Waymo LLC, Alphabet Inc.’s autonomous driving unit, today announced that it has closed a $5.6 billion funding round led by its parent company.

The size of the search giant’s investment was not disclosed. In June, Alphabet disclosed plans to provide Waymo with up to $5 billion over several years. The funding round also included the participation of returning backers Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global and T. Rowe Price.

One of Waymo’s priorities following the investment will be to enhance its autonomous driving system. The Waymo Driver, as the module is called, is currently in its sixth iteration. The latest version pairs artificial intelligence models with 13 cameras, six radars and four lidar units.

One of the main advantages that the new system offers over the previous-generation Driver is that its sensors work better in challenging weather. Waymo is promising an up to 1,640-foot detection range in a variety of driving conditions. Earlier this year, it announced plans to launch a series of road tests that will evaluate how its autonomous vehicles perform in the winter.

Waymo will use its new funding to expand its vehicle testing program to more locations. Those locations will include Buffalo, New York and Washington D.C. In parallel, Waymo plans to expand the availability of its autonomous ride-sharing service.

The Alphabet unit currently provides the service in San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles. Through a recently announced partnership with Uber Technologies Inc., it plans to bring autonomous vehicles to Austin and Atlanta in 2025. Waymo taxis will also deliver food for Uber Eats users.

In a blog post today, Waymo co-Chief Executive Officers Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov wrote that “we’ll also continue advancing the Waymo Driver — our AI-powered autonomous driving system — to support a variety of business applications over time.” That hints the Alphabet unit plans to boost investments in emerging use cases such as food delivery.

Autonomous freight transport is another use case that Waymo might prioritize following the investment. Last year, the Alphabet unit paused its efforts to develop an autonomous truck in order to focus on its ride-hailing business. With $5.6 billion in additional capital on the books, Waymo could more easily shoulder the cost of a trucking program alongside its autonomous taxi investments. 

In the more immediate future, Waymo plans to expand its taxi fleet with new vehicles. In August, the Alphabet unit inked a deal with Hyundai Motor Corp. to purchase a “significant” number of IONIQ 5 electric SUVs. Waymo plans to start road-testing the vehicles, which will be equipped with its Driver autonomous driving system, by the end of next year. 

Photo: Waymo