Waymo's $110B Valuation Bet Heats Up Robotaxi Race With Tesla

$110 billion. That's what Waymo believes it's worth—a staggering figure for a company that started as Google's moonshot project in 2009. Now, it's literally shooting for the moon.

The Alphabet subsidiary is reportedly closing a $16 billion financing round that could value the robotaxi pioneer at nearly $110 billion, according to weekend reports from Bloomberg and the Financial Times. The deal, expected to close this month, brings in heavyweight investors including Sequoia Capital, DST Global, and Dragoneer Investment Group.

Market Responds With Enthusiasm

Alphabet shares surged 1.4% Monday, hitting an all-time intraday high near $345 and extending their 9.5% gain to start 2026. The Google parent's stock has been on fire, gaining more than 65% in 2025 alone.

"Waymo is dominant right now over what Tesla is doing," CNBC's Jim Cramer declared during Monday's Morning Meeting. His words carried weight as Tesla shares dropped more than 1% on the same day, highlighting the shifting dynamics in the autonomous vehicle space.

The contrast is stark. While Waymo operates commercially in Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and recently launched in Miami—with Washington D.C. next—Tesla's robotaxi service remains largely in testing phases in Austin, Texas. Waymo's partnership with Uber to expand into Austin and Atlanta signals aggressive growth plans.

The Trillion-Dollar Question

Yet Waymo's target $110 billion valuation pales beside Tesla's nearly $1.6 trillion market cap. The comparison isn't entirely fair—robotaxis represent just one slice of Tesla's business, which last week announced it's ending production of Model S and X passenger vehicles to focus on robot manufacturing.

"I know that Waymo is small potatoes compared to so much of Alphabet, but it is big potatoes for a public starved of anything that a consumer might be fascinated by," Cramer wrote in his Sunday column, acknowledging Elon Musk's ability to capture public imagination.

But Waymo's approach differs fundamentally. Where Tesla promises revolutionary leaps, Waymo delivers methodical expansion. The company's Jaguar robotaxis might be expensive, but Cramer hints at "iterations that we don't know about"—potentially more affordable options that could democratize autonomous transportation.

Beyond the Robotaxi Narrative

For years, Waymo weighed on Alphabet's financials through heavy investment and mounting losses. That narrative has steadily shifted as operations expanded and revenue streams emerged. The unit, housed in Alphabet's Other Bets segment since becoming a standalone subsidiary in 2016, now represents potential rather than just promise.

Cramer emphasized that Alphabet's strength extends far beyond Waymo. "Every single division is a dominant division," he noted, citing YouTube's video platform leadership, Gemini's growing AI foothold and Apple partnership, Google Cloud's No. 3 position behind Amazon and Microsoft, and Google Search's continued dominance.

With last year's Justice Department antitrust concerns largely off the table, investors can focus on growth prospects. "We don't care where it's been, we care where it's going," Cramer said, maintaining his buy rating and $350 price target ahead of Wednesday's fourth-quarter earnings.