Waymo is gearing up to introduce its autonomous ride-hailing service in Singapore by 2028, marking the company's first major push into the Southeast Asian market. The Alphabet-owned independent unit revealed that its initial fleet of all-electric self-driving vehicles will arrive in the city-state within the coming months, as it begins establishing a local operational footprint.

The Singapore initiative is being rolled out in partnership with the country's Ministry of Transport and the Land Transport Authority. This announcement follows the company's recent disclosure that it aims to debut its services in Tokyo by 2027, alongside previously outlined plans for expansion into Munich and London.

With a valuation of roughly $126 billion as of February and over 20 million fully autonomous rides already completed in the United States, Waymo is now preparing to adapt its technology for new environments. The company stated that it plans to commence mapping operations in Singapore during 2027, initially using trained autonomous driving specialists to manually pilot the vehicles. This phase is designed to help the Waymo Driver system acclimatize to local road conditions and the region's monsoon weather patterns, paving the way for a public commercial launch targeted for 2028.