Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)-owned Waymo plans to expand its self-driving ride-hailing service, Waymo One, to Los Angeles (LA), CNBC has reported, though no date has been given for the California launch.
“When we think about our next cities, Los Angeles jumps out,” said Waymo’s co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana in a blog post on Wednesday, the newsite reported. “LA is a remarkable, vibrant place – and Waymo’s experience leaves us best positioned to tackle its driving complexity.”
Waymo currently only operates its service to the public in the East Valley region of Phoenix, Arizona.
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The company said it has already started driving around LA to collect mapping data, a process that involves humans driving the cars down streets while sensors gather information on crosswalks, road edges, curb heights and intersections, CNBC noted.
Waymo said the LA service will first begin with safety drivers behind the wheel and, later, with just Waymo employees as riders. It will begin public testing after it gathers permits and feedback.
The 12-year-old company launched its ride-hailing service in 2018 in Phoenix but has been slow to make progress outside of the limited East Valley Phoenix region.
In August of last year, the company announced that it was to launch in San Francisco but the cars, most of which still have safety drivers, are still not available to the public or people outside of its approved testing participants.
Waymo announced plans in March to remove the safety drivers for fully-autonomous rides, but those are still only available to Waymo employees, CNBC said.
Waymo announced in March 2020 that it raised $2.25 billion in its first external funding round. By July 2020, it said it has raised a total of $3.2 billion after an extension of that round. Last year, it raised another $2.5 billion from investors including parent company Alphabet and Andreessen Horowitz.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com