Waymo has launched its robotaxi service in Las Vegas following final approval by Nevada transportation regulators. The Alphabet-owned company is rolling out “dozens” of its new Ojai minivan autonomous vehicles to serve an area that includes the Las Vegas Strip south of Highway 589 and Boulder Junction. Initially, the service will be accessible by invitation only, with public riders needing to request access codes, though full availability is expected within a couple of months after the launch.

This expansion marks Las Vegas as Waymo’s 15th market for its commercial robotaxi operations. The company already operates in over a dozen U.S. cities, including Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, Phoenix, and the San Francisco Bay Area. The new service in Las Vegas comes amid a busy period for Waymo as it strives to grow its presence amid mounting competition from Tesla, Zoox, and Motional, which also plan or already operate autonomous ride services in the city.

Nevada’s regulator has authorized Waymo to operate up to 1,000 autonomous vehicles in Clark County over the next year. Meanwhile, Tesla can deploy up to 5,000 robotaxis, and Uber, which partners with Hyundai’s Motional and Zoox, is allowed up to 1,000. Together, these approvals could bring up to 7,000 robotaxis to the region within 12 months, potentially making Las Vegas a hotspot for autonomous vehicle services.

Waymo currently manages a fleet of over 4,000 robotaxis across its markets and continues to scale its operations. Although the companies might not immediately hit their maximum authorized deployment numbers, the Las Vegas launch is expected to be a significant step in the growing autonomous vehicle ecosystem, with the city becoming a major battleground for robotaxi services in the coming year.