Bloomberg
Waymo’s eyes raise up to $ 4 billion as leader exits question
(Bloomberg)-Waymo is discussing raising $ 4 billion in additional capital to drive autonomous driving efforts with outside investors. According to people familiar with the plan, the company is discussing plans for its final listing and has spun out from its parent Alphabet Inc., but Waymo first has a recent series of questions about strategy and scale. Concerns about withdrawal must be dispelled. Since February, Waymo has lost six key executives, including Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and several major lieutenants. Retired CEO John Krafcik surprised many people in Waymo and the Alphabet, but said he had telegraphed some of his departure, and those who asked not to reveal his identity because the talks were private. Stated. Waymo has appointed two executives as co-CEOs and is hiring a new CFO. These changes in management are due to Alphabet tightening spending on costly projects outside of Google. Born as a moonshot among search giants over a decade ago, Waymo has long been considered the flag bearer of self-driving cars and launched a carpooling service with unmanned vehicles in Phoenix last year. Raj Rajkumar, a professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, said: “For now, it looks like it’s heading for nothing,” Waymo spokesman Suzanne Philion said, saying the company didn’t comment “on speculation or rumors.” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has previously stated that some corporate units will raise external capital to improve industry expertise and corporate governance. Alphabet shares rose 1.3% in extended trading after closing at $ 2,271.50 on Wednesday. Last year, Waymo raised its first funding from outside the Google Alphabet in a $ 2.25 billion funding round that included Silver Lake Management LLC and an automaker as investors. The round later expanded to $ 3.25 billion. After Krafcik’s retirement, Waymo was appointed co-CEO of longtime technical director Dmitri Dolgov and policy veteran Tekedra Mawakana, who participated in 2017. They told Bloomberg Television in an interview on April 30 that Waymo is open to further external investment. Asad Hussain, Senior Analyst at PitchBook, describes the latest funding efforts. “The enthusiasm may be greater outside than inside the parent company.” Private-equity fund Silver Lake led the first round of car supplier Magna International Inc., car dealership Autonation Inc., Abu Dhabi. Mdc General Services, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Silver Lake and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board declined to comment. After the news of Krafchic’s departure was reported, he told employees in a memo that he was looking forward to a “refreshing period” of connecting with old friends and family. He and his wife, Leila, have moved to Austin, Texas. After launching Waymo’s first truly autonomous ride-haling service in October, Krafsick said in a LinkedIn post, later than he expected. It’s better than planned, “writes Kraftsick. After launching the ride-hailing service, “passing the baton to a great successor is a good opportunity for me.” Personally, Krafsick told some investors that he stayed longer than he intended. .. The pandemic created the problems and delays he wanted to lead the company. He continues to be an advisor to Waymo.Krafcik, a veteran of Hyundai Motor and Ford Motor Company, and in 2015, an autonomous driving start-up with orders to build partnerships in the automotive industry and transform technology from research projects to businesses. Joined in. He closed the deal with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (now Stellantis NV) and Jaguar Land Rover, manufactured cars for Robotaxi service, and partnered with Avis Budget Group Inc., Volvo Cars, and Renault SA for Nissan Motors. I signed a contract with. At least six other top executives from Mitsubishi Motors Corporation Waymo have recently resigned. CFO Gerard Dwyer, investor public relations manager Sherry House, and car partnership leader Adam Frost all left the company last month. House is an electric vehicle company Lucid Motors Inc. I was appointed as CFO. Waymo spokesperson Philion said the company has been appointed Interim Treasury Officer and has appointed company veteran Mark Burton as the new Automotive Officer since 2016. Waymo’s Chief Manufacturing and Supply Chain Responsibility Tim Willis resigned in February. Gavin Nachbar, Head of Operations Strategy. Willis, who is currently at Aeva Technologies Inc., a LIDAR startup listed through a special-purpose acquisition company earlier this year, declined to comment, as did Dwire and House. Adam Frost did not respond to the request for comment, and Nachbar did not immediately respond to the request for comment. Recently, Waymo has poured money into self-driving trucks. In late 2019, Krafsick told reporters in Detroit that trucking could be a faster path to commercialization than taxi services. Last October, Waymo signed a contract with Daimler AG’s truck division to begin equipping trucks with autonomous driving software. Among the recent departures was Vijaysai Patnaik, an executive who ran Waymo’s truck products. Patnike did not return a message asking for comment (updated by extended transaction in the sixth paragraph). Articles like this are available on bloomberg.com. Subscribe now to get the most trusted business news sources. © 2021 Bloomberg LP