About a month ago, I flew home from a work trip into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. It was late. My wife and kids were asleep. So, I fetched a ride from a ride-hailing app. The car arrived. It took me to my home in the suburbs. Dropped me off.
It was a typical ride-hailing experience.
Except for one critical detail…
There was no driver.
The car that picked me up from the airport, drove me through Phoenix, and dropped me off at my house was a fully autonomous vehicle operated by Waymo.
Waymo is the self-driving unit at Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL ). It’s been working on developing autonomous vehicle technology for over a decade now. For the past few years, it’s been quietly testing its technology through autonomous ride-hailing in Phoenix and a few other American cities. Folks in those areas can hail an autonomous Waymo and have it drive them from place to place. I bet many of you live nearby one of them and can try this yourself
That’s what I did for my trip from Phoenix Sky Harbor International to my house.
(Check out the video of my self-driving ride here.)
Here’s How It Works
After downloading the Waymo One app, I summoned a ride, much in the same way you call an Uber or a Lyft through their apps.
It arrived at the airport pickup location. I unlocked the car with my phone and stepped into the back of the vehicle. I put down my bags, buckled my seatbelt, and clicked “Start Ride” on an iPad-like display in the backseat.
The Waymo – which, in my case, was a Jaguar – drove itself away from the airport, navigated through Phoenix traffic, and, some 30 minutes later, dropped me off safely at my house.
It was a wonderful experience.
And not an isolated one.
Waymo is currently delivering more than 100,000 autonomous rides per week in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
That’s a lot of rides!
And they’re growing quickly. Just a few months ago, Waymo was only completing about 50,000 rides per week – meaning it’s doubled its ride volume in just a few months.
I think that number will double in the next few months, too.
Earlier this summer, Waymo announced that it is expanding its driving area in Phoenix and including highways. Less than two months ago, it announced expanded driving areas in San Francisco and Los Angeles. And in just a few months, Waymo plans to roll out autonomous rides to Austin and Atlanta.
Plus, the company has partnered with Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER) to autonomously deliver food through Uber Eats in select locations, including Phoenix.
It seems Waymo is firing on all cylinders right now (see how it stacks up to the AV competition).
Maybe that’s why Alphabet just invested an extra $5 billion in the company. With that much funding, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Waymo operating in every major U.S. metro by the end of 2025.
This Progress Is Widespread
Though, it isn’t just Waymo that’s swiftly making self-driving cars a reality.
Aurora Innovation (AUR), an autonomous trucking company, has partnered with several major firms like Paccar, Volvo, and Uber Freight to develop fully self-driving trucks. Another startup – Kodiak Robotics – is also focused on making autonomous big rigs.
Both are preparing to launch fully autonomous trucks on public roads in Texas later this year (without safety drivers). That means that in just a few months, Texans could see a self-driving 18-wheeler hauling goods from city to city. Aurora also plans to launch autonomous trucks in the Phoenix area soon as well.
Meanwhile, in China, Baidu (BIDU) has launched an autonomous ride-hailing service called Apollo Go. It appears to be just as big as Waymo, completing nearly 100,000 rides per week.
And this week, Elon Musk – the world’s richest man – is set to unveil his own autonomous vehicle platform, dubbed the Tesla Robotaxi , in what some are calling the firm’s biggest reveal in years.
Folks, the writing is on the wall.
With Waymo and Apollo Go each completing about 100,000 autonomous rides per week and expanding rapidly… Aurora and Kodiak preparing to launch fully autonomous trucks on public freeways within months… and Musk set to unveil Tesla’s own self-driving Robotaxi next week… we think it is entirely safe to say…
The Age of Autonomous Vehicles has arrived (learn more here).
The Final Word on the Robotaxi Revolution
Uncovering promising businesses or technologies with extreme wealth creation potential is a process that requires diligence and effort.
It’s not about running a simple stock screen or relying on conventional valuation metrics. It comes down to old-fashioned detective work—speaking with industry experts, attending conferences, testing products and services, evaluating business plans, and studying industry reports.
That’s what we dedicate ourselves to. And right now, our work strongly suggests that self-driving cars are here. They are spreading rapidly. And they’ll likely become a global ubiquity, possibly entirely replacing human-driven cars, trucks, and buses at some point.
Of course, the arrival of the Age of Autonomous Vehicles also means the arrival of huge opportunities in AV stocks.
The global transportation services market is estimated at over $7 trillion. And autonomous vehicles will likely change everything about everything inside that industry.
This means this breakthrough could impact how more than $7 trillion flows through the global economy.
Huge investment opportunities should emerge out of such a seismic shift.
Of course, the obvious picks in this space are Alphabet and Tesla. The former owns Waymo. The latter is about to roll out Robotaxi. If Waymo and Robotaxi scale and take over the global ride-hailing industry – estimated to be an $11 trillion market by 2030 – GOOGL and TSLA stock will be big winners.
But since Alphabet and Tesla are already big, well-established companies. Inherent upside is limited. They likely won’t be the biggest winners in this space.
That’s why we think perhaps the best way to play the Age of AVs is to buy stock in the smaller, lesser-known AV tech suppliers – not the headline operators.
To this point, I just went live with an important broadcast report to help you fully understand the importance of the Age of AVs…
In this broadcast, I discuss all the recent and upcoming developments in the autonomous vehicle industry.
Not to mention, I unveil a playbook of what I believe are some of the best AV tech supplier stocks to buy right now.
I could be biased, but I think this is the “must-watch” event in October…
And one that could highlight the next batch of potential superstar tech stocks.
On the date of publication, Luke Lango did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
P.S. You can stay up to speed with Luke’s latest market analysis by reading our Daily Notes! Check out the latest issue on your Innovation Investor or Early Stage Investor subscriber site.
