CES 2026: How Emerging Technology is Shaping the Year Ahead
An expert breakdown of CES 2026, exploring how robotics, intelligent devices, and next‑gen computing are shaping technology and professional workflows in 2026.
By Cortex Hub Editorial | July 29, 2025
Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle arm, Waymo, has announced it plans to expand its commercial robotaxi service to Dallas, Texas, by 2026. This marks a significant step in its national expansion — making Dallas the second major Texas city after Austin and part of a broader U.S. rollout that includes launches in Miami and Washington, D.C. next year Reddit +15 Reuters +15 CNBC +15 Plainview Herald +5 New Canaan Advertiser +5 Benzie Record Patriot +5 .
Unlike Waymo’s operation in Austin, which is booked via Uber’s app, the Dallas service will run through Waymo’s own platform, while partnering with Avis Budget Group to handle fleet logistics, vehicle maintenance, and infrastructure support TechCrunch +11 Reuters +11 KSAT +11 .
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Current Reach & Milestones
- Waymo already averages over 250,000 paid trips per week across five active U.S. cities — Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Austin — with an approximate fleet of 1,500 vehicles Reddit +5 Reuters +5 AP News +5 .
- Recent expansion in California added nearly 250 square miles of coverage across the Bay Area and Los Angeles Axios .
Why Dallas?
- Strategic scale-up: Dallas joins a growing list of U.S. cities marked for early 2026 deployment, aligning with Waymo’s goal of dominance amid intensifying competition from Tesla, Zoox (Amazon), Lyft/Mobileye, and other autonomous mobility startups Midland Reporter-Telegram +3 CNBC +3 Reddit +3 .
- Local testing phase underway: Waymo has been conducting mapping and supervised testing with human-driven vehicles across major Dallas corridors and neighborhoods in preparation for full driverless service KSAT +11 NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth +11 AP News +11 .
Competitive Edge & Future Outlook
- As West Coast cities normalize self-driving mobility, Waymo is now widening its footprint in the Sun Belt, solidifying its position as the only fully commercial robotaxi service operator in the U.S. to date Reddit +15 Reuters +15 Reddit +15 .
- Expansion plans also include Houston, San Antonio, San Diego, Boston, New York City, and international testing in Tokyo NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth +10 New Canaan Advertiser +10 AP News +10 .
- The Avis partnership, Waymo’s first with a rental company, reflects a strategic move to leverage external infrastructure and scale efficiently without building ownership from scratch TechCrunch .
🔍 Cortex Hub Insight
Waymo’s Dallas expansion is more than geographic growth — it underscores a shift toward operational efficiency, platform independence, and urban market diversification. By choosing its own app and outsourcing fleet operations, Waymo is both accelerating deployment and experimenting with new mobility models.
As regulatory approval comes, Dallas—and other Sun Belt cities—are likely to become showcases for fully autonomous urban transport. That makes Waymo’s continuing lead in technology and operations a compelling if high-stakes, bet in the future of mobility.
