> 2) $2.25B is a big round, and speaks to the level of confidence in Waymo as well as the massive cost to get to market
It's a lot of money, but self-driving cars are notoriously overhyped. As someone who used to work in the industry and has worked at more than one of the "top" companies (Waymo, Zoox, Cruise, Argo, Nuro, etcetera), you don't have to talk to many engineers to realize there is a looooong way to go before a meaningful product is ready for market.
I'm not saying it'll never happen, but it's not going to happen before my kid is old enough to drive - and I don't have a kid yet. Before people bring up "we overestimate 1 year out and underestimate 10 years out," I was actually working on self-driving cars over a decade ago.
It's a lot of money, but self-driving cars are notoriously overhyped. As someone who used to work in the industry and has worked at more than one of the "top" companies (Waymo, Zoox, Cruise, Argo, Nuro, etcetera), you don't have to talk to many engineers to realize there is a looooong way to go before a meaningful product is ready for market.
I'm not saying it'll never happen, but it's not going to happen before my kid is old enough to drive - and I don't have a kid yet. Before people bring up "we overestimate 1 year out and underestimate 10 years out," I was actually working on self-driving cars over a decade ago.