Alphabet (GOOGL, Financial) reported that its autonomous vehicle subsidiary, Waymo, is now delivering over 250,000 paid robotaxi rides weekly in the U.S. Alphabet's CEO, Sundar Pichai, mentioned that Waymo is exploring multiple options for its "cross-regional business model" and is forming partnerships with ride-hailing apps, car manufacturers, and operations and maintenance companies to support its fleet.
Pichai emphasized that Waymo cannot handle everything alone and is yet to finalize its long-term business model. Vehicles equipped with Waymo's autonomous technology will eventually focus on individual ownership. The company is also investigating ways to scale its operations.
Before expanding in the San Francisco Bay Area in March, Waymo's weekly paid rides increased from 200,000 in February to 250,000. Waymo, part of Alphabet's other business segments, operates its commercial driverless ride-hailing services in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin.
Earlier this month, Waymo and its partner Uber began allowing interested passengers to register for a trial of the robotaxi service in Atlanta, set to launch this summer.
