The Road to Autonomy

Hosted by Grayson Brulte , The Road to Autonomy delivers institutional-grade intelligence on autonomous vehicles, autonomous trucking, robotaxis, and the capital flows shaping the market. Every episode combines primary field research, proprietary data, and conversations with the operators, investors, and policymakers building the autonomy economy. Three shows comprise the feed: The Road to Autonomy (Tuesdays): Flagship, in-depth conversations and analysis with the architects of the autonomy economy. Autonomy Signals, presented by KPMG (Thursdays): AUTNMY AI co-founders Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant analyze the underlying technical and regulatory signals moving the market. Autonomy Markets (Saturdays): Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk, Partner & TMT Analyst, LightShed Partners and General Partner, LightShed Ventures break down the week in autonomy from a Wall Street and investment perspective. With over 400 episodes, The Road to Autonomy has become the trusted source for hedge funds, analysts, and executives who need to understand the emergence of the autonomy economy and the growth of physical AI.

The Road to Autonomy is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 454 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts The Road to Autonomy, a business show with 454 episodes published.

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  Episode #454

  Episode 454 | Autonomy Markets: The Robotaxi Reality Check You Won't Get From an Investor Deck

  Sep 26, 202653 min

  This week on Autonomy Markets , Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss their Texas Field Work where they rode in Cybercab, Waymo, Avride, May Mobility robotaxis, Kodiak and Aurora autonomous trucks, and inspected depots across Austin and Dallas. Grayson’s verdict on Tesla’s Cybercab is simple. Once you go Cybercab, you don’t go back. In Austin, wait times averaged two to five minutes across dozens of rides, and from a software perspective Grayson found no material difference between Cybercab and the Model Y Robotaxi in terms of performance. In Austin, Grayson counted roighly 200 to 300 vehicles at Avride’s upfitting facility, a presence he believes the market is overlooking, and views Hyundai as a quiet winner of the robotaxi buildout with the IONIQ 5 powering Waymo, Avride and Motional. The Zoox depot in Dallas was under construction with no visible charging infrastructure, and Grayson estimates it is 12 to 18 months from being operational. Both Walt and Grayson rode in a Kodiak autonomous truck and Walt noted clear improvement ahead of Kodiak’s driver-out target on the Dallas to Houston lane by year-end. Additionally, Walt rode in an unsupervised Aurora autonomous truck at their Investor Day. On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Baidu is ramping supervised robotaxi testing in London with Lyft, Mercedes-Benz signed a licensing deal with Wayve , and Tensor Auto is preparing to deploy robotaxis with Volt Premium Taxi in Bulgaria. Episode Chapters 0:00 Once You Go Cybercab, You Don't Go Back 03:56 Robotaxi in Dallas 09:01 Cybercab Wait Times, Pickups and Routing in Austin 12:10 Austin Robotaxi Depots 13:45 Avride's Austin Depot 16:02 Zoox's Dallas Depot 17:22 May Mobility in Arlington 20:17 Kodiak Targets Driver-Out on Dallas to Houston by Year-End 24:19 Avride in Dallas and the Uber Partner Math 26:46 Hyundai Is the Quiet Winner in Robotaxis 27:30 Walt Amends His View on Upfitting 30:57 Tesla's Vertical Integration and Supercharger Advantage 33:06 Aurora Investor Day and the 1,000 Truck Target 40:22 President Xi's Visit and a Wake-Up Call for Detroit 47:01 Foreign Autonomy Desk 49:33 Next Week Follow Waymo on The Road to Autonomy Indices Follow Tesla on The Road to Autonomy Indices Follow Avride on The Road to Autonomy Indices Follow May Mobility on The Road to Autonomy Indices -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™. 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. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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  Episode #453

  Episode 453 | Autonomy Signals: May Mobility's SPAC and the $93 Million Question

  Sep 25, 20261h 11m

  This week on Autonomy Signals presented by KPMG , Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss May Mobility filing to go public through a SPAC merger with an estimated $93 million annual cash burn, Mercedes-Benz adding Wayve as its third automated driving software partner, and Figure AI’s Helix 2.5 taking on household chores across 30 homes it had never seen before. May Mobility is merging with ACP Holdings Acquisition Corp at a $1.4 billion valuation and will trade under the ticker MAY upon completion of the transaction. Of the up to $337 million in proceeds, only the $120 million PIPE is committed. At the company’s current burn rate, the PIPE covers about 1.3 years of operations against roughly $10 million in 2025 revenue. The remaining $217 million depends on the redemption rate. Mercedes-Benz signed with Wayve for point-to-point Level 2 driving assistance within two years. Wayve joins NVIDIA and Momenta as Mercedes retreats from L3 Drive Pilot and focuses on L2 driving assistance partnerships. Figure AI’s Helix 2.5 raised zero-shot success from 9% to 56% by pre-training on human behavior data, using half the task-specific data. That still leaves a 44% failure rate in curated homes, with no independent replication and no commercial contracts. The result supports a learning strategy, not a dependable, unsupervised home humanoid. Episode Chapters 0:00 KPMG Sponsor Introduction 01:45 Signal 1: May Mobility's SPAC 27:52 Signal 2: Mercedes Partners Wayve on Autonomous Driving 47:07 Signal 3: Figure AI Introduces Helix 2.5 Follow May Mobility on the Robotaxi Index Follow Wayve on the Autonomous Driving Licensing Index -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™. 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. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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  Episode #452

  Episode 452 | Solving the Last 50 Feet of Package Delivery With Legged Robots

  Sep 23, 202645 min

  Lee Redden , Founder of LastFeet joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss solving the last 50 feet of package delivery with a custom-built legged robot designed to ride in the jump seat of a delivery van and carry packages from the curb to the doorstep. After co-founding Blue River Technology and selling it to Deere, Lee returned to building because he believes this is one of the best times ever to build robots. LastFeet’s robot walks on four legs with wheels on its feet, so it can climb the high step out of a box truck and then roll quickly and steadily to the door. It learns to walk entirely in simulation, a big change from the hand-calculated kinematics Lee learned in grad school. The inspiration came from delivery drivers. Lee interviewed dozens of drivers and shadowed their routes, then modeled his robot on the runner, the second person who rides in the passenger seat on busy days and carries packages to the door while the driver keeps driving. On day one, the robot sits in the jump seat with no change to how the back of the van is loaded. The driver loads a package, the robot bows at the door to set it on the step, and if it runs into something it can’t handle, it asks a remote human for help. The first robot carries 15 pounds, which covers most packages, and runs on an NVIDIA Orin AGX with two-hour hot-swappable batteries. When it’s unsure what to do, its safety response is to freeze in place and turn into a table. Episode Chapters 0:00 Why Lee Redden Is Building Again 02:41 How the LastFeet Robot Works 04:56 How to Build a Robot in 2026 07:27 Testing in Snow and Ice 10:00 How the Robot Delivers to Every Doorstep 12:43 Riding in the Jump Seat of a Delivery Van 15:00 Manufacturing at Scale 18:46 Building for Rugged Delivery Vans 22:54 LastFeet Business Model 29:32 Battery Life and Charging in the Van 32:11 What Lee Learned Shadowing 50 Delivery Drivers 37:28 Safety and Building Trust With the Public 40:18 The Future of LastFeet 43:11 AUTNMY AI Follow The Road to Autonomy Indices -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™. 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. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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  Episode #450

  Episode 450 | Autonomy Signals: Will NHTSA Ground Cybercab?

  Sep 18, 20261h 1m

  This week on Autonomy Signals presented by KPMG , Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss NHTSA ordering Tesla to answer 21 technical and legal questions under oath by September 30 on Cybercab self-certification, Waymo hitting local political friction in San Diego after CPUC approval, and GMO Air unveiling a robot EMS vehicle in Tokyo built to service humanoids in the field. NHTSA’s Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, by special order signed by the Chief Counsel, required Tesla to explain how a steering-wheel-free Cybercab meets FMVSS 101, 102, 108, 111, 126, and 135 standards written around human controls such as mirrors, brake pedals, turn-signal self-cancel, and shift displays, and why Tesla did not seek a Part 555 exemption as Zoox did. The inquiry also asks whether some test results depended on temporary manual controls later removed. Public Cybercab service began September 3, 2026 in Austin. Nothing in the order grounds the fleet or caps production; September 30 is an evidentiary deadline, not a shutdown date. While Tesla answers Washington, San Diego City Council voted 8–0 to request local regulatory authority over AI and autonomous vehicles, a follow-up to CPUC approval that gives the city no power to stop Waymo . California has preempted local autonomous vehicles rules for more than a decade. The San Diego City Council resolution is toothless on paper, but it flags the real friction points: emergency-response incidents, airport access outside state preemption, stricter local ticketing after a July 1 law, and depot or charging permits that still sit with the city. Waymo called the move extraordinarily premature and cited a 100,000-person local waitlist; it already has a field-verified operational depot in San Diego. In Tokyo, GMO Air unveiled a robot EMS vehicle equipped with diagnostic tools, spare parts, a backup humanoid, and a purple roof light distinct from red human-ambulance lighting. The demo still used human-in-the-loop controls because of latency. The signal is adjacent infrastructure, field maintenance and uptime for deployed humanoids, not a driverless medical ambulance for people. Episode Chapters 0:00 KPMG Sponsor Introduction 01:41 Signal 1: Will NHTSA Ground Cybercab? 26:59 Signal 2: San Diego City Council Wants Local Control 48:39 Signal 3: Japan’s Ambulance for Humanoids Follow The Road to Autonomy Indices -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™. 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. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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  Episode #449

  Episode 449 | Building Plaid for the Autonomy Economy

  Sep 15, 20261 hour

  Ben Seidl , Co-Founder and CEO of Autolane joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss building Plaid for the autonomy economy , an independent, OEM-agnostic orchestration platform that connects autonomous vehicles to businesses for tip-free delivery. The inspiration for Autolane was born in August 2024 when Ben turned on FSD in his Tesla for the first time and worked backwards from a simple question. When personally owned autonomous vehicles become a reality, what has to exist for a car to drive to a store, park in the right stall, pop its trunk, and complete a transaction without a human in the loop? The answer, a neutral platform that no OEM, marketplace, or retailer controls. Studying the Argo AI and Cruise OEM control of AV 1.0 convinced Ben that taking capital from a Ford or a Walmart limits the market and muddies decision making. Autolane entered the market through ride-hail orchestration, deploying first at Stanford Shopping Center with Simon Property Group in September 2025 to give landlords control over where Waymo and Tesla robotaxis arrive on private property. Over the summer, Autolane went live with So Chinese Takeout in Austin, operating a fleet of 13 Tesla Model Ys equipped with temperature-controlled smart lockers that batch two to three orders per trip as they expand the business beyond ride-hail orchestration. Episode Chapters 0:00 Inspiration for Autolane 4:34 Autolane's Quest to Remain Independent 11:06 Deploying at Stanford Shopping Center 13:02 Chapter One: Orchestration 16:46 Autolane Zones 26:41 Fleet Ownership 28:36 Underwriting Autonomous Delivery 33:53 Matching Supply and Demand 37:29 French Fry Test 39:38 QSR Delivery 46:59 Sidewalk Dots, Drones, and Humanoids 54:35 Plaid for the Autonomy Economy 57:42 AUTNMY AI Follow The Road to Autonomy Indices -------- About The Road to Autonomy The Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™. 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. Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next. Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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