Milestones
- Waymo One launches in Phoenix (with safety drivers)Dec 2018Complete.
- Fully driverless rides open to the public in PhoenixOct 2020Complete.
- California approves paid driverless service in San Francisco10 Aug 2023Complete.
- Austin launch via UberMar 2025Complete.
- Freeway rides for public ridersNov 2025Complete.
- Paid service in ten US metrosJul 2026Complete.
- One million paid rides per weekTarget Dec 2026Current milestone.
- First international launches (Tokyo, London)Not yet reached.
Most important updates
- 26d ago
- 26d ago
- 1 Sep 2026
- 14 Aug 2026
- 8 Jul 2026
Upcoming
- 2026London public service, announced for September 2026 (next)
- Dec 2026One million paid rides per week
- 2027Tokyo rides with Nihon Kotsu and GO
- Q4 2027Munich launch, Waymo's first in Germany (announced for late 2027)
- 2028Singapore service
Current obstacles
- Vehicle supplyMillions of weekly rides need thousands more cars from new makers like Zeekr and Hyundai, each needing fitting and testing.
- Weather and new citiesSnow and heavy rain are still harder; colder cities and left-side-driving places like London and Tokyo need fresh testing.
Physics limits
- Rain, fog and snow blind sensorsWater droplets scatter the infrared light lidar uses and blur cameras, so sensing range shrinks exactly when stopping distances grow. Radar sees through but only in coarse detail.
- Maps go staleWaymo drives with detailed prior maps, but roads change through construction and new lanes faster than maps update, so the car must spot and handle mismatches on the fly.
- Far objects return few lidar pointsLidar points spread out with distance, their density falling roughly with range squared. Small debris at freeway braking distances (60–80 m) returns only a handful of points.
How it works
Sense
360° multi-sensor view
Lidars, radars and cameras on the roof and body see hundreds of metres around the car, day and night.
Predict
Guessing what others will do
AI forecasts many possible moves for every walker, cyclist and car, then the planner picks a safe, smooth path.
Support
Fleet response
When a car is unsure, e.g. at a blocked road, remote staff give advice; they do not drive it directly.
Spec sheet
| Spec | Waymo One |
|---|---|
| Paid rides per week | ~500,000 (mid-2026)R (reported) |
| US metros with paid service | 10 (mid-2026)R (reported) |
| 6th-gen cameras | 13R (reported) |
| 6th-gen lidars | 4R (reported) |
| 6th-gen radars | 6R (reported) |
| Safety driver | NoneR (reported) |
R reported by the company
Update log
Mon 14 Sep
- Minor: BlogPartnership
- Minor: BlogCommercial
Tue 1 Sep
- Major: BlogCommercial
Fri 14 Aug
- Major: PressRegulatory
Wed 8 Jul
- Major: BlogCommercial
Thu 21 May
- Minor: PressOther
Nov 2025
- Major: BlogSoftware
Mar 2025
- Minor: BlogCommercial
Thu 10 Aug 2023
- Major: BlogRegulatory
About Waymo
Waymo
Driverless ride-hailing, Waymo Driver, lidar
Alphabet's self-driving company, started as Google's self-driving car project in 2009. It runs the largest fully driverless taxi service in the US: about 500,000 paid rides a week in ten metros by mid-2026.
- About 500,000 paid rides a week in ten US metros in mid-2026; aims for 1 million a week by end of 2026.
- Raised $16B at a $126B valuation in February 2026, mostly from Alphabet.
- Peer-reviewed studies show far fewer injury crashes than human drivers in the same areas.
- Founded
- 200917 yrs
- Headquarters
- United States
- Status
- Subsidiaryof Alphabet
- Valuation
- $126BAlphabet-ownedFeb 2026
- Raised
- $24B3 rounds
- Last round
- Series D · $16BFeb 2026$126B post
- Coverage
- 1 program · 11 updateslatest 26d agochecked 25 Sep
- Lead investors
- DragoneerDST GlobalSequoia CapitalAlphabetSilver LakeMubadalaCanada Pension Plan
- Partners
- Uber (opens uber.com)