As part of its mission to revolutionize transportation through autonomous technology, Waymo has been developing a generalizable, fully autonomous Driver – the Waymo Driver. This versatile system is designed to integrate with a wide variety of vehicle platforms and accommodate diverse commercial applications ranging from ride-hailing and trucking to local delivery and personal car ownership.
Yet, following a surge in business opportunity and growth in the ride-hailing sector, Waymo has recently announced a strategic shift in focus.
Reflecting the current momentum and the burgeoning commercial prospects in the ride-hailing market, Waymo is directing its efforts and investment toward this promising arena. San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles are already bearing witness to the fast-paced growth and rider demand in this sector. Leveraging advanced AI/ML technologies, the company is iterating on its proprietary technology at an unprecedented rate.
However, this concentrated approach on ride-hailing signifies a slowdown in other operational arenas, including trucking. While Waymo had been pushing the boundaries of autonomous freight movement, the company has decided to push back the timeline on their commercial and technical endeavors related to this sector.
Despite this pause, Waymo maintains a collaborative relationship with Daimler Truck North America (DTNA), its strategic partner in the trucking business. Committed to improving road safety and efficiency for fleet customers, both companies continue to strive for the technical development of an autonomous truck platform. In fact, Waymo intends to uphold the platform investments made to create a redundant chassis to enable autonomous trucking.
In tandem with DTNA, Waymo plans to harness the autonomous-ready Freightliner Cascadia® platform, explore potential future platforms, and intertwine its autonomous tech with DTNA’s capabilities. The ongoing advancements in the Waymo Driver, particularly on freeway settings, will directly translate to the trucking sector, thereby indirectly benefiting its development efforts.
The new strategy aims to steer Waymo towards a sustainable path of value creation, predominantly through commercial success in the ride-hailing business. Rapid improvements are being made to the Driver, alongside efforts to shape and navigate regulatory challenges. Moreover, Waymo is testing use cases that will yield valuable insights for its partners in the long run.
The shift to ride-hailing doesn’t rule out the importance of other sectors in Waymo’s future. The company acknowledges the significant commercial potential of its trucking solution and other commercial applications of the Waymo Driver.
This laser-focused approach on ride-hailing today positions Waymo, its partners, and customers advantageously for a future of autonomous transportation. Ultimately, it underscores the expansive scope and potential of the Waymo Driver across a broad spectrum of business lines, hinting at the revolutionary changes to come in the transportation landscape.
