Waymo has been a decade from its secretive Beginnings as a Google X lab business to becoming a commercial enterprise, with plans to launch in select markets this year and expand in 2019.

Since 2009, Waymo has accumulated more than 8 million self-drive miles across its various platforms. Sebastian Thrun, Chris Umson and Anthony Levandowski have watched Waymo grow.

Waymo became a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, in 2016 and is now run by veteran auto industry executive John Krafcik.

Morgan Stanley recently valued Waymo at $175bn, while many analysts had previously valued the company at $50bn – $75bn.

Morgan Stanley’s high valuation of Waymo is largely due to Krafcik’s ambitious market goals, which include not only its self-driving ride service currently being piloted in Phoenix, Arizona, but also its logistics/distribution operations and technology licensing structure.

The question people have been asking since 2015 or so is “What is Waymo really going to do after millions of miles on the road?”

Now we know.

So it’s worth reviewing Waymo’s history. It’s a story of absolute commitment to the technology of the future — Alphabet has always wanted Waymo to get autonomous driving right, and is willing to give it patience, time, and money.

Thrun and his team at Stanford won the DARPA SuperChallenge.Copy the code

Thrun and his colleagues from Stanford won cross-country in 2005. For many observers, this is the beginning of the age of autonomous driving.

The Google X lab is responsible for the self-driving car project.Copy the code

From Glass to Waymo, the Google X Lab focuses on implementing Google’s most innovative projects, known as “moonshots.”

The Google Car project began applying self-driving technology to the Toyota Prius......Copy the code

2012 was the early days of Google Car. Google is using Toyota cars as hardware support to explore its self-driving technology.

Google Car project and Lexus.Copy the code

Suvs are a bigger platform.

In 2014, a purpose-built autonomous car called Firefly came into viewCopy the code

Google is taking autonomous driving to the streetsCopy the code

Most of Google Car’s early testing took place in California, but since 2013 it has driven into Arizona, Michigan and Texas.

Krafcik became CEOCopy the code

Google Car became WaymoCopy the code

Waymo is taking Uber to courtCopy the code

Waymo is suing Uber over alleged intellectual property theft by Anthony Levandowski, a former Google car engineer who led Uber’s self-driving program. But the actual trial lasted just a few days in February 2018, and Uber settled with Waymo by giving up about $245 million in equity.

Business plans flared upCopy the code

In late 2017 and early 2018, Krafcik began drafting Waymo’s business plan. The plan revolves around key areas of autonomous driving: ride-hailing, cargo transportation, expanding mass transit, and making Waymo’s technology available to partners through licensing agreements. Krafick also stressed Waymo’s commitment to developing what he called “drives” — lidar, sensors and software systems that can “drive” any vehicle.

Waymo has formed partnerships with Fiat Chrysler and JaguarCopy the code

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles partnered with Waymo in 2017 to provide self-driving technology for Its Pacifica minivans. At the 2018 New York Auto Show, Waymo teamed up with Jaguar to add a Waymo driver to the I-Pace luxury electric car.

Waymo is worth $175 billionCopy the code

Morgan Stanley believes that adding up all Waymo’s possible business lines could generate a value of $175 billion, $100 billion more than many analysts had predicted.

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