Waymo increases lobbying spend amid autonomous vehicle competition

Waymo, an Alphabet subsidiary, has significantly increased its federal lobbying expenditures, spending over $1 million between April and June 2026. This brings its first-half spending to more than $2 million, a figure that more than doubles its spending from the same period last year. The company is intensifying its efforts in Washington, D.C., and New York to advocate for the rapid approval of fully autonomous commercial taxi operations.

This surge in spending highlights a growing strategic divide between Waymo and Uber. While Waymo pushes for full autonomy, Uber promotes a hybrid model where human drivers and driverless vehicles coexist. Waymo has also increased its presence in New York state, spending over $500,000 there this year and proposing a $20 million driver support fund to address concerns regarding labor displacement.

Technologically, Waymo has shared insights following the completion of 200 million miles of fully autonomous driving. The company maintains a multi-sensor approach, utilizing LiDAR, radar, and cameras rather than a camera-only system. Waymo is also evolving its AI architecture toward large-scale foundation models and utilizing Vision-Language Models trained by Gemini to enhance decision-making capabilities.