Waymo Debuts Custom Chip as Robotaxi Fleet Expands

A New Brain for Waymo's Fleet

Alphabet's Waymo has unveiled a custom-built computer chip designed to power the sensing and decision-making systems inside its self-driving vehicles, marking a significant step away from reliance on third-party silicon suppliers like Nvidia 1. Waymo executives describe the chip as the "brain" behind its robotaxis, arguing that in-house silicon lets the company tune performance and efficiency specifically for autonomous driving workloads rather than adapting general-purpose hardware 6. The move mirrors a broader trend among big tech companies designing proprietary chips to reduce costs and dependency on outside vendors, and it comes as Waymo pushes to scale its service to more cities and more riders.

Scaling Up the Fleet and the Vehicles

The chip announcement lands alongside a major hardware refresh: Waymo's next-generation vehicle, the Ojai, is now on public roads in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Phoenix, and has opened to all riders in those three cities 74. Notably, the Ojai is built on Chinese-made electric vehicle platforms, a development that outside analysts had anticipated for years as Chinese automakers sought entry into the U.S. market through partnerships with robotaxi operators rather than direct consumer sales 34. Commentators framing the economics of these Chinese-sourced vehicles suggest they could meaningfully lower Waymo's per-vehicle costs, a key variable as the company works toward profitability at scale 73.

Geographic Expansion Accelerates

Waymo's footprint is growing quickly on multiple fronts. California regulators have approved an expansion of Waymo's ride-hailing service across 18 counties, setting the stage for gradual rollout into dozens of additional cities beyond its established strongholds 5. In Colorado, Waymo has been quietly testing vehicles on Denver streets since last year and says it expects to open the service to public riders "soon," with a full public launch anticipated later this year 89. Meanwhile, competitive pressure is intensifying: Nevada regulators have granted permits to Waymo alongside Tesla and Uber that could collectively allow up to 8,000 robotaxis to operate in the state over the next 12 months 2, signaling that the autonomous ride-hailing market is shifting from a Waymo-dominated space toward a more crowded field of operators.

Why It Matters

Taken together, the custom chip, the cheaper Ojai vehicle, and the wave of regulatory approvals across California, Colorado and Nevada point to a company racing to industrialize autonomous driving before rivals catch up. Vertical integration of hardware could give Waymo tighter control over cost and reliability, while regulatory wins in multiple states suggest that autonomous vehicle oversight is loosening enough to support rapid multi-city rollouts. The entrance of Chinese-built vehicles into Waymo's fleet also raises longer-term questions about supply chains and trade policy that regulators and competitors will likely watch closely as robotaxi services expand nationwide.