Waymo and Lyft Partner for Autonomous Taxi in Nashville

Waymo will launch a fully driverless ride-hailing service in Nashville in 2026, marking its expansion into Tennessee through a new partnership with Lyft. The move expands Waymo’s autonomous taxi operations beyond the five metro areas it already serves and signals Lyft’s return to autonomous vehicle services as a platform partner, rather than a developer.

The service will be available to the public through both Waymo and Lyft apps. Waymo will operate all-electric Jaguar I-PACEs equipped with its fifth-generation self-driving system. Testing in Nashville is set to begin in the coming months, though commercial rides won’t start until the full launch in 2026.

The news pushed Lyft shares up more than 10%, reflecting investor confidence in the company’s strategy to align with top-tier AV providers. Lyft exited AV development in 2021 when it sold its in-house division to Toyota’s Woven Planet. Since then, it’s focused on partnering with companies like Waymo to keep pace with autonomous offerings without the cost and risk of developing its own tech.

Strategic importance of Nashville

Adding Nashville gives Waymo strategic access to a mid-sized southeastern city with real-world complexity but less traffic density than cities like Los Angeles or San Francisco. Across Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and Atlanta, Waymo is already completing hundreds of thousands of autonomous rides weekly. Nashville becomes its sixth major market.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee welcomed the move, framing it as both an innovation milestone and an economic development win. State-level support could streamline regulatory approvals and local integrations, key factors in scaling AV services outside early adopter cities.

Partnership benefits

The deal offers benefits on all sides:

• Waymo gets exposure to a new region and valuable driving data
• Lyft enhances its service footprint without reigniting costly R&D
• Nashville positions itself as a pioneer among southeastern U.S. cities embracing driverless tech

Broader AV rollout strategy

The launch also reflects a broader AV rollout strategy now taking shape: companies are scaling city by city, leaning on local partnerships to enter new markets. Rather than chasing a national launch, operators like Waymo are prioritizing regulatory alignment, infrastructure maturity, and political support.

If this rollout goes smoothly, Nashville could become a model for expanding autonomous ride-hailing across the Southeast, where interest in tech-led transportation is growing, but full-scale deployments remain rare.