This Waymo company profile covers the company's valuation, revenue, funding rounds, investors and history. Waymo works in mobility, with a focus on autonomous driving and robotaxi services. It was founded in 2009 (as Google's self-driving car project; Waymo since 2016) and is headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States. Its latest valuation on record is US$126 billion (post-money) (February 2026). Every figure links to a public source, and anything the company hasn't disclosed is marked as such.
Revenue
| Metric | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet and trips | About 2,500 driverless vehicles across five US cities and more than 14 million paid driverless trips in 2025 | February 2026 | Travolution |
Funding history
| Date | Round | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2026 | Equity round | US$16B | US$126B | Dragoneer, DST Global, Sequoia Capital (leads); Alphabet (about US$13B) | Bloomberg Law (Bloomberg) |
| Oct 2024 | Equity round | US$5.6B | US$45B | Alphabet (lead); Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, T. Rowe Price | Travolution |
Waymo timeline
Key dates from the sources on this page, oldest first. Metric snapshots are listed after the funding events.
- 2009 (as Google's self-driving car project; Waymo since 2016) — Waymo is founded in Mountain View by Google self-driving car project; co-CEOs Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov.
- Oct 2024 — Equity round: US$5.6B, valuing the company at US$45B. Investors: Alphabet (lead); Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, T. Rowe Price.
- Feb 2026 — Equity round: US$16B, valuing the company at US$126B. Investors: Dragoneer, DST Global, Sequoia Capital (leads); Alphabet (about US$13B).
- February 2026 — Fleet and trips: About 2,500 driverless vehicles across five US cities and more than 14 million paid driverless trips in 2025.
Investors
Overview
Waymo operates the world's leading fully driverless robotaxi service. In cities including Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin and Atlanta, riders hail a Waymo through an app and are driven by a car with nobody in the driver's seat. Its vehicles are equipped with the "Waymo Driver", a combination of lidar, cameras, radar and AI software developed over more than 15 years. Waymo completed more than 14 million paid driverless trips in 2025 and has been expanding to more US cities and abroad. In February 2026 it raised US$16 billion at a valuation of US$126 billion, making it one of the most valuable private companies in the world.
Waymo began in 2009 as Google's self-driving car project, led by engineers from the DARPA autonomous vehicle challenges. It became a separate company under Alphabet, Google's parent, in 2016. Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov lead it as co-CEOs. Waymo is headquartered in Mountain View, California.
How Waymo operates
- Waymo One: its consumer ride-hailing app.
- Uber partnership: in some cities, including Austin and Atlanta, Waymo rides are booked through Uber.
- Vehicles: modified Jaguar I-PACE electric SUVs, with new vehicle platforms from Zeekr and Hyundai being added.
- Fleet operations: depots for charging, cleaning and maintenance, with partners such as Moove managing fleets in some cities.
- Expansion: announced service in more US cities, freeway driving, airport access and testing in Tokyo and London.
Funding
Waymo raised outside capital for the first time in 2020. In October 2024 it raised US$5.6 billion at a US$45 billion valuation, led by Alphabet with investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Silver Lake, Tiger Global and T. Rowe Price. In February 2026 it raised US$16 billion at a US$126 billion post-money valuation, led by Dragoneer Investment Group, DST Global and Sequoia Capital, with Alphabet contributing about US$13 billion and remaining the majority shareholder. Waymo said the money would fund large-scale deployment in the US and internationally.
Business model
Waymo earns fares from rides, priced similarly to traditional ride-hailing. Its economics depend on the cost of vehicles and sensors, utilisation (how many hours each car carries paying passengers), fleet operations costs and insurance. Removing the driver eliminates the largest cost in ride-hailing, but autonomous vehicles are expensive to build and operate today. Waymo doesn't publish revenue, so we show it as not disclosed. In the longer term it may license its technology to carmakers and trucking and delivery companies.
Competition
Waymo competes with Tesla, which launched a robotaxi service in Austin and uses a camera-only approach; Zoox, owned by Amazon; Chinese robotaxi companies including Baidu's Apollo Go, Pony.ai and WeRide, which operate at scale in China and are expanding to the Middle East and Europe; and UK-based Wayve, which develops AI driving software with carmakers. Simulation and software companies like Applied Intuition serve the wider industry. Waymo's advantages are its years of real-world driverless miles, safety record and established commercial service.
Waymo at a glance
Waymo is Alphabet's self-driving company, which began as Google's project in 2009 and became a separate company in 2016, led by co-CEOs Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov. It runs fully driverless robotaxi services in several US cities, with more than 14 million paid trips in 2025. It raised US$5.6 billion at US$45 billion in 2024 and US$16 billion at US$126 billion in February 2026.
Timeline
- 2009: Google starts its self-driving car project.
- 2016: becomes Waymo, a separate Alphabet company.
- 2018: launches a commercial service in Phoenix.
- 2020: opens fully driverless rides to the public in Phoenix; raises outside capital.
- 2024: expands in San Francisco and Los Angeles; raises US$5.6 billion at US$45 billion.
- 2025: launches in Austin and Atlanta with Uber; more than 14 million paid trips.
- February 2026: raises US$16 billion at US$126 billion.
Safety
Waymo has published data comparing its vehicles' crash rates with human drivers in the same cities, reporting significantly fewer injury-causing crashes per mile. Independent researchers and insurers have studied its data. Robotaxis still face incidents, recalls and regulatory scrutiny, and public trust depends on continued transparency. Regulators in California, Arizona, Texas and other states, along with federal safety authorities, oversee its operations.
Who rides with Waymo
Waymo's riders include residents commuting and running errands, tourists, people who prefer not to ride with strangers and, in some areas, people with disabilities or without cars. Many riders say they choose Waymo for consistent driving and privacy.
Risks
- Costs: vehicles and operations must become cheaper to reach strong profitability.
- Regulation: city and state rules can slow expansion.
- Competition: Tesla and Chinese companies are moving quickly.
- Safety incidents: serious crashes could damage trust.
Waymo has also said it plans to test its technology in new environments, including snowy climates.
Questions for riders
- Is the service available in your city and at the airport?
- How do prices compare with traditional ride-hailing?
Latest developments (October 2026)
Waymo began paid driverless rides in Denver, San Diego and Tampa on 1 September 2026, bringing its commercial service to 14 US cities, according to Drive Tesla Canada. It removed safety drivers in Las Vegas in July. Waymo was giving about 500,000 paid rides a week earlier in 2026 and aims for one million a week by year end, with a fleet of roughly 3,500 vehicles. See our autonomous vehicle guide.
What to watch
Watch new city launches, international expansion, cost per mile, safety data, competition from Tesla and any move towards an IPO or spin-off. Our guide to autonomous vehicle companies covers the wider field.
Takeaways
Riders in a growing list of cities can already use driverless taxis. Founders can see how long deep technology takes to commercialise. Investors should watch whether costs fall fast enough to justify a US$126 billion valuation.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the public sources below. Where sources disagreed, we used the company's own announcement or a primary news report. Private-company data changes; check the date beside each figure.
Frequently asked questions
What does Waymo do?
Waymo is a mobility / autonomous driving and robotaxi services company headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States. It was founded in 2009 (as Google's self-driving car project; Waymo since 2016).
What is Waymo's valuation?
Waymo was valued at US$126 billion (post-money) as of February 2026, according to Bloomberg Law (Bloomberg). Private company valuations are set at funding rounds or share sales and can change significantly between them.
How much revenue does Waymo make?
Waymo is a private company and has not publicly disclosed its revenue. Figures on third-party sites are usually modelled estimates rather than numbers reported by the company.
What was Waymo's latest funding round?
The most recent financing we have verified is a equity round in Feb 2026: US$16B, at a valuation of US$126B. Source: Bloomberg Law (Bloomberg).
Who are Waymo's investors?
Investors named in public announcements include Alphabet, Dragoneer, DST Global, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, T. Rowe Price and Mubadala.
Who founded Waymo?
Waymo was founded in 2009 (as Google's self-driving car project; Waymo since 2016) by Google self-driving car project; co-CEOs Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov.
Is Waymo a public company?
No. Waymo is a private company (private (majority-owned by alphabet)), so its shares are not traded on a stock exchange and it isn't required to publish its financial results.
Where is Waymo headquartered?
Waymo is headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States.