Waymo Expands Robotaxi Service to Silicon Valley Communities
Waymo announced Tuesday it will expand its autonomous ride-hailing service by an additional 27 square miles across the San Francisco Bay Area, extending operations into Mountain View, Los Altos, Palo Alto, and parts of Sunnyvale, California.
The Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOG)-owned company will initially limit access to residents with local ZIP codes who use the Waymo One app, with plans to gradually increase availability to more riders throughout the region. The expansion deploys fully electric Jaguar I-Pace vehicles equipped with Waymo’s fifth-generation self-driving technology.
“Opening our fully autonomous ride-hailing service in Silicon Valley marks a special milestone in our Bay Area journey,” said Waymo product chief Saswat Panigrahi. “This is where Waymo began and where we’re headquartered.”
This development follows Waymo’s previous expansion last summer into Daly City, Broadmoor, and Colma. The company does not yet serve San Francisco International Airport, though a spokesperson told CNBC they are in “active discussions with SFO” and working to connect Silicon Valley and San Francisco to “provide seamless autonomous rides across more of the Bay Area in the future.”
Waymo recently launched commercial robotaxi operations in Austin, Texas, coinciding with the city’s South by Southwest festival. The company has established a significant lead over competitors including Tesla and Amazon-owned Zoox, which continue developing their own autonomous vehicle technologies.
Before Tuesday’s announcement, Waymo reported providing more than 200,000 paid trips weekly across its existing service areas in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix.
While Alphabet does not disclose specific financial results for Waymo, the autonomous vehicle business operates within the company’s “Other Bets” division. This unit generated $400 million in revenue during the fourth quarter of 2024 while incurring operating losses of $1.17 billion, according to Alphabet’s most recent financial filing.
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