Zoox from Amazon will open a command center in Arizona and extend testing to Dallas and Phoenix

Zoox, the robotaxi unit of Amazon, is expanding its autonomous vehicle testing to Dallas and Phoenix as it seeks to grow its presence in the increasingly competitive self-driving taxi market in the United States.

The company said on Monday that the expansion will bring its testing operations to 10 markets across the country. Existing locations include Las Vegas, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Austin, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Washington, D.C..

The move comes as competition intensifies in the robotaxi sector. Waymo, owned by Alphabet, has been leading commercial deployments of autonomous taxis, while Tesla is aiming to compete using its large-scale manufacturing capacity and artificial intelligence technology.

Zoox has been gradually expanding its services, including limited operations in Las Vegas and a pilot rider program in San Francisco launched late last year.

As part of the expansion, Zoox will initially deploy a small number of modified sport utility vehicles in Dallas and Phoenix. The first phase will focus on manually mapping roads before moving to autonomous testing with a safety driver behind the wheel.

The company also plans to open new depots in both cities and establish a “Fusion Center” in Scottsdale, Arizona. This facility will serve as a command hub for fleet operations, remote guidance and customer support. Zoox said the expansion is expected to create hundreds of jobs.

Dallas and Phoenix offer different testing environments compared with dense urban areas such as San Francisco. Their wide road networks and harsh conditions, including desert heat and dust, will help the company test the durability of its sensors, batteries and AI systems.

Zoox said it has already completed more than one million autonomous miles and served over 300,000 riders.

Meanwhile, U.S. regulators are scheduled to hold a national autonomous vehicle safety forum on Tuesday. The event will include the CEOs of Waymo, Zoox and self-driving technology company Aurora Innovation.