Waymo Co-CEO on the Road to 1 Million Robotaxi Rides a Week

Summary

Waymo Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana speaks with Bloomberg Tech's Ed Ludlow about the company's $16 billion fundraise at a $126 billion valuation, its expansion plans to 20 cities, and its target of 1 million paid rides per week by end-2026. She highlights safety metrics, regulatory hurdles in New York, and first international launches in London and Tokyo. Mawakana also defends Waymo's multi-sensor autonomous approach against Tesla's vision-only strategy and addresses recent safety investigations.

• Waymo raised $16B at a $126B valuation, with Alphabet as majority investor.
• The company plans to lay groundwork for over 20 cities and reach 1M paid weekly trips by end-2026.
• Waymo currently operates 400k paid weekly rides across six U.S. cities and touts strong safety data.
• Regulatory hurdles remain, with New York City not among the 2026 launch cities.
• London and Tokyo are the first international launch markets, using local partners.
• Waymo defends its multi-sensor redundancy versus Tesla's vision-only approach.
• Recent safety incidents involving a child and school buses are under investigation.
• Management emphasizes execution, cost reduction, and unit economics.