Waymo Set to Make the First Move in Autonomous Ride-Hailing

Executive Summary

In this report, we look at Waymo, a company leading the pack in self-driving technology. We also examine some recent developments that are keeping it ahead in the race for autonomous cars.

• In December 2016, Alphabet announced it had spun off the Google self-driving car project it had been working on into an independent entity called Waymo.
• In 2017, Waymo completed 352,545 miles of autonomous driving on California public roads.
• On January 30, 2018, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced an agreement “to supply thousands of Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans to Waymo to support the launch of the world’s first driverless ride-hailing service.”
• Waymo has developed its proprietary self-driving system entirely in-house, and in the process, has managed to cut the cost of the lidar sensors (ranging technology that uses laser light) it uses by nearly 90%.
• Waymo had previously announced that it was looking to commercialize its self-driving technology, and develop and launch a fully autonomous car by 2020.