Waymo vs Cruise: A Verified Robotaxi Comparison (2026)

Waymo and Cruise were once the two leading US robotaxi operators. They are no longer in the same position: one scaled, the other was shut down. This is a side-by-side of what each verifiably deployed, drawn from the DEPLOY registry, with company claims labeled as claims.

The short version: one scaled, one ended. Waymo operates a paid driverless service across roughly 11 US metros today. Cruise, GM’s robotaxi unit, reached commercial operation in San Francisco but had its driverless permits suspended after a serious 2023 pedestrian incident, and GM defunded the program in December 2024. Cruise’s deployment status in the registry is ended. The comparison is less “which is better” than “what separated the survivor from the casualty.”

Where Cruise stood. At its peak Cruise ran a commercial driverless service in San Francisco using modified Chevrolet Bolts, backed by GM and a $2.75 billion Honda investment, and reached genuine commercial maturity. Its collapse followed a single severe incident and the regulatory and trust fallout from it, a reminder that in this category, safety and regulatory standing are existential, not incidental.

Where Waymo is today. Waymo continued scaling: roughly 11 metros, about 500,000 reported rides per week, a $126 billion valuation, and 127 million-plus reported autonomous miles. It has had recalls and active investigations of its own, but has maintained operating permits and public trust well enough to keep expanding where Cruise could not.

What to watch. Whether Waymo sustains the safety record and regulatory standing that Cruise lost; whether any operator re-enters at Cruise’s former scale; and what the Cruise shutdown teaches about the cost of a single high-severity incident. The comparison below tracks the verified state and will update as the registry does.

Figures are drawn from the DEPLOY registry. Operational and financial figures stated by the companies are labeled as company-stated. See how we verify.