Waymo Opens Orlando Service, But Who Will Take Mickey Mouse to the Parks?

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s expansion in Florida, Uber’s continued investments in physical assets, and the potential for agentic AI to disrupt traditional rideshare apps.

With Waymo opening service to the general public in Miami and Orlando this week, the conversation evolves into a deeper discussion around Disney’s strategic alliances and which company, Waymo or Glydways, will eventually secure a contract to operate at Walt Disney World.

Across the pond, Waymo began autonomous driving in London as Uber continues to pour capital into physical assets while doubling down on their Lucid investment with another $200 million. Uber’s physical asset strategy sparked a debate of whether or not Uber can truly remain asset-light and what impact agentic AI bots will have on their business.

On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Grayson and Walt discuss Japan’s autonomous vehicle investment goals, Tesla’s Netherlands FSD approval, and WeRide’s expansion into L2 ADAS.

Episode Chapters

• 00:00 Waymo Opens Miami & Orlando Markets, but No Disney World Yet
• 01:36 The Mickey Mouse Tax: Who Gets the Disney Contract?
• 07:54 Waymo Begins Autonomous Driving in London
• 08:53 Wayve Raises $60M from Chipmakers
• 12:32 Uber Doubles Down on Lucid
• 22:27 Lyft’s Flexdrive Nashville Depot for Waymo
• 27:18 Will Agentic AI Make Rideshare Apps Obsolete?
• 28:00 Maryland Lawmakers Fail to Vote, State Does Not Get Autonomous Vehicles
• 30:36 Foreign Autonomy Desk
• 32:58 Next Week