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

Here’s How Waymo Uses Hyper-Local Weather Data to Improve the Capabilities of its Self-Driving Vehicles

A self-driving vehicle relies on perception sensors, similar to how a human driver uses their eyes and ears to safely navigate. However, poor weather can be challenging for both humans and autonomous driving systems. In a recent blog post, Alphabet's autonomous driving unit Waymo shared some of the ways its robotaxis will deal with rain, fog and other poor weather conditions.

Eric Walz2022-11-15 15:25 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

The Robotaxi Wars Have Begun in California After Waymo & Cruise Are Granted Permits to Collect Fares From Riders in San Francisco

On Monday, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued “Drivered Deployment” permits to Cruise LLC and Waymo to start commercial passenger service in autonomous vehicles (AVs) in San Francisco. The permit allows Cruise and Waymo to collect fares from passengers who use the robotaxi services, as well as offer shared rides.

Eric Walz2022-04-07 11:00 PT

Waymo is Deploying Self-Driving Trucks in Texas in a New Partnership with Fleet Operator C.H. Robinson

Waymo, the autonomous driving technology division of Alphabet that spun out of Google’s self-driving car project, is expanding its deployment of self-driving Class-8 trucks with a new partnership with Texas fleet operator C.H. Robinson Worldwide. Over the next few months, Waymo plans to deploy the self-driving trucks in Texas with safety drivers behind the wheel.

FutureCar Staff 2022-03-25 10:30 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 is Entering into a Long-term Strategic Alliance with Shipping Company J.B. Hunt Using Autonomous Class-8 Trucks

Alphabet Inc's autonomous driving unit Waymo is expanding its relationship with U.S. transportation and logistics company J.B. Hunt. The two companies have entered into a long-term, strategic alliance to commercialize autonomous driving technology for Class-8 trucks after a successful trials runs using self-driving trucks throughout 2021.

FutureCar Staff 2022-02-20 12:40 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

UPS Adds Waymo’s Autonomous Class 8 Trucks for Deliveries in Texas

The two companies are expanding their partnership to include deliveries being made with the self-driving company’s Class 8 between Dallas and Houston.

Vineeth Joel Patel2021-12-28 17:00 PT

Waymo is Deploying its Self-Driving Vehicles in New York City

Alphabet Inc’s autonomous driving arm Waymo is deploying its autonomous vehicles in New York City. Beginning tomorrow, Waymo’s mapping vehicles start mapping the city in preparation for a more widespread deployment of fully-autonomous vehicles. The company plans to launch an autonomous ride-hailing service in major U.S. cities called "Waymo One" that's similar to Uber and Lyft.

Eric Walz2021-12-10 07:30 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

Alphabet’s Autonomous Driving Unit Waymo Announces a New $2.5 Billion Funding Round

​Waymo, the self-driving division of Alphabet that spun out of Google’s self-driving car project, secured a significant new investment. On Wednesday, the company announced a new $2.5 billion funding round led by Waymo’s parent company Alphabet, Andreessen Horowitz and others.

Eric Walz2021-07-23 09:05 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

Waymo Updates its Open Dataset for Autonomous Vehicles to Help Researchers Better Predict the Behavior of other Road Users

Waymo, the self-driving subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. that spun out of Google’s self-driving car project, is adding prediction data to its massive Open Dataset which third parties can use for making their self-driving systems safer. Waymo first released its Open Dataset in 2019. The data was collected from its fleet of self-driving vehicles, which have traveled over 20 million miles.

Eric Walz2021-04-16 17:30 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 to Open New Autonomous Testing Facility in Ohio

The facility is being built in partnership with the Transportation Research Center and will help the company test its vehicles in more diverse weather conditions and complex urban situations.

Vineeth Joel Patel2021-01-13 07:15 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