Waymo Expands Autonomous Ride-Hailing Service
(Reuters) – Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)'s Waymo announced on Tuesday that its autonomous ride-hailing service, Waymo One, is now available to everyone in Los Angeles, showcasing rapid growth and adoption of this innovative technology.
Last month, Waymo closed a $5.6 billion funding round, amid a trend where automakers and technology companies are increasingly investing in driverless technology to support future growth, despite facing stringent regulatory scrutiny.
The company reported that nearly 300,000 people had joined its waitlist following the commencement of commercial operations in the city earlier this year, indicating strong demand for its services.
Waymo had opened access to its ride-hailing service to everyone in San Francisco in June and in Phoenix, Arizona in 2020.
Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo, stated, "Our service has matured quickly and our riders are embracing the many benefits of fully autonomous driving."
Based in Mountain View, California, Waymo is a pioneering self-driving technology company that launched its first U.S. driverless taxi service in 2020, over a decade after it originated as a project within Google.
In October, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk announced plans for the company to introduce public driverless ride-hailing services in California and Texas next year, indicating increasing competition in the autonomous ride-hailing industry.
Meanwhile, General Motors (NYSE:GM)'s Cruise is currently testing cars with human safety drivers after an accident prompted the withdrawal of all vehicles from the roads last year, and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s Zoox is expanding the testing of its vehicles designed without steering wheels and pedals.
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