Google World Model AI Accelerates Waymo Robotaxi Expansion

Self-driving vehicle startup Waymo said Friday (Feb. 6) that the latest virtual world in which it is developing its artificial intelligence (AI) will enhance the company’s ability to scale its service in the real world.

The company’s newly introduced Waymo World Model is built on Google DeepMind’s general purpose world model Genie 3, which Waymo then adapted for autonomous driving simulation, Waymo said in a Friday blog post.

With Genie 3’s world knowledge, Waymo World Model can simulate a wider range of events, including extreme weather conditions, natural disasters, and rare and safety-critical events, according to the post.

Waymo World Model also enables engineers to use simple language prompts, driving inputs and scene layouts to modify simulations, per the post.

“This combination of broad world knowledge, fine-grained controllability and multi-modal realism enhances Waymo’s ability to safely scale our service across more places and new driving environments,” Waymo said in the post.

PYMNTS reported in November that world models are systems designed to understand how the world behaves rather than just how it looks. These models integrate perception, simulation, spatial reasoning and prediction so that machines build an internal model of cause and effect.

Genie 3 is one of these models, and it can generate 3D environments governed by physics, where AI agents learn by exploring virtual worlds rather than static datasets.

Google DeepMind introduced an experimental research prototype powered by Genie 3 on Jan. 29, saying it uses the latest world model AI to generate and explore interactive virtual environments. The company opened access to this prototype, Project Genie, for Google AI Ultra subscribers in the United States, allowing them to experiment with the world-generation features.

It was reported Jan. 31 that Wall Street reacted to the unveiling of Genie 3 by erasing billions in market value throughout the video game industry due to concerns that the AI system can generate video games from scratch.

Meanwhile, Waymo announced Monday (Feb. 2) that it raised $16 billion in an investment round that valued the company at $126 billion post-money. The company said Google parent company Alphabet continued to support Waymo as the company’s majority investor.