Waymo's robotaxi service lands in Los Angeles, marking the largest expansion in history!

On Tuesday, November 12, Eastern Time, Waymo, the autonomous driving company under Google's parent company Alphabet, announced the full launch of its autonomous taxi service in Los Angeles, eliminating the previous waiting list. Starting Tuesday, anyone within nearly 80 square miles of Los Angeles can use the Waymo One app to book an autonomous taxi. Los Angeles is the third city to launch Waymo's autonomous taxi service and the largest one. The service has previously been launched in San Francisco (fully launched in June this year) and Phoenix (launched in 2020), and now the 3.8 million residents of Los Angeles can also enjoy this service. Waymo's co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana stated at Tuesday's press conference: "This is an exciting time, and we are thrilled to welcome everyone in Los Angeles to experience our service. Our autonomous driving technology is advancing rapidly, and passengers are already beginning to enjoy the many benefits of fully autonomous driving. We are very grateful to the first passengers in Los Angeles and look forward to serving more passengers soon." Over the past year, Waymo has accelerated its operational expansion due to increased funding support. The company completed a $5.6 billion funding round in October to expand its autonomous taxi services across the United States. This autonomous driving technology is owned by Google's parent company Alphabet, which led this Series C funding round, with other early investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price also participating in the investment. Waymo stated that it currently provides over 150,000 paid rides weekly through the Waymo One app in three markets, an increase from 100,000 in August. Additionally, Waymo announced in September a partnership with Uber, planning to introduce autonomous taxi services in Austin, Texas, by 2025. Waymo's next-generation autonomous taxis will use Geely's Zeekr model, equipped with custom sensors and an AI "driver." Furthermore, Waymo recently reached a long-term strategic partnership agreement with Hyundai to add the Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric vehicle to its autonomous taxi fleet. The Waymo One service is particularly popular among some female passengers, as they have safety concerns about riding with unknown drivers. Additionally, parents use it to take their children to school