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Waymo Buys Apple’s 5,500‑Acre Arizona Proving Ground for $220 Million

The purchase gives Waymo its largest enclosed test site to speed controlled validation, rider-only trials, operational training, fleet scale-up

Overview

  • Waymo completed a $220 million purchase of the 5,500-acre Wittmann, Arizona proving ground, a sale recorded on June 5, 2026, and confirmed to TechCrunch.
  • The seller was Route 14 Investment Partners LLC, a Delaware-registered entity tied in public records to Apple, which had bought the site in 2021 for $125 million.
  • The facility includes a 115-acre city course, a 35-acre vehicle dynamics area, a four-mile high-speed oval and a dedicated freeway course built for autonomous-vehicle testing.
  • Shortly after the sale was reported, Waymo filed a voluntary recall to address an identified issue with untraversable flooded lanes on highways, signaling active safety refinements as it scales.
  • The site sits about 90 minutes from Waymo’s Mesa factory and will be used for controlled scenario simulation, rider-only testing, motion-control validation and crew training as the company grows its robotaxi fleet.