The Road to Autonomy

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk are joined by their first-ever guest, David Moss, to discuss his 12,961-mile zero-intervention drive across the country on Tesla FSD, the reality of the Unsupervised Robotaxi rollout in Austin, and the commercial viability of LiDAR sensors in consumer vehicles.The conversation heats up as Walt questions David, a LiDAR LiDAR Salesman on whether the massive data processing requirements of LiDAR could introduce latency, potentially citing a recent Waymo incident involving a child as a case study. David argues that while LiDAR offers theoretical range advantages, the compute wall and cost constraints make it a one-trick pony compared to the scalability of a vision-only stack.While the group debates sensor suites, David shares his on-the-ground experience in Austin, revealing it took 58 attempts to finally secure a ride in a Unsupervised Tesla Robotaxi, and confirmed the fleet is being retrofitted with new cleaning jets for the camera sensors to handle weather occlusion.Looking at the broader robotaxi market, the trio analyzes their Zoox experiences at CES, with David noting the vehicle’s braking was significantly harsher than Waymo or Tesla FSD, while Walt highlights the motion sickness challenges inherent in the vehicle’s carriage-style seating configuration.In Prediction Corner, the group debates the timeline for Tesla removing the safety driver on highways, with David offering a bullish forecast for Memorial Day, while Walt and Grayson take a more conservative stance, predicting a rollout closer to late 2026.Episode Chapters0:00 Coast to Coast Fully Autonomous in a Tesla Model 310:49 The Next Record12:16 FSD Unsupervised in Austin16:16 Waymo Experience on Uber in Austin17:17 Robotaxi Safety Attendants19:44 Unsupervised Robotaxi Service Area21:43 Sensor Cleaning26:05 Robotaxi, No Highways in Austin, Yet32:11 Zoox Las Vegas Experiences37:13 LiDAR48:07 Why AutonomyRecorded on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 --------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dean Foreman, Chief Economist at the Texas Oil and Gas Association joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the evolving landscape of global oil markets and the critical intersection of natural gas and artificial intelligence.With sanctions lifted on Venezuela, the conversation analyzes the flow of heavy crude to the US Gulf Coast, noting the potential need for over $200 billion in investment to restore Venezuela’s production capacity. Dean explains how US refiners are capitalizing on this heavy feedstock while simultaneously navigating a global market where the US has surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia as a leading energy producer.Looking toward the future of energy demand, the discussion identifies natural gas as a stabilizing force for the power grid, essential for supporting the exponential growth of data centers and generative AI. By co-locating power generation with data infrastructure in West Texas, the industry is leveraging record efficiencies to fuel The Road to Autonomy and ensure long-term economic resilience.Episode Chapters0:00 Venezuela7:25 Increasing Global Demand for Oil9:08 Petroleum Byproducts11:39 Oil and Natural Gas Exports13:40 Permian Basin16:11 Infrastructure Buildout22:11 Oil and Natural Gas Impact on Texas’ Economy25:01 Automation & AI27:52 U.S. Consumer34:00 Next QuarterRecorded on Tuesday, January 20, 2026--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/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 Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s LiDAR controversy following an incident in a Santa Monica school zone, the potential of a mega merger between Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, and Waabi’s $750 million capital raise to pivot into robotaxis.The conversation heats up as Walt and Grayson debate the efficacy of LiDAR versus camera-only approaches, questioning if sensor fusion latency contributed to the Waymo incident where a child ran out from behind a vehicle.While Waymo handles the incident in Santa Monica, Tesla is further accelerating their shift to an autonomy/robotics company by shutting down Model S and Model X lines for Optimus Gen 3 humanoids.Looking at the broader market, Grayson and Walt analyze Waabi’s strategic expansion from trucking into robotaxis, with Walt drawing parallels to early industry pivots and Grayson questioning the viability of managing two distinct autonomy programs.On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, they highlight Waymo’s recent launch party in London, noting the imported vehicles still feature American driving configurations, and discuss Pony.ai’s partnership to deploy 3,000 robotaxis in mainland China.Episode Chapters0:00 Waymo Opens SFO Airport Access5:45 Waymo’s Santa Monica Incident16:27 Tesla Earnings and New Robotaxi Markets22:04 David Moss’ Austin Robotaxi Adventures24:12 Robotaxi’s Enhanced Camera Cleaning System26:38 Inspector Uncovers, Walt Warns27:43 The Potential Great Elon Merger30:35 Waabi Raises $750m, Pivots to Robotaxis39:27 Does Uber Reboot ATG?42:55 Plus AI Analyst Day50:01 Foreign Autonomy Desk53:18 Next WeekRecorded on Friday, January 30, 2026--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

David Liu, CEO of PlusAI joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discus taking the company public and their strategic roadmap for commercializing autonomous trucking.As Plus AI prepares to complete their merger with Churchill Capital Corp IX in early February, the conversation explores the shift from fleet trials to an asset-light software model that empowers Traton to build factory-integrated autonomous trucks powered by the Plus virtual driver. By training a single AI driver on a vast, globally diverse dataset, encompassing conditions from snowy Sweden to the Texas Triangle, Plus AI is developing a scalable technology stack designed to safely automate the global freight industry, as the company targets a 2027 commercial launch. Episode Chapters0:00 Going Public1:33 Fleet Trials6:01 Driver-Out Decision7:56 Traton Partnership11:27 Redundant Chassis14:01 Public Milestones16:43 Asset Ownership18:14 Expanding in Spain and Japan23:00 Real-world Driving Data26:16 Simulation27:43 Alpha Data29:02 Traton R&D Investment33:01 What to Watch For as PlusAI Goes PublicRecorded on Friday, January 23, 2026--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/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 Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Tesla officially removing safety attendants from Robotaxis in Austin, Waymo’s commercial launch in Miami, and Serve Robotics’ strategic acquisition of Diligent Robotics.It finally happened. Tesla has removed safety attendants from a select group of vehicles in Austin. While this initial fleet is limited and operating in a specific geofence and utilizing chase cars, Grayson and Walt view this as a critical validation of the technology. Looking ahead, Grayson predicts the operational domain will expand significantly in Austin over the next 60 days, with the Phoenix metro region slated as the next target market for deployment. As Tesla went safety attendant-out, Waymoopened the Miami market for limited commercial service within a 60-square-mile area, with one major caveat, no Miami Beach. On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Grayson and Walt discuss Geely’s plan to deploy 100,000 methanol-powered robotaxis in China and the South Korean government’s selection of Gwangju as the nation’s first dedicated autonomous vehicle testing zone.Episode Chapters0:00 Tesla Removes Safety Attendant in Austin 9:19 Operational Efficiency 10:33 Alex Roy Goes Coast-to-Coast with Zero FSD Interventions 14:15 Drive on FSD, Get a Discount 18:25 FSD is Expanding as Prices are Increasing 23:31 New Robotaxi Markets 24:53 Waymo Launches Miami Markets28:33 Vandalizing Waymo's32:20 Serve Robotics Acquires Diligent Robotics36:41 Foreign Autonomy Desk 39:21 Next WeekRecorded on Friday, January 23, 2026 --------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sergey Litvinenko, Co-Founder & CEO of Koop, joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the financial and operational structures required to insure fleets of personally owned autonomous vehicles.As Tesla prepares to scale the Cybercab in 2026, the conversation explores the shift from personal ownership to personally owned fleets, where individuals form companies to own and operate commercial robotaxi businesses.During the episode, Sergey explains how the insurance P&L for a fleet owner is transformed by real-world behavior data, which serves as a more accurate risk predictor than traditional human-centric metrics. By leveraging high-fidelity data and specialized subrogation models, Koop is developing a framework that manages liability between the fleet owner and the vehicle manufacturer, clearing the path for the Autonomy Economy to scale through third-party ownership.Episode Chapters0:00 The Emergence of the Tesla Network 3:07 Insuring Cybercab and Personally-Owned Teslas8:59 Insuring and Deploying Personally-Owned Autonomous Vehicle Fleets22:50 Insurance Underwriting Capacity 25:22 Insurance Products 27:50 Changing Driving Habits31:14 Reinsurance32:30 Liability with No Pedals and Steering Wheel 38:38 Fleet Management 41:55 Future of Insuring Autonomous Vehicle Fleet OperationsRecorded on Friday, January 16, 2026--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/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 Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss New York Governor Hochul’s bill to legalize autonomous vehicles in New York, with New York City notably carved out, Uber’s changing Waymopartnership language and Waymo’s upcoming expansion to Sydney. In New York, autonomous vehicles could be coming to state roads, but not New York City, as Mayor Mamdani is prioritizing taxi drivers over robotaxi deployment. Down in Texas, where autonomous vehicles can operate anywhere, Waymo has expanded their service area in Austin as Uber has changed their promotional language from “exclusively available on Uber” to simply “available on Uber” when promoting Waymo rides.On the international front, Waymo is actively planning to expand to Sydney following meetings with Australian Transport Minister Catherine King. In China, WeRide robotaxis are now available in the WeChat super app, enabling riders in Beijing to order autonomous rides directly through the platform.Episode Chapters0:00 Verizon Outage 1:45 New York’s Unkind Welcome to Autonomous Vehicles 9:19 Robotaxi and Waymo Face-off in Austin12:47 Autonomy Markets Merch14:15 FSD Goes Subscription Only on Valentine’s Day 17:18 Waymo Eyes Australian Expansion 21:03 Tensor Auto24:06 Stack AV26:14 Plus AI Expands to Japan28:33 Foreign Autonomy Desk 30:33 Next WeekRecorded on Thursday, January 15, 2026--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Don Burnette, Founder & CEO, Kodiak joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss taking Kodiak public and why the company's strategy has always been about de-risking autonomy with optionality. As part of their de-risking strategy, Kodiak has deployed an asset-light business model where partners including Atlas Energy Solutions own and operate the trucks, allowing Kodiak to focus on the AI software.During the episode, Grayson and Don discuss the strategic importance of Kodiak’s partnership with Bosch to develop a redundant, OEM-agnostic platform that unlocks scale across multiple OEMs. With their partnerships and business model intact, Kodiak is preparing to launch driver-out commercial over-the-road operations in the second half of the year, setting the stage for a broader expansion into physical AI.Episode Chapters0:00 Taking Kodiak Public3:36 Asset-Light Autonomous Trucking Business 12:10 Unstructured Driving 14:31 Kodiak's Platform Agnostic Strategy 21:45 Bosch Partnership 27:47 Preparing for Driver-Out Over-The-Road Operations 34:10 Over-The-Road Business Model25:38 Future of KodiakRecorded on Monday, January 12, 2026--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/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 Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss CES 2026, Zoox’s performance on the Las Vegas Strip and Uber’s potential long-term autonomy plans. Zoox’s performance was one of those hopefully “only in Las Vegas” moments, as the vehicle was seen stopping in the middle of traffic and blocking entrances on a regular basis. Which raises the question; what is Amazon going to do with Zoox? Do they overhaul management, make an acquisition, or simply shut it down and move on? While Zoox struggled, NVIDIA introduced their open-source Alpamayo AI models under an Apache 2.0 license to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles and sell more GPUs. Closing out the show, the discussion shifts to hardware and global expansion, contrasting Waymo’s bulky new Ojai vehicle with the well-designed Lucid-Nuro robotaxi.Episode Chapters0:00 CES 20262:13 Zoox CES Experience 8:41 NVIDIA’s CES Announcements 12:45 SAE Level 216:59 Waymo Ojai19:31 Lucid / Nuro Robotaxi21:29 Does Uber Need to Vertically Integrate Autonomy in the Future?25:05 Waymo / Uber Relationship27:37 Tensor Auto 32:49 Foreign Autonomy Desk34:35 Disgrace of The Week38:24 Next WeekRecorded on Friday, January 9, 2026--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/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 Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the fallout from Waymo’s crisis management failure in San Francisco, where a power outage left hundreds of vehicles stranded and blocking intersections throughout the city. Waymo’s prolonged silence on the incident and lack of transparency regarding what truly happened could lead to a decline in public trust just as robotaxis begin to scale. Down in Austin, Tesla missed their 2025 driver-out deadline in Austin, prompting Grayson to push his prediction for driver-out/safety attendant out commercial service to late February or early March 2026.Then there is Uber, a company with an ever-changing narrative around autonomy—shifting from demand-generation to hybrid networks, and now claiming mass adoption is still decades away. What will the next narrative be, and will it change once again post-CES?Closing out the show, Grayson and Walt discuss how escalating geopolitical tensions in Venezuela and potential political shifts in the UK could force a hard reset for companies relying on Chinese autonomous technology to scale their robotaxi businesses.Episode Chapters0:00 Lights Out in San Francisco2:44 Why Did Waymo’s Freeze When the Power Went Out?8:34 Remote Drivers15:00 Robotaxi in Austin18:33 Scaling Robotaxi 22:48 Autonomous Vehicle Policy24:47 Austin Incident Reports 27:17 Uber’s Ever-Changing Narrative 30:31 Miami-Dade Sheriff Deploys Autonomous Patrol Vehicles 32:38 Foreign Autonomy Desk40:26 CESRecorded on Sunday, January 4, 2026 --------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pete Bigelow, Public Relations Manager, Kodiak joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss his firsthand experience in the Permian Basin and how the region acts as a "literal and figurative sandbox" for autonomous trucking.During the episode Grayson and Pete discuss Kodiak's operational partnership with Atlas Energy Solutions, the hardening of technology against extreme weather and road conditions, and how these industrial learnings are accelerating Kodiak’s timeline for driverless highway operations in the second half of 2026.Episode Chapters0:00 Permian Pete3:50 Permian Basin8:02 Automation in the Permian Basin11:10 Learnings from the Permian Basin16:01 Permian Basin Operations18:49 SensorPods23:50 Kodiak's Diversified Business Model27:34 Autonomous Trucking Regulations30:15 Permian Basin Road and Traffic Conditions35:49 Permian Pete's Ride Experience41:31 Autonomy Markets OutlookRecorded on Friday, December 19, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Darin Brannan, CEO & co-founder of Terminal Industries joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss transforming the logistics yard into a fully automated environment using computer vision and agentic AI. Unlike legacy approaches that rely on RFID tags or manual "clipboard and radio" processes, Terminal Industries utilizes a proprietary computer vision platform trained on real world data, including weather occlusions, dirt, and glare to achieve high-accuracy tracking without requiring perfect conditions. By digitizing the yard through an agentic workflow approach, the company is moving beyond simple point solutions to building a unified operating system that connects the warehouse to transportation, effectively enabling the transition from manual oversight to autonomous execution.Episode Chapters0:00 Playing Chess2:35 Yard Operating Systems7:15 Yard Bottlenecks 9:33 Traditional Yard and Warehouse Operations15:15 Computer Vision 19:05 Building LLM Models24:37 Data Control Centers27:43 Automating Yards36:34 Changing Consumer Habits39:03 Autonomous Trucks and Yards40:07 Future of Terminal IndustriesRecorded on Monday, December 15, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/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 Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk, Grayson hit the road and met with Tim Kentley-Klay of HYPRLABS in San Francisco, Tesla started removing the safety attendees in Austin and Waymo is reportedly raising another round at a $110 billion valuation.Grayson shares details from his exclusive first ride in the HYPRDRIVE vehicle in San Francisco and insights from his The Road to Autonomy podcast interview with Tim Kentley Klay. They discuss HYPR’s emergence from stealth and the company’s unique vision-only, self-reinforcement learning approach to autonomy.As the vision-only modality gains market validation, the conversation shifts to Waymo. Despite generating significant momentum with a sensor suite heavily reliant on LiDAR and radar, the company is reportedly seeking to raise $15 billion in external capital at a $110 billion valuation. Grayson and Walt debate the strategic logic behind the raise and offer predictions on when Waymo will surpass one million paid rides per week.Closing out the show, they analyze the implications of a recent Bloomberg report suggesting that Sterling Anderson is being groomed to become the next CEO of GM.Episode Chapters0:00 Brighter with Herbert1:32 HYPRDRIVE Ride and Meeting with Tim Kentley Klay6:50 Waymo From SFO to the City with No Highway12:28 Tesla Starts Removing Safety Attendants in Austin18:03 Luminar Files for Chapter 1122:26 California’s Pending Tesla Ban25:30 Sterling Anderson’s Growing Role at GM31:24 Waymo’s Capital Raise 37:43 Kodiak’s Partnership with Verizon39:58 Next WeekRecorded on Friday, December 19, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tim Kentley Klay, CEO & co-founder of HYPRLABS, joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how the company is achieving autonomous driving in downtown San Francisco using just 33 watts of compute and zero simulation or HD maps. By prioritizing "learning velocity," HYPR utilizes an end-to-end neural network that learns continuously from real-world driving data, avoiding the structural noise injected by classical simulation and hand-coded heuristics.While the industry often relies on massive engineering teams and brute-force compute, HYPRLABS is executing a high-efficiency strategy with a team of just four engineers and a foundational model trained for only $850. Drawing inspiration from DeepMind’s AlphaZero, the company allows the AI to model the environment without predefined rules, using their autonomous vehicle fleet as a validation platform for a new category of robots launching next year.Episode Chapters0:00 Introduction to HYPRDRIVE1:30 HYPRDRIVE5:40 Learning Velocity 8:10 Building HYPR12:23 Training the System 18:55 The Origins of the HYPR Approach 21:36 Building Trust23:35 Simulation 27:07 $850 to Train the Model30:44 HYPR Robots33:22 Cameras35:16 What's Next Recorded on Sunday, December 14, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/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 Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Rivian’s bold vertical integration bet as the EV maker announced plans to build their own chips and lidar sensors, effectively moving away from NVIDIA.Is the introduction of “Autonomy+”, a new software subscription priced to undercut competitors a risky distraction or a necessary move as the company works toward profitability? As Rivian looks inward, Wayve signed a major win, signing a definitive agreement to scale with Nissan in North America and Japan beginning in 2027.Then there is Uber. Who does Uber want to be when autonomy grows up, and who will their partners ultimately be and what those relationships will look like in the long term? Currently, Uber’s autonomy narrative faces challenges, as the company appears to be playing defense while getting front-run by partners Waymo in the U.S. and Momenta in Abu Dhabi. Closing out the show, Grayson and Walt discuss the growing world of international autonomy on the weekly Foreign Autonomy Desk segment, covering updates from Bolt, Stellantis, and Caterpillar.Episode Chapters0:00 Rivian’s Autonomy Ambitions 13:11 Licensing Autonomous Driving Stacks17:29 Wayve’s Approach to Autonomy 21:07 Tesla’s Safety Attendant Out in Austin Plans23:35 Waymo’s Blitz Scaling 27:37 Waymo’s Growing OOH Ad Business 32:32 Uber’s Autonomy Narrative 37:57 Serve Robotics 2,000 Robot Delivery Milestone39:30 Tensor Auto / Zero Partnership 42:13 Aurora’s Permian Basin Expansion 44:47 Foreign Autonomy Desk 52:16 Next Week Recorded on Friday, December 12, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ed Olson, Founder & CEO of May Mobility joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how autonomous vehicles can eliminate the "rideshare lottery", the inconsistent, variable experience of traditional rideshare by deploying fleet-managed robotaxis that offer a predictable, premium service.While the industry often focuses on vertical integration, May Mobility is executing an asset-light strategy focused on partnerships with Toyota, Uber, Lyft, and Grab to augment, rather than replace, existing networks. To help these networks scale efficiently, May Mobility is prioritizing hybrid vehicles to maximize asset utilization, effectively bypassing the downtime and infrastructure costs associated with EV charging.Episode Chapters0:00 May Mobility Expands to Asia with Grab 1:54 May Mobility's Partner & Deployment Strategy 4:43 Weather & Culture 12:48 Service Areas & Vehicles 19:12 The Hybrid Decision 22:15 Vehicle Platforms 25:15 On-Board Compute29:07 Deploying Robotaxis at Scale32:23 May Mobility Playbook38:26 Autonomy is Growing45:22 Next Year Recorded on Tuesday, November 25, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/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 Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss “Thriller in the Big D” as Waymo upstages Uber’s party in Dallas. The day before Uber was set to announce its commercial launch with Avride in Dallas, Waymo stole the spotlight by announcing they went driver-out in the same city. During the episode Grayson and Walt analyzed the fallout from this timing, including Uber’s “marketing fail” where a safety driver was spotted in promotional footage, and debate whether Avride’s limited 9-square-mile launch is a legitimate business move or just another “science project”.Beyond the drama in Texas, they dove into the broader race to scale, questioning if adding a few hundred cars in new markets Houston, Baltimore, and St. Louis truly counts as commercial scaling. As Waymo announces new markets, Sterling Anderson is aggressively hiring at GM and the autonomous trucking market is beginning to heat up.Episode Chapters0:00 The Thriller in Big D featuring Waymo, Avride and Uber5:17 Autonomous Vehicle Messaging 7:01 Avride / Uber’s Dallas Service Area 10:14 No New Waymo/Uber Markets, So Far13:50 Waymo’s Rapid Expansion 18:56 Waymo’s Six Stages of Autonomy20:26 No Waymo Commercial Launch for Art Basel 21:49 Will Tesla Robotaxis Ever Be Available on Uber?23:06 FSD Updates25:00 Sterling Anderson’s Growing Role at GM29:04 Wayve Acquires Quality Match 29:41 Foreign Autonomy Desk30:13 Waymo’s Continuing Zeekr Issue 32:21 Autonomous Trucking33:50 Next WeekRecorded on Friday, December 5, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hugh Nguyen, Partner, Automotive Technology & Mobility, KPMG and Lerrel Pinto, Co-Founder, Assured Robot Intelligence (ARI) joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss why the immediate future of humanoid robotics lies in enterprise applications, rather than consumer homes.Powering the humanoids is the software "brain" and system integration, which are becoming the primary differentiators over commoditized hardware. As humanoids scale, the timeline for adoption is accelerating; Lerrel predicts the deployment of one million robots by 2030, driven by acute labor shortages and the economic practicality of enterprise use cases compared to the regulatory hurdles of the consumer market.Episode Chapters0:00 Humanoid Robot Market6:44 Humanoid Due Diligence9:40 Humanoid Value Chain12:08 Humanoids Size and Hands16:52 Building Humanoids18:52 Humanoid Personalities20:24 Managing Humanoid Risk22:24 Humanoid Fleets25:36 Humanoid Use Cases29:58 China33:20 Humanoid Policy38:42 Chips45:44 Deploying Humanoids in the Workplace49:28 Future of HumanoidsRecorded on Thursday, November 6, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/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 Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Uber and WeRide's fully autonomous launch in Abu Dhabi, marking Uber's first robotaxi deployment without a safety driver outside the United States.On WeRide's earnings, the company announced a fleet of 1,600 autonomous vehicles with 750 robotaxis, while Pony.ai announced plans to triple its fleet to 3,000 by end of next year through its Bolt partnership. As Chinese robotaxi companies expand globally, the scaling question emerges: who grows the fastest?It was another big week for Waymo as the California DMV approved a massive service area expansion that will come with infrastructure challenges and a need for thousands of additional vehicles if Waymo decides to ultimately operate in the approved area.Later the conversation shifts to Tesla, where Walt shares his firsthand experience with FSD 14.2 in Mad Max mode in New York City. Both Grayson and Walt make predictions on Tesla removing the safety attendant in Austin and expanding to new markets including Arizona, Florida, and potentially Las Vegas by end of next year.Episode Chapters0:00 WeRide and Uber Go Fully Autonomous in Abu Dhabi3:08 WeRide Earnings6:33 Robotaxi Volumes and Business Models 10:13 Waymo's California DMV Expansion Approval 14:01 Waymo's Santa Monica Depot Noise Issues 20:20 Tesla Robotaxi Scale Plans24:31 Tesla FSD 14.2 Update27:52 Do We Want to Drive Anymore?31:25 Next Week Recorded on Wednesday, November 26, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mark Seeger, Founder & Co-CEO, Glydways joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how a mesh network of private, on-demand autonomous pods can solve global urban congestion at a fraction of the cost of traditional transit.While today’s narrative currently centers around robotaxis, the real breakthrough may come from rethinking the physics and economics of mass transit through disaggregation. Instead of relying on infrastructure-steered legacy rail systems that lose money on every ride, Glydways has developed an autonomous pod system that utilizes lightweight, pedestrian-grade infrastructure at roughly 10% of the cost of light rail. In other words, replacing a $2 billion-per-mile problem with a $20 million-per-mile solution.Episode Chapters0:00 Founding Glydways7:10 Economic Impact of Glydways12:24 Incumbent Lobbyists 15:30 Foreign Markets 18:54 Glydways Infrastructure 26:43 Trust & Safety 35:14 Glydways Network46:09 Glydways Cost Comparison 49:38 Future of GlydwaysRecorded on Tuesday, November 18, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.