Waymo to enter London in expansion of robotaxi business outside US cities

Waymo, the self-driving car company owned by Alphabet, announced Wednesday it will launch robotaxi operations in London.

The firm plans to begin testing its vehicles on London roads in the coming months, with trained safety personnel behind the wheel during the initial phase.

If everything goes according to plan and the company secures necessary approvals from regulators and government officials, paying customers could start using the service sometime next year. 

Waymo has been growing fast back home 

The service now operates commercially in five cities in the US, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin and Atlanta. The company has also revealed intentions to bring its robotaxis to Washington, D.C and Miami. 

In August, Waymo received permits allowing it to test its self-driving cars with safety drivers in New York City.

London represents Waymo’s second city outside the United States, following Tokyo, where the company kicked off testing earlier in 2025. For the London rollout, Waymo will use Jaguar iPACE electric cars fitted with its Waymo Driver technology. The company already has engineering staff working in London and Oxford. 

Waymo plans to partner with Moove, a company that offers vehicle financing to drivers and handles tasks like charging, cleaning, and repairs for ride-hailing companies including Uber and Waymo. Uber has also invested in Moove recently.

The timing aligns with recent changes in British policy. In June, the United Kingdom government introduced a faster approval process for self-driving car companies wanting to run commercial trials, hoping to attract investment in autonomous vehicle technology.

Waymo points to its safety data as a selling point

Based on the company’s own data analysis, its technology gets into injury-causing crashes five times less often than human drivers. The difference is even more dramatic for accidents involving pedestrians, where Waymo claims its vehicles have 12 times fewer injury-causing incidents compared to human drivers.

The company has already accumulated significant data in its favor. Waymo reports its autonomous vehicles have driven 100 million miles on public roads without a human driver, and have given more than 10 million paid trips to customers.

The company operates under Alphabet’s “Other Bets” division, which generated $373 million in revenue during the second quarter. Alphabet is scheduled to release third-quarter financial results on October 29.

Waymo won’t be alone in London. Wayve, a British startup with backing from Microsoft and SoftBank, previously said it would launch its own robotaxi trial in London next year. 

However, Wayve uses a different technical approach, relying on cameras rather than the radar, lidar and advanced sensors that Waymo employs. This camera-based method resembles Tesla’s strategy for autonomous driving.

The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? Join them.