Waymo and Zoox Expand into More U.S. Markets as Robotaxi Race Heats Up

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Bessent and Larry Kudlow participate in a fireside chat at G20 meeting cnbc.com Waymo and Zoox expand into more U.S. markets as robotaxi race heats up Livestream CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Markets Pre-Markets U.S. Markets Currencies Prediction Markets Cryptocurrency Futures & Commodities Bonds Funds & ETFs Business Economy Finance Health & Science Media Real Estate Energy Climate Transportation Investigations Industrials Retail Wealth Sports Life Small Business Investing Personal Finance Fintech Financial Advisors Options Action ETF Street Buffett Archive Earnings Trader Talk Tech Cybersecurity AI Enterprise Internet Media Mobile Social Media CNBC Disruptor 50 Tech Guide Politics & Policy White House Policy Defense Congress Expanding Opportunity Video Latest Video Full Episodes Livestream Live Audio Live TV Schedule CNBC Podcasts CEO Interviews CNBC Documentaries Digital Originals Watchlist Investing Club Trust Portfolio Analysis Trade Alerts Meeting Videos Homestretch Jim’s Columns Education Subscribe PRO Pro News Josh Brown Mike Santoli Calls of the Day My Portfolio Livestream Full Episodes Stock Screener Market Forecast Options Investing Chart Investing Subscribe Livestream Menu Make It select USA INTL Livestream Search quotes, news & videos Livestream Watchlist SIGN IN Create free account Waymo and Zoox expand into more U.S. markets as robotaxi race heats up Livestream CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Markets Business Investing Tech Politics & Policy Video Watchlist Investing Club PRO Livestream Menu Tech Waymo and Zoox expand into more U.S. markets as robotaxi race heats up Published Tue, Sep 1 2026 10:00 AM EDT Lora Kolodny@in/lorakolodny/ WATCH LIVE Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via Email Key Points Waymo is starting paid driverless rides in Denver, San Diego and Tampa, Florida. Amazon’s Zoox said it’s planning to start testing this month in Houston and San Diego with human supervisors on board. The announcements land as Tesla plans to share more information about its driverless Cybercab and Robotaxi ride-hailing service this week. In this article GS-7.14 (-0.70%) GOOGL-3.14 (-0.93%) AMZN-5.74 (-2.21%) Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Waymo’s new autonomous vehicle, called the Ojai, drives in Venice Beach on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. Allen J. Schaben | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images Alphabet’s Waymo is expanding its commercial service, and Amazon’s Zoox said it plans to test in more U.S. cities, as the nascent robotaxi market gains momentum. Waymo, which has a commanding market lead in the U.S., said it’s now offering driverless rides to customers in San Diego, Tampa, Florida, and Denver, the first time the company will have commercial operations in Colorado. Zoox, meanwhile, said it will begin testing its toaster-shaped vehicles in Houston and San Diego with human drivers on board. The company said it will have a presence in 12 U.S. markets when those two cities open. The announcements come ahead of a planned event on Thursday from Tesla, which is expected to share details about its driverless Cybercab and its Robotaxi ride-hailing service. Goldman Sachs Research forecasts the U.S. robotaxi market will reach $19 billion in 2030, up from about $3 billion next year, before jumping to $48 billion in 2035. Waymo now boasts over 4,000 vehicles across 14 U.S. cities. Its fleet includes the newer, roomier Ojai vehicles based on a Zeekr minivan-style chassis. They’re assembled at a factory in Arizona and include automatic sliding doors, three large in-car screens, Waymo’s sixth-generation driverless technology and an entertainment system with a Gemini integration. A Waymo spokesperson said in an email that in each of the three new U.S. cities, the company will have dozens of robotaxis, with plans to reach “hundreds over time,” and that passengers will need to hail rides through the Waymo app. Waymo provides over 500,000 robotaxi rides in the U.S. each week, and aims to cross the 1 million ride mark by the end of 2026. In some markets, the company offers rides through Uber. Zoox is far behind Waymo, as its only paid ride-hailing service today operates in Las Vegas. Zoox has a free service in San Francisco for select riders and hasn’t said when it will open a paid service there. While the AV market is rapidly growing, it’s encountering criticism from labor leaders who worry that autonomous vehicles will eliminate jobs in transportation, and from vehicle safety advocates who want the companies to disclose and standardize their mileage and crash data. AVs can cause safety issues, especially during inclement weather, blackouts and on roads where there’s construction or unusual traffic. In some cases, they’ve caused gridlock or have required first responders to manually move the vehicles. — CNBC’s Annie Palmer contributed to this report. WATCH:Uber and Waymo revive robotaxi rivalry as partnership unravels watch now VIDEO 1:39 01:39 Uber and Waymo revive robotaxi rivalry as partnership unravels Halftime Report Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news. WATCH LIVESTREAMPrefer to Listen? 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