Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous driving subsidiary, has seen a dramatic surge in its robotaxi service, with weekly rides nearly doubling in just six months. A leaked investor letter from Tiger Global Management reveals that Waymo is now providing an impressive 450,000 robotaxi rides per week across its operational areas, a significant leap from the 250,000 weekly rides reported earlier this year.
The new figures emerged from a confidential letter sent by venture capital giant Tiger Global to its investors, which was first reported by CNBC. The letter served as an appeal for investment into Tiger Global's upcoming venture capital fund, highlighting the robust gains achieved by its current fund. These gains were largely attributed to strategic investments in high-growth companies, including Waymo, alongside other prominent AI firms like OpenAI and Databricks.
This rapid growth trajectory is set to continue as Waymo pursues an aggressive expansion strategy. Currently offering commercial robotaxi services in five major U.S. cities—Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and the San Francisco Bay Area—the company has ambitious plans to launch in 12 additional cities throughout 2026. Key markets targeted for future expansion include Dallas, Denver, Houston, Nashville, and San Diego.
While the Alphabet-owned company had previously been vague about its updated ride numbers, only stating "many hundreds of thousands" of weekly rides, the Tiger Global letter provides a concrete update. A Waymo spokesperson, however, declined to comment on the newly revealed figures.
