The robotaxi race is on. While there are quite a few players in the running, the clear leader in the U.S. is Alphabet's Waymo. The company is apparently getting ready to kick things up a notch.

Waymo aims to quintuple its fleet from roughly 4,000 cars today to 20,000 by the end of 2027, Semafor reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the plans. The company reportedly wants to grow its fleet to 8,000 vehicles by close of 2026.

We have an idea of where Waymo is getting the money to fund this inevitably expensive endeavor. Last month, it locked in$5 billion in debt financing which it said it will use to "accelerate the continued expansion of our fully autonomous ride-hailing service across the United States and internationally."

Expanding means more than just buying up more Zeekr vans and outfitting them with computers and sensors. Waymo also needs teleoperators to steer remotely cars when they create a traffic jam, plus the infrastructure and operational might to operate a taxi service. Think folks back at the depots who vacuum the cars and plug them in to charge. Not everything is autonomous, after all.

Waymo has been steadily expanding its fleet of cars and the areas it operates in throughout 2026. As of September, Waymo was serving 15 major cities across eight states , making it by far America's most significant robotaxi operator. Waymo averages upwards of a half-million paid rides every single week. It's also testing services in London and Tokyo, with expansion announced for Canada, Singapore, and Spain.

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