The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is among a group of organizations participating in the first external investment round for Waymo, a California-based autonomous driving technology development company.
Alongside other investors, the round raised US$2.25 billion. The company’s Waymo Driver has driven more than 20 million miles on public roads across more than 25 cities, as well as another 10 billion miles in simulation, according to a press release. In addition, Waymo One, its public self-driving ride-hailing service, serves thousands of customers in Arizona and has provided thousands of fully driverless rides in a high-speed mixed usage market area larger than San Francisco.
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“CPP Investments is focused on identifying and investing in long-horizon growth opportunities across the globe,” said Ryan Selwood, managing director and head of direct private equity at the CPPIB, in a press release. “This investment in Waymo, the clear leader in developing autonomous vehicle technology with the potential to create several global markets of tremendous scale through deployment of the Waymo Driver, will enhance our ability to deliver long-term, sustainable returns for the Fund’s 20 million contributors and beneficiaries.”