Waymo, Zoox Expand Robotaxis to More US Cities

Waymo and Amazon's Zoox both pushed into new US markets on Monday, underscoring how quickly the robotaxi business is scaling beyond its early hubs of San Francisco and Phoenix.

Waymo, owned by Alphabet, began welcoming its first public riders in Denver, San Diego and Tampa, extending its commercial autonomous ride-hailing service to 14 US cities. The Denver and San Diego launches will run exclusively on Waymo's newest vehicle, the all-electric Ojai minivan, which pairs the company's sixth-generation self-driving system with a cabin designed around passengers rather than a driver's seat. Waymo's total fleet has grown to more than 4,000 vehicles, combining Jaguar I-Pace hatchbacks with a growing number of Ojai minivans.

Zoox, the self-driving unit Amazon acquired in 2020, said it would begin testing in Houston and San Diego, growing its footprint to 12 US locations. Unlike Waymo's rapid public rollout, Zoox is starting with retrofitted test vehicles for manual mapping before it eventually deploys its purpose-built, steering-wheel-free robotaxis in those markets. Zoox currently offers paid rides only in Las Vegas, alongside free rides for select users in San Francisco, Austin and Miami.

The twin announcements highlight a widening gap in strategy: Waymo is racing to add cities and vehicles to a service already generating hundreds of thousands of weekly rides, while Zoox is still laying the groundwork—testing routes and mapping streets—before it can offer paid service in its newest markets.