Waymo expands to big Mountain View building
Autonomous driving technology pioneer strikes sublease deal for Silicon Valley growth
MOUNTAIN VIEW >> Waymo, a pioneer in autonomous driving, has signed a deal to sublease a big building in Mountain View, the tech company said Monday.
Potentially several hundred people — perhaps more than 1,000 — could work at the Waymo- subleased office building, which is at 680 E. Middlefield Road in Mountain View.
“We’re the first and only company to have a fully autonomous ride-hailing service available to the public today,” a Waymo spokesperson said Monday.
The building that Waymo subleased totals 170,800 square feet, which is a size that could potentially accommodate 850 workers.
But the workforce at the site could be higher. Waymo estimates that eventually “more than 1,000 employees” could work in the new office over a longer-term.
Waymo, a unit of Alphabet, which is the parent of search giant Google, currently has its operations in the iconic Googleplex headquarters on Amphitheater Parkway in Mountain View.
Mountain View-based Waymo will maintain its space in the Googleplex even after it occupies the 680 E. Middlefield location. That means the sublease deal points to major growth for Waymo.
“Our team is rapidly expanding as we deploy the Waymo Driver in more applications and locations,” a
Waymo spokesperson said.
Brokers Brian Beswick and George Fox of commercial real estate firm CBRE have been marketing the building for sublease, according to a brochure the brokerage circulated.
The timing of when Waymo would move into the subleased building wasn’t certain due to ongoing coronavirus-linked protocols.
Among the highlights for Waymo this year:
— Despite the pandemic, Waymo opened up its fully autonomous offering to riders in Phoenix for the first time.
— The company published the industry’s first AV safety framework applied to a commercial AV ride-hailing service. A safety framework sketches out the parameters for how autonomous vehicles can be safely deployed, used, and operated.
— Waymo launched the fifth generation of the technology behind its cars.
The company intends to spend the next few months updating its new offices at 680 E. Middlefield Road to prepare for Waymo’s return to the office.
“This new office will give our growing team in the Bay Area the space we need to accelerate our mission,” a Waymo spokesperson said. “It will serve as a great home base for us when we fully return to the office in compliance with relevant federal, state, and local guidelines.”
Waymo currently has offices in multiple locations: Mountain View, San Francisco, Arizona, and Michigan, the company said.
“We continued growing our team in California and beyond,” Waymo said. “This new building will help support that rapid growth.”