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Kaity Fischer, Vice President, Commercial and Operations, Wayve joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how Wayve is scaling their end-to-end AI autonomous driving system globally.Wayve's ability to operate autonomously across multiple countries and on both sides of the road without the need for pre-mapped environments or geo-fences is a significant competitive advantage. By licensing the Wayve Driver to global OEMs, the company is building a scalable solution that adapts to diverse vehicle platforms and sensor configurations, unlocking the path to both consumer-owned and fleet-owned autonomous vehicles. The future is mapless, borderless, and powered by end-to-end AI.Episode Chapters0:00 Wayve / Nissan Deal1:14 Wayve Driver10:30 Fleet Operators 15:57 End-to-End AI Driver19:49 Mapless23:58 Adopting to Different Platforms 28:36 Scaling End-to-End AI31:35 Powered by Wayve34:46 Future of WayveRecorded on Friday, May 16, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the start of Tesla's driver-out operations in Austin, the tenuous relationship between Waymo and Uber, and the UK's pmomentum on autonomous vehicle regulation, while the EU remains at a standstill.Now that Tesla is testing is testing driver-out operations, they are one step closer to launching commercial robotaxi operations in Austin, bringing Elon Musk's long-held vision closer to reality. What does Tesla's impending robotaxi launch mean for Uber, Waymo and the broader robotaxi market? Could this launch impact the relationship between Uber and Waymo? Are they true partners, competitors, or something in between? With a growing supply of vehicles in Austin and new international opportunities emerging, including in the UK, we examine the market signals that could define the next phase of their relationship and how that will impact the autonomy markets.Episode Chapters0:00 Waymo Suspends Service in LA3:18 Tesla Goes Driver-Out in Austin5:54 Boring Company 9:27 Tesla's Focus on Safety10:34 Uber & Waymo's Tenuous Relationship 18:06 Uber / Wayve Partnership20:53 Does the Uber / Wayve Partnership Put Pressure on Waymo?22:11 Economics of the Waymo / Uber Partnership 24:00 Dedicated Waymo Uber Tier25:32 Do Autonomous Vehicles Expand the Rideshare Market?31:12 NHTSA Part 555 / Regulatory Update 37:19 Next WeekRecorded on Saturday, June 14, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Pete Bigelow, Senior Reporter, Automotive News joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the financial news media's disconnect on autonomy, Uber's doubling down on autonomy and Alphabet's long-term plans for Waymo.Financial TV news networks continue to misinterpret the autonomous vehicle market, often not understanding the dynamics, partnerships and individuals building the future of autonomy. Sometimes these individuals pontifications can lead to misleading headlines that sows a narrative that is false. While some financial TV analysts continue to misinterpret and in some cases downplay the progress, the autonomy economy is rapidly scaling globally and commercial rollouts of both autonomous vehicles and trucks paints a very different picture from what's being broadcast.At the same time, Uber appears to be doubling down on its autonomous vehicle strategy, promoting longtime executive Andrew Macdonald who previously led their autonomy strategy to President and Chief Operating Officer. As Uber positions itself for an autonomous future, Alphabet faces a pivotal decision: Will the company spin out Waymo through an IPO or keep it in-house as part of a broader AI strategy?Episode Chapters0:00 Market Disconnect 4:39 Messaging 15:35 Messaging 22:17 Education and College Debt28:01 Is Uber Doubling Down on Autonomy?32:38 Waymo Advertising 35:01 Waymo IPO38:55 Tele-Operations 40:55 Tesla Robotaxi Launch44:51 Zoox50:59 Would Amazon Ever Sell Zoox?Recorded on Wednesday, June 4, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk unpack the escalating feud between Elon Musk and President Donald J. Trump just days before Tesla's highly anticipated robotaxi launch in Austin.The brewing political tension introduces potential new regulatory and market risks for Tesla, especially given Elon Musk's previous influence in The White House. While the full extent of the fallout remains unclear, what is certain is that this risk must be closely monitored.Meanwhile, as Tesla prepares to launch its robotaxi service in Austin this month, the autonomy IPO market is heating up. This week Plus announced plans to go public via SPAC at a $1.2 billion valuation. Could this signal the beginning of a broader wave of investor interest in autonomous trucking?Episode Chapters0:00 Trump / Elon Feud 4:09 Feud's Impact on Robotaxi8:30 National Autonomous Vehicle Framework 9:41 Big Beautiful Bill 14:13 Viewer Question: What would the fallout be with a Tesla Robotaxi Crash?26:38 Tesla Robotaxi Launch Market Reactions 29:01 Autonomous Vehicles and a European Trade Deal 31:13 Waymo Highway Unlock33:52 Uber's Growing Autonomous Vehicle Ecosystem 35:43 Growing Public Autonomous Trucking Ecosystem40:37 Plus is Going Public44:06 Autonomous Trucking Market45:10 Next WeekRecorded on Friday, June 6, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jim Mullen, Executive Director, Council for Economic Resilience (CFER) joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the far-reaching economic benefits of automation and autonomy and how these technologies benefit every single member of society.Autonomy is good for the economy. From national security and job creation to supply chain resiliency and lower inflation, automation and autonomy are critical pillars of economic resilience. Reflecting on his time in the Trump administration (45), Jim reflects on the early groundwork that the administration took towards developing and implementing a national autonomous vehicle framework.Four years later, with President Trump back in the White House and China aggressively ramping up their automation and autonomy ambitions at the detriment to the United States. The need for a national autonomous vehicle framework that allows autonomy to prosper in the United States is more urgent than ever.Automation and autonomy will not only create high-paying jobs and lower inflation but these technologies will also empower underserved communities, unlock entirely new industries, and ensure that America maintains the strongest, most resilient economy in the world.Episode Chapters0:00 Automation & Autonomy Policies4:45 What if Autonomous Trucks were Rolling During Covid?6:55 Benefits of Automation & Autonomy14:23 National Autonomous Vehicle Framework18:24 Grassroots Community Engagement23:04 The Amazon Effect24:11 Automation & Autonomy's Impact on Society33:48 Public Support of Automation & Autonomy36:37 American Leadership40:16 Key TakeawayRecorded on Thursday, May 29, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Tesla's robotaxi launch in June 12th in Austin, Waymo's relationship with Uber and Senator Lummis' Autonomous Vehicle Advancement Act. Tesla's initial robotaxi deployment in Austin will launch with just 10 Model Ys operating within a limited operational design domain (ODD). While modest in scale, investor interest is intensifying as Tesla plans to gradually expand its service area, potentially surpassing Waymo's current coverage in Austin by year-end.Meanwhile, Waymo and Uber face mounting pressure as Tesla enters the market. Speculation continues to grow around Waymo's long-term partnership with Uber, raising questions about whether Waymo will pursue a hybrid strategy with Uber or focus solely on their Waymo One platform.A potential partnership with Toyota could offer Waymo both strategic clarity and political capital, especially as U.S. lawmakers look to advance the Autonomous Vehicle Acceleration Act of 2025, a bill that could potentially lay the groundwork for a national autonomous framework.Episode Chapters0:00 Tesla Robotaxi Launch6:56 Tesla Model Y Self-Delivery8:16 Tesla Robotaxis on the Highway10:20 New Tesla Robotaxi Markets 12:23 Waymo Announcements 18:05 Waymo / Uber Relationship 27:32 What if Tesla Bundled Robotaxi Rides with a Car Lease?29:17 Autonomous Vehicle Advancement Act33:13 Unforced Error of the Week35:07 Next WeekRecorded on Friday, May 30, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In Driven: The Race to Create the Autonomous Car (Simon & Schuster, 2022), Alex Davies tells the enlightening and significant story of the effort to create driverless cars and the intense competition among tech heavyweights such as Google, Uber, and Tesla to move this technology forward. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have been one of the most hyped technologies of recent years, but early promises that they would quickly become common place have not borne fruit. Alex Davies set forth the twisted paths of this technology's evolution from its genesis to the current moment. The idea began with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which aimed to create a land-based equivalent to the drone, a vehicle that could operate in war zones without risking human lives. DARPA established “Grand Challenges” that enticed future-oriented thinkers including amateurs and students to help drive the technology from fantasy to reality. Carnegie-Mellon University and other universities played a major role. The technology got the attention of Silicon Valley companies like Google and Uber. Next arriving were the major US automakers, GM and Ford, who initiated their programs of their own to commercialize the technology, and Chinese companies also showed an intense interest. As road testing went forward, however, the challenges became far more apparent. The difficulties of traversing diverse terrains under varying weather conditions without a driver came out to be far more daunting than expected. Progress was made but in no way as fast as the developers of the technology hoped. The early enthusiasm of the key players dissipated as they came to realize that AI-assisted driverless transportation faced formidable barriers. This book provides fabulous insights into the key characters in this story and how they struggled with a technology that was not ready for rush-hour driving It is a fast-paced, exciting account of how autonomous technology emerged, the main players, the conflicts between companies, and state of the technology today. The book provides the reader with a genuine feel for how real happens. The writing is fantastic because of the emphasis on that details that come from the many conversations that Davies had with people at the center of the story. Hosted by Alfred Marcus, Edson Spencer Professor of Strategy and Technology University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
Chuck Price, President, AI Kinetics joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the current state of autonomous trucking. From the continued speculation that Volvo is shutting down Volvo Autonomous Solutions (VAS) in North America to PACCAR's deafening silence following Aurora's driver-out launch, the autonomous trucking industry is navigating a period of uncertainty. Meanwhile, Daimler's growing influence and factory-grade chassis are reshaping the competitive landscape, as the prospect of Waymo re-entering the trucking market looms large. If Waymo returns, what happens next? Chuck offers his candid insights into how quickly Waymo could rescale Via, their autonomous trucking division, and what that would mean for the future of the industry, if Waymo re-entered the autonomous trucking market.Episode Chapters0:00 Current State of Autonomous Trucking6:00 Waymo Via11:46 Building an Autonomous Truck22:52 Daimler Truck26:00 Autonomous Trucking Models34:17 Licensing 36:09 Owning & Operating an Autonomous Trucking Fleet40:36 Driver-Out Operations 50:39 Aurora / PACCAR Relationship53:57 Aurora's Path Back to Driver-Out58:44 20271:01:13 Key Takeaways Recorded on Thursday, May 22, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In Driven: The Race to Create the Autonomous Car (Simon & Schuster, 2022), Alex Davies tells the enlightening and significant story of the effort to create driverless cars and the intense competition among tech heavyweights such as Google, Uber, and Tesla to move this technology forward. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have been one of the most hyped technologies of recent years, but early promises that they would quickly become common place have not borne fruit. Alex Davies set forth the twisted paths of this technology's evolution from its genesis to the current moment. The idea began with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which aimed to create a land-based equivalent to the drone, a vehicle that could operate in war zones without risking human lives. DARPA established “Grand Challenges” that enticed future-oriented thinkers including amateurs and students to help drive the technology from fantasy to reality. Carnegie-Mellon University and other universities played a major role. The technology got the attention of Silicon Valley companies like Google and Uber. Next arriving were the major US automakers, GM and Ford, who initiated their programs of their own to commercialize the technology, and Chinese companies also showed an intense interest. As road testing went forward, however, the challenges became far more apparent. The difficulties of traversing diverse terrains under varying weather conditions without a driver came out to be far more daunting than expected. Progress was made but in no way as fast as the developers of the technology hoped. The early enthusiasm of the key players dissipated as they came to realize that AI-assisted driverless transportation faced formidable barriers. This book provides fabulous insights into the key characters in this story and how they struggled with a technology that was not ready for rush-hour driving It is a fast-paced, exciting account of how autonomous technology emerged, the main players, the conflicts between companies, and state of the technology today. The book provides the reader with a genuine feel for how real happens. The writing is fantastic because of the emphasis on that details that come from the many conversations that Davies had with people at the center of the story. Hosted by Alfred Marcus, Edson Spencer Professor of Strategy and Technology University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
In Driven: The Race to Create the Autonomous Car (Simon & Schuster, 2022), Alex Davies tells the enlightening and significant story of the effort to create driverless cars and the intense competition among tech heavyweights such as Google, Uber, and Tesla to move this technology forward. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have been one of the most hyped technologies of recent years, but early promises that they would quickly become common place have not borne fruit. Alex Davies set forth the twisted paths of this technology's evolution from its genesis to the current moment. The idea began with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which aimed to create a land-based equivalent to the drone, a vehicle that could operate in war zones without risking human lives. DARPA established “Grand Challenges” that enticed future-oriented thinkers including amateurs and students to help drive the technology from fantasy to reality. Carnegie-Mellon University and other universities played a major role. The technology got the attention of Silicon Valley companies like Google and Uber. Next arriving were the major US automakers, GM and Ford, who initiated their programs of their own to commercialize the technology, and Chinese companies also showed an intense interest. As road testing went forward, however, the challenges became far more apparent. The difficulties of traversing diverse terrains under varying weather conditions without a driver came out to be far more daunting than expected. Progress was made but in no way as fast as the developers of the technology hoped. The early enthusiasm of the key players dissipated as they came to realize that AI-assisted driverless transportation faced formidable barriers. This book provides fabulous insights into the key characters in this story and how they struggled with a technology that was not ready for rush-hour driving It is a fast-paced, exciting account of how autonomous technology emerged, the main players, the conflicts between companies, and state of the technology today. The book provides the reader with a genuine feel for how real happens. The writing is fantastic because of the emphasis on that details that come from the many conversations that Davies had with people at the center of the story. Hosted by Alfred Marcus, Edson Spencer Professor of Strategy and Technology University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society
In Driven: The Race to Create the Autonomous Car (Simon & Schuster, 2022), Alex Davies tells the enlightening and significant story of the effort to create driverless cars and the intense competition among tech heavyweights such as Google, Uber, and Tesla to move this technology forward. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have been one of the most hyped technologies of recent years, but early promises that they would quickly become common place have not borne fruit. Alex Davies set forth the twisted paths of this technology's evolution from its genesis to the current moment. The idea began with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which aimed to create a land-based equivalent to the drone, a vehicle that could operate in war zones without risking human lives. DARPA established “Grand Challenges” that enticed future-oriented thinkers including amateurs and students to help drive the technology from fantasy to reality. Carnegie-Mellon University and other universities played a major role. The technology got the attention of Silicon Valley companies like Google and Uber. Next arriving were the major US automakers, GM and Ford, who initiated their programs of their own to commercialize the technology, and Chinese companies also showed an intense interest. As road testing went forward, however, the challenges became far more apparent. The difficulties of traversing diverse terrains under varying weather conditions without a driver came out to be far more daunting than expected. Progress was made but in no way as fast as the developers of the technology hoped. The early enthusiasm of the key players dissipated as they came to realize that AI-assisted driverless transportation faced formidable barriers. This book provides fabulous insights into the key characters in this story and how they struggled with a technology that was not ready for rush-hour driving It is a fast-paced, exciting account of how autonomous technology emerged, the main players, the conflicts between companies, and state of the technology today. The book provides the reader with a genuine feel for how real happens. The writing is fantastic because of the emphasis on that details that come from the many conversations that Davies had with people at the center of the story. Hosted by Alfred Marcus, Edson Spencer Professor of Strategy and Technology University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/technology
In Driven: The Race to Create the Autonomous Car (Simon & Schuster, 2022), Alex Davies tells the enlightening and significant story of the effort to create driverless cars and the intense competition among tech heavyweights such as Google, Uber, and Tesla to move this technology forward. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have been one of the most hyped technologies of recent years, but early promises that they would quickly become common place have not borne fruit. Alex Davies set forth the twisted paths of this technology's evolution from its genesis to the current moment. The idea began with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which aimed to create a land-based equivalent to the drone, a vehicle that could operate in war zones without risking human lives. DARPA established “Grand Challenges” that enticed future-oriented thinkers including amateurs and students to help drive the technology from fantasy to reality. Carnegie-Mellon University and other universities played a major role. The technology got the attention of Silicon Valley companies like Google and Uber. Next arriving were the major US automakers, GM and Ford, who initiated their programs of their own to commercialize the technology, and Chinese companies also showed an intense interest. As road testing went forward, however, the challenges became far more apparent. The difficulties of traversing diverse terrains under varying weather conditions without a driver came out to be far more daunting than expected. Progress was made but in no way as fast as the developers of the technology hoped. The early enthusiasm of the key players dissipated as they came to realize that AI-assisted driverless transportation faced formidable barriers. This book provides fabulous insights into the key characters in this story and how they struggled with a technology that was not ready for rush-hour driving It is a fast-paced, exciting account of how autonomous technology emerged, the main players, the conflicts between companies, and state of the technology today. The book provides the reader with a genuine feel for how real happens. The writing is fantastic because of the emphasis on that details that come from the many conversations that Davies had with people at the center of the story. Hosted by Alfred Marcus, Edson Spencer Professor of Strategy and Technology University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/journalism
In Driven: The Race to Create the Autonomous Car (Simon & Schuster, 2022), Alex Davies tells the enlightening and significant story of the effort to create driverless cars and the intense competition among tech heavyweights such as Google, Uber, and Tesla to move this technology forward. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have been one of the most hyped technologies of recent years, but early promises that they would quickly become common place have not borne fruit. Alex Davies set forth the twisted paths of this technology's evolution from its genesis to the current moment. The idea began with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which aimed to create a land-based equivalent to the drone, a vehicle that could operate in war zones without risking human lives. DARPA established “Grand Challenges” that enticed future-oriented thinkers including amateurs and students to help drive the technology from fantasy to reality. Carnegie-Mellon University and other universities played a major role. The technology got the attention of Silicon Valley companies like Google and Uber. Next arriving were the major US automakers, GM and Ford, who initiated their programs of their own to commercialize the technology, and Chinese companies also showed an intense interest. As road testing went forward, however, the challenges became far more apparent. The difficulties of traversing diverse terrains under varying weather conditions without a driver came out to be far more daunting than expected. Progress was made but in no way as fast as the developers of the technology hoped. The early enthusiasm of the key players dissipated as they came to realize that AI-assisted driverless transportation faced formidable barriers. This book provides fabulous insights into the key characters in this story and how they struggled with a technology that was not ready for rush-hour driving It is a fast-paced, exciting account of how autonomous technology emerged, the main players, the conflicts between companies, and state of the technology today. The book provides the reader with a genuine feel for how real happens. The writing is fantastic because of the emphasis on that details that come from the many conversations that Davies had with people at the center of the story. Hosted by Alfred Marcus, Edson Spencer Professor of Strategy and Technology University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk preview Tesla's upcoming FSD robotaxi launch, Waymo's continued interest in personally-owned autonomous vehicles and Aurora's stumbles. As we approach June, all eyes are on Austin in anticipation of Tesla's highly awaited robotaxi launch. With real-world testing already underway, Tesla is taking a measured yet impactful approach by prioritizing safety.Meanwhile, Waymo has surpassed 10 million paid rides and is signaling a strategic expansion into personally-owned autonomous vehicles. On the freight side of autonomy, the autonomous trucking market is heating up, even as Aurora stumbles. After successfully launching driver-out commercial operations in April, Aurora was forced by its OEM partner, PACCAR to reinstate a safety driver behind the wheel, raising questions about the strength of the partnership and the company's near-term trajectory.Aurora's recent stumbles come just as Waymo is re-evaluating a potential return to the autonomous trucking industry, as investors are closely monitoring how these shifting dynamics could reshape the market.Episode Chapters0:00 Autonomy Markets On The Road1:12 Tesla Model Y3:08 Tesla's Upcoming Robotaxi Launch9:02 Managing Vehicles on the Tesla Network 10:57 Tesla's Competitive Threat to Uber14:35 Waymo: 10 Million Paid Rides and Counting 16:01 Waymo at Google I/O20:33 Waymo's Multi-Deployment Strategy 23:30 Licensing Tesla FSD25:33 Nuro27:45 Aurora Goes Back to Driver-In34:08 Is Waymo Going Back into Trucking?35:21 Is Waymo Feeling Pressure from Tesla?37:31 China40:21 National Autonomous Vehicle Framework 42:07 Unforced Error of The Week / Next WeekRecorded on Friday, May 23, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Ali Kashani, Co-Founder & Serve Robotics joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how sidewalk delivery robots are transforming the economics and experience of last-mile delivery. Ali shares the origin story of Serve Robotics, which was incubated within Postmates and later spun out of Uber into a publicly traded company. What began as a simple idea, delivering small items with small autonomous robots has grown into a rapidly scaling business operating in cities across the U.S., including Los Angeles, Miami, and Dallas. As Serve Robotics continues to expand, the company is evolving into a full-fledged robotics platform with multiple revenue streams spanning advertising, delivery, licensing, and potentially something even bigger in the future.Episode Chapters0:00 Founding of Serve Robotics2:07 Deliveries4:26 Deploying Sidewalk Robots9:53 Deployment Markets15:11 A Robotics Company19:37 Wing Partnership21:20 Restaurant Deliveries & Packaging27:53 Comparing Gen 2 to Gen 3 Robots29:59 Testing Before Deploying32:37 New Markets33:49 Advertising Business37:33 Growing Delivery Volume39:37 The Evolution of Sidewalk Robots42:07 Key TakeawaysRecorded on Wednesday, May 14, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo's recall, Tesla's most recent NHTSA letter and Sterling Anderson's surprise move to join GM as EVP & Chief Product Officer.For the first time ever, Waymo had a fleet-wide recall after a series of minor collisions involving stationary objects, a recall that was fixed with a simple over-the-air update. As Waymo updated their vehicles, Tesla was once again under regulatory scrutiny, this time about their upcoming FSD Unsupervised launch in Austin.Could NHTSA's request for more information, give Elon Musk and Tesla an off-ramp as they work to further develop FSD prior to deploying fully autonomous robotaxis. In an unexpected twist, former Aurora co-founder Sterling Anderson joined GM as EVP & Chief Product Officer. His move to GM signals a potential major strategic shift for GM, especially in the wake of its decision to shutdown Cruise.With Mr. Anderson's background in autonomy, software-defined vehicles, and hardware integration from his time at Tesla and Aurora, the hire suggests GM may be quietly rebuilding its autonomy strategy. Whether this positions him as a future CEO candidate or simply as the architect of GM's next-generation vehicle roadmap, it's a development that we will be following on Autonomy Markets.Episode Chapters0:00 Sterling Anderson Joins GM3:34 The Impact of Sterling's Departure on Aurora5:53 Uber's Autonomy Investments7:16 Aurora, a Company in Crisis13:04 Kodiak15:30 Bot Auto17:45 Wayve / Uber Partnership21:58 WeRide's Hong Kong IPO22:46 Waymo's Lingering Zeekr Problem25:27 Waymo's NHTSA Recall27:18 Waymo Road Trips28:47 Is Waymo Expanding Too Quickly?30:10 Could NHTSA Delay Tesla's June Robotaxi Launch?33:38 Market Perception of Tesla FSD36:29 Unforced Error of The Week38:40 Next WeekRecorded on Thursday, May 15, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
David Welch, Detroit Bureau Chief, Bloomberg joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss Waymo's growing competitive advantage in the market, Uber's strategy and the many challenges facing Tesla.Waymo continues to strengthen its market share in the robotaxi sector, recently announcing a strategic partnership with Magna to significantly expand autonomous vehicle manufacturing capabilities. While Uber leverages its robust marketplace platform to drive substantial demand for autonomous rides through key partnerships, Waymo has diversified manufacturing to meet demand.Tesla, despite its ambitions with Full Self-Driving (FSD), faces ongoing technical challenges, including difficulties accurately identifying pedestrians, animals, and school zones, underscore the complexity in deploying fully autonomous vehicles at scale.Simultaneously, the autonomous vehicle industry's competitive landscape remains fluid, as traditional automakers struggle with limited autonomy programs and unclear strategies. With renewed investor interest, fresh funding rounds, and upcoming commercial deployments, the autonomous mobility market is entering a pivotal phase. Autonomy companies must now navigate strategic decisions concerning scale, partnerships, and profitability.Episode Chapters0:00 Scaling Waymo's Operations3:58 Tesla FSD5:17 Tesla's Upcoming Austin Robotaxi Launch7:47 Did GM Pull the Plus on Cruise Too Early?11:33 GM's Continued Investments in EVs14:48 Software16:35 Licensing Autonomy & OEM Partnerships20:41 Foxconn Contract Manufacturing AVs25:53 Uber's Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Strategy28:50 Uber / Waymo Relationship34:33 Zoox35:31 Alphabet's Commitment to Waymo37:28 Merge Waymo One into Uber?39:12 Car Rental Companies40:32 Autonomy as a Business44:52 Key TakeawaysRecorded on Thursday, May 8, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the abrupt resignation of Aurora Co-Founder Sterling Anderson, why Waymo needs more vehicles and the continued fragmentation of the robotaxi market. Mr. Anderson's sudden departure sent shockwaves through the industry, raising critical questions about his next move and the potential impact on Aurora's partnership with Volvo, along with Uber's reaction. Yet, curiously, none of these questions were raised by analysts on the company's earnings call, leaving investors and industry insiders to speculate.Meanwhile, Waymo appears to be scaling faster than its fleet can support. With 1,500 vehicles on the road today and another 2,000 expected by next year, the company has yet to activate highway operations, likely due to the increased wait times it would cause in already constrained markets.As Uber doubles down on global autonomous vehicle partnerships, Waymo appears to have cooled on Lyft, potently leaving them at a competitive disadvantage. As Uber aggressively ramps up its global autonomous vehicle partnerships, Waymo appears to have cooled on Lyft, potentially putting Lyft at a growing competitive disadvantage in the evolving autonomy economy.Episode Chapters0:00 On The Road2:03 Sterling Anderson Resigns from Aurora7:55 Autonomous Trucking Revenue Metrics of Success9:39 Waymo's New Factory12:38 How Many Cars Does Waymo Need in a Market?15:41 Autonomy Markets On The Road in D.C.20:30 Growth of Robotaxis on Uber & Lyft25:48 Is Uber Accelerating the Growth of Chineses AVs in Europe?30:13 What's Going on at Zoox?34:25 Rivian's Autonomy Ambitions37:42 Next WeekRecorded on Friday, May 9, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Earl Adams Jr., Vice President for Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Plus joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how autonomous trucking is poised to transform local communities, economically, socially, and operationally. In Texas, Plus is actively working to deploy fully autonomous trucks in partnership with International by 2027. As part of the preparation for launch, Earl is meeting with community leaders, elected officials and community colleges in an effort to build transparency and trust with the local communities. When autonomous trucks are deployed, they will make our roads safer and they will have a positive economic benefit on society. The economic benefits of autonomous trucking will be felt in local communities as they will strengthening local businesses through increased spending in local communities.Autonomous trucking isn't just about moving freight, it's about creating opportunity without debt, while revitalizing communities, one route at a time.Episode Chapters0:00 Autonomous Trucking Policy4:20 Economic Impact of Autonomous Trucking5:58 Public Trust10:51 Community Colleges12:28 Impact on Society17:29 California DMV Autonomous Trucking Rulemaking 22:48 Hours of Service 27:57 Building & Maintaining Trust35:21 Autonomous Trucking Industry 40:35 Key Takeaways Recorded on Wednesday, April 30, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo's potential new partnership with Toyota, the launch of Aurora's driver-out commercial operations and Uber's continued effort to challenge the autonomy duopoly. On Tuesday, Waymo announced a potential partnership with Toyota to develop personally-owned autonomous vehicles, confirming a business pivot in an effort to counter Tesla's upcoming robotaxi launch in Austin. Wile Waymo signals a shift in strategy, Aurora launched fully autonomous commercial operations in partnership with Uber Freight.As Uber became Aurora's first commercial customer, the rideshare side of their business continued to double-down on autonomy, as they further fragmented the autonomy market when they announced a strategic partnership with May Mobility to deploy AVs on the platform.Recorded on Thursday, April 24, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Sergey Litvinenko, Co-Founder & CEO, Koop joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the emergence of autonomous vehicle fleets and why the fleet model is becoming the model for scaling autonomous vehicles globally. In the autonomous vehicle market there are new emerging business models for owning and operating the fleets from leasing to REIT-like structures to vertically integrated fleet mangers with each model posing it's own unique challenges. From insurance requirements to financing to operational complexities, making entering the sector difficult without the right partners. Yet despite these complexities, there are vast opportunities.Episode Chapters0:00 Autonomous Vehicle Fleets5:51 Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Franchises8:30 Individual Fleet Owners 14:42 Personally-Owned Autonomous Vehicles 18:41 Autonomous Driving Developers / OEM Partnerships 22:46 Insuring Autonomous Vehicle Fleets26:51 Bundling Autonomous Vehicle Insurance with Fleet Management 31:33 Rental Car Companies33:25 Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Model Challenges36:40 Future of Autonomous Vehicle FleetsRecorded on Friday, April 25, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo's potential pivot away from HD maps, their 250,000 fully autonomous rides per week milestone, Tesla's pending robotaxi launch and Aurora's long-promised driver-out launch.In a post announcing the milestone on X, Waymo used the term "generalizable Waymo Driver”, potentially hinting that the company may move away from HD maps. Could Waymo be moving towards an end-to-end approach in similar fashion to Tesla?Tesla that is actively preparing to launch their robotaxis in Austin this June. Will they launch in June, or will they delay until July as Elon Musk hinted at on Tesla's Q1 2025 earnings call. When Tesla launches their robotaxi network, the market will change and the question becomes how does Waymo react?For the time being, all eyes are on Aurora, with just days left in April to meet their driver-out launch deadline, anxiety is building as the clock is ticking. The pressure is on to launch fully-autonomous, driver-out operations.Episode Chapters0:00 Waymo 250k Paid Rides a Week1:04 Generalizable Waymo Driver3:12 Highways Coming Soon for Waymo?4:33 Personally-Owned Waymo Vehicles?5:55 Personally-Owned Waymos Impact on Uber & Lyft9:39 Tesla Robotaxi Launch16:59 Tesla vs Waymo Robotaxi Costs18:07 Testing FSD Supervised in Europe19:02 Wayve Expands to Japan22:48 Uber / VW Robotaxi Partnership26:29 Toyota27:46 U.S. DOT Automated Vehicle Framework30:58 Aurora Driver-Out CountdownRecorded on Thursday, April 24, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™. The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what's coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Christian John, President, TIER IV North America joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how TIER IV is scaling open-source autonomous driving platform software globally. Tier IV is using the foundational elements of Autoware, an open-source autonomous driving software stack to build scalable, modular reference platforms for everything from robotaxis to autonomous buses and industrial logistics. This open platform approach allows multiple companies to collaborate, innovate, and distribute development costs across the ecosystem, similar to Meta's open-source LLama model for AI.In Japan, TIER IV is experiencing particular success with autonomous buses in Japan, where they've secured approximately 50% of municipal contracts as part of Japan's Mobility DX initiative addressing the country's aging population and driver shortage.As autonomy scales globally, open-source autonomous driving software could play a vital role. It's a role that TIER IV wants to play in the global autonomy market.Episode Chapters0:00 TIER IV Platform6:27 Open-Source Software8:25 Autoware9:52 Building on the TIER IV Platform11:52 Japanese Autonomy Market17:32 Nippon Steel21:46 Vehicle Platforms 23:51 Developing Public Trust26:31 Robotaxis31:58 Scaling in North America 36:00 Future of TIER IVRecorded on Friday, April 18, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™. The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what's coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Kodiak starting the process to become a publicly traded company, the anxiety leading up to Aurora's driver-out commercial launch and Lyft's expansion into Europe through the acquisition of FREENOW.Kodiak has officially filed to go public in a $2.5 billion SPAC deal, backed by a $100 million PIPE and a 100-truck order from Atlas Energy that signals strong market confidence. Aurora's long-anticipated driver-out commercial launch is drawing closer, with industry watchers counting the days and parsing every signal for an indication of launch. On the platform side of autonomy, Lyft is expanding to the UK and Europe through a $197 million acquisition of FREENOW. Now that Lyft has European operations, there is a path for the company to scale robotaxis on two continents.It appears that Lyft is gearing up to compete with Uber more aggressively, while in the U.S., Waymo continues to grow their Waymo One service which overtime will capture marketshare from both Uber and Lyft. Meanwhile, Walt headed out to LA to get an on the ground understanding of how Waymo is scaling in the City of Angles and how Angelenos are currently thinking about autonomous vehicles. Episode Chapters0:00 Walt's LA Adventure2:08 Waymos in LA9:40 Kodiak Files to Go Public17:10 HD Maps20:41 Aurora's Driver-Out Moment24:22 Lyft Acquires FREENOW, Expands to Europe30:00 Nuro Expands to Japan31:10 Sidewalk Delivery Bots35:10 Tesla FSD38:27 Waymo's Upcoming Atlanta Launch on Uber41:04 Next WeekRecorded on Thursday, April 17, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™. The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what's coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Tim interviews Nick Palumbo and Brian West at the Parade. Then Alex Poirot talks about his time working in Congress as a staffer and at the Federal DOT. Now he is with RideBeep.com
Jim Liefer, CEO, Ambi Robotics joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how physical AI is transforming warehouse automation and redefining global supply chain efficiency. Ambi Robotics systems have logged over 200,000 hours of real-world autonomous operations, equivalent to 22 years of experience. As the foundation models powering these systems continue to ingest more data, their performance and accuracy will only improve with time.While scaling its autonomous systems, Ambi Robotics remains focused on human-robot collaboration rather than full automation. The company is actively working to transform physically demanding warehouse roles into higher-paying robot operator positions that require minimal training.Despite all of the current economic uncertainties, large logistics companies are continuing to invest in automation, recognizing it as an essential tool for managing the ever-increasing volume of goods moving through global supply chains.Episode Chapters0:00 Future of Robotics 1:56 Training Data3:50 AmbiSort6:42 Unlocking Efficiencies7:58 Deploying an Ambi System10:06 Customer Data13:13 Fully Automated Warehouses and Jobs 18:33 Humans in the Loop22:46 Packaging 25:50 Warehouse Trends27:58 Investing in Automation & Autonomy29:54 Business of Ambi Robotics34:48 Future of Ambi RoboticsRecorded on Monday, April 7, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™. The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what's coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Wayve's OEM partnership with Nissan, Nuro's Series E capital raise and why the Uber/Waymo partnership in Austin does not guarantee future deployments. Wayve is going to power Nissan's next-generation ProPILOT technology starting in fiscal year 2027. The deal with Nissan validates Wayve's business model of licensing and raises the question of is Nuro next in line to secure a major OEM partnership? As the autonomy economy evolves, licensing autonomous driving systems is going to accelerate fragmentation, potentially benefitting both Uber and Lyft. In Austin, Waymo is available exclusively through Uber. While early signs point to success, it's far from guaranteed that the partnership will scale beyond Austin and Atlanta, especially as Waymo continues to expand on it's own with Waymo One.Episode Chapters0:00 Wayve Partners with Nissan 3:12 Autonomous Driving OEM Partnerships 5:24 Nuro Series E7:12 Autonomous Driving Partnerships Ecosystem 13:01 Could Tesla xAI Swap Assets?17:19 Zoox Expands Testing to LA18:27 Will Zoox Launch Commercial Service in 2025?20:25 Waymo Needs More OEM Partnerships 23:40 U.S. / China Policy 28:00 Europe / China Policy 31:19 Uber / Waymo Austin Data 36:49 Unforced Error of The Week38:52 Next WeekRecorded on Friday, April 11, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™. The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what's coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Pete Bigelow, Senior Reporter, Automotive News joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how Detroit is handing tariffs, the slow adoption of electric vehicles and consumers increasing interest in autonomous vehicles. Detroit's automakers are grappling with a future that is no longer electric, it's autonomous. After racing full steam ahead towards electric vehicles, the momentum has stalled as consumers are opting for hybrids. Even as consumers opt for hybrids, they are increasingly interested in autonomy and the emergence of personally-owned autonomous vehicles. However, the question still remains whether traditional OEMs have the will or the ability to develop in-house and commercialize an autonomous driving system that is reelable and scaleable. If they can not develop it in-house, they will have to license the technology with the risk of becoming a contract manufacturer for the autonomy industry. Episode Chapters0:00 The Mood in Detroit4:17 Tariffs / Exporting Detroit 6:54 Electrification9:30 Will Economic Uncertainty Lead to the Rise of Personally-Owned Autonomous Vehicles?15:03 Jeep, an Autonomy Brand17:26 GM & Ford's Fully Autonomous Aspirations 19:55 Rising Road Fatalities 26:59 Tesla Will Drive Me Home Trend28:49 No Steering Wheel, No Pedals30:58 Waymo Hyundai Robotaxis are Made in America 31:45 Factories of The Future35:19 Scaling Waymo40:56 Tesla's June Robotaxi Launch43:20 Aurora Driver-Out in Texas48:51 What To Look for in The Markets Recorded on Monday, April 7, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™. The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what's coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo's unforced error with the Zeekr RT robotaxi, Uber's future with autonomous vehicles and the winners and losers from the latest round of tariffs. Waymo's Zeekr RT robotaxi has seen its price double due to a 100% tariff on Chinese-made vehicles, igniting a debate over whether Waymo made an unforced error with their Zeekr partnership. Could tariffs either accelerate a new OEM partnership for Waymo or see them abandon it all together?Meanwhile, Uber's autonomy ambitions are accelerating and gaining momentum globally. This week, Uber announced a partnership with WeRide and the Dubai Road and Transport Authority to deploy robotaxis in Dubai. Could Uber's largest autonomy market end up being outside the U.S.? Grayson and Walter debate the issue, while exploring the implications that tariffs will have on the autonomy ecosystem.Episode Chapters0:00 Tariffs 1:05 Impact of Tariffs on Waymo6:26 Does Waymo Need to Slim Down?9:10 Tesla FSD Unsupervised Launch11:41 Tariffs and The Trucking Industry 13:57 May Mobility 14:27 LiDAR Market18:25 Energy22:46 Uber's Global Ambitions 25:15 Scaling Waymo31:00 Uber App37:23 Waymo Messaging 40:17 Zoox41:23 Lyft46:37 Personally-Owned Autonomous Vehicles 49:58 Next WeekRecorded on Thursday, April 3, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™. The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what's coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jeremy Bird, EVP, Driver Experience, Lyft joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss Lyft's approach to autonomous vehicles and why Lyft is embracing a hybrid network strategy. As part of their autonomous vehicle strategy, Lyft is developing partnerships with autonomous vehicle developers and vehicle manufacturers that will enable them to put their AVs on the Lyft network. Lyft envisions a hybrid network, one where autonomous vehicle fleets, individually owned autonomous vehicle, and human drivers are all utilizing the and profiting from the Lyft network. Episode Chapters0:00 Lyft's Current Thinking on Autonomy 1:42 ETAs2:46 Airports6:43 Personally-Owned Autonomous Vehicles9:31 Autonomous Vehicle Fleets11:16 Lyft Ready Autonomous Vehicles12:43 Hybrid Network Operations 18:12 May Mobility 23:31 Waymo24:32 J.P. Morgan Partnership 26:08 Lyft AV Tier27:18 Motoring Down the AV Superhighway 30:17 Tesla31:31 Insurance 35:53 Lyft Culture39:11 Future of LyftRecorded on Wednesday, March 5, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™. The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what's coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss their road trip to Forward Forth Worth, Waymo's expansion to Washington, D.C. and the emerging opportunity in autonomous trucking.Texas is thriving capital of autonomous trucking with Aurora, Bot Auto, Kodiak, Torc and Waabi all having a presence in the state. Now autonomous vehicle companies are flocking to the state with Avride, May Mobility, Waymo and Zoox all having a presence in the state.While Texas emerges as the capital of autonomy, Waymo continues to solidify its lead as the world leader in robotaxis. With their lead in tact and the demand for their service growing, Waymo announced this week that they are expanding service to Washington, D.C. in 2026. As both Waymo continues to grow and expand, the economic impact of autonomy is only just beginning to be felt.Episode Chapters0:00 Waymo Subreddit01:17 Forward Fort Worth03:10 Insurance06:55 Investing in Autonomous Trucking11:56 May Mobility Arlington Deployment13:56 Autonomy Markets on the Road17:28 Waymo Announces Service is Coming to D.C. in 202621:41 Waymo / Uber Relationship26:50 Waymo Testing Zeekr Robotaxis on I-85 in Atlanta27:44 Waymo, The World Leader in Robotaxis30:46 London31:56 New York33:34 Autonomy Markets Confessions34:34 Waymo Scheduled Rides38:05 Waymo Pricing41:08 Tesla's June Robotaxi Launch48:03 Next WeekRecorded on Tuesday, March 25, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™. The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what's coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Nat Beuse, Chief Safety Officer, Aurora joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the development of Aurora's Safety Case Framework and how the company is preparing to safely launch fully autonomous commercial trucks.Aurora's rigorous safety case framework is built around trust, transparency and continuous improvement. From fostering a deeply ingrained safety culture to closely collaborating with OEM partners Volvo and PACCAR, as well as hardware partner Continental, Aurora is focused on deploying commercial autonomous trucks that operate safely and reliably without human intervention.Episode Chapters0:00 NHTSA Experience 2:38 Roadway Safety8:03 Aurora's Culture of Safety21:20 Developing the Safety Case Framework25:22 Closing the Safety Case26:41 Preparing for Commercial Launch 31:21 Driver-Out Operations39:38 OEM Partners42:19 Redundancy43:50 Remote Monitoring 49:37 Launch Day53:38 Key TakeawayRecorded on Friday, March 14, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™. The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what's coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo's mapping expansion to San Francisco International Airport (SFO), their continued Bay Area expansion and Tesla's ambitious plans for launching a FSD Unsupervised. As Waymo begins mapping SFO, there are still hurdles that the company has to overcome before offering commercial service, as their current permit prohibits transporting commercial goods or passengers. When Waymo applies for their ground transportation operating permit, The Teamsters are expected to oppose Waymo's permit application it in an effort to block the service. Despite this potential challenge, we expect commercial operations at the airport to begin by this summer, as there is a clear economic benefit to San Francisco's economy. Down at Giga in Austin, Elon Musk held an all-hands meeting where he outlined his bold plans for FSD Unsupervised and the company's upcoming robotaxi service. At some point, Tesla will “crack” full self-driving and when they do, Waymo will have their first true competitor.Episode Chapters0:00 Waymo Begins Mapping SFO9:14 Waymo Airport Predictions (SFO, SJC, LAX)11:13 Waymo Nashville Prediction13:16 Waymo / Hyundai Prediction14:38 Waymo's Continued Bay Area Expansion 19:13 Uber, Lyft and the Growth of Waymo21:04 Waymo Zeekr Robotaxis26:43 Waymo on Uber in Austin30:59 Could Waymo be Expanding to the UK?34:16 Tesla Unsupervised 35:43 Tesla All-Hands Meeting37:36 Tesla CPUC Permit38:47 NVIDIA GTC42:04 Truck OEMs46:57 Unforced Error of The Week48:51 Next WeekRecorded on Friday, March 21, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™. The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what's coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Adrienne Gildea, Deputy Executive Director, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how CVSA developed enhanced inspections and the positive impact that they will have on roadway safety. CVSA is preparing for autonomous trucks to scale by working with the autonomous trucking industry, law enforcement and various stakeholders to develop enhanced inspections. Enhanced inspections will increase safety on the roadways as autonomous trucks will undergo rigorous “zero defect” inspections before being dispatched (or every 24 hours) and when they are on the road, the trucks will be able to communicate their inspection status to law enforcement officials in real-time.Episode Chapters0:00 Traditional Truck Inspections 3:32 Weigh Stations5:31 Enhanced Inspections for Autonomous Trucks11:14 Enhanced Inspections Training Program13:20 Autonomous Trucking Regulations 14:58 Law Enforcement 18:37 Evolution of Enhanced Inspections21:15 CVSA's Warm Embrace of Autonomous Trucks24:03 Public Trust26:22 Autonomous Trucks Compliment Traditional Trucks28:21 Human Trafficking 29:51 Truck Parking Shortage33:33 Preparing for Change35:19 Future of Autonomous Trucking--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The future of autonomous driving and robotics. We cover simulating physical environments, helping car makers leapfrog Tesla, real world AI models, the economics of self driving cars, autonomous mines, and the future of autonomy. Vlad Voroninski is CEO and co-founder of Helm.ai. An early pioneer in training AI for autonomous cars, robotics, and aviation, Vlad has been instrumental in shifting the industry toward advanced simulation and synthetic data—a radical alternative to the traditional reliance on large-scale, manually labeled training sets. Helm.ai has raised over $100M from top investors, including Freeman Group and Goodyear Ventures, and its AI software powers major automakers like Honda and Volkswagen, helping them build next-generation self-driving systems. Vlad Voroninski, Helm’s co-founder and CEO is a UC Berkeley PhD, former MIT instructor, and author of 20+ research papers on machine learning. He has been at the forefront of unsupervised learning—an approach he believes will define the future of AI. Before founding Helm, Vlad was Chief Scientist at Sift Security, a machine learning cybersecurity startup that was later acquired by Netskope in 2018. After that, he set out to build Helm.ai, rethinking how AI can be trained for autonomous systems. Sign up for new podcasts and our newsletter, and email me on danieldarling@focal.vcSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo's Bay Area expansion and what it means for the great highway and airport unlocks, our visit to May Mobility in Ann Arbor and Amazon's struggles with Zoox. Waymo has expanded its service area in the Bay Area by 50%, adding 27 square miles in Silicon Valley, for residents only at this time. Is this restriction due to a vehicle shortage? It very well could be, as Waymo continues to scale at a rapid pace in multiple markets. Is airport pick-up and drop-off at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) next? With Waymo's growing service area in the Bay Area, it seems to only be a matter of time. Demand for Waymo at SFO is there as in December 2024, there were approximately 13,366 searches for “SFO” on the Waymo app, and 718 people installed the app while physically at the airport.Once Waymo is allowed to operate at SFO, the economic impact is projected to be nearly $100 million. The positive economic impact is immense and California's economy needs Waymo to succeed. When Waymo succeeds, California's economy succeeds.Episode Chapters0:00 Autonomy Markets Visits May Mobility7:28 Waymo's Silicon Valley Expansion11:25 Waymo's Fleet Challenges14:52 Waymo's Eventual Expansion to SFO24:20 Waymo LAX Service29:20 Wayve‘s ChatGPT Moment34:41 What Does Amazon do with Zoox?37:22 Could Autonomy Reaccelerate Growth at Apple?40:36 Did Uber Make a Mistake Selling ATG?43:33 Unforced Error of The Week44:33 Next WeekRecorded on Friday, March 14, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jill and Tom open the show covering a few news stories. First, Toyota is claiming it will have a solid-state EV battery in a production vehicle around 2030. Could be big news in regard to EV price and range. Listen in for details. The hosts went on to discuss Mercedes-Benz's new turquoise marker- and tail lights. Why are they doing this? Listen in. Still in the first segment, Jill shared details of a story she wrote about how the similar-size Toyota 4Runner and Land Cruiser crossovers differ. Clue: One is more family friendly than the other. In the second segment, Jill and Tom welcome Sam Fiorani of AutoForecast Solutions to the show. Sam walked the hosts through the headwinds faced by the auto industry as a result of the current administration's tariff plans. Sam also discussed Tesla's plant capacity situation, which may be most acute in Europe, where the company recently opened a new manufacturing facility. In the last segment, Jill is tormented by Tom's “Pontiac or Oldsmobile?” quiz, and the hosts talk a little about Polestar, a new EV brand with Volvo roots.
Peter Ludwig, CTO & Co-Founder and Jason Brown, General Manager-Government, Applied Intuition joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the company's acquisition of EpiSci and how they are developing all-domain autonomy solutions for defense applications.In December 2024, Applied Intuition acquired EpiSci to accelerate the growth of its defense business. The acquisition expands Applied Intuition's offerings into maritime and aerial applications, creating strong synergies across the entire portfolio of products and tools. With a 90% overlap in advanced simulation and tooling technologies, Applied Intuition is accelerating the development of autonomy applications. By adding maritime and aerial capabilities, Applied Intuition is enabling the development of all-domain autonomy, spanning ground, aerial, and maritime systems that can be deployed in contested and peace time environments.Recorded on Wednesday, February 19, 2025Episode Chapters0:00 Applied Intuition's Defense Business 3:45 Encrypted Communications 6:31 Applied Intuition Tooling8:39 EpiSci Acquisition12:23 Maritime Autonomy18:42 Flight Autonomy 33:27 Threat Mitigation 34:53 Secure Data35:54 What's Next for Applied Intuition--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this episode, Craig Jeffery shares insights from his experience with driverless cars and connects it to the use of AI/ML in treasury. He highlights three key essentials for implementing AI/ML tools in financial decision-making. How can these new technologies boost efficiency, accuracy, and decision-making in treasury operations, and why is it crucial to understand and guide these tools? Listen in to learn more.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discus Waymo's launch in Austin, Alphabet's strong commitment to Waymo and Hyundai's robotaxi ambitions. On March 5, Waymo launched exclusively on the Uber app in Austin. However, riders cannot guarantee a Waymo vehicle, as there is no dedicated Waymo tier in the app. This lack of certainty could dilute the premium Waymo experience, as users do not know what type of vehicle they will be paired with when ordering a ride.As Waymo scales its operations globally, Hyundai is emerging as a major player in the robotaxi market. This week, Avride announced a partnership with Hyundai to develop a fully integrated robotaxi, with the first vehicles set to enter service this year in Dallas.Texas is emerging hub for autonomy for both robotaxis and autonomous trucks. Next month, Aurora will begin commercial driver-out operations from Dallas, followed by Bot Auto in Houston later this year. Autonomy is now becoming a business.Episode Chapters0:00 Waymo Experience on Uber7:01 Uber's Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Management Strategy9:29 Lyft's Flexdrive12:17 Waymo's Jaguar I-PACE Fleet14:46 Waymo Zeekr Robotaxi16:51 Alphabet's Commitment to Waymo20:26 Waymo's Pending Silver Lake / Los Feliz LA Expansion22:02 Autonomy Markets Nicknames23:16 Waymo's Mysterious San Francisco X Post24:24 Walt's Waymo Analysis25:46 Avride / Hyundai Robotaxi Partnership29:43 Bot Auto‘s Driver-Out Plans33:54 Wayve Expands to Germany35:56 Unforced Error of The Week38:20 Next WeekRecorded on Friday, March 7, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Dean Foreman, Chief Economist, Texas Oil & Gas Association joined Grayson Brulte on The Autonomy Economy podcast to discuss the current state the U.S. economy and the global oil and natural gas markets.Consumer debt in the U.S. is rising and that could have potential impacts on GDP. While the economic picture in the U.S. is uncertain at the moment, global oil demand is projected to reach 104.1 million barrels per day this year. Demand is partly being driven by emerging markets. Then there is Texas, which continues to export oil to the world, while having a $720 billion impact on GDP. Texas is not just an oil state anymore, even though 30% of the state's private sector is employed by the oil and natural gas industry, it is now becoming a high-tech state as it has begun to integrate AI, automation and autonomy into the sector's operations. Recorded on Monday, February 24, 2025Episode Chapters0:00 Health of the U.S. Consumer 5:57 Liquid Natural Gas Market 11:00 Data Centers15:32 European Gas18:51 U.S. Oil Imports 24:45 Heavy Crude26:53 Growing Global Oil Demand & Geopolitics 29:50 Permian Basin 33:34 Impact of the Oil & Natural Gas Industry on Texas' Economy35:29 Quarterly Outlook--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Gavin Jackson, CEO of Oxa joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss Oxa's approach to autonomy—universal autonomy. Oxa specializes in industrial mobility applications within repetitive environments such as airports, ports, and logistics hubs, where driving patterns are predictable. When Oxa deployed autonomous vehicles at Heathrow Airport in partnership with DHL, productivity increased by 33% when compared to traditional human drivers.By focusing on efficiency and scalability, Oxa is proving that autonomy drives productivity—reinforcing its mission to develop and commercialize universal autonomy.Recorded on Friday, February 7, 2025Episode Chapters0:00 Oxa's Approach to Autonomy5:05 AI Models18:52 Oxa's Path to Profitability21:56 Heathrow Airport / DHL Partnership27:13 Industrial Mobility Automation30:36 BP Partnership33:22 Autonomy for Security38:17 Oxa's Business Model43:31 Global Growth46:09 Autonomous Trucking48:23 Future of Oxa--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss why Waymo needs fewer robotaxis than you think and Tesla's emerging plans for a robotaxi network in California.Waymo continues to scale, surpassing 200,000 paid weekly rides across Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix. As the service grows, a group of power riders has emerged, including one rider in San Francisco spending over $900 a month on Waymo rides.In California, Waymo now operates a fleet over 730 autonomous vehicles, while Tesla currently operates zero. That is about to change as Tesla has applied for a transportation charter-party carrier permit from the California Public Utilities Commission, the same permit Waymo currently operates under. If Tesla secures the permit, it will be able to launch a robotaxi service in California, but with two major caveats—fleets and safety drivers. At launch, Tesla owners won't be able to add their vehicles to the network.Episode Chapters0:00 Waymo's Growing Weekly Paid Rides3:23 Waymo's Fleet Efficiency 9:10 Waymo Power Users12:01 Waymo's Consistent Rider Experience 15:17 Tesla Launches Full Self-Driving (FSD) in China16:30 Tesla's Pending California Robotaxi Network 19:58 Tesla / Waymo Competition 22:24 Tesla Will Not License FSD26:00 Autonomous Vehicle Policy28:55 Wall Street's View on Autonomy32:04 Unforced Error of The Week36:30 Next WeekRecorded on Thursday, February 27, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Angus Pacala, Co-Founder & CEO, Ouster joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how Ouster's digital LiDAR technology is “enabling autonomy for everything” across traffic control systems, security, robotics, and autonomous vehiclesFounded in 2015 with a vision of “autonomy for everything,” Ouster has emerged as the largest Western providers of LiDAR, differentiating itself through its digital LiDAR architecture. With a diversified approach across multiple markets, Ouster has positioned themselves strongly to befit from the growth of automation.Recorded on Tuesday, February 4, 2025Episode Chapters0:00 Current State of the LiDAR Market2:06 Autonomy for Everything 5:48 Ouster's LiDAR Technology 10:37 Full Stack Autonomy Integrator 12:29 Blue City / LiDAR for Infrastructure 21:51 Gemini / LiDAR for Security 27:14 LiDAR for Robotics 30:02 Safety Certified LiDAR35:25 Industrial Robotics 41:16 Autonomous Vehicle and Truck Market47:00 Defense Market49:20 Ouster's Largest Growth Market 51:54 Future of Ouster--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Lyft's autonomous vehicle manifesto, the impending consolidation of the LiDAR market, the emerging personally-owned autonomous vehicle fleet market, and Waabi's driver-out strategy.Lyft's manifesto highlights the potential for private car owners to integrate their personally-owned autonomous vehicles into the Lyft network, a concept similar to Elon Musk's vision for Tesla owners. For this to become a reality and for autonomous vehicles to scale effectively, a national regulatory framework is essential.During his Senate confirmation hearing for Deputy Secretary of Transportation this week, Steven Bradbury expressed enthusiasm for autonomous vehicles and advocated for a federal framework. Mr. Bradbury also emphasized a market-driven approach to technology adoption, rather than government-mandated solutions such as LiDAR.Currently, the LiDAR market is dominated by Hesai, but consolidation looms a majority of the publicly-traded pure-play LiDAR companies face dwindling cash reserves and limited revenues.In the autonomous trucking market, Waabi aims to go driver-out on public roads by the end of the year. But can they pull it off? And if Volvo isn't their OEM partner, who will be? Grayson and Walt debate the challenges ahead and the role of autonomous driving retrofit kits in the industry's future.Episode Chapters0:00 Lyft's Autonomous Vehicle Manifesto5:39 Personally-Owned Autonomous Vehicles11:22 Fleet Management16:11 Waymo / Lyft Relationship18:05 Credit Card and Telco Partnerships20:10 May Mobility, Mobileye / Lyft Partnership22:02 Autonomous Vehicle Policy24:41 LiDAR Market31:05 Waabi Driver-Out Plans39:52 Autonomous Driving Technology47:04 Unforced Error of The Week49:08 Next WeekRecorded on Thursday, February 20, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Tesla risks being caught up in the China-US trade war, while US officials head to Saudi Arabia to start peace talks over Ukraine. Indonesia reaches “Opec status” as it dominates the global nickel trade. Plus, the US-India deal signals a bonanza for US gas imports. Mentioned in this podcast:Tesla braces for delay to China licence as Trump trade tensions mount The ‘Opec' of nickel: Indonesia's control of a critical metal European countries clash over sending troops to UkraineSubscription promo: ft.com/briefingsaleThis episode of the FT News Briefing was produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon, Fiona Symon, Lulu Smyth, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT's executive producer. The FT's global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show's theme song is by Metaphor Music. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Finch Fulton, Government Affairs and Public Policy Advisor, K&L Gates joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss autonomous vehicle policy under the Trump administration, China's technological threat, and the path to establishing a national autonomous vehicle framework.A national framework is essential to provide regulatory certainty for investors, unlocking billions in new investments while accelerating job creation and driving economic growth in the U.S.As investors seek stability, China continues to expand its global technology exports. From ByteDance and TikTok to the recent launch of DeepSeek and the development of robotaxis, China's aggressive export strategy raises concerns about its broader objectives.To counter this, the U.S. must implement a national autonomous vehicle framework that enables the domestic scaling of autonomous vehicles and trucks. Without it, China will maintain its competitive edge and continue advancing its global export agenda.Recorded on Friday, January 31, 2025Episode Chapters0:00 Trump's Impact on Autonomy3:15 American Leadership on Autonomy5:58 Autonomy Czar7:13 China18:05 Tech Policy23:01 Autonomous Vehicle & Truck Policy37:40 Autonomous Vehicle & Truck Policy Outlook--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Walt's recent trip to San Francisco, where he observed more aggressive driving from Waymo vehicles and spotted a FasTrak transponder—hinting that the great highway unlock is imminent.In the markets, Aurora and Lyft reported earnings, with Aurora's market cap soaring to $17 billion—triple Lyft's $5 billion. On its earnings call, Aurora emphasized its driver-out readiness and their hardware kit approach, mirroring Kodiak's SensorPods. If hardware kits are the future of autonomy, power could shift from OEMs to autonomous driving developers, opening new market opportunities and validating Kodiak's OEM-agnostic strategy.And then there's NVIDIA. What if they acquired an autonomous driving developer and vertically integrated? How would the market respond? What would it mean for chip sales? As fragmentation grows in the autonomous vehicle market, so does Uber's advantage. Opportunity abounds.Episode Chapters0:00 Walt's San Francisco Trip1:54 Hesai LiDAR6:19 Waymo's More Assertive Driving7:37 Should we be Concerned about Zoox?13:08 Aurora Earnings16:43 Autonomous Driving Hardware Kits21:43 Should NVIDIA Vertically Integrate an Autonomous Driving Stack?26:24 Nuro's Licensing Opportunity30:29 Uber's Next Autonomy Partner—May Mobility?33:50 Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Management & Financing38:00 DoorDash's Autonomous Delivery Ambitions40:57 Next WeekRecorded on Saturday, February 15, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Shahrukh Kazmi, Chief Product Officer, Volvo Autonomous Solutions joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the company's comprehensive approach to building an autonomous transport-as-a-service business. Volvo is leveraging its decades of trucking expertise to develop a new business model that is built around an autonomous truck. Instead of selling the truck, Volvo Autonomous Solutions is going to own the asset and operate the autonomous transport-as-a-service business. This approach will allow Volvo Autonomous Solutions to maintain control over the ecosystem, understand customer pain points directly, and ensure safety standards are met consistently. With control, Volvo Autonomous Solutions is poised to scale quickly. Recorded on Thursday, January 30, 2025Episode Chapters0:00 Volvo Autonomous Solutions Approach to Autonomous Trucking4:46 Volvo's VNL Platform7:27 Virtual Drivers11:04 Aurora Partnership13:57 Transport-as-a-Service19:24 VNL Autonomous Platform30:20 Mining and Quarries35:47 Competitive Advantages36:46 Building For The Future--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Bridget Carey and Scott Stein go on a journey together as Bridget recalls her first time in a driverless vehicle with the Zoox.
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