The Road to Autonomy

Jeremy Bird, Executive Vice President, Global Growth at Lyft joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the company’s strategic partnership with Waymo in Nashville and the deployment of a hybrid network that integrates human drivers with autonomous vehicles.
The operational backbone of this strategy is FlexDrive. A best-in-class operation that manages depots, charging, and maintenance for robotaxis. FlexDrive gives Lyft the operational rigor needed to scale robotaxis globally.
In Nashville, FlexDrive is supporting the Waymo partnership, while in Europe, Lyft is utilizing FlexDrive to power expansion, including a key partnership with Baidu in the UK and Europe.
Looking ahead, Jeremy envisions a marketplace defined by customer obsession where luxury experiences and robotaxis coexist, utilizing operational excellence to fuel future growth.

Episode Chapters
0:00 Lyft's Partnership with Waymo in Nashville
4:44 Robotaxi Fleets & Depots
8:50 Freenow
11:15 Deploying Robotaxis in the UK and Europe
14:41 Autonomous Vehicle Policy in Europe
17:35 Expanding Robotaxi Deployments in Europe
19:05 Baidu Partnership
23:09 Global Robotaxi Partnerships & Lyft's Marketplace
26:04 Luxury Market
27:53 Future of Lyft

Recorded on Wednesday, January 28, 2026

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About The Road to Autonomy
The Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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 Waymo’s repricing of the robotaxi market with a $16 billion raise at a $126 billion valuation, Uber’s defensive Myths and Realities earnings supplement, and the launch of a new segment, The Pit Stop.
The conversation heats up as Walt and Grayson debate Uber’s claim that autonomous vehicle growth is not a zero-sum game, with Grayson arguing that personal ownership and dedicated autonomous vehicle networks will eat into Uber’s market share while, Walt defends the narrative of total market expansion.
While Uber attempts to debunk autonomous vehicle myths, Grayson puts on his inspector hat for the inaugural Pit Stop segment, revealing exclusive details about Waymo’s Miami depot infrastructure, including a depot under construction near the airport and the strategic placement of fleet operations near the Design District.
Looking at the broader regulatory landscape, Grayson and Walt analyze recent Senate testimony where Waymo disclosed their use of remote assistance based in the Philippines, a move Walt classifies as an unforced error during a push for a National Autonomous Vehicle Framework.
On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, they highlight the Middle East becoming a beachhead for scale with Baidu going driver-out in Dubai and WeRide partnering with Uber, noting the region is likely the only place where US and Chinese robotaxis will coexist for the time being.

Episode Chapters
0:00 Waymo Raises $16 Billion at a $126bn Valuation
2:35 Waymo World Powered by DeepMind
6:43 Uber's Myths and Realities
29:03 The Pit Stop: The Inspector Goes to Miami
39:02 The Pit Stop: Tesla's San Francisco Robotaxi Depot Gets Blocked
41:38 AVs Need Clear Rules of the Road U.S. Senate Hearing
48:01 Bedrock Robotics Raises $270 million
50:28 Foreign Autonomy Desk
55:04 Next Week

Recorded on Friday, February 6, 2026

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About The Road to Autonomy
The Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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 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

Recorded on Tuesday, February 3, 2026

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About The Road to Autonomy
The Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dean Foreman, Chief Economist at the Texas Oil and Gas Association joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the evolving landscape of global oil markets and the critical intersection of natural gas and artificial intelligence.
With sanctions lifted on Venezuela, the conversation analyzes the flow of heavy crude to the US Gulf Coast, noting the potential need for over $200 billion in investment to restore Venezuela’s production capacity. Dean explains how US refiners are capitalizing on this heavy feedstock while simultaneously navigating a global market where the US has surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia as a leading energy producer.
Looking toward the future of energy demand, the discussion identifies natural gas as a stabilizing force for the power grid, essential for supporting the exponential growth of data centers and generative AI. By co-locating power generation with data infrastructure in West Texas, the industry is leveraging record efficiencies to fuel The Road to Autonomy and ensure long-term economic resilience.

Episode Chapters
0:00 Venezuela
7:25 Increasing Global Demand for Oil
9:08 Petroleum Byproducts
11:39 Oil and Natural Gas Exports
13:40 Permian Basin
16:11 Infrastructure Buildout
22:11 Oil and Natural Gas Impact on Texas’ Economy
25:01 Automation & AI
27:52 U.S. Consumer
34:00 Next Quarter

Recorded on Tuesday, January 20, 2026

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About The Road to Autonomy
The Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
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 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 Enhanced 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

Recorded on Friday, January 30, 2026

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About The Road to Autonomy
The Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.

Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.