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/

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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.

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