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Waymo’s robotaxis coming to Austin, Texas

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Waymo’s robotaxis coming to Austin, Texas


Passengers ride in an electric Jaguar I-PACE car outfitted with Waymo full self-driving technology in Santa Monica, California, Feb. 21, 2023.

Allen J. Schaben | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

Waymo, the Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company, is officially entering the land of breakfast tacos: Austin, Texas will become the newest city to offer Waymo’s ride-hailing services, according to a Wednesday announcement.

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Austin is the fourth major city to allow Waymo’s ride-hailing pilot program, behind Metro Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The program’s “initial phase of operations” will begin in the fall “with fully autonomous deployment,” but Waymo will wait to offer rides to the public until a few months later. The company had been conducting early tests in Austin since at least March of this year.

“We’ll definitely follow a similar market entry playbook as we have in the past and are currently doing in LA (e.g., manual testing -> supervised testing -> fully autonomous testing -> then public service),” Chris Bonelli, product communications manager at Waymo, told CNBC. He added, “We won’t start that market entry playbook until this fall, and then those various phases will continue from there.”

Waymo’s autonomous ride-hailing service will be available night and day in areas like downtown Austin, Barton Hills, East Austin, Hyde Park, Riverside and more, according to a blog post. The company cited reports of Austin’s fast-growing economy as influential in its decision to expand its services to the city, as well as its dense population, with nearly 2.5 million people in the metro area.

Bonelli declined to share a specific vehicle count for Waymo’s planned Austin fleet.

The company has raised at least $5.5 billion in funding since Alphabet set up Waymo as its own entity in 2016. Waymo earmarked its latest round, which totaled $2.5 billion from investors including Alphabet and Andreessen Horowitz in 2021, for advancing its technology and expanding its team.

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In recent years, Waymo and competitors in the self-driving space have waged an uphill battle for adoption, amid consumer safety concerns, red tape in cities and the need for more human safety drivers.

Nearly three years after the release of Waymo One, Waymo’s fully driverless service, it remains one of only two such services with commercial operations in the U.S. Part of the challenge is due to robotaxi companies’ struggles to land in cities with not only favorable local leadership and regulatory environments, but also the perfect mix of characteristics, such as road infrastructure, climate and population.

Waymo announced in late July it would “push back the timeline” on its autonomous semi-truck development and instead focus on autonomous ride-hailing services. An undisclosed number of layoffs were part of the decision to pause trucking efforts.



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Austin, TX

This Texas city has replaced Austin as the 4th-largest in the state. See the new list

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This Texas city has replaced Austin as the 4th-largest in the state. See the new list


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Another Texas city has replaced Austin as the fourth-largest city in the state, according to 2023 data released in November.

Population figures for Texas counties and places from July 1, 2023, and Jan. 1, 2024, were collected in the Texas Demographic Center’s 2023 Population Estimates report. Data from January 2024 shows a shift in the top four largest cities in the state, knocking Austin to No. 5.

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Here’s what the latest population estimates reveal.

Fort Worth replaces Austin as 4th-largest Texas city

Fort Worth has surpassed Austin as the fourth-most populous city in the Lone Star State, according to the Texas Demographic Center.

Population estimates from January 2024 show Fort Worth having 989,878 residents — nearly 3,000 more than Austin. Between 2020 and 2024, Fort Worth had an estimated 7.7% population increase, compared to Austin’s 2.6% population increase over the same period.

Another population analysis by Smart Asset showed New Braunfels and three other Central Texas cities had among the highest population growth rates in the entire U.S. over the past year. New Braunfels, Georgetown, Atascocita and Conroe were listed among the top ten cities with the highest population increases.

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LIST: 5 largest Texas cities as of January 2024

Here are the five most populous Texas cities, according to January 2024 data:

City 2020 Census Count July 2023 Pop. Estimate Jan. 2024 Pop. Estimate 2020-2023 Percent Change 2020-2024 Percent Change
Houston 2,304,580 2,318,653 2,318,657 0.6% 0.6%
San Antonio 1,434,625 1,487,588 1,496,876 3.7% 4.3%
Dallas 1,304,379 1,306,537 1,308,404 0.2% 0.3%
Fort Worth 918,915 978,863 989,878 6.5% 7.7%
Austin 961,855 984,290 986,928 2.3% 2.6%
Table by Alexis Simmerman/American-Statesman | Data by the Texas Demographic Center



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Austin, TX

The 2025 BLAST.tv Austin Major: Date, Prize Pool, Info

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The 2025 BLAST.tv Austin Major: Date, Prize Pool, Info


The 2025 Counter-Strike season is upon us, and BLAST.tv’s next Major is drawing closer. This year’s Major will occur in Austin, Texas, and BLAST estimates it will be “one of the biggest esports events ever in the US” with an estimated “50,000 fans, plus millions tuning in from over 150+ territories and broadcast in 28 languages.” As we look forward to the upcoming year’s Counter-Strike esports, let’s examine everything we know about the 2025 BLAST.tv Austin Major, its key dates and prize pool.

The 2025 BLAST.tv Austin major will be BLAST’s second hosted Major tournament after the Paris Major in 2023. It will be the first BLAST.tv Major since Counter-Strike 2’s 2023 release, and the first United States Counter-Strike major since 2018. The event will feature 24 of the best Counter-Strike teams worldwide and progress through three stages: Opening, Elimination and Playoffs.

Related Article: All-Women’s CS2! 2025 ESL Impact Tour Schedule, Prize Pool

The 2025 Austin Major will take place in Austin’s Moody Center. BLAST.tv’s CEO Robbie Douek commented excitedly about the event:

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We are incredibly excited to bring the BLAST.tv Major to Austin, Texas. The city’s dynamic atmosphere, the cutting-edge Moody Center and track record of hosting world-leading events provide the perfect setting for what promises to be an unforgettable event. We look forward to showcasing the best of esports to a global audience and making a positive impact on the local community.

– Robbie Douek, CEO of BLAST

The 2025 BLAST.tv Austin major will occur in June 2025, with the summer in full swing. According to the event’s Liquipedia page, it will run from June 9 to June 22, 2025. Here’s a quick summary of each stage’s specific dates:

The 2025 BLAST.tv Austin Major has a sizeable cumulative prize pool of 1,250,000 USD. This prize pool will be split between the top eight teams in the event’s final standings. The winning team will receive a 500,000 USD grand prize, while second, third and fourth-place teams will also receive high rewards. The fifth to eighth-place teams will each score smaller shares of 45,000 USD.

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Related Article: Big Esports Tournaments of 2025





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Texas' goal-line wall will be tested by Arizona State

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Texas' goal-line wall will be tested by Arizona State


AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas defense seems to have built a big burnt orange wall at the goal line.

Late-game goal-line stands have helped keep the Longhorns moving toward a possible national championship. The latest was Saturday night in Texas’ 34-28 win over Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

“We’ve got big people, and they know how to play a physical brand of football,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “When we get challenged like that … I think that’s part of our identity.”

So here comes Cam Scattebo, Arizona State’s 5-foot-11, 215-pound All-American wrecking ball of a running back to try to knock it down.

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Texas’ win over Clemson sent the No. 5 seed Longhorns (12-2) to the quarterfinals against the Big 12 champion and No. 4 seed Sun Devils (11-2) in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Skattebo put on a show the last time the Sun Devils were on the field. He scored three touchdowns, had 170 yards rushing and 208 all-purpose yards in Arizona State’s 45-19 win over Iowa State in the Big 12 championship game.

Skattebo bounced off tacklers, ran through others and outraced some more. He struck the Heisman Trophy pose a few times, then had a few things to say about it all afterward.

“Nobody respects the fact that I’m the best running back in the country. And I’m going to stand on that,” he said after the game. “I’m going to keep proving people wrong. And whatever NFL team takes me is going to get a gem.”

Skattebo brings some gaudy numbers to Atlanta to back it up.

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The AP All-American’s 19 rushing touchdowns and 22 overall are both tied for school records. He needs 75 yards to break the program’s single-season rushing record of 1,642.

He was twice the AP national player of the week. The first time was for his career-high 262 yards rushing amid his 297 all-purposed yards in Week 2 against Mississippi State. The second was for his game against Iowa State.

Texas players say they are ready for the Sun Devils’ battering ram.

“Yeah, I’m excited,” Longhorns defensive tackle Barryn Sorrell said. “My time being here, I feel like I’ve heard that a lot, that a team is going to come in here and run the ball on us, and I’d like to say there was a different result a lot of those times.

“Just looking forward to that challenge again,” Sorrell said.

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Sorrell was in the middle of fourth-quarter goal line stands that helped save wins against Texas A&M and Clemson.

Texas was clinging to a 17-7 lead in College Station when the Longhorns stuffed four consecutive runs inside their own 5. The win sent Texas to the SEC championship game.

Clemson had a chance Saturday to get within a touchdown in the final 8 minutes. A touchdown could have completely swung momentum their way.

But after reaching the Texas 1, two straight runs failed to reach the goal line. Sorrell was in on the tackle that stopped Clemson’s Keith Adams Jr. just short of a touchdown on fourth down.

“We take pride in not letting guys score or get in our paint,” Texas safety Andrew Mukuba said.

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Texas is not perfect at the goal line, however. Georgia won the SEC championship in overtime when Trevor Etienne bowled into the endzone from the Texas 4.

But they’ve been close enough to it to keep charging deep into the postseason.

“It’ll be an amazing challenge,” Texas All-American cornerback Jahdae Barron said of facing Skattebo. “He’s a hard downhill running back.”



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