Introduction

A fleet of over 2,500 Waymo self-driving vehicles navigates the streets of multiple U.S. cities, backed by a company raising up to $15 billion at a post-money valuation of up to $110 billion (approximately RMB 781 billion). Meanwhile, China’s Apollo Go has quietly expanded to 22 global cities, accumulating over 17 million rides worldwide, surpassing Waymo to become the global leader.

If you recall Waymo’s lone test vehicle cruising through Silicon Valley nights in 2018, today’s autonomous driving landscape might surprise you.

Just a year ago, Waymo’s post-Series C valuation stood at $45 billion. Overnight, the autonomous driving giant doubled in value.

Let’s dive into this with ‘Self-Driving Car Insights’ (WeChat: Self-Driving Car Insights)!

(For reference, read: ‘17 Million Autonomous Rides Globally, No. 1! Baidu’s Apollo Go Hits 250,000 Weekly Orders, Matching Google’s Waymo! U.S.-China Autonomous Driving Rivalry Intensifies’)

I. Sky-High Financing: The Most Expensive Autonomous Driving Unicorn in History Emerges

On a late-night San Francisco street, a white Jaguar I-PACE pulls over silently. No driver leans out to ask for directions—the passenger’s app displays: “Your Waymo autonomous taxi has arrived.”

By December 2025, this scene has become routine in five U.S. cities, as Waymo prepares for an unprecedented capital influx in the autonomous driving sector.

According to The Information, citing insiders, Waymo is in early talks with investors to close a new funding round by early 2026, targeting a valuation of at least $100 billion.

This figure more than doubles its $45 billion valuation after October’s Series C round.

Bloomberg adds detail, reporting Alphabet will lead the round, potentially raising $15 billion at a post-money valuation nearing $110 billion.

If completed, Waymo would become the highest-valued autonomous driving company ever.

This capital will fuel Waymo’s accelerated expansion.

Waymo’s operational data reveals 14 million autonomous rides completed by 2025, aiming for 1 million weekly trips by late 2026 (currently 450,000 weekly).

Waymo now offers fully driverless services in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta, with plans to expand to Philadelphia, Miami, Dallas, and beyond.

Critically, the company just launched 24/7 autonomous rides on highways, eliminating detours and reducing travel times.

II. Capital Frenzy vs. Technological Marathon: Waymo’s 16-Year Evolution

Rewind to January 17, 2009, when Google X Lab quietly launched the “Google Self-Driving Car Project.”

Who imagined this Stanford campus initiative would grow into a tech giant valued over $100 billion 16 years later?

Waymo’s financing journey mirrors the industry’s capital evolution.

In 2020, Waymo secured $3 billion in its Series A round, opening doors to external investors for the first time.

A year later, Series B raised $2.5 billion, attracting Sequoia Capital, Silver Lake, and other top firms.

2024’s Series C hit $5.6 billion at a $45 billion valuation, led by Alphabet with a16z and Fidelity joining.

With the upcoming mega-round, Waymo’s total funding will exceed $27 billion.

While burning cash, Waymo’s technology advanced rapidly.

In fall 2015, it debuted the world’s first “steering wheel- and pedal-free” public road demo.

By October 2020, Waymo’s Robotaxi became the first U.S. commercial autonomous taxi without a safety driver.

As of December 2025, its autonomous miles surpass 96 million (154 million km), with each vehicle averaging ~26 daily orders.

This caught Elon Musk’s attention.

On December 9, Musk announced at xAI’s hackathon that Tesla would remove safety drivers from Austin’s Robotaxi fleet in three weeks.

(Reference: ‘Countdown: Three Weeks? Tesla’s Robotaxi Goes Fully Driverless in Austin: Musk’s Bold Gamble or FSD’s True Test?’)

Google DeepMind’s Jeff Dean quickly noted on social media that Tesla lags far behind Waymo in “passenger-only autonomous miles.”

Musk retorted: “Waymo never had a real chance against Tesla.”

Behind this spat lies a clash of two technological paths:

Waymo’s lidar + high-definition mapping versus Tesla’s pure vision approach.

III. China’s Counterstrike: How Apollo Go Surged Ahead Globally

While U.S. giants bicker over routes, a Chinese company has quietly deployed autonomous services in 22 cities worldwide.

On November 13, 2025, Baidu World Conference unveiled staggering data:

Apollo Go handles over 250,000 fully driverless weekly orders, accumulating 17 million rides globally, surpassing Waymo as the world’s largest autonomous mobility platform.

This achievement stems from China’s unique strategy.

Baidu’s autonomous project launched in 2013, four years after Waymo, yet Apollo Go now operates in 22 cities, including overseas markets.

In March 2025, Apollo Go entered the Middle East, launching in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. By July-August, it partnered with Uber and Lyft globally. In October, it teamed up with Swiss PostBus to launch services in Switzerland.

Notably, Apollo Go secured Abu Dhabi’s first full driverless commercial license, expanding its partnership with UAE’s AutoGo to build the region’s largest autonomous fleet.

(Reference: ‘World First! Apollo Go Launches Abu Dhabi’s Largest Full Driverless Commercial Operation: Baidu Now in 22 Cities with 240 Million+ Autonomous Miles’)

This success hinges on technological divergence.

Apollo Go adopts a “large model + autonomous driving” approach, leveraging Baidu’s Wenxin large model to enhance system adaptability.

Much like learning to drive without memorizing “mirror check-turn signal-lane change” steps, but instead relying on real-time road awareness and experience.

This enables rapid adaptation to diverse urban conditions and driving habits.

After “training” in China’s mega-city complexities, Apollo Go demonstrated remarkable agility overseas.

It transitioned from road testing to passenger trials in Hong Kong’s right-hand-drive left-lane traffic in just five months, while optimizing sensor resilience in Dubai’s sandstorms.

Domestically, Pony.ai, WeRide, HelloChuxing, and Didi’s autonomous taxis also thrive.

(Reference: ‘Gaode Enters Robotaxi Arena, Intensifying Competition: Pony.ai, WeRide Eye Hong Kong IPOs as Apollo Go, Hello, Didi, Waymo, and Tesla Compete’)

This sector keeps getting hotter!

IV. Global Showdown: How Far Has Autonomous Driving Commercialization Gone?

Autonomous driving is no solo act. With Waymo’s funding news, the global chessboard heats up again.

Tesla is charging ahead.

Musk announced in October plans to launch autonomous ride-hailing in 8–10 U.S. metro areas by late 2025. Tesla recently secured Arizona’s approval to operate Uber-like services and charge fares.

Tesla is also testing Cybercab, a purpose-built autonomous vehicle, with production slated for April 2026.

However, Waymo’s former CEO John Krafcik recently stated: “Tesla remains a carmaker with driver-assistance systems.”

Beyond U.S. rivalry, Chinese firms are expanding globally.

NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang predicts: “China will win the AI race, and Apollo Go will surpass Waymo.”

(Reference: ‘NVIDIA’s Huang: China Leads in Autonomous Driving, With Self-Driving Cars Everywhere! XPeng, NIO, Li Auto, Xiaomi, BYD Master Core Tech’)

In China, Beijing and Guangzhou now permit 24/7 driverless passenger operations, allowing WeRide and Pony.ai to offer round-the-clock Robotaxi services.

Internationally, WeRide partnered deeply with Uber to operate in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Riyadh, managing the Middle East’s largest autonomous fleet while signing agreements to expand to 15 more cities in five years.

Pony.ai also announced a Uber collaboration, integrating its Robotaxi service and fleet into Uber’s platform by late 2025.

Goldman Sachs projects China’s Robotaxi revenue will soar from $50 million in 2025 to nearly $50 billion by 2035.

UBS is even more optimistic, predicting 1.9 million autonomous vehicles on China’s roads by the late 2030s, accounting for a quarter of all ride-hailing trips.

In summary, ‘Self-Driving Car Insights’ believes:

Two global autonomous driving tracks are racing toward the same finish line at different speeds: a legacy giant backed by $100 billion in valuation versus a Chinese force operating in 22 cities with stealthy expansion.

Future autonomous fleets will transcend transportation, becoming “mobile third spaces” integrating work, entertainment, and services. They’ll permeate urban governance, livelihood support, cross-border logistics, and more, becoming indispensable ecological hubs for future cities.

What’s your take?

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