Waymo said Monday it will launch a robotaxi service in Detroit, Las Vegas and San Diego as the Alphabet-owned company finalizes its expansion plans.
The announcement illustrates Waymo’s recent evolution from a maker of self-driving technology to a commercial enterprise. It also follows comments from Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana, who said last week during TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 that it’s imperative the company scales.
“By the end of 2026, you should expect us to be delivering 1 million trips per week,” Mawakana said at the time.
Waymo has completed more than 250,000 rides per week since April. Since then, the company has added more, though the company did not share a specific number.
Waymo tested its technology for years in Silicon Valley before launching a commercial robotaxi service in Phoenix, followed by the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. Last year, the company brought its robotaxis to Atlanta and Austin in partnership with Uber. Waymo also announced plans to expand its commercial operations to several new markets in 2026, including Denver, Miami, Nashville, London, Seattle and Washington.
Waymo said Monday it plans to roll out a combination of Jaguar I-Pace and Zeekr RT self-driving vehicles in the three markets this week. However, the public will not have access immediately.
Waymo’s go-to-market strategy typically starts with human drivers manually operating vehicles to map city streets. The human safety operator is eventually removed and autonomous vehicles, which are equipped with cameras, radar and lidar sensors as well as self-driving software, navigate on their own. After a driverless testing period, Waymo is offering access to employees, media and some consumers before finally opening its robotaxi service to the public.
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Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley said in a statement that “the introduction of Waymo and self-driving technology is not a science experiment, but a proven, safe, new alternative designed to help our residents and the millions of visitors who come to our city get around – from the Strip and beyond.” Berkley added that the city is committed to ensuring that this technology is adopted responsibly.
Waymo is already familiar with these three cities. The company has brought its autonomous vehicles to Detroit, Las Vegas and San Diego in the past. Waymo also has an engineering team based in the Detroit area. The company says it is prepared for snow conditions in Detroit after spending several seasons driving in the Detroit metro area and Upper Peninsula to expand its winter weather capabilities.
Waymo noted that its rapid expansion is due to its widespread approach to its self-driving system. This growth has helped make Waymo a dominant player in the robotaxi market. However, there are other companies making a play for market share.
Zoox operates a free robotaxi service in Las Vegas, a city where it has tested and developed its technology for years. Tesla also has a robotaxi service, which still has people in the passenger seat, in parts of Austin as well.
