TechCrunch Mobility: Is $16B enough to build a profitable robotaxi business?

Source: TechCrunch

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Waymo’s Rapid Expansion

Waymo’s acceleration over the past 18 months is undeniable. The Alphabet‑owned self‑driving company now operates commercial robotaxi services in six U.S. markets:

• San Francisco Bay Area
• Phoenix
• Los Angeles
• Austin
• Atlanta
• Miami

It plans to add more than a dozen new cities internationally this year, including London and Tokyo. To fuel that growth, Waymo has raised $16 billion (source).

Is it enough? Industry watchers are split between “sort of” and “it depends.”

Bull Case

• Strong backing: Alphabet remains the primary investor, insulating Waymo from the funding volatility that has plagued many AV startups.
• Exploding usage:
  • 400 k rides per week across six major U.S. metros.
  • 15 million rides in 2025 (more than triple the previous year’s volume).
• Regulatory scrutiny: The company’s chief safety officer recently testified before the Senate Commerce Committee (see testimony).

Challenges

• Profitability pressure: Scaling costs and navigating tighter regulation remain critical hurdles.
• Business model tension: If Waymo wants to become a pure licensor of its AV technology, it may need to relinquish operational control—a difficult shift for a nascent, highly scrutinized technology.
• Manufacturing disadvantage: Unlike Tesla, Waymo relies on automotive partners and lacks in‑house vehicle production, limiting its ability to drive down costs at scale.

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Join the Conversation

Disagree with the analysis? Send your argument to kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com.

A Little Bird

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin

The investors behind the now‑defunct EV startup Canoo were always mysterious — in fact, they were only revealed as part of a lawsuit. Six years ago, I received a tip to look into one of them in particular: David Stern. He had connections to Prince Andrew but was otherwise a ghost.

He was on my mind, though, as the Department of Justice started releasing its files on Jeffrey Epstein. My curiosity as to whether he would turn up in the documents was quickly overwhelmed by the fact that he was, in fact, a close business partner of the convicted sex offender. He brought Epstein investment opportunities from around the world, and in particular, pitched him on investing in Faraday Future, Lucid Motors, and Canoo during the go‑go days of mobility funding.

Read my story on Stern and Epstein’s relationship and how mobility startups were once in the mix.

— Sean O’Kane

Got a tip for us?

• Email Kirsten Korosec at or on Signal at kkorosec.07.
• Email Sean O’Kane at .

Deals!

Image credit: Bryce Durbin

Autonomous‑vehicle technology is about more than robotaxis – it’s a costly, complex business that only a handful of well‑capitalised players (e.g., Tesla, Waymo, Zoox) can afford to pursue at scale. A growing number of startups are repurposing their AV systems for off‑road defence, trucking, forklifts, mining, and construction, and investors are eager not to miss the next wave.

Bedrock Robotics

The Silicon Valley startup—founded by Waymo and Segment veterans—builds a retro‑fittable self‑driving system for construction equipment.

• Funding: $270 M Series B (co‑led by CapitalG and the Valor Atreides AI Fund)
• Other investors: Xora, 8VC, Eclipse, Emergence Capital, Perry Creek Capital, NVentures (Nvidia’s VC arm), Tishman Speyer, MIT, Georgian, Incharge Capital, C4 Ventures, etc.
• Total raised: >$350 M since its 2024 launch
• Key hires:
  • Vincent Gonguet – former head of AI safety & alignment for Meta’s Llama models (now Head of Evaluation)
  • John Chu – recruited from Waymo

Keep an eye out for my interview with Bedrock co‑founder & CEO Boris Sofman.

Other deals that caught my eye this week

These deals illustrate the expanding flow of capital into “physical AI” – from construction‑site robots to underwater explorers and military land systems. As funding grows, the competition for top talent will intensify, especially for startups that can afford to attract AI researchers from the big‑tech labs.

Notable reads and other tidbits

Image credit: Bryce Durbin

• China bans hidden electronic door handles – The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has ruled that all new cars sold in China must feature mechanical door‑handle releases by 1 January 2027. The ban targets the concealed, electronically actuated handles popularised by Tesla, and industry chatter suggests Europe may follow suit.
  Read more

• Uber’s autonomous‑vehicle push – Uber has promoted Balaji Krishnamurthy, VP of strategic finance and investor relations, to CFO. Krishnamurthy is a vocal advocate for Uber’s autonomous‑ride‑hailing partnerships and sits on the board of AV startup Waabi. In the Q4 earnings call he outlined Uber’s strategy:

  • Invest capital in AV‑software partners
  • Provide equity or offtake agreements to AV manufacturers
  • Support AV‑infrastructure partners

  Read more

• Uber lawsuit verdict – A high‑profile case involving a woman who alleged she was raped by an Uber driver in November 2023 resulted in a mixed jury verdict. Uber was found liable as the driver’s apparent agent, with an $8.5 million award to the plaintiff. The jury rejected claims of negligence or design defects and declined punitive damages. Uber’s spokesperson said the verdict “affirms that Uber acted responsibly and has invested meaningfully in rider safety,” and noted the company will appeal.

One More Thing …

Last week in our newsletter we ran a poll asking what the name or ticker of Elon Musk’s combined super‑company should be. Thanks to everyone who emailed their suggestions—many had space‑themed names like Galactic X (great one!).

Poll Results

The majority chose plain X, which makes sense given Musk’s frequent talk of “X, the everything app.”

My pick? I think it will ultimately be X, and the company will include more than just SpaceX and xAI.

Want to weigh in on future polls? Sign up for our newsletter!