event in San Francisco where their AV dragged a pedestrian 20 feet.  Now Cruise is in full damage control mode, trying to get their cars back on the road. But for now, Waymo is the only player in the U.S. that’s running a serious commercial robotaxi service. 

(Source: CBS News) 

Of course, with that said, it’s not all smooth sailing for Waymo. The Pew Research Center says nearly two-thirds of Americans want nothing to do with driverless cars. And honestly, who can blame them? 

It’s hard to trust a robot to drive when you’ve seen one get stuck in a roundabout. But Waymo’s investors seem to have a different take, and with $5.6 billion in their pocket, they’re betting big on a future where human drivers are a thing of the past. In the end, it’s no secret that the robotaxi revolution is coming, and it’s not waiting for anyone—especially not Elon Musk. 

(Source: Giphy) 

In the meantime, whether we like it or not, companies are throwing big checks at this kind of technology and even though it seems like mass adoption is a far out pipedream… the Valley and Wall Street are relentless to get what they want, no matter how many dolla bills they have to burn to get there.

Meaning, keep an eye on Alphabet shares and Tesla shares this week, especially as the news could put a dent in Elon’s soaring net worth throughout the week. And as always, stay safe and stay frosty, friends! Until next time… 

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Stocks.News holds positions in Alphabet, Tesla, and Uber as mentioned in the article.