About this episode
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 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.