The Road to Autonomy

Dean Foreman, Chief Economist, Texas Oil & Gas Association joined Grayson Brulte on The Autonomy Economy podcast to discuss the current state the U.S. economy and the global oil and natural gas markets.Consumer debt in the U.S. is rising and that could have potential impacts on GDP. While the economic picture in the U.S. is uncertain at the moment, global oil demand is projected to reach 104.1 million barrels per day this year. Demand is partly being driven by emerging markets. Then there is Texas, which continues to export oil to the world, while having a $720 billion impact on GDP. Texas is not just an oil state anymore, even though 30% of the state’s private sector is employed by the oil and natural gas industry, it is now becoming a high-tech state as it has begun to integrate AI, automation and autonomy into the sector’s operations. Recorded on Monday, February 24, 2025Episode Chapters0:00 Health of the U.S. Consumer 5:57 Liquid Natural Gas Market 11:00 Data Centers15:32 European Gas18:51 U.S. Oil Imports 24:45 Heavy Crude26:53 Growing Global Oil Demand & Geopolitics 29:50 Permian Basin 33:34 Impact of the Oil & Natural Gas Industry on Texas' Economy35:29 Quarterly Outlook--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gavin Jackson, CEO of Oxa joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss Oxa’s approach to autonomy—universal autonomy. Oxa specializes in industrial mobility applications within repetitive environments such as airports, ports, and logistics hubs, where driving patterns are predictable. When Oxa deployed autonomous vehicles at Heathrow Airport in partnership with DHL, productivity increased by 33% when compared to traditional human drivers.By focusing on efficiency and scalability, Oxa is proving that autonomy drives productivity—reinforcing its mission to develop and commercialize universal autonomy.Recorded on Friday, February 7, 2025Episode Chapters0:00 Oxa’s Approach to Autonomy5:05 AI Models18:52 Oxa’s Path to Profitability21:56 Heathrow Airport / DHL Partnership27:13 Industrial Mobility Automation30:36 BP Partnership33:22 Autonomy for Security38:17 Oxa’s Business Model43:31 Global Growth46:09 Autonomous Trucking48:23 Future of Oxa--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/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 why Waymo needs fewer robotaxis than you think and Tesla’s emerging plans for a robotaxi network in California.Waymo continues to scale, surpassing 200,000 paid weekly rides across Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix. As the service grows, a group of power riders has emerged, including one rider in San Francisco spending over $900 a month on Waymo rides.In California, Waymo now operates a fleet over 730 autonomous vehicles, while Tesla currently operates zero. That is about to change as Tesla has applied for a transportation charter-party carrier permit from the California Public Utilities Commission, the same permit Waymo currently operates under. If Tesla secures the permit, it will be able to launch a robotaxi service in California, but with two major caveats—fleets and safety drivers. At launch, Tesla owners won’t be able to add their vehicles to the network.Episode Chapters0:00 Waymo’s Growing Weekly Paid Rides3:23 Waymo’s Fleet Efficiency 9:10 Waymo Power Users12:01 Waymo’s Consistent Rider Experience 15:17 Tesla Launches Full Self-Driving (FSD) in China16:30 Tesla’s Pending California Robotaxi Network 19:58 Tesla / Waymo Competition 22:24 Tesla Will Not License FSD26:00 Autonomous Vehicle Policy28:55 Wall Street’s View on Autonomy32:04 Unforced Error of The Week36:30 Next WeekRecorded on Thursday, February 27, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Angus Pacala, Co-Founder & CEO, Ouster joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how Ouster’s digital LiDAR technology is “enabling autonomy for everything” across traffic control systems, security, robotics, and autonomous vehiclesFounded in 2015 with a vision of “autonomy for everything,” Ouster has emerged as the largest Western providers of LiDAR, differentiating itself through its digital LiDAR architecture. With a diversified approach across multiple markets, Ouster has positioned themselves strongly to befit from the growth of automation.Recorded on Tuesday, February 4, 2025Episode Chapters0:00 Current State of the LiDAR Market2:06 Autonomy for Everything 5:48 Ouster’s LiDAR Technology 10:37 Full Stack Autonomy Integrator 12:29 Blue City / LiDAR for Infrastructure 21:51 Gemini / LiDAR for Security 27:14 LiDAR for Robotics 30:02 Safety Certified LiDAR35:25 Industrial Robotics 41:16 Autonomous Vehicle and Truck Market47:00 Defense Market49:20 Ouster’s Largest Growth Market 51:54 Future of Ouster--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/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 Lyft’s autonomous vehicle manifesto, the impending consolidation of the LiDAR market, the emerging personally-owned autonomous vehicle fleet market, and Waabi’s driver-out strategy.Lyft’s manifesto highlights the potential for private car owners to integrate their personally-owned autonomous vehicles into the Lyft network, a concept similar to Elon Musk’s vision for Tesla owners. For this to become a reality and for autonomous vehicles to scale effectively, a national regulatory framework is essential.During his Senate confirmation hearing for Deputy Secretary of Transportation this week, Steven Bradbury expressed enthusiasm for autonomous vehicles and advocated for a federal framework. Mr. Bradbury also emphasized a market-driven approach to technology adoption, rather than government-mandated solutions such as LiDAR.Currently, the LiDAR market is dominated by Hesai, but consolidation looms a majority of the publicly-traded pure-play LiDAR companies face dwindling cash reserves and limited revenues.In the autonomous trucking market, Waabi aims to go driver-out on public roads by the end of the year. But can they pull it off? And if Volvo isn’t their OEM partner, who will be? Grayson and Walt debate the challenges ahead and the role of autonomous driving retrofit kits in the industry’s future.Episode Chapters0:00 Lyft’s Autonomous Vehicle Manifesto5:39 Personally-Owned Autonomous Vehicles11:22 Fleet Management16:11 Waymo / Lyft Relationship18:05 Credit Card and Telco Partnerships20:10 May Mobility, Mobileye / Lyft Partnership22:02 Autonomous Vehicle Policy24:41 LiDAR Market31:05 Waabi Driver-Out Plans39:52 Autonomous Driving Technology47:04 Unforced Error of The Week49:08 Next WeekRecorded on Thursday, February 20, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Finch Fulton, Government Affairs and Public Policy Advisor, K&L Gates joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss autonomous vehicle policy under the Trump administration, China’s technological threat, and the path to establishing a national autonomous vehicle framework.A national framework is essential to provide regulatory certainty for investors, unlocking billions in new investments while accelerating job creation and driving economic growth in the U.S.As investors seek stability, China continues to expand its global technology exports. From ByteDance and TikTok to the recent launch of DeepSeek and the development of robotaxis, China’s aggressive export strategy raises concerns about its broader objectives.To counter this, the U.S. must implement a national autonomous vehicle framework that enables the domestic scaling of autonomous vehicles and trucks. Without it, China will maintain its competitive edge and continue advancing its global export agenda.Recorded on Friday, January 31, 2025Episode Chapters0:00 Trump's Impact on Autonomy3:15 American Leadership on Autonomy5:58 Autonomy Czar7:13 China18:05 Tech Policy23:01 Autonomous Vehicle & Truck Policy37:40 Autonomous Vehicle & Truck Policy Outlook--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/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 Walt’s recent trip to San Francisco, where he observed more aggressive driving from Waymo vehicles and spotted a FasTrak transponder—hinting that the great highway unlock is imminent.In the markets, Aurora and Lyft reported earnings, with Aurora’s market cap soaring to $17 billion—triple Lyft’s $5 billion. On its earnings call, Aurora emphasized its driver-out readiness and their hardware kit approach, mirroring Kodiak’s SensorPods. If hardware kits are the future of autonomy, power could shift from OEMs to autonomous driving developers, opening new market opportunities and validating Kodiak’s OEM-agnostic strategy.And then there’s NVIDIA. What if they acquired an autonomous driving developer and vertically integrated? How would the market respond? What would it mean for chip sales? As fragmentation grows in the autonomous vehicle market, so does Uber’s advantage. Opportunity abounds.Episode Chapters0:00 Walt’s San Francisco Trip1:54 Hesai LiDAR6:19 Waymo’s More Assertive Driving7:37 Should we be Concerned about Zoox?13:08 Aurora Earnings16:43 Autonomous Driving Hardware Kits21:43 Should NVIDIA Vertically Integrate an Autonomous Driving Stack?26:24 Nuro’s Licensing Opportunity30:29 Uber’s Next Autonomy Partner—May Mobility?33:50 Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Management & Financing38:00 DoorDash’s Autonomous Delivery Ambitions40:57 Next WeekRecorded on Saturday, February 15, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Shahrukh Kazmi, Chief Product Officer, Volvo Autonomous Solutions joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the company’s comprehensive approach to building an autonomous transport-as-a-service business. Volvo is leveraging its decades of trucking expertise to develop a new business model that is built around an autonomous truck. Instead of selling the truck, Volvo Autonomous Solutions is going to own the asset and operate the autonomous transport-as-a-service business. This approach will allow Volvo Autonomous Solutions to maintain control over the ecosystem, understand customer pain points directly, and ensure safety standards are met consistently. With control, Volvo Autonomous Solutions is poised to scale quickly. Recorded on Thursday, January 30, 2025Episode Chapters0:00 Volvo Autonomous Solutions Approach to Autonomous Trucking4:46 Volvo’s VNL Platform7:27 Virtual Drivers11:04 Aurora Partnership13:57 Transport-as-a-Service19:24 VNL Autonomous Platform30:20 Mining and Quarries35:47 Competitive Advantages36:46 Building For The Future--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/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 break down Uber’s Q4 earnings, highlighting their five keys for success in autonomy: regulation, superhuman safety, cost-effective hardware, fleet management, and high utilization. They also discuss Waymo’s continued expansion and Ford’s willingness to license an SAE Level 4 autonomous system.With Uber scaling fleet operations and Foxconn emerging as a potential Nissan partner, could a Foxconn-Nissan collaboration lead to licensing an autonomous driving system, selling vehicles to a REIT, and deploying them on Uber’s network? Watch to gather Grayson and Walter’s insights into the emerging world of autonomous vehicle licensing.Episode Chapters0:00 Traditional Automotive’s Struggles with Software and Innovation 5:43 Uber Q4 2024 Earnings8:00 Autonomous Vehicle REIT13:20 Uber’s Fleet Inventory 17:15 Uber’s Five Keys for Autonomous Vehicle Success 32:36 Uber and Waymo’s Historical Relationship 34:06 Waymo Fleet Expansion 37:33 Foxconn 41:09 Ford to License an Autonomous Driving System?43:14 Waabi49:27 Next WeekRecorded on Thursday, February 6, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Xiaodi Hou, Founder & CEO of Bot Auto joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how DeepSeek is transforming AI development and its potential impact on autonomous driving.Dr. Hou views DeepSeek as an engineering breakthrough rather than a scientific one—challenging traditional approaches to AI model development. Unlike many companies in the field, DeepSeek has shown that powerful models can be created by optimizing systems and creatively managing resource constraints.There are strong parallels between DeepSeek’s approach and Bot Auto’s strategy of being scrappy and cost-effective. This “DeepSeek moment” could mark a turning point for autonomous driving, where commercialization and efficiency become the primary drivers of technological advancement.Recorded on Monday, February 3, 2025Episode Chapters0:00 DeepSeek9:35 Resources Needed to Build an Autonomous Driving Model (Pre-DeepSeek)15:44 Open-Source LLMs23:54 Prioritization 26:08 Building the Bot Auto Autonomous Driving Model33:37 Miles Driven and Autonomous Driving Models--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy® is a leading source of data, insight and commentary on autonomous vehicles/trucks and the emerging autonomy economy™.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/autonomy-economy/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.