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This week on Autonomy Signals presented by KPMG, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss Waymo scaling its robotaxi fleet fivefold, Neolix closing the largest autonomous driving funding round in China this year, and GM betting big on personally owned autonomous vehicles. Backed by a $5 billion loan and $16 billion in equity, Waymo plans to grow its fleet from roughly 4,000 vehicles to 20,000 by the end of 2027 while expanding into the Madrid and Toronto markets. With capital secured, throughput at its Mesa integration facility is now the binding constraint, and the current pace points closer to 14,000 vehicles. Neolix raised nearly $400 million in a Series E round and signed an agreement with Malaysian conglomerate Sunway Group to deploy its L4 delivery vehicles across Sunway’s properties. The partnership offers a ready distribution channel and a monsoon season stress test, though Malaysia’s pending data protection framework could raise the cost of expanding across Southeast Asia. GM plans to sell personally owned eyes off vehicles by 2028, starting with premium full size models using LiDAR, radar, and cameras powered by a liquid cooled central compute unit built in house. Bringing the technology to both EV and combustion lineups reaches GM’s most profitable buyers, but competing capital priorities and Tesla’s L4 ambitions could make the feature look dated on arrival. Episode Chapters 0:00 KPMG Sponsor Introduction 1:45 Signal 1: Waymo Is Scaling 23:35 Signal 2: Neolix Goes Global 38:37 Signal 3: GM Bets Big on Personal Autonomy -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy provides Institutional Intelligence for the Autonomy Economy, powered by AUTNMY AI. We built the indices, set the benchmarks, and execute the fieldwork to put decision-ready physical AI intelligence directly into your workflows with OMEGA. This Week in The Autonomy Economy is the briefing investors and industry leaders read every Sunday as they prepare for the week ahead. Original insight and commentary on the Autonomy Economy. 📬 Sign up for the newsletter at https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/ Follow The Road to Autonomy Indices at https://indices.roadtoautonomy.com/ 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 field reports from Nashville, Dallas and Houston, takeaways from Tesla’s earnings call, Waymo’s accelerating fleet growth, a mysterious effort to stop robotaxis in Washington, D.C. In Nashville, Grayson tours two Waymo depots near Nashville International Airport (BNA), including a hillside facility with an estimated 300-to-500-vehicle capacity that he dubs the most secure depot the show has visited. His 25-minute round of autonomy roulette on the Lyft app yielded zero matches, but the airport walk from the terminal door to the Waymo pickup zone clocked in at a seamless 2 minutes and 20 seconds. In Dallas, which Grayson crowns the robotaxi capital of America, Waymo and Avride continue to scale as hundreds of unbadged Tesla Cybercabs sit in a staging lot near Dallas Love Field. In Houston, at the Uber/Nuro/Lucid depot, Grayson spotted just six robotaxis and zero unsupervised operations. Turning to the Tesla earnings call, the hosts analyze FSD attach rates hitting 75%, renewed plans allowing owners to loan personal vehicles into the fleet, and the slip of the 24/7 service target to year-end. Grayson also connects the dots on why Tesla announced its four expansion cities (Las Vegas, Jacksonville, Phoenix, and San Antonio) in an order directly tracking physical depot construction. Meanwhile, Walt reacts to a Semafor report projecting Waymo could scale to 20,000 vehicles by the end of next year, surpassing his own 15,000-vehicle estimate, as Waymo launches service at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) and eyes Madrid (2027) and Toronto (2028). Closing out on the Foreign Autonomy Desk, a VW MOIA van was spotted testing in Europe bearing Wayve decals instead of Mobileye, while France signaled renewed regulatory backing for autonomous fleets. Episode Chapters 0:00 Nashville Field Report 08:38 Dallas Field Report 13:20 Avis Waymo Depot Buildout in Dallas 15:36 Houston Field Report 19:55 NHTSA Administrator Morrison Interview 21:08 Tesla Earnings 25:15 Waymo and Tesla Depot Infrastructure Buildout 27:17 Semafor Report: 20,000 Waymos by End of Next Year 28:43 Tesla Unsupervised Miles and 24/7 Service 31:17 Robotaxi Pricing vs. Rideshare 33:08 Tesla’s Four New Cities and the Depot Ground Truth 33:45 Waymo's Las Vegas Airport, Madrid and Toronto Expansions 35:08 Uber Nears 100 Fully Autonomous WeRide Vehicles in the UAE 37:19 Hertz, Avis and the Depot Market 39:46 GM’s $20 Billion Buyback 45:12 People First Transportation Alliance 51:06 London Driver Protests and TfL Robotaxi Caps 51:56 Santa Monica Leases Lots to Zoox 55:01 Foreign Autonomy Desk 56:08 Next Week 📄 Follow Waymo on The Road to Autonomy Indices -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy provides institutional intelligence for the Autonomy Economy, powered by AUTNMY AI. We built the indices, set the benchmarks, and execute the fieldwork to put decision-ready physical AI intelligence directly into your workflows with OMEGA. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. 📬 Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dermot O’Driscoll, Dermot O'Driscoll, Vice President, Go-To-Market, Physical AI, Arm, joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss scaling physical AI across the automotive and robotics markets. Arm is positioning its energy-efficient compute architecture at every layer of Physical AI, leveraging 30 years of automotive IP safety expertise alongside its mobile power-efficiency heritage. With robotics facing strict battery, weight, and thermal constraints, Arm’s low-power compute stack is essential to enabling extended operational runtimes. To solve ecosystem fragmentation and accelerate physical AI toward its ChatGPT moment, Arm recently launched its Robotics Capability Framework, a Level 0–5 framework inspired by SAE Levels of Driving Automation. The initiative aims to standardize capabilities and foster cross-layer collaboration among chipmaker, software, model, and hardware developers, attracting over 80 industry partners within its first month. Across the autonomous vehicle landscape, Arm architecture powers key chipsets in robotaxis, including ADAS controllers, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), ECUs, and sensors, while creating new opportunities for immersive in-cabin experiences like 4D gaming. Arm is currently projecting the physical AI compute market to grow from $25 billion today to $200 billion in the early 2030s. This 8x to 10x expansion will be driven by autonomous mobility and AI deployment across physical GDP sectors including agriculture, mining, shipping, and logistics. Episode Chapters 0:00 Growth of Physical AI Explosion 02:33 Arm's Heritage in Automotive & Mobile Compute 06:02 Why Low-Power Architecture Unlocks Robotics 08:00 Scaling Physical AI & Standardizing Capabilities 10:00 Arm's Robotics Capability Framework 13:35 Ecosystem Defragmentation 18:30 High-Performance Compute Constraints 22:00 Standardizing Robotic Architectures 25:19 Arm's Physical AI Business Unit 27:24 Comparing Physical AI Growth to Early Cloud Adoption 31:57 Robotaxi Compute Architecture 35:45 In-Vehicle Infotainmen Experiences 37:56 -$200B Compute Market Opportunity 42:26 Industrial Markets 47:34 5-Year Outlook for Physical AI 49:01 AUTNMY AI -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy provides institutional intelligence for the Autonomy Economy, powered by AUTNMY AI. We built the indices, set the benchmarks, and execute the fieldwork to put decision-ready physical AI intelligence directly into your workflows with OMEGA. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. 📬 Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter 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 field reports from San Antonio and Dallas, management turnover at Uber, Tesla’s Cybercab progress in Austin and upcoming Dallas expansion, regulatory shifts across the US and Europe, and Wayve’s momentum in securing major OEM partnerships. Grayson shares his experience taking a Waymo ride to the San Antonio International Airport (SAT), highlighting the seamless curbside drop-off that took under four minutes to reach security, while contrasting it with his SFO experience. With more field reports on the way, Grayson and Walt discuss key executive departures at Uber and what it might be signaling to the market. In Austin, Tesla reportedly surpassed 300 Cybercabs as they prepare to expand Cybercab to Dallas. Across the pond in London, the politics around deploying robotaxis are heating up as Tesla rebrands FSD in Europe to Assisted Driving. Episode Chapters 0:00 Waymo San Antonio Airport Experience 05:57 Motional’s Las Vegas Technical Center & Hyundai IONIQ 5 Upfitting 08:33 Private Ownership vs. Robotaxi Fleets 12:58 Human Factors and SAE Level 4 14:27 Autonomy Subscriptions 16:04 Dallas and Europe Field Reports 18:03 Uber's Management Turmoil 21:21 Uber's Lofty 15 City Robotaxi Goal 23:29 Growing Number of Cybercabs in Austin 28:01 Cybercab's Pending Dallas Launch 32:01 Waymo Opens Nashville Airport (BNA) Service 36:11 Zoox’s NHTSA Authorization for Hayward, California 38:17 Wayve's Potential Volkswagen Deal 41:18 Applied Intuition 43:29 Red Tape and Regulations 56:48 Verne's Shift Towards Fleet Management 59:25 Next Week 📄 Follow Waymo on The Road to Autonomy Indices -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy provides institutional intelligence for the Autonomy Economy, powered by AUTNMY AI. We built the indices, set the benchmarks, and execute the fieldwork to put decision-ready physical AI intelligence directly into your workflows with OMEGA. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. 📬 Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter 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 Signals presented by KPMG, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss NHTSA opening a safety inquiry into Tesla robotaxis speeding in active school zones, XPENG launching its XPENG YOYO robotaxi service, and a Danish supermarket testing humanoid robots on the night shift. NHTSA opened a safety inquiry into Tesla’s 2026 Model Y and Cybercab robotaxis after receiving public reports and video evidence of the vehicles speeding in active school zones. The inquiry covers an estimated 1,000 vehicles operating in Texas, Florida, and the Bay Area. No crashes, injuries, or citations were recorded in the submitted evidence. The inquiry adds to mounting federal pressure as NHTSA audits whether the Cybercab, built without a steering wheel or pedals, meets federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS). With both timelines converging around December and January, Tesla faces the potential risk of a software recall or of operating conditions, such as school zone restrictions, attached to any potential approval. XPENG announced the name its new robotaxi service called XPENG YOYO and opened public registration in China with international commercial service targeted for 2027. In a strategic move, XPENG will not operate fleets. Instead, it will act as a technology provider, earning revenue from hardware sales, software services, and commission sharing with local fleet operators globally. A Føtex supermarket near Copenhagen is testing Unitree G1 humanoid robots to stock shelves and handle repetitive tasks during night shifts. The robots run the Heimdall intelligence platform from Danish startup Hive Robots. They work more slowly than human employees, need close supervision, and under Danish regulations cannot operate autonomously around shoppers. The goal is independent overnight restocking with the store closed by early 2027. Hardware costs just over $50,000 and the first year total cost of ownership exceeds $100,000, so the trial is aimed at learning rather than near term economics. Føtex is owned by the Salling Group, Denmark’s largest retailer with more than 2,000 stores across six countries, which gives the program a path to scale. Episode Chapters 0:00 KPMG Sponsor Introduction 2:44 Signal 1: Tesla Robotaxi NHTSA School Zone Safety Inquiry 27:00 Signal 2: XPENG Introduces its YOYO Robotaxi Service 49:50 Signal 3: Supermarket Humanoids Hit The Night Shift In Denmark -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy provides institutional intelligence for the Autonomy Economy, powered by AUTNMY AI. We built the indices, set the benchmarks, and execute the fieldwork to put decision-ready physical AI intelligence directly into your workflows with OMEGA. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. 📬 Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Aaron Nathan, Founder and CEO of Point One Navigation, joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss powering precise location for physical AI. Since his last appearance on the podcast two years ago, Point One has expanded beyond autonomous vehicles into the broader physical AI sector, including autonomous mowers, agriculture, last-mile delivery, humanoids, and drones. At Point One’s core is one of the world’s largest professionally owned RTK networks, which refines standard GPS accuracy from roughly five meters down to two centimeters. Point One delivers its network, corrections, and software as a utility that customers can build on, much like a traditional wireless carrier. The company’s next frontier focuses on consistency over simply chasing millimeter-level precision, ensuring robots hit two-centimeter accuracy as reliably as possible and recognize when they fall short. In agriculture, Point One’s technology allows customers to record the exact location of every seed planted, reducing water, fertilizer, and pesticide use by up to 80% while maintaining or improving yields. In drone delivery, greater accuracy minimizes required drone spacing, enabling higher fleet density and increased delivery capacity. Episode Chapters 0:00 Point One Two Years Later 01:43 New Applications for Precise Location 06:58 Point One, A Location Company 11:24 Location for Last Mile Delivery 14:23 How RTK Delivers Two Centimeter Accuracy 19:30 Precision Location in Agriculture 22:45 Location for Humanoids 31:00 Location for Aerial Drones 37:35 GPS Denied Environments 39:17 $35 Million Series C 41:02 Fuse Conference 43:47 Future of Location Services 47:20 AUTNMY AI Attend the FUSE conference on November 19th in San Francisco and get a 30% discount code by using the code: FUSERTA Signup here: is https://fuse.pointonenav.com/sf -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy provides institutional intelligence for the Autonomy Economy, powered by AUTNMY AI. We built the indices, set the benchmarks, and execute the fieldwork to put decision-ready physical AI intelligence directly into your workflows with OMEGA. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. 📬 Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter 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 first ever debt raise, the latest The Road to Autonomy Field Reports and the emergence of London as an autonomy capital. Grayson views the debt raise as a clear signal of aggressive expansion, while Walt sees securing access to capital markets as a crucial strategic advantage as competition heats up. As Waymo continues to expand, the company launched fully autonomous operations in Detroit, with both Grayson and Walt agreeing that commercial service will commence before the end of the year. In Las Vegas, Zoox continues to deploy the Zoox way. Special Field Correspondent David Moss headed to Las Vegas to try out Zoox’s new drop-off location at the T-Mobile Arena. The ride from Resorts World cost $42.26 and took 28 minutes, including extra loops around the Excalibur parking lot compared to $18.68 for a Waymo Ojai ride. Across the Atlantic, London is emerging as a premier autonomy capital, with the guessing game heating up over whether Uber or its autonomous driving partners will secure the Automated Passenger Services (APS) permit. As Uber and its partners debate who gets the permit, Waymo is ramping up operations, preparing for what Grayson predicts will be a launch in London. On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, XPeng formally named its new robotaxi service YoYo, while Stellantis selected Momenta to power autonomous capabilities for its Peugeot and Jeep brands in mainland China. Episode Chapters 0:00 Atoms and Zoox Field Reports 05:15 Autonomy Roulette on Uber in Las Vegas 08:20 Waymo Raises $5 Billion in Debt 12:20 Waymo Launches Unsupervised Testing in Detroit 14:53 Tesla Robotaxi 24/7 Timeline in Austin 18:33 Uber and Pony.ai Head to London 25:12 How Long Until Wayve Goes Unsupervised? 33:21 Minneapolis Mayor Vetoes Driver-In Mandate as California Mandates U.S. Remote Operations 37:30 Autonomous Trucking, Cleared for Take-Off 42:36 Foreign Autonomy Desk 44:34 Next Week 📄 Follow Waymo on The Road to Autonomy Indices 📄 Follow Wayve on The Road to Autonomy Indices -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy provides institutional intelligence for the Autonomy Economy, powered by AUTNMY AI. We built the indices, set the benchmarks, and execute the fieldwork to put decision-ready physical AI intelligence directly into your workflows with OMEGA. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. 📬 Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter 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 Signals presented by KPMG, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey vetoing a city council ordinance that would have required human safety monitors in robotaxis, California requiring remote operators of autonomous vehicles to be physically located in the United States, and the U.S. Army creating the Futures and Autonomous Systems Command. The Minneapolis City Council voted 7 to 4 to require robotaxi operators to keep a human safety monitor earning the local minimum wage in every vehicle at all times. Mayor Frey vetoed the ordinance, calling it a backdoor ban. The council currently lacks the nine votes needed to override the veto. The veto keeps Waymo on its path to commercial deployment in Minneapolis. However, organized labor and safety advocates who secured the council majority can bring the measure back or push for legislation at the state level. In states lacking preemption, the ordinance serves as a template for driver mandates across the Midwest and Northeast that threaten to hold operators at the testing stage. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 1246, requiring remote operators who take direct control of an autonomous vehicle to be physically located in the United States and hold a valid California driver’s license. The law also mandates that operators dispatch local incident technicians when requested by emergency services, institutes fines for blocking first responders, and requires notification of local authorities during fleetwide outages. The requirements do not take effect until 2028, and the California DMV has yet to define the staffing ratios that will determine compliance costs. Whether offshore support teams must be relocated depends on how final rules distinguish remote assistance from direct remote driving. Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Martell signed a memorandum establishing the Futures and Autonomous Systems Command (FASCOM). FASCOM features a dedicated portfolio acquisition executive for autonomy to prioritize autonomous ground vehicles, watercraft, resupply, and breaching systems by fiscal year 2028. The Army is also expanding its 15X Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems Specialist and 390A Robotics Technician roles to integrate autonomy experts directly into tactical units. FASCOM’s modular open systems approach provides emerging autonomy companies such as Anduril, Shield AI, and Applied Intuition direct prototype lanes into operational formations, while traditional defense primes retain their roles as open system integrators. Episode Chapters 0:00 KPMG Sponsor Introduction 01:27 Signal 1: Minneapolis Mayor Vetoes Driver-In Mandate 29:37 Signal 2: California Mandates U.S. Remote Support for Autonomous Fleets 59:01 Signal 3: Army Builds a New Command for Robots -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy provides institutional intelligence for the Autonomy Economy, powered by AUTNMY AI. We built the indices, set the benchmarks, and execute the fieldwork to put decision-ready physical AI intelligence directly into your workflows with OMEGA. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. 📬 Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Zach Rash, Co-Founder and CEO of Coco Robotics joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss scaling Coco from 50 brands to more than 5,000 globally. Over the past two years, Coco has expanded its merchant network from 50 brands to over 5,000 across QSR, grocery, and retail. Growth has been fueled by a frictionless merchant onboarding workflow, as well as rising consumer tip fatigue. To accelerate their growth, Coco is upgrading its initial fleet of roughly 1,000 sidewalk-only Coco One robots to its next-generation vehicle, Coco Two. Capable of speeds up to 15 mph, Coco Two features a hybrid design that can transition from sidewalks to bike lanes and roadways, significantly increasing delivery distance and speed. Internationally, Coco is expanding across Europe, operating in the Finnish cities Helsinki and Turku alongside Wolt and Uber Eats. High urban density combined with severe winter weather creates acute courier supply shortages in European markets, making autonomous robot delivery a natural fit. With unit economics operating well below the cost of human couriers, Coco is targeting mass production of Coco Two to scale the fleet into the tens of thousands by 2027. Episode Chapters 0:00 Growth of Coco Robotics 05:48 Out-of-Home Advertising (OOH) 08:30 DoorDash and Uber Eats Partnerships 13:15 Scaling from 50 to 5,000+ Brands 21:07 International Expansion into Finland 26:51 Coco Two 31:45 Ralf Wenzel Joins the Board 39:23 Infrastructure Data 43:34 Unit Economics & Cost Efficiency 46:29 AUTNMY AI 📄 Follow Coco Robotics on The Road to Autonomy Indices -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy provides institutional intelligence for the Autonomy Economy, powered by AUTNMY AI. We built the indices, set the benchmarks, and execute the fieldwork to put decision-ready physical AI intelligence directly into your workflows with OMEGA. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. 📬 Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter 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 Grayson’s San Francisco Field Work where he rode in a Wayve vehicle on the freeway, compared Waymo’s Jaguar I-PACE and Ojai robotaxis back to back, attended DoorDash’s Dash Forward event, and found Travis Kalanick’s Atoms autonomous vehicle on the streets of San Francisco. Grayson’s verdict on Wayve is clear. With zero interventions in dense San Francisco traffic, the ride felt very similar to Tesla’s Robotaxi. Grayson believes Wayve has the world’s best competitor to FSD today, is 12 to 16 months from an L2+ product in market, and roughly 36 months from going fully unsupervised, most likely first in London. Waymo’s Ojai is still teething but dramatically better than three weeks ago, and while the driving felt identical to Texas, the San Francisco vehicles were spotless while Austin remains the dirtiest Waymo market Grayson has ridden in. After months of searching, Grayson found the Atoms autonomous vehicle near Golden Gate Park, located its depot through OMEGA, and will release an Atoms Field Report on Monday. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi rode unsupervised in a Pony.ai powered Verne robotaxi in Zagreb, while speculation builds that Mobileye might not have a future in robotaxis. On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Dubai opened the Dubai Autonomous Mobility Lab as it prepares for 25% fully autonomous operations, with WeRide already operating fully autonomously in the Emirate. Episode Chapters 0:00 Waymo SFO Pickup Experience 04:38 Wayve San Francisco and Freeway Ride 08:58 Wayve Timeline to Unsupervised 10:13 233,000 Mile Waymo I-PACE 13:23 Waymo's Avomo Problem 16:23 Atoms Autonomous Vehicle 20:08 Mysterious BMW Testing in San Francisco and Mountain View 22:08 DoorDash Dash Forward Event 25:39 Dara Khosrowshahi Rides Unsupervised in Zagreb 27:02 Where's Mobileye? 30:05 Lyft Expands Brand to Europe 33:15 Who Jumps from Uber to Lyft First? 36:49 When Does Uber Vertically Integrate Robotaxis? 43:24 Zoox Perceived Intersection Problems 45:18 Kodiak Announces IKEA as Unsupervised Over-the-Road Partner 49:05 Foreign Autonomy Desk 49:30 Next Week 📄 Follow Waymo on The Road to Autonomy Indices 📄 Follow Wayve on The Road to Autonomy Indices 📄 Follow DoorDash Dot on The Road to Autonomy Indices -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy provides institutional intelligence for the Autonomy Economy, powered by AUTNMY AI. We built the indices, set the benchmarks, and execute the fieldwork to put decision-ready physical AI intelligence directly into your workflows with OMEGA. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. 📬 Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter 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 their Texas Field Work where they rode in Cybercab, Waymo, Avride, May Mobility robotaxis, Kodiak and Aurora autonomous trucks, and inspected depots across Austin and Dallas. Grayson’s verdict on Tesla’s Cybercab is simple. Once you go Cybercab, you don’t go back. In Austin, wait times averaged two to five minutes across dozens of rides, and from a software perspective Grayson found no material difference between Cybercab and the Model Y Robotaxi in terms of performance. In Austin, Grayson counted roighly 200 to 300 vehicles at Avride’s upfitting facility, a presence he believes the market is overlooking, and views Hyundai as a quiet winner of the robotaxi buildout with the IONIQ 5 powering Waymo, Avride and Motional. The Zoox depot in Dallas was under construction with no visible charging infrastructure, and Grayson estimates it is 12 to 18 months from being operational. Both Walt and Grayson rode in a Kodiak autonomous truck and Walt noted clear improvement ahead of Kodiak’s driver-out target on the Dallas to Houston lane by year-end. Additionally, Walt rode in an unsupervised Aurora autonomous truck at their Investor Day. On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Baidu is ramping supervised robotaxi testing in London with Lyft, Mercedes-Benz signed a licensing deal with Wayve, and Tensor Auto is preparing to deploy robotaxis with Volt Premium Taxi in Bulgaria. Episode Chapters 0:00 Once You Go Cybercab, You Don't Go Back 03:56 Robotaxi in Dallas 09:01 Cybercab Wait Times, Pickups and Routing in Austin 12:10 Austin Robotaxi Depots 13:45 Avride's Austin Depot 16:02 Zoox's Dallas Depot 17:22 May Mobility in Arlington 20:17 Kodiak Targets Driver-Out on Dallas to Houston by Year-End 24:19 Avride in Dallas and the Uber Partner Math 26:46 Hyundai Is the Quiet Winner in Robotaxis 27:30 Walt Amends His View on Upfitting 30:57 Tesla's Vertical Integration and Supercharger Advantage 33:06 Aurora Investor Day and the 1,000 Truck Target 40:22 President Xi's Visit and a Wake-Up Call for Detroit 47:01 Foreign Autonomy Desk 49:33 Next Week 📄 Follow Waymo on The Road to Autonomy Indices 📄 Follow Tesla on The Road to Autonomy Indices 📄 Follow Avride on The Road to Autonomy Indices 📄 Follow May Mobility on The Road to Autonomy Indices -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™. Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. 📬 Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter 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 Signals presented by KPMG, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss May Mobility filing to go public through a SPAC merger with an estimated $93 million annual cash burn, Mercedes-Benz adding Wayve as its third automated driving software partner, and Figure AI’s Helix 2.5 taking on household chores across 30 homes it had never seen before. May Mobility is merging with ACP Holdings Acquisition Corp at a $1.4 billion valuation and will trade under the ticker MAY upon completion of the transaction. Of the up to $337 million in proceeds, only the $120 million PIPE is committed. At the company’s current burn rate, the PIPE covers about 1.3 years of operations against roughly $10 million in 2025 revenue. The remaining $217 million depends on the redemption rate. Mercedes-Benz signed with Wayve for point-to-point Level 2 driving assistance within two years. Wayve joins NVIDIA and Momenta as Mercedes retreats from L3 Drive Pilot and focuses on L2 driving assistance partnerships. Figure AI’s Helix 2.5 raised zero-shot success from 9% to 56% by pre-training on human behavior data, using half the task-specific data. That still leaves a 44% failure rate in curated homes, with no independent replication and no commercial contracts. The result supports a learning strategy, not a dependable, unsupervised home humanoid. Episode Chapters 0:00 KPMG Sponsor Introduction 01:45 Signal 1: May Mobility's SPAC 27:52 Signal 2: Mercedes Partners Wayve on Autonomous Driving 47:07 Signal 3: Figure AI Introduces Helix 2.5 Follow May Mobility on the Robotaxi Index Follow Wayve on the Autonomous Driving Licensing Index -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™. Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lee Redden, Founder of LastFeet joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss solving the last 50 feet of package delivery with a custom-built legged robot designed to ride in the jump seat of a delivery van and carry packages from the curb to the doorstep. After co-founding Blue River Technology and selling it to Deere, Lee returned to building because he believes this is one of the best times ever to build robots. LastFeet’s robot walks on four legs with wheels on its feet, so it can climb the high step out of a box truck and then roll quickly and steadily to the door. It learns to walk entirely in simulation, a big change from the hand-calculated kinematics Lee learned in grad school. The inspiration came from delivery drivers. Lee interviewed dozens of drivers and shadowed their routes, then modeled his robot on the runner, the second person who rides in the passenger seat on busy days and carries packages to the door while the driver keeps driving. On day one, the robot sits in the jump seat with no change to how the back of the van is loaded. The driver loads a package, the robot bows at the door to set it on the step, and if it runs into something it can’t handle, it asks a remote human for help. The first robot carries 15 pounds, which covers most packages, and runs on an NVIDIA Orin AGX with two-hour hot-swappable batteries. When it’s unsure what to do, its safety response is to freeze in place and turn into a table. Episode Chapters 0:00 Why Lee Redden Is Building Again 02:41 How the LastFeet Robot Works 04:56 How to Build a Robot in 2026 07:27 Testing in Snow and Ice 10:00 How the Robot Delivers to Every Doorstep 12:43 Riding in the Jump Seat of a Delivery Van 15:00 Manufacturing at Scale 18:46 Building for Rugged Delivery Vans 22:54 LastFeet Business Model 29:32 Battery Life and Charging in the Van 32:11 What Lee Learned Shadowing 50 Delivery Drivers 37:28 Safety and Building Trust With the Public 40:18 The Future of LastFeet 43:11 AUTNMY AI Follow The Road to Autonomy Indices -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™. Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter 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 expansion to Tokyo and Singapore, NHTSA’s ongoing audit of Tesla’s Cybercab in Austin and Bolt’s plan to deploy up to 25,000 Lucid robotaxis in Europe. Today, Tesla has roughly 40 Cybercabs operating in Austin, and Grayson believes Tesla is respectfully holding at its home market while NHTSA completes a fact-finding audit. If Tesla passes, it is free to deploy in any state that permits fully autonomous operations. Walt expects the process to wrap by year-end, and Grayson reads Administrator Morrison’s Pittsburgh speech on updating outdated federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) as a signal that a pathway is opening. As Waymo continues their global expansion, Grayson predicts Singapore will be an IONIQ 5 market and Tokyo a Toyota market, with the vehicle constraint that has defined Waymo now dissipating, and he reads the Allianz partnership as the insurance piece falling into place for Waymo’s grand European expansion. In Las Vegas, riders can now go anywhere in the ODD, and in Nashville, The Road to Autonomy Special Field correspondent David Moss got banned from the Lyft app playing autonomy roulette. May Mobility announced a SPAC with $10 million of 2025 revenue and a $270,000 bill of materials, and Wayve hired Waymo’s former CFO, which Grayson views as a signal Wayve may be eyeing the public markets. On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Grayson and Walt analyzed Einride’s deployment in Germany, Pony AI, Uber and Verne’s driver-out launch in Zagreb on a 13.67-mile fixed loop. Spain issued its first SAE Level 4 permit to WeRide and Uber, with Grayson predicting a Waymo expansion to Madrid by Q2 of next year. In Singapore, Grab is expanding their WeRide fleet 5X to 50 robotaxis. Episode Chapters 0:00 Reviewing the Jason Calacanis Episode 03:17 Tesla Cybercab NHTSA Audit 06:23 NHTSA Administrator Morrison's Pittsburgh Speech 08:14 Waymo on Lyft in Nashville 10:56 Waymo in Las Vegas 13:17 Waymo in Tokyo and Singapore 16:20 Waymo / Allianz Partnership 17:25 Bolt's Grand Robotaxi Ambitions 20:45 May Mobility SPAC 23:42 Wayve's Hires Waymo's Fmr. CFO 24:45 Hyundai IONIQ 5 Robotaxis 28:11 Autonomous Trucking 30:34 Foreign Autonomy Desk 35:35 Next Week Follow The Road to Autonomy Indices -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™. Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter 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 Signals presented by KPMG, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss NHTSA ordering Tesla to answer 21 technical and legal questions under oath by September 30 on Cybercab self-certification, Waymo hitting local political friction in San Diego after CPUC approval, and GMO Air unveiling a robot EMS vehicle in Tokyo built to service humanoids in the field. NHTSA’s Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, by special order signed by the Chief Counsel, required Tesla to explain how a steering-wheel-free Cybercab meets FMVSS 101, 102, 108, 111, 126, and 135 standards written around human controls such as mirrors, brake pedals, turn-signal self-cancel, and shift displays, and why Tesla did not seek a Part 555 exemption as Zoox did. The inquiry also asks whether some test results depended on temporary manual controls later removed. Public Cybercab service began September 3, 2026 in Austin. Nothing in the order grounds the fleet or caps production; September 30 is an evidentiary deadline, not a shutdown date. While Tesla answers Washington, San Diego City Council voted 8–0 to request local regulatory authority over AI and autonomous vehicles, a follow-up to CPUC approval that gives the city no power to stop Waymo. California has preempted local autonomous vehicles rules for more than a decade. The San Diego City Council resolution is toothless on paper, but it flags the real friction points: emergency-response incidents, airport access outside state preemption, stricter local ticketing after a July 1 law, and depot or charging permits that still sit with the city. Waymo called the move extraordinarily premature and cited a 100,000-person local waitlist; it already has a field-verified operational depot in San Diego. In Tokyo, GMO Air unveiled a robot EMS vehicle equipped with diagnostic tools, spare parts, a backup humanoid, and a purple roof light distinct from red human-ambulance lighting. The demo still used human-in-the-loop controls because of latency. The signal is adjacent infrastructure, field maintenance and uptime for deployed humanoids, not a driverless medical ambulance for people. Episode Chapters 0:00 KPMG Sponsor Introduction 01:41 Signal 1: Will NHTSA Ground Cybercab? 26:59 Signal 2: San Diego City Council Wants Local Control 48:39 Signal 3: Japan’s Ambulance for Humanoids Follow The Road to Autonomy Indices -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™. Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.