Feb 9 (Reuters) - Alphabet GOOGL.O unit Waymo said on Monday it has gone fully autonomous in Nashville, Tennessee, ramping up operations as the robotaxi race heats up in the United States.

In September, the company and Lyft LYFT.O announced plans to start offering autonomous cab rides in Nashville this year, making it the first commercial deployment of Waymo's driverless taxis on the ride-hailing firm's network.

While Waymo remains the leader in the U.S. market, competition is brewing, with Elon Musk's Tesla TSLA.O, making robotaxis a core priority for the company, pivoting away from electric vehicles.

Waymo has a fleet of more than 2,500 vehicles operating in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Metro Phoenix in Arizona, Austin in Texas and Atlanta in Georgia.

Underscoring the rising investor interest, the self-driving startup last week said it had raised $16 billion in a fundraising round that valued it at $126 billion, nearly tripling its valuation in less than two years.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

((Juby.Babu@thomsonreuters.com;))