The Band of the Coldstream Guards (Henry Nicholls/Getty Images)

Google’s Waymo plans to launch autonomous rides in London next year

This marks the company’s second international expansion after Tokyo.

10/15/25 5:00AM

Google’s autonomous ride-hailing service, Waymo, is heading to London, where it plans to begin offering rides to the public next year.

Waymo said it will start testing vehicles with trained safety drivers behind the wheel in the “coming weeks.” It’s not the only autonomous ride-hailing company racing to break into London: Uber and UK-based autonomous tech company Wayve this summer announced their intention to partner to offer rides there.

The announcements follow the UK government’s push to fast-track autonomous pilot programs into the spring of 2026, up from late 2027. Firms will be allowed to “pilot small scale ‘taxi- and bus-like’ services without a safety driver for the first time” before a potential wider rollout when the full Automated Vehicles Act becomes law in the second half of 2027, according to the Department of Transport.

“Boosting the AV sector will increase accessible transport options alongside bringing jobs, investment, and opportunities to the UK,” Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander said in Waymo’s press release. Waymo also touted that its vehicles, Jaguar I-PACEs, are part of an “iconic British brand.”

Waymo didn’t say how many vehicles would be available to the public at launch, but it said it would scale up operations in conjunction with the government’s guidelines and approval processes.

Customers will use Waymo’s app to hail rides. Waymo has partnered again with Moove for fleet management.

London will be Waymo’s second international market besides Tokyo, where it’s currently testing.

Waymo is currently the largest autonomous ride-hailing service in the US, where it operates in five cities with plans to expand to another six next year. One of its main competitors in the US is Tesla, which is currently operating about 30 robotaxis in Austin with a person in the passenger’s seat.

Jon Keegan8h

OpenAI reportedly delaying erotica feature to focus on “gains in intelligence”

OpenAI is delaying its planned “adult mode,” as it seeks to shore up ChatGPT’s core capabilities before the chatbot can generate erotic content.

A source within OpenAI told tech news site Sources that the company will miss its Q1 target for launching the feature:

“We’re pushing out the launch of adult mode so we can focus on work that is a higher priority for more users right now, including gains in intelligence, personality improvements, personalization, and making the experience more proactive.”

The company said it still believes in “treating adults like adults,” but said it wants to get the experience right. OpenAI has been testing user age estimation technology ahead of the planned release.

Liz Reid on where Google Search ends and Gemini begins

“We’re pushing out the launch of adult mode so we can focus on work that is a higher priority for more users right now, including gains in intelligence, personality improvements, personalization, and making the experience more proactive.”

Rani Molla

10h

Why Apple is moving into the lower-cost smartphone and laptop markets

The luxury tech maker is heading down-market.

Man taking picture of Times Square using smart phone, personal perspective view

Ads have entered the chat

Advertisers are crowding into the next digital frontier.

Rani Molla11h

Jon Keegan11h

Anthropic will sue the Pentagon over supply chain risk designation, Amodei says

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a public post that the company will sue the Pentagon after receiving a letter from the Department of Defense officially designating Anthropic as “a supply chain risk to America’s national security.”

Amodei says that the effect of the unprecedented designation for an American company is more narrow than originally described, and that most of its customers would not be affected.

“With respect to our customers, it plainly applies only to the use of Claude by customers as a direct part of contracts with the Department of War, not all use of Claude by customers who have such contracts.”

Amodei says the company does not “believe this action is legally sound, and we see no choice but to challenge it in court.”

The CEO also apologized for statements he made in a leaked internal memo in which he claimed that the company was targeted because it didn’t show “dictator-style praise” for President Trump.

Where things stand with the Department of War

“With respect to our customers, it plainly applies only to the use of Claude by customers as a direct part of contracts with the Department of War, not all use of Claude by customers who have such contracts.”

Amodei says the company does not “believe this action is legally sound, and we see no choice but to challenge it in court.”

The CEO also apologized for statements he made in a leaked internal memo in which he claimed that the company was targeted because it didn’t show “dictator-style praise” for President Trump.

$40B💰

Rani Molla14h

SoftBank is going to great lengths to double down on OpenAI — including taking on significant debt. After completing a $40 billion investment to become one of the ChatGPT maker’s largest backers, the Japanese conglomerate is now seeking a roughly $40 billion loan with a 12-month term, Bloomberg reports.

The financing would be SoftBank’s largest-ever dollar-denominated deal. The AI investment has helped lift profits, but it is also pressuring SoftBank’s credit profile.