Waymo's In-House Chip Cuts Robotaxi Dependency on External Processors

Waymo's custom chip for robotaxis reduces reliance on Nvidia and AMD, targeting lower deployment costs.

Waymo has developed a custom chip for its robotaxis vehicles, manufactured by TSMC using a 5-nanometer process. This chip delivers over 1,000 TOPS of computational capacity and is deployed in Waymo’s latest vehicle generation. Previously dependent on Nvidia and AMD chips, the move aims to reduce costs for external chip procurement. The development aligns with Waymo’s partnership with Zeekr to produce its new robotaxi model.

The mechanism centers on vertical integration: by designing its own hardware, Waymo targets lower costs for the critical computational component that powers its autonomous systems. This reduces the need for external chip suppliers, potentially lowering the per-vehicle cost barrier for scaling robotaxis fleets.

This matters for mobility access because cheaper, more scalable robotaxis could eventually lower transportation costs for people in underserved areas. If chip procurement costs decrease significantly, it may enable wider deployment of on-demand autonomous transport—addressing a key friction in equitable mobility access. However, current deployment remains limited to Waymo’s latest vehicles.

What to watch: Actual cost savings versus other production expenses, and whether the Zeekr partnership accelerates real-world vehicle rollout. Bloomberg reported this development, but Waymo has not independently verified the technical specifications or deployment scale. The chip’s impact on affordability remains unproven at scale.

Source: The Decoder