Innovation highway

Amazon's Zoox robotaxis steer into Dallas, revving up rivalry with Waymo

Zoox retrofitted Toyota Highlander test vehicle.

Photo courtesy of Zoox

Ride-hailing robotaxis operated by Amazon-owned Zoox will soon hit the roads in Dallas, alongside those operated by chief competitor Waymo.

Zoox is expanding its test fleet to Dallas and Phoenix after launching pilot projects in Austin, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

Zoox says in a blog post that Dallas and Phoenix are “rapidly growing metropolitan areas with high demand for ride-hailing and first- and last-mile connections. Expanding into these cities allows us to test in sprawling environments, differentiating this … from our testing in other dense metro areas like San Francisco.”

In Dallas and Phoenix, Zoox vehicles will be on the streets of centrally located neighborhoods, the company says.

“Dallas provides a valuable testing ground to refine our AI against diverse weather and complex road networks,” Zoox adds.

The Zoox test fleet, which comprises retrofitted Toyota Highlander SUVs, has been traveling on public roadways since 2017, starting with the San Francisco Bay Area and Las Vegas. Amazon bought the company in 2020 for $1.3 billion.

When Zoox tests its robotaxis in a new market, it initially focuses on mapping streets before moving on to autonomous driving.

“There is always a safety driver behind the wheel who can take over at any time, disengaging the AI if needed,” the company says.

After finishing its tests with SUVs in Dallas and Phoenix, Zoox will start testing its box-shaped, purpose-built robotaxis.

In the San Francisco Bay Area and Las Vegas, their vehicles have traveled more than one million miles and served more than 300,000 ride-hailing passengers.

Zoox joins Waymo in introducing self-driving taxis to Dallas. Last month, Waymo announced its entry into the Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando, Florida, markets.

Waymo, owned by Google’s parent company, says it has logged more 20 million ride-hailing trips in 10 cities, including Dallas, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio.

“Dallas is excited for Waymo to launch operations in our city, providing Dallas residents and visitors with new, innovative transportation options,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in February. “The availability of Waymo’s fully autonomous ride service further cements Dallas’ reputation as one of America’s most innovative and dynamic cities.”

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Head of the class

2 Dallas-area universities rank among Texas' 10 best for 2027

University of Dallas/Facebook

The University of Dallas is the 6th best university in Texas.

With early application season in full swing, two Dallas-area universities are racking up new accolades on a new list of the 10 best Texas colleges for 2027.

The University of Dallas and University of Texas at Dallas respectively ranked as the 6th and 10th best Texas universities in WalletHub's annual "College & University Rankings" report, proving DFW students don't have to travel out of state to earn a top-notch degree.

Across town in Fort Worth, Texas Christian University ranked 7th statewide.

WalletHub analyzed 738 colleges and universities in the U.S. using 30 relevant metrics, including factors like student-faculty ratios, graduation rates, and many more. Universities were ranked nationally, regionally, and across seven key dimensions: student selectivity; cost and financing; faculty resources; campus safety; campus experience; educational outcomes; and career outcomes.

Rice University in Houston claimed the top spot as Texas' No. 1 university for 2027. The Southern Ivy also ranked No. 11 nationwide.

In addition to its high statewide rating and its top rank among local schools, The University of Dallas ranked No. 34 in the regional comparison of best universities in the South, and appeared 174th nationally. Across the seven main categories, the university performed best for its campus safety (No. 158), faculty resources (No. 168), and student selectivity (No. 189).

UD ranked outside the top 200 in the national categories for campus experience (No. 229), education outcomes (No. 286), career outcomes (No. 325), and cost and financing (No. 461).

Meanwhile, UT Dallas ranked 56th regionally and 266th nationally. UTD's educational outcomes rank among the top 200 nationally, landing 177th, and it ranked just outside the top 200 for its student selectivity.

This is how the report ranked UTD in the five remaining categories out of all 738 schools:

No. 268 – Career outcomes
No. 299 – Cost and financing
No. 348 – Campus safety
No. 734 – Faculty resources
No. 518 – Campus experience

Elsewhere in Dallas-Fort Worth, Southern Methdodist University ranked 288th nationally, Southwestern Adventist University in Keene ranked 454th, the University of North Texas came in 484th, and The University of Texas at Arlington ranked right behind as No. 486.

The DFW schools, including their graduate and online programs, have earned heaps of national and worldwide praise this year from prestigious educational reviewing authorities U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review.

These are WalletHub's top 10 best colleges and universities in Texas for 2027:

No. 1 – Rice University
No. 2 – Trinity University
No. 3 – The University of Texas at Austin
No. 4 – Texas A&M University-College Station
No. 5 – Southwestern University
No. 6 – University of Dallas
No. 7 – Austin College
No. 8 – Texas Christian University
No. 9 – LeTourneau University
No. 10 – The University of Texas at Dallas

innovation universities university of dallas university of texas at dallas rankings wallethub