Waymo has announced its sixth-generation robotaxi system is operational, with the company targeting expansion to 20 new cities in 2026 as it moves to significantly scale its fleet.
The new system employs fewer sensors than previous generations, including 17-megapixel cameras and reengineered short-range lidar capable of identifying vulnerable road users with centimeter-scale accuracy, while achieving a lower per-vehicle cost than prior models.
As of early 2026, Waymo operates across 10 major U.S. metros and is targeting a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles annually as it scales production. The company has approximately 1,500 vehicles in its current fleet and plans to more than double that through the year, with Miami, Washington D.C., and New York among cities on its expansion list.
Waymo’s sixth-generation hardware represents a continued commitment to sensor-redundant autonomy — cameras, lidar, and radar — as the company maintains that multi-modal perception remains essential for safe operation across varied real-world conditions.
