Waymo, Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving tech unit, expects to more than quadruple its ride service over the next year, aiming to handle at least a million paid robotaxi rides as it enters new cities in the U.S. and begins operating in the U.K. and Japan. It’s the first time that the company, which started in 2009 as the Google Self-Driving Car project, has set a hard target for its business.

Currently, the Mountain View, California-based company books more than 1 million rides a month in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Bay Area communities, Austin, Atlanta and, as of last month, Miami. That’s “a number that we’re on a path to hit every week by the end of 2026,” Waymo said in a blog post. “As we look to 2026, we’re laying the early groundwork for ride-hailing operations in over 20 additional cities in 2026, including international cities like Tokyo and London.”

Waymo doesn’t share financial data, but various estimates suggest it makes at least $20 per ride, which adds up to more than $20 million a month. At 1 million rides per week, its annualized revenue would hit about $1 billion, a milestone for the early-stage robotaxi market. To handle that volume........

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