Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous driving unit that develops self-driving taxis, is in the final stages of talks to raise more than US$3 billion in its first debt deal.

Lenders involved in the deal includes Pacific Investment Management Co. (Pimco), Blackstone, and Sixth Street, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The unrated loan, which Waymo has been arranging with Goldman Sachs, could price at more than 500 basis points over the benchmark, though discussions are ongoing and the terms could still change.

Waymo raised US$16 billion in equity earlier this year at a US$126 billion valuation.

Last month, the company said it provides more than 500,000 paid trips a week in 14 US cities and is targeting 1 million paid weekly rides across 20 cities globally this year.

Waymo has also opened its ride-hailing service to the public in Denver, San Diego, and Tampa, and started driverless rides in San Diego, Las Vegas, Tampa, and Denver.

The debt financing would diversify Waymo’s funding sources as it expands its robotaxi fleet and faces rising AI costs.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

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