Is ADAS the Trojan Horse Into Autonomy?
This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the Waymo/Uber divorce going public, Zoox receiving NHTSA approval to charge for rides, Aurora earnings, and Qualcomm's BMW win as ADAS becomes the Trojan horse into autonomy.
The Waymo/Uber relationship is unraveling in public, with The Financial Times confirming Waymo will launch its own app in Austin and Atlanta in January 2028 before the contract expires that May. Both sides are airing grievances, from dirty cars and bad routing to weather no-shows and unsustainable financial terms. Grayson goes on the record that the relationship terminates early, calling for a Waymo app in those markets by June 2027, while Walt takes the under.
After 12 years and billions of dollars, Zoox can finally charge for a ride. NHTSA granted an exemption capped at 2,500 vehicles per year for two years, a ruling that also creates a potential viable deployment path for Tesla's Cybercab.
In autonomous trucking, Aurora is targeting 1,000 trucks by the end of next year against 200 this year, a heavily back-end loaded ramp that depends on truck supply, Roush capacity, and unresolved questions about how the Volvo Autonomous Solutions margin split works. Meanwhile, Qualcomm's selection by BMW as lead compute for next-generation ADAS confirms the growth of the L2+ market and positions Snapdragon as the Trojan horse into autonomy compute.
On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Baidu began RT6 robotaxi testing in London with both Uber and Lyft on the outskirts of the city, received a full driverless permit in Hong Kong, and China resumed issuing robotaxi permits once again.
Episode Chapters
0:00 Waymo/Uber Divorce Goes Public
5:45 Uber's Autonomous Vehicle Partner Problem
10:28 Waymo's OEM Partner Signals
12:25 Zoox Gets the Golden Ticket
16:52 Advancing America’s Safety and Competitiveness for the Evolution of National Deployments
20:16 Aurora Q2 2026 Earnings
27:43 How Big Is the OEM Risk?
30:38 ADAS as the Trojan Horse Into Autonomy
35:42 Ford BlueCruise Falls Short
37:23 Foreign Autonomy Desk: Baidu RT6 Testing in London with Uber & Lyft
41:33 Next Week
The Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy™ powered AUTNMY AI. Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
LightShed Partners is a leading independent research firm focused on the convergence of technology, media, and telecommunications. Known for its forward-thinking insights, LightShed Partners provides in-depth analysis on trends, disruptions, and innovations shaping these industries, offering clients data-driven research to inform investment decisions.
Sign up for research here.The LightShed Podcast, released every Friday, delivers cutting-edge insights into the world of technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), focusing on key trends and disruptions shaping the future of these industries. Each episode explores topics like streaming services, social media, digital transformation, and the future of entertainment technology.
Subscribe to the LightShed Podcast for expert commentary on market trends, investment opportunities, and insights driving the TMT sector forward. For access to this paywalled podcast email: team@lightshedtmt.com
The Waymo/Uber relationship is unraveling in public, with The Financial Times confirming Waymo will launch its own app in Austin and Atlanta in January 2028 before the contract expires that May. Both sides are airing grievances, from dirty cars and bad routing to weather no-shows and unsustainable financial terms. Grayson goes on the record that the relationship terminates early, calling for a Waymo app in those markets by June 2027, while Walt takes the under.
After 12 years and billions of dollars, Zoox can finally charge for a ride. NHTSA granted an exemption capped at 2,500 vehicles per year for two years, a ruling that also creates a potential viable deployment path for Tesla's Cybercab.
In autonomous trucking, Aurora is targeting 1,000 trucks by the end of next year against 200 this year, a heavily back-end loaded ramp that depends on truck supply, Roush capacity, and unresolved questions about how the Volvo Autonomous Solutions margin split works. Meanwhile, Qualcomm's selection by BMW as lead compute for next-generation ADAS confirms the growth of the L2+ market and positions Snapdragon as the Trojan horse into autonomy compute.
On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Baidu began RT6 robotaxi testing in London with both Uber and Lyft on the outskirts of the city, received a full driverless permit in Hong Kong, and China resumed issuing robotaxi permits once again.
Episode Chapters
0:00 Waymo/Uber Divorce Goes Public
5:45 Uber's Autonomous Vehicle Partner Problem
10:28 Waymo's OEM Partner Signals
12:25 Zoox Gets the Golden Ticket
16:52 Advancing America’s Safety and Competitiveness for the Evolution of National Deployments
20:16 Aurora Q2 2026 Earnings
27:43 How Big Is the OEM Risk?
30:38 ADAS as the Trojan Horse Into Autonomy
35:42 Ford BlueCruise Falls Short
37:23 Foreign Autonomy Desk: Baidu RT6 Testing in London with Uber & Lyft
41:33 Next Week
The Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy™ powered AUTNMY AI. Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.
Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/
LightShed Partners is a leading independent research firm focused on the convergence of technology, media, and telecommunications. Known for its forward-thinking insights, LightShed Partners provides in-depth analysis on trends, disruptions, and innovations shaping these industries, offering clients data-driven research to inform investment decisions.
Sign up for research here.The LightShed Podcast, released every Friday, delivers cutting-edge insights into the world of technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), focusing on key trends and disruptions shaping the future of these industries. Each episode explores topics like streaming services, social media, digital transformation, and the future of entertainment technology.
Subscribe to the LightShed Podcast for expert commentary on market trends, investment opportunities, and insights driving the TMT sector forward. For access to this paywalled podcast email: team@lightshedtmt.com
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