Waymo Just Borrowed $5 Billion to Put More Robotaxis on the Road

So basically: Waymo just took out its first loan ever, and it is a big one. The Alphabet owned robotaxi company closed a $5 billion term loan from some of the biggest money managers on Wall Street. It went looking for about $3 billion. Lenders wanted in so badly that the deal grew to $5 billion.

Who lent the money

Waymo’s CFO Steve Fieler announced the close on Thursday, Oct. 8. The lender list reads like a who’s who of finance:

• Lead lenders: PIMCO, Blackstone, and Sixth Street
• Significant lenders: Capital Group, Loomis Sayles, and T. Rowe Price
• Also in: Apollo, Blue Owl, Diameter Capital Partners, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity, HPS Investment Partners, and Oaktree
• Ran the deal: Goldman Sachs

How the deal grew

Quartz says Waymo started talks in early September aiming for more than $3 billion. By Oct. 6, Bloomberg reported it had been upsized to $5 billion.

The price is not cheap. The loan pays lenders 5.25 percentage points above the benchmark rate, per Bloomberg. Quartz says it was expected to carry no credit rating. That is roughly what you would expect for a company that is growing fast but still spends a lot.

Dealroom says it is the largest debt round on record among U.S. robotics companies, out of 209 deals it tracked.

Why borrow instead of selling more stock

Up to now, Waymo raised money by selling pieces of itself. Here is the history from TechCrunch:

• 2020: $3.2 billion
• 2021: $2.5 billion
• 2024: $5.6 billion
• February 2026: $16 billion, valuing Waymo at $126 billion

Selling stock means owners get a smaller slice. A loan does not. But a loan has to be paid back with interest.

Waymo called this a step in its “evolution into a scaling commercial enterprise.” In plain English, it thinks it has enough real ride revenue coming in that borrowing makes sense now. Lenders agreed with $5 billion.

What the money is for

Waymo says the cash will speed up its fully driverless ride service in the U.S. and overseas.

Where it stands right now:

• Robotaxi service in 15 U.S. markets, including Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa
• Testing in London and Tokyo, with plans to launch there
• A goal of 1 million paid rides a week this year, per Dealroom

More cities means more cars, and robotaxis with all those sensors are not cheap. Dealroom also points to rising AI and fleet costs as a reason for the raise.

Not all smooth

TechCrunch notes Waymo is under more pressure from regulators as it grows. NHTSA is looking into Waymo robotaxis passing stopped school buses, plus a crash where one hit a child near a school at about 6 mph. The child had minor injuries. The NTSB opened its own investigation into the school bus problem earlier this year.

The bigger picture

Tesla is ramping Cybercab in Texas. Zoox, Pony.ai, and Uber partners are spreading out too. Robotaxis are turning into a race where the company with the most cars in the most cities wins. Money is how you buy cars.

My take

A loan tells you more than a stock sale. Investors buying stock are betting on a dream. Lenders want their money back, with interest, on a schedule. When PIMCO and Blackstone hand over $5 billion, they believe Waymo’s rides make real money. That is a big signal that robotaxis are becoming an actual business. Now Waymo has to turn the cash into cities fast, because Tesla is not slowing down.