Silicon Valley led the quest for driverless cars. But Chinese robotaxis are catching up fast Rest of World By: Kinling Lo 9 June 2025 at 05:00 Chinese and American companies have long led the costly endeavor of developing autonomous ride-hailing services. Now, robotaxi firms are taking the competition global. The Alphabet-owned Waymo, which launched the world’s... © Kevin Frayer/Getty ImagesA “safety driver” sits in Baidu’s Apollo robotaxi at the Apollo Park in Beijing, China.