Waymo plans to quintuple fleet to 20,000, Semafor reports

Oct 19 — Alphabet's self-driving unit Waymo plans to ​expand its fleet five-fold to 20,000 by the end of next year ‌using $5 billion it raised earlier this month, Semafor reported ⁠on Monday, citing ​people familiar with ⁠the matter.

• The autonomous ride-hailing service ‌provider, which currently ‌has 4,000 cars, wants to expand ⁠it to 8,000 ⁠by the end of the year and grow it to 20,000 by the end of next year, Semafor reported

• Waymo did not immediately respond to ‌a Reuters request for ​comment outside regular business hours

• Waymo secured a $5 billion loan earlier this month from lenders including PIMCO, Blackstone and Sixth Street, and said it will use the funds to expand its services across ​the US and internationally

• Waymo operates ‌in 15 ‌US ⁠cities and has announced plans to roll out rides in London, Tokyo, Singapore and Canada

• The company closed a $16 billion ‌equity raise earlier this ​year at a ‌valuation of $126 billion

(Reporting ⁠by ​Rodrigo Ramirez in Mexico City; Editing by Diti ​Pujara)

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