Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving car startup Waymo LLC is seeking outside investors, according to an unconfirmed report published Monday.

The Information, referencing a person with direct knowledge of the situation, claimed the startup is seeking financing from European automakers such as Volkswagen AG. The report also said the attempt to raise outside money suggests Alphabet may be seeking to limit how much money it invests in the division.

It’s also possible the move is an exercise by Alphabet to demonstrate the value of Waymo. Since it has never taken outside money, a venture capital raise would put a hard figure to its value. The report suggests that Alphabet is seeking a valuation of “at least several times” that of GM Cruise LLC. Cruise last raised money in May on a valuation of $11.5 billion, but it’s estimated its valuation today would be around $15 billion.

Waymo, which started its life as Project Chauffeur, then later the Google Car project, celebrated its 10th anniversary in January and is considered by many the leader in the autonomous-vehicle market. The company’s self-driving vehicles regularly rate first for safety and it also leads the pack in rolling out commercial services, having launched a self-driving taxi service in Phoenix in December.

That said, it hasn’t always been smooth driving for the company, just as with its rivals. In August it was reported that Waymo vehicles were having problems driving around corners. Then in December, residents in Arizona attacked Waymo-powered cars.

While making efforts to make money from the division, such as selling its homegrown LiDAR technology to other companies, Waymo has been a 10-year long money sink, with Alphabet said to pump over $1 billion into the company each year.

Business Insider noted that this is not a prohibitive cost, but with Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat encouraging the company’s subsidiaries to reduce costs and become more efficient, bringing in external investors would help share the load.

Google LLC’s parent company has done this before. Alphabet-owned healthcare business Verily LLC raised $1 billion in outside funding in January, while Alphabet clean energy companies Makani LLC and Malta LLC have also taken outside investments.

Photo: Waymo