Waymo announced Monday that it will launch robotaxi services in Detroit, Las Vegas and San Diego as the Alphabet-owned company accelerates its expansion plans.
The announcement marks Waymo’s recent evolution from a self-driving car technology developer to a commercial company. This follows comments from Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 last week, where he said it was imperative for the company to scale.
“Expect us to be able to offer one million trips per week by the end of 2026,” Mawakana said at the time.
Waymo completed more than 250,000 rides per week as of April. The company has since added more, but did not provide specific numbers.
Waymo tested its technology in Silicon Valley for years before launching a commercial robotaxi service in Phoenix, followed by the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. Last year, the company partnered with Uber to bring robotaxis to Atlanta and Austin. Waymo also announced plans to expand its commercial operations into several new markets in 2026, including Denver, Miami, Nashville, London, Seattle, and Washington, DC.
Waymo announced Monday that it plans to launch its self-driving cars, the Jaguar I-Pace and Zeekr RT, in three markets this week. However, it is not immediately accessible to the general public.
Waymo’s go-to-market strategy typically begins with a human driver manually operating a vehicle to map a street. Eventually, human safety operators will be eliminated and self-driving cars will be able to drive themselves, equipped with self-driving software as well as cameras, radar and lidar sensors. After a period of driverless testing, Waymo will provide access to employees, media, and some consumers before ultimately opening its robotaxi service to the public.
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“The implementation of Waymo and its self-driving technology is not a science experiment, but a proven, safe new alternative designed to help our residents and the city’s millions of visitors travel from the Strip and beyond,” Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Barclay said in a statement. Barclay added that the city is committed to ensuring this technology is implemented responsibly.
Waymo is already familiar with these three cities. The company has previously deployed self-driving cars in Detroit, Las Vegas and San Diego. Waymo also has an engineering team based in the Detroit area. The company said it was prepared for Detroit’s snow conditions after spending multiple seasons driving through the Detroit metropolitan area and the Upper Peninsula to expand its winter weather capabilities.
Waymo pointed to its rapid expansion as a result of the generalized approach of self-driving systems. This growth has made Waymo a dominant player in the robotaxi market. However, there are other companies competing for market share.
Zoox operates a free robotaxi service in Las Vegas. Las Vegas has been home to many years of technology testing and development. Tesla still operates a robotaxi service with a human passenger in the passenger seat in some parts of Austin.
