Waymo Said To Seek $4B In External Funding As It Mulls Going Public

Alphabet Inc’s  (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) self-driving unit Waymo is in talks with outside investors to raise as much as $4 billion to fund its autonomous driving efforts, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday. The company is also said to be mulling spinning off from parent Alphabet and go public.

What Happened: Waymo has lost at least six top executives recently including its CFO Gerard Dwyer following the surprise exit of CEO John Krafcik in April. According to the report, the executive departures have put pressure on the company related to its future strategy.

See Also: Waymo Looks Beyond Parent Google For Funding

The management changes come at a time when Alphabet is tightening spending on costlier projects outside of Google and experts believe the Waymo technology is being seen as capital intensive, according to Bloomberg. 

Waymo, which has recently applied for commercial permits in San Francisco, launched a fully driverless commercial taxi service in October last year and has since not further expanded its autonomous services despite high expectations.

Why It Matters: The California-based startup, valued at $30 billion, had in March 2020 raised $2.25 billion in its first external investment round — led by Silver Lake, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Mubadala Investment Company — which later expanded to $3.25 billion.

The self-driving startup, regarded as a leader in autonomous vehicle development, named Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov co-CEOs after Krafcik stepped down from the position.

Price Action: Alphabet Class A shares closed 0.4% higher at $2,271.50 on Wednesday.

Read Next: Tesla 'Not A Competitor At All' In Self-Driving Space, Says Waymo CEO

Photo: Courtesy of Waymo