Waymo raises $2.25 billion from outside investors, parent Alphabet

AutoNation and auto parts supplier Magna International Inc,open check books

Waymo, the self-driving unit of Alphabet Inc, said on Monday it had raised $2.25 billion in its first external investment round.

In addition to Alphabet, investors include auto parts supplier Magna International Inc, with which Waymo has an assembly deal; U.S. dealership chain AutoNation Inc; the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and three large investment firms: Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz and Mubadala Investment.

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Waymo did not provide a valuation.

Waymo is widely considered the leader in developing self-driving technology, but the company and its principal rivals are still years away from building large-scale business around that technology, analysts believe.

Last September, investment bank Morgan Stanley slashed its projected valuation of Waymo to $105 billion from its earlier estimate of $175 billion, saying the commercialization of self-driving vehicles and technology was taking longer than expected.

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The valuations of Waymo's nearest competitors do not come close to Morgan Stanley's estimate for Waymo.

General Motors Co's Cruise has raised more than $7 billion from such investors as Honda Motor Co and SoftBank Group and is valued at $19 billion.

Uber Technologies' Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) has raised more than $1 billion from Toyota Motor Corp , Denso Corp and SoftBank and is valued at $7.25 billion.

Argo, which counts Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG as partners, has raised more than $2 billion and is valued at $7.25 billion.

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