Waymo, a US-based autonomous vehicle company owned by Google, has announced it is brining its self-driving ride-hailing to service to the UK.
One of the most valuable autonomous vehicle firms, worth up to $33.6bn according to Dealroom, Waymo has been operating “robotaxi” services in US cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin for years.
The firm said on Wednesday that it intends to roll out this service in London as early as next year. Waymo said over the coming months it would be laying the groundwork with its fleet operations partner Moove as well as local leaders to ensure appropriate permissions are secured.
“We’re thrilled to bring the reliability, safety and magic of Waymo to Londoners,” said Waymo co-chief executive Tekedra Mawakana.
“Waymo is making roads safer and transportation more accessible where we operate. We’ve demonstrated how to responsibly scale fully autonomous ride-hailing, and we can’t wait to expand the benefits of our technology to the United Kingdom. ”
Waymo already has UK-based engineering hubs in London and Oxford and have an existing partnership with British vehicle brand Jaguar Land Rover.
“I’m delighted that Waymo intends to bring their services to London next year, under our proposed piloting scheme,” said Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander.
“Boosting the AV sector will increase accessible transport options alongside bringing jobs, investment, and opportunities to the UK. Cutting edge investment like this will help us deliver our mission to be world-leaders in new technology and spearhead national renewal that delivers real change in our communities.”
Waymo’s entrance to the UK will provide competition to Wayve, a London-based autonomous vehicle group and UK’s most valuable AI company. Wayve is backed by Microsoft and Nvidia and has a taxi partnership with Uber.
Waymo’s vehicles have had more than 1,000 accidents logged, however, its has not been found liable for bodily injury.