Zach Rash, Co-Founder & CEO, Coco Robotics joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the growing autonomous delivery market and how Coco is scaling operations to meet demand. 

Coco Robotics has built and deployed thousands of cost-efficient, urban-optimized delivery robots designed for high-throughput in dense cities like Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, and Helsinki. From rising consumer demand and tipping fatigue to tightening labor regulations, market conditions are accelerating the need for scalable, autonomous delivery solutions. 

As the conversation evolves, Zach shares insights into Coco Robotics hybrid autonomy approach, the economics of remote supervision, and the company’s growing partnership with OpenAI to build next-gen driving models.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Current State of Robotic Delivery Market

04:29 Advertising 

09:04 Form Factors

11:28 Delivery Logistics 

14:01 Weather Extremes

16:32 Packaging 

21:17 Merchant Partners 

24:01 Robot Operations 

31:22 OpenAI Partnership 

35:26 End-to-End Model

38:27 Manufactoring Robots 

41:12 Deploying Delivery Robots into Markets 

47:41 Future of Coco Robotics 

Recorded on Monday, June 9, 2025

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About The Road to Autonomy

The 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.

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This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s return to the Big Apple, a revealing new Waymo rider survey, political grandstanding in Texas aimed at delaying Tesla’s robotaxi launch, and the emergence of potential new players in autonomous driving sector, Meta and OpenAI.

Waymo announced plans to resume testing in New York City this summer, the first time operating in the city since 2021. While the move signals growing confidence in their technology, regulatory hurdles remain, as current New York state law prohibits fully driverless operations until at least 2026 when a new law could come into effect.

While Waymo is actively focusing on scaling operations and expanding into New York, a recent rider survey offers rare insight into the company’s future ambitions. Questions about luxury positioning, loyalty rewards, ride reservations, and premium services suggesting that Waymo is exploring a strategy that moves beyond their tenuous limited partnership Uber, and towards a fully integrated premium mobility platform.

Meanwhile, a group of Democratic lawmakers in Texas sent a letter to Tesla urging the company to delay its planned driver-out robotaxi launch until new State autonomous vehicles laws take effect in September. Based on social media reports, Tesla is not waiting and they will be launching Robotaxi in the coming days.

Then there is the growing ambitions of both Meta and OpenAI. Will they be the next companies to potentially enter the autonomous driving sector?

Episode Chapters

0:00 Waymo Eyes NYC Expansion

3:05 Waymo Loves New York as They Leave Uber Behind

4:15 Waymo’s Regulatory Path Forward in New York

7:47 Waymo’s LA & Bay Area Expansions

9:06 Waymo Fleet Size

10:54 What is Behind Waymo’s Lack of Highway Service?

13:03 Is Waymo Getting Closer to Unlocking SFO?

14:23 Waymo Rider Survey

34:35 Texas State Representatives Tesla Letter

38:53 Zoox

40:13 Kodiak/Roush Partnership

44:11 Does Meta and OpenAI Have Autonomous Driving Ambitions?

48:51 Applied Intuition

50:39 Next Week

Recorded on Thursday, June 19, 2025

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About The Road to Autonomy

The Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.

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

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Kaity Fischer, Vice President, Commercial and Operations, Wayve joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how Wayve is scaling their end-to-end AI autonomous driving system globally.

Wayve’s ability to operate autonomously across multiple countries and on both sides of the road without the need for pre-mapped environments or geo-fences is a significant competitive advantage. 

By licensing the Wayve Driver to global OEMs, the company is building a scalable solution that adapts to diverse vehicle platforms and sensor configurations, unlocking the path to both consumer-owned and fleet-owned autonomous vehicles. The future is mapless, borderless, and powered by end-to-end AI.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Wayve / Nissan Deal

1:14 Wayve Driver

10:30 Fleet Operators 

15:57 End-to-End AI Driver

19:49 Mapless

23:58 Adopting to Different Platforms 

28:36 Scaling End-to-End AI

31:35 Powered by Wayve

34:46 Future of Wayve

Recorded on Friday, May 16, 2025

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About The Road to Autonomy

The Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.

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

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the start of Tesla’s driver-out operations in Austin, the tenuous relationship between Waymo and Uber, and the UK’s pmomentum on autonomous vehicle regulation, while the EU remains at a standstill.

Now that Tesla is testing is testing driver-out operations, they are one step closer to launching commercial robotaxi operations in Austin, bringing Elon Musk’s long-held vision closer to reality. What does Tesla’s impending robotaxi launch mean for Uber, Waymo and the broader robotaxi market? 

Could this launch impact the relationship between Uber and Waymo? Are they true partners, competitors, or something in between? With a growing supply of vehicles in Austin and new international opportunities emerging, including in the UK, we examine the market signals that could define the next phase of their relationship and how that will impact the autonomy markets.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Waymo Suspends Service in LA

3:18 Tesla Goes Driver-Out in Austin

5:54 Boring Company 

9:27 Tesla’s Focus on Safety

10:34 Uber & Waymo’s Tenuous Relationship 

18:06 Uber / Wayve Partnership

20:53 Does the Uber / Wayve Partnership Put Pressure on Waymo?

22:11 Economics of the Waymo / Uber Partnership 

24:00 Dedicated Waymo Uber Tier

25:32 Do Autonomous Vehicles Expand the Rideshare Market?

31:12 NHTSA Part 555 / Regulatory Update 

37:19 Next Week

Recorded on Saturday, June 14, 2025

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About The Road to Autonomy

The Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.

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

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Pete Bigelow, Senior Reporter, Automotive News joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the financial news media’s disconnect on autonomy, Uber’s doubling down on autonomy and Alphabet’s long-term plans for Waymo.

Financial TV news networks continue to misinterpret the autonomous vehicle market, often not understanding the dynamics, partnerships and individuals building the future of autonomy. Sometimes these individuals pontifications can lead to misleading headlines that sows a narrative that is false. 

While some financial TV analysts continue to misinterpret and in some cases downplay the progress, the autonomy economy is rapidly scaling globally and commercial rollouts of both autonomous vehicles and trucks paints a very different picture from what’s being broadcast.

At the same time, Uber appears to be doubling down on its autonomous vehicle strategy, promoting longtime executive Andrew Macdonald who previously led their autonomy strategy to President and Chief Operating Officer. As Uber positions itself for an autonomous future, Alphabet faces a pivotal decision: Will the company spin out Waymo through an IPO or keep it in-house as part of a broader AI strategy?

Episode Chapters

0:00 Market Disconnect

4:39 Messaging

15:35 Messaging

22:17 Education and College Debt

28:01 Is Uber Doubling Down on Autonomy?

32:38 Waymo Advertising

35:01 Waymo IPO

38:55 Tele-Operations

40:55 Tesla Robotaxi Launch

44:51 Zoox

50:59 Would Amazon Ever Sell Zoox?

Recorded on Wednesday, June 4, 2025

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About The Road to Autonomy

The Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.

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

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk unpack the escalating feud between Elon Musk and President Donald J. Trump just days before Tesla’s highly anticipated robotaxi launch in Austin.

The brewing political tension introduces potential new regulatory and market risks for Tesla, especially given Elon Musk’s previous influence in The White House. While the full extent of the fallout remains unclear, what is certain is that this risk must be closely monitored.

Meanwhile, as Tesla prepares to launch its robotaxi service in Austin this month, the autonomy IPO market is heating up. This week Plus announced plans to go public via SPAC at a $1.2 billion valuation. Could this signal the beginning of a broader wave of investor interest in autonomous trucking?

Episode Chapters

0:00 Trump / Elon Feud

4:09 Feud's Impact on Robotaxi

8:30 National Autonomous Vehicle Framework

9:41 Big Beautiful Bill

14:13 Viewer Question: What would the fallout be with a Tesla Robotaxi Crash?

26:38 Tesla Robotaxi Launch Market Reactions

29:01 Autonomous Vehicles and a European Trade Deal

31:13 Waymo Highway Unlock

33:52 Uber's Growing Autonomous Vehicle Ecosystem

35:43 Growing Public Autonomous Trucking Ecosystem

40:37 Plus is Going Public

44:06 Autonomous Trucking Market

45:10 Next Week

Recorded on Friday, June 6, 2025

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About The Road to Autonomy

The Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.

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

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jim Mullen, Executive Director, Council for Economic Resilience (CFER) joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the far-reaching economic benefits of automation and autonomy and how these technologies benefit every single member of society.

Autonomy is good for the economy. From national security and job creation to supply chain resiliency and lower inflation, automation and autonomy are critical pillars of economic resilience. Reflecting on his time in the Trump administration (45), Jim reflects on the early groundwork that the administration took towards developing and implementing a national autonomous vehicle framework.

Four years later, with President Trump back in the White House and China aggressively ramping up their automation and autonomy ambitions at the detriment to the United States. The need for a national autonomous vehicle framework that allows autonomy to prosper in the United States is more urgent than ever.

Automation and autonomy will not only create high-paying jobs and lower inflation but these technologies will also empower underserved communities, unlock entirely new industries, and ensure that America maintains the strongest, most resilient economy in the world.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Automation & Autonomy Policies

4:45 What if Autonomous Trucks were Rolling During Covid?

6:55 Benefits of Automation & Autonomy

14:23 National Autonomous Vehicle Framework

18:24 Grassroots Community Engagement

23:04 The Amazon Effect

24:11 Automation & Autonomy’s Impact on Society

33:48 Public Support of Automation & Autonomy

36:37 American Leadership

40:16 Key Takeaway

Recorded on Thursday, May 29, 2025

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About The Road to Autonomy

The Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.

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

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Tesla’s robotaxi launch in June 12th in Austin, Waymo’s relationship with Uber and Senator Lummis’ Autonomous Vehicle Advancement Act. 

Tesla’s initial robotaxi deployment in Austin will launch with just 10 Model Ys operating within a limited operational design domain (ODD). While modest in scale, investor interest is intensifying as Tesla plans to gradually expand its service area, potentially surpassing Waymo’s current coverage in Austin by year-end.

Meanwhile, Waymo and Uber face mounting pressure as Tesla enters the market. Speculation continues to grow around Waymo’s long-term partnership with Uber, raising questions about whether Waymo will pursue a hybrid strategy with Uber or focus solely on their Waymo One platform.

A potential partnership with Toyota could offer Waymo both strategic clarity and political capital, especially as U.S. lawmakers look to advance the Autonomous Vehicle Acceleration Act of 2025, a bill that could potentially lay the groundwork for a national autonomous framework.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Tesla Robotaxi Launch

6:56 Tesla Model Y Self-Delivery

8:16 Tesla Robotaxis on the Highway

10:20 New Tesla Robotaxi Markets 

12:23 Waymo Announcements 

18:05 Waymo / Uber Relationship 

27:32 What if Tesla Bundled Robotaxi Rides with a Car Lease?

29:17 Autonomous Vehicle Advancement Act

33:13 Unforced Error of the Week

35:07 Next Week

Recorded on Friday, May 30, 2025

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About The Road to Autonomy

The Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.

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

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chuck Price, President, AI Kinetics joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the current state of autonomous trucking. 

From the continued speculation that Volvo is shutting down Volvo Autonomous Solutions (VAS) in North America to PACCAR’s deafening silence following Aurora’s driver-out launch, the autonomous trucking industry is navigating a period of uncertainty. 

Meanwhile, Daimler’s growing influence and factory-grade chassis are reshaping the competitive landscape, as the prospect of Waymo re-entering the trucking market looms large. If Waymo returns, what happens next? Chuck offers his candid insights into how quickly Waymo could rescale Via, their autonomous trucking division, and what that would mean for the future of the industry, if Waymo re-entered the autonomous trucking market.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Current State of Autonomous Trucking

6:00 Waymo Via

11:46 Building an Autonomous Truck

22:52 Daimler Truck

26:00 Autonomous Trucking Models

34:17 Licensing 

36:09 Owning & Operating an Autonomous Trucking Fleet

40:36 Driver-Out Operations 

50:39 Aurora / PACCAR Relationship

53:57 Aurora's Path Back to Driver-Out

58:44 2027

1:01:13 Key Takeaways 

Recorded on Thursday, May 22, 2025

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About The Road to Autonomy

The Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.

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

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk preview Tesla’s upcoming FSD robotaxi launch, Waymo’s continued interest in personally-owned autonomous vehicles and Aurora’s stumbles. 

As we approach June, all eyes are on Austin in anticipation of Tesla’s highly awaited robotaxi launch. With real-world testing already underway, Tesla is taking a measured yet impactful approach by prioritizing safety.

Meanwhile, Waymo has surpassed 10 million paid rides and is signaling a strategic expansion into personally-owned autonomous vehicles. 

On the freight side of autonomy, the autonomous trucking market is heating up, even as Aurora stumbles. After successfully launching driver-out commercial operations in April, Aurora was forced by its OEM partner, PACCAR to reinstate a safety driver behind the wheel, raising questions about the strength of the partnership and the company’s near-term trajectory.

Aurora’s recent stumbles come just as Waymo is re-evaluating a potential return to the autonomous trucking industry, as investors are closely monitoring how these shifting dynamics could reshape the market.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Autonomy Markets On The Road

1:12 Tesla Model Y

3:08 Tesla’s Upcoming Robotaxi Launch

9:02 Managing Vehicles on the Tesla Network 

10:57 Tesla’s Competitive Threat to Uber

14:35 Waymo: 10 Million Paid Rides and Counting 

16:01 Waymo at Google I/O

20:33 Waymo’s Multi-Deployment Strategy 

23:30 Licensing Tesla FSD

25:33 Nuro

27:45 Aurora Goes Back to Driver-In

34:08 Is Waymo Going Back into Trucking?

35:21 Is Waymo Feeling Pressure from Tesla?

37:31 China

40:21 National Autonomous Vehicle Framework 

42:07 Unforced Error of The Week / Next Week

Recorded on Friday, May 23, 2025

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About The Road to Autonomy

The Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.

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

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.