Waymo

Waymo

2026-10-18 07:01:31

Waymo targets 2028 robotaxi launch in Toronto, but Ontario rules and winter conditions stand in the way

Waymo says it wants to begin carrying passengers in Toronto as early as 2028, marking a planned expansion into Canada. For now, though, the company is only sending manually driven vehicles onto city streets, with no passenger service allowed at this stage. The near-term work will focus on mapping and testing, while riders can only register interest through Waymo’s website. Two obstacles sit at the center of the plan. Ontario’s current pilot framework allows autonomous vehicles to operate only for testing purposes, not paid passenger service, and that regulation is set to expire on Oct. 13, 2027, before Waymo’s target date. The second issue is winter performance. Waymo has not yet completed a full season of paid operations in a snowy city, even though Denver became its first commercial market with real snowfall in September. Officials and industry groups are also weighing safety and labor concerns. Ontario’s transportation ministry has asked for a credible jobs plan, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has said public safety is her top concern, and Uber Canada as well as taxi industry representatives have called for clear standards and preparation for workforce effects. Waymo says it has logged more than 400 million kilometers of fully autonomous driving and that serious-injury crashes in its operating cities are 95% lower than for human drivers.

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Waymo

2026-10-17 02:39:02

Waymo joins Ontario autonomous vehicle pilot as it moves into Canada

Waymo, the self-driving unit owned by Alphabet, has been cleared to join Ontario’s autonomous vehicle pilot program, opening the door for its push into Canada. The company said it will begin in Toronto by driving vehicles manually to build high-definition maps, then move to supervised testing on public roads with safety operators in the car. The final step, according to the company’s plan, is to remove those safety operators and launch a robotaxi service for the public. Co-Chief Executive Officer Tekedra Mawakana described the move into Canada as an important milestone in Waymo’s broader global expansion. She also said Toronto is the northernmost city the company has attempted to operate in so far, and one that could present its toughest winter conditions yet. That makes the city a practical test for both Waymo’s self-driving system and its operating model. As part of its expansion effort, Waymo has also partnered with Toronto-based Element Fleet Management to help manage the fleet. The move is expected to create hundreds of jobs, according to the report cited by Techub from TechCrunch.

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Waymo

2026-10-11 16:06:00

Waymo secures its first $5 billion debt financing

Waymo has completed its first debt financing, raising $5 billion, according to a Techub News brief citing TechCrunch. The move marks a shift in how the autonomous driving company is funding its operations. Until now, Waymo’s self-driving business had mainly relied on support from parent company Alphabet as well as venture capital funding. The report identified PIMCO, Blackstone, and Sixth Street as the main lenders in the deal. No additional terms were disclosed in the source material. The financing stands out as Waymo’s first known debt raise in the brief, adding a new funding channel alongside the equity-backed support it had previously used.

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Waymo

2026-09-03 00:16:42

Waymo Nears $3B+ Debt Financing with Pimco, Blackstone, Sixth Street

Waymo, an autonomous driving company, is nearing its first debt financing deal of over $3 billion. The lenders include Pimco, Blackstone, and Sixth Street, according to sources. The news was reported by Tech in Asia.

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Alphabet

2026-10-09 08:31:05

Morgan Stanley Keeps Overweight on Alphabet, Says Waymo Misses Were Temporary While Agent Integration Could Drive Re-rating

Morgan Stanley said in an Oct. 6, 2026 report that Waymo’s first-half mileage came in below its model by about 3%, with San Francisco, Phoenix, and Austin all missing expectations, while Atlanta ran ahead of forecast. The bank attributed the gap to temporary operating disruptions, including weather-related service pauses in the first quarter, highway issues that led to a market-wide suspension of highway operations from May 19 until a gradual restart by late July, and a temporary recall affecting more than 3,700 vehicles. Despite the softer first-half data, Morgan Stanley kept its Overweight rating on Alphabet and maintained a $400 price target, versus a current share price of $347.68, implying about 15% upside. The report said the central investment case is that Alphabet needs agents to unlock a valuation multiple re-rating, and that Waymo remains an underappreciated differentiator in that thesis. Morgan Stanley raised some medium-term forecasts, including 2027 and 2028 revenue estimates by 2% and 3%, and still expects Waymo to reach roughly $20 billion in revenue by 2032. It also projects the fleet to grow to 120,000 vehicles by 2032 and said future Gemini Agent integrations with Waymo could become a key path for further revaluation of Alphabet shares, even as supply constraints remain.

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Waymo

2026-10-06 22:13:44

Waymo increases first debt financing to $5 billion for global expansion and AI costs

Waymo, the self-driving company owned by Alphabet, has increased the size of its first debt financing to $5 billion, according to Techub, citing Crypto Briefing. The funding is set to support the company’s global expansion plans while also covering rising AI-related costs. The move points to growing capital needs among autonomous driving companies as they scale internationally and continue spending on AI development. The report added that the financing decision could also affect broader technology funding trends and company equity structures.

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Waymo

2026-09-20 07:41:14

Waymo targets 2028 launch for autonomous ride-hailing service in Singapore

Waymo said it plans to launch a fully autonomous, all-electric commercial ride-hailing service in Singapore in 2028 through the Waymo app, marking the company’s first move into Southeast Asia. The company said it will work with Singapore’s Ministry of Transport and Land Transport Authority, with the first batch of Jaguar I-PACE vehicles expected to arrive in the coming months to establish local operations. A preparation phase is scheduled for 2027, during which trained autonomous vehicle specialists will manually drive the cars to help the system learn local road geometry, intersection layouts, and monsoon weather conditions while collecting data for regulatory approval. Waymo said it has logged more than 20 million fully autonomous trips globally and more than 300 million kilometers on public roads, adding that injury-causing crashes in its U.S. operating cities were 94% lower than those involving human drivers. Singapore’s Transport Minister and Second Minister for Finance Chee Hong Tat welcomed the company’s entry, saying it would bring world-class technology and operating experience while creating jobs. Singapore currently has only two autonomous vehicle operators, Grab and ComfortDelGro, running 11 and 5 vehicles respectively on three fixed shuttle routes in Punggol.

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Waymo

2026-09-15 07:04:05

Waymo Targets 2027 Robotaxi Launch in Tokyo

Waymo and Go plan to launch an autonomous taxi service in Tokyo in 2027, according to a Techub News brief citing Tech in Asia. The preparation work is already underway. Waymo began collecting data in Tokyo in 2025 using human-driven Jaguar I-PACE vehicles, a step aimed at supporting the eventual rollout of the service. The report did not disclose further operational details, including the service scope or launch timeline beyond the stated 2027 target. The update centers on Tokyo as the planned market and frames the current data-gathering phase as part of the company’s preparation for deployment.

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