History of Waymo in Timeline

Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. (Google's parent company), is an autonomous driving technology company based in Mountain View, California. Originating as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, Waymo operates commercial robotaxi services in several US cities, including Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Austin. They provide services to waitlisted passengers in Silicon Valley. As of April 2025, Waymo provides more than 250,000 paid rides weekly, amassing over 1 million miles monthly, signifying substantial growth and adoption of its autonomous driving technology.

2004: Levandowski's team built Ghost Rider

In 2004, Levandowski's Berkeley team built the Ghost Rider, the autonomous two-wheeled motorcycle that Levandowski later donated to the Smithsonian.

2005: Stanford's entries in the DARPA Challenges built

In 2005, Thrun and a team of engineers built Stanley, Stanford's entry in the DARPA Grand Challenge. The initial software code and AI design started before the team worked at Google.

2005: Stanford Racing Team competes in DARPA Grand Challenge

In 2005, the Stanford Racing Team competed in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge.

2007: Stanford's entries in the DARPA Challenges built

In 2007, Thrun and a team of engineers built Junior, Stanford's entry in the DARPA Grand Challenge. The initial software code and AI design started before the team worked at Google.

2007: Stanford Racing Team competes in DARPA Grand Challenge

In 2007, the Stanford Racing Team competed in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge.

February 2008: Levandowski receives request to borrow Ghost Rider

In February 2008, a producer from Discovery Channel's Prototype This! asked Levandowski to borrow his autonomous motorcycle, Ghost Rider, for the show, but Levandowski instead offered to retrofit a Toyota Prius as a self-driving pizza delivery car.

December 2008: Episode depicting Pribot delivering pizza aired

In December 2008, an episode of Prototype This! aired, showcasing the Pribot delivering pizza across the San Francisco Bay Bridge under police escort.

2008: Street View team launches project Ground Truth

In 2008, the Street View team launched project Ground Truth, to create accurate road maps by extracting data from satellites and street views.

January 2009: Google begins developing self-driving technology

In January 2009, Google started developing self-driving technology, led by Sebastian Thrun and Anthony Levandowski.

January 2009: Google's self-driving car program greenlit

In January 2009, the project's success led Google to approve its self-driving car program.

January 17, 2009: Google X lab begins developing self-driving technology

On January 17, 2009, Google started its self-driving car project at Google X lab, led by Sebastian Thrun and Anthony Levandowski.

2009: Google spent $1.1 billion on the self-driving car project

Between 2009 and 2015, Google spent $1.1 billion on its self-driving car project.

2009: Self-driving car testing began

In 2009, Google began testing its self-driving cars in the San Francisco Bay Area.

October 9, 2010: Google's self-driving car project existence revealed

On October 9, 2010, the New York Times revealed the existence of Google's self-driving car project, and Google announced the initiative later the same day.

October 2010: Google's self-driving car project revealed

In October 2010, after about two years of road testing, Google revealed its self-driving car project.

2010: Lawmakers express concerns over regulating autonomous vehicles

Starting in 2010, lawmakers in various states expressed concerns over how to regulate autonomous vehicles.

2011: Google acquires 510 Systems and Anthony's Robots

In 2011, Google acquired 510 Systems and Anthony's Robots for an estimated US$20 million, integrating their technology into the self-driving car project.

March 1, 2012: Nevada law regarding autonomous vehicles goes into effect

On March 1, 2012, a Nevada law related to autonomous vehicles, for which Google had been lobbying, went into effect.

May 2012: First US license for a self-driven car

In May 2012, a modified Prius was licensed by the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

2012: Castle test facility used as training course

In 2017, Waymo unveiled its Castle test facility in Central Valley, California. Castle has served as the project's training course since 2012.

December 2013: Laws permitting autonomous cars passed

By December 2013, Nevada, Florida, California, and Michigan had passed laws permitting autonomous cars. A law proposed in Texas allowed testing.

January 2014: Google granted patent for transportation service

In January 2014, Google was granted a patent for an advertising-funded transportation service using autonomous vehicles.

June 2015: Vehicles drove over 1,000,000 miles

In June 2015, Waymo announced that their vehicles had driven over 1,000,000 miles, encountering 200,000 stop signs, 600,000 traffic lights, and 180 million other vehicles. Prototype vehicles were driving in Mountain View.

August 2015: Google hires John Krafcik as CEO

In August 2015, Google hired former Hyundai Motor executive, John Krafcik, as CEO of its self-driving car project.

October 2015: First driverless ride on public roads

In October 2015, Google took its first driverless ride on public roads when Mahan took a 10-minute ride around Austin in a Google "pod car" with no steering wheel or pedals. Google expanded its road-testing to Texas, where regulations did not prohibit cars without pedals or a steering wheel.

2015: Google spent $1.1 billion on the self-driving car project

Between 2009 and 2015, Google spent $1.1 billion on its self-driving car project.

2015: Google planned testing of Firefly prototype

In December 2014, Google unveiled a Firefly prototype that was planned to be tested on San Francisco Bay Area roads beginning in early 2015.

2015: Google provides world's first fully driverless ride on public roads

In Fall 2015, Google provided what it called "the world's first fully driverless ride on public roads".

March 2016: General Motors acquires Cruise Automation

In March 2016, General Motors acquired Cruise Automation for $500 million.

May 2016: Google and Stellantis announce order of Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans

In May 2016, Google and Stellantis announced an order of 100 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans to test self-driving technology.

June 2016: Total miles driven in autonomous mode

As of June 2016, Google had test driven its fleet of vehicles in autonomous mode a total of 1,725,911 miles.

August 2016: Autonomous miles driven in August

In August 2016, Google's cars traveled a total of 170,000 miles, of which 126,000 miles were autonomous (i.e., the car was fully in control).

August 2016: Uber acquires Otto

In August 2016, Uber acquired Otto for $680 million.

November 30, 2016: Autonomous miles and disengagements reported

In 2017, Waymo reported a total of 636,868 miles covered by the fleet in autonomous mode, and the associated 124 disengagements, for the period from December 1, 2015, through November 30, 2016.

December 2016: Google's Self-Driving Car Project renamed Waymo

In December 2016, Google's self-driving car project was renamed Waymo and spun out of Google as part of Alphabet.

December 2016: Google's project becomes Waymo

In December 2016, the Google self-driving car project was renamed Waymo and spun out of Google as part of Alphabet.

February 2017: Waymo sued Uber

In February 2017, Waymo sued Uber and its subsidiary self-driving trucking company, Otto, alleging trade secret theft and patent infringement. The company claimed that three ex-Google employees, including Anthony Levandowski, had stolen trade secrets from Google before joining Uber. The alleged infringement was related to Waymo's proprietary lidar technology.

October 2017: Waymo tests minivans without safety driver on public roads

In October 2017, Waymo began testing minivans without a safety driver on public roads in Chandler, Arizona.

2017: Testing in Michigan and unveiling Castle test facility

In 2017, Waymo began testing in Michigan. Also, in 2017, Waymo unveiled its Castle test facility in Central Valley, California.

2017: Testing Level 4 cars in Arizona

In 2017, Waymo began testing its Level 4 cars in Arizona to take advantage of good weather, simple roads, and permissive laws with minimal disclosure requirements.

2017: Waymo highlighted business uses for its autonomous tech

In 2017, Waymo highlighted four specific business uses for its autonomous tech: robotaxis, trucking and logistics, urban public transportation, and passenger cars.

2017: Autonomous miles and disengagements reported

In 2017, Waymo reported a total of 636,868 miles covered by the fleet in autonomous mode, and the associated 124 disengagements, for the period from December 1, 2015, through November 30, 2016.

March 2018: Jaguar Land Rover announces Waymo order for I-Pace electric SUVs

In March 2018, Jaguar Land Rover announced that Waymo had ordered up to 20,000 of its I-Pace electric SUVs at an estimated cost of more than $1 billion.

March 2018: Trucking experiments to Google data centers

In March 2018, Waymo announced plans for experiments with self-driving trucks delivering freight to Google data centers in Atlanta, Georgia.

May 2018: Alphabet plans to add Pacifica Hybrid minivans to fleet

In late May 2018, Alphabet announced plans to add up to 62,000 Pacifica Hybrid minivans to the Waymo fleet.

July 2018: Uber halting production of self-driving trucks

In July 2018, Uber announced that it was halting production of self-driving trucks through Otto, and the subsidiary company was shuttered.

October 2018: Permit to operate cars without safety drivers

In October 2018, the California Department of Motor Vehicles issued a permit for Waymo to operate cars without safety drivers, marking them as the first to receive such a permit for day and night testing. The service area would include Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, and Palo Alto.

December 2018: Waymo One launched

In December 2018, Waymo launched Waymo One, transporting passengers with safety drivers monitoring some rides, while others were provided without them in select areas.

April 2019: Waymo announces vehicle assembly in Detroit

In April 2019, Waymo announced plans for vehicle assembly in Detroit at the former American Axle & Manufacturing plant.

November 2019: Waymo One operated without safety drivers

In November 2019, Waymo One became the first autonomous service worldwide to operate without safety drivers.

January 2020: 20 million miles on public roads completed

By January 2020, Waymo had completed twenty million miles of driving on public roads.

March 2020: Waymo Via launched

In March 2020, Waymo Via was launched after the company announced it had raised $2.25 billion from investors.

May 2020: Waymo raises additional funding

In May 2020, Waymo raised an additional $750 million.

July 2020: Partnership with Stellantis expanded

In July 2020, Waymo and Stellantis expanded their partnership to include the development of Ram ProMaster delivery vehicles.

July 2020: Waymo announces partnership with Volvo

In July 2020, Waymo announced an exclusive partnership with auto manufacturer Volvo to integrate Waymo technology.

October 2020: Waymo offers driverless rides to the public

In October 2020, Waymo became the first company to offer self-driving services to the public without safety drivers in the vehicle.

2020: Waymo Via launched

Waymo Via launched in 2020 to work with OEMs to get its technology into vehicles.

April 2021: Waymo appoints co-CEOs

In April 2021, Krafcik was replaced by two co-CEOs: Waymo's COO Tekedra Mawakana and CTO Dmitri Dolgov.

June 2021: Waymo raises funding

In June 2021, Waymo raised $2.5 billion in another funding round, bringing total funding to $5.5 billion.

August 2021: Waymo launches consumer testing program in San Francisco

In August 2021, Waymo launched a consumer testing program in San Francisco.

August 2021: Waymo One test service started in San Francisco

In August 2021, a commercial Waymo One test service started in San Francisco, beginning with a "trusted tester" rollout.

2021: Waymo announced a partnership with Zeekr

In 2021, Waymo first announced a partnership with Zeekr to develop electric vehicles that would reduce costs.

January 2022: Waymo sued California DMV

In January 2022, Waymo sued the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to prevent data on driverless crashes from being released to the public, claiming such information constituted a trade secret.

February 2022: Waymo prevents release of safety records

In February 2022, Waymo was successful in preventing the release of robotaxi safety records. A Waymo spokesperson claimed that the company would be transparent about its safety record.

March 2022: Rides for staff in San Francisco without a driver

In March 2022, Waymo began offering rides for Waymo staff in San Francisco without a driver.

May 2022: Waymo pilots program and expands to more areas of Phoenix

In May 2022, Waymo started a pilot program in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, and announced plans to expand the program to more areas of Phoenix.

June 2022: Waymo partners with Uber

In June 2022, Waymo announced a partnership with Uber to integrate its autonomous technology into Uber's freight truck service.

December 13, 2022: Waymo applies for final permit to operate autonomous taxis in California

On December 13, 2022, Waymo applied for the final permit necessary to operate fully autonomous taxis, without a backup driver present, within the state of California.

2022: Waymo raises outside funding

By 2022, Waymo had raised US$5.5 billion in multiple outside funding rounds.

January 2023: Waymo staff affected by Google layoffs, trucking program set to be killed

In January 2023, reports indicated that Waymo staff were affected by Google's layoffs of around 12,000 workers, and the company was set to shut down its trucking program.

2023: Cruise suspends operations after an accident

Around October 2024, the New York Times described Waymo as being "far ahead of the competition", in particular after Cruise had to suspend its operations after an accident in 2023.

2023: Joint application for safety exemption

In 2023, Waymo and Aurora Innovation jointly applied to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for a five-year exemption from rules requiring drivers to place reflective triangles or flares around stopped tractor-trailer trucks. This was aimed at avoiding the need for human drivers by using warning beacons on the truck cab.

2023: Waymo One area coverage increased

In 2023, coverage of the Waymo One area was increased by 45 square miles, expanding to include downtown Mesa, uptown Phoenix, and South Mountain Village.

2023: "Coning" protests in San Francisco

In 2023, the San Francisco group Safe Street Rebel used a practice called "coning" to trap Waymo and Cruise cars with traffic cones as a form of protest, claiming that the cars had been involved in hundreds of incidents.

May 2024: NHTSA investigation into potential flaws

In May 2024, the NHTSA launched an investigation into potential flaws in Waymo vehicles, focusing on 31 incidents that included Waymo vehicles ramming into a closing gate, driving on the wrong side of the road, and at least 17 crashes or fires.

July 2024: Waymo begins testing sixth-generation robotaxis

In July 2024, Waymo began testing its sixth-generation robotaxis which are based on electric vehicles by Chinese automobile company Zeekr, developed in a partnership first announced in 2021.

July 31, 2024: Never found liable for bodily injury

As of July 31, 2024, Waymo has never been found liable for bodily injury.

October 2024: Waymo closes $5.6 billion funding round

In October 2024, Waymo closed a $5.6 billion funding round led by Alphabet, aimed at expanding its robotaxi services.

October 2024: 100,000 paid rides per week

As of October 2024, Waymo was offering 100,000 paid rides per week across its Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles markets.

December 2024: First international expansion with testing in Tokyo

In December 2024, Waymo announced its first international expansion with testing in Tokyo, Japan, in partnership with Nihon Kotsu and Japan's GO taxi app.

2024: Fifth-generation robotaxis costs

As of 2024, Waymo's fifth-generation robotaxis were based on customized Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicles, which add up to $100,000 to vehicle costs. Other costs include technicians that monitor rides, service personnel, and real estate for storing and charging the vehicles.

2024: Attack on Waymo car in San Francisco Chinatown

During the 2024 Lunar New Year in San Francisco Chinatown, a mob of vandals attacked, graffitied, and set fire to a Waymo car. No one was injured.

2024: Waymo raises $5.6 billion in funding

In 2024, Waymo raised $5.6 billion in funding.

2024: Attack by an onlooker on Waymo car

In 2024, a pair of Waymo passengers described an attack by an onlooker who attempted to cover the car's sensors.

2024: Legal opposition to expansion

In 2024, the city attorney of San Francisco attempted to sue to prevent the expansion of driverless vehicles, including Waymo, into San Francisco. San Mateo County government soon after also sent a letter to regulators opposing expansion to its county.

March 2025: 200,000 paid rides per week

As of March 2025, Waymo was offering 200,000 paid rides per week in its existing markets, including Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

March 2025: Expansion to Silicon Valley and Austin

In March 2025, Waymo expanded its commercial robotaxi services to Silicon Valley and Austin, Texas. In Austin, Waymo partnered with Uber, allowing riders to hail its self-driving vehicles through the Uber app.

April 2025: Testing in Miami, Tokyo, and planned launch in Atlanta

As of April 2025, Waymo’s robotaxi program was testing in Miami. In Tokyo, Waymo is launching its preparatory testing. And in Atlanta, Waymo has announced its intent to launch robotaxi services during summer 2025.

April 2025: Waymo's paid rides reach 250,000 per week

In April 2025, Waymo was providing over 250,000 paid rides each week, which amounts to more than 1 million miles every month.

June 2025: Waymo cars set on fire during Los Angeles protests

During the June 2025 Los Angeles protests, several Waymo cars were set on fire. Officials including California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass condemned the destruction. Use of Waymo camera footage by police has been cited as a possible reason for the targeting of Waymo cars.

June 2025: Waymo's crash statistics

As of June 2025, Waymo has had 80% fewer injury-causing crashes than human drivers over the same distance driven, 79% fewer airbag-deployment crashes, and 91% fewer serious-injury-or-worse crashes, according to its own analysis.

July 2025: Protests in Boston

In July 2025, anti-Waymo protestors in Boston were joined by city officials, who expressed concerns over safety and the impact on rideshare drivers.

July 2025: NHTSA investigation closed

The NHTSA investigation launched in May 2024 was closed in July 2025 with no action taken.

August 2025: Testing in New York City

In August 2025, New York City allowed Waymo to test up to eight of its vehicles in Manhattan and the downtown area of Brooklyn in a pilot program expected to run until late September.

September 2025: Waymo integrated into Chandler's public microtransit service

In September 2025, Waymo and the city of Chandler, Arizona announced that Waymo would be integrated into Chandler's public microtransit service.

September 15, 2025: NHTSA logs accidents involving Waymo vehicles

As of September 15, 2025, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has logged 1,267 accidents involving Waymo vehicles in autonomous mode.