The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, Oct. 17, edition that Alphabet's Waymo is entering Canada and launching a pilot program in Toronto as it seeks to become a first mover in the country's robotaxi market.
The Globe's Vanmala Subramaniam writes that Waymo said Friday it had received approval from the Ontario government to test its fleet of driverless vehicles through the province's autonomous vehicle pilot program.
Waymo will partner with Element Fleet Management, a logistics company, to organize its operations in Toronto. Waymo's entry into Canada will create hundreds of jobs, including in fleet maintenance, customer service and testing vehicles.
Waymo will soon start by mapping the streets of Toronto. More than a dozen cars will be part of the company's initial testing.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board was one Waymo's earliest investors, participating in two funding rounds in 2020 and 2021 worth more than $3-billion (U.S.) in total.
Magna International was also one of the company's early investors and is a key manufacturing partner in the construction of an autonomous vehicle plant in Arizona, which will build Jaguar and Zeekr electric vehicles for Waymo's fleet.
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