
Advertise on podcast: Autonomy Markets
Rating
5from
This podcast has
74 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
Grayson Brulte and Walter PiecykExplicit
No
Date created
2024/09/25
Latest episode
2026/02/04
Average duration
41 min.
Release period
8 days
Description
Welcome to Autonomy Markets, the premier podcast that explores the world of autonomous vehicles, self-driving cars, and EV technology, and their impact on the financial markets. Each episode dives into the future of mobility innovation, examining how autonomous driving and AI in transportation are transforming investment strategies, stock market trends, and economic forecasts. Join experts Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk as they discuss the latest advancements in autonomous technology and how these innovations are reshaping the auto industry and global markets.
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12,961 Tesla FSD Supervised Miles, Zero Interventions & Unsupervised Robotaxis in Austin
2026/02/04
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk are joined by their first-ever guest, David Moss, to discuss his 12,961-mile zero-intervention drive across the country on Tesla FSD, the reality of the Unsupervised Robotaxi rollout in Austin, and the commercial viability of LiDAR sensors in consumer vehicles.
The conversation heats up as Walt questions David, a LiDAR LiDAR Salesman on whether the massive data processing requirements of LiDAR could introduce latency, potentially citing a recent Waymo incident involving a child as a case study. David argues that while LiDAR offers theoretical range advantages, the compute wall and cost constraints make it a one-trick pony compared to the scalability of a vision-only stack.
While the group debates sensor suites, David shares his on-the-ground experience in Austin, revealing it took 58 attempts to finally secure a ride in a Unsupervised Tesla Robotaxi, and confirmed the fleet is being retrofitted with new cleaning jets for the camera sensors to handle weather occlusion.
Looking at the broader robotaxi market, the trio analyzes their Zoox experiences at CES, with David noting the vehicle’s braking was significantly harsher than Waymo or Tesla FSD, while Walt highlights the motion sickness challenges inherent in the vehicle’s carriage-style seating configuration.
In Prediction Corner, the group debates the timeline for Tesla removing the safety driver on highways, with David offering a bullish forecast for Memorial Day, while Walt and Grayson take a more conservative stance, predicting a rollout closer to late 2026.
Episode Chapters
0:00 Coast to Coast Fully Autonomous in a Tesla Model 3
10:49 The Next Record
12:16 FSD Unsupervised in Austin
16:16 Waymo Experience on Uber in Austin
17:17 Robotaxi Safety Attendants
19:44 Unsupervised Robotaxi Service Area
21:43 Sensor Cleaning
26:05 Robotaxi, No Highways in Austin, Yet
32:11 Zoox Las Vegas Experiences
37:13 LiDAR
48:07 Why Autonomy
Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™.
The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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]
Waymo's LiDAR Controversy, Tesla’s Mega Merger, and Waabi’s Pivot to Robotaxis
2026/01/31
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s LiDAR controversy following an incident in a Santa Monica school zone, the potential of a mega merger between Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, and Waabi’s $750 million capital raise to pivot into robotaxis.
The conversation heats up as Walt and Grayson debate the efficacy of LiDAR versus camera-only approaches, questioning if sensor fusion latency contributed to the Waymo incident where a child ran out from behind a vehicle.
While Waymo handles the incident in Santa Monica, Tesla is further accelerating their shift to an autonomy/robotics company by shutting down Model S and Model X lines for Optimus Gen 3 humanoids.
Looking at the broader market, Grayson and Walt analyze Waabi’s strategic expansion from trucking into robotaxis, with Walt drawing parallels to early industry pivots and Grayson questioning the viability of managing two distinct autonomy programs.
On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, they highlight Waymo’s recent launch party in London, noting the imported vehicles still feature American driving configurations, and discuss Pony.ai’s partnership to deploy 3,000 robotaxis in mainland China.
Episode Chapters
0:00 Waymo Opens SFO Airport Access
5:45 Waymo’s Santa Monica Incident
16:27 Tesla Earnings and New Robotaxi Markets
22:04 David Moss’ Austin Robotaxi Adventures
24:12 Robotaxi’s Enchanced Camera Cleaning System
26:38 Inspector Uncovers, Walt Warns
27:43 The Potential Great Elon Merger
30:35 Waabi Raises $750m, Pivots to Robotaxis
39:27 Does Uber Reboot ATG?
42:55 Plus AI Analyst Day
50:01 Foreign Autonomy Desk
53:18 Next Week
Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™.
The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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]
Tesla Robotaxi Underwritten and Unleashed
2026/01/24
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Tesla officially removing safety attendants from Robotaxis in Austin, Waymo’s commercial launch in Miami, and Serve Robotics’ strategic acquisition of Diligent Robotics.
It finally happened. Tesla has removed safety attendants from a select group of vehicles in Austin. While this initial fleet is limited and operating in a specific geofence and utilizing chase cars, Grayson and Walt view this as a critical validation of the technology.
Looking ahead, Grayson predicts the operational domain will expand significantly in Austin over the next 60 days, with the Phoenix metro region slated as the next target market for deployment. As Tesla went safety attendant-out, Waymoopened the Miami market for limited commercial service within a 60-square-mile area, with one major caveat, no Miami Beach.
On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Grayson and Walt discuss Geely’s plan to deploy 100,000 methanol-powered robotaxis in China and the South Korean government’s selection of Gwangju as the nation’s first dedicated autonomous vehicle testing zone.
Episode Chapters0:00 Tesla Removes Safety Attendant in Austin 9:19 Operational Efficiency 10:33 Alex Roy Goes Coast-to-Coast with Zero FSD Interventions 14:15 Drive on FSD, Get a Discount 18:25 FSD is Expanding as Prices are Increasing 23:31 New Robotaxi Markets 24:53 Waymo Launches Miami Markets28:33 Vandalizing Waymo's32:20 Serve Robotics Acquires Diligent Robotics36:41 Foreign Autonomy Desk 39:21 Next Week
Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™.
The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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]
Your Ride Just Got Fewer Sensors. Problem?
2026/01/17
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss New York Governor Hochul’s bill to legalize autonomous vehicles in New York, with New York City notably carved out, Uber’s changing Waymopartnership language and Waymo’s upcoming expansion to Sydney.
In New York, autonomous vehicles could be coming to state roads, but not New York City, as Mayor Mamdani is prioritizing taxi drivers over robotaxi deployment. Down in Texas, where autonomous vehicles can operate anywhere, Waymo has expanded their service area in Austin as Uber has changed their promotional language from “exclusively available on Uber” to simply “available on Uber” when promoting Waymo rides.
On the international front, Waymo is actively planning to expand to Sydney following meetings with Australian Transport Minister Catherine King. In China, WeRide robotaxis are now available in the WeChat super app, enabling riders in Beijing to order autonomous rides directly through the platform.
Episode Chapters
0:00 Verizon Outage
1:45 New York’s Unkind Welcome to Autonomous Vehicles
9:19 Robotaxi and Waymo Face-off in Austin
12:47 Autonomy Markets Merch
14:15 FSD Goes Subscription Only on Valentine’s Day
17:18 Waymo Eyes Australian Expansion
21:03 Tensor Auto
24:06 Stack AV
26:14 Plus AI Expands to Japan
28:33 Foreign Autonomy Desk
30:33 Next Week
Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™.
The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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]
CES 2026: The Autonomy Narrative Just Changed
2026/01/10
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss CES 2026, Zoox’s performance on the Las Vegas Strip and Uber’s potential long-term autonomy plans.
Zoox’s performance was one of those hopefully “only in Las Vegas” moments, as the vehicle was seen stopping in the middle of traffic and blocking entrances on a regular basis. Which raises the question; what is Amazon going to do with Zoox? Do they overhaul management, make an acquisition, or simply shut it down and move on?
While Zoox struggled, NVIDIA introduced their open-source Alpamayo AI models under an Apache 2.0 license to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles and sell more GPUs.
Closing out the show, the discussion shifts to hardware and global expansion, contrasting Waymo’s bulky new Ojai vehicle with the well-designed Lucid-Nuro robotaxi.
Episode Chapters
0:00 CES 2026
2:13 Zoox CES Experience
8:41 NVIDIA’s CES Announcements
12:45 SAE Level 2
16:59 Waymo Ojai
19:31 Lucid / Nuro Robotaxi
21:29 Does Uber Need to Vertically Integrate Autonomy in the Future?
25:05 Waymo / Uber Relationship
27:37 Tensor Auto
32:49 Foreign Autonomy Desk
34:35 Disgrace of The Week
38:24 Next Week
Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™.
The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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]
Waymo's PR Problem and Tesla's Missed Deadlines
2026/01/05
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the fallout from Waymo’s crisis management failure in San Francisco, where a power outage left hundreds of vehicles stranded and blocking intersections throughout the city.
Waymo’s prolonged silence on the incident and lack of transparency regarding what truly happened could lead to a decline in public trust just as robotaxis begin to scale. Down in Austin, Tesla missed their 2025 driver-out deadline in Austin, prompting Grayson to push his prediction for driver-out/safety attendant out commercial service to late February or early March 2026.
Then there is Uber, a company with an ever-changing narrative around autonomy—shifting from demand-generation to hybrid networks, and now claiming mass adoption is still decades away. What will the next narrative be, and will it change once again post-CES?
Closing out the show, Grayson and Walt discuss how escalating geopolitical tensions in Venezuela and potential political shifts in the UK could force a hard reset for companies relying on Chinese autonomous technology to scale their robotaxi businesses.
Episode Chapters
0:00 Lights Out in San Francisco
2:44 Why Did Waymo’s Freeze When the Power Went Out?
8:34 Remote Drivers
15:00 Robotaxi in Austin
18:33 Scaling Robotaxi
22:48 Autonomous Vehicle Policy
24:47 Austin Incident Reports
27:17 Uber’s Ever-Changing Narrative
30:31 Miami-Dade Sheriff Deploys Autonomous Patrol Vehicles
32:38 Foreign Autonomy Desk
40:26 CES
Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™.
The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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]
Tesla’s Austin Moment, LiDAR Chapter 11 & HYPR Emerges
2025/12/20
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk, Grayson hit the road and met with Tim Kentley-Klay of HYPRLABS in San Francisco, Tesla started removing the safety attendees in Austin and Waymo is reportedly raising another round at a $110 billion valuation.
Grayson shares details from his exclusive first ride in the HYPRDRIVE vehicle in San Francisco and insights from his The Road to Autonomy podcast interview with Tim Kentley Klay. They discuss HYPR’s emergence from stealth and the company’s unique vision-only, self-reinforcement learning approach to autonomy.
As the vision-only modality gains market validation, the conversation shifts to Waymo. Despite generating significant momentum with a sensor suite heavily reliant on LiDAR and radar, the company is reportedly seeking to raise $15 billion in external capital at a $110 billion valuation. Grayson and Walt debate the strategic logic behind the raise and offer predictions on when Waymo will surpass one million paid rides per week.
Closing out the show, they analyze the implications of a recent Bloomberg report suggesting that Sterling Anderson is being groomed to become the next CEO of GM.
Episode Chapters
0:00 Brighter with Herbert
1:32 HYPRDRIVE Ride and Meeting with Tim Kentley Klay
6:50 Waymo From SFO to the City with No Highway
12:28 Tesla Starts Removing Safety Attendants in Austin
18:03 Luminar Files for Chapter 11
22:26 California's Pending Tesla Ban
25:30 Sterling Anderson's Growing Role at GM
31:24 Waymo's Capital Raise
37:43 Kodiak's Partnership with Verizon
39:58 Next Week
Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™.
The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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]
Rivian’s Vertical Integration Bet, Wayve’s Nissan Win & Uber’s Autonomy Narrative
2025/12/13
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Rivian’s bold vertical integration bet as the EV maker announced plans to build their own chips and lidar sensors, effectively moving away from NVIDIA.
Is the introduction of “Autonomy+”, a new software subscription priced to undercut competitors a risky distraction or a necessary move as the company works toward profitability? As Rivian looks inward, Wayve signed a major win, signing a definitive agreement to scale with Nissan in North America and Japan beginning in 2027.
Then there is Uber. Who does Uber want to be when autonomy grows up, and who will their partners ultimately be and what those relationships will look like in the long term? Currently, Uber’s autonomy narrative faces challenges, as the company appears to be playing defense while getting front-run by partners Waymo in the U.S. and Momenta in Abu Dhabi.
Closing out the show, Grayson and Walt discuss the growing world of international autonomy on the weekly Foreign Autonomy Desk segment, covering updates from Bolt, Stellantis, and Caterpillar.
Episode Chapters
0:00 Rivian’s Autonomy Ambitions
13:11 Licensing Autonomous Driving Stacks
17:29 Wayve’s Approach to Autonomy
21:07 Tesla’s Safety Attendant Out in Austin Plans
23:35 Waymo’s Blitz Scaling
27:37 Waymo’s Growing OOH Ad Business
32:32 Uber’s Autonomy Narrative
37:57 Serve Robotics 2,000 Robot Delivery Milestone
39:30 Tensor Auto / Zero Partnership
42:13 Aurora’s Permian Basin Expansion
44:47 Foreign Autonomy Desk
52:16 Next Week
Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™.
The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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]
Waymo Upstages Uber’s Party: Avride’s Debut & The Reality of Scaling
2025/12/06
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss "Thriller in the Big D" as Waymo upstages Uber’s party in Dallas. The day before Uber was set to announce its commercial launch with Avride in Dallas, Waymo stole the spotlight by announcing they went driver-out in the same city.
During the episode Grayson and Walt analyzed the fallout from this timing, including Uber’s "marketing fail" where a safety driver was spotted in promotional footage, and debate whether Avride’s limited 9-square-mile launch is a legitimate business move or just another "science project".
Beyond the drama in Texas, they dove into the broader race to scale, questioning if adding a few hundred cars in new markets Houston, Baltimore, and St. Louis truly counts as commercial scaling. As Waymo announces new markets, Sterling Anderson is aggressively hiring at GM and the autonomous trucking market is beginning to heat up.
Episode Chapters
0:00 The Thriller in Big D featuring Waymo, Avride and Uber
5:17 Autonomous Vehicle Messaging
7:01 Avride / Uber's Dallas Service Area
10:14 No New Waymo/Uber Markets, So Far
13:50 Waymo's Rapid Expansion
18:56 Waymo's Six Stages of Autonomy
20:26 No Waymo Commercial Launch for Art Basel
21:49 Will Tesla Robotaxis Ever Be Available on Uber?
23:06 FSD Updates
25:00 Sterling Anderson's Growing Role at GM
29:04 Wayve Acquires Quality Match
29:41 Foreign Autonomy Desk
30:13 Waymo's Continuing Zeekr Issue
32:21 Autonomous Trucking
33:50 Next Week
Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™.
The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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]
China vs US: Who Can Scale Faster, WeRide or Waymo?
2025/11/29
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Uber and WeRide's fully autonomous launch in Abu Dhabi, marking Uber's first robotaxi deployment without a safety driver outside the United States.
On WeRide's earnings, the company announced a fleet of 1,600 autonomous vehicles with 750 robotaxis, while Pony.ai announced plans to triple its fleet to 3,000 by end of next year through its Bolt partnership. As Chinese robotaxi companies expand globally, the scaling question emerges: who grows the fastest?
It was another big week for Waymo as the California DMV approved a massive service area expansion that will come with infrastructure challenges and a need for thousands of additional vehicles if Waymo decides to ultimately operate in the approved area.
Later the conversation shifts to Tesla, where Walt shares his firsthand experience with FSD 14.2 in Mad Max mode in New York City. Both Grayson and Walt make predictions on Tesla removing the safety attendant in Austin and expanding to new markets including Arizona, Florida, and potentially Las Vegas by end of next year.
Episode Chapters
0:00 WeRide and Uber Go Fully Autonomous in Abu Dhabi
3:08 WeRide Earnings
6:33 Robotaxi Volumes and Business Models
10:13 Waymo's California DMV Expansion Approval
14:01 Waymo's Santa Monica Depot Noise Issues
20:20 Tesla Robotaxi Scale Plans
24:31 Tesla FSD 14.2 Update
27:52 Do We Want to Drive Anymore?
31:25 Next Week
Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™.
The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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]
Waymo's Six Stages of Autonomy
2025/11/22
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s accelerated nationwide expansion with new markets, Minneapolis, Tampa, New Orleans, Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando getting ready to come online, while breaking down and coin Waymo’s Six Stages of Autonomy.
As Waymo expands, competition is brewing in Dallas where Avride in partnership with Uber and Lyft in partnership with Mobileye will begin to operate commercial robotaxi services later this year and into next year, as Dallas begins to emerge as a major robotaxi market.
Beyond Waymo, the episode explores broader industry signals, from sidewalk delivery robots that are scaling, to Zoox’s extremely limited San Francisco deployment despite Amazon resources, and the accelerating Chinese robotaxi expansion into Europe.
Episode Chapters
0:00 Waymo’s On-Going Expansion
2:21 Waymo’s Disney World Opportunity
8:04 Waymo’s Six Stages of Autonomy
14:45 Waymo’s Upcoming Dallas Launch
18:08 Dallas Robotaxi Competition
20:36 Waymo’s Current Political Issues
25:09 Scaling Delivery Robots
28:41 Zoox Has Scale Ambitions
32:34 Foreign Autonomy Desk
33:21 Next Week
Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™.
The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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]
Waymo's Highway Unlock Is Real. Its Moat Still Isn't.
2025/11/15
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo's great highway unlock, their Bay Area expansion to 260 square miles and the launch of commercial service at the San Jose Airport.Despite the expansion, Waymo remains sharply vehicle-constrained. Bloomberg reported this week that the company is operating roughly 1,000 vehicles in the Bay Area, 700 in Los Angeles, 500 in Phoenix, 200 in Austin, and just 100 in Atlanta, for a total fleet of approximately 2,500 vehicles spread across all markets.In the autonomous trucking market, Kodiak continues to demonstrate that the economics work. With 10 fully driverless trucks generating revenue in the Permian Basin, the company logged 5,200 paid hours last quarter, up 166% from Q2, a meaningful validation of the model.Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Walt examine why technology leadership means nothing without scalable manufacturing partnerships and now how autonomous trucking is pulling ahead of robotaxis on business model execution, and what global expansion in Abu Dhabi and Singapore signals about the global competitive landscape.
Episode Chapters0:00 Waymo Expands to Highways3:58 Vehicle Supply16:56 California Airports19:28 Tesla FSD Update21:42 Uber Ski25:21 Kodiak29:40 Foreign Autonomy Desk30:40 Next Week
Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™.
The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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]
Waymo Expands, Lyft Builds, Uber Ducks as Tesla Rewrites the Autonomy Script
2025/11/08
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s expansion into three new markets, Uber’s role in autonomy and Lyft’s growing infrastructure ambitions.
Beneath the headlines, Tesla is aiming to once again reshape the entire autonomous driving industry with their AI5 chip, FSD Unsupervised deployment, and the expansion of their insurance business. As Tesla continues to focus on what’s next, Uber is sending mixed messages to the market while engineers across Silicon Valley begin exploring alternatives to Nvidia’s GPUs.
Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson and Walt discuss what happens when the world’s largest autonomy players diverge on strategy and long-standing partnerships begin to falter.
Episode Chapters
0:00 Waymo’s Three City Expansion
2:11 Waymo & Uber’s Relationship
4:21 Managing Robotaxi Fleets
14:56 Robotaxis at Airports
16:40 Uber’s Autonomy Messaging Strategy
23:12 NVIDIA and the Growing Demand for new Chips
25:45 Applied Intuition
28:19 Tesla
37:14 Foreign Autonomy Desk
40:02 Next Week
Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™.
The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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]
NVIDIA’s Autonomy Ambitions Become Clearer as Waymo and Uber Head for Divorce
2025/11/01
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss NVIDIA’s ever expanding autonomy ambitions and the fracturing relationship between Waymo and Uber, which may signal the end of one of the industry’s most-watched partnerships.Jensen Huang’s latest GTC announcements further signaled that NVIDIA is moving beyond supplying compute to potentially building their own full autonomy stack and licensing it. Grayson and Walt trace this shift back to the early days NVIDIA’s automotive division and the evolution of its Hyperion platform, which is now positioned not only to power OEMs but also to compete directly with the very companies that rely on its GPUs to enable autonomous driving systems.While NVIDIA appears poised to compete with its customers, Waymo and Uber’s partnership is showing signs of unraveling after Uber announced plans to deploy Lucid/Nuro autonomous vehicles in San Francisco next year, directly challenging Waymo on in their home market.Grayson likens the move to “divorce court,” raising questions about how the companies will divide the Austin and Atlanta markets, where Waymo currently operates exclusively on Uber’s platform. The episode closes with updates on Aurora’s strategic pivot and the Foreign Autonomy Desk, covering Baidu’s expansion in Hong Kong, Uber’s European ambitions, and continued progress in Tesla’s FSD rollout.
Episode Chapters0:00 NVIDIA’s Autonomy Ambitions7:13 Waymo & Uber’s Fracturing Relationship9:35 Nuro’s Upcoming Launch on Uber in San Francisco11:51 Gemini is Coming to Waymo14:05 Boston’s Autonomous Vehicle Blunder15:43 Seattle’s Challenging Political Environment17:34 Political Coalitions19:36 Aurora’s Pivot25:32 Tesla Robotaxi / FSD 14 Updates30:04 Foreign Autonomy Desk33:08 Next Week
Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™.
The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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]
Tesla’s Robotaxi Scale Plan, NVIDIA’s Autonomy Ambitions
2025/10/25
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Tesla’s Q3 earnings call, NVIDIA’s strategic partnership with Uber, and GM’s surprising return to autonomy under Sterling Anderson’s leadership.
The conversation opens with Walt’s firsthand insights from Tesla’s Q3 2025 earnings call, where the company confirmed plans to remove safety attendants across “large parts” of Austin by year-end after accumulating 250,000 robotaxi miles.
Tesla also announced 8–10 additional markets coming online by year-end, including Florida, Arizona, and Nevada, following the company’s phased rollout playbook: safety-attended operations first, followed by fully autonomous service. Grayson projects more than 300 Model Y robotaxis operating in Austin by mid-2026, potentially joined by 25–50 Cybercabs pending NHTSA exemptions.
The discussion then turns to NVIDIA’s newly announced partnership with Uber, which Grayson sees as signaling something much bigger than data sharing. He suggests NVIDIA could be positioning to acquire a leading autonomous driving developer such as Wayve, mirroring its CUDA strategy where software dominance separated it from competitors.
His thesis: NVIDIA will ultimately own and license an autonomy stack across the industry, creating existential risk for startups dependent on its compute. Walt explores the market dynamics and potential conflicts that arise when your chip vendor becomes your competitor, while noting that NVIDIA’s brand power could simultaneously validate the entire autonomy market.
The week also brought news from GM, which re-entered the autonomy race by announcing a 2028 “hands-off, eyes-off” system debuting in the Cadillac Escalade IQ. Sterling Anderson confirmed GM’s staged rollout plan: highways first, urban next, then full urban autonomy.
Closing out the episode, Grayson and Walt debut the Foreign Autonomy Desk, covering Baidu Apollo’s partnership with Swiss PostBus, WeRide and Uber’s shuttle launch in Saudi Arabia, May Mobility’s strategic investment from Grab.
Episode Chapters
0:00 Tesla Q3 2025 Earnings
14:58 NVIDIA’s Autonomy Ambitions
20:59 Avride & Uber’s Autonomy Investment Strategy
23:09 GM is Back in Autonomy
28:46 Waymo Begins Manually Testing at EWR (Newark Airport)
32:14 Foreign Autonomy Desk
Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™.
The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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]
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