Just a couple of months after Waymo raised $2.25 billion in a fundraising round, it has been announced the company has secured an additional $750 million, Tech Crunch reports.
This new round of funding includes investors managed by T. Rowe Price, Perry Creek Capital, Fidelity Management, Research Company and others. As with the original $2.25 billion raised, Waymo will use these additional funds to invest in its workforce, product development and operating its Waymo One ride-hailing service. In addition, funds will be directed towards its Waymo Via cargo and goods transportation service.
Read More: Google’s Waymo Raises $2.25 Billion In Outside Investments
Alphabet’s self-driving car project had not secured any outside investments until the March fundraising round and opening itself up hasn’t just allowed for fresh capital to be injected into the program but for strategic partners like Magna and AutoNation to also jump on board.
The coronavirus has impacted Waymo’s testing and service deployment programs but chief executive John Krafcik says such a crisis shows just how important the company’s technologies are.
“COVID-19 has underscored how fully self-driving technology can provide safe and hygienic personal mobility and delivery services,” Krafcik wrote in a Medium blog post. “We’re grateful these partners share our mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they’re going.”
Prior to the pandemic, Waymo had started to expand its self-driving fleet and Waymo One ride-hailing service beyond certain suburbs in Phoenix. At the start of the year, Waymo also said it would begin mapping and eventually test autonomous long-haul trucks in Texas and New Mexico.
