The company is also aiming to unlock access to the San Francisco International Airport, although those plans are on a much longer timeline.
Category: Waymo
Global Security News, Transportation, Waymo
Waymo recalls 1,200 robotaxis following low-speed collisions with gates and chains
Waymo issued a software recall on 1,200 self-driving vehicles after some of its robotaxis were involved in minor collisions with gates, chains, and other gate-like roadway objects. The software update, which was first reported by Reuters, was conducted late last year, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Alphabet-owned company…
autonomous vehicles, Global Security News, Transportation, Waymo
Waymo ramps up robotaxi production at new Arizona factory
Waymo has played coy for years about exactly how many Jaguar I-Pace EVs are in its autonomous fleet — a figure that covers vehicles used in testing and commercial robotaxi operations. On Monday, the Alphabet company finally provided a peek at the commercial side of the fleet. Waymo said Monday, as part of a larger…
autonomous vehicles, Europe, Global Security News, Transportation, Uber, Waymo
Uber and WeRide set their robotaxi sights on 15 more cities
Uber and Chinese autonomous vehicle technology company WeRide plan to expand a commercial robotaxi partnership and bring the service to another 15 cities over the next five years. The expansion comes five months after the two companies launched a commercial robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi. The companies said the expansion will include cities in Europe. Under…
Global Security News, Transportation, Waymo
Waymo and Toyota are dating. If they get serious, a new autonomous vehicle could be created.
Waymo and Toyota have agreed to explore a possible deal that could one day lead to a new vehicle designed for ride-hailing and even bring self-driving tech into consumer cars. The two companies have signed a preliminary agreement to look into developing and deploying an autonomous vehicle platform, according to a blog posted by Waymo.…
Global Security News, Transportation, Uber, Waymo
Waymo and Uber prepare to launch robotaxi service in Atlanta this summer
Uber is inviting customers in Atlanta to join a list if they’re interested in hailing a Waymo robotaxi as the companies prepare to launch a commercial service in the city. Uber and Waymo last September announced plans to offer a robotaxi service in Austin and Atlanta in early 2025 as part of an expanded partnership.…
Global Security News, openai, Social, Waymo
Week in Review: Jeff Bezos’ secret EV startup
Welcome back to Week in Review! We’ve got tons of cool stuff for your reading pleasure this week: Jeff Bezos backs EV startup Slate; a Meta whistleblower accuses the company of collusion; Waymo may use interior camera data; and much more. Let’s get to it! I want this: Slate, an EV startup, has the ambitious…
Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, techcrunch mobility, Transportation, Waymo
TechCrunch Mobility: Jeff Bezos backs a secretive EV startup and Lucid snaps up Nikola’s assets
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! Tariffs, tariffs, tariffs. If there is one certainty in this uncertain moment, it’s this: U.S. tariff policy is likely to change again. As of Friday morning, there…
autonomous vehicles, Global IT News, Global Security News, Transportation, Waymo
A Waymo robotaxi got trapped in Chick-fil-A drive-through
A Waymo robotaxi caused a traffic jam at a Chick-fil-A in Santa Monica, California, this week after getting stuck in the fast food restaurant’s drive-through lane. Waymo confirmed the incident, which was first reported by local broadcast station KTLA 5, to TechCrunch via email. Waymo told TechCrunch that there weren’t any passengers in the robotaxi.…
AI, autonomous vehicles, generative ai, Global Security News, privacy, Transportation, Waymo
Waymo may use interior camera data to train generative AI models, but riders will be able to opt out
Waymo is preparing to use data from its robotaxis, including video from interior cameras tied to rider identities, to train generative AI models, according to an unreleased version of its privacy policy found by researcher Jane Manchun Wong, raising fresh questions about how much of a rider’s behavior inside autonomous vehicles could be repurposed for…
AI, autonomous vehicles, generative ai, Global Security News, privacy, Transportation, Waymo
Waymo may use interior camera data to train generative AI models, sell ads
Waymo is preparing to use data from its robotaxis, including video from interior cameras tied to rider identities, to train generative AI models, according to an unreleased version of its privacy policy found by researcher Jane Manchun Wong. The draft language reveals Waymo may also share this data to personalize ads, raising fresh questions about…
autonomous vehicles, Global Security News, Transportation, Waymo
Waymo to launch robotaxi service in Washington D.C. in 2026
Waymo said Tuesday it will begin offering robotaxi rides via the Waymo One app in Washington D.C. in 2026. Before it can launch commercially, the company will have to up its lobbying game in the capitol, where autonomous vehicle permits still require a human behind the wheel. The news from Waymo comes as the Alphabet-owned…
Global IT News, Global Security News, Transportation, Waymo
Waymo’s milestone SFO mapping permit comes with strings attached
Waymo has been given permission to map roadways at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) via a temporary permit — the first step in the Alphabet company’s bid to unlock a potentially lucrative use case for its robotaxis. The temporary permit, which was announced Monday evening by San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, kicked off March…
Global IT News, Global Security News, Intel, openai, Social, Waymo
Week in Review: SXSW week comes to a close
Welcome back to Week in Review! I’m Karyne Levy, TechCrunch’s deputy managing editor, and I’ll be writing this newsletter from here on out. Thrilled to be here! This week we’re checking out everything at SXSW; Waymo’s expansion into Silicon Valley; Intel’s new CEO; TikTok’s new suitor; and why DeepSeek isn’t taking VC money. Let’s get…
Global IT News, Global Security News, techcrunch mobility, Transportation, Uber, Waymo
Testing the Uber-Waymo robotaxi, Rivian goes hands-free, and Travis Kalanick has AV FOMO
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! For regular readers of TechCrunch Mobility, you may be wondering, “Why did this newsletter land in my inbox on Friday?” Folks, we’re moving days in an effort…
Global IT News, Global Security News, techcrunch mobility, Transportation, Uber, Waymo
TechCrunch Mobility: Testing the Uber-Waymo robotaxi, Rivian goes hands-free, and Travis Kalanick has AV FOMO
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! For regular readers of TechCrunch Mobility, you may be wondering, “Why did this newsletter land in my inbox on Friday?” Folks, we’re moving days in an effort…
Global IT News, Global Security News, robotics, Transportation, Uber, Waymo
Travis Kalanick thinks Uber screwed up: “Wish we had an autonomous ride-sharing product”
Travis Kalanick, the former CEO of Uber, made it clear on Wednesday: he believes the company’s decision to abandon its autonomous driving program was a mistake. Said Kalanick at the Abundance Summit in L.A., “Look, [new management] killed the autonomous car project we had going on. At the time, we were really only behind Waymo…
autonomous vehicles, Global IT News, Global Security News, Transportation, Waymo
Waymo expands its robotaxi service across Silicon Valley
Waymo will start offering robotaxi rides to people in its “Waymo One” early rider program in Mountain View, Los Altos, Palo Alto, and “parts of Sunnyvale” starting Wednesday, an expansion that will bring its footprint in Silicon Valley to 27 square miles. The Waymo vehicles will be available around-the-clock, and the new territories add to…
autonomous vehicles, Global IT News, Global Security News, Transportation, Uber, Waymo
Uber users in Austin are getting matched with Waymo robotaxis
Uber users in Austin now have a choice between a Waymo robotaxi and a human driver. The two companies officially launched Tuesday the “Waymo on Uber” robotaxi service in Austin as part of a partnership that has deepened in recent months. The launch comes just days before SXSW, the annual tech, music, film, and comedy…
autonomous vehicles, Global IT News, Global Security News, robotaxi, Transportation, Uber, Waymo
Waymo has doubled its weekly robotaxi rides in less than a year
Waymo is logging more than 200,000 paid robotaxi rides every week, according to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, who shared the stat about the tech giant’s subsidiary on X. Waymo commercially operates robotaxis in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix. The 200,000-weekly trips milestone is notable for a company that was providing only 10,000 rides a…
Global IT News, Global Security News, techcrunch mobility, Tesla, Transportation, Waymo
Beta Technologies’ bet on electric flight and Hyundai’s new Tesla charging port comes up short
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! Fifteen years ago, I started writing about a little EV startup that was trying to survive even as others failed in the clean tech boom-and-bust cycle. Back…
autonomous vehicles, Global IT News, Global Security News, robotaxi, Transportation, Uber, Waymo
Waymo just popped up on the Uber app in Austin ahead of robotaxi launch
Uber customers in Austin may notice a new offer when they open the app and hail a ride: an invitation to signal their interest in a Waymo robotaxi. For now, this doesn’t translate into a Waymo picking them up. But it will soon. The “interest list,” which launched Wednesday, is part of a partnership between…
autonomous vehicles, Global IT News, Global Security News, robotaxi, Transportation, Waymo
Waymo employees can hail fully autonomous rides in Atlanta now
Waymo said it is launching fully driverless robotaxi rides for employees in Atlanta, an important step before the company opens the service up to members of the public later in 2025. This is the latest signal of Waymo’s push into new markets, and it comes two months after the company closed a $5.6 billion Series…
autonomous vehicles, Global IT News, Global Security News, Transportation, Waymo
Waymo reportedly testing robotaxis in 10 new cities in 2025
Waymo plans to start testing autonomous vehicles in 10 new cities this year, starting with Las Vegas and San Diego, according to The Verge. Although this doesn’t mean the company will launch commercial operations in any of these cities — or even test them in autonomous mode. Waymo told The Verge it will send less…
Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, robotaxi, Transportation, Waymo
Waymo is reportedly building a charity ‘tipping’ feature into its robotaxi app
Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company Waymo might be planning to test a feature that will allow robotaxi riders to add a “tip” that will go to the charity of their choice after a ride. Jane Manchun Wong, a security researcher who recently hacked the display dome on top of a Waymo vehicle, found the new tip…
autonomous vehicles, Global IT News, Global Security News, robotaxi, Transportation, Waymo
Waymo begins testing robotaxis on LA freeways
Waymo robotaxis have become a common sight on Los Angeles surface streets. Now, those driverless vehicles are heading to the city’s network of freeways. The Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle technology company said Tuesday it will begin testing its fleet of robotaxis on the Los Angeles freeway system, including Interstates 10, 110, 405, and the 90. These…
autonomous vehicles, Global IT News, Global Security News, TC, Transportation, Waymo
Waymo lobbyist activity in SF skyrocketed in 2024
Waymo lobbyists had a busy 2024. A recent review of lobbyist disclosure data by the San Francisco Examiner revealed Waymo paid lobbyists to meet with San Francisco government officials 348 times last year, more than double the 137 times it reported in 2023. The pop in lobbyist activity is in sync with Waymo’s expansion in…
Cybersecurity, Exclusive, Global IT News, Global Security News, hacking, infosec, Security, Transportation, Waymo
Hidden Waymo feature let researcher customize robotaxi’s display
Security researcher Jane Wong found a hidden feature that let her change the top display of a Waymo robotaxi. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
AI, AI agents, Enterprise, Global IT News, Global Security News, Startups, TC, VC, venture capital, Waymo, Y Combinator
Coval evaluates AI voice and chat agents like self-driving cars
What do AI voice agents and self-driving cars have in common? Their performance can be evaluated in the same way, argues Brooke Hopkins, a former tech lead at Waymo. Coval, Hopkins’ new startup, looks to do just that. “When I left Waymo, I realized a lot of these problems that we had at Waymo were…
AI, Anthropic, Global IT News, Global Security News, openai, Venture, Waymo, xAI
Despite VCs investing $75B in Q4 , it’s still hard for startups to raise money, data proves
After two years of relatively muted investment activity, it seems that VCs are starting to pour capital into startups at pandemic-era levels once again. But a closer look shows that they aren’t really. In the fourth quarter of last year, investors funneled $74.6 billion into US startups, a substantial increase from the average of $42…
Asia Pacific, autonomous vehicles, CES, EVs, Global Security News, TC, Transportation, Waymo
CES 2025: Self-driving cars were everywhere, plus other transportation tech trends
Even before CES 2025 kicked off a few trends began to emerge — or more accurately, some gaps appeared. All U.S. and some European automakers that have helped turn CES into an auto show were absent. Several Chinese automakers filled that void, notably Zeekr, the EV brand owned by China’s Geely Holdings. Wey, a premium…
CES, Global IT News, Global Security News, Transportation, Waymo
CES 2025: Where have all the US automakers gone?
The old chestnut passed around by industry watchers for the past decade was that CES — one of the world’s largest consumer tech trade events — had turned into an auto show. Maybe even the most important auto show of the year. And there was ample evidence of that. GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra…
autonomous vehicles, Global IT News, Global Security News, robotaxi, Transportation, Waymo
We talked to the guy who was stuck in a Waymo robotaxi on an dizzying loop
A month ago, a video circulated around social media of a Waymo robotaxi stuck in a roundabout loop – an isolated incident with no passengers in the vehicle, according to Waymo. Apparently, it wasn’t a one-time thing. Around the same time, in another Waymo robotaxi headed for the Phoenix airport, Mike Johns, founder and CEO…
autonomous vehicles, Global IT News, Global Security News, Transportation, Waymo
Zeekr RT, the robotaxi built for Waymo, has the tiniest wipers
For the autonomous vehicle-obsessed, the Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi is nothing new. In 2021, Waymo and Zeekr announced a partnership. Waymo first showed a concept of the purpose-built robotaxi in late 2022 and began testing prototype versions on public roads in San Francisco last year, even as it began rolling out its commercial fleet of Jaguar I-Pace…
Global IT News, Global Security News, robotaxi, Transportation, Waymo
A Waymo robotaxi and a Serve delivery robot collided in Los Angeles
On December 27, a Waymo robotaxi and a Serve Robotics sidewalk delivery robot collided at a Los Angeles intersection, according to a video that’s circulating on social media. The footage shows a Serve bot crossing a street in West Hollywood at night and trying to get onto the sidewalk. It reached the curb, backed up…
autonomous vehicles, EVs, Global IT News, Global Security News, robotaxi, Startups, Tesla, Transportation, Waymo
The trends that shaped EVs, robotaxis, and electric flight in 2024
If there was one phrase that captured the vibe and theme of 2024 — at least in the transportation sector — it was business whiplash. Legacy automakers changed direction on their all-EVs-or-bust strategy, startups pivoted, and some Silicon Valley VCs and executives adjusted their views to a changing political landscape, in which they now are…
Global IT News, Global Security News, techcrunch mobility, Tesla, Transportation, Waymo
Waymo fills the Cruise void overseas and a salute to icon Jean Jennings
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. This will be the last newsletter of 2024! But don’t worry, we’ll be back in 2025 — sign up here to get it in your inbox every week. Thank you for reading and your emails. I love…
autonomous vehicles, Global IT News, Global Security News, robotaxi, Transportation, Waymo
Waymo robotaxis are coming to Tokyo in 2025
Waymo will begin testing its autonomous vehicle technology in Tokyo in early 2025, the first time the Alphabet company’s robotaxis have driven on public roads outside the U.S. The move to Japan is part of Waymo’s so-called “road trips,” a development program that involves bringing and testing its technology in a variety of cities —…
Global IT News, Global Security News, robotaxi, Transportation, Waymo
A Waymo robotaxi got stuck in a roundabout loop
Roundabouts. They trapped Clark Griswold in National Lampoon’s European Vacation and now they’ve tripped up a Waymo robotaxi. A video is circulating on social media showing a Waymo robotaxi going round and round on a roundabout — as if it is stuck in a loop. A Waymo spokesperson told TechCrunch there were no passengers onboard…