Ride AI

By Oliver Bruce and Horace Dediu

The Ride AI podcast presents cutting-edge insights and meaningful conversations with the world’s top mobility technology leaders so that you learn hard-won lessons of investment and innovation.

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FAQs about Ride AI:

How many episodes does Ride AI have?

The podcast currently has 306 episodes available.

Ride AI episodes:

January 15, 2025 End-to-End AI for Autonomy (w/ Alex Kendall of Wayve)
Alex Kendall, founder and CEO of Wayve, shares how Wayve's unique end-to-end AI approach allows their self-driving system to generalize across different countries and driving cultures—from London to California. The discussion explores how Wayve (which recently raised $1 billion from Softbank and others) combines vision, language, and action to create more intuitive human-AI interactions, why synthetic data matters for safety testing, and how their lean hardware strategy could make autonomous technology more accessible to automakers worldwide.
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26min
December 20, 2024Aurora’s Road to Driverless Freight (with Sterling Anderson)
The AV trucking company Aurora is spending the final days of 2024 busily getting ready to start hauling freight without humans on board, a long-awaited milestone. On the eve of this potentially historic launch, our host Timothy B. Lee catches up with co-founder Sterling Anderson about the long road of technological innovation that led here.
Sterling shares his journey from leading Autopilot at Tesla to starting Aurora in late 2016.

The conversation covers the technical and strategic decisions behind Aurora's development, emphasizing their shift from robotaxis to autonomous trucking.

Sterling highlights key partnerships with OEMs and others that have allowed Aurora scale their operations efficiently.

Tim and Sterling discuss Aurora's unique approach of verifiable AI to ensure safety and reliability compared to end-to-end monolithic systems.

Finally, Sterling explains the critical regulatory aspects Aurora is navigating as they aim for a driverless trucking launch between Dallas and Houston by April 2025.
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37min
December 15, 2024Next Stop: Aurora’s Road to Driverless Freight (with Sterling Anderson)
The AV trucking company Aurora is spending the final days of 2024 busily getting ready to start hauling freight without humans on board, a long-awaited milestone. On the eve of this potentially historic launch, our host Timothy B. Lee catches up with co-founder Sterling Anderson about the long road of technological innovation that led here.
Sterling shares his journey from leading Autopilot at Tesla to starting Aurora in late 2016.
The conversation covers the technical and strategic decisions behind Aurora's development, emphasizing their shift from robotaxis to autonomous trucking.

Sterling highlights key partnerships with OEMs and others that have allowed Aurora scale their operations efficiently.
Tim and Sterling discuss Aurora's unique approach of verifiable AI to ensure safety and reliability compared to end-to-end monolithic systems.

Finally, Sterling explains the critical regulatory aspects Aurora is navigating as they aim for a driverless trucking launch between Dallas and Houston by April 2025.
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39min
October 11, 2024 On Cybercab (w/ Timothy B. Lee)
Timothy B. Lee of the Understanding AI newsletter joins Ed Niedermeyer to unpack Tesla’s flashy robotaxi unveil.
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45min
September 29, 2024 The Unsung Success of Parking Automation with Steer Tech’s Anuja Sonalker
In this episode of the Ride AI podcast, host Ed Niedermeyer interviews Anuja Sonalker, CEO of Steer Tech, to discuss a lesser-known success story in mobility technology. Anuja shares how Steer Tech, founded in 2016, specializes in low-speed, autonomous vehicle operations within geofenced areas like parking lots and depots. She explains that while parking automation was initially underestimated, it presents complex challenges requiring high precision and intelligence. Steer Tech developed the first fully autonomous Level 4 parking solution and has since expanded into broader vehicle orchestration systems. Their lean, customer-driven approach allowed them to achieve cashflow positivity by focusing on practical applications in fleet management, emphasizing operational efficiency, safety, and sustainability. Unlike many companies in the autonomous vehicle space, Steer Tech avoided big venture capital funding, choosing instead a more sustainable business model that balances innovation with profitability.
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28min
July 01, 2024 The Future of Autonomous EV Charging Robots (with Crijn Bouman)
In this episode of Ride AI, recorded live at Micromobility Europe in Amsterdam, we delve into the evolving landscape of EV charging and automation with Crijn Bouman, founder of ROCSYS. Crijn shares his extensive journey in e-mobility, starting from his university days influenced by a friend's self-built electric bike, to founding ROCSYS, a company that develops autonomous EV charging robots for robotaxis, human-driven fleets, and more. He explores the critical advancements in EV fast-charging, the role of robotics in automating EV charging, and the broader implications for mobility and infrastructure.
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31min
May 14, 2024 Navigating Insurance & Risk in the Age of Autonomous Vehicles (with Michael Wagner)
On the latest episode of the Ride AI podcast, we dive into insurance, risk management, and driving automation with Michael Wagner, CEO of Edge Case Research.

With autonomous vehicles poised to revolutionize transportation, understanding the risks and liabilities associated with this technology is paramount. Unlike traditional auto insurance, where policies are based on factors like driver history and vehicle usage, insuring self-driving vehicles requires a deeper understanding of the technology itself. Edge Case Research aims to fill this gap by providing risk assessment technology tailored specifically for autonomous cars and trucks. Michael sheds light on how this nascent industry is developing new insurance solutions that address the unique challenges of AVs, while incentivizing safe practices and fostering trust.
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49min
April 30, 2024Lessons from V1 AV (with Stefan Seltz-Axmacher)
The latest Ride AI podcast episode features Stefan Seltz-Axmacher, the former founder of Starsky Robotics and current founder and CEO of Polymath Robotics, discussing his experiences in the self-driving truck industry. Stefan reflects on the challenges faced by Starsky Robotics, particularly the overconfidence in machine learning and the belief in a one-size-fits-all solution for autonomy, and how this experience informs Polymath Robotics, his new venture focused on building a generalized navigation layer for off-road vehicles.
Stefan reflects on the history of self-driving trucks and the challenges faced during his time at Starsky Robotics, including the overconfidence in machine learning and the misconception that data collection alone would lead to successful autonomous driving.

He highlights the difficulty in raising funds for a more focused approach compared to competitors' broader promises.

Stefan discusses the need for a more grounded understanding of robotics and AI, emphasizing the importance of addressing specific problems rather than chasing general solutions.

Polymath Robotics aims to democratize automation by reducing the upfront costs and complexity, allowing smaller players and seed-funded startups to compete effectively.

Stefan emphasizes the parallels between the evolution of the automotive and smartphone industries, indicating a similar maturation process in robotics hardware.
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38min
April 24, 2024EV Winter? (with Tyson Jominy)
On the latest episode of the Ride AI podcast, our host Ed Niedermeyer talks to Tyson Jominy, VP of Data & Analytics for J.D, Power, about the recent dynamics in the car market. They touch on COVID, the EV market, the prospect of another truck/SUV slowdown, and how these are all related.
Discussion on the cyclicality of the auto industry and recent turbulence due to COVID-19: undersupply situation, excess savings leading to increased demand, and supply chain disruptions.

Pricing dynamics in the EV market: oversupply of EVs in the $50-60k price range leading to price cuts.

Fleet sales and their impact on EV market dynamics, including potential risks to resale value and pricing stability (Hertz struggled with high repair bills and consumer dissatisfaction with EV rentals, prompting them to unwind their EV-focused strategy.)

Tesla's decision not to pursue a low-cost model raises questions about the industry's focus and the challenges of making EVs profitable.

The auto industry seems to be retreating to familiar corners, like focusing on SUVs, hybrids, and high-margin segments, rather than investing heavily in lower-cost EVs.

EVs face challenges in consumer perception and understanding of total cost of ownership, compared to hybrids, which have been around for a while but still face low adoption rates.

The auto industry's struggle to make EVs profitable raises concerns about the future of EV adoption and the profitability of traditional segments like trucks and SUVs.

There's uncertainty about the trajectory of EV adoption and whether there will be a "EV winter" where growth stalls.

Regulatory factors still incentivize automakers to invest in EVs despite profitability challenges.
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46min
April 17, 2024Disrupting the Car (with Horace Dediu)
This week’s episode of the Ride AI podcast is a mind-meld between automotive analyst Ed Niedermeyer and tech-innovation scholar Horace Dediu about why the car industry is ripe for disruption. Their conversation is a reflection on the transformative power of past innovations like computers and phones, and the need to imagine a better future for mobility. Together they discuss:
The concept of unbundling the car for different trip types and purposes, similar to computing devices

Observation that the world seeks to improve cars, but they are already highly optimized

Critique of current approaches by companies like Tesla and Apple, which aim to fit new technologies into the existing car model

Emphasis on the need for truly disruptive innovation in mobility, either through cheaper, more accessible options or new directions of competition

Discussion on the potential for self-driving technology to transform mobility by enabling new experiences and connections

Examinations of the challenges of building an EV that is both cheap and has extensive battery range

Why investors are over-focused on cars as a platform at the expense of other autonomous driving use-cases, like agriculture, defense, and transit.
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57min

FAQs about Ride AI:

How many episodes does Ride AI have?

The podcast currently has 306 episodes available.