Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, has officially expanded its autonomous ride-hailing service, Waymo One, to all users in Los Angeles.
This move comes eight months after the company began offering rides to a select group of passengers in the city.
The expansion allows riders to hail a robotaxi across the city using the Waymo One app.
Last month, Waymo closed a substantial $5.6bn funding round, reflecting the industry’s confidence in autonomous vehicles as a key driver of future growth.
Waymo’s expansion follows its successful launches in San Francisco in June and Phoenix, Arizona, in 2020.
Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said: “Our service has matured quickly, and our riders are embracing the many benefits of fully autonomous driving.”
Waymo has been a trailblaser in self-driving technology, launching the first US driverless taxi service in 2020 after over a decade of development.
The race in the autonomous ride-hailing market is heating up, with Tesla CEO Elon Musk announcing plans to introduce driverless services in California and Texas next year.
General Motors‘ Cruise is also conducting tests with human safety drivers following an incident last year.
Amazon‘s Zoox is also advancing its tests for vehicles designed without traditional driving controls.
In October 2024, Hyundai Motor Company announced a multi-year partnership with Waymo to supply electric vehicles for Waymo’s self-driving taxi fleet in the US.
The Ioniq 5 models for the robotaxi fleet will be produced at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia, set to begin operations in the fourth quarter of 2024.
