The Pulse
Waymo Closes $5 Billion Term Loan to Expand Robotaxi Service
Waymo says it closed a $5 billion term loan, its first debt financing, to support expansion of its autonomous ride-hailing service in the United States and internationally. The announcement names 13 lenders and comes as the company prepares
AI.info Team · Written with AI ·
Waymo adds debt to its expansion funding
Waymo closed a $5 billion term loan on October 8, marking its first debt financing and adding borrowing to the equity funding it has used to grow its robotaxi business. The Alphabet-owned company says the capital will support continued expansion of its fully autonomous ride-hailing service across the United States and internationally.
PIMCO, Blackstone and Sixth Street participated as lead syndicated lenders. Capital Group, Loomis Sayles and T. Rowe Price were significant lenders. Additional lenders were Apollo, Blue Owl, Diameter Capital Partners, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity Management & Research Company, HPS Investment Partners and Oaktree. That makes 13 named lenders across the three groups. Goldman Sachs served separately as the sole lead bookrunner. Waymo’s announcement says participation by institutional lenders may represent or include investment funds, client accounts or investment vehicles managed or advised by those institutions or affiliated entities.
The company did not disclose individual lender commitments. It described the loan as its first debt financing and said the proceeds would accelerate the continued expansion of its fully autonomous ride-hailing service, without identifying specific spending amounts or projects.
Debt follows a $16 billion equity round
The financing is distinct from the $16 billion equity investment Waymo announced on February 2, 2026. The company said that round valued it at $126 billion post-money and was led by Dragoneer Investment Group, DST Global and Sequoia Capital, with Alphabet remaining its majority investor. Waymo also named Andreessen Horowitz and Mubadala Capital among investors making significant investments, alongside Bessemer Venture Partners, Silver Lake, Tiger Global and T. Rowe Price.
Waymo says the new loan complements its equity financing and provides additional financial flexibility. In the October announcement, Steve Fieler, Waymo’s chief financial officer, wrote:
Our strong momentum has enabled us to complement our equity financing with debt, providing additional financial flexibility to strengthen our balance sheet and position us to capitalize on the significant opportunities ahead.
Waymo said it launched service in its fifteenth U.S. city in September 2026 and announced new international cities as its commercial operations grew. Its loan announcement did not assign proceeds to any particular market.
Tokyo and Singapore are among its international plans
Waymo’s September 14 announcement with Nihon Kotsu and GO said the partners had agreed to prepare for a commercial, unmanned ride-hailing service in Tokyo in 2027. The company intends to offer its first fully autonomous trips to public riders that year, subject to regulatory approval and completion of ongoing validation of its technology and joint operations. The service is planned for both the GO and Waymo apps, with an initial fleet intended to expand gradually to around 100 vehicles across key Tokyo neighborhoods.
In a separate September 17 announcement, Waymo said it was working with Singapore’s Ministry of Transport and Land Transport Authority to prepare a fully autonomous, all-electric commercial ride-hailing service through the Waymo app in 2028. The company’s stated roadmap includes establishing local operations and bringing an initial fleet of Jaguar I-PACE vehicles to Singapore, followed by a 2027 readiness phase in which trained autonomous specialists will conduct initial manual driving as Waymo adapts its technology to local roads. Waymo said it intends to open the fully autonomous service to riders in 2028.
Financial terms were not provided
Waymo identifies the borrowing as a term loan but does not provide its interest rate, maturity, collateral or repayment schedule in the announcement. It also does not break down how much of the proceeds will go to fleet growth, operations or preparation for new markets.
The company’s stated expansion plans include continued growth across the United States, a planned Tokyo launch in 2027 and a planned Singapore service in 2028. The loan announcement says the capital will support expansion at home and internationally, but gives no city-by-city spending plan.