Ride-hailing just got a whole lot more interesting. Waymo, a company under Alphabet, has hit a major milestone: 10 million paid trips. That’s right, 10 million people have used their robotaxis in cities like Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix.
Tekedra Mawakana, one of Waymo’s executives, shared the news during the Google I/O conference. She said these trips show people are making Waymo a part of their daily lives. The company got approval to expand its service to more areas, including San Jose.
Waymo’s Road to Profit
Waymo is part of Alphabet’s “Other Bets” and isn’t profitable yet. But it’s working on it. Mawakana said the company is focused on building a sustainable business. With 250,000 paid trips per week, it’s on the right track.
But Waymo isn’t the only player in the game. Tesla is gearing up to launch its own robotaxi service in Austin next month. Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, said the company will start with around 10 vehicles and quickly expand to thousands if everything goes smoothly. The competition is heating up, and it’s going to be interesting to see how it all plays out.