Waymo, the self-driving car company owned by Google's parent Alphabet, has recently raised $5.6 billion in its latest funding round. The round included major investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price.

Waymo plans to leverage this funding to expand its autonomous ride-hailing service, Waymo One, which already operates in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. Through a new partnership with Uber, Waymo's footprint will also grow into Austin and Atlanta, said the company in a Reuters report on the matter.

The fresh investment aligns with Alphabet's long-term plan to inject $5 billion into Waymo over several years, a strategy outlined by Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat in July.

According to Reuters, Waymo has steadily progressed in the autonomous vehicle landscape, amassing millions of testing miles and securing regulatory permits, including one from the California Public Utilities Commission in 2022, which was a key milestone in California's highly regulated market for ride-hailing services.

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This funding shows growing confidence in Waymo's autonomous ride-hailing ambitions despite regulatory scrutiny and industry-wide scepticism, suggests the Reuters report.