Zoox Robotaxis Are Significantly Growing in Presence in the US

Zoox officially launched its robotaxi service on the Las Vegas Strip in 2025 and has since logged nearly two million autonomous miles while serving more than 350,000 riders.

Last month, the Amazon-owned company announced major expansion plans, including broader operations in San Francisco and Las Vegas alongside initial robotaxi rollouts in Austin, Texas, and Miami, Florida.

Zoox’s purpose-built autonomous vehicle is fully electric and designed specifically for ride-hailing rather than adapted from a traditional car platform. The vehicle features subway-style sliding doors, four-wheel steering, and bidirectional driving capability, allowing it to operate efficiently in dense urban environments without needing to reverse or turn around.

The robotaxi can travel at speeds up to 75 mph and operate for as long as 16 hours on a single battery charge. Inside, riders have access to in-seat controls for music and climate settings, wireless phone charging, and audio cues throughout the ride experience.

To navigate safely, Zoox combines cameras, radar, and lidar sensors with a proprietary software platform powered by a high-performance onboard compute system with redundant backups.

Jesse Levinson, Co-Founder and CTO of Zoox, says: “Since our inception in 2014, we’ve strongly believed that a purpose-built approach is the best way to solve the challenge of autonomy and offer a wonderful experience. As Zoox becomes a part of our riders’ daily lives, it is clearer than ever that purpose-built is the future. We are excited to build on this momentum and expand what’s possible with the unique product our customers are beginning to know and love.”

The company’s latest expansion significantly increases its operating footprint. In San Francisco, Zoox plans to quadruple service coverage across neighborhoods including the Marina, North Beach, Chinatown, Pacific Heights, and the Embarcadero beginning in spring 2026. In Las Vegas, the company has more than doubled its service locations.

Meanwhile, Austin and Miami are currently hosting limited pilot deployments, with rides initially available only to Zoox employees, family members, and invited guests.

Aicha Evans, CEO of Zoox, says: “This expansion marks a significant step forward for Zoox and is driven by the insights from our early deployments. This is our year of growth. We are actively implementing learnings to confidently and safely scale our robotaxi service across the country and bring our differentiated experience to even more riders.”

The broader autonomous vehicle industry continues gaining momentum globally. According to McKinsey & Company, the U.S. and China now each support hundreds of thousands of commercial autonomous rides weekly as robotaxi technology moves closer to large-scale deployment.

Founded in 2014 and acquired by Amazon in 2020, Zoox has emerged as one of the leading players in the growing autonomous mobility sector.