The Road to Autonomous Vehicles: Are We There Yet?
The a16z Show26 Jun 2023

The Road to Autonomous Vehicles: Are We There Yet?

Self-driving cars have been on the horizon for quite some time. But, they might actually be here.

We got to ride around in one all over San Francisco with Waymo’s Chief Product Officer, Saswat Panigrahi.

We discussed so much, including the five levels of autonomy, the infamous LIDAR vs video debate, regulation, UX, and the role of AI in fine-tuning these models. But most importantly, if autonomy is here… now what?!

Topics Covered:

  • 00:00 - Introduction
  • 03:20 - A first look at Waymo
  • 05:21 - 5 levels of autonomy
  • 09:45 - Technology challenges
  • 14:32 - LiDAR vs video debate
  • 18:19 - How Waymo differentiates
  • 19:01 - Technological unlocks on the horizon
  • 20:39 - The role of AI in autonomous vehicles
  • 25:37 - How Waymo views safety
  • 32:05 - Collaborating with regulators
  • 37:26 - Learnings from the first 2m miles
  • 39:45 - Driving user retention
  • 43:47 - Waymo’s expansion strategy
  • 47:00 - Changing regulation
  • 47:41 - Societal unlocks enabled by autonomy
  • 52:21 - Will self-driving cars replace humans?
  • 52:58 - Closing thoughts

Resources:

Check out Waymo: https://waymo.com/

Check out Waymo's Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Waymo

Find Saswat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/saswat101

Check out a16z's 8-part series on the autonomous vehicle ecosystem: https://a16z.com/2018/02/03/autonomy-ecosystem-frank-chen-summit/

Stay Updated:

Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z

Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/

Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Stay Updated:

Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube

Find a16z on X

Find a16z on LinkedIn

Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify

Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts

Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episoder(1000)

a16z Podcast: The Curious Case of the OpenTable IPO

a16z Podcast: The Curious Case of the OpenTable IPO

There are the things that you carefully plan when it comes to an IPO -- the who (the bankers, the desired institutional investors); the what (the pricing, the allocations); and the when (are we ready?...

24 Jul 201730min

a16z Podcast: Making a (Really) Wild Geo-Engineering Idea Real

a16z Podcast: Making a (Really) Wild Geo-Engineering Idea Real

Here’s what we know: There’s a pair (father and son) of Russian scientists trying to resurrect (or rather, "rewild") an Ice Age (aka Pleistocene era) biome (grassland) complete with (gene edited, lab-...

18 Jul 201730min

a16z Podcast: Addiction vs Popularity in the Age of Virality

a16z Podcast: Addiction vs Popularity in the Age of Virality

In the age of virality, what does it actually mean to be popular? When does popularity -- or good product design, for that matter -- cross over from desire and engagement... to addiction? Journalist a...

15 Jul 201726min

a16z Podcast: The Golden Era of Productivity, Retail, and Supply Chains

a16z Podcast: The Golden Era of Productivity, Retail, and Supply Chains

This episode of the a16z Podcast takes us on a quick tour through the themes of economics/historian/journalist Marc Levinson's books -- from An Extraordinary Time, on the end of the postwar boom and t...

11 Jul 201733min

a16z Podcast: The Cloud Atlas to Real Quantum Computing

a16z Podcast: The Cloud Atlas to Real Quantum Computing

A funny thing happened on the way to quantum computing: Unlike other major shifts in classic computing before it, it begins -- not ends -- with The Cloud. That's because quantum computers today are mo...

30 Jun 201725min

a16z Podcast: Companies, Networks, Crowds

a16z Podcast: Companies, Networks, Crowds

Is a network -- whether a crowd or blockchain-based entity -- going to replace the firm anytime soon? Not yet, argue Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson in the new book Machine, Platform, Crowd. But t...

29 Jun 201735min

a16z Podcast: Lobbying Tech

a16z Podcast: Lobbying Tech

What is lobbying, really? Is it “white", "heavy-set" men "playing golf" and making arrangements in "smoke-filled back rooms”? It's not like that anymore, according to two lobbyists who join this episo...

24 Jun 201722min

a16z Podcast: Cybersecurity in the Boardroom vs. the Situation Room

a16z Podcast: Cybersecurity in the Boardroom vs. the Situation Room

"We're always fighting the last war" -- that's a phrase historians like to use because policymakers and others tend to be so focused on the threats they already know, and our mindsets and organization...

18 Jun 201723min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
utbytte
pengepodden-2
pengesnakk
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
rss-sunn-okonomi
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
okonomiamatorene
finansredaksjonen
lederpodden
liberal-halvtime
rss-markedspuls-2
rss-impressions-2
rss-andelige-tanker-med-camillo