Google-backed Waymo Via is temporarily scaling back its efforts in the autonomous trucking industry
🔋 Google-backed Waymo Via is temporarily scaling back its efforts in the autonomous trucking industry.
Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo, the autonomous driving company backed by Google, has decided to shift its focus to its ride-hailing service and delay the expansion of Waymo Via, its autonomous commercial trucking arm. The company will continue collaborating with Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) to advance the development of an autonomous truck platform. Waymo will invest in improving its Waymo Driver capabilities for both ride-hailing and trucking applications. The decision comes as autonomous driving software faces regulatory scrutiny, and Waymo aims to achieve commercial success in the ride-hailing business, especially in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. However, Waymo still sees significant future commercial opportunities for its trucking solution alongside other applications of the Waymo Driver technology.
Texas is setting the stage to possibly become the first hotspot for mainstream driverless trucks, thanks to initiatives by companies like Waabi and Aurora Innovation.