Best Road To Autonomy Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 340 | Magna's Vision for Autonomy Begins at Level 2 38:38

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4d ago38:38

38:38

David Doria, Director of Engineering – Automated Driving, Magna joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss Magna’s approach to developing autonomous driving systems. As the automotive industry transitions toward software-defined vehicles that will eventually become fully autonomous, the core technologies driving this transform…

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What Everyone Is Getting Wrong About AI And Jobs 8:00

2d ago8:00

8:00

For years, we've heard two major narratives about AI. One predicting the end of human work, the other dismissing it as hype. The truth is more nuanced, and more hopeful.From radiology to software engineering, the pattern repeats: as technology makes tasks cheaper and faster, demand for human creativity and judgment grows.YC's Garry Tan explores wha…

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Inside DoorDash's Adorable 20mph Delivery Robot (w/ DoorDash VP of Autonomy Ashu Rege) 57:51

3d ago57:51

57:51

We do a deep dive into Dot, DoorDash's newly announced homegrown delivery robot, that has eyes, can talks, and is capable of speeds up to 20mph.By Oliver Bruce and Horace Dediu

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How To Design Products That Truly Stand Out 35:49

3d ago35:49

35:49

Karri Saarinen is the co-founder and CEO of Linear, the issue tracking tool used by thousands of high-growth companies. Before Linear, he was the first designer at Coinbase and later a lead designer at Airbnb.On Design Review with YC's Aaron Epstein, Karri shares how his design background shaped Linear’s product philosophy, why quality and craft ma…

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Episode 339 | Autonomy Markets: First Impressions of Tesla FSD 14, Waymo’s Next Potential Markets 36:50

7d ago36:50

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This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Tesla’s FSD 14 release and Waymo’s potential market expansions. The episode begins with Walt sharing his firsthand experience testing FSD 14, showcasing its breakthrough ability to autonomously back out of driveways and park at destinations with a single tap. While impressive, …

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Kueen Talk: When They Didn’t Listen: Ajah’s Story of Mental Health and Self-Love (EP 77) 58:09

7d ago58:09

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In this episode of Kueen Talk, Bear interviews Ajah, a storyteller and student of film, who shares her journey of self-discovery, and navigating her identity as a black disabled queer woman. Ajah discusses her experiences with family dynamics, mental health, and the cultural shock of moving from California to Kansas. She emphasizes the importance o…

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The World's First Commercial Mobile Carbon Capture Device 12:46

7d ago12:46

12:46

Paul Gross and his team at Remora are trying to do something that’s never been done before. They're building mobile carbon capture devices for commercial trucks and trains—capturing CO2 from moving vehicles before it enters the atmosphere, then turning those emissions into revenue by selling it to customers that can turn the liquified CO2 into new …

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Every AI Founder Should Be Asking These Questions 40:35

9d ago40:35

40:35

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Episode 338 | The Next 15 Months Will Define Autonomous Vehicle Policy in America 43:01

9d ago43:01

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Episode 337 | Autonomy Markets: From London to Dubai Robotaxis are Rapidly Expanding Globally 39:05

14d ago39:05

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This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the accelerating global expansion of robotaxis. In London, Wayve is proving its adaptable, AI-powered autonomous system can navigate complex roadways, from double roundabouts to unpredictable pedestrian interactions without reliance on LiDAR. Wayve’s strategy of working hand-in…

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Kueen Talk: When The Time Is Right w/ Brailin (EP 76) 1:00:06

15d ago1:00:06

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In this episode of Kueen Talk, Brailin shares his journey from Ohio to Texas, discussing cultural differences, identity, and the vibrant queer scene in Houston. He opens up about his experiences with relationships, separation, and transitioning as a trans man. Brailin emphasizes the importance of financial literacy and building a support system whi…

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Anthropic Head of Pretraining on Scaling Laws, Compute, and the Future of AI 1:04:04

15d ago1:04:04

1:04:04

Ever wonder what it actually takes to train a frontier AI model?YC General Partner Ankit Gupta sits down with Nick Joseph, Anthropic's Head of Pre-training, to explore the engineering challenges behind training Claude—from managing thousands of GPUs and debugging cursed bugs to balancing compute between pre-training and RL. We cover scaling laws, d…

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Episode 336 | Peak Car by 2035: The $1.2 Trillion Autonomous Vehicle Industry Takes Shape 1:00:53

18d ago1:00:53

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Martyn Briggs, Director, Thematic Investing Strategy, Bank of America joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss why 2035 might be the year the car peaks and what that means for the market. Breakthroughs in AI, falling sensor costs, and favorable regulation have shifted autonomy from a “moonshot” to a fast-emerging industry an…

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Episode 335 | Autonomy Markets: Does Tesla FSD 14 Matter? 33:12

21d ago33:12

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This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the upcoming release of Tesla FSD 14, Waymo’s potential expansion to London and Nuro taking delivery of their first Lucid-built robotaxi. What will the highly anticipated release of FSD 14 (Supervised) mean for the market? Could reduced driver monitoring signal that Tesla is in…

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Kueen Talk: Love is in the Air w/ Doniesha & Golden (Episode 75) 1:01:57

22d ago1:01:57

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In this episode of Kueen Talk, host Bear welcomes guests Doniesha and Golden, a couple who share their journey of moving to Dallas, Texas. They discuss their experiences in the queer community, their stories, and the dynamics of their relationship. The conversation touches on family acceptance, their wedding, and the challenges they face as a queer…

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Fintech 3.0: Now Is The Best Time To Build In Crypto 42:00

23d ago42:00

42:00

We are entering the era of Fintech 3.0. Regulatory clarity, growing consumer adoption, and low-cost chains have paved the way for a golden age of building in crypto — and at YC, Base, and Coinbase we want to fund builders to seize this moment. In this episode of Main Function, YC's Harj Taggar and Base's Jesse Pollak sat down to discuss what kinds …

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Episode 334 | Autonomous Trucking’s Watershed Moment: Bot Auto Proves Less is More 47:24

25d ago47:24

47:24

Chuck Price, President, AI Kinetics joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss Bot Auto’s successful 40-mile, fully autonomous run with no human in the cab or operating the vehicle remotely. In what Chuck Price calls a “watershed event,” Bot Auto successfully completed a driver-out run in under two years with less than $45 mil…

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Episode 333 | Autonomy Markets: Lyft’s Back! Waymo Deal Shocks Market, Tesla & Uber Forge Unthinkable Alliance 38:36

28d ago38:36

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This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Lyft’s dramatic return to the big leagues of the autonomous vehicle industry through a surprise partnership with Waymo in Nashville, including fleet management, sending Lyft stock soaring 20% while Uber dropped 5%. Grayson and Walt examine the strategic implications of this non…

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Kueen Talk, Beyond Wichita: TK on Growth, Culture, and Parenthood (Episode 74) 43:18

28d ago43:18

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In this episode of Kueen Talk, we sit down with TK for a powerful conversation about breaking free from limiting mindsets. TK opens up about the ways Wichita can feel small-minded if you don’t step outside of it. They share the importance of creating culture and spaces for people who crave more, and how that vision keeps them moving forward. TK als…

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Aaron Levie: Why Startups Win In The AI Era 40:27

30d ago40:27

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For nearly two decades, Box co-founder and CEO Aaron Levie has been at the frontlines of how technology reshapes work—guiding the company through the rise of mobile, the cloud, and now the age of AI.In his fireside with YC General Partner David Lieb at AI Startup School, Aaron reflects on what it means to adapt a company over the long term, the har…

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Episode 332 | 99% of Autonomy's Impact Is Still Ahead of Us 52:11

1M ago52:11

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Qasar Younis, CEO and Peter Ludwig, CTO, Co-Founders of Applied Intuition joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss why Applied Intuition continues to be one of the most interesting companies in autonomy. The conversation explores Applied Intuition’s growing portfolio of partnerships, including a major deal with Komatsu and t…

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Episode 331 | Autonomy Markets: The Most Valuable Part of Your Next Car Isn't Autonomy 42:15

1M ago42:15

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This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the rapidly shifting landscape of AI inside of vehicles, exploring how xAI’s Grok and Google’s Gemini are shaping the future of in-vehicle experiences. Grayson and Walt debate whether these AI systems will remain as assistants limited to Q&A or evolve into agentic copilots capa…

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The Future of Software Creation with Replit CEO Amjad Masad 42:01

1M ago42:01

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Amjad Masad is the co-founder & CEO of Replit, now valued at $3B after a recent $250M Series C. He's spent nearly a decade making programming accessible to all—and with the rise of AI, that vision is closer than ever.In this talk from AI Startup School on June 17, 2025, Amjad traces the arc of computing from mainframes to personal computers to a fu…

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Kueen Talk: Beyond The Lens w/ Shauntoray's Journey (Episode 73) 41:08

1M ago41:08

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Kueen Talk. In this episode of Kueen Talk, Bear interviews Shauntoray, a talented photographer, filmmaker, and food blogger. They discuss Shauntoray's journey into food blogging, the importance of representation in the food community, and the challenges and joys of navigating identity and relationships. Shauntoray shares her insights on being hones…

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Episode 330 | Q3 2025 Energy Market Outlook: Texas Drives Record Global Oil Demand Amid AI Revolution and Geopolitical Shifts 40:57

1M ago40:57

40:57

Dean Foreman, Chief Economist, Texas Oil & Gas Association joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how record-breaking global energy demand and Texas’s energy dominance are reshaping markets amid the AI revolution and shifting geopolitical dynamics. With the Energy Information Administration (EIA) projecting consecutive oil…

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The FDE Playbook for AI Startups with Bob McGrew 50:42

1M ago50:42

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Bob McGrew helped build some of the most influential technologies of the past two decades. Bob was an early engineer at PayPal, an early executive at Palantir, and was recently Chief Research Officer at OpenAI - where he led the development of ChatGPT, GPT-4 and the o1 reasoning model. During his time at Palantir, he was a pioneer of the Forward De…

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Episode 329 | Autonomy Markets: Who is Winning the Robotaxi Heavyweight Fight? Waymo or Tesla? 42:11

1M ago42:11

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This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the new expansion announcements from both Waymo and Tesla, framing it as a “heavyweight fight”. Waymo announced plans to expand to Denver and Seattle, with Denver set to become the first city where its fleet will include both Jaguar I-PACEs and Zeekrs. The company also gained r…

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Michael Truell: Building Cursor at 23, Taking on GitHub Copilot, and Advice to Engineering Students 27:55

1M ago27:55

27:55

Michael Truell on June 17th, 2025 at AI Startup School in San Francisco.At 25, Michael Truell has already built Cursor into one of the fastest-growing companies in AI coding, hitting $100M ARR in just a year. In this fireside chat with YC General Partner Diana Hu, he shares the lessons that came from years of failed projects with his co-founders, w…

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Episode 328 | Autonomy Markets: Uber CEO Reignites The Great Waymo vs Tesla Debate 31:58

2M ago31:58

31:58

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk marked the one-year anniversary of Autonomy Markets and discussed the reignited debate between LiDAR and vision-only after comments made by Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi during an interview. During the interview, Mr. Khosrowshahi stated that in the short term, a combination of camera, LiD…

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GPT-OSS vs. Qwen vs. Deepseek: Comparing Open Source LLM Architectures 12:31

2M ago12:31

12:31

OpenAI recently released its first open-weights model since GPT-2, entering a field led by DeepSeek and Alibaba's Qwen.YC's Ankit Gupta breaks down everything you need to know about these top OSS models, including what sets them apart under the hood. He’ll compare their approaches to mixture-of-experts, long-context training, and post-training tech…

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Kueen Talk: Bri's Journey Finding Autonomy (Episode 72) 51:24

2M ago51:24

51:24

In this episode of Kueen Talk, host Bear interviews Bri McBride, a musician from Wichita, Kansas. Bri shares her journey of moving from Detroit to Wichita, emphasizing the importance of autonomy and identity in her life. She discusses her struggles with mental health, the impact of her family dynamics, and her love story with her wife. Bri also del…

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Episode 327 | Qualcomm's Snapdragon Autonomy Strategy 45:55

2M ago45:55

45:55

Anshuman Saxena, Vice President and Head of ADAS/Autonomous Driving Products, Qualcomm joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss Qualcomm’s Snapdragon autonomy strategy. Qualcomm’s automotive division is rapidly expanding, with revenue up 59% year-over-year to $959 million. At the center of this growth is the company’s Snapdr…

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How This 25-Year-Old Built A $675M Legal AI Startup (With No Legal Experience) 45:25

2M ago45:25

45:25

In this episode of Founder Firesides, YC General Partner Gustaf Alströmer is joined by Max Junestrand, co-founder and CEO of Legora, one of the fastest-growing legal AI startups in the world. In just 13 months, Max and his team scaled from 10 to 100 people, raised $80M, and cracked the challenge of selling to one of the most skeptical industries. M…

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Episode 326 | Autonomy Markets: Send More Waymo's to Atlanta ASAP and Nuro's Big Check 40:14

2M ago40:14

40:14

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the significant operational challenges Waymo and Uber are currently experiencing in Atlanta and Nuro's Series E round. Waymo’s launch in Atlanta has gone anything but smooth. A shortage of vehicles and frequent rider pairing issues on Uber have sparked negative local media cove…

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Episode 325 | GM’s Third Autonomy Act: Inside the New Push for Personally Owned Autonomous Vehicles 35:12

2M ago35:12

35:12

David Welch, Detroit Bureau Chief, Bloomberg joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss GM’s renewed interest in autonomous vehicles. From robotaxis to personally owned autonomous vehicles, GM is once again preparing to enter the autonomous vehicle. This time in a initiative led by Chief Product Officer Sterling Anderson, GM i…

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Inside The Biggest Robotaxi Deal To Date (w/ Nuro COO Andrew Chapin) 36:30

2M ago36:30

36:30

In this episode, we dive into the details of the Uber-Lucid-Nuro robotaxi deal, which could be the largest deal of its kind to date.By Oliver Bruce and Horace Dediu

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Episode 324 | Autonomy Markets: GM’s Autonomy Flip Flop, Waymo’s Supply Issue, New 37-Camera Autonomous Vehicle 53:28

2M ago53:28

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This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss GM’s sudden return to autonomous vehicles, Waymo’s growing supply constraints, and the launch of Tensor Auto. A few months after shutting down Cruise, GM is once again re-entering the autonomous vehicle market, but this time with a twist. This time around the company will be fo…

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The Sales Playbook for Founders | Startup School 18:38

2M ago18:38

18:38

Navigating B2B sales for the first time can feel slow and overwhelming.Drawing from his experience founding Monzo and GoCardless, YC's Tom Blomfield shares his playbook for running a tight sales process that lands real, recurring revenue. He walks through each step—free and paid pilots, opt-out contracts, long-term deals—and shows how to prove valu…

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Episode 323 | Autonomy Markets: Uber’s Autonomous Investments Won’t Be Modest, With or Without Waymo 38:06

2M ago38:06

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This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Uber’s growing autonomous vehicle investments and why they won’t be modest. While Uber publicly framed their autonomy spending as “modest” and emphasized share buybacks, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi made it clear on the company’s Q2 2025 earnings call that more OEM partnerships and AV…

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Figma CEO Dylan Field: How AI Will Transform Design 40:36

2M ago40:36

40:36

Dylan Field on June 17th, 2025 at AI Startup School in San Francisco.Dylan Field co-founded Figma to bring the design process online and make it multiplayer. From a meme maker built on WebGL to a design platform powering millions, Figma’s journey hit a major milestone with its IPO last week.In this conversation, Dylan shares the early challenges of…

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Kueen Talk: Stories That Connect Us W/ Forrest, Favorite Librarian (Episode 71) 57:58

2M ago57:58

57:58

In this episode of Kueen Talk, Bear interviews Forrest, a licensed librarian and founder of Favorite Librarian, who discusses her experiences in the queer community, the importance of representation, and the challenges faced by queer individuals, particularly women of color. They explore the dynamics of queer spaces, the impact of segregation, and …

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Episode 322 | Nuro, Uber & Lucid Strike Gold: Inside the Global Three-Way Deal Transforming Autonomy 36:51

2M ago36:51

36:51

Andrew Chapin, Chief Operating Officer, Nuro joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss Nuro’s three-way partnership with Uber and Lucid Motors, which will see Uber exclusively deploy the Lucid Gravity robotaxi powered by Nuro on their platform. In a deal that clearly validates their bold pivot to licensing, Uber has committed…

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Episode 321 | Autonomy Markets: Waymo Leaves Uber in Austin and the Tesla Double Standard 36:55

3M ago36:55

36:55

This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s expansion to Dallas without Uber, instead partnering with Avis and renewing a relationship that dates back to 2017 and the emerging Tesla double standard. Waymo’s multi-year partnership with Avis signals the company’s desire to maintain flexibility, rather than locking …

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The Finance Startup Bringing Agentic AI to Wall Street 46:15

3M ago46:15

46:15

Brothers Chaz and Arnie Englander started Model ML after building and selling two YC companies. What began as a tool to help them analyze deals has grown into a full AI-powered workspace purpose-built for financial services, empowering firms to create automations and workflows that reflect exactly how their teams operate. And it's already being use…

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Scaling and the Road to Human-Level AI | Anthropic Co-founder Jared Kaplan 40:47

3M ago40:47

40:47

Jared Kaplan on June 16th, 2025 at AI Startup School in San Francisco.Jared Kaplan started out as a theoretical physicist chasing questions about the universe. Then he helped uncover one of AI’s most surprising truths: that intelligence scales in a predictable, almost physical way.That insight became foundational to the modern era of large language…

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Episode 320 | America Can’t Build Without Autonomous Construction Equipment 36:32

3M ago36:32

36:32

Kevin Peterson, Co-Founder & CTO, Bedrock Robotics joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the growing labor shortage in the construction industry and how Bedrock is developing autonomous construction equipment to help builders keep building. America’s construction industry is facing a crisis with a shortage of 500,000 work…

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Episode 319 | Autonomy Markets: Tesla and Waymo are Scaling, While Zoox's Strategy Sparks Doubt 46:02

3M ago46:02

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This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Tesla and Alphabet’s Q2 2025 earnings calls, Tesla’s growing robotaxi ambitions and the launch of Zoox’s limited fixed-route service in Las Vegas. Tesla’s Robotaxi expansion ambitions are growing, and on their Q2 2025 earnings call, Elon Musk disclosed that Tesla is looking to …

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Brand Design Tips From Linear Founder Karri Saarinen 43:41

3M ago43:41

43:41

For this episode of Design Review, YC’s Aaron Epstein is joined by Karri Saarinen, co-founder & CEO of Linear, one of the top designer-founders working today. Together, they'll review several sites from the YC community with an eye for how to build and maintain a high-quality brand. Thank you to these companies for volunteering to have their sites …

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Kueen Talk: The Power of Personal Stories w/ Bear (Episode 70) 13:40

3M ago13:40

13:40

In this episode of Kueen Talk, Bear reflects on the importance of sharing personal stories and the impact of vulnerability in creating a supportive community. She discusses the significance of family reunions, especially in honoring lost loved ones, and emphasizes the need for connection and representation. Bear also shares personal stories about f…

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Chelsea Finn: Building Robots That Can Do Anything 44:52

3M ago44:52

44:52

Chelsea Finn on June 17th, 2025 at AI Startup School in San Francisco.From MIT through her PhD at Berkeley, where she pioneered meta‑learning methods, and Google Brain, Chelsea Finn has built her career around teaching machines how to learn. Now an Assistant Professor at Stanford and co‑founder of Physical Intelligence, she’s using that foundation …