/ A U T O N O M Y M A R K E T S
Autonomy x Wall Street
Autonomy Markets is a podcast co-hosted by Grayson Brulte, Founder of The Road to Autonomy and Co-Founder & Co-CEO AUTNMY AI and Walter Piecyk, Partner & TMT Analyst, LightShed Partners and General Partner, LightShed Ventures. Each week Grayson and Walter break down the autonomy markets and offer their unique perspectives. Grayson shares his insight and opinion from an autonomy industry insider's perspective and Walt shares the Wall Street perspective.
Latest Episode
Each week Grayson provides an autonomy industry insider perspective while Walter offers his Wall Street analysis, creating unique dual-perspective coverage of earnings, valuations, market trends, and investment implications in the emerging autonomy economy.
Where the autonomy industry meets Wall Street.
Co-Host
Grayson Brulte
Founder, The Road to Autonomy & Co-Founder & Co-CEO AUTNMY AI
Grayson Brulte is a visionary strategist and one of the foremost authorities on autonomy, automation, and the emerging Autonomy Economy™. Widely recognized for anticipating what's next, his work sits at the intersection of innovation, policy, and emerging technology, where he serves as a trusted advisor to executive teams throughout the autonomy landscape.
Co-Host
Walter Piecyk
Partner & TMT Analyst, LightShed Partners & General Partner, LightShed Ventures
Walter Piecyk is a Partner and TMT Analyst at LightShed Partners and a General Partner at LightShed Ventures. A veteran Wall Street analyst, Walter brings deep expertise in telecommunications, media, and technology investing to the podcast. His analytical rigor and institutional perspective complement Grayson's industry insider view, creating a unique dual lens on the autonomy economy's investment landscape.
Recent Episodes
New episodes every Saturday at 10am EST. Watch on YouTube, X and Spotify and listen on your favorite podcast platform.
January 4, 2026
Waymo’s PR Problem and Tesla’s Missed Deadlines
This episode examines Waymo's reputation damage from a San Francisco power outage that stranded hundreds of vehicles and the company's inadequate crisis response, alongside Tesla's failure to meet its 2025 driver-out deadline in Austin with revised projections now targeting late February-March 2026. The discussion also covers Uber's evolving autonomy strategy narrative and how geopolitical tensions may impact companies dependent on Chinese autonomous vehicle technology for robotaxi scaling.
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December 20, 2025
Tesla’s Austin Moment, LiDAR Chapter 11 & HYPR Emerges
Tesla has begun removing safety drivers from its autonomous vehicles in Austin while Waymo is reportedly raising $15 billion at a $110 billion valuation, signaling increasing competition between vision-only and LiDAR-based approaches to autonomy. The episode features insights on HYPRLABS' emergence from stealth with a vision-only self-reinforcement learning system and analysis of potential leadership changes at GM with Sterling Anderson being considered for CEO.
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December 13, 2025
Rivian’s Vertical Integration Bet, Wayve’s Nissan Win & Uber’s Autonomy Narrative
Rivian announced plans to develop proprietary chips and lidar sensors while launching an "Autonomy+" software subscription to compete with established players, raising questions about execution risk versus strategic necessity for profitability. Meanwhile, Wayve secured a significant partnership with Nissan for North America and Japan deployment starting 2027, while Uber's autonomous vehicle strategy appears defensive as partners like Waymo and Momenta potentially bypass the platform.
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December 6, 2025
Waymo Upstages Uber’s Party: Avride’s Debut & The Reality of Scaling
Waymo strategically announced its driverless operations in Dallas just before Uber's planned commercial launch with partner Avride, highlighting the competitive timing dynamics in the autonomous vehicle market. The episode examines whether recent market expansions by AV companies represent genuine commercial scaling or remain limited "science projects," as operators deploy only hundreds of vehicles across small geographic areas.
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November 29, 2025
China vs US: Who Can Scale Faster, WeRide or Waymo?
The podcast examines the competitive scaling dynamics between Chinese robotaxi companies like WeRide (operating 1,600 vehicles with 750 robotaxis) and Waymo, which received DMV approval for massive California service area expansion requiring thousands of additional vehicles. Discussion covers WeRide's partnership with Uber for Abu Dhabi deployment, Pony.ai's plans to triple fleet size to 3,000 vehicles, and predictions for Tesla's FSD expansion into new markets by end of 2025.
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November 22, 2025
Waymo’s Six Stages of Autonomy
The podcast analyzes Waymo's rapid expansion into eight new U.S. markets including Minneapolis, Tampa, and Dallas, while introducing a framework called "Waymo's Six Stages of Autonomy" to track the company's deployment process. The discussion highlights emerging competition in Dallas where Avride (partnered with Uber) and Lyft (partnered with Mobileye) will launch competing robotaxi services, positioning Dallas as a key battleground market for autonomous vehicle operators.
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The Future is Bright. The Future is Autonomous. The future is Autonomy Markets.