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April 27, 2020

Helping from home: Waymo’s response to COVID-19

  • Life at Waymo
A photo of Waymonauts with personal protective equipment on in a warehouse
A photo of Waymonauts with personal protective equipment on in a warehouse

Our top priority will always be the safety of our team, riders, partners, and of course, the communities in which we drive. As the world navigates COVID-19, it’s been inspiring to see people come together - from a distance - to keep each other safe. At the forefront of this effort are the brave heroes in our hospitals, grocery stores, pharmacies, and other essential businesses, helping our neighbors most in need.

As a fellow neighbor, we share that commitment to do our part to keep everyone safe. It’s at the core of what we do. In recent weeks, Waymo employees (or Waymonauts, as we call ourselves) have led initiatives to get funds and personal protective equipment (PPE) to where they’re most needed. We’ve now donated money and supplies to COVID-19 relief efforts underway in the communities in which we live, work, and operate across Arizona, California, Michigan, and New York, and other parts of the nation.

In Arizona, where we operate Waymo One, we’re supporting Arizona Together, a new initiative linking financial assistance and resources to affected Arizonans and businesses.

In our home state of California, we’re contributing supplies and funds in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles through organizations like Give2SF, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, all of which provide critical emergency relief services.

In Michigan, where we have our Waymo autonomous vehicle factory, we’re supporting the Detroit Medical Center, VA Medical Center in Detroit, Hurley Medical Center in Flint, and Feed the Need, a program that serves the school children of Novi Community School District.

Our team is also supporting our Let’s Talk Self Driving partners, like the Foundation for Senior Living and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, to empower their communities through these difficult times.

Powering these relief efforts are mission-driven Waymonauts. The unique expertise of our hardware and supply chain teams have helped source, manufacture, donate, and distribute thousands of items of PPE to hospitals. They’re contributing to 3D printing efforts of face shields and frames, volunteering with fellow Alphabet company Verily, and engaging in new and non-invasive solutions around treatment.

There’s still so much work to be done. Despite the long road ahead, it’s inspiring to see our team rise to meet the obstacles posed by this global pandemic, bringing out the best in us for our communities, and getting funds and resources where they’re needed most. If you’re able to, we hope you’ll join us in donating and contributing to these worthy organizations.

To healthcare workers around the world: thank you. To our team, riders, partners, and communities: thank you. Together we’ll emerge stronger.


The image above is from one of our suppliers in Michigan who assembled the face shields that Waymo has distributed to hospitals in MI and CA.