Episode 356 | Autonomy Markets: Tesla’s Austin Moment, LiDAR Chapter 11 & HYPR Emerges

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

Recorded on Friday, December 19, 2025

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