Waymo mentioned on Wednesday it’s going to supply a industrial robotaxi service in London in 2026, marking the Alphabet-owned firm’s second worldwide growth following Tokyo.

The announcement follows weeks of hypothesis fueled by a few London-based job postings. Waymo already has ties to the U.Ok: In 2019, the corporate acquired Latent Logic, a U.Ok. startup spun out of Oxford College’s laptop science division that makes use of a type of machine studying known as imitation studying to make self-driving automotive simulation extra life like. Waymo launched an engineering hub in Oxford as a part of the acquisition.

In a weblog put up, Waymo mentioned its all-electric Jaguar I-Tempo automobiles — geared up with self-driving know-how — will start driving on London’s public roads within the coming weeks. Waymo will begin with human security drivers behind the wheel earlier than it launches driverless testing and ultimately invitations the general public to hail its robotaxis, a method that it has utilized in different industrial markets equivalent to Phoenix and San Francisco.

Waymo wouldn’t present additional particulars on when it could take away the human security driver, or the dimensions of the testing fleet. Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher did verify the corporate intends to function a self-driving automotive service for public riders subsequent yr.

When that robotaxi service launches in 2026 will depend upon the U.Ok. authorities finalizing its approval course of for these operations. 

Waymo has more and more tapped companions to share the load of working a robotaxi service, and equally plans to make use of Moove, which already manages its autonomous automobiles (AVs) in Phoenix, to deal with fleet operations in London.

In Austin and Atlanta, its associate Uber splits the obligations of proudly owning and working a fleet of driverless automobiles, dealing with the charging, upkeep and cleansing of the AVs, and manages entry to the robotaxis by way of its app. In the meantime, Waymo screens the tech and the autonomous operations, together with roadside help and sure features of rider assist.

Waymo has ramped up its testing and industrial operations over the previous two years, spreading past its preliminary market of Phoenix to a number of different U.S. cities, together with Austin, Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The corporate additionally has plans to supply a industrial robotaxi service in Miami, Nashville and Washington DC.