Waymo establishes China subsidiary, but don’t expect testing yet

According to a report today out of China Money Network (via TechCrunch), Alphabet subsidiary Waymo has established a subsidiary of its own in China.

A filing with China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System shows that the subsidiary, named “Huimo Business Consulting” was established with registered capital of 3.5 million yuan (or roughly $514,150).

If there was any doubt that this is a true Waymo subsidiary, Google apparently confirmed to TechCrunch that it is indeed a Waymo unit and that “people are working there,” although refused to comment further on the company’s plans.

While it might seem obvious for Waymo to be interested in China prospects in the long term, it doesn’t seem like self-driving testing there is in the cards just yet. The filing said its scope is “business consulting, logistics management consulting, supply chain consulting, autonomous driving parts and product design, testing and other related services,” China Money Network reported.

Regardless, the name seems pretty interesting if nothing else. “Huimo” sounds like “Waymo” if pronounced a certain way, but “Huí mó” in Chinese also translates roughly to “back to the magic.”

This news comes in the midst of another China-related news cycle. Google is reportedly looking to re-launch its web search business there, and employees aren’t happy.