Who Owns Waymo?
Waymo is owned by Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), a publicly traded American technology conglomerate. In February 2026, Waymo raised $16 billion at a $126 billion valuation, the largest investment ever in an autonomous vehicle company. In 2025 alone, Waymo completed 15 million rides, more than tripling its annual volume, surpassing 20 million lifetime rides. Waymo operates fully driverless commercial services in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin, and plans to expand to over 20 new cities in 2026, including its first international markets in London and Tokyo.
Parent Company
Alphabet Inc.
Founded
2009
Status
Publicly Traded
Headquarters
Mountain View, California, USA
Who Owns Waymo?
- Parent Company: Alphabet Inc.
- Ownership Type: Subsidiary
- Company Type: Publicly Traded
- Stock Ticker: NASDAQ: GOOGL
| Brand | Parent Company | Ownership Type |
|---|---|---|
| Waymo | Alphabet Inc. | Subsidiary |
History of Waymo
- Founded: 2009
- Founders: Google (internal development), Sebastian Thrun
Waymo traces its origins to 2009 when Google launched its self-driving car project under the leadership of Sebastian Thrun, a Stanford professor and Google engineer. The project began as part of Google's X (now X Development) moonshot factory, focusing on developing fully autonomous vehicle technology.
In 2015, the project achieved a major milestone when a blind man completed the world's first fully self-driving car ride on public roads in Austin, Texas. The same year, Google's self-driving car project completed its first fully driverless ride on public roads without a safety driver.
In 2016, the project was spun out as a standalone technology company under the name Waymo, standing for "a new way forward in mobility." The company began testing its autonomous vehicles in various cities including Phoenix, Arizona, where it launched its early rider program.
Throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s, Waymo expanded its commercial operations, launching Waymo One autonomous ride-hailing service in Phoenix and expanding to San Francisco. The company also developed Waymo Via for autonomous trucking and delivery services.
In 2025, Waymo completed 15 million rides, more than tripling its annual volume, and surpassed 20 million lifetime rides. In February 2026, Waymo raised $16 billion at a $126 billion valuation, the largest investment ever in an autonomous vehicle company. Alphabet led the fundraising round, which also included prominent venture capitalists and investment funds. Waymo plans to use the capital to expand to over 20 new cities in 2026, including its first international markets in London and Tokyo. The company currently operates fully driverless commercial services in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin.
About Alphabet Inc.
What does Alphabet own?
Alphabet owns Google and its products including Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Cloud, Google Workspace, Pixel hardware, and Nest. It also owns Waymo, Verily, and other early-stage ventures under the Other Bets umbrella. The Gemini AI platform is developed by Google DeepMind, an Alphabet subsidiary.
Is Alphabet publicly traded?
Yes. Alphabet trades on NASDAQ under GOOGL (Class A, one vote per share) and GOOG (Class C, no votes). The company has been publicly traded since Google's IPO in August 2004.
Who founded Alphabet?
Alphabet was formed in 2015 through a restructuring of Google, which was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford University. Sundar Pichai has served as CEO of both Alphabet and Google since December 2019.
Where is Alphabet headquartered?
Alphabet is headquartered in Mountain View, California, at the Googleplex campus. The company has major offices in New York, London, Dublin, Singapore, and dozens of other cities globally.
Who owns Alphabet?
Alphabet has no single controlling shareholder economically, but co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin hold Class B shares with 10 votes per share, giving them effective voting control. Institutional investors including Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street are among the largest economic shareholders.
What is Alphabet's revenue?
Alphabet reported full-year 2025 revenues exceeding $400 billion for the first time. Q4 2025 revenue was $113.8 billion, up 18% year over year, with net income of $34.46 billion. Google Cloud Q4 2025 revenue was $17.66 billion, up 48% year over year.
What antitrust cases is Google facing?
In August 2024, a U.S. federal judge ruled that Google illegally monopolized internet search through exclusive default search agreements. Remedies proceedings were ongoing as of February 2026. A separate DOJ case targeting Google's advertising technology business concluded trial in late 2024. The EU has imposed multiple antitrust fines and the Digital Markets Act imposes ongoing obligations on Google as a designated gatekeeper.
What is Waymo?
Waymo is Alphabet's autonomous vehicle subsidiary, operating a fully driverless ride-hailing service in multiple U.S. cities. Waymo completed over 20 million fully autonomous trips through 2025 and expanded to Miami in January 2026. Waymo raised a funding round in 2025 at a $16 billion valuation.
- Founded: 2015
- Headquarters: Mountain View, California, USA
- Company Type: Publicly Traded
- Stock: NASDAQ: GOOGL
Where Is Waymo Made / Based?
- Headquarters: Mountain View, California, USA
- Manufacturing / Operations: United States, Mountain View, Phoenix, San Francisco
Brands Owned by Alphabet Inc.
- Android - Mobile operating system developed by Google, powering billions of smartphones, t...
- Google Chrome - Cross-platform web browser developed by Google, featuring speed, security, and e...
- Gmail - Free web-based email service developed by Google, offering email storage, spam f...
- Google Cloud - Cloud computing and enterprise services platform providing infrastructure, data ...
- Google Maps - Digital mapping and navigation service providing maps, directions, and location-...
- Google Pixel - Line of consumer electronic devices including smartphones developed by Google, f...
- Google Workspace - Cloud-based productivity and collaboration suite providing email, documents, and...
- Google - American search engine and technology company, flagship product of Alphabet Inc....
- Nest - American smart home technology company providing connected home devices and serv...
Waymo Ownership: Pros & Cons
Advantages
- +Market leadership in autonomous driving technology with millions of miles tested
- +Backed by Alphabet's extensive financial resources and technology infrastructure
- +Strong artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities
- +First-mover advantage in commercial autonomous ride-hailing services
- +Integration with Google's mapping and navigation technology
Considerations
- -High development costs and long timeline for commercial profitability
- -Regulatory challenges and safety concerns over autonomous vehicles
- -Competition from Tesla, Cruise, and other autonomous vehicle companies
- -Technical challenges in achieving full autonomy in complex urban environments
- -Public acceptance and trust issues with self-driving technology
Frequently Asked Questions About Waymo
Competitors to Waymo
No direct competitors found in the same category. This could be because Waymooperates in a unique market segment or we're still building our competitor database.
Alphabet Inc. Stock Information
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