Apparently, robotaxis are flocking to Miami, too.
Zoox announced its plans today to begin testing its purpose-built robotaxis with riders in Miami and Austin, as well as expanding service in San Francisco and Las Vegas.
“This expansion marks a significant step forward for Zoox and is driven by the insights from our early deployments,” said Zoox CEO Aicha Evans, in a statement. “This is our year of growth. We are actively implementing learnings to confidently and safely scale our robotaxi service across the country and bring our differentiated experience to even more riders.”
Zoox, founded in San Francisco and owned by Amazon, reports that in less than a year, the company’s robotaxis have driven nearly 2 million miles and carried over 350,000 riders.
You may have seen their robotaxi testing vehicles in Miami’s streets, as they have been mapping the neighborhoods and testing them here on and off since mid-2024 – no doubt learning a thing of two about thunderstorms coming out of nowhere and Miami’s notorious drivers.
Zoox says the initial rollout with riders and its purpose-built bi-directional robotaxis [pictured above] – carriages with subway-style sliding doors and four inward-facing seats – will be in a “high-demand ride-hailing area near the water” and testing of the service will start in the spring. Rides will first be available to Zoox employees and their families and friends before opening it up to its wait list. The operating areas will expand as testing progresses.
Zoox is also introducing new features like pre-booking estimates that give riders a clearer picture of their journey before they commit, as well as capabilities to help reduce wait times such as find the robotaxi in crowded areas, more accurate ETAs, and smoother driving.
But wait, there’s more.
In other robotaxi news, as we reported last week, Uber announced it is partnering with electric car maker Rivian Automotive to deploy robotaxis in Miami and San Francisco in 2028. Uber will invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian through 2031 to build a fully autonomous fleet of Rivian R2 robotaxis. After Miami and Sa Francisco, Uber plans to expand to 25 more cities in the US, Canada and Europe by 2031.
And in January, Waymo launched its fully driverless electric robotaxi service in the area, its sixth major U.S. market. The Alphabet-owned company operates across downtown Miami and Miami Beach, and has plans to launch commercial services in 20 new cities globally this year. Last November, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said to expect Tesla robotaxis to arrive first in five cities, including Miami, without revealing a timeline.
In addition to robotaxis, all-electric air taxis are eyeing the Miami market too, with companies including Archer Aviation, Wisk Aero and Joby Aviation hoping to launch eVTOL aircraft service in the next few years. In South Florida, all-electric seaplane service is also in the mix of potential offerings.
This story was originally published by Refresh Miami, a WLRN News partner. Refresh Miami is the oldest and largest tech and startup community in Miami with over 16,000 members.
