Specialist
Former executive at Lyft Inc
Agenda
- Trends and developments in the North America autonomous vehicle industry, including shifting timeline for an operational vehicle
- Comparative analysis of key players such as Alphabet’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Waymo, Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) Autopilot, General Motors’s (NYSE: GM) Cruise, Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ: AUR) and others
- Technical update, highlighting implementation challenges and opportunities
- 2022 industry outlook
Questions
1.
Could you share 2-3 key trends or developments you’ve been following in the autonomous vehicle industry?
2.
The first trend I want to discuss is the timelines extending. You said in 2017 there were assumptions that perhaps autonomous vehicles would be operating or working within a year. What were those assumptions and how did they change? You referenced that timeline is now 5-10 years.
3.
Are you saying the areas where autonomous vehicles are being tested – San Francisco, for instance – are not necessarily representative of where they will actually be used?
4.
You said there’s been activity in more specific areas. It sounds as if robotaxis has been penetrated the most or it’s been where the mindset has been for the longest time, but there’s also trucking and delivery. Could you help us understand the demand dynamics and what could be driving demand in these specific segments? What other segments should we be considering and what challenges are there in those segments?
5.
If one of either a truck or a car was able to crack the code and deliver on a solution, would it be easily transferable or is it a completely different tech stack and a different approach?
6.
You referenced a few players, Waymo, Cruise and Aurora Innovation. I’ll throw Tesla in there as well. Could you outline the broader competitive landscape, the major players and how they’re positioned?
7.
You stated Tesla uses the shadow mode to train its AI and other players aren’t taking this strategic path. This seems to be a place where perhaps Lyft can have an impact by doing so along the rides it’s conducting already. What other players are doing this and is there a specific reason why some aren’t?
8.
You referenced Mobileye, which is considering or is planning to be listed in 2022. I don’t believe it has a platform or a car itself. Is that correct?
9.
What advantages might a player such as Mobileye have and where does it sit in the ecosystem?
10.
You also mentioned Aurora Innovation, which recently went public. What are the pros and cons of its platform?
11.
OEMs [original equipment manufacturers have cut down on their production of their ICE [internal combustion engine] and EVs [electric vehicles] due to the semiconductor shortage. How has that shortage impacted the developments in autonomous vehicles?
12.
Is there anything unique about the chips used for autonomous vehicles?
13.
It seems a majority of customised semiconductors for autonomous vehicles are coming from Nvidia, if I’m understanding correctly, although maybe it’s a competitive advantage that Tesla and Waymo are able to leverage their own capabilities to develop these. Do you expect OEMs to bring production of customised semiconductors in-house or would you expect them to continue to be part of a partnership or supplier?
14.
You discussed lidar earlier. What are the key elements of autonomous vehicle technology, including recent developments across ADAS [advanced driver-assistance systems], handle braking, object detection and other critical functions?
15.
Are there any attractive acquisition targets large players in the sector might be considering or areas of their portfolio that might be missing that they could aim to fill?
16.
What is your 3-5-year outlook for the industry and what is and a best- and worst-case scenario over the next year?
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