Waymo has examined its autonomous driving system in 15 states and on hundreds of thousands of miles of public roads. | Supply: Waymo
Waymo LLC is formally bringing its robotaxi companies to Washington, D.C., in 2026. The corporate mentioned it should work intently with native policymakers to formalize the laws it must function with out a human behind the wheel within the District.
“Waymo One is making absolutely autonomous driving a actuality for hundreds of thousands of individuals throughout the U.S.” acknowledged Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana. “We’re excited to carry the consolation, consistency, and security of Waymo One to Washingtonians, those that work and play within the metropolis daily, and the hundreds of thousands of individuals from around the globe who journey to the District yearly.”
This deployment follows Waymo’s January announcement that it will be returning its Waymo Driver to D.C. Now, it plans to proceed introducing itself to the capital’s communities and emergency responders over the approaching months.
Washington the primary metropolis with snowfall to get service
Washington will get a median of 13.7 in. of snow a yr, in response to the Nationwide Climate Service. This marks the primary time that Waymo is deploying its know-how in a metropolis that recurrently will get snowfall.
“I’ve skilled firsthand how safely the Waymo Driver operates round pedestrians, cyclists, and different susceptible street customers,” mentioned Jonathan Adkins, CEO of the Governors Freeway Security Affiliation (GHSA). “Waymo has labored with GHSA and our first responder community as they’ve expanded their service, all the time placing security first. As somebody who walks to work virtually daily, I’m excited to share the street with Waymo in Washington, D.C.”
Waymo brings 2024 momentum to the brand new yr
Right this moment, Waymo One supplies greater than 200,000 absolutely autonomous paid journeys every week throughout its deployments in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin.
Already in 2025, the Mountain View, Calif.-based firm made its robotaxis out there in Austin completely by means of the Uber app. This yr, it plans to carry its companies to Atlanta and Miami.
Final yr, the self-driving unit of Google mother or father Alphabet launched its first service in Los Angeles and expanded companies in San Francisco and Phoenix. It additionally launched its sixth-generation robotaxi.
And that isn’t all. Along with the deployments and new car, Waymo closed a $5.6 billion funding spherical in October 2024. The spherical was led by Alphabet and included participation from different huge traders akin to Andreessen Horowitz, Constancy, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger World, and T. Rowe Value.
Whereas the corporate’s longtime rival, Cruise, is not in operation, it nonetheless faces competitors from robotaxi firms like Zoox and Nuro, that are earlier of their deployment journeys. In 2024, Nuro expanded its capabilities utilizing zero-occupant autos with the Nuro Driver system, whereas Zoox grew its operations in California and Nevada.
Throughout CES 2025, Mike Oitzman, senior editor at The Robotic Report, took a trip in a Zoox robotaxi.
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