01Waymo's perception / VLM seat is 48 current versus 27 jobs
The citeable seat is Waymo's 48 mapped perception / VLM current profiles versus 27 open jobs.
Waymo maps 48 current perception / VLM profiles and 27 open jobs. The bench is there; the job book is still open.
Zoox, the AV company, maps 9 open jobs in the same seat against 39 current. The first screen cites the 9; the staffed read sits later.
The headline sum adds Waymo and Zoox, the AV company, only: mapped current 48 + 39 = 87, mapped open jobs 27 + 9 = 36.
45 of 48 Waymo current profiles are US. Geography is read later; company-wide totals are not this page's lede.
02Zoox, the AV company, is staffed at 39 against 9 jobs
Zoox, the AV company, maps 39 current perception / VLM profiles against 9 jobs. Thick bench, thin book. Scale is Waymo current, 48.
0345 of 48 Waymo current profiles sit in the US
45 of 48 Waymo current profiles are US; 27 of 27 Waymo jobs are US. All 39 Zoox, the AV company, current profiles are US.
04Waabi, the Toronto trucking lab, is a footnote — not part of 87
Waabi, the Toronto trucking lab, maps 1 current profile and 2 open jobs. The row stays in the table, is never sold alone, and never enters 87 / 36.
| Company | Mapped current | Mapped open jobs | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waymo | 48 | 27 | headline perception seat |
| Zoox | 39 | 9 | headline · staffed |
| Waabi | 1 | 2 | footnote · not summed |
| Headline sum | 87 | 36 | Waymo plus Zoox only |
05How the perception / VLM slice was cut, and why Waabi is a footnote
Function slice
Title / function tokens: perception, or VLM, or vision-language, or onboard / offboard perception, or computer vision together with driving / AV / autonomous. Bare ML or research were not used.
Current and open jobs
The figures are profiles Metix maps as currently employed at that company name, and visible open jobs mapped to that name, not official headcount.
Names
Zoox on this page is always the AV company. Waabi is the Toronto trucking lab, not Waabigan. Waabi is never sold alone.
As-of and source
As of August 26, 2026, 2:00 a.m. PT (8/26). Source: Metix AI. This page does not invent valuations, company-wide totals, or ride counts.
Questions this report answers
- What does Waymo map at 48 current perception / VLM profiles?
- As of August 26, 2026, 2:00 a.m. PT, Waymo maps 48 current perception / VLM profiles and 27 open jobs. Zoox, the AV company, maps 9 open jobs in the same seat family. Headline sum, Waymo plus Zoox only: 87 current / 36 jobs. Source: Metix AI.
- Why is Zoox 39 current versus 9 jobs a staffed-not-hiring read?
- Zoox, the AV company, maps 39 current perception / VLM profiles against 9 open jobs. The bench is thick; the job book is thin. Waymo is 48 current versus 27 jobs. These are Metix-mapped counts, not official headcount.
- Why is Waabi a table footnote on the 87 / 36 sum?
- Waabi, the Toronto trucking lab, maps 1 current profile and 2 open jobs. That row sits in the table and is never sold alone, and it is never added into the 87 / 36 headline sum. Waabi is not Waabigan. 45 of 48 Waymo current profiles are US; 27 of 27 Waymo jobs are US; 39 of 39 Zoox current profiles are US.
- How should the Waymo 48 perception map be cited?
- Metix AI Talent Intelligence, 2026-08-26. AV Perception Talent Map 2026 | Metix AI. https://metix.ai/reports/series/av-perception-talent-2026
Request the mapped list for these two headline names / a custom map
The same methodology can export mapped current profiles and mapped open jobs on the perception / VLM seat at Waymo and at Zoox, the AV company, or rerun a custom map on your target companies. The list form is the primary path.
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