Waymo has begun offering fully autonomous public rides in Las Vegas, its first Nevada robotaxi market, with a few dozen vehicles. Amazon-backed Zoox began commercial operations there in August, giving Waymo an established rival; Waymo plans to expand its fleet over time.
Waymo says more than 100,000 people expressed interest in riding, and it spent months studying local roads before launch. The initial service area spans nearly 24 miles and includes Allegiant Stadium and The Venetian. Las Vegas is among the first cities where most of the fleet will consist of Ojai vehicles, equipped with the sixth-generation Waymo Driver.
Earlier in September, Waymo began welcoming riders in Denver, San Diego and Tampa. In May, it said it was scaling production capacity at its Mesa, Arizona, factory toward tens of thousands of Waymo-enabled vehicles annually. Waymo raised $16 billion in February at a $126 billion valuation; the article notes that adding cities alone does not establish the business’s eventual returns at large scale.
