Answer
How do Waymo, Cruise, and Zoox compare?
Every verified fact DEPLOY has on the three most-tracked US robotaxi operators. Every column below is verifiable against the linked company record.
| Waymo | Cruise | Zoox | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verified deployments | 48 | 7 | 19 |
| Regions on the map | Colorado, West Coast, Southwest, Southeast, North America, Midwest | West Coast, Southwest, Florida | North America, Southeast, Southwest, West Coast, Florida |
| Models on record | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Active incidents | 1201 | 14 | 97 |
| Total funding | $27.1B | $6.2B | $1.8B |
| Employees | 2.5k | 1.4k | 2.2k |
| Founded | 2009 | 2013 | 2014 |
| HQ | Mountain View, CA | San Francisco, California, USA | Foster City, California, USA |
| Status | subsidiary | GM subsidiary (robotaxi ops wound down Dec 2024) | Amazon subsidiary |
In one sentence each
Waymo is [Alphabet](/companies/alphabet)'s autonomous driving subsidiary. It operates the Waymo One robotaxi service in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and Miami, and runs Waymo Via for autonomous trucking. Spun out of Google's self-driving car project as a standalone Alphabet subsidiary in December 2016.
Autonomous vehicle company founded 2013, acquired by [General motors](/companies/general-motors) in 2016; operated as a largely autonomous GM subsidiary building driverless robotaxis. Launched driverless (no safety driver) taxi service in San Francisco (first driverless ride Nov 2021; open to public Feb 2022). Following the Oct 2, 2023 pedestrian-dragging incident and subsequent regulatory fallout, suspended all operations Oct 2023; CEO/co-founder Kyle Vogt resigned Nov 2023. Began returning vehicles to public roads (with human safety drivers) May 2024. In December 2024, GM stopped funding Cruise's robotaxi business, folding the autonomous-driving work into driver-assistance systems for personal GM vehicles. The driverless-robotaxi business is effectively ended.
Autonomous-vehicle company founded ~2014 by [Jesse Levinson](/people/jesse-levinson) and [Tim Kentley-Klay](/people/tim-kentley-klay), acquired by [Amazon](/companies/amazon) in 2020 for over $1 billion. [Zoox](/companies/zoox) develops a purpose-built, bidirectional [robotaxi](/models/zoox) with no steering wheel or pedals, plus a retrofitted [Toyota](/companies/toyota) Highlander test fleet. On August 10, 2026, Zoox launched its first-ever paid commercial ride-hailing service in [Las Vegas](/locations/las-vegas-nevada-usa), following NHTSA's July 30 temporary exemption allowing up to 2,500 vehicles annually for two years. Free demonstration rides continue in [San Francisco](/locations/san-francisco-california-usa) (SoMa). Zoox also tests with human safety operators in Austin, [Miami](/locations/miami-florida-usa), Seattle, and [Los Angeles](/locations/los-angeles-california-usa) using retrofitted Highlanders. The company has faced significant regulatory scrutiny including three NHTSA software recalls in 2025 and ongoing probes. [Amazon](/companies/amazon) has positioned Zoox as its entry into autonomous ride-hailing, though it trails [Waymo](/companies/waymo) in commercial deployment scale.
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