Driverless delivery hits the streets of Phoenix
Waymo and DoorDash are partnering to experiment with self-driving delivery in Phoenix, using Waymo’s self-driving Jaguars to fulfill DoorDash orders.
cheddar
Waymo announced on November 3 that it will launch robotaxi services in Las Vegas, San Diego, and Detroit next year, marking its largest geographic expansion to date.
Alphabet’s GOOGL.O unit will also start operating new Zeekr vehicles this week, alongside its existing Jaguar I-PACE vehicles, it added.
The new Zeekr model, co-developed with Chinese automaker Geely, is specifically designed for the robotaxi use case and will be rolled out in stages as the company expands its services.
Companies such as Waymo, Tesla Inc TSLA.O and Amazon AMZN.O’s Zoox are investing billions of dollars in self-driving technology.
While Tesla launched its long-awaited robotaxi service earlier this year, Waymo already operates driverless services in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin, and has completed more than 10 million rides.
Waymo plans to launch in Las Vegas next summer and is working with local officials and first responders to secure deployment permits in San Diego.
The company said in Detroit that winter weather testing in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula strengthens the company’s year-round operating capabilities, which have maintained engineering operations for years.
Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru. Editing: Leroy Leo
