Waymo’s Co-ceo On The Challenge Of Scaling Robotaxis Safely

Waymo’s co-CEO, Tekedra Mawakana, had a clear connection during her question and reply connected nan TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 shape Monday: “It is imperative that we scale.”

Mawakana was speaking successful nan discourse of really Waymo balances fundraising (and burning done that money) pinch yet achieving profitability. But she was besides clear successful nan question and reply that she believes Waymo tin summation roadworthy information by reaching that scale.

All this helps explicate why nan institution has been connected an description tear this year, and expects to motorboat successful galore much U.S. cities — D.C., Miami, Denver, Dallas, Seattle, and Nashville — arsenic good arsenic successful London successful 2026. It’s a furious gait that has seen nan autonomous conveyance institution leverage aggregate partnerships pinch nan likes of companies for illustration Uber, Lyft, and Avis.

“By nan extremity of 2026, you should expect america to beryllium offering 1 cardinal trips per week,” she said.

Mawakana spent a batch of clip during nan question and reply pinch TechCrunch Transportation Editor Kirsten Korosec talking astir nan challenges of safely reaching that benignant of scale.

The Waymo co-CEO maintained that nan institution is operating astatine a level that is safer than nan emblematic quality driver. And while she didn’t sanction names, she took a changeable astatine competitors, saying they aren’t doing capable to prove that their autonomous conveyance exertion is genuinely safe.

“It is incumbent upon [them] to beryllium transparent astir what’s happening,” she said. “And if you are not being transparent, past it is my position that you are not doing what is basal successful bid to really gain nan correct to make nan roadworthy safer.”

Her comments travel arsenic nan institution continues to robust retired separator cases during its description — pinch 1 of nan astir caller incidents coming successful Atlanta, Georgia, wherever a Waymo conveyance pulled retired successful beforehand of a stopped schoolhouse bus, starring to an investigation from nan National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Waymo itself precocious released a study claiming its vehicles are already 5 times safer than astir quality drivers, and 12 times safer pinch respect to pedestrians.

Still, Waymo vehicles person been caught making a number of head-scratching decisions.

“It’s important to recognize, it’s not going to beryllium perfection, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t beryllium accountable for transparency,” Mawakana said connected stage. “I think…we really interest arsenic a institution astir those days. You know, we don’t opportunity whether, we opportunity when, and we scheme for them.”

Mawkana besides said Waymo doesn’t deliberation successful position of “how galore [incidents] are allowable.”

“We cognize they’re going to hap because our cars are connected nan roadworthy pinch humans, and unfortunately, correct now, nan authorities of nan roads and nan authorities of quality driving is location is simply a batch of deaths, and location are a batch of injuries being caused connected nan roadways,” she said.

And erstwhile asked whether nan nationalist would judge a decease caused by a robotaxi successful nan look of nan committedness of greater safety, Mawakana said: “I deliberation that nine will.”