Waymo announced Friday that it is expanding its autonomous ride-hailing business across Northern and Southern California, including into two new major markets.

The Alphabet-owned company said it plans to scale up its existing services across the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles while bringing its robotaxi service to Sacramento and San Diego.

The announcement comes after the California Department of Motor Vehicles authorized Waymo to operate in the additional areas last year. On Friday, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved the company’s application to expand its autonomous ride-hailing service.

“Big news for the Golden State — we have received the CPUC’s approval to expand our autonomous ride-hailing service across the SF Bay Area and LA, and bring our service to Sacramento and San Diego,” Waymo said in a post on X.

WAYMO RECALLS MASSIVE AUTONOMOUS FLEET AFTER INCIDENT FLAGS MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE

Waymo received regulatory approval to scale up its autonomous ride-hailing service across California, including bringing robotaxis to Sacramento and San Diego. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The company did not provide a timeline for launching service in the new areas but said the expansion would be “gradual and guided by our safety framework.”

Waymo called the regulatory approval an important step in its California expansion.

“This is an important milestone that will allow Waymo to bring the safety and mobility benefits millions of Californians already enjoy to more communities across the state,” the company said in a press release.

The company currently operates thousands of autonomous vehicles across the U.S., including in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin.

ZOOX CEO SAYS AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES NEED REGULATION MONTHS AFTER ROBOTAXI DROVE INTO LAS VEGAS FIRE SCENE

A Waymo autonomous vehicle drives along Masonic Avenue on April 11, 2022 in San Francisco, California.  (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)

In February, Waymo announced plans to expand into Chicago as it seeks to establish a foothold in the Midwest.

The company said it had begun “laying the early groundwork” for operations in Chicago, starting with mapping and manual vehicle testing.

Waymo has also faced several recalls this year. Most recently, the company recalled nearly 4,000 robotaxis in June after more than a dozen incidents in which autonomous vehicles entered closed freeway construction zones, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

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A Waymo self-driving Jaguar I-PACE SUV waits at an intersection in San Francisco, March 18, 2025. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images / Getty Images)

NHTSA said a software issue could allow affected vehicles to enter closed freeway construction zones and continue traveling at posted speeds. Regulators said the vehicles could fail to recognize or properly respond to certain construction-zone closures.

FOX Business has reached out to Waymo for additional information, including when the expanded California services are expected to launch.

FOX Business’ Bradford Betz and Brittany Miller contributed to this report.

This article was written by

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No 10: Full Confidence is not the only game based around Westminster’s wheeling and dealing.

Fantasy Parliament, external is a browser-based game designed by another UK-based developer, Evan Roberts, which lets players draft their own fantasy league of real-world MPs, scoring points based on their real-life media coverage.

With the strategy game’s Policy Tester, players can even type in proposals to a ChatGPT-style AI model, which then replies in the style of how it believes different groups of voters – such as Coastal Keith or Graduate Gemma – would react.

Meanwhile, UK Politics Simulator, “built on real UK data down to ward level”, is reportedly due out later this year for PC, made by the Scarborough-based company Black Cannon Games.

Despite the success of his own venture, currently ranking 5th in Apple’s UK paid games charts – above Monopoly Go – Brewis said he does not know if any politicians have actually played his game.

However, he has received some feedback on how accurately the game depicts UK political life, from his friends who work in the civil service.

“It’s exactly like this,” they told him, “but worse.”