The Moonshot Podcast Deep Dive: Sebastian Thrun on Waymo’s Early Days
Jun 27, 2025
Sebastian Thrun, computer scientist who helped build self-driving cars and co-founded the Moonshot Factory, reflects on Waymo and Google X origins. He recounts how Street View and navigation scaled, Larry Page’s self-driving pitch, and the milestone-driven approach that paired wild experiments with rigorous goals. Conversations also touch on Udacity, ethics of innovation, and where AI and transportation are headed.
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Convince Skeptics With Incremental Safety Framing
- Larry Page convinced Sebastian Thrun to attempt an apparently impossible full self-driving car by framing incremental safety improvements and starting with a safety driver.
- Thrun initially believed desert DARPA robots showed it was impossible, but Larry's milestone framing changed the project scope.
Run Moonshots Like Skunk Works
- Build small, focused teams shielded from corporate distractions to pursue hard problems, modeled after Skunk Works.
- Thrun hired few trusted people, avoided permanent staff and publicity, and focused on business-driven milestones.
Use Hard Milestones To Focus Teams
- Use specific, written milestones to create clarity and eliminate debate about what to build.
- At Waymo Thrun negotiated a 1,000-mile hands-off route including Lombard Street to align the team's work.