Waymo has announced its plans to roll out fully autonomous robotaxi rides for its employees in Atlanta, marking a significant advance ahead of a public launch slated for 2025.
This move indicates Waymo’s continued expansion into new markets, following the recent completion of a $5.6 billion Series C funding round which valued the company at $45 billion. Notable investors in this round included Alphabet, Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Tiger Global, and others.
Earlier this week, the firm revealed plans to conduct tests in ten additional cities this year, beginning with San Diego and Las Vegas.
When Waymo officially kicks off its commercial robotaxi services in Atlanta, they will solely be accessible through the Uber app. Additionally, Waymo and Uber have plans to launch their services together in Austin within this year.
In October, Waymo provided select members of the public in Austin with robotaxi rides, following a similar initiative for employees introduced seven months prior.
Waymo’s announcement about Atlanta coincides with Elon Musk’s statement regarding Tesla’s anticipated robotaxi service launch in Austin expected in June. However, Tesla has not yet deployed a fully autonomous vehicle on public roads that operates without a human driver prepared to take control.
Waymo independently operates its own autonomous ride-hailing service, known as Waymo One, in cities including San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.
Compiled by Techarena.au.
Fanpage: TechArena.au
Watch more about AI – Artificial Intelligence
