Waymo registered local entity in Germany

Investing.com -- Waymo registered a local entity in Germany as the Alphabet unit moves to expand its driverless robotaxi service beyond the United States.

The company filed paperwork last month to establish Waymo Germany GmbH, which received formal registration on June 15. The entity will offer ride-hailing services with autonomous vehicles and provide support services for third parties offering similar commercial services, according to a company registration filing. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung first reported the registration details.

The filing lists Google's Munich office as the business address. No timeline has been announced for when the service might begin operations.

Germany serves as a testing location for multiple robotaxi companies from around the world. UK startup Wayve Technologies Ltd. and Chinese companies including Baidu Inc. and Beijing Momenta Technology Co. currently test vehicles in the country. Earlier this month, Uber Technologies Inc. announced a partnership with Tel Aviv-based Autobrains Technologies Ltd. to launch robotaxis in Munich.

Waymo typically begins new market entries by deploying a small fleet of human-supervised vehicles to map areas and train its self-driving software. This process can take months or years, though recent U.S. launches have moved faster where regulations allow. The company usually offers rides to employees before opening service to the general public.

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