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Waymo shared that it is now providing 500,000 paid robotaxi rides every week. That number is small compared to its human-driven ride-hailing counterparts, like Lyft and Uber. But that’s not what I found most interesting. The pace of growth in rides, new markets, and how it compares to its fleet size is what got my attention. We built a chart (which you can view below) that helps visualize the rapid scale.

That scale, however, does create new challenges, including the inevitably of the robotaxis becoming paralyzed, like so many did during the blackout in California in December. It got us wondering, what happens when a robotaxi gets stuck — and who unsticks it?

Senior reporter Sean O’Kane dug into Waymo’s system (which includes its own roadside assistance team), as well as at least six incidents in which first responders had to step in and manually drive the stuck Waymo. In some cases, robotaxis got stuck in the middle of an emergency: A police officer responding to a mass shooting in Austin earlier this month was diverted to first move a Waymo robotaxi out of the way.

At its core, Sean found that when Waymo’s vehicles get stuck, the company relies on taxpayer-funded public services to move its vehicles for it.

Depending on who you talk to, this is either unacceptable, no big deal, or somewhere in between. In a recent hearing, San Francisco District 4 supervisor Alan Wong said that many of his counterparts agree that “our first responders should not be AAA.”

For those who shrug, I would suggest they think about what’s coming.

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This is not just a Waymo issue. Numerous companies are hoping to deploy paid robotaxis in the U.S. this year, including Motional and Zoox. Tesla, which has its service in Austin, has big ambitions too. Each company may have a different system with varying degrees of reliance on first responders.

Image Credits:TechCrunch / DataWrapper

A little bird

Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

A little bird close to Uber recently shared a tidbit about Waymo, which the ride-hailing company has partnered with in a few cities. According to this insider, it takes up to 30% longer for a Waymo robotaxi to get somewhere compared to a human driver because of how careful the robot car needs to be and its tendency to avoid potential challenges like unprotected left turns. (Important note: I’ve been in lots of Waymos and these vehicles can absolutely handle left-hand turns, but they can be difficult and so it makes sense the robotaxis may avoid them.)

Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.

Deals!

Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

Zipline, the U.S. autonomous drone delivery and logistics startup, has been around for years. Recently, its success in home delivery and continued global expansion has helped it attract even more money.

The company said it raised another $200 million, adding to a recent funding round originally announced in January. The additional funds, which included participation from crypto investment firm Paradigm, has pushed Zipline’s recent Series H round to $800 million. Fidelity Management & Research Company, Baillie Gifford, Valor Equity Partners, and Tiger Global participated in the initial tranche that valued the drone delivery startup at $7.6 billion.

My story homes in on why the startup may have found so many interested investors. TL;DR: Its at-home delivery volume growth beat its forecast in January and February, and CEO Keller Clifton said he expects it to over the next three months, relative to 2025.

Other deals that got my attention …

NoTraffic, an Israeli traffic management software startup, raised $90 million in a Series C funding round led by PSG Equity, Axios reported.

Rivian received another $1 billion from Volkswagen Group after completing one of its milestones under a technology joint venture between the two automakers. About $750 million is coming in the form of an equity

TechCrunch Mobility: When a robotaxi has to call 911