Alphabet’s autonomous-driving subsidiary Waymo closed a $16 billion financing round that more than doubles its prior capital raise and sets a post-money valuation of $126 billion. The Series D transaction eclipses the $5.6 billion Series C round at a $45 billion valuation completed in October 2024. Leading the new round was Alphabet itself, joined by existing backers Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Silver Lake, Tiger Global and T. Rowe Price, as well as newcomers Dragoneer, DST Global, Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins and GV. Alphabet remains the majority investor, committing fresh capital to accelerate global deployment of Waymo’s fully autonomous fleet—125 million miles driven with safety metrics exceeding human performance—and to support expansion into additional U.S. and international cities this year.

Traders are pricing in a potential share move exceeding 5% by week’s end around Alphabet’s fourth-quarter earnings release. Analysts forecast Q4 revenue of $111.37 billion, up 15% year-over-year, and adjusted earnings per share of $3.09, a gain of more than 20%. Alphabet has beaten revenue estimates in nine of the past ten quarters and has surpassed the $100 billion revenue mark for the first time in the previous quarter. Market watchers will be focusing on Google Cloud growth, monetization of Gemini AI across Search and YouTube, and commentary on capital expenditure plans for AI infrastructure as drivers of post-earnings volatility.