Zoox expands testing fleet to seventh US city, hopes to bring robotaxis to ‘Silicon Valley of the South’

Veteran robotaxi developer Zoox has announced an expansion of its testing fleet to a seventh US market. This latest addition marks Zoox’s (potential) entry into the southeastern United States as its team begins to map out the area ahead of bona fide autonomous robotaxi rides.

Rather than converting existing EVs into robotaxis like its competitors, Zoox has designed and delivered an entirely purpose-built EV without pedals or a steering wheel. However, that rollout has been relatively small compared to Zoox’s entire US operation, much of which remains in the testing phase.

Those testing vehicles are retrofitted SUVs equipped with LiDAR and other sensors, plus a human driver operating inside.

In June 2023, the company began driving on public roads in Las Vegas before expanding its Las Vegas geofence to a five-mile route in 2024. Since then, Zoox has not offered public rides in its bespoke robotaxis. However, Zoox has significantly expanded its North American testing fleet into additional cities, hoping to eventually reach that milestone.

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Those cities include the San Francisco Bay Area, Las Vegas, Seattle, Miami, Austin, and most recently, Los Angeles. Today, Zoox announced testing has expanded to a seventh city – Atlanta.

Zoox begins testing roadmaps around Atlanta, Georgia

Zoox issued a press release today detailing its latest market and reiterating that it is merely laying the groundwork for purpose-built robotaxi rides in the future. Per Zoox:

Known as the ‘Silicon Valley of the South,’ Atlanta is one of the largest ride-hailing markets in the United States. As one of the fastest-growing technology hubs, the city welcomes autonomous vehicle testing and innovation in many fields. 

Atlanta also has a growing population, diverse road conditions, traffic patterns, and unique weather conditions, including frequent thunderstorms. The city is located in a dense, urban landscape, which creates a strong demand for efficient transportation solutions like on-demand autonomous ride-hailing.

As it has already in the six other markets mentioned above, Zoox said it will begin with a small deployment of testing vehicles, driven around manually by its employees to gather mapping data, including road geometry and traffic lights.

Once Atlanta is entirely mapped out manually, Zoox plans to begin testing its autonomous driving technology before expanding to public rides. Per Zoox:

We see promise in bringing our robotaxi service to Atlanta in the future, and we look forward to offering Atlantans this unique and private space to socialize, rock out, or relax while being transported to their destination. Give us a wave when you spot us on the road, and keep your eyes out for when we roll out the robotaxi in the not-too-distant future. 

Before we see commercial operations in Atlanta, Zoox plans to begin welcoming public riders into its proprietary robotaxi vehicles in Las Vegas and San Francisco later this year.