Waymo vs Physical Intelligence

By valuation, Waymo is the larger company at $126B versus $5.6B — a 22.5x difference. Size can also be measured by team: Waymo employs 3500 people while Physical Intelligence has 75 employees.

Waymo has raised more in total funding at $27.1B, compared to Physical Intelligence's $1.1B — a gap of $26B. Combined, the two companies have completed 7 known funding rounds.

Waymo leads with an Awaira Score of 96/100, while Physical Intelligence sits at 88/100. That 8-point gap reflects real differences in funding, scale, and traction — it's not a vanity metric.

Waymo was founded by Sebastian Thrun in 2009. Physical Intelligence was founded by Karol Hausman in 2024. Visit each company's profile on Awaira for a full founder biography.

Waymo: Waymo is an autonomous vehicle company founded in 2009 as Google's self-driving car project before becoming an independent Alphabet subsidiary. The company develops full-stack autonomous driving technology, including perception systems, planning algorithms, and simulation platforms that enable vehicles to operate without human drivers. Waymo's core offering centers on autonomous ride-hailing services and commercial trucking solutions. Its Waymo Driver technology stack processes sensor data from lidar, radar, and cameras to navigate complex environments. The company operates Waymo One, a commercial robotaxi service in Phoenix and San Francisco, serving thousands of regular passengers. Waymo has also launched Waymo Via, focusing on autonomous freight and logistics. With $27.1 billion in total funding and a $126 billion valuation, Waymo maintains significant financial backing from Alphabet and external investors. The company competes directly with Tesla, Cruise, Aurora, and traditional automotive manufacturers developing autonomous capabilities. Waymo's competitive advantages include extensive real-world testing data, Google's computational resources, and established operational services generating continuous learning. The company has achieved notable milestones including driverless taxi operations without safety drivers in urban environments and partnerships with established fleet operators. Growth trajectory focuses on geographic expansion of ride-hailing services and scaling autonomous freight operations across North America. Waymo operates the only commercially deployed, fully autonomous ride-hailing service at meaningful scale in the United States. Physical Intelligence: Physical Intelligence is an AI robotics company founded in 2024 that develops general-purpose robot control systems using artificial intelligence. The company focuses on creating software and algorithms that enable robots to perform complex physical tasks across diverse environments and applications. Physical Intelligence's core technology centers on training AI models that can interpret high-level instructions and translate them into precise robotic movements and actions. The company's approach emphasizes developing foundational AI systems capable of controlling different robot platforms, rather than building hardware itself. This positions Physical Intelligence within the broader AI robotics sector, competing alongside companies focused on embodied AI and robot learning systems. With $1.07 billion in total funding and a valuation of $5.6 billion, Physical Intelligence has achieved Series B stage rapidly, indicating significant investor confidence despite being newly established. The company operates in a competitive landscape including other AI robotics ventures pursuing similar goals of general-purpose robot intelligence. Specific customer partnerships and deployed use cases remain largely undisclosed. Physical Intelligence's trajectory reflects broader industry momentum toward AI-driven automation, with particular interest in systems that can generalize across multiple robotic platforms and task domains. The company's substantial funding and valuation suggest investor belief in its technical approach and market potential. Physical Intelligence achieved a $5.6B valuation in its founding year, reflecting exceptional investor confidence in its AI robotics approach.

Waymo got there first, launching in 2009 — that's 15 years of extra runway. Physical Intelligence didn't arrive until 2024. In AI, that kind of head start means more training data, deeper customer relationships, and a bigger talent moat.

Waymo has about 3500 employees; Physical Intelligence has about 75. A bigger team usually means more revenue or heavier VC backing, but in AI, small teams can build at massive scale.

Yes — they're direct rivals. Both Waymo and Physical Intelligence compete in AI Robotics, targeting many of the same buyers. If you're evaluating one, you should be looking at the other.