Xin Lang Cai Jing·2026-02-02 23:02Core Insights - Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, announced a $16 billion funding round, raising its post-funding valuation to $126 billion, more than double its previous valuation of $45 billion from a $5.6 billion funding round in October 2024 [1][2] Funding Details - The latest funding round was led by Alphabet and included participation from existing investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price, along with new investors like Dragoneer Investment Group, DST Global, Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and Alphabet's investment firm GV [1][2] Operational Expansion - Waymo's autonomous taxi service currently operates in Austin, the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Miami [3] - By 2026, Waymo plans to expand its services to Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego, and Washington, D.C., as well as enter the international market with plans for London [2][3] Safety and Commercialization - Waymo's co-CEOs stated that the milestone is built on safety, with the company's safety statistics now surpassing human driving, indicating a shift from concept validation to scaling commercial reality [1][2]