“They asked me to build a great company, and then make it bigger than Google,” Krafcik, former CEO of Waymo, the project’s successor, told Forbes. 

At the time the idea was preposterous, since it wasn’t clear when or if autonomous driving would be safe enough for real-world deployment, let alone at scale. A decade later, things have changed. Waymo robotaxis log about 300,000 paid rides worth at least $6 million every week in the five cities where they operate. That figure will rise exponentially in the next few years as its fleet grows and the service expands to 15 markets or more, including Miami, New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Nashville and possibly Tokyo, which would be Waymo’s first international foray. Yesterday the company said it has begun testing in Denver and Seattle, following a blog post last Friday emphasizing plans to scale as quickly as possible. 

“We’re entering a new chapter and accelerating our commercial expansion,” Waymo said. “If you see us driving in your city, it’s because we are working hard to serve you in the future.”