TLDR
- Waymo has built its own custom ASIC chip, capable of over 1,000 TOPS, to power its robotaxi fleet
- The chip is made using TSMC’s 5-nanometer process and reduces reliance on Nvidia and AMD
- Waymo’s new Ojai robotaxi, built on a Zeekr minivan platform, is now open to all riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco
- The Ojai runs Waymo’s sixth-generation self-driving system and includes Google’s Gemini AI as an in-car assistant
- Tariffs on Chinese-built vehicles have added cost, as Ojai vehicles are manufactured in China before being fitted out in Arizona
Waymo, the self-driving car unit owned by Alphabet, has developed its own custom silicon chip to power its robotaxi fleet. The company announced the chip on Thursday, saying it will sharpen the vehicles’ ability to navigate complex city streets.
WAYMO BUILT A CUSTOM CHIP FOR ITS ROBOTAXIS$GOOGL's Waymo has developed its own 5nm ASIC capable of 1,000 TOPS to process the massive flow of camera, lidar and radar data inside its driverless cars.
The chip handles front-end sensor processing and AI workloads before feeding… pic.twitter.com/W1U69YaXeL
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) August 20, 2026
The chip is an ASIC, meaning it is built for a specific task rather than general use. Waymo says it can perform more than 1,000 trillion operations per second, putting it on par with Nvidia’s latest autonomous driving systems.
Until now, Waymo has relied on chips from companies like Nvidia and AMD. The new in-house chip lets Waymo process sensor data faster and run the AI models that help its cars read and respond to the world around them.
The chip is manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing using a 5-nanometer process. While not TSMC’s most cutting-edge method, it is still widely used by major tech companies.
A New Vehicle for a New Strategy
At the same time, Waymo has opened its next-generation robotaxi, called the Ojai, to all riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. The Ojai is now being fitted with the new custom chip.
The Ojai is built on a minivan platform made by Zeekr, a brand owned by China’s Geely Holding Group. Waymo partnered with Zeekr in 2021 and has spent years developing the vehicle for commercial use.
The base vehicles arrive in the US without Chinese connected-car technology. They are then sent to Waymo’s Arizona facility, where Waymo installs its self-driving system.
The Ojai carries Waymo’s sixth-generation autonomous driving system, which is designed to work across multiple vehicle types. It also includes a redesigned interior and Google’s Gemini AI, which acts as an assistant for riders.
Waymo currently has around 300 Ojai vehicles in its commercial fleet. Riders in the three launch cities may be matched with one when they book a ride.
Costs and Expansion
Waymo plans to expand the Ojai to Denver, Las Vegas, and San Diego later this year. The company operates robotaxis in 11 US cities in total.
The Ojai is designed to be cheaper to build, run, and maintain than the older Jaguar I-Pace vehicles Waymo has used for years. The goal is to help Waymo move toward profitability at larger scale.
However, US tariffs on Chinese-built vehicles have raised the cost of each Ojai imported into the country. This adds pressure to Waymo’s cost targets.
Waymo remains the leading robotaxi operator in the US, ahead of rivals including Tesla and Amazon’s Zoox. The combination of a purpose-built vehicle and a custom chip represents a shift toward a more vertically integrated model for the company.
Alphabet’s broader push to develop custom chips for AI infrastructure is also a factor. Waymo’s chip effort fits into that wider strategy to reduce dependence on outside suppliers.
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