The Road to Autonomy

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte [https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/grayson-brulte/] and Walter Piecyk [https://www.linkedin.com/in/walter-piecyk-a919414/] discuss the new expansion announcements from both Waymo and Tesla, framing it as a “heavyweight fight”.  Waymo announced plans to expand to Denver and Seattle, with Denver set to become the first city where its fleet will include both Jaguar I-PACEs and Zeekrs. The company also gained regulatory approval to operate at the San Jose (SJC) airport, a move Grayson Brulte predicted five months ago on a previous episode [https://youtu.be/KlDE5eRxulM?si=ehwEVFm1ZsEuEMLT&t=588]. Meanwhile, Tesla opened the public waitlist for its Robotaxi app, which quickly surged up the Apple App Store charts, reaching #1 in the travel category and #8 overall among free apps. The discussion then broadens beyond the Waymo–Tesla rivalry, touching on the political headwinds Waymo faces in Seattle, NHTSA’s recent regulatory changes designed to accelerate autonomous vehicle commercialization, and Torc’s $660 million annual burn rate as Daimler Truck explores external funding options. Episode Chapters 0:00 Waymo-Tesla Competition  5:48 Waymo’s Denver Expansion  8:01 No Uber Partnership for Denver or Seattle? 10:36 Waymo’s Affection for Unwelcoming Cities, Including Seattle  15:24 Benefits of Autonomy  16:37 Updated NHTSA Rules 19:23 Waymo Expands to San Jose Airport, Is SFO Next? 24:22 Tesla Opens Robotaxi Waitlist  27:43 Highway Unlocks 30:44 Avride Launching on Uber in Dallas 33:16 Tensor Auto 35:49 Daimler Truck is Seeking Outside Capital for Torc [https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/torc-prepares-commercial-operations/] 40:18 Next Week Recorded on Friday, September 5, 2025 -------- 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/ae/ [https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte [https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/grayson-brulte/] and Walter Piecyk [https://www.linkedin.com/in/walter-piecyk-a919414/] marked the one-year anniversary of Autonomy Markets and discussed the reignited debate between LiDAR and vision-only after comments made by Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi during an interview.  During the interview, Mr. Khosrowshahi stated that in the short term, a combination of camera, LiDAR, and radar is the “right solution,” noting that all of Uber’s current partners use this combination. This statement prompted a response from Elon Musk, who argued via a post on X [https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1959831831668228450] that LiDAR and radar actually reduce safety due to “sensor contention” and reaffirmed Tesla’s commitment to a camera-only system.  Beyond the technical debate, Grayson and Walt discussed Tesla’s expanded Robotaxi service in Austin and the growing opposition to a potential Waymo deployment in New York City. Episode Chapters 0:00 One-Year Anniversary of Autonomy Markets 2:14 Dara Khosrowshahi Reignites LiDAR vs Vision-Only Debate 9:24 Elon Musk’s LiDAR Rebuttal  11:49 What if Tesla Embraced LiDAR? 14:29 Robotaxi Expands in Austin, Once Again 18:14 Traffic Fatalities  20:32 Waymo Begins Testing in New York City 26:06 Boring Company is Testing FSD Supervised in Las Vegas 29:07 Stellantis Shuts Down Internal ADAS Development Program 31:28 Next Week Recorded on Thursday, August 28, 2025 -------- 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/ae/ [https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Anshuman Saxena, Vice President and Head of ADAS/Autonomous Driving Products, Qualcomm joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss Qualcomm’s Snapdragon autonomy strategy. Qualcomm’s automotive division is rapidly expanding, with revenue up 59% year-over-year to $959 million. At the center of this growth is the company’s Snapdragon Digital Chassis, a comprehensive automotive platform and the cornerstone of Qualcomm’s autonomy strategy. As part of this approach, Qualcomm is redefining the digital cockpit by integrating AI-powered natural language interactions, advanced graphics through Adreno GPUs, and vision-based systems that enhance both safety and user experience. Looking ahead, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon architecture is not only powering vehicles today but also laying the foundation for robotics and future intelligent systems. Episode Chapters 0:00 Qualcomm’s Approach to Autonomy 6:10 ADAS Growth Opportunity  10:09 Consumer Adoption of ADAS 12:10 In-Vehicle Experience  16:37 Snapdragon Digital Chassis 17:44 Adreno GPU 24:15 Developing Technology with Partners 28:05 Robotaxi Platform 29:36 Vision Systems  33:07 Personally Owned Autonomous Vehicles  35:46 Reasoning  40:54 Chip Design  45:16 Future of Qualcomm’s Automotive Division  Recorded on Tuesday, August 26, 2025 -------- 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/ae/ [https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte [https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/grayson-brulte/] and Walter Piecyk [https://www.linkedin.com/in/walter-piecyk-a919414/] discuss the significant operational challenges Waymo and Uber are currently experiencing in Atlanta and Nuro's Series E round. Waymo’s launch in Atlanta has gone anything but smooth. A shortage of vehicles and frequent rider pairing issues on Uber have sparked negative local media coverage, with Fox 5 Atlanta even publishing a guide on how to improve your chances of getting a Waymo ride.  The Atlanta launch has raised questions about the long-term future of Uber and Waymo’s partnership. While Waymo and Uber are facing vehicle supply issues in Atlanta, Nuro [https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/nuro-uber-lucid/] successfully closed a Series E round led by Uber that raised $203 million at a valuation of $6 billion. Episode Chapters 0:00 Robots 2:42 Nuro Series E 4:54 Delivery Robots Part 1 6:11 Fleet Management  9:24 Delivery Robots Part 2 14:26 Waymo on Uber in Atlanta  21:15 Status of Waymo and Uber’s Relationship  26:58 Helm.ai Honda Expand Partnership  32:21 Alibaba’s Autonomous Driving IPO 34:16 Baidu Apollo Go 36:35 Tesla FSD in Japan 38:46 Cybercab 39:32 Next Week Recorded on Thursday, August 21, 2025 -------- 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/ae/ [https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

David Welch [https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-welch-9031185/], Detroit Bureau Chief, Bloomberg joined Grayson Brulte [https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/grayson-brulte/] on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss GM’s renewed interest in autonomous vehicles. From robotaxis to personally owned autonomous vehicles, GM is once again preparing to enter the autonomous vehicle. This time in a initiative led by Chief Product Officer Sterling Anderson, GM is focusing on developing personally owned autonomous vehicles.  Despite the shift in strategy, GM faces significant hurdles. The company must rebuild trust with the tech community to attract top talent after Cruise’s high-profile failures. At the same time, the company continues to face intense competition from Tesla, whose rapidly advancing Full Self-Driving (FSD) system raises questions about whether GM can develop a competitive system in-house or if it will need to license technology from Waymo, Wayve, or Nuro. GM’s return to autonomy opens the door to many questions. Questions that will only be answered in the years ahead. Episode Chapters 0:00 GM Once Again Enters the Autonomy Market 4:07 Can Sterling Anderson Revive GM’s Autonomy Ambitions?  6:36 GM’s “New” Autonomy System 9:16 Super Cruise Subscription Revenue  10:37 Tesla 13:48 Does GM Have to License? 14:49 Rebuilding Trust 18:26 Would GM ever do a Waymo Deal? 20:04 Licensing + Data 23:51 Timeline 26:43 Pricing Autonomy 32:41 Ford 34:22 Where Does GM Ultimately Go? Recorded on Monday, August 10, 2025 -------- 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/ae/ [https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].