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Waymo’s co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana on steering through autonomous car challenges | StrictlyVC LA

Waymo has taken the lead in the race to advance autonomous driving within the US, and its co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana joined TechCrunch Senior Editor Kirsten Korosec to break down their recent successes and challenges. Within Phoenix, Arizona, Waymo has long operated their ride-hailing service, but recent backlashes in San Francisco have highlighted the opposition the…

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Waymo has taken the lead in the race to advance autonomous driving within the US, and its co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana joined TechCrunch Senior Editor Kirsten Korosec to break down their recent successes and challenges. Within Phoenix, Arizona, Waymo has long operated their ride-hailing service, but recent backlashes in San Francisco have highlighted the opposition the company still faces.

Mawakana honed in on the company’s particular opportunity in Los Angeles, with a $2 billion transportation market opportunity, as it ramps up its push for expansion in the city and opens up rides to the public ahead of its next expansion into Austin.

StrictlyVC brings together the most important insights and most notable figures across a wide range of tech companies, and it’s now a part of TechCrunch. Throughout the year, TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief and StrictlyVC host Connie Loizos is joined by members of the TechCrunch team and founders, VCs, leaders and innovators across the technology industry, pulled together from around the world.

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6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. @manp1039

    March 2, 2024 at 3:42 pm

    very interesting discussion. I had not considered that Waymo may IPO.. I am wondering why the speaker was suggesting that it IPO spin-off. I think as Waymo progresses with its tech and the locations it serves.. and if it continues having good working relations with policymakers and regulators and communities.. There might be an opportunity for Waymo to partner with legacy automakers to roll out, at scale, more cars.. and perhaps build cars that are more helpful and useful to riders and most cost-effective to build. herhaps even cars with a removable steering wheel that would allow an additional passenger to ride in the car. Perhaps cars that are wheelchair-accessible and can carry larger cargo items? I wanted to ride in waymo.. but, sadly, the electric bicycle i have a little too big, when folded up to fit in the raar cargo area. Perhaps even a car that can carry bicycles oar a bicycle on a rack in the back? or front?? a lot of potential.

    • @ashvinnihalani8821

      March 3, 2024 at 7:43 pm

      Basically to raise more capital. As a part of Google, they are inherently limited by the growth potential of Alphabet the stock. For example the forward looking PE ration of Alphabet is only ~20 compared to Teslas ~60. Just shows that as part of a bigger company, if they were to do a capital raise it would be limited by Googles growth potential rather than Waymas alone

  2. @user-ky7yq1kk5x

    March 3, 2024 at 5:31 pm

    Wanted to hear about the way waymo does it. Not interested in the soft items around who needs it and who uses it for what.

  3. @Steki007

    March 4, 2024 at 6:28 am

    A disappointing interview with no structure, empty questions and a lot of background noise.

  4. @jorneichhorn3397

    March 8, 2024 at 5:29 am

    Kirsten Korosec really did a good job as interviewer and tried hard. 🦾But the interviewee was much too reluctant to give basically any substantial information away. Though she still sometimes did by accident. Tekedra Mawakana missed out on a good opportunity to build more trust towards Waymo in the community, and with experts as well.

  5. @leonardbrinkman4410

    March 10, 2024 at 10:36 am

    I was wanting to find out when they’re going to be coming to Seattle? The reason why I say this is because I would love to see way more in Seattle because I’m legally blind and I can get around very fast and very nimble. I don’t have to worry about using public transportation or Link light rail but I can definitely use the robo taxi service to take me to my doctor’s appointments and my bank if I have to go pay the rent. I think what needs to be done is I think we need to start seeing way more and more cities and more places. And what I also see happening is that it’s way more comes to cities in the west like Seattle Portland salt lake City Las Vegas and whatever? Then we can get a grip on a few things and we can make sure that the robo taxi service works. However robo taxis do not need to be used by criminals to go commit crimes like property crimes. That is wrong! And that means that what I see happening is that you are going to see this robo taxi service take a stand on it. That is why I believe in waymo and I believe in what they do! So all I can say is keep up the good work. And I hope this service extends all across the country.

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OpenAI and Google’s busy week, and why are so many VCs leaving their firms? | Equity Podcast

On this episode of Equity, Mary Ann Azevedo, Rebecca Szkutak and Haje Jan Kamps dig into an Oslo startup using AI help wind farms mitigate its impact on birds, the new AI features announced by OpenAI and Google, and the trend of VC investors leaving their firms. Equity is a show about the business of…

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On this episode of Equity, Mary Ann Azevedo, Rebecca Szkutak and Haje Jan Kamps dig into an Oslo startup using AI help wind farms mitigate its impact on birds, the new AI features announced by OpenAI and Google, and the trend of VC investors leaving their firms.

Equity is a show about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. New episodes drop at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

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1 Simple Question That Could Improve Women’s Health | Meryam Sugulle | TED

There’s a reliable indicator of a woman’s future likelihood of cardiovascular disease — but it rarely gets asked about, says obstetrician and researcher Meryam Sugulle. She delves into the role of the placenta in pregnancy, how it can predict health outcomes and the single question that should be worked into routine health screenings. If you…

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There’s a reliable indicator of a woman’s future likelihood of cardiovascular disease — but it rarely gets asked about, says obstetrician and researcher Meryam Sugulle. She delves into the role of the placenta in pregnancy, how it can predict health outcomes and the single question that should be worked into routine health screenings.

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