Parent Company
Alphabet (Google)
Amazon
Public Rides Available
Yes — San Francisco, Phoenix, Austin, LA
No — employee testing only
Vehicle Design
Modified Jaguar I-PACE SUV
Custom bidirectional pod (no steering wheel)
Total Autonomous Miles
~20+ million rider miles (2024)
Not publicly disclosed (very limited)
Sensor Suite
Lidar, radar, cameras (Waymo Driver)
Lidar, radar, cameras (in-house hardware)
Human Safety Driver
No — fully driverless in service areas
Yes — still required during testing
Seating Capacity
4 passengers
4 passengers (face-to-face lounge layout)
Speed Capability
Up to ~65 mph on surface roads/highways
Up to ~75 mph (designed for mixed use)
Pricing to Ride
~$5–15 per trip via Waymo One app
Not commercially available yet
Regulatory Approvals
CPUC approval in CA; expanding in multiple states
No public permit approvals yet
B2B / Licensing Play
Yes — Waymo Via for trucking, partnerships
Focused solely on own robotaxi product
Worth knowing
- Waymo completed over 4 million rider-only trips in 2024 — without a human driver in the seat.
- Zoox's vehicle is bidirectional, meaning it never needs to turn around — a genuine engineering first for a production-intent robotaxi.
- Waymo has been testing autonomous tech for 15+ years, giving it the largest real-world dataset of any AV company.
- Zoox was acquired by Amazon in 2020 for a reported ~$1.2 billion, giving it deep pockets but locking it into Amazon's timeline.
- Waymo's disengagement rates (how often a human must intervene) are among the lowest ever reported to California's DMV.
Zoox's pod has no front or back — if you fall asleep in one, you genuinely won't know which direction you're going. Existential dread, sponsored by Amazon.
If you wantYou want to hail a self-driving car right now
Waymo One is live in multiple US cities — you can literally book it on your phone today.
→ Pick Waymo If you wantYou're excited about purpose-built, car-free robotaxi design
Zoox's bidirectional pod is the most radical rethink of urban transit — if it ever launches.
→ Pick Zoox If you wantYou're an investor or fleet operator evaluating AV partnerships
Waymo's proven miles, regulatory wins, and Waymo Via trucking arm make it the only commercially credible option today.
→ Pick Waymo If you wantYou're watching the long game for Amazon logistics integration
Zoox could become Amazon's secret weapon for last-mile delivery and passenger transport if it clears regulatory hurdles.
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