Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana had a clear message during her TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 stage interview on Monday: “It’s imperative that we scale.”
Mawakana was speaking in the context of how Waymo balances raising capital (and spending that money) with ultimately achieving profitability. But she was also clear in the interview that she believes Waymo can increase road safety by reaching this scale.
All of which explains why the company has expanded this year and expects to roll out in several more US cities — DC, Miami, Denver, Dallas, Seattle and Nashville — as well as London in 2026. It’s a furious pace that has led the self-driving company to leverage multiple partnerships with the likes of Uber and Avis, Lyft.
“By the end of 2026, you should expect to deliver 1 million journeys per week,” he said.
Mawakana spent a lot of time during the interview with TechCrunch transportation editor Kirsten Korosec talking about the challenges of safely achieving this kind of scale.
Waymo’s co-CEO argued that the company operates at a level that is safer than the typical human driver. And while he didn’t name names, he took a shot at competitors, saying they aren’t doing enough to prove their autonomous vehicle technology is truly safe.
“It is an obligation [them] be transparent about what’s going on,” he said. “And if you’re not transparent, then I think you’re not doing what’s necessary to really earn the right to make the road safer.”
Her comments come as the company continues to clear spikes during its expansion — with one of the most recent incidents in Atlanta, Georgia, where a Waymo vehicle pulled out in front of a stopped school bus, prompting an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Waymo itself recently released a report that claims its vehicles are already five times safer than most human drivers and 12 times safer than pedestrians.
Still, Waymo’s vehicles are caught making a lot of decisions.
“It’s important to recognize that it’s not going to be perfect, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be accountable for transparency,” Mawakana said on stage. “I think…we’re really worried as a company about those days. You know, we’re not saying if, we’re saying when, and we’re planning for them.”
Mawakana also said Waymo doesn’t think in terms of “how much [incidents] are allowed.”
“We know they’re going to happen because our cars are on the road with people and unfortunately, right now, the state of the roads and the state of human driving is that there are a lot of deaths and a lot of injuries are caused on the roads,” he said.
And when asked if the public would accept a death caused by a robotaxi in the face of the promise of greater safety, Mawakana said: “I think society will.”
There’s still plenty of time to get a ticket to TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, and with two days left, we’re offering a 50% discount.
