Go eyes robotaxis and acquisitions after Japan's biggest IPO of 2026

What happened

Japan's ride-hailing leader Go — 35M downloads, 80% market share — priced an ¥88.6B ($553M) IPO, the country's biggest of 2026. Proceeds will go to autonomous vehicle development and acquisitions.

Context and impact

Japan's taxi-driver count has dropped about 20% in recent years, making robotaxis politically tractable. Go is partnering with Waymo and Nihon Kotsu, with fully driverless operations gated on tech validation and regulatory approval. For Waymo, this is a major non-US expansion via a local operator instead of its own brand.

Details

• IPO size: ¥88.6B / $553M
• 35M downloads, 80% share, 46 prefectures, 85,000 partner vehicles
• Robotaxi partners: Waymo and Nihon Kotsu
• Use of proceeds: AV development plus M&A