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Waymo’s Challenges Won’t Stop It From Raising $2.5 Billion

bynewsdesk
June 17, 2021

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waymo said Wednesday that the new funding came from Alphabet, venture capital firms, sovereign wealth funds and automotive companies. Alphabet led the round and the valuation was not disclosed. Waymo’s co-CEOs Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov, said in a blog post that the funding would be used to expand the company’s team and improve its technology.
Waymo has been working on commercializing self-driving cars as long as anyone. It has brought many breakthroughs, such as giving a ride to a passenger in 2015, for competitors. It was also the first to launch a self-driving ridehail service, which operates today in Chandler, Arizona.
But Waymo, like the entire self-driving industry, has faced challenges. Companies including General Motors and Ford have missed their launch targets and are impressed with the results, and in one case, a self-driving prototype made by Uber killed a pedestrian. (Uber has since sold off its self-driving car division.)
Last month, a self-driving Waymo bus was videotaped stranding on an Arizona road and then pulling away when a Waymo employee arrived to help. The embarrassing incident spoke of the challenge of creating self-driving vehicles that drive gracefully and reliably in all conditions. The passenger in the Waymo van told CNN Business that if you really need to be on time, don’t take Waymo yet.

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Last week, Waymo announced a partnership with transportation company JB Hunt to move goods between Houston and Fort Worth, Texas. Waymo has said it will do multiple runs in the coming weeks, but has not disclosed how many trucks will be involved. Waymo will have two workers on the truck, including one in the driver’s seat.

John Krafcik stepped down as CEO of Waymo this spring after nearly six years with the company. He said he would continue as an advisor to the company.

In 2018, Krafcik and Waymo signed a deal with Fiat Chrysler to add up to 62,000 Pacifica Hybrid minivans to Waymo’s fleet. But that fleet today, three years later, only numbers 700 vehicles.

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