Oct 25 (Reuters) - Alphabet's self-driving

unit, Waymo, said on Friday it had closed a $5.6 billion funding

round led by the Google parent, as it looks to expand its

autonomous ride-hailing service.

Automakers and technology companies are investing in

autonomous ride-hailing services to capitalize on the technology

to drive commercial success, even as it faces widespread

skepticism and tight regulatory scrutiny.

The investment round also saw participation from existing

investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek,

Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price, Waymo said.

"With this latest investment, we will continue to welcome

more riders into our Waymo One ride-hailing service in San

Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, and in Austin and Atlanta

through our expanded partnership with Uber," the company said.

Alphabet had planned a $5 billion investment in Waymo over a

multi-year period, finance chief Ruth Porat said in July.

Waymo, which offers paid rides in autonomous vehicles in the

Bay Area and Los Angeles, as well as in Phoenix, Arizona, spent

years logging millions of miles of testing before it received

its first permit in 2022 from the California Public Utilities

Commission, which regulates ride-hailing services.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday that the

electric vehicle maker will roll out driverless ride-hailing

services to the public in California and Texas next year.

General Motors' ( GM ) Cruise is testing cars with human

safety drivers after an accident last year led it to pull all

vehicles from the road. Meanwhile, Amazon's ( AMZN ) Zoox is

expanding testing for its vehicles built without steering wheels

and pedals.