Episode 279 | Autonomy Markets: Waymo’s Missing Tier, Uber and Lyft Keep Rides Moving and Hyundai’s Robotaxi Push

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discus Waymo’s launch in Austin, Alphabet’s strong commitment to Waymo and Hyundai’s robotaxi ambitions. 

On March 5, Waymo launched exclusively on the Uber app in Austin. However, riders cannot guarantee a Waymo vehicle, as there is no dedicated Waymo tier in the app. This lack of certainty could dilute the premium Waymo experience, as users do not know what type of vehicle they will be paired with when ordering a ride.

As Waymo scales its operations globally, Hyundai is emerging as a major player in the robotaxi market. This week, Avride announced a partnership with Hyundai to develop a fully integrated robotaxi, with the first vehicles set to enter service this year in Dallas.

Texas is emerging hub for autonomy for both robotaxis and autonomous trucks. Next month, Aurora will begin commercial driver-out operations from Dallas, followed by Bot Auto in Houston later this year. Autonomy is now becoming a business.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Waymo Experience on Uber

7:01 Uber’s Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Management Strategy

9:29 Lyft’s Flexdrive

12:17 Waymo’s Jaguar I-PACE Fleet

14:46 Waymo Zeekr Robotaxi

16:51 Alphabet’s Commitment to Waymo

20:26 Waymo’s Pending Silver Lake / Los Feliz LA Expansion

22:02 Autonomy Markets Nicknames

23:16 Waymo’s Mysterious San Francisco X Post

24:24 Walt’s Waymo Analysis

25:46 Avride / Hyundai Robotaxi Partnership

29:43 Bot Auto‘s Driver-Out Plans

33:54 Wayve Expands to Germany

35:56 Unforced Error of The Week

38:20 Next Week

Recorded on Friday, March 7, 2025

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