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Waymo seeking about $16B near $110B valuation

bloomberg.com

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Re: Waymo seeking about $16B near $110B valuation

#81

Post by spwa4 »

nvch wrote: post #70
jFriedensreich wrote: post #35

No product had such a fast transition from novelty to "omg i never want to interact with a human again". I feel about 100% less stressed and happier using a waymo or riding motorbike or bicycle next to a waymo than with human drivers. I hope this next phase will bring availability and prices down. We need this in europe.

For me, this is the major selling point to own a car. I may drive a few times a week, and taxis might be much cheaper, but no way I'm going to deal with human taxi drivers if I have a choice.

I always (as soon as I could) owned a car, first on independence, but soon that became on price. A car costs between $350 and $500 per month, plus about 2 gas tanks, let's say $600. That's only 10-15 short taxi rides and two long taxi rides at best.

And now I have a family, there's 5 of us. A car is easily less than half the price of public transport for what I need to do (because you pay per person).

I hate traffic, and I don't really like driving, but since a car is easily 30 minutes faster than public transport to drive in to work, sadly 30 minutes of traffic in the morning is still faster than public transport, no matter how annoying it is. Oh and no waiting in the rain/cold is a nice bonus.

Re: Waymo seeking about $16B near $110B valuation

#82

Post by paxys »

pu_pe wrote: post #52

It seems like a fair valuation to me. I can see a path for them to approach or surpass Uber's revenue (~$50B) in the future, and I think their technology and brand are actual moats in comparison to all other driverless systems out there.

I'm in the opposite camp. Waymo has neat tech, yes, but already valuing it on par with Uber is absurd considering the sheer scale at which Uber operates. 70 countries, 15K cities, 36 million daily trips. And this isn't counting Uber Eats and other side businesses. Waymo will have to accelerate its operations to the max for the next decade just to catch up. And that's assuming operating at such a scale is even possible considering they have to provide and maintain their own (very expensive) fleet. And this isn't a brand new market - Uber + local taxi companies have already set a hard cap on prices that Waymo cannot cross.

Re: Waymo seeking about $16B near $110B valuation

#83

Post by philipwhiuk »

everforward wrote: post #77
doctoboggan wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't see an obvious way for Waymo to get enshittified. Oh ye of little faith! Here are some ideas off the top of my head, I am sure the suits at Google already have a bigger list. * Ads in vehicle * Adjust route so you see partner companies or billboards * Offering alternative destinations (I see you are going to Burger King, would you rather go to our partner McDonalds?) * Listening to conversations in car * Se…

The ads will be awful, because you’re effectively captive. You only control the volume and screen if they let you.

Finally, a justification for owning an Apple Vision Pro.

Re: Waymo seeking about $16B near $110B valuation

#84

Post by nananana9 »

dmd wrote: post #61
lazarus01 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Im fortunate to live in an area dense with traditional taxis and Ubers, no Waymo yet. I rarely take taxis, the exception is when I have to haul my gear to the studio for a jam session. I always take a taxi, because it’s cheaper and faster than using an app to call an uber. On 80% of the trips, I end up having a nice chat with the driver and learn something new about humanity or myself. I really enjoy these interactio…

God, yes, and someone think of the gong farmers and pole men.

That's a pretty dismissive attitude for ~100 million professional drivers worldwide, making a living doing actual useful work on a forum where the vast majority of users do not do any useful work.

Re: Waymo seeking about $16B near $110B valuation

#85

Post by oefrha »

tantalor wrote: post #69
notyourwork wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You really think ads in vehicle are not coming? You’re being naive if you think that. Also, cheap rides cut into stocks margins. That won’t fly by investors either. These companies are not charities. They are in the business of maximizing profits. We lost “don’t be evil” over a decade ago.

We already have ads in vehicles. If you fly United, the in-flight entertainment has pre-roll ads. I can't say how well that model translates to car rides.

I see you haven’t seen or heard of cabs’ in-car ad screens we’ve had for close to two decades, if you have to point to airplanes as an example.

Re: Waymo seeking about $16B near $110B valuation

#86

Post by askl »

jFriedensreich wrote: post #35

No product had such a fast transition from novelty to "omg i never want to interact with a human again". I feel about 100% less stressed and happier using a waymo or riding motorbike or bicycle next to a waymo than with human drivers. I hope this next phase will bring availability and prices down. We need this in europe.

> We need this in europe.

No we don't. Your github says you're from Berlin, why the hell would you ever need a taxi in your life?

Someone should just find a cure for for the fear techbros have of being near poor people.

Re: Waymo seeking about $16B near $110B valuation

#87

Post by WarmWash »

estearum wrote: post #23
ronnier wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but I don't see an obvious way for Waymo to get enshittified My guess is that once Waymo starts to extremely take off, law makers in various cities will start to pass laws to ban them or the number of regulations will make it impossible to run at a profit. This will almost certainly happen. It will disproportionately impact an entire segment of the population and will put them out of work.

No they won't. The product is so outrageously superior on every dimension to the status quo that municipalities will figure out whatever they need to in order to accommodate them. You think the folks on City Council enjoy chauffeuring their own children around and will block a solution to it?

Wait till you see the showdown that's building up in NYC.

Mamdani, the new nyc mayor, has been a long time friend and advocate for NYC taxi workers alliance. He even participated in a hunger strike with them in 2021.

Waymo is right now starting the wheels turning on getting NYC permits, but taxi workers have already made their (obvious) stance clear: No Waymos.

Re: Waymo seeking about $16B near $110B valuation

#88

Post by josu »

lazarus01 wrote: post #60
jFriedensreich wrote: post #35

No product had such a fast transition from novelty to "omg i never want to interact with a human again". I feel about 100% less stressed and happier using a waymo or riding motorbike or bicycle next to a waymo than with human drivers. I hope this next phase will bring availability and prices down. We need this in europe.

Im fortunate to live in an area dense with traditional taxis and Ubers, no Waymo yet. I rarely take taxis, the exception is when I have to haul my gear to the studio for a jam session. I always take a taxi, because it’s cheaper and faster than using an app to call an uber. On 80% of the trips, I end up having a nice chat with the driver and learn something new about humanity or myself. I really enjoy these interactio…

>I wonder what will happen to the drivers if a large representation of the 1 million+ daily trips are displaced by automation?

If it happens gradually enough, they will just find other jobs. After the transition, society will be producing more with the same labor force, and thus the aggregate utility will increase.

Re: Waymo seeking about $16B near $110B valuation

#89

Post by WarmWash »

kolbe wrote: post #43
fnord77 wrote: post #3

> The parent company would provide about $13 billion to the robotaxi firm, while the rest would come from others, including new investors ... No IPO for us little people

What would you add to the company as an investor?

Probably money

Re: Waymo seeking about $16B near $110B valuation

#90

Post by kccqzy »

spwa4 wrote: post #81
nvch wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, this is the major selling point to own a car. I may drive a few times a week, and taxis might be much cheaper, but no way I'm going to deal with human taxi drivers if I have a choice.

I always (as soon as I could) owned a car, first on independence, but soon that became on price. A car costs between $350 and $500 per month, plus about 2 gas tanks, let's say $600. That's only 10-15 short taxi rides and two long taxi rides at best. And now I have a family, there's 5 of us. A car is easily less than half the price of public transport for what I need to do (because you pay per person). I hate traffic,…

A car does not cost $350 and $500 per month. If it does, it’s a status symbol, not merely a tool to get from A to B, and therefore it is unfair to compare it against taxi rides.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting a nicer more luxurious car for yourself. But it’s just ingenious to compare that against taxis with beaten-up and spartan but reliable cars.

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