{"id":"6b1556a8-1072-44f2-aae1-1547f16cb088","modelId":"c9a56a6c-55d4-40e3-b080-70a6f04e6956","versionId":null,"locationId":"360f0034-a348-409b-b804-fdbf8b23794b","operatorId":null,"ownerId":null,"slug":"waymo-driver-gen6-houston","status":"active","firstSeen":"2026-02-24T00:00:00.000Z","manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.aol.com/news/google-owned-waymo-robotaxis-soon-151502821.html","label":"Houston employee-only fall 2025, public early 2026","title":"Houston employee-only fall 2025, public early 2026","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"AOL/MySA","publishedAt":"2025-11-08"},{"url":"https://www.electrive.com/2026/02/25/waymo-launches-robotaxi-service-in-four-additional-us-cities/","label":"Houston public launch Feb 2026","title":"Houston public launch Feb 2026","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Electrive","publishedAt":"2026-02-25"}],"notes":"Operator: Waymo (own service, Waymo One app). Waymo announced Houston service in November 2025 (employee-only operations beginning that fall) and launched public/rolling-access service in February 2026, scaling gradually (high-density zones around the Toyota Center and West University).","keyFacts":[{"label":"Launched","value":"Public Feb 2026 (rolling access)"}],"reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-26T18:10:38.590Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-26T18:11:06.275Z","model":{"id":"c9a56a6c-55d4-40e3-b080-70a6f04e6956","companyId":"2128addc-20c8-4c31-aef5-be5ada97aede","modelName":"Waymo Driver 6th-gen","slug":"waymo-driver-gen6","description":"The sixth-generation Waymo Driver is Waymo's autonomous driving stack for fully autonomous robotaxi service. The platform integrates 13 cameras, 4 lidars, 6 radars, and external audio receivers, with overlapping 360° coverage and a detection range up to roughly 500 meters in nominal conditions. Compared to the fifth-generation system on the Jaguar I-PACE, the sixth-gen system uses 42% fewer total sensors. Waymo says the per-unit hardware cost is targeted under $20,000 — a more than 50% reduction from the 5th-gen system. Currently runs on the Zeekr RT (sold as the “Ojai” robotaxi, purpose-built without a steering wheel or pedals) and the Hyundai IONIQ 5; began fully autonomous commercial operations in February 2026.","formFactor":"av","maturityStage":"commercial","specs":{"drive_mode":"fully_autonomous","generation":6,"lidar_count":4,"radar_count":6,"camera_count":13,"vehicle_platforms":"Zeekr RT (Ojai); Hyundai IONIQ 5","external_audio_receivers":true,"detection_range_m_nominal_approx":500,"target_unit_cost_usd_under_waymo_stated":20000},"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://waymo.com/blog/2024/08/meet-the-6th-generation-waymo-driver/","label":"Waymo blog — Meet the 6th-generation Waymo Driver (primary announcement, sensor suite + cost targets)","publishedAt":"2024-08-19"},{"url":"https://waymo.com/blog/2026/02/ro-on-6th-gen-waymo-driver/","label":"Waymo blog — Beginning fully autonomous operations with the 6th-gen Driver (primary, commercial launch)","publishedAt":"2026-02-12"},{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/12/waymo-begins-deploying-next-gen-ojai-robotaxis-to-extend-its-us-lead.html","label":"CNBC — Waymo begins deploying next-gen Ojai robotaxis (third-party trade coverage of the launch)","publishedAt":"2026-02-12"},{"url":"https://www.wardsauto.com/news/archive-auto-waymo-6th-generation-driver-autonomous-driving-hardware-robotaxi-lidar-ai/725519/","label":"WardsAuto — Inside the 6th-generation Waymo Driver (third-party deep-dive on the hardware suite)","publishedAt":"2024-08-29"}],"aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-25T04:41:57.633Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-25T19:43:05.059Z","company":{"id":"2128addc-20c8-4c31-aef5-be5ada97aede","name":"Waymo","slug":"waymo","description":"Alphabet's autonomous-driving subsidiary and the most commercially advanced robotaxi operator in the world. Originally the Google Self-Driving Car Project (2009), spun out as Waymo in 2016, it operates the Waymo One ride-hailing service across roughly 11 U.S. metropolitan markets using its sixth-generation Waymo Driver (on Jaguar I-PACE vehicles).\n\nScale: Waymo provides approximately 500,000 paid rides per week (up from ~250,000 a year earlier) and is targeting 1 million weekly rides by the end of 2026. It completed about 15 million rides in 2025 (tripling year-over-year) and has surpassed 20 million lifetime rides, across 127+ million miles of fully autonomous driving.\n\nFinancials: In February 2026 Waymo closed a $16 billion Series D round at a $126 billion post-money valuation — the largest autonomous-vehicle funding round on record, more than double its $45B October-2024 valuation — bringing total funding raised to roughly $27 billion. Alphabet funds the majority; the round drew Sequoia, Dragoneer, DST Global, a16z, Mubadala, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, T. Rowe Price and others. Annual recurring revenue reportedly exceeded $350 million in 2025 (~$15-20 average fare).\n\nSafety positioning (Waymo's own claims): Waymo states its driver is 'statistically superior to human driving,' citing a 90% reduction in serious-injury crashes across 127 million autonomous miles. These are company-stated figures.\n\nAccountability / scrutiny: Despite that positioning, rapid expansion has produced regulatory actions — a voluntary software recall after vehicles illegally passed stopped school buses in Texas (NHTSA investigation opened), a ~3,800-vehicle voluntary recall tied to San Antonio floodwater incidents, an NTSB investigation into the Texas school-bus violations, and an NHTSA investigation into a January 2026 incident in which a Waymo struck a child near a Santa Monica school (minor injuries). Waymo temporarily suspended freeway rides in May 2026 after vehicles struggled in construction zones.\n\nExpansion: Waymo plans 20+ additional cities in 2026 (Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Nashville, Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego, Washington DC and more) plus its first international markets, London and Tokyo — forward plans, distinct from current operating markets.","status":"Alphabet subsidiary","founded":2009,"hq":"Mountain View, California, USA","fundingTotal":"27000000000","type":"both","reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://waymo.com","label":"Waymo — Company website"},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo","label":"Wikipedia — Waymo (history, operations, ownership)"},{"id":"62df3f1f-807b-451f-a3cd-c64314901f99","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/21/waymo-halts-freeway-rides-after-robotaxis-struggle-in-construction-zones/","label":"Waymo halts freeway rides May 2026 after construction-zone struggles","title":"Waymo halts freeway rides May 2026 after construction-zone struggles","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"TechCrunch","publishedAt":"2026-05-21"},{"url":"https://waymo.com/blog/2026/02/waymo-raises-usd16-billion-investment-round/","label":"Waymo $16B round, $126B valuation, 127M miles/90% serious-injury reduction, 15M 2025 rides, 20M lifetime","title":"Waymo $16B round, $126B valuation, 127M miles/90% serious-injury reduction, 15M 2025 rides, 20M lifetime","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Waymo","publishedAt":"2026-02-02"},{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/02/waymo-announced-16-billion-fundraising-round.html","label":"Waymo $16B at $126B post-money, 2x Oct-2024 $45B; markets + 2026 expansion plans","title":"Waymo $16B at $126B post-money, 2x Oct-2024 $45B; markets + 2026 expansion plans","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"CNBC","publishedAt":"2026-02-02"},{"url":"https://sacra.com/c/waymo/","label":"Waymo financials — Series D detail, ~$27B total raised, weekly-ride growth, revenue/fare","title":"Waymo financials — Series D detail, ~$27B total raised, weekly-ride growth, revenue/fare","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Sacra","publishedAt":"2026-05-01"},{"url":"https://www.thestreet.com/automotive/waymo-recalls-thousands-of-robotaxis-for-a-surprising-reason","label":"500k weekly rides, $126B valuation, San Antonio flood recall, NHTSA/NTSB investigations","title":"500k weekly rides, $126B valuation, San Antonio flood recall, NHTSA/NTSB investigations","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"TheStreet","publishedAt":"2026-05-12"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"Valuation","value":"$126B post-money (Feb 2026 Series D)"},{"label":"Funding raised","value":"~$27B lifetime ($16B Series D, Feb 2026 — largest AV round ever)"},{"label":"Weekly rides","value":"~500,000 paid/week (targeting 1M by end-2026)"},{"label":"Ride volume","value":"15M in 2025; 20M+ lifetime"},{"label":"Autonomous miles","value":"127M+ fully autonomous"},{"label":"Safety claim (Waymo)","value":"90% fewer serious-injury crashes vs. humans (company-stated)"},{"label":"Operating markets","value":"~11 US metros (Waymo One)"},{"label":"Vehicle","value":"Jaguar I-PACE, 6th-gen Waymo Driver"},{"label":"Recent recalls","value":"School-bus passing; ~3,800-vehicle San Antonio flood recall"},{"label":"Active investigations","value":"NHTSA (Santa Monica child injury); NTSB (TX school-bus)"}],"aliases":["Waymo LLC","Waymo One","Google Self-Driving Car Project"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-25T03:56:10.060Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-26T20:08:19.865Z"}},"version":null,"location":{"id":"360f0034-a348-409b-b804-fdbf8b23794b","name":"Houston","slug":"houston","kind":"city","parentLocationId":null,"lat":null,"lng":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","aliases":["Houston, TX"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-25T23:06:45.286Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-25T23:07:17.164Z"},"operator":null,"owner":null,"derived":{"trustTier":"unverified","currentPosture":null}}