Waymo more than doubled its US federal lobbying spending to over $1 million in Q2, pushing overall 2026 first-half spending up 93 percent to about $2 million, as it competes with Uber over robotaxi regulation. Waymo favors a fast path to fully driverless commercial services while Uber advocates a staggered rollout mixing robotaxis with human drivers. The rivalry has strained their partnership, with Waymo reportedly exploring an exit from Uber's platform in Austin and Atlanta amid pushback from politicians and labor groups in markets like New York and Chicago.
Questions this post answers
How much has Waymo spent on federal lobbying in 2026 compared to the previous year?
Waymo spent more than $1 million on federal lobbying between April and June, more than double what it spent in the same period a year earlier. Across the first six months of the year, its lobbying spending rose 93 percent from the prior year to slightly more than $2 million, putting it close to Uber's spending and well ahead of Zoox and Tesla. Track how autonomous vehicle policy battles between Waymo and Uber unfold on daily.dev.
What are the different regulatory approaches Waymo and Uber are pushing for robotaxis?
Waymo is pushing for a faster route to fully driverless commercial services and has called for a federal framework to ease robotaxi rollout, while Uber advocates a staggered approach where robotaxis operate alongside human drivers. These diverging strategies have strained their partnership, with Waymo reportedly exploring exiting its Uber collaboration in Austin and Atlanta. Developers building in the autonomous vehicle space can follow this regulatory divide on daily.dev.