Waymo is pushing deeper into America's heartland and Southeast. Alphabet's autonomous vehicle unit announced it's beginning mapping and data collection operations in Chicago and Charlotte this week, marking its first major expansion push of 2026. The timing isn't coincidental - Waymo says it's now running fully driverless robotaxis across 10 U.S. cities, a milestone that positions it miles ahead of rivals like Cruise and Zoox in the race to commercialize self-driving technology.
Waymo is taking its self-driving ambitions to the Midwest and Southeast. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that mapping vehicles will hit the streets of Chicago and Charlotte this week, laying the groundwork for what could eventually become full robotaxi service in both metros.
The announcement comes as Waymo celebrates a quieter but more significant milestone - it's now operating fully autonomous rides without safety drivers in 10 U.S. cities. That's double the footprint the company had just 18 months ago, and it puts serious distance between Waymo and competitors still struggling to move beyond limited pilot programs.
Chicago and Charlotte represent a strategic pivot for Waymo. Until now, the company has focused heavily on Sun Belt cities with favorable weather and sprawling street grids - think Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin. Chicago throws a wrench into that pattern. The Windy City's brutal winters, with snow, ice, and temperatures that regularly dip below zero, will test whether Waymo's sensor suite can handle conditions that have historically plagued autonomous systems. Lidar and camera performance degrades in heavy precipitation, and road markings disappear under snow cover.
Charlotte poses different challenges. The North Carolina metro has exploded in population over the past decade, becoming a major financial hub outside New York. But its infrastructure reflects rapid, sprawling growth - think wide arterials, complex interchange systems, and a patchwork of newly constructed suburbs. It's the kind of environment where edge cases multiply: construction zones that change weekly, pedestrian crossings in unexpected places, and traffic patterns that don't match the neat grids of older cities.
