Episode 281 | Autonomy Markets: California’s Economy Needs Waymo at Airports, Could Apple Surpass Amazon in Autonomy? May Mobility, an Undiscovered Gem

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s Bay Area expansion and what it means for the great highway and airport unlocks, our visit to May Mobility in Ann Arbor and Amazon’s struggles with Zoox. 

Waymo has expanded its service area in the Bay Area by 50%, adding 27 square miles in Silicon Valley, for residents only at this time. Is this restriction due to a vehicle shortage? It very well could be, as Waymo continues to scale at a rapid pace in multiple markets. 

Is airport pick-up and drop-off at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) next? With Waymo’s growing service area in the Bay Area, it seems to only be a matter of time. Demand for Waymo at SFO is there as in December 2024, there were approximately 13,366 searches for “SFO” on the Waymo app, and 718 people installed the app while physically at the airport.

Once Waymo is allowed to operate at SFO, the economic impact is projected to be nearly $100 million. The positive economic impact is immense and California’s economy needs Waymo to succeed. When Waymo succeeds, California’s economy succeeds.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Autonomy Markets Visits May Mobility

7:28 Waymo’s Silicon Valley Expansion

11:25 Waymo’s Fleet Challenges

14:52 Waymo’s Eventual Expansion to SFO

24:20 Waymo LAX Service

29:20 Wayve‘s ChatGPT Moment

34:41 What Does Amazon do with Zoox?

37:22 Could Autonomy Reaccelerate Growth at Apple?

40:36 Did Uber Make a Mistake Selling ATG?

43:33 Unforced Error of The Week

44:33 Next Week

Recorded on Friday, March 14, 2025

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