WaymoLaunch

Google Self-Driving Car Project launched

ZooxLaunch

Founded to build a purpose-built autonomous robotaxi from scratch

MobileyeMilestone

IPO on NYSE; largest Israeli tech IPO at the time

TeslaLaunch

Autopilot V1 launched with Mobileye EyeQ3 chip

UberLaunch

Uber ATG launched self-driving pilot in Pittsburgh

WaymoMilestone

Spun out from Google X as Waymo LLC

Baidu ApolloLaunch

Apollo autonomous driving platform launched as open-source

Intel (Mobileye parent)Milestone

Intel acquired Mobileye for $15.3B

WaymoExpansion

Early Rider Program launched in Phoenix

TeslaMilestone

HW2.5 chip deployed; began building in-house FSD team after Mobileye split

AuroraLaunch

Founded by Chris Urmson (ex-Google), Sterling Anderson (ex-Tesla), Drew Bagnell (ex-Uber)

NVIDIALaunch

DRIVE Xavier SoC launched — first autonomous driving chip with 30 TOPS

WaymoCommercial

Waymo One commercial ride-hailing launched in Phoenix

TeslaMilestone

HW3 (FSD Computer) launched — first fully in-house autonomous driving chip

WeRideLaunch

First robotaxi pilot launched in Guangzhou, China

Pony.aiLaunch

Public robotaxi pilot launched in Guangzhou

NVIDIAMilestone

DRIVE Orin announced with 254 TOPS — adopted by Mercedes, JLR, BYD, and Hyundai

ZooxMilestone

Acquired by Amazon for $1.2B

WaymoCommercial

Fully driverless rides open to public in Phoenix (no safety driver)

DiDiLaunch

DiDi Autonomous Driving began public testing in Shanghai

LuminarMilestone

Went public via SPAC; secured Volvo EX90 lidar deal

AuroraMilestone

Strategic partnership with PACCAR for autonomous trucking

HesaiLaunch

Launched AT128 automotive-grade lidar — became China's top-shipping lidar

NIOLaunch

NIO Pilot upgraded to Navigate on Pilot (NOP) for highway autonomous driving

XPengLaunch

City NGP (Navigation Guided Pilot) launched in Guangzhou — first city-level ADAS in China

AuroraMilestone

Went public via SPAC merger; acquired Uber ATG

MobileyeMilestone

EyeQ Ultra announced — 176 TOPS L4 chip targeting full self-driving

Baidu ApolloCommercial

First fully driverless commercial robotaxi service in Wuhan and Chongqing

NVIDIAMilestone

DRIVE Thor announced with 2,000 TOPS — next-gen centralized car computer

Cruise (GM)Commercial

Driverless commercial ride-hailing launched in San Francisco

MobileyeMilestone

IPO at $16.7B valuation; spun out from Intel

TeslaExpansion

FSD Beta opened to all North American customers

HesaiMilestone

Nasdaq IPO; became highest-volume automotive lidar company globally

QualcommLaunch

Snapdragon Ride Flex launched — single SoC unifying ADAS and cockpit compute

WaymoExpansion

San Francisco driverless commercial service launched

XPengExpansion

XNGP expanded to 25+ cities without HD maps — leading mass-market city ADAS

Cruise (GM)Paused

Operations suspended following pedestrian incident; permits revoked

Pony.aiCommercial

Fully driverless commercial approval in Beijing

TeslaMilestone

FSD v12 released — first end-to-end neural network replacing hand-coded rules

AuroraCommercial

First commercial driverless freight on US public roads (Dallas-Houston)

MobileyeCommercial

SuperVision hands-free driving launched with Zeekr in China and Europe

WaymoExpansion

Austin and Atlanta launch; 150K+ weekly rides milestone

Li AutoExpansion

Li AD Max city NOA expanded to 100+ cities across China

NIOExpansion

City-level Navigate on Pilot expanded to 200+ cities in China

TeslaMilestone

Cybercab robotaxi unveiled at 'We, Robot' event — no steering wheel or pedals

WeRideMilestone

Nasdaq IPO; operations in 30+ cities across 7 countries

UberExpansion

Waymo robotaxis went live on the Uber app in Atlanta

Pony.aiMilestone

Nasdaq IPO at $4.6B valuation

WaymoMilestone

Surpassed 200M cumulative autonomous miles; 450K+ rides per week

BYDMilestone

Partnered with Huawei and Momenta to deploy city-level NOA across its lineup

ZooxExpansion

Purpose-built robotaxi began public testing in Las Vegas and SF

TeslaCommercial

Commercial robotaxi service launched in Austin with safety drivers