Autonomy Markets

In this episode of Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s potential pivot away from Zeekr to Hyundai, Zoox’s commercialization strategy and why Uber is the platform for autonomy.

Waymo’s potential deal with Hyundai for the IONIQ 5 platform could mark the end of Waymo’s deal with Zeekr, ending what we have termed an unforced error. If Waymo is indeed abandoning the Chinese made Zeekr, could there be a broader shakeout of Chinese technology in the autonomous vehicle industry?

Then there is Zoox which is operating in a secretive manner as they prepare to launch commercial operations “soon”. Could Zoox’s secretive approach potentially lead to potential consequences because of their lack of transparency with both the market and consumers?

To accelerate the adoption of autonomous vehicles, Congress needs to pass an Autonomous Vehicle National Framework that incudes trucks weighing over 10,000 pounds to accelerate the autonomous vehicle adoption and investment in the United States. A national autonomous vehicle framework will unlock investment that will lead to economic growth.

Walt and Grayson also explore the potential catalysts that could drive faster autonomous vehicle adoption, including consumer experiences, economic pressures, and the upcoming U.S. election. Throughout the discussion, they stress the importance of pushing for more aggressive expansion into challenging environments to truly advance the technology and gain public trust.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Waymo in San Francisco

6:44 Zoox

14:37 Waymo / Hyundai

18:48 Autonomy Economy

25:02 Autonomy and Elections

27:22 Autonomous Vehicle Experiences

29:19 Investing in Autonomous Vehicles

21:23 Next Week

Recorded on September 19, 2024

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The Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/ 

LightShed Partners is a leading independent research firm focused on the convergence of technology, media, and telecommunications. Known for its forward-thinking insights, LightShed Partners provides in-depth analysis on trends, disruptions, and innovations shaping these industries, offering clients data-driven research to inform investment decisions. Sign up for research here.

The LightShed Podcast, released every Friday, delivers cutting-edge insights into the world of technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), focusing on key trends and disruptions shaping the future of these industries. Each episode explores topics like streaming services, social media, digital transformation, and the future of entertainment technology. Closely followed by key decision-makers in the TMT industries, this podcast provides actionable analysis for investors, industry professionals, and tech enthusiasts. Subscribe to the LightShed Podcast for expert commentary on market trends, investment opportunities, and insights driving the TMT sector forward. For access to this paywalled podcast email: [email protected]

In this episode of Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the latest developments in the autonomous vehicle industry, drawing insights from Grayson's recent trip to Silicon Valley.

There is an emerging shift towards developing autonomous driving stacks and licensing the technology to OEMs and mobility platform providers. Nuro is embracing this trend as they announced their new business models this week.

As the autonomous vehicle business models change, consumer exceptions are changing in parallel. There is an increasing focus on premium experiences in autonomy as both startups and global OEMs begin to develop plans for personally owned autonomous vehicles.

While the best laid plans often go awry, this time around OEMs are learning from the mistakes that they made when they jumped two feet into electrification with no real consumer strategy and no EV supply chain strategy.

With growing competition from Chinese autonomous vehicle companies, U.S. based autonomous vehicle companies are beginning to focus on costs. As they focus on costs, the debate around LiDAR and if it's needed to develop an SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicle continues to rage.

Wrapping up the episode, Grayson and Walt discuss the latest buzz surrounding the autonomous vehicle industry including potential pivots and partnerships in the industry.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Back from Silicon Valley

3:41 Nuro

5:08 California's 33% Commercial Insurance Fee for Rideshare Rides

9:17 Personally Owned Autonomous Vehicles

16:34 Mobility Platforms

21:42 Experiences

25:10 California Business Climate

26:29 Safety

30:59 Regulatory Environment

36:09 Impact of a Potential Alphabet Breakup on Waymo

38:56 The Latest Autonomous Vehicle Buzz

Recorded on September 12, 2024

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The Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/

LightShed Partners is a leading independent research firm focused on the convergence of technology, media, and telecommunications. Known for its forward-thinking insights, LightShed Partners provides in-depth analysis on trends, disruptions, and innovations shaping these industries, offering clients data-driven research to inform investment decisions. Sign up for research here.

The LightShed Podcast, released every Friday, delivers cutting-edge insights into the world of technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), focusing on key trends and disruptions shaping the future of these industries. Each episode explores topics like streaming services, social media, digital transformation, and the future of entertainment technology. Closely followed by key decision-makers in the TMT industries, this podcast provides actionable analysis for investors, industry professionals, and tech enthusiasts. Subscribe to the LightShed Podcast for expert commentary on market trends, investment opportunities, and insights driving the TMT sector forward. For access to this paywalled podcast email: [email protected]

Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk, discuss Wall Street's perspective on autonomy, the implications that autonomy could have on Uber and whether it's a strength or weakness for Uber. Along with the impact of Tesla entering the robotaxi market and the growth of Waymo.

Later in the conversation they explore topics such as the potential for autonomous vehicles to be marketed as a premium service, the challenges of integrating Chinese-made vehicles into U.S. markets, and the future of food delivery services.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Wall Street's Perspective on Autonomy

3:33 Uber

13:01 Autonomous Vehicle Insurance

16:32 Autonomy as a Premium Service

18:55 Waymo

30:37 Uber Freight

33:42 Delivery (Uber Eats & Instacart)

38:46 Until Next Week

Recorded on September 5, 2024

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 The Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/

 LightShed Partners is a leading independent research firm focused on the convergence of technology, media, and telecommunications. Known for its forward-thinking insights, LightShed Partners provides in-depth analysis on trends, disruptions, and innovations shaping these industries, offering clients data-driven research to inform investment decisions. Sign up for research here.

The LightShed Podcast, released every Friday, delivers cutting-edge insights into the world of technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), focusing on key trends and disruptions shaping the future of these industries. Each episode explores topics like streaming services, social media, digital transformation, and the future of entertainment technology. Closely followed by key decision-makers in the TMT industries, this podcast provides actionable analysis for investors, industry professionals, and tech enthusiasts. Subscribe to the LightShed Podcast for expert commentary on market trends, investment opportunities, and insights driving the TMT sector forward. For access to this paywalled podcast email: [email protected]