/ T H E R O A D T O A U T O N O M Y P O D C A S T
Conversations with the Architects
We do not chase headlines; we host the newsmakers. From the founders of unicorn startups to the CEOs of publicly traded companies, our guests join The Road to Autonomy to articulate their vision, defend their strategies, and signal their next moves.
Latest Episode
Our audience gains unparalleled, unfiltered access to the C-Suite executives, founders, and policymakers who are building and regulating the future.
From the founders of unicorn startups to the CEOs of publicly traded companies, our guests join to articulate their vision, defend their strategies, and signal their next moves.
Host
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.
Grayson coined the term Autonomy Economy to describe the convergence of automation, autonomy, commerce, and economic growth. His insights have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, Forbes, CNN, and The Hollywood Reporter.
Recent Episodes
New episodes every Tuesday. Watch on YouTube, X and Spotify and listen on your favorite podcast platform.
May 27, 2026
Autonomous Mowers and the American Manufacturing Edge
RC Mowers CEO Michael Brandt discusses how autonomous mowers address labor shortages in the landscaping industry, which faces structural turnover due to difficult working conditions and limited skilled worker availability. The LiDAR-based systems enable 24/7 operation, with early adoption by airports for nighttime runway maintenance and growing interest from private equity-backed landscape companies seeking scalable solutions.
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May 12, 2026
LiDAR Measures the Truth of the World
Angus Pacala, CEO of Ouster, discusses the company's launch of native color REV8 LiDAR technology, which provides synchronized color and depth sensing for improved autonomous decision-making in applications like agriculture and urban navigation. Ouster is positioning itself as a foundational sensing platform for the physical AI economy through in-house silicon development and strategic acquisitions like StereoLabs to serve markets from long-range LiDAR to humanoid robotics.
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April 28, 2026
Capital Is King: How Wall Street Is Funding the Autonomy Economy
The podcast discusses how Wall Street is funding the autonomous vehicle sector as it recovers from the 2021-2023 hype cycle, with investors now focusing on companies demonstrating actual commercialization rather than just technology development. The episode explores market consolidation expectations over the next 18 months, dual-use opportunities with defense applications, and current SPAC market conditions for autonomous companies with paying customers.
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April 21, 2026
Deploying Autonomous Trucks at NASA Speed
Kelly Smith, Lead Systems Engineer at Kodiak Robotics, discusses how the company is applying NASA's aerospace-grade safety standards and methodologies to autonomous truck deployment, drawing from his 13 years of experience developing autonomy systems for spacecraft including the Orion mission. Kodiak is implementing NASA's approach to safety-critical software, including redundant systems and probabilistic risk assessment tools like Breakpoint, to identify and mitigate rare failure modes in their autonomous trucking operations in the Permian Basin and Dallas-Atlanta corridor.
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April 14, 2026
The Robot That Wants to Handle Every Bag in Every Airport
Azalea Robotics has developed the ARC One, a cage-free autonomous robot that uses suction grippers and computer vision to handle baggage in airports without requiring infrastructure modifications. The company aims to address the 2 million bags lost annually in the U.S. through their scalable robots-as-a-service business model that allows airports and airlines to adjust capacity based on operational needs.
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April 7, 2026
From DARPA RACER to the Battlefield
Overland AI Co-Founder Greg Okopal discusses the company's evolution from a DARPA RACER program participant to a $100 million funded autonomous vehicle developer now deploying systems with the 82nd Airborne. The company's Ultra uncrewed vehicle is currently being used by troops for last-mile resupply, communications, and route reconnaissance, featuring modular payload capabilities and field-maintainable design.
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The Future is Bright. The Future is Autonomous. The Future is The Road to Autonomy.