Waymo Expands Robotaxi Fleet to Millions of Autonomous Miles
Alphabet subsidiary Waymo currently operates commercial robotaxi services across 10 US metropolitan areas, providing hundreds of thousands of paid rides weekly. The company traces its roots to early DARPA challenges and stands as a pioneer in fully driverless transportation.
Waymo is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Operating as a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., the company currently runs public commercial robotaxi services in 10 US metropolitan areas. With over 3,700 robotaxis in its fleet, Waymo provides 500,000 paid rides per week and accumulates 200 million fully autonomous miles.
The origins of the company trace back to the Stanford Racing Team, which competes in the 2005 and 2007 DARPA Grand Challenges. Google officially begins developing this self-driving technology in January 2009 and reveals the ambitious project to the public in October 2010.
In December 2016, the Google Self-Driving Car Project spins out of Google, takes on the name Waymo, and becomes a standalone subsidiary under the Alphabet corporate umbrella. By October 2020, Waymo achieves a major industry milestone by becoming the first company to offer fully driverless ride-hailing services to the general public.