Waymo, the self-driving division of Google's parent company Alphabet, recently raised $2.25 billion in its first external round of funding. And if you thought the UAE had nothing to do with it, think again.
The investment was actually led by three members: private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and the UAE's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company. The latter is a global UAE-owned investment company aimed at creating sustainable financial returns via a globally integrated and diversified economy, according to its site.
Other investors who pitched in include venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. And Waymo's efforts have been unstoppable.
Just a couple of days after the funding, Waymo unveiled its fifth-generation self-driving system, claiming its updated sensors are stronger than ever before. After all, it's been in the works for a decade.
The renewed system now includes 29 cameras integrated around the body of the vehicle, meaning it has the ability to see a stop sign 500 meters away, according to The Verge.
Waymo's CEO John Krafcik says their aim is "to build and deploy the world's most experienced driver."
With the new investment, it is unclear what the current valuation of Waymo is. Waymo first launched Google's self-driving project in 2009 before being acquired by Alphabet. Lots of investment, work, and research has been put into the project to ensure driver safety. Its self-driving vehicles have driven more than 20 million miles (32,186,880km) on public roads.
And the UAE wants to be a part of this historic project, especially considering the nation's efforts in this domain. In recent years, several self-driving taxis and vehicles have been unveiled in Dubai. The emirate is one of the only cities in the region working on making its roads viable for e-cars, even if there's still quite a lot to be done.
The country's Roads and Transport Authority expects 25 percent of all trips in Dubai to be autonomous by 2030.
According to a poll conducted by YouGov earlier this year, nearly half of UAE residents will likely own a self-driving car in the next five years ... if they are accessible to them. And it seems like they will be.
Last year, it was announced that driverless vehicles may hit the Gulf nation's roads in 2021 as the country is taking it seriously in terms of regulations.
Last month, Dubai announced new legislations to make it easier for driverless vehicles to be tested on the emirate's roads. The new laws fall under the Dubai Smart Mobility Strategy with an aim "to reduce the cost of transport, carbon emissions and accidents, besides saving hundreds of million hours wasted in driving conventional vehicles," Ahmed Hashim Bahrozyan, chief executive of the Public Transport Agency and chairman of the Smart and Sustainable Transport Committee at Roads and Transport Authority, once said.