Waymo is working to develop fully autonomous vehicles. The company believes that this technology can save lives by minimizing human error or impairment, which is a factor in the overwhelming majority of crashes in the U.S. Additionally, Waymo believes that autonomous driving technology can empower people who can't drive due to age or disability with the freedom of mobility.
The company is building Waymo Driver, the world's most experienced driver. The technology has logged more than 100 million miles on public roads as of mid-2025. Waymo is working to monetize this autonomous driving technology through Waymo One, its public, fully autonomous ride-hailing service, which it is expanding to new cities across the country.
Analysts believe that the market value of robotaxi services like Waymo One could grow into a $47 billion opportunity by 2034. That growth potential makes Waymo a compelling investment opportunity. Here's everything you need to know about investing in the company before it completes an initial public offering (IPO) and some other autonomous driving companies to consider.
When will Waymo IPO?
Waymo didn't have an IPO on the calendar as of mid-2025. Many believe that the company will eventually go public. While it's a majority-owned subsidiary of Alphabet, it has raised more than $11 billion from investors to help fund its research and development. Those investors will eventually want to cash in on that investment, which would likely come via a sale or IPO.
IPO
Is Waymo profitable?
Alphabet doesn't break out the profitability of its "other bets" segment, which includes its investment in Waymo, so we don't know if Waymo is a profitable company.
However, Waymo is likely not profitable yet. Alphabet's other bets produced $373 million in revenue in the second quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, that subsidiary posted an operating loss of $1.25 billion. Given those numbers, Waymo likely isn't making money yet.
The company is still investing heavily in researching and developing its autonomous vehicle technology. It likely has a long way to go before it's on the road to profitability. However, the company continues to expand, including building out its fleet of robotaxis in the San Francisco Bay Area to 800 in mid-2025.
Alternatives to Waymo
Because Waymo isn't a publicly traded company, you can't buy shares in a regular brokerage account yet. However, accredited investors (i.e., those with a high net worth or high annual income) can sometimes purchase pre-IPO shares of companies like Waymo on a secondary marketplace like Forge Global (FRGE -0.04%) and EquityZen.
Non-accredited investors will have to wait for Waymo's IPO to buy shares. In the meantime, they could consider investing in a publicly traded company that is investing in autonomous driving. Here are alternative options to consider.
Alphabet
Alphabet (GOOG -1.04%)(GOOGL -1.08%) subsidiary Google started developing self-driving technology in 2009. In 2015, it renamed its project Waymo and spun it out to its parent company, Alphabet. It remains a majority-owned subsidiary of Alphabet. That makes buying shares of Alphabet an indirect way to invest in Waymo. If Waymo eventually goes public, Alphabet could spin off its stake to its shareholders.
Tesla
Tesla (TSLA +1.75%) has developed self-driving technology for its vehicles. Autopilot comes standard on every new Tesla. Meanwhile, Tesla owners can subscribe to the company's full self-driving (FSD) capabilities (which still require hands-on supervision by a human driver).
Tesla's FSD technology is continuously improving as the company strives toward its goal of achieving level 5 self-driving in the future (where the vehicle can drive itself in any condition without human involvement). The company is investing heavily in artificial intelligence (AI) to drive greater automation.
Should you invest in Waymo?
You can't currently invest directly in Waymo because it's not a publicly traded company. That gives you plenty of time to research the company while you await its IPO to decide whether it's a good fit for your financial situation. With that in mind, here are some reasons why you might consider investing in the autonomous driving company:
- You think autonomous driving is the future.
- You believe Waymo can tap into the tremendous robotaxi market potential.
- You think that Waymo can eventually become a very profitable company.
- You want to invest in a company Alphabet has built from the ground up.
On the other hand, here are some reasons why investing in Waymo might not be best for you:
- You're not sure enough of the population will ever be comfortable with riding in fully autonomous vehicles.
- You don't think Waymo can ever get on the road to profitability.
- You're concerned about potential safety issues with autonomous driving.
- You're not sure if Waymo will emerge as the technological leader in autonomous driving.
The bottom line
Waymo is one of the early leaders in autonomous driving. The company has the backing of tech titan Alphabet and other leaders in the venture capital technology and automotive worlds. While it's still in the early stages of developing and testing its technology, it has tremendous potential. Because of that, it's a very exciting company to watch since its technology could save countless lives while empowering the immobile with the freedom of mobility.
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