NexaCurrent · Company

Waymo: Munich Launch Plans and Custom Silicon for Next-Gen Robotaxis

Recent coverage centers on two Waymo developments. First, the Alphabet-owned autonomous unit has registered a legal entity in Germany and is preparing a Munich robotaxi service with a tentative public launch target of late 2027, pending mapping, road tests, and approvals from Germany's KBA and other authorities. Initial access would be limited to employees, media, and invited guests before opening broadly. Waymo is also evaluating London as another European market, while noting that Mobileye and Volkswagen already hold German test permits and Waymo has not yet secured one. Second, Waymo publicly unveiled its first custom AI silicon: a 5nm ASIC manufactured by TSMC, designed to preprocess sensor data from 13 cameras, four lidars, and radar, delivering over 1,000 TOPS of ML compute inside a redundant, rugged in-vehicle compute platform entering production in the Zeekr-based Ojai vehicle.

Last integrated: September 16, 2026

Also known as Waymo · Alphabet's autonomous driving unit Waymo