Alphabet’s Waymo self-driving car division has been seeking financing from outside investors, such as European automakers like Volkswagen, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation. The efforts suggest Alphabet wants to limit how much money it invests in the division, and show how valuable other parties believe it to be.

Waymo is currently thought to be costing Alphabet at least $1 billion a year, say former employees and other industry executives. While Alphabet can easily afford that investment—it has more than $100 billion in cash and generates more than $20 billion of extra cash annually—CFO Ruth Porat has been pushing its various units to operate more efficiently and cut costs.