Amazon's Zoox Expands Robotaxi Service, But Lacks Revenue

The Amazon-owned autonomous vehicle company is rapidly growing its operations, but is still waiting on regulatory approval to start charging for rides.

Mar. 29, 2026 at 4:20pm by Ben Kaplan

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Amazon's Zoox autonomous vehicle company is expanding its robotaxi service to new markets like Austin and Miami, quadrupling its San Francisco service area, and growing its Las Vegas operations. However, Zoox has yet to generate any revenue from its services as it awaits federal approval to start charging passengers. In contrast, rival Waymo already has $350 million in annual recurring revenue and plans to launch in 10 new U.S. cities this year.

Why it matters

The robotaxi market is expected to generate $7 billion in annual sales by 2030 and capture 8% of the U.S. rideshare market. Zoox's rapid expansion shows Amazon is serious about competing in this lucrative space, but the company needs to prove it can quickly start generating significant revenue once it receives regulatory approval to charge for rides.

The details

Zoox is following a familiar playbook of first offering free rides to employees and their families, then opening a public waitlist via its Explorer program, and ultimately expanding to general access. The company says it has logged nearly 2 million autonomous miles and carried over 350,000 riders in Las Vegas, with more than 500,000 people already on its waitlist across its service areas. However, all of Zoox's rides to date have been free as the company awaits a decision from the NHTSA on whether it can operate up to 2,500 vehicles commercially.

  • Zoox recently announced plans to launch its robotaxi service in Austin and Miami later this year.
  • Zoox is quadrupling its San Francisco service area and expanding further into Las Vegas.
  • The NHTSA is expected to publish its decision on Zoox's commercial operations sometime in April 2026.

The players

Zoox

An autonomous vehicle company owned by Amazon that is developing a robotaxi service.

Waymo

An autonomous vehicle company owned by Alphabet that is a major competitor to Zoox in the robotaxi market.

Aicha Evans

The CEO of Zoox.

Tekedra Mawakana

The CEO of Waymo.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

The U.S. government agency that is expected to decide whether Zoox can operate its vehicles commercially.

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What they’re saying

“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.”

— Aicha Evans, CEO, Zoox

“Waymo is on track to serve "over 1 million rides per week by the end of the year.”

— Tekedra Mawakana, CEO, Waymo

What’s next

The NHTSA is expected to publish its decision on whether Zoox can operate up to 2,500 vehicles commercially sometime in April 2026. If approved, Zoox says it is "ready to charge" for its robotaxi rides.

The takeaway

While Zoox is rapidly expanding its robotaxi service, it faces stiff competition from the more established Waymo, which already has significant revenue and ridership. Zoox needs to quickly prove it can generate meaningful revenue once it receives regulatory approval, as the robotaxi market is expected to be a multi-billion dollar opportunity in the coming years.