Waymo Reveals its New Robotaxi Built by New Premium Electric Vehicle Brand Zeekr

​Alphabet's autonomous driving unit Waymo, which spun out of Google's self-driving car project, unveiled its latest autonomous passenger vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week. The company’s next generation electric robotaxi is being built by Chinese premium electric automaker Zeekr and represents the future of mobility for Waymo customers.

Eric Walz2022-11-18 10:50 PT

Waymo Opens its Fully-Autonomous Ride Hailing Service to Employees in San Francisco Without Safety Drivers Onboard

​Alphabet Inc’s autonomous driving division Waymo opened up its autonomous ride-hailing service called “Waymo One” to its employees in San Francisco. The Waymo vehicles picking up employees will be “fully-autonomous”, meaning that no safety drivers will be behind the wheel.

Eric Walz2022-05-06 11:25 PT

A Look at How Waymo’s Self-Driving Test Fleet Safely Traveled 2.7 Million Miles in San Francisco Last Year

​Autonomous driving developer Waymo plans to launch its autonomous ride-hailing service soon in San Francisco. In preparation for the service, Waymo announced that its fleet of self-driving vehicles has traveled 2.7 million miles on city streets, mapping the city and collecting valuable data to improve its autonomous driving technology stack called the “Waymo Driver”. In a new blog post, Waymo shared how it safely accomplished this.

Eric Walz2022-03-04 14:25 PT

Waymo’s New Robotaxis Will Be Built By Chinese Automaker Geely’s New Premium Electric Brand Zeekr

Autonomous driving developer Waymo, which spun out of Google’s self-driving car project, unveiled its new electric robotaxi vehicle that will be built by Zeekr, the new premium electric brand from Chinese automaker Geely. Zeekr was established in March as a standalone brand to compete with Tesla, XPeng, NIO Inc. and others in the premium EV category in China.

Eric Walz2022-02-04 09:30 PT

Waymo Has Tens of Thousands of San Francisco Residents on a Waitlist to Take a Ride in One of its Robotaxis

Alphabet Inc division Waymo plans to launch an app-based autonomous ride-hailing service in major U.S. cities called "Waymo One", which is similar to Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing providers. Waymo is planning to launch the service soon in San Francisco and co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana, said on Friday that tens of thousands of San Francisco residents are on Waymo’s waitlist to try out the service.

FutureCar Staff 2022-01-09 16:00 PT

Waymo & GM’s Autonomous Driving Unit Cruise Granted Permits to Deploy Commercial Self-Driving Vehicles in the San Francisco Bay Area

Alphabet’s self-driving division Waymo, along with Cruise, the autonomous driving unit of automaker General Motors, have each been issued permits by California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to deploy commercial self-driving vehicles carrying paying customers. The permits pave the way for a more broader deployment of autonomous ride-hailing services in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Eric Walz2021-11-06 16:30 PT

Waymo is Now Picking Up Riders in its Self-Driving Robotaxis in San Francisco

Alphabet’s autonomous driving division Waymo, which spun out of Google’s self-driving car project, has launched its commercial robotaxi service in San Francisco for a select group of early testers. The company was approved to begin picking up passengers in its driverless vehicles for the first time in the city after extensively testing its technology using safety drivers behind the wheel.

Eric Walz2021-09-30 10:00 PT

Waymo CFO is Leaving the Company Following the Departure of CEO John Krafcik Last Month

Ger Dwyer, the Chief Financial Officer of Alphabet's autonomous driving unit Waymo, is leaving the company following the unexpected departure of CEO John Krafcik last month. Also leaving is Chief Automotive Office Adam Frost, who first began working for Google's self-driving car project in 2013, which spun out as Waymo.

FutureCar Staff 2021-06-19 11:30 PT

The CEO of Alphabet’s Autonomous Driving Division Waymo Steps Down From His Role

​John Krafcik, the CEO of Waymo for over five years, announced on Friday that he is stepping down from his role. Waymo spun out of Google’s early self-driving car project and is viewed as the leading developer of self-driving technology. He is being replaced by current Waymo CTO Dmitri Dolgov and COO Tekedra Mawakana. The two will lead the company as co-CEOs.

Eric Walz2021-05-09 15:30 PT

Alphabet Division Waymo Will No Longer Use the Term ‘Self-Driving’ to Describe its Technology

To date, no major automaker or self-driving startup, has actually developed a vehicle capable of safe self-driving without human intervention. So Waymo, which spun out of Google’s self-driving car project over a decade ago, wants to help educate the public about the true capabilities of its autonomous driving technology. The company announced this week that going forward its will no longer refer to its technology as "self-driving."

FutureCar Staff 2021-02-12 12:55 PT

Waymo Releases Report on How it Ensures its Autonomous Vehicles Offer the Highest Level of Safety

As a leader in the development of autonomous driving technology, including commercial robotaxis and self-driving trucks, Alphabet's autonomous driving division Waymo utilizes comprehensive safety requirements and practices for its autonomous vehicle development, testing and deployment phases, which the company shared in two detailed reports.

FutureCar Staff 2020-12-06 11:55 PT

Waymo Secures $750 Million in its Latest Funding Round, Totaling $3 Billion Since March

Despite the economic fallout due to the coronavirus crisis, venture capital continues to flow to companies working on self-driving cars and commercial robotaxi services that have the potential to change the future mobility landscape. Waymo announced it had raised another $750 million its first ever outside investment round. The Alphabet subsidiary has raised $3 billion since March.

Eric Walz2020-06-19 10:00 PT

Waymo to Resume its Self-driving Vehicle Testing Next Week in Arizona

Alphabet subsidiary Waymo, the self-driving technology company which spawned from Google’s early self-driving car project, announced on Thursday that it will resume its autonomous vehicle testing next week. Waymo is putting some of its vehicles back on the road in the Phoenix, Arizona metro area, where the company has been testing its driverless vehicles for the past several years.

FutureCar Staff 2020-06-14 15:15 PT

Waymo is Offering Robotaxi Pickups in Arizona with No Safety Driver Behind the Wheel

After announcing earlier this month that its would remove some safety drivers from its vehicles, Waymo CEO John Krafcik confirmed the company is now offering limited “rider-only” trips in Phoenix, Arizona without a safety driver behind the wheel.

Eric Walz2019-12-04 10:45 PT

Waymo is Headed to Florida to See How its Self-Driving Vehicles Perform in the Rain

​The sunny and tropical weather that Florida is famous for also brings with it heavy rain and thunderstorms, especially in the summer. For Alphabet subsidiary Waymo, Florida in the summer is the perfect place to test how its self-driving vehicles perform in the rain.

Eric Walz2019-09-26 11:55 PT

Google to Develop Self-Driving Taxis with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Auto Alliance

The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, one of the world’s biggest auto groups, is reported to be working with Alphabet Inc’s Waymo division to develop autonomous taxis and other mobility services in Asia.

Eric Walz2019-03-14 13:56 PT

Waymo to Open a Self-Driving Car Assembly Plant Near Detroit

The self-driving car revolution may not come just from Silicon Valley and may be headed back to Detroit, the birthplace of America’s auto industry. Waymo, the self-driving division of Google’s spun out of the company’s first self-driving car program, announced it will open a factory near Detroit to outfit its fleet of vehicles for autonomous driving.

Eric Walz2019-02-28 11:28 PT

Waymo’s Commerical Driverless Taxi Service Launches in Arizona

Waymo made some history today by launching the first ever commercial driverless shuttle service in Arizona.The service is called Waymo One and riders can use the company’s smartphone app to summon a ride in one of Waymo’s driverless Chrysler Pacifica minivans.

Eric Walz2019-01-11 11:56 PT