Bloomberg Talks Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana Talks Growth
Feb 12, 2026
Tekedra Mawakana, Co-CEO of Waymo and leader on scaling autonomous vehicle ops, talks global expansion, a $16B fundraise, and city-by-city launch challenges. Short takes cover regulatory hurdles in New York, London and Tokyo, fleet and tech tradeoffs, safety incidents and investigations, simulation versus real‑world testing, and ambitions for millions of paid trips.
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Push For A Federal Safety Framework
- Advocate for a federal, safety-case-based AV framework that requires transparency and consistent reporting.
- Push regulators to set uniform standards to avoid patchwork rules that slow national and global adoption.
NYC Blocked By Rules, Not Tech
- New York City currently lacks rules allowing removal of human operators, so Waymo must continue building trust and regulatory change.
- Public demand and local advocacy are emerging in places where Waymo can't yet operate.
London Launch Backed By Safety Focus
- The UK regulator was forward-leaning and focused on how autonomous tech could improve road safety.
- Tekedra says Londoners quickly discover personal time benefits after trying Waymo.