Podcast appearances and mentions of Rob Grant

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the Waymo/Uber divorce going public, Zoox receiving NHTSA approval to charge for rides, Aurora earnings, and Qualcomm's BMW win as ADAS becomes the Trojan horse into autonomy.The Waymo/Uber relationship is unraveling in public, with The Financial Times confirming Waymo will launch its own app in Austin and Atlanta in January 2028 before the contract expires that May. Both sides are airing grievances, from dirty cars and bad routing to weather no-shows and unsustainable financial terms. Grayson goes on the record that the relationship terminates early, calling for a Waymo app in those markets by June 2027, while Walt takes the under.After 12 years and billions of dollars, Zoox can finally charge for a ride. NHTSA granted an exemption capped at 2,500 vehicles per year for two years, a ruling that also creates a potential viable deployment path for Tesla's Cybercab.In autonomous trucking, Aurora is targeting 1,000 trucks by the end of next year against 200 this year, a heavily back-end loaded ramp that depends on truck supply, Roush capacity, and unresolved questions about how the Volvo Autonomous Solutions margin split works. Meanwhile, Qualcomm's selection by BMW as lead compute for next-generation ADAS confirms the growth of the L2+ market and positions Snapdragon as the Trojan horse into autonomy compute.On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Baidu began RT6 robotaxi testing in London with both Uber and Lyft on the outskirts of the city, received a full driverless permit in Hong Kong, and China resumed issuing robotaxi permits once again.Episode Chapters0:00 Waymo/Uber Divorce Goes Public5:45 Uber's Autonomous Vehicle Partner Problem10:28 Waymo's OEM Partner Signals12:25 Zoox Gets the Golden Ticket16:52 Advancing America's Safety and Competitiveness for the Evolution of National Deployments20:16 Aurora Q2 2026 Earnings27:43 How Big Is the OEM Risk?30:38 ADAS as the Trojan Horse Into Autonomy35:42 Ford BlueCruise Falls Short37:23 Foreign Autonomy Desk: Baidu RT6 Testing in London with Uber & Lyft41:33 Next WeekFollow The Road to Autonomy Indices--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletterSee 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 Signals presented by KPMG, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss the latest Tesla FSD Supervised Cannonball Run record, seniors adopting FSD as a mobility preservation tool, and Baidu beginning robotaxi testing in London on both the Uber and Lyft networks.David Moss, Spencer and Owen Sparks drove a Tesla Model 3 running FSD Supervised 14.3.6 from the Red Ball Garage in New York City to the Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach, California in a record-setting 47 hours, 15 minutes and 39 seconds without ever touching the wheel.While the young kids break Cannonball FSD Supervised records, older individuals are actively embracing FSD as a mobility preservation tool. With no AARP partnership and no marketing spend, word of mouth is pulling seniors into a $47 billion a year senior transportation market that remains underserved, creating a structurally high-retention customer for Tesla.As Tesla FSD adoption grows with seniors, Baidu launched supervised RT6 robotaxi trials in the London borough of Brent on both the Uber and Lyft networks, with Lyft utilizing FreeNow's existing Transport for London private hire operator license.Baidu's deployment in London is a regulatory choreography play, not a technology demonstration, with driverless commercial authorization targeted for 2027 remaining the single binary event that either validates or collapses Baidu's Western expansion thesis.Episode Chapters0:00 KPMG Sponsor Introduction01:30 Signal 1: Tesla FSD Supervised Cannonball Run Record26:23 Signal 2: Seniors are Embracing FSD51:47 Signal 3: Baidu Begins Robotaxi Testing in LondonFollow The Road to Autonomy Indices--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Luke Kolbie and Rob Grant join Reid in celebration of an iconic brand, Russell Moccasin. For over 100 years, The Russell Moccasin Company (russellmoccasin.com) has been making hand-stitched boots and shoes for outdoor enthusiasts, so much so that the Russell Bird Shooter has become a signature part of the upland aesthetic. Luke and Rob explore the brand's history, the celebrated folks that have worn Russell boots, construction and craftsmanship, and what makes a great piece of footwear last generations.

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Tesla's Cybercab validation timeline, Tesla Semi FSD Supervised, Alphabet's quiet quarter on Waymo, and the Mobileye CEO stepping down after 27 years.Tesla disclosed 380,000 unsupervised miles, but those miles were logged on Model Y and do not transfer to Cybercab. The new chassis has to earn its own validation miles before commercial service begins, and Tesla is pacing production to that validation rather than building a fleet ahead of it. The ramp is slower than the market expects.Best case, that puts Tesla at 100 cars in Austin or a Florida market by year end. Elon Musk also offered an aggressive timeline for autonomy on the Semi, where Tesla is the OEM and removes the largest structural risk in autonomous trucking, creating an overhang for Aurora and every capital dependent competitor.Alphabet reported Other Bets revenue of $380 million against a loss of $1.8 billion, with the smallest amount of Waymo commentary from Sundar Pichai in roughly six quarters and no milestone announced. Mobileye is abandoning its asset light model for full vertical integration, putting it in direct competition with the OEMs it needs as customers.On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Momenta secured approval for driverless commercial operations in Shenzhen as China resumes issuing robotaxi permits.Episode Chapters0:00 380,000 Unsupervised Miles and What That Number Leaves Out03:13 The 250,000 Validation Miles Cybercab Still Has to Earn05:22 Cybercab Production Is Pacing to Validation Miles10:20 Tesla Semi FSD Coming Soon (Maybe Year End?)14:29 The Case for Vertical Integration16:24 Reading the Fine Print on Aurora's Driverless Announcement22:22 Alphabet's Other Bets and the Waymo Spin Non Answer25:50 How Tesla Runs Airport Curbside Pickups in California27:44 Zoox Recalls Software That Could Not Handle Smoke30:15 Mobileye Abandons Asset Light for Vertical Integration36:14 Foreign Autonomy Desk: China Resumes Robotaxi PermitsFollow The Road to Autonomy Indices--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletterSee 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 Signals presented by KPMG, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss Tesla expanding robotaxi to Tampa and Orlando, Zoox recalling its entire 105 vehicle fleet after driving into an active fire scene in Las Vegas, and China embedding autonomous truck manufacturing in Kazakhstan.Tesla continues their robotaxi expansion launching service in Tampa and Orlando, establishing their third Florida market alongside Miami. All three Florida service areas are next to the airport, signaling Tesla's ambition to secure airport service, while Tampa marks the first market where Tesla launched commercially ahead of Waymo.With Tesla moving from ground validation vehicles to driverless operations in roughly three weeks compared to Waymo's 30 week timeline in Charlotte, Tesla's deployment velocity is running approximately 10X faster than its main competitor.A company that has struggled to scale, Zoox voluntarily recalled its entire US fleet of 105 autonomous vehicles after an unoccupied robotaxi drove into a smoke-obscured fire scene in Las Vegas, requiring a remote teleoperator to reverse the vehicle after its sensor suite was blinded.The recall arrives as NHTSA escalates enforcement around autonomous vehicles interfering with first responders and as Zoox's FMVSS exemption petition for 2,500 driverless vehicles remains pending. With nine vehicles operating in Miami and no Amazon branding anywhere on the vehicles, rider lounges, or website, questions are mounting about Zoox's commercial direction and Amazon's willingness to stand behind its bet.Closing out the show, Grayson and Rob discuss China and Kazakhstan formalizing an agreement to establish domestic assembly lines for autonomous SITRAK heavy trucks, turning Kazakhstan into a regional production and deployment hub for driverless freight across Eurasian trade corridors and accelerating China's Autonomous Belt and Road Initiative.Episode Chapters0:00 KPMG Sponsor Introduction01:34 Signal 1: Tesla Expands Robotaxi to Tampa and Orlando27:15 Signal 2: Zoox Recalls Its Entire 105 Vehicle Fleet57:15 Signal 3: China Embeds Autonomous Truck Manufacturing in KazakhstanFollow The Road to Autonomy Indices--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nathan Michael, Chief Technology Officer, Shield AI joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss why the future of warfare is autonomous.The conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have made the case for autonomy abundantly clear. Drones create asymmetric advantage by driving down the cost per effect, delivering outcomes at reach without putting pilots and service members into harm's way. As trust in these systems grows through engineered performance and assurance, autonomous systems will increasingly engage in combat and change the face of modern warfare.Shield AI's solution to the future of warfare is Hivemind, an AI pilot designed from the beginning to be platform agnostic, mission agnostic, and domain agnostic. This architecture aligns with the Air Force's autonomy government reference architecture for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, which mandates modularity and no vendor lock-in.No vendor lock-in is becoming a global standard, with nations demanding sovereign autonomy, ownership of data, and the flexibility to swap in the most performant AI pilot as the technology rapidly improves. Hivemind is now expanding beyond the air and maritime domains into space through a series of defense partnerships.Episode Chapters0:00 How Shield AI is Thinking About Autonomy in a World Full of Conflict1:56 Are Drones the Modern Equivalent of the Abrams Tank?4:09 Is Society Ready for Autonomous Warfare5:58 Developing Hivemind and the Aha Moments Along the Way10:50 Deploying V-BAT in Ukraine and Integrating Hivemind on One-Way Attack Drones13:59 The Autonomy Factory and Adapting Hivemind Across Platforms17:41 Going from Air to Sea with Huntington Ingalls22:39 Deploying Hivemind on the Airbus Lakota Helicopter for Contested Logistics25:52 Winning the U.S. Air Force CCA Mission Autonomy Production Contract29:37 Autonomy Government Reference Architecture and No Vendor Lock-In35:34 Expanding Hivemind into Space38:17 X-Bat, the World's First AI-Powered VTOL Fighter Jet40:34 AUTNMY AI--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, Indices and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletterFollow The Road to Autonomy IndicesSee 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 increasing their robotaxi inventory in Texas, a controversial autonomous vehicle bill in Washington DC, Uber's acquisition of Delivery Hero, and WeRide‘s global expansion strategies.Data from the Texas DMV shows that Tesla has 175 robotaxis registered in Texas, a quadrupling in just six weeks from 42 on June 1st. This is a trend that is not isolated to Texas, as Grayson has noted in his Robotaxi Miami Field Report that Tesla is also ramping up operations in that market as well.In Washington DC, a new district bill introduced by Councilmember Charles Allen aims to update the 2012 AV Act to allow commercial autonomous operations. However, the bill introduces highly restrictive mandates, including a requirement for autonomous vehicle operators to log over 250,000 testing miles within the district before receiving a commercial permit that could lead to regulatory capture for incumbents.Shifting to the delivery sector, Uber made a major move by earmarking approximately €2 billion through 2031 for European expansion, explicitly including autonomous vehicle initiatives alongside its acquisition of Delivery Hero. Meanwhile, Uber's autonomous delivery partner, Avride, launched sidewalk street robot operations in Miami via Uber Eats, having already completed 60,000 trips.On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Grayson and Walt discuss WeRide's global Level 2++ on-road validation testing alongside Bosch in Germany, France, and Japan. Additionally, government data from Hong Kong reveals that 63 autonomous driving licenses have been issued across seven companies, with Baidu logging 149,129 miles with safety drivers on pre-approved roads.Closing out the show Grayson and Walt analyze Baidu‘s expansion into Kazakhstan and predict local robotaxi manufacturing could begin there within the next 12 to 18 months.Episode Chapters0:00 Tesla's Growing Robotaxi Fleet4:52 Washington DC's Autonomous Vehicle Bill12:03 Uber Acquires Delivery Hero and Bets on Autonomous Delivery18:07 Lucid's Selloff and the Nuro Partner Risk23:19 WeRide's Level 2++ Expansion24:57 Foreign Autonomy Desk27:10 Next WeekFollow The Road to Autonomy Indices--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletterSee 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 Signals, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss Baidu's Apollo Go robotaxi expansion in Hong Kong, the first combat strike using Saronic autonomous vessels on an Iranian naval base, and autonomous drones mapping volcanic gas clouds off the coast of Sicily.Hong Kong issued Baidu three pilot licenses covering 50 vehicles and cleared cross-district driverless trials using its sixth-generation RT6 robotaxis. The city-state's right-hand drive, left-side traffic system turns it into a proving ground for Japan, the UK, Singapore, and Australia, advancing China's Autonomous Belt and Road Initiative and setting up Baidu to export validated autonomy into left-side traffic markets.On July 12, 2026, US Central Command (CENTCOM) executed the first ever combat strike using unmanned surface vessels, deploying three Saronic-built Corsair vessels against Iran's Bandar Abbas Naval Base. The strike marks a doctrinal shift in naval warfare, altering the cost-exchange calculus of maritime conflict as tier one primes reposition themselves as mission integrators and treat autonomous hulls as expendable peripherals to their combat systems.Closing out the show, Grayson and Rob discuss researchers at the Technical University of Munich deploying an autonomous drone on the Italian island of Vulcano to map volcanic gas concentrations at a 5% margin of error, eliminating the need to fly into corrosive plumes.Episode Chapters0:00 KPMG Sponsor Introduction01:34 Signal 1: Baidu's Apollo Go Expansion in Hong Kong18:55 Signal 2: First Autonomous Maritime Combat Strike37:16: Signal 3: Autonomous Drones Mapping Volcanic Gas CloudsFollow The Road to Autonomy Indices--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Todd Deaville, VP, Advanced Manufacturing Innovation, Magna, joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how artificial intelligence and advanced robotics are transforming global manufacturing.To Deaville, AI is a highly powerful tool set optimized for recognizing complex patterns, making quality-control decisions, and analyzing massive data flows. Applying AI to robotics introduces unprecedented flexibility to the physical world, moving beyond historically rigid, defined programming to enable machines that can adapt and make operational changes in real time.With manufacturing facilities spanning 28 countries, Magna's primary challenge is deploying these advanced technologies at scale. To achieve this, the company clusters its solutions around specific product and process archetypes, relying on a playbook approach with practical guides to help local plants succeed.This shift toward more complex digital workflows is being further accelerated by a new generation of workers whose gaming backgrounds have trained them to navigate highly interactive, realistic three-dimensional simulations.. By continuously feeding operational data back into its systems, Magna is elevating the skills of its workforce, streamlining its design-for-manufacturing processes, and building a highly efficient, autonomous future.Episode Chapters0:00 Defining AI in Manufacturing2:40 Robotics4:42 Open Source Models & Data Sovereignty8:34 Deploying Tech Globally11:07 Labs vs. Active Factory Floors13:06 Scale Is the Real Bottleneck16:56 Humanoid Robots21:13 Gaming and the Evolving Workforce28:57 Magna Data Flywheel31:06 The Future of Robotaxi Manufacturing32:32 Future of Magna33:56 AUTNMY AI--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, Indices and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletterFollow The Road to Autonomy IndicesSee 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 unsupervised robotaxi launch in Miami, Waymo preparing to bring four new markets online, and NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison's letter to autonomous vehicle operators.On July 3rd, Tesla launched unsupervised robotaxi in Miami, their first market outside of Texas and California. We were there on the ground conducting field research with no safety monitor and no chase vehicle in sight, riding through torrential downpours and flooded streets. The fleet grew from two vehicles on day one to three vehicles by day three, and it was the best unsupervised robotaxi experience we have ever had.While conducting field research, we counted over two dozen Cybercabs staged in Miami, every single one with a steering wheel and a Florida license plate. We believe these are validation vehicles and that Cybercab will be Tesla's major robotaxi launch vehicle. Notably, Tesla's operating domain extends further west than Waymo's, wrapping around the back side of Miami International Airport.As Tesla scales in Miami, NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison sent a letter to autonomous vehicle operators on July 8th citing a pattern of driverless vehicles interfering with police, fire, and EMS. The timing was notable, as our Tesla robotaxi flawlessly pulled over for an ambulance during our Miami rides. Mr. Morrison's approach of loosening hardware rules while tightening behavioral scrutiny is the regulatory framework we believe the industry needs to scale.Waymo opened employee rides in Las Vegas, San Diego, Tampa, and Denver, the final gate before public service. Tampa confirms the call The Road to Autonomy made three weeks ago when we uncovered Waymo's 100,000 square foot warehouse lease near Tampa International Airport.Beyond the four new cities, OMEGA uncovered corporate filings pointing to potential Waymo deployments in France, Spain, and the Netherlands, along with an Alphabet entity in Singapore holding $21 billion that we verified as a wholly owned Waymo subsidiary through the Delaware Chancery Court.On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Grayson and Walt discuss Baidu publicly disclosing 143,000 autonomous driving miles in Hong Kong and Zelos securing Malaysia's first L4 public road permit for driverless delivery.Episode Chapters0:00 Tesla Launches Robotaxi in Miami8:50 Tesla's Miami Service Area Compared to Waymo's14:35 NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison's Letter to Autonomous Vehicle Operators19:13 Waymo's New Markets: Las Vegas, San Diego, Tampa, and Denver23:02 Denver: Waymo's First Snow and Ice Market26:41 OMEGA uncovers Waymo's European Grand Ambitions29:32 Waymo's Playbook32:01 Uber's Autonomy Partners Struggles34:27 Foreign Autonomy Desk35:21 Next WeekFollow The Road to Autonomy Indices--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletterSee 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 Signals presented by KPMG Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss Tesla's Unsupervised Robotaxi launch in Miami, Waymo's July 4th stumble in San Francisco, and Momenta's oversubscribed IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.On July 5, 2026, Tesla launched Unsupervised Robotaxi service in Miami, its first unsupervised market outside of Texas, with retrofitted Model Ys operating through heavy rain and flooded roadways during the heart of hurricane season.Grayson was on the ground for launch day, riding through South Florida's mini lakes without a single hesitation from the vehicle, and uncovered a Cybercab staging lot near Miami International Airport with dozens of vehicles ready to deploy. The Miami launch is a deliberate stress test of Tesla's camera-only system against the exact adverse weather conditions currently under NHTSA engineering analysis, and the receipts reveal a premium pricing experiment running 3X to 4X the base fare of Tesla's Texas markets.Then there is Waymo, whose vehicles bricked across San Francisco on the 4th of July as fireworks, road closures, dense crowds, and connectivity failures overwhelmed the fleet. Vehicles idled until their batteries depleted and had to be towed, one Waymo burned, and San Francisco officials have launched inquiries into the incident.The July 4th stumble potentially exposed a remote assistance bottleneck that makes Waymo's lean human supervision model the critical scaling constraint in burst demand emergencies, threatening the path to one million weekly rides as regulators eye special event requirements and remote operator staffing ratios.Closing out the show, Grayson and Rob discuss Momenta's listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as the market's first physical AI stock, with the retail tranche oversubscribed 414 times and 14 cornerstone investors including BlackRock, Fidelity International, GIC, Mercedes-Benz, and BYD.With its software running in over 900,000 vehicles and licensing revenue growing 42-fold over three years, Momenta's IPO signals that institutional investors are shifting their preference away from speculative capital-intensive deployments towards proven physical AI providers.Episode Chapters00:00 KPMG Sponsor Introduction01:16 Signal 1: Tesla Launches Unsupervised Robotaxi in Miami38:38 Signal 2: Waymo's July 4th Stumble in San Francisco1:11:27 Signal 3: Momenta IPOs on the Hong Kong Stock ExchangeFollow The Road to Autonomy Indices--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brett Suma, President and COO of Bot Auto, joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss Bot Auto's playbook for autonomously driving one billion autonomous miles in four years.On April 29th by completing its first humanless run from Houston to Dallas. To achieve long-term growth and commercial success, Bot Auto is rejecting the standard driver-as-a-service intermediary model used by its competitors. Instead, the company is building direct relationships with shippers and designing a utility grid of capacity focused on solving network sequencing, lane selection, and utilization.As the company focuses on capital-efficient deployment, Bot Auto plans to sidestep raising large funding rounds to purchase depreciating operations assets. Instead, the company will rely on traditional financing methods, established banking relationships, and an experienced sales force to scale its tractor and trailer counts. With a comprehensive five-year financial roadmap in place, Bot Auto is positioning itself to scale organically based on market demand, setting a disciplined target of one billion autonomous miles within the next four years.Episode Chapters0:00 Why Bot Auto4:56 April 29th Humanless Houston to Dallas Run9:52 Economics of Humanless Miles14:36 Building a Trucking Business17:17 Capacity as a Utility Grid, Not Truck Counts24:19 Bot Auto's Business Model29:34 CapEx and Financing Trucks32:15 Hidden Risk of Operating a Mixed Fleet41:49 Staying Disciplined as Bot Auto Grows44:24 One Billion Autonomous Miles in Four Years47:36 AUTNMY AI--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, Indices and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletterFollow The Road to Autonomy IndicesSee 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 end of Waymo and Uber's partnership in Phoenix, Tesla's Cybercab hitting the streets of Austin branded for America 250 and Waymo's "Because they're everything" World Cup campaign.As Tesla gets closer and closer to putting the Cybercab into service, the U.S. Government is inching toward a national framework that would allow vehicles with no steering wheel and no pedals to deploy across all 50 states and charge for rides.It is the regulatory environment that we believe Tesla is waiting to change before deploying Cybercab into the fleet, even if the rides are free. As Tesla waits for regulatory certainty, The Road to Autonomy broke the news that Waymo and Uber quietly ended their Phoenix partnership, noticing an update on the Uber autonomous vehicle site.The Phoenix partnership, which lasted 948 days, consisted of a fleet of 12 vehicles that serviced a 180 square mile area. Important to note that this was a dedicated fleet for Uber and the vehicles were not part of the traditional Waymo fleet.Now that Waymo and Uber have divorced in Phoenix, we believe it is only a matter of time until they divorce in Austin, where the service has been live for 482 days, and Atlanta, where the service has been live for 370 days. Both partnerships could unwind by the first quarter of 2027.On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Grayson and Walt discuss the global growth of FSD and Volkswagen and Bosch ending their automated driving partnership, the latest in a long line of stalled autonomy efforts at the German automaker.Episode Chapters00:00 Happy 250th Birthday, America1:15 Waymo and Uber Phoenix Divorce5:47 Dara, Nuro and Wayve Signals8:24 Who Could Backfill Phoenix for Uber?13:52 The Fizzling Demand Narrative17:51 Cybercab, Branded for America 25021:53 Regulatory, Not Safety, Is Holding Cybercab Back24:50 Tesla Semi25:54 Waymo's World Cup Because They're Everything Campaign28:06 Robotaxis at Airports29:32 Chinese Made Vehicles31:11 Foreign Autonomy Desk34:15 Next WeekFollow The Road to Autonomy Indices--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletterSee 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 Signals, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss the pending Uber-Waymo divorce, Agility Robotics' $2.5 billion SPAC merger with Churchill Capital XI, and the launch of The Road to Autonomy Confidence Indices.As of May, Waymo and Uber concluded their robotaxi partnership in Phoenix after roughly 948 days, with Waymo going exclusively direct-to-consumer in that market and Uber seeking a replacement partner, with a Nuro / Lucid partnership as the leading candidate.Uber's value to select autonomous vehicle operators is highest during market entry, and once an operator builds density and consumer trust, Uber's value diminishes as the robotaxi provider's brand grows in that market.Then there is Agility Robotics, whose $2.5 billion SPAC merger with Churchill Capital XI targets over $620 million in gross proceeds to become the first pure-play humanoid robotics entity in the public markets. The listing could be perceived as a forced transparency event, as SEC disclosures will stress-test the contested 98% task success rate, the $300 million contingent backlog, and a warehouse data moat that risks becoming a depreciating asset as the industry pivots to foundation model generalization.Closing out the show, Grayson and Rob discuss the launch of The Road to Autonomy Confidence Indices, a first-of-its-kind benchmark tracking the market's confidence in the global commercial adoption of robotaxis, autonomous driving licensing, autonomous trucks, and delivery bots.Each index is a single zero-to-100 reading, cryptographically sealed and independently verifiable, and the early divergence is telling, as robotaxi confidence is rising while the market continues to be unsure about autonomous trucking.Episode Chapters00:00 Signal 1: Waymo/Uber Divorce: Predictable and Repeatable34:29 Signal 2: Agility Robotics' $2.5B merger with Churchill Capital XI55:06 Signal 3: The Road to Autonomy Confidence Indices Launch1:04:19 AUTNMY AIFollow The Road to Autonomy Indices--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/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 and CEO of Serve Robotics, joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how Serve Robotics scaled its delivery fleet into an operating layer for physical AI.Over the past year, Serve Robotics has grown from roughly 50 robots to 2,000, and in Q1 2026 the company reported $3 million in revenue with 45% coming from recurring software licenses.To achieve that growth, Serve is now selling their stack as modular layers, letting other companies license the connectivity, data infrastructure, or hardware piece by piece rather than build everything from scratch. This includes a freemium version of Autonomy Assist, its version of remote assistance.As the company continues to grow Serve is ramping production of their Gen 3 vehicle, which runs at one-third the cost of Gen 2 while delivering five times the compute, a 48-mile range, four-wheel steering and suspension, and the ability to operate in heavy rain.The vehicles are sub-assembled in Asia with the completed final assembly occurring in with Magna International in Michigan. This give the company the flexibility to manufacture end to end in Asia for markets where US tariffs make domestic production uneconomical. With international expansion underway in Tokyo and Sydney this year and a larger push planned for 2027, Serve is positioning to follow demand across the APAC region and beyond.Episode Chapters0:00 Growing and Scaling Revenue8:51 Licensing the Platform11:17 World Models14:59 The Laundry Vertical16:52 Expanding Internationally22:39 Gen 3 Vehicle26:17 Edge Cases28:43 Future Form Factors30:09 Diligent Robotics Acquisition34:06 The Operating Layer of Physical AI36:21 Future of Serve Robotics36:54 AUTNMY AI--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, Indices and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletterFollow The Road to Autonomy IndicesSee 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 Qualcomm and Mobileye‘s differing robotaxi strategies, NHTSA removing the physical brake requirement for autonomous vehicles and the New York State Legislature failing to advance an autonomous driving bill.As Congress moves on the Build America 250 Act to legalize autonomous trucking and advances a national framework for autonomous vehicles, Grayson and Walt note that federal action could preempt the hostile policies blocking deployment in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.On the robotaxi side of the business, Mobileye signaled it wants to own and operate a fleet, a press release Grayson flagged for having no city permits and no SEC trail. Walt likened the pivot to BlackBerry building its own product to validate the technology, while Qualcomm took the opposite path at its Investor Day, positioning the company as a low-cost autonomous driving solutions provider that will only supply the Snapdragon automotive platform to enable OEMs to scale their businesses as Qualcomm's automotive business climbs toward $10 billion by fiscal 2029.Before segueing into the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Grayson and Walt debate Tesla's robotaxi turning one year old still short of 100 cars in Austin, Uber's week of deals and Waymo pausing service around a World Cup stadium, on highways and in some cases heavy rain, leading the hosts to wonder if there is a sensor issue.On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, China's Autonomous Belt and Road Initiative continues to accelerate across the globe with Pony.ai launching commercial service in Singapore, Baidu partnering with Swiss Post and WeRide and Uber preparing to launch commercial service in Switzerland.Episode Chapters0:00 Back from Hiatus01:46 New York Continues to Be Hostile to Autonomous Vehicles 05:07 Uber Continues Global Robotaxi Expansion 06:56 The Rise of Non-Binding MOUs10:28 Waymo Opens Nashville Market12:16 Waymo's On-Going Sensor Issues 14:53 Tesla Robotaxi One-Year Launch Anniversary16:12 Mobileye's Robotaxi Fleet Ambitions21:04 Qualcomm's Growing Automotive Business28:50 May Mobility's European Expansion35:36 China's Autonomous Belt and Road Initiative Continues 36:47 Zoox Design Update38:27 Nvidia's Neibus Investment41:20 The Road to Autonomy Indices Launch43:58 Next WeekFollow The Road to Autonomy Indices --------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, indices and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletterSee 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 Signals, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant are joined by David Moss, Devin Olsen, and Spencer to break down the first-ever FSD coast-to-coast drive across Canada with no interventions and what 3,782 miles exposed the limits of the Tesla's current consumer hardware.For their journey across The Great White North, the team used a Tesla Model 3 running FSD 14.3 on a journey that took them from British Columbia to Halifax, Nova Scotia with zero driving disengagements, across driving environment that the team has never experienced before.The route threw everything at the car. Two lane roads through the middle of nowhere, fifty mile stretches with no markings, construction flaggers holding stop signs, and Supercharger lots with no lines and no visual reference. The trip became a public stress test of the AI4 hardware suite.Over the six day journey, rain and road grime blinded the cameras and triggered occlusion warnings, throwing a red hands takeover as they pulled into a Supercharger. Across the full run, not a single inch was driven by hand. When the weather turned, the team stopped to clean cameras every fifteen minutes, the exact failure mode the Cybercab teardown answers with onboard air and liquid washers.Tesla FSD Supervised is the best Level 2+ system in the market today. As Tesla's robotaxi ambitions grow, the question now is whether camera only hardware can clear weather, occlusion, and the absence of self-cleaning to truly unlock FSD Unsupervised, or whether that threshold rests on AI5 and a washer equipped sensor stack as Tesla scales toward FSD version 15.Episode Chapters00:00 Signal 1: 3,782 miles Across Canada11:11 Camera Occlusion17:04 What FSD Unsupervised Actually Requires32:44 OMEGA's Take45:09 Where's Next?56:45 AUTNMY AIFollow The Road to Autonomy Indices --------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, indices and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/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 Signals, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discussed the launch of The Road to Autonomy Indices and break down Mobileye's pivot from licensor to robotaxi operator.The Road to Autonomy Indices score 38 companies on commercialization, deployment, and operational maturity across robotaxi, autonomous driving licensing, autonomous trucks, and delivery bots. Built with OMEGA on public and licensed data only, every update is cryptographically sealed to the RFC 3161 standard with an open-source verification layer, making the benchmark a transparent market barometer rather than a capital catalyst.On June 16th, Mobileye announced plans to launch a direct-to-consumer robotaxi service in a major US city in 2027, starting with roughly 100 vehicles and scaling to approximately 17,000 over five years. The press release named no city, disclosed no permits, and left no SEC filing trail, which is why the indices did not move on the headline.The open question is not whether Mobileye can build the technology, but whether its investors have the cash and the conviction to fund billions in below-the-line cost while standing toe-to-toe with Waymo and Tesla.Episode Chapters00:00 Signal 1: The Road to Autonomy Indices Launch23:44 Signal 2: Mobileye Pivots from Licensor to Robotaxi Operator56:42 AUTNMY AIFollow The Road to Autonomy Indices --------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/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 Signals, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss Tesla's application to operate up to 5,000 robotaxis in Las Vegas, Waymo's $220 million purchase of Apple's former proving grounds, and Neolix's partnership with Quickbot to solve the last 50 meters of autonomous delivery.On June 3rd, Tesla expanded their unsupervised robotaxi geofence to cover the entire 245 square mile Austin metropolitan area, even as its active fleet contracted to an estimated 20 to 25 vehicles. That same week, Tesla filed an application with the Nevada Transportation Authority for an Autonomous Vehicle Network Company permit to operate up to 5,000 robotaxis in Clark County within the next 12 months.With expanding service areas and a contracting physical fleet, Tesla is optimizing for a coverage narrative while software readiness remains the critical bottleneck to commercial scale, and the path to Las Vegas still runs through individual casino property agreements.Waymo purchased Apple's former proving grounds in Wittmann, Arizona, originally the DaimlerChrysler proving grounds, for $220 million. The site is larger than Waymo's existing California and Ohio testing grounds combined, featuring a 115 acre city course, a four mile high speed oval, and a dedicated freeway loop, and it sits roughly an hour from Waymo's Mesa vehicle integration facility.By securing a closed loop validation pipeline adjacent to its manufacturing hub, Waymo is converting capital into validation velocity as it targets one million weekly rides by the end of the year and up to 20 additional cities by the end of 2026.Then there is Neolix, the Chinese autonomous delivery company, which announced a strategic partnership with Singapore-based Quickbot to co-deploy an end-to-end autonomous delivery solution. The integration pairs Neolix's Level 4 logistics vehicles with Quickbot's autonomous final mile delivery platform, which manages secure entry through doors and elevators without human intervention.Anchored in Singapore's Punggol Digital District and timed to the country's regulatory transition from sandbox to commercial operations, the alliance creates the first commercially viable human-free continuous delivery chain from road to door, with the Asia-Pacific and Middle East as the real targets.Episode Chapters00:00 Signal 1: Tesla's Big Austin Expansion and Las Vegas Robotaxi Ambitions22:47 Signal 2: Waymo Buys Apple's Former Proving Grounds44:07 Signal 3: Neolix Partners with Quickbot to Solve the Last 50 Meters56:42 AUTNMY AI--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"The Carousel of Hideous Mistakes That Make You Say 'Fuck' In The Middle Of A Supermarket" The loss of Rob Grant earlier this year was a complete shock. Whether you knew him personally or were one of his thousands of fans, it was a bolt out of the blue. It's taken us a little while to be able to talk about it, but with the release of Red Dwarf: Titan - Rob's final work - rapidly approaching, we wanted to get together and discuss just how much he meant to us. So join us for our reminisces about all of G&T's interactions with Rob over the years, discover the origin of that "ex-wife's honeymoon video" quote, relive the moment that Ian's imminent fatherhood was announced to the world unexpectedly, and discover what's on the wall of Rob's downstairs toilet. You can also peruse the show notes section below for a bumper dose of Rob-related content, and feel free to share your own memories of Rob in the comments.Show notes Cappsy's ancient White Hole interview Mr Flibble Talks To Rob Grant Danny and Ian interview Rob and Andrew The Quarantine Commentaries archive The last G&T interview with Rob Andrew Marshall's tribute Our obituary for Rob The incredible TOS tribute

This week on Autonomy Signals, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss Uber's OEM-agnostic robotaxi strategy in Europe, FedEx Freight CEO's declaration that autonomous trucks are ready for prime time, and the AUKUS alliance accelerating undersea autonomy.At GTC Taipei, Uber, Autobrains, and NVIDIA announced a strategic collaboration to launch a robotaxi program in Munich, pending regulatory approval, built on Autobrains' agentic AI and the NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion Level 4 platform. With no German OEM attached and Stellantis the likely production partner, the move extends Uber's asset-light playbook of contributing its demand network while pushing vehicle CapEx off its balance sheet and onto its partners.On June 1st, FedEx Freight began trading as an independent standalone company, and CEO John Smith stated that its autonomous tractor-trailers can run yard to interstate to facility with 99.9% autonomy. By framing the primary barrier to commercialization as regulatory rather than technical, Mr. Smith flipped the industry narrative from can we build it to will we be allowed to use it.Then there is AUKUS, where Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom formally initiated a trilateral project to develop unmanned undersea vehicles with an aggressive 2027 delivery target. The UUVs are designed for reconnaissance, strike, anti-submarine warfare, and protection of critical infrastructure like undersea cables, signaling that autonomy is no longer just a commercial endeavor but a core pillar of national security, though trilateral interoperability and contested deep-sea environments pose real execution risk.Episode Chapters00:00 Signal 1: Uber's European Robotaxi Strategy33:19 Signal 2: AUKUS Accelerates Unmanned Undersea Autonomy56:16 Signal 3: FedEx Freight CEO Flips the Script01:09:26 AUTNMY AIAutonomy Signals is presented by KPMG.--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary market intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Subscribe today: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With his ‘80s dramedy This Too Shall Pass now streaming in the US and Canada, writer-director Rob Grant wants to celebrate Rob Reiner's Stand By Me, the coming-of-age movie that changed everyone's idea of what “a Stephen King movie” could look like. Your genial host Norm Wilner is embracing the melancholy on this one.

This week on Autonomy Signals presented by KPMG Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss Figure AI's first commercial humanoid deployment with Catalyst Brands, Stellantis L2++ partnership with Wayve, and Starship Technologies surpassing 10 million autonomous deliveries.Figure AI recently signed a commercial agreement with Catalyst Brands to deploy humanoid robots at a JCPenney distribution center in Reno, Nevada, integrating Figure's humanoids into Catalyst's Joey Pouch sorting system.As new management at Stellantis looks to turn around the global OEM, the company is pursuing a partnership over build strategy to accelerate their expansion into the L2++ market, with a targeted launch beginning with the Jeep Grand Cherokee.Then there is Starship Technologies, which recently surpassed 10 million autonomous deliveries with 3,000 robots operating across more than 300 locations in eight countries. The company says autonomous delivery is already $3 to $4 cheaper than rider-based models, with a long-term target of $1 per drop, though sustained profitability will require lowering the teleoperator intervention rate to near zero while navigating city-by-city municipal regulation.Episode Chapters00:00 Signal 1: Figure AI Signs Commercial Agreement with Catalyst Brands18:10 Signal 2: Stellantis Partners with Wayve to Deploy L2++ in U.S.41:06 Signal 3: Starship Technologies Surpasses 10 Million Autonomous Deliveries59:13 AUTNMY AIAutonomy Signals is presented by KPMG.--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary market intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Subscribe today: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/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 Signals, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss the BUILD America 250 Act, XPeng's mass-produced pure vision robotaxi, and the ESA-China SMILE mission reaching orbit.House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves and Ranking Member Rick Larsen released the text of the BUILD America 250 Act, a bipartisan five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that includes the first-ever federal framework for autonomous trucks.The bill, if passed and signed into law in its current form, would provide regulatory preemption for autonomous trucking in the United States and authorize nearly $30 million annually through 2031 for workforce development grants.Over in China, XPeng's first mass-produced robotaxi rolled off its production line in Guangzhou. The robotaxi is built on the company's GX platform and features a pure vision system powered by their in-house Turing AI chips.Then there is the SMILE mission, a landmark collaboration between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences that launched on May 19 from Kourou, French Guiana, aboard a Vega-C rocket. SMILE carries the world's first space-borne soft X-ray imager and an ultraviolet aurora imager designed to observe and predict the space weather events that disrupt the global navigation satellite systems that autonomous vehicles, drones, and maritime vessels rely on for centimeter-level positioning.Episode Chapters00:00 AUTNMY AI1:32 Signal 1: BUILD America 250 Act37:39 Signal 2: XPENG Pure Vision Robotaxi58:51 Signal 3: ESA/China SMILE Mission Reaches OrbitAutonomy Signals is presented by KPMG.--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary market intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Subscribe today: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/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 Signals presented by KPMG, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss Uber's policy play to slow the deployment of robotaxis, BYD's costly market share gain, and Unitree going sci-fi with a production-ready Mecha robot.Uber recently released a policy paper titled Unlocking the Promise of Autonomy that emphasized that the transition to autonomy should move slowly through a phased hybrid model where mixed fleets of human drivers and autonomous vehicles share the platform for years.The report appears to be a regulatory framework designed to penalize the autonomy-only business model currently being deployed by both Waymo and Tesla, positioning Uber's hybrid approach as the only socially responsible path. In what appears to be a deliberate effort to slow down robotaxi deployments until Uber and their partners catch up.Over in China, BYD updated their Seagull EV with an optional God's Eye system, a roof-mounted LiDAR with Level 2+ capabilities running on NVIDIA Drive Orin for a starting retail price of $13,000. This is the first subcompact vehicle in the world equipped with premium autonomous hardware at this price point, putting pressure on Western automakers to compete. But the price point comes at a cost, as BYD's Q1 2026 net profit dropped 55% and operating cash flow collapsed 67%.Then there is Unitree, which launched the GD01 Man Transformable Mecha, a 1,100-pound, nine-foot pilotable robot that switches between bipedal and quadruped modes. Priced at approximately $650,000, the GD01 is a calculated engineering showcase flex ahead of Unitree's anticipated Shanghai Star Market IPO targeting a $7 billion valuation.The launch of the GD01 Man Transformable Mecha signals China's ability to rapidly prototype, commercialize, and scale embodied AI hardware at a pace Western competitors are struggling to match.Episode Chapters00:00 AUTNMY AI01:33 Signal 1: Uber's Policy Play to Slowdown Robotaxis36:57 Signal 2: BYD's Costly Market Share Grab55:41 Signal 3: Unitree's GD01 Man Transformable Mecha--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary market intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Subscribe today: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/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 Signals, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss Tesla's Unsupervised Robotaxi expansion to Dallas and Houston, Wisk Aero doubling its Gen 6 flight test fleet, and Meta's acquisition of Assured Robot Intelligence (ARI).Tesla recently launched Unsupervised Robotaxi in Houston and Dallas without chase vehicles, a structural shift from their January Austin debut where chase vehicles initially trailed the vehicles. The company's Unsupervised Robotaxi fleet has grown to north of 36 vehicles across the Austin, Dallas, and Houston markets.As Tesla continues to scale, Wisk Aero doubled their Gen 6 test fleet and successfully completed the first uncrewed flight of its second production prototype in Hollister, California. While the technical milestone is impressive, it does not shorten the regulatory distance to FAA type certification for autonomous passenger operations, a path categorically more complex than the one Joby and Archer are navigating with piloted aircraft.Then there is Meta, which acquired Assured Robot Intelligence (ARI) and folded the team into their Superintelligence Labs. This acquisition is the clearest signal yet that Meta is positioning its robotics AI models to become the Android of humanoid robotics, potentially enabling ecosystem partners to accelerate hardware deployments with an open-source operating system.Episode Chapters00:00 AUTNMY AI01:31 Signal 1: Tesla Scales Unsupervised Robotaxis30:41 Signal 2: Wisk Aero Doubles Gen 6 Test Fleet50:32 Signal 3: Meta Acquires Assured Robot Intelligence (ARI)--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary market intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Subscribe today: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/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 Signals, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss the WeRide and Lenovo autonomous vehicle partnership, Pronto's first deal under Atoms with Mariana Minerals, and Bot Auto's 231 mile driver out commercial run from Houston to Dallas.WeRide and Lenovo recently announced a five year non-binding partnership at Auto China 2026 to deploy 200,000 autonomous vehicles, a 200x scale from WeRide's current global fleet of 1,023 vehicles, with Lenovo's HPC 3.0 compute platform accelerating the growth. The HPC 3.0 platform performs under extreme temperatures with a focus on reducing emissions, signaling that the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the European Union could be potential deployment markets.AUTNMY AI‘s proprietary OMEGA algorithm estimates fleet ownership costs between $10 and $20 billion. No funding partner or fleet owner partner has been announced to date.While WeRide and Lenovo made headlines this week, Pronto announced its first post-Atoms acquisition deal with Mariana Minerals. The mining company will deploy Pronto's autonomous haulage trucks at the Copper One mine in southeastern Utah, beginning with three trucks and scaling to fifteen by year end.Then there is Bot Auto, which made history this week as the first company to deploy an autonomous truck for paid commercial over-the-road freight on the Houston to Dallas lane. The Road to Autonomy team was on the ground to witness Bot Auto successfully complete a 231 mile fully autonomous driver-out commercial run, no human in the cab, no observer, no individual with a CDL.A field report will be released next Tuesday.Episode Chapters00:00 AUTNMY AI02:00 Signal 1: WeRide and Lenovo Partner to Accelerate Autonomous Vehicle Deployments26:21 Signal 2: Pronto Deploys Autonomous Haulage Trucks with Mariana Minerals44:30 Signal 3: Bot Auto Goes Driver-Out Over-the-Road--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary market intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Subscribe today: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/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 Signals, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss autonomous military cargo helicopters, Caterpillar's acquisition of Monarch Tractor's intellectual property, and the termination of the PlusAI and Churchill Capital IX SPAC merger.Airbus recently conducted its fourth flight test of the MQ-72C autonomous cargo helicopter for the United States Marine Corps, in partnership with L3Harris, Perry Labs, and Shield AI. While the test was a success, AUTNMY AI‘s proprietary OMEGA algorithm assesses that the MQ-72C will not achieve commercial deployment before 2028.The market is potentially conflating the 2028 military initial operating capability target with commercial market entry, a category error that overstates the near-term commercial opportunity by two to three years and ignores the ITAR, FAA certification, and program authorization constraints that structurally preclude civilian deployment.Then there is Caterpillar's acquisition of the intellectual property and core assets of Monarch Tractor. This is not an agriculture story, this is a data story. Caterpillar is acquiring eight years of real-world field data, two to four million labeled frames across 40,000 acres of specialty crop terrain, and a patent portfolio covering obstacle avoidance, vehicle follow systems, and battery swap technology.The Monarch acquisition represents a $15 to $40 million purchase of a $350 to $500 million replacement cost software and perception stack, compressing the model training timeline for edge case optical detection by an estimated 18 to 30 months.While Caterpillar is ingesting data to accelerate its construction and mining autonomy programs, the autonomous trucking capital markets delivered a different signal this week. PlusAI and Churchill Capital IX mutually agreed to terminate their proposed business combination.Even with the PlusAI SPAC being terminated, the autonomous trucking market as a whole remains healthy.Episode Chapters00:00 AUTNMY AI01:16 Signal 1: Airbus Completes 4th Flight Test of the MQ-72C Autonomous Cargo Helicopter23:29 Signal 2: Caterpillar Acquires Monarch Tractor IP47:17 Signal 3: PlusAI and Churchill Capital IX SPAC Termination--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary market intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Subscribe today for free: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/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 Signals, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss Ukraine's emerging role in the autonomy economy, the macroeconomic environment for Physical AI, train automation, and accelerating warehouse automation.Ukraine has achieved the largest real-world stress testing of autonomous systems in recorded history, deploying ground and aerial systems for over 22,000 missions in the first three months of the year. AUTNMY AI‘s proprietary OMEGA algorithm assesses that Ukraine's combat data-sharing initiative, which offers allied governments and tech startups access to real battlefield data, is the most underpriced event in the global autonomy economy.Then there is the macroeconomic environment for Physical AI, that is fundamentally more supportive and durable than the hype of the 2017/2018 Industry 4.0 cycle. Today it's all about economics and the return on investment. Unlike previously, companies can now deploy a $250,000 autonomous construction system to replace $180,000-a-year skilled labor cost and achieve an 18-month payback period that is practically immune to interest rate cycles.While that is the Physical AI macroeconomic environment, the rail environment for autonomy is still in flux, despite a recently struck deal between Union Pacific and the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA). The deal between Union Pacific and ATDA will see the railroad guarantee lifetime employment for 1,300 current active dispatchers in exchange for supporting a proposed merger with Norfolk Southern and not opposing automation.While the ATDA will not oppose automation as long as the merger closes, the 125,000-member SMART-TD union explicitly excluded automation concessions from their national agreement. With a new agreement coming in 2030, this is the one to watch.While we wait for negotiations in that deal to open in 2029, warehouse automation is currently leading to a 10% increase in rents for automation-ready facilities. Premium, power-dense industrial properties are emerging as a foundational layer in the global autonomy economy.Episode Chapters00:00 AUTNMY AI01:18 Signal 1: Ukraine's Emerging Role in the Autonomy Economy30:57 Signal 2: The Macro Environment for Physical AI55:25 Signal 3: Train Automation Gains Steam in the U.S. (Or So it Appears)1:18:41 Signal 4: Warehouse Automation Accelerates--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary market intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Subscribe today for free: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

High in the mist-shrouded Cairngorms, where the winter wind bites like a vice, lies the domain of a long-spoken, unsettling presence. For over a hundred years, the climbers of Ben Macdui have told stories of a towering figure pacing just beyond sight and of booming footsteps lost in the fog. Known as the Big Grey Man, few have seen it, several have heard it and even more sensed it, but just about none have ever agreed on what “it” actually is. SOURCES Gray, Affleck (1970) The Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui. Impulse Books, Edinburgh, Scotland. Baker, Ernest A. (1973) The British Highlands: With Rope & Rucksack. EP Publishing Ltd, UK. Wood, Wendy (1930) Secret of Spey. Rob Grant & Son, Edinburgh, Scotland. Alexander, Henry (1926) The Ben MacDhui Giant Spectre. The Cairngorm Club Journal, Vol XI, No.64, July 1926. The Cairngorm Club, Scotland. Aberdeen Press & Journal (1925) Cairngorm Club. Aberdeen Press & Journal, Mon 30 Nov 1925, p5. Aberdeen, Scotland. Aberdeen Press & Journal (1925) Letters To Editor. Aberdeen Press & Journal, Tues 1 Dec 1925, p5. Aberdeen, Scotland. Aberdeen Press & Journal (1925) Mountain Climbers & The Ghost of Ben MacDhui. Aberdeen Press & Journal, Thurs 3 Dec 1925, p6. Aberdeen, Scotland. Aberdeen Press & Journal (1925) Dr Kellas & His Spectre. Aberdeen Press & Journal, Sat 5 Dec 1925, p4. Aberdeen, Scotland. The Scotsman (1941) The Grey Man Of Ben MacDhui. The Scotsman, Tues 14 Oct 1941, p7. Scotland. The Scotsman (1941) Mountain Spectres. The Scotsman, Mon 20 Oct 1941, p4. Scotland. The Scotsman (1941) Mountain Spectres. The Scotsman, Thurs 23 Oct 1941, p4. Scotland. ------ For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠darkhistories.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support the show by visiting our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://author.to/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Dark Histories merch is available here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3GChjk9⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with us on Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Or find us on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://twitter.com/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Or you can contact us directly via email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠contact@darkhistories.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or join our Discord community: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017 Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Autonomy Signals, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss the Artemis II mission, Amazon's coordinated embodied AI acquisitions, HD Hyundai's Avikus DNV maritime autonomy certification from Norway, and declining AI bubble odds on Polymarket.NASA's Artemis II crew traveled 252,756 miles from Earth, surpassing Apollo 13 by over 4,000 miles. An achievement that is extraordinary in itself. AUTNMY AI‘s proprietary OMEGA algorithm identified the mission as a human supervised automation event, not a fully autonomous one, creating a semantic conflation risk as the market is mispricing how autonomous the program truly is today.With Artemis III scheduled for 2028 and self-driving lunar terrain vehicles part of the mission, autonomous vehicles will most likely be operating on the moon before New York City due to New York State and City policy. The constraint is policy, not technology.Amazon's simultaneous acquisition of Fauna Robotics and RIVR is a coordinated platform play to acquire real world interaction data at a moment of physical AI data scarcity. While Amazon made acquisitions, BMW deployed a Hexagon wheeled humanoid on its German production line, and Figure AI said they can assemble a humanoid in 90 minutes, with consolidation emerging as the defining structural trend in embodied AI.From embodied AI to maritime autonomy, the autonomy economy is beginning to take shape. HD Hyundai's HiNAS navigation system recently received DNV type approval from Norway, enabling fully autonomous commercial vessel operations as the risk of NVIDIA moving into maritime autonomy and vertically integrating lingers.Polymarket AI bubble odds declined to 19%. With OMEGA assesses that the bubble framing is wrong. The operative risk is which layer of the stack survives the transition from speculative deployment to industrial accountability.Episode Chapters00:00 AUTNMY AI01:10 Signal 1: Artemis || Launch and the Autonomy Gap25:21 Signal 2: Early Signs of Embodied AI Consolidation57:12 Signal 3: Maritime Autonomy01:16:46 Signal 4: Polymarket AI Bubble Odds Decline to 19%01:23:39 Closing--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary market intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Subscribe today for free: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/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 Signals, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss China's $400 billion robotics investment, surging Chinese auto exports with advanced autonomous driving systems (ADAS), and rising compute costs that could reshape the autonomy economy.China is preparing to invest $400 billion in robotics this year as the country looks to further strengthen its current physical AI dominance. As China prepares to further invest in robotics, Chinese technology companies such as Xpeng that manufacture electric vehicles are beginning to share manufacturing lines and supply chains between electric vehicles and humanoid robots, reducing labor costs by 35%.With Xpeng aims to produce a thousand humanoids a month by year end. AUTNMY AI's proprietary AI algorithm, OMEGA, assesses that this convergence ensures Chinese humanoid platforms could achieve commercial viability 24 to 36 months ahead of US counterparts, and that standalone US robotics startups lacking automotive manufacturing synergies could face a mass extinction event by 2028.As China invests in robotics at home, Chinese automakers exported a record 7.1 million cars in 2025 with nearly 50% featuring advanced ADAS, and that pattern is only accelerating in 2026 partly due to margin compression on the mainland.While China is accelerating its export of electric vehicles with ADAS, Chinese autonomous vehicle companies, WeRide, Baidu and Pony AI are rapidly expanding into the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia through partnerships with Uber and Lyft, allowing these companies to bypass customer acquisition costs and avoid potential regulatory friction.This is setting up to be a potential Autonomous Belt and Road Initiative, where China embeds its autonomous driving technology into global transit systems, both public and private sector, the same way Belt and Road embedded Chinese influence through infrastructure investment.Closing out the show, the third signal points to a potential compute cost inflation cycle with AMD and Intel likely looking to raise chip prices 15% amid a global shortage. Tying all of the signals together, OMEGA assesses that the primary constraints on the autonomy economy are no longer software or LLM capabilities but NdFeB magnets, high torque actuators, and advanced semiconductor packaging.Episode Chapters00:00 AUTNMY AI00:40 Signal 1: China's Planned $400 Billion Investment in Robotics21:11 Signal 2: Surging Chinese Automotive Exports & Growing Global Robotaxi Expansions 40:06 Signal 3: Increasing Compute Costs44:01 Closing--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading market intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™. Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary market intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Subscribe today for free: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/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 Signals, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss Tesla Optimus delays driven by China's rare earth export controls, the EU's push to slow AI regulation and what it means for autonomous vehicles, and Waymo's potential expansion into Canada.China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has classified humanoid robot actuator components as dual-use technology, requiring foreign manufacturers to share technical specifications to obtain export licenses. Tesla relies on Chinese suppliers for the specialized rare earth magnets that give Optimus its 22-degree hand dexterity, and with China controlling 90% of that supply, delays could persist.AUTNMY AI's proprietary AI algorithm, OMEGA, analyzed the impact of a potential export ban, which could increase the price from $46,000 to produce Optimus parts in China to $133,000 if all production moves to America. If this were to happen, it would lead to a delay in Optimus, and this is further compounded by an FTC investigation into whether over 60% Chinese component content disqualifies Tesla's made-in-America branding.Then there is the MIIT's March 2nd humanoid robot standardization directive, which requires Chinese suppliers to prioritize domestic manufacturers such as Unitree and Xiaomi over foreign customers including Tesla, which creates an additional supplier prioritization risk on top of the export control risk.Closing out the show, Grayson and Rob discuss Waymo's potential Canadian expansion, examining lobbying records that show Waymo Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana met with Toronto council staff to discuss ride-hail, goods delivery, and commercial operating authorizations. OMEGA also discovered lobbying records showing Waymo has been lobbying British Columbia to change the laws to allow L4 autonomous vehicles, pointing to a potential Vancouver expansion.Episode Chapters00:00 AUTNMY AI00:24 Signal 1: Potenial Tesla Optimus Gen 3 Delay23:35 Signal 2: Europe Delays Classifying L4 Autonomous Vehicles as High Risk48:45 Signal 3: Waymo Eyes Canadian Expansion51:29 Closing--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the definitive media brand covering the Autonomy Economy™. Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary market intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Subscribe today for free: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Adam J Purcell, Andy Simpkins, Fake Keith, Jay Doran, and the Real Keith Dunn review the Doctor Who: The Wheel in Space and Rob Grant’s The Strangerers, find some general news and a variety of other stuff, specifically: 00:00 – Intro and theme tune. 01:20 — Welcome! 01:55 – News: 02:06 — Torchwood: Ianto’s shrine […]

Welcome to SHIPWRECKED & COMATOSE, an in-depth podcast dedicated to the classic BBC science-fiction sitcom, Red Dwarf. On this episode, Kurt welcomes Mark for a chat about the Exclusive CD Six Of The Best while reflecting on last week's sad news of Rob Grant death. The SIX OF THE BEST box set was produced in 1997 and featured the following episodes on two VHS cassettes and extras:Future EchoesQueegPolymorphDimension jumpBack to realityGunmen of the ApocalypseIt included an exclusive CD with commentary on the genesis of Red Dwarf and the six featured episodes from Writers Rob Grant, Doug Naylor & Director Ed Bye. If you would like to listen to the CD it is available online here: https://archive.org/details/01-six-of-the-best Host: Kurt North Co-Host: Mark Adams Editor: Kurt North BlueSky/Insta: @RedDwarfPod Our network on BlueSky: @filmstories Our network on Insta: @filmstoriesmagazineuk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us Fan MailWe break down a stacked week in pop culture: Marvel swings big with Jay and Silent Bob, DC sharpens its Absolute line, Star Wars charts a 2026 return, and the industry shifts behind the scenes. We also share updates on Bruce Campbell and honor Robert Carradine and Rob Grant.• Marvel's Jay and Silent Bob miniseries announcement• Bishop limited series details and creative team• DC Absolute Green Arrow and Absolute Catwoman concepts• Star Wars 2026 slate across film, series, and books• Star Trek Waze voice and Orville update• Ted moves to animation and Treasure Island series news• Dark Horse leadership change under Embracer• Children's and Family Emmys key winners• Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery deal notes• Game of Thrones conquest film development• Cannes honors Peter Jackson• Tributes to Robert Carradine and Rob GrantIf you've gotten some value out of the show, bless you. And if you'd like to pay it back, please head on over to multiverse tonight.com where you'll find our Patreon and Kofi linksSupport the showThanks for listening! Come visit the podcast at https://www.multiversetonight.com/ 

This week on The World’s Greatest Comic Book Podcast™, JC, Jocelyn, and JM assemble for more news and reviews from this past week in comics! In Tinsel Town, we remember Rob Grant and Robert Carradine. What prosthetic was Amanda Seyfried excited to wear and tell everyone about? We watched: Schitt’s Creek, Monarch, The Pitt, Paradise, […]

MR. COMICS MANAGERWe tried to film this one, and as a result it chopped off a tiny bit at the start. There are some other… unexpected… elements to this episode, but it was meant to be a deep dive into our use of Manage Comics and what we hope to get from it. The episode starts and ends, as they usually do, with Patrick and Dal, but in the middle… well, you'll just have to listen for yourself…   ---------- Contest of Challengers #769 This episode is dedicated to Rob Grant. Smoke us a kipper, we'll be back for breakfast. Theme: Adam WarRock (with Mikal kHill) Intro: James VanOsdol (with Chris Jericho) Outro: James VanOsdol "Patrick" Voices: Richie Kotzen, Christopher Daniels, James Acaster, Sue Marasciulo (Trent's Mom), RJ City, Sebastian Bach, Arune Singh, James VanOsdol "Dal" Voices: James VanOsdol, RJ City, Dalton Castle, Sue Marasciulo (Trent's Mom), Kevin Conroy, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, Bryce Remsberg, Arune Singh Dal and Patrick Artwork: Bella Spagnuolo https://bellaspagnuoloart.myportfolio.com/ This episode was recorded with Zencaster. ----------Challengers Comics + Conversation 1845 N Western Ave • Chicago, IL 60647 773.278.0155 • ChallengersComics.com

In a disappointing turn of events Paramount, a company purchased by ghouls, has now squashed the Netflix deal to buy Warner Brothers. We get into all that this could mean for both companies and the industry in general. Plus we review Scre7m, talk the passing of sci-fi legend Rob Grant, two very different GI Joe movies in development, the first look at Amazon's God of War live action series, a trailer for Mortal Kombat II and a reboot for SPUMM (the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Movies). Thanks for listening!New audio AND video versions of Booque Clubbe out now! James & Maso review 'The Star Wars' comic run on https://bigsandwich.co/Watch Nick Mason on the Zach & Mish Podcast right here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jgYQhAkdTkPLEASE be aware timecodes may shift up to a few minutes due to inserted ads.00:00 The Start11:59 RIP Rob Grant18:17 Paramount Beats Netflix for Warner Bros28:59 Max Landis GI Joe Reboot33:13 God of Wars Series First Look36:57 Mortal Kombat 2 Trailer37:15 Venom Animated Movie Announced39:44 SPUMM Forever!45:16 Scream 7 Movie Review56:34 Scream 7 Spoiler Segment 01:08:15 What We Reading, What We Gonna Read01:16:04 Letters, It's Time For LettersSUBSCRIBE HERE ►► http://goo.gl/pQ39jNJames' Twitter ► http://twitter.com/mrsundaymoviesMaso's Twitter ► http://twitter.com/wikipediabrownPatreon ► https://patreon.com/mrsundaymoviesT-Shirts/Merch ► https://www.teepublic.com/stores/mr-sunday-moviesThe Weekly Planet iTunes ► https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-planet/id718158767?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4The Weekly Planet Direct Download ► https://play.acast.com/s/theweeklyplanetAmazon Affiliate Link ► https://amzn.to/2nc12P4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As world events trend ever downwards, you can always count on the Three Who Rule to not only give you the latest exciting news from the world of Doctor Who, such as Murray Gold reporting there are numerous versions of the upcoming Xmas Special written, a BBC executive saying quite sensibly that Doctor Who will come back when it's good and ready and more, but also our usual basting in the warm glow of the past as we go back to the halcyon days of 1986 with a Classic Series Commentary on the greatest model shot in the history of television (and some story stuff I guess) with Part One of "The Mysterious Planet"! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon Murray Gold says multiple versions of 2026 Doctor Who Christmas special have been written Murray Gold on The Whoniverse Show BBC Director of Drama Lindsay Salt on Doctor Who Doctor Who – Season 2 coming to Blu-ray on June 2 You Are Not Alone: A Gay History of Doctor Who due May 25 from Ten Acre Books Big Finish Doctor Who – The Companion Chronicles: The Legacy of Time released Big Finish: The Worlds of Doctor Who – UNIT Eras: Hostile Universe due April 2026 Numerous guests announced for Long Island Who Jonathan Helm (Who FX/Making Blake's 7) Substack on Shada Red Dwarf co-creator Rob Grant died Commentary: The Mysterious Planet Part One

Girdy unpacks a massive week of geek news. We look at a digital shift for Dungeons & Dragons, remember comedy legend Rob Grant, and celebrate Akira's return. About Audio EXP Audio EXP is Geek Native's podcast. Each week, there's some favourite or exciting geeky news, conventions, interviews, and thought pieces. The average length of the podcast is around 10 minutes. You will find a transcript of this week's podcast and links to the stories mentioned here: https://www.geeknative.com/226786/audio-exp-323-digital-shifts-red-dwarf-tributes-and-akira-returns/

Welcome to SHIPWRECKED & COMATOSE, an in-depth podcast dedicated to the classic BBC science-fiction sitcom, Red Dwarf. Rob Grant (1955–2026): Shipwrecked & Comatose Reacts to the Loss of a Red Dwarf Legend Host Kurt North is joined by Matt Laham and Colin Jackson Brown for an emergency episode of Shipwrecked & Comatose following news that Rob Grant has died aged 70. They discuss how the report was verified via the G&T news site after it briefly went down, and note Craig Charles' tribute on X calling Grant a visionary. The conversation reflects on Grant's career from Spitting Image (including the chart-topping “Chicken Song”) to co-creating Red Dwarf with Doug Naylor, and his novels, including Grant Naylor books and solo work such as Incompetence and Backwards. They also talk about the recently announced prequel novel Red Dwarf: Titan, hoping it is finished, and share personal stories about Red Dwarf's multi-generational impact and influence on their friendships and humour, before closing with condolences to Grant's family and friends. 00:00 Tribute to Rob Grant 01:20 Hosts and Guests Introduced 01:41 Breaking News Confirmation 03:51 Red Dwarf Titan Prequel 05:51 Colin on Personal Legacy 10:09 Craig Charles Tribute Quote 13:20 Matt on Red Dwarf Memories 18:15 Rob Grant Early Career 19:17 Spitting Image and Chicken Song 21:33 Other Works and Titan Hopes 22:18 Final Thanks and Sign Off   Host: Kurt North Co-Host: Colin Jackson Brown & Matt Latham Editor: Kurt North   BlueSky/Insta: @RedDwarfPod Our network on BlueSky: @filmstories Our network on Insta: @filmstoriesmagazineuk   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Doug Naylor is the co-creator of the long-running, hugely successful sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf, having written or co-written every single episode! Doug was also the Head Writer and Script Editor on the original Spitting Image, has written a number of award-winning radio shows and is a best-selling author.In this episode we dig into all things Red Dwarf, from the creation of the show with Rob Grant, the show's continued success while retaining an outsider status, UKTV's recent cancellation of a TV film and what the future may hold... We also talk about writing his incredible first children's novel, Sin Bin Island which I highly recommend!Join the Insiders Club at patreon.com/comcompod where you can WATCH the full episode and get access to 15 minutes of exclusive extras all about Spitting Image where we talk about initially refusing to join the show eight times expanding the puppets beyond politicians and the real-world impact of the show.Follow the Pod: Instagram, YouTube & TikTok!Support our independently produced Podcast from only £3/month at Patreon.com/ComComPod✅ Instant access to full video and ad-free audio episodes✅ 15 minutes of exclusive extra content with Doug✅ Early access to new episodes (where possible!)✅ Exclusive membership offerings including a monthly “Stu&A”PLUS you'll get access to the full back catalogue of extras you can find nowhere else!Catch Up with Doug:Doug's first children's novel Sin Bin Island is out now wherever you get your books!You can also keep up-to-date with Doug across socials, @DougRDNaylor.Everything I'm up to:See me live (when there's dates!)… Find out all the info at stuartgoldsmith.com/comedy.Discover my comedy about the climate crisis, for everyone from activists to CEOs, at stuartgoldsmith.com/climate.See Stuart live on tour - www.stuartgoldsmith.com/comedy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reviews of Sydney Sweeney in Christy, Predator: Badlands, Train Dreams, Nuremberg and more. Plus an interview with This Too Shall Pass director Rob Grant. Hilarity ensues!

On it's release in 1999 The Matrix wowed audiences with its mix of kung fu action, dazzling visuals and mindbending concept of living in a virtual world. However, starting decades before on the small screen, the concept of living in a simulation has already been portrayed in the most imaginative ways. Ian is joined by Holger Hasse to review three such examples!World On A Wire (1973). Directed by Ranier Werner Fassbinder. Written by Fassbinder and Fritz Muller-Scherz. Based on the novel simulacron-3 by Daniel F Galouye. starring Klaus Lowitsch and Barbara Valentin. Red Dwarf. Season 5 episode 6. "Back to Reality" (1992). Directed by Juliet May. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. Starring Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules and Rober Llewellyn. Welcome to Paradox. Episode 4 "News from D Street" (1998) Written by Miguel Tajada-Flores. Starring A Martinez and Claudette Mink

On it's release in 1999 The Matrix wowed audiences with its mix of kung fu action, dazzling visuals and mindbending concept of living in a virtual world. However, starting decades before on the small screen, the concept of living in a simulation has already been portrayed in the most imaginative ways. Ian is joined by Holger Hasse to review three such examples!World On A Wire (1973). Directed by Ranier Werner Fassbinder. Written by Fassbinder and Fritz Muller-Scherz. Based on the novel simulacron-3 by Daniel F Galouye. starring Klaus Lowitsch and Barbara Valentin. Red Dwarf. Season 5 episode 6. "Back to Reality" (1992). Directed by Juliet May. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. Starring Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules and Rober Llewellyn. Welcome to Paradox. Episode 4 "News from D Street" (1998) Written by Miguel Tajada-Flores. Starring A Martinez and Claudette Mink

Welcome to SHIPWRECKED & COMATOSE, an in-depth podcast dedicated to the classic BBC science-fiction sitcom, Red Dwarf. After finishing out coverage of The Promised Land, we're nearly out of 'proper' Red Dwarf content now! There's a few specials and DVD extras that we're going to look at in 2026, but we've covered all the episodes of the show now! As such, we're going to embrace our love of specials covering weird and wonderful stuff peripheral to our favourite sci-fi sitcom!   Welcome to our look at what Rob Grant did after Red Dwarf! Mark and Carl are taking a look at The Strangerers, the sitcom about two aliens on Earth that was on Sky Telly in the early 00s. Can Rob Grant recreate the magic of Red Dwarf with a second sci-fi sitcom?   Host: Mark Adams Co-Host - Carl Bryan Editor: Mark Adams   BlueSky/Insta: @RedDwarfPod Our network on BlueSky: @filmstories Our network on Insta: @filmstoriesmagazineuk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rob Grant is the writer and director of This Too Shall Pass coming out October 24, 2025. It's a superb coming-of-age film set in the 1980s featuring a Mormon protagonist […]

Deep down we are all know that innovation isn't just a buzzword; it's really a matter of long-term survival. It is getting increasingly difficult to argue against the idea that the speed of change keeps accelerating and we now live in a world where what was science fiction only 20 years ago could soon become the norm. For instance, who would have guessed that the majority of our growing energy needs are going to be almost entirely met my novel green production methods within the next twenty-five years, perhaps even including scaled up nuclear fusion within the mix? Who would have imagined that commercial exploitation of space would become ever more economically viable, including the possibility of space-based manufacturing and even lunar habitation? In such an environment a failure to innovate means that not only will your company stagnate over time, but better-run, more innovative competitors might take an unassailable lead over you. If innovation is imperative this begs the question of whether there is a way of bottling up and distilling what the most innovative companies do, so we can try to be more like them. That's what this Special Episode is all about. For one, does an innovation mindset or methodology exist? And more importantly, can we capture it, codify it, and embed it throughout large and complex organisations? To explore this and the major upcoming engineering, technological, financial and intellectual challenges of the next two decades, I'm joined today by a stellar line-up of guests from Beazley and wider industry. We'll hear from Adrian Cox, Beazley's CEO, Neil Kempston, its Head of Incubation Underwriting and Denis Bensoussan, Head of Space. I also talk to Rob Grant, Managing Director at Pollination, a specialist advisor and investor in the energy transition who is here to give us an external perspective. It's an exciting time to be at the forefront of this change, helping to unlock investment and build a more sustainable future. I don't know about you, but I have ended this process in a much more optimistic frame of mind than I began it. I hope you too have been able to take some inspiration and comfort from this investigation. LINKS: Here's a link to further reading on the Energy Transition from the team at Beazley: https://www.beazley.com/en-US/news-and-events/spotlight-on-environmental-climate-risk-2025/powering-progress/  

Welcome back to The Viall Files: Reality Recap!  Today we are joined by Olympic Gold Medalist and World Cup Champion Kelley O'Hara to discuss the only thing more dramatic than professional soccer… RHOBH. Also, the man, the myth, the legend Boston Rob joins us to deep dive into his delicious mind re: Traitors. Meanwhile, Natalie gives her Babygirl review, we argue about bedtime assistance, and get to the bottom of Grant's lie to the girls.  Legends only club today, you will not want to miss it.  “Did I really lose though?” Subscribe to The ENVY Media Newsletter Today: https://www.viallfiles.com/newsletter  OUT NOW! Listen to Humble Brag with Cynthia Bailey and Crystal Kung Minkoff. Available wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@humblebragpod https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humble-brag-with-crystal-and-cynthia/id1774286896 Start your 7 Day Free Trial of Viall Files + here: https://viallfiles.supportingcast.fm/  Please make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode and as always send in your relationship questions to asknick@theviallfiles.com to be a part of our Monday episodes. Follow us on X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheViallFiles Listen To Disrespectfully now! Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disrespectfully/id1516710301 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0J6DW1KeDX6SpoVEuQpl7z?si=c35995a56b8d4038 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCh8MqSsiGkfJcWhkan0D0w To Order Nick's Book Go To: http://www.viallfiles.com  If you would like to get some texting advice on Office Hours send an email to asknick@theviallfiles.com with “Texting Office Hours” in the subject line! To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://www.advertisecast.com/TheViallFiles  THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Nutrafol - For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners $10 off your first month's subscription and free shipping when you go to https://www.Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code VIALL Apostrophe - Get your first visit for only $5 at https://apostrophe.com/viall when you use our code: VIALL. Rosetta Stone - Visit https://www.rosettastone.com/viall to get started and claim your 50% off TODAY! Cymbiotika - Go to Cymbiotika.com/VIALL for 20% off + free shipping. That's https://www.Cymbiotika.com/VIALL to claim 20% off + free shipping today Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (00:39) - Baby Girl (07:23) - Household Headlines (19:55) - Daily Dilemma (26:03) - More Headlines (39:43) - RHOBH, Southern Charm, Traitors, Special Forces, and More with Kelley O'Hara (01:25:28) - Podcasting and Bachelor (01:32:46) - Boston Rob Joins (01:56:08) - Who Is Right? (02:02:00) - Outro Episode Socials: @viallfiles @nickviall @nnataliejjoy @kelleyohara @bostonrobmariano @ciaracrobinson @justinkaphillips @the_mare_bare @leahgsilberstein @dereklanerussell