WEBVTT - Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana Talks Growth 0:00:02.480 --> 0:00:07.280 Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. 0:00:07.840 --> 0:00:10.760 You've just raised sixteen billion dollars. It's a lot of money. 0:00:11.480 --> 0:00:14.360 What is it unlocked for way Mo over the next 0:00:14.400 --> 0:00:16.000 twelve twenty four months. 0:00:16.480 --> 0:00:19.360 Raising the sixteen billion dollars and at one hundred and 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:22.759 twenty six billion dollar valuation is really a vote of confidence. 0:00:23.360 --> 0:00:25.520 I mean, this team has been heads down for a 0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:30.080 long time trying to bring this sort of scientific project 0:00:30.600 --> 0:00:33.919 into reality and app scale. And so it's a huge 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:37.640 event of confidence not only from our majority investor, Alphabet, 0:00:37.880 --> 0:00:41.280 but also from our co lead investors Sequoia and DST 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:45.640 and Dragoneer, as well as a host of world class 0:00:45.680 --> 0:00:49.199 existing and new investors. And it just allows us to 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:52.560 continue to scale our business. Right now, we're laying the 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:56.200 groundwork for over twenty cities in this year alone. 0:00:57.120 --> 0:00:59.520 I should point out, you know, we reported Alphabet will 0:00:59.560 --> 0:01:02.120 account for the vast majority of that sixteen billion. But 0:01:02.160 --> 0:01:07.800 it is interesting, so Quoia Capital, DST, Dragonnaire beyond you investors, 0:01:08.319 --> 0:01:11.039 what do we interpret from that that they came in 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:13.160 at this stage of the company's life. 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:16.080 I think it's important to interpret that this is an 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:20.520 inflection point, right like in twenty twenty five, we quadrupled 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:23.360 the number of trips that we are providing, So we 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:28.200 offered fifteen million rides and we have over twenty million 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:31.040 lifetime rides. So it was just a really important year. 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:34.200 And now that we've launched Miami, that's across six cities, 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:37.039 but at that time it was across five cities, and 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:40.440 so demonstrating not only that the technology works that were 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:43.160 able to drive the safety impacts that we've been focused on, 0:01:43.640 --> 0:01:46.080 you know, with when we were at one hundred and 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:49.560 twenty seven million miles, we were able to demonstrate a 0:01:49.720 --> 0:01:54.640 ninety percent that we had ninety percent fewer serious injury 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:58.480 causing crashes or worse. That's the kind of safety output 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:01.000 that drives us. That's our mission to be the world's 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:04.440 most trusted driver. So coming in at this point demonstrates 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:08.360 that consumers are adopting it, the safety case is being made, 0:02:08.560 --> 0:02:10.960 and it's just really exciting time to join the team. 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:14.480 You set the same for expansion across twenty cities this year. 0:02:14.560 --> 0:02:18.240 Right right now, you're doing four hundred thousand paid rides 0:02:18.280 --> 0:02:22.040 a week across six cities. It's a greater scale than 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:24.600 when you and I talked to more than a year ago, 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:27.280 which seemed to be to be a time of pace. 0:02:27.400 --> 0:02:31.360 Then what's the biggest challenge of operating a robotaxi service 0:02:32.120 --> 0:02:34.000 at that new scale that you're developing. 0:02:34.639 --> 0:02:37.919 I think everything is really exciting right now, and there 0:02:37.960 --> 0:02:40.960 are many many things to be learned as we go. 0:02:41.440 --> 0:02:44.359 Right like some markets are still not open and they're 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:48.240 really important transportation hubs around the world, like New York City, 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:50.960 you know, and so we were the first company to 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:55.000 receive a testing permit where we had driver supervision of 0:02:55.120 --> 0:02:57.240 fully autonomous testing in the city. 0:02:58.120 --> 0:02:59.639 And we believe now. 0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:01.960 With Governor goal that we will be able to be 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:04.760 the first company to launch a New York City, a 0:03:04.800 --> 0:03:07.000 New York State. But you know, this is going to 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:10.040 be a path actually figuring out the regulatory landscape. 0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:12.680 There is something there isn't there. City versus states, state 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:15.280 versus ver. We will talk about it. Yeah, I got 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:17.160 a lot of interest when I said that I was 0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:19.919 going to be speaking with you about sixteen billion dollars 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:22.320 A lot of money, but actually how will you use it? 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:26.720 There's a tension between scaling operations the fleet. You know, 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:29.480 you've got to have more cars, but also a commitment 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:32.160 to invest in technology, and I wanted to teach you 0:03:32.240 --> 0:03:34.800 how far you've thought about how much goes into each 0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:35.880 of those buckets. 0:03:36.280 --> 0:03:38.960 Yeah, so, first and foremost, when we think about twenty 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:43.400 twenty six, just the year ahead of us, execution execution execution, 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:47.040 So scaling across these twenty cities that were laying the 0:03:47.040 --> 0:03:50.600 groundwork for continuing to grow our world class team is 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:52.240 obviously super important to us. 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:55.760 Making sure that we are continuing. 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:58.320 To cost down our hardware stack and prove out our 0:03:58.400 --> 0:04:02.040 unit economics while scaling our fleet. And so we have 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:06.800 our fully electric ipace fleet. We are starting to introduce 0:04:06.840 --> 0:04:10.080 the OHI vehicles and then you will see the Ionic 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:12.480 fives come online, and so making sure that we are 0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:16.000 investing for the long term for a sustainable business is 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:16.640 what we're really. 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:18.640 Fused to see the OHI vehicles testing. 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:22.320 If I am a user of the service right now, 0:04:22.360 --> 0:04:24.800 will I soon be able to actually get into an. 0:04:24.680 --> 0:04:27.800 Ohai you will this year be able to Right now, 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:30.200 we've only throughout twenty twenty five. In the beginning of 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:33.040 this year, had employees in three cities. 0:04:33.360 --> 0:04:36.040 We just had a huge weekend here in the Bay Area, 0:04:36.240 --> 0:04:37.880 San Francisco, but Santa. 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:38.719 Clara super Bowl. 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:42.799 Yes, I across social media saw a lot of people 0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:47.560 reflect on their first experience in a robotaxi, some of 0:04:47.600 --> 0:04:52.240 them of course with Waimo, was that a tangible, meaningful 0:04:52.279 --> 0:04:54.720 moment for the company recently is the town? 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:55.320 Yes? 0:04:55.800 --> 0:04:57.839 What data? What evidence can we can we point to 0:04:57.880 --> 0:04:59.040 on how big a weekend? 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:03.960 Yeah Bowl is a reminder for us that Weymo is 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:06.640 part of the fabric of the Bay Area, right like 0:05:06.760 --> 0:05:10.320 people were able to hail rides from SFO from San 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:13.400 Jose Airport, people were able to get to and from 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:14.640 the Levi Stadium. 0:05:15.040 --> 0:05:15.240 You know. 0:05:15.279 --> 0:05:18.520 We obviously did a lot of fun activations with influencers, 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:22.120 but it's just a reminder that people are using the 0:05:22.160 --> 0:05:27.720 Waimo service in every day errands, doctor's appointments, you know, 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:32.279 getting kids to practice, in big life moments, weddings, picking 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:36.480 up a child from daycare, having a baby, you know, 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:39.720 going to their going to the hospital, pregnant, coming home 0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:43.000 from the hospital with a newborn, and then these large 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:46.039 cultural moments, and so we've had a number of them. Obviously, 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:48.640 we started the month with the Grammys. We had a 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:52.240 host of activations there, then the Super Bowl, and then 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:55.320 of course we have the All Star weekend coming in 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:59.120 Los Angeles, and so we're just finding this intersection of 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:02.280 everyday life and then real enthusiasm because a lot of 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:04.200 people came to the Bay Area for the Super Bowl 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:07.040 and we're not in their city, and it's the thing 0:06:07.080 --> 0:06:08.919 they had heard from their friends in the area. You 0:06:08.960 --> 0:06:11.960 have to check out Weimo, And so we saw so 0:06:12.040 --> 0:06:15.400 many downloads and so many happy writers while they were here. 0:06:16.040 --> 0:06:20.000 Weimo's reputation is growing globally and we're going to talk 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:23.440 about about the literal expansion of your operations. But with 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:26.880 this funding round, you know, it's a who's who of 0:06:26.960 --> 0:06:30.960 investors now on the cap table. It's a big raise 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:34.120 at a premium valuation. How much of that is sort 0:06:34.160 --> 0:06:37.320 of setting the pieces in motion to life eventually as 0:06:37.320 --> 0:06:40.560 a public company. Is that something that you and Dmitri 0:06:40.720 --> 0:06:43.680 and the rest of the leadership plan for or is 0:06:43.720 --> 0:06:46.000 their merit staying as you are now? 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:49.960 You know, we are just laser focused on execution, you know, 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:54.800 building Weimo to be financially responsible, operationally excellent, and then 0:06:54.839 --> 0:06:58.000 make sure we maintain the safety culture. Like that's what 0:06:58.040 --> 0:07:01.159 we're really focused on. Having this voe of confidence, as 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:04.000 you said, not only from alphabet, but from our three 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:07.480 colleagues from this round, and from all of the new 0:07:07.480 --> 0:07:10.200 investors who decided to join our cap table and the 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:13.160 existing ones who doubled down on their belief that this 0:07:13.320 --> 0:07:16.280 is the right opportunity to fund. And so we just 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:20.280 feel humbled. But also there's a lot to do. So 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:22.760 we're just really focused on making sure that we can scale, 0:07:23.240 --> 0:07:26.600 focusing on our two first international launches, you know, London 0:07:26.640 --> 0:07:29.960 and Tokyo, and scaling across the United States. 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:31.640 Let's talk about the growth. 0:07:32.160 --> 0:07:34.840 A lot of people just want to understand in some 0:07:34.920 --> 0:07:37.160 of those cities where people are frustrated because the service 0:07:37.200 --> 0:07:39.560 doesn't exist, what does it take to launch in a 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:43.400 city to go from mapping that city through to a 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:45.920 full paid commercial service. 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:50.560 Now, if the regulatory climate of a city is welcoming, 0:07:51.280 --> 0:07:55.200 then if then we can show up and map and 0:07:55.280 --> 0:07:57.520 launch in a couple of months, like we did in Miami. 0:07:58.080 --> 0:08:00.600 You know, that's a city where you know, they were 0:08:00.600 --> 0:08:03.160 welcoming and they were ready, and we were ready, and 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:04.960 so we showed up. You know, we have a fleet 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:07.840 operating partner, and we were able to launch quite quickly 0:08:07.920 --> 0:08:11.640 after we first arrived. I think in a lot of cities, 0:08:11.760 --> 0:08:16.120 especially cities that are meaningful from a transportation perspective, where 0:08:16.160 --> 0:08:20.440 we're helping, we're working engaging with policymakers. You know, we 0:08:20.640 --> 0:08:25.320 have the burden to demonstrate our safety impact. And so 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:28.120 with the one hundred and twenty seven million miles in 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:32.880 ninety percent fewer injury, serious injury causing crashes or worse, 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:35.360 you know, we have to educate them on that kind 0:08:35.360 --> 0:08:39.520 of impact. Eighty two percent fewer airbag deployments. You know, 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:44.360 this isn't something that any fleet based business has been 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:47.560 able to come in and give policy makers data. So 0:08:47.679 --> 0:08:50.640 assuming that we can do that and then grow trust, 0:08:51.080 --> 0:08:54.120 and you know, we do that by partnering with organizations 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:57.720 in markets who have been trying to solve road safety issues. 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:02.160 They've been trying to expand mobility options for residents, and 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:04.640 so we partner with them. And then obviously we work 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:07.760 with law enforcement and first responders to train them on 0:09:07.800 --> 0:09:09.080 horror technology works. 0:09:10.120 --> 0:09:12.800 We do not yet have, although there has been progress 0:09:12.840 --> 0:09:17.520 towards just this week, a federal level framework set of rules. 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:22.440 What do you think the direction of travel is with that? 0:09:22.720 --> 0:09:25.240 And you know, clearly if you had to deal with 0:09:25.240 --> 0:09:27.080 one set of rules and not a city by city, 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:31.160 let alone state by state basis or case, you'd be 0:09:31.240 --> 0:09:33.440 making a bit more progress, I suppose. 0:09:33.880 --> 0:09:36.320 Yeah, we think it's really important that there is a 0:09:36.360 --> 0:09:41.160 federal av standard. We've been advocating for sort of a 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:45.400 safety case based approach because the technologies are different, and 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:47.640 we think that the burdens should be on companies to 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:50.840 demonstrate why you believe your technology is safe enough. We 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:54.160 also think there should be transparency requirements. You know, people 0:09:54.160 --> 0:09:57.000 should have to demonstrate how many trips are you providing? 0:09:57.200 --> 0:10:00.360 You know, I don't right now, the balance isn't quite there. 0:10:00.400 --> 0:10:03.240 I mean some states require a lot of reporting, some 0:10:03.320 --> 0:10:06.480 don't require as much reporting. I think the United States 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:10.120 has an opportunity with this technology to lead globally, and 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:12.679 I don't think you can lead globally if it's a 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:16.880 framework that's governed by multiple jurisdictions across the states. And 0:10:16.960 --> 0:10:19.600 it's a way to slow down the adoption of this 0:10:19.679 --> 0:10:22.840 technology not only in the US, but in other markets. 0:10:23.720 --> 0:10:27.360 New York City, New York City, not necessarily New York State. 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:28.880 A lot of people. 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:32.559 Want to know what's the roadblock there upon the expression 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:37.240 and what's the timeline? You know, you work closely with 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:41.160 the authorities. But that is a big potential market. 0:10:41.600 --> 0:10:43.720 Yeah, that's a market where you know, we're just going 0:10:43.800 --> 0:10:47.120 to have to do the work and demonstrate our safety 0:10:47.160 --> 0:10:50.800 outcomes and earn the trust and shizzle away at it 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:51.320 over time. 0:10:51.360 --> 0:10:53.120 Do they have the rules for you to follow. 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:57.199 They do not have rules that allow the human operator 0:10:57.280 --> 0:10:59.480 to be removed from the vehicle entirely. 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:01.720 And until that changed, and until that changes. 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:04.440 But you know, there is an interest in doing this 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:06.960 in the state, even outside of the city, and that 0:11:07.000 --> 0:11:10.400 gives us an opportunity to grow more fans, and fans 0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:13.960 actually are calling for this in cities where our technology 0:11:14.000 --> 0:11:17.720 can't be deployed. We are seeing organic campaigns spring up 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:20.760 saying I want WEIMO in my town, you know. And 0:11:21.080 --> 0:11:24.959 sometimes it's you know, parents of children who will never 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:29.800 have driver's license saying like, Okay, this is a safer alternative. 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:33.080 Let's bring it in and let's give these children independents. 0:11:33.120 --> 0:11:35.520 And so it's been really exciting for us to see 0:11:35.640 --> 0:11:38.400 people demanding it, and over time that's going to grow. 0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:41.000 Of those twenty cities that are coming this year, New 0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:43.520 York City is not one of them. Fasted in No, 0:11:43.679 --> 0:11:47.920 that's right, San Francisco. The Bay Area is my home. 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:51.440 London's where I grew up, and I was studying the 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:55.400 map of the burros that you propose to launch in 0:11:56.320 --> 0:11:58.240 and you correct me if my math is wrong, But 0:11:58.440 --> 0:12:01.680 just based on those burros at launch, this seems to 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:05.880 be the biggest citywide deployment from the start that you 0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:06.760 guys will have done. 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:10.240 Is that correct? It? 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:11.640 Possibly, it's correct. 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:14.200 I mean, we're in the phases of figuring out the 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:17.960 specifics around the launch and figuring out the actual framework 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:20.040 around the launch, and so I don't want to speak 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:22.400 to you definitively about what we're going to do. But 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:26.720 what you're speaking to is we're not gated by the technology, right, 0:12:26.840 --> 0:12:29.440 and we have the appetite to scale, and we want 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:31.920 to partner and do so safely, and we want to 0:12:31.920 --> 0:12:34.520 earn trust. So that's like there's a lot of levers 0:12:34.520 --> 0:12:37.040 there that we have to figure out how to strike 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:38.960 the right balance and how to make sure that we're 0:12:38.960 --> 0:12:41.880 introducing it to the community both to meet the demand 0:12:41.920 --> 0:12:42.360 and grow. 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:44.840 I asked, because of those twenty cities to come, London 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:48.120 is one, yes, and London is now outside of the 0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:50.440 European Union, but it's you know, it's kind of your 0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:51.240 europe launch. 0:12:51.400 --> 0:12:53.480 Yes, what was that experience like? 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:58.319 Within London's regulatory framework and the UK's regulatory framework. 0:12:58.000 --> 0:13:02.480 They've been extremely forward leaning and interested in seeing how 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:06.200 this technology could actually improve safety on their roadways. And 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:08.160 that's where I think, you know, we find a sweet 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:13.120 spot when people are less sort of complacent about the 0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:15.880 status quo. And I think there's a lot of complacency 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:18.880 about road debts forty thousand or one point two million globally, 0:13:20.040 --> 0:13:22.720 and when there isn't, I think people are actively interested 0:13:22.760 --> 0:13:26.400 in solutions and then they want to figure out, of course, 0:13:26.840 --> 0:13:28.560 what are the things they need to think. 0:13:28.360 --> 0:13:31.280 Through and learn well, pricing for one, like London has 0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:34.680 take the Bus, Yes, London has take the Tube. London 0:13:34.760 --> 0:13:38.600 is prepared to sort of pay for a robot taxi 0:13:38.640 --> 0:13:41.960 service that's equivalent to a human driven cab Black Cab 0:13:41.960 --> 0:13:43.920 in London or Uber and Lyft. 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:48.640 Yes, I yes, people are there's you know, obviously, before 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:51.320 we go in we do a lot of polling, We 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:54.120 meet with a lot of residents as well as advocates, 0:13:54.640 --> 0:13:59.880 and people are people want safe private spaces. It adds 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:02.840 to their day versus becoming time that they lose in 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:05.040 the day, and so it's a you know, the thing 0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:09.200 that's been most exciting is once we introduce the way 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:13.760 most service into a citiescape, people discover things they didn't 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:16.680 think they could have, like that hour a day in 0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:19.720 the morning and buy yourself to get something done. 0:14:19.840 --> 0:14:21.240 People have just sacrificed it. 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:24.280 Yes, and whether that's on transit or whether that's it 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:26.680 doesn't matter and we're not you know, people want to 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:28.840 take transit. That's great because you can also sit there, 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:31.520 just can't sit there maybe until your call on quiet. 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:34.160 And so this is something that we're hearing from writers 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:36.120 all the time. I didn't know that I needed this 0:14:36.200 --> 0:14:37.000 the way that I needed that. 0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:41.840 Asia Pacific is also somewhere that is it varies by country, 0:14:41.880 --> 0:14:45.080 but that robotaxis are embraced. You are looking very closely 0:14:45.120 --> 0:14:49.400 at Japan. Yes, what do you see in the Japanese market. 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:52.160 Of course, you're very closely aligned with Toyota as a 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:56.320 partner almost a national champion for them in the automotive space. 0:14:57.600 --> 0:15:00.920 Does your hope of launching their go beyond Toyota? Is 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:04.000 it enabled by Toyota? And again, we have a lot 0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:07.080 of viewers in that country who just want to know when. 0:15:07.280 --> 0:15:11.520 Yes, Yes, when we first thought about Tokyo, Japan, we 0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:14.440 thought about Tokyo, right And when we first thought about Tokyo, 0:15:14.640 --> 0:15:17.920 we decided to partner with Neon Kotsu and Go. And 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:21.600 that's because that, you know, the cab are such an 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:25.359 integral part of life there culturally as well culturally exactly. 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:28.080 And so what that's allowed us to do is we 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:30.920 have a fleet of vehicles there and the drivers of 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:33.600 those vehicles are part of that partnership. You know, they're 0:15:33.600 --> 0:15:36.840 collecting the data for us, and so they're like helping 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:39.840 to usher in this change. There will still be cabs 0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:42.720 for a long time, and there will be an introduction 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:46.440 of autonomous vehicles, and so finding partners, like you said, 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:49.560 national champions who can help us navigate not only the 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:53.160 regulatory climate, but who already have that trust of riders 0:15:53.160 --> 0:15:56.440 and who can help us educate riders that this isn't 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:59.680 like something they are not welcoming. It's actually something they're 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:03.080 quite excited about seeing Tokyo become a city of the future. 0:16:03.080 --> 0:16:05.800 From a transport that is a market where the rules 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:09.040 exist for you to through partners or otherwise, but to 0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:12.360 charge a fair and have a real business, even if 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:13.200 modest at first. 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:16.080 That's exactly right, and of course it's something we've helped shape. 0:16:16.320 --> 0:16:16.520 Right. 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:22.480 You know, there's most places contemplated drivers around the world, right, 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:24.840 I mean that's the way laws, whether. 0:16:24.680 --> 0:16:26.480 It's fifty years ago or one hundred years ago. 0:16:26.480 --> 0:16:29.640 I mean, they were sort of written to regulate automobiles, 0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:32.960 and automobiles were presumed to be driven by people. And 0:16:33.040 --> 0:16:37.160 so most places we have to think through what needs 0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:39.280 to change in the laws, and then if people are 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:41.400 willing to work with us on that, then we work 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:42.200 with them to change it. 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:43.840 And so in Japan we have a path forward. 0:16:44.240 --> 0:16:48.280 Around the world, the sort of robotaxi race is framed 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:52.240 in US companies against Chinese technology companies, right. I think 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:54.360 this is something that Weymo and some of Weimo's executives 0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:57.840 have been kind of candid about this past week in testimony. 0:16:59.000 --> 0:17:01.880 How do you see that that playing out you? For example, 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:05.560 with Toyota, you have a partner who also in common 0:17:05.680 --> 0:17:09.560 work with Ponyai as an example. It's something you must 0:17:09.600 --> 0:17:12.240 be conscious of in markets where you want to expand 0:17:12.320 --> 0:17:13.879 outside of America in particular. 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:19.160 Yes, in general, if there are other companies focused on 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:23.680 autonomous driving to make roads safer. We think that's positive, 0:17:24.040 --> 0:17:25.440 like that is a positive thing. 0:17:25.680 --> 0:17:26.320 We should have. 0:17:26.320 --> 0:17:29.960 Competition around saving lives, and so that's a good thing. 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:32.680 I think what we don't spend a lot of time 0:17:32.720 --> 0:17:36.239 thinking about is how everyone is thinking about how to 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:39.960 pursue partnerships. Right now, we're just laser focused on our strategy. 0:17:40.200 --> 0:17:42.679 We're the only company that is offering a twenty four 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:47.040 x seven service across six markets in the US, with 0:17:47.160 --> 0:17:51.120 ambitions to be in many more this year and launch internationally. 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:55.320 And you know, we've driven over two hundred almost two 0:17:55.400 --> 0:18:00.800 hundred million fully autonomous miles, and we're driving over four 0:18:00.840 --> 0:18:02.880 million miles per week, and. 0:18:02.800 --> 0:18:05.720 So that's if you think about it, that's over. 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:10.520 Six human lifetimes every seven days. And so our driver 0:18:10.840 --> 0:18:14.040 is learning at a rapid piece. So we don't think 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:16.800 there's anyone who's doing anything close to what we're doing, 0:18:16.840 --> 0:18:19.040 and so for us, it's just staying focused on our 0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:19.879 own ambitions. 0:18:20.280 --> 0:18:20.760 Safety. 0:18:21.520 --> 0:18:24.640 There are still concerns, and in January in particular, there's 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:29.400 two kind of again case studies of regulatory scrutiny right 0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:32.000 of two specific incidences, and I think it's important for 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:34.960 both of them. I take time in putting it to 0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:37.399 you and explain to you. But in the case of 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:41.080 the Santa Monica incident, for example, a way more vehicle 0:18:42.359 --> 0:18:46.520 struck or collided with a child, but the system detected 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:52.080 the child. It breaked sharply, and at the point that 0:18:52.200 --> 0:18:54.760 the impact was made, it was a speed of single 0:18:54.800 --> 0:18:58.600 digits miles per hourably six it had been traveling at seventeen. 0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:03.920 So in that instance the system worked, but a probe 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:04.600 was opened. 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:06.760 Just would you reflect on that. 0:19:07.480 --> 0:19:11.720 But also, you know, my interpretation of what WEIMOS publicly 0:19:11.760 --> 0:19:13.679 stated about this is that you actually kind of welcome 0:19:13.760 --> 0:19:16.920 the opportunity to open up the system to the regulators, 0:19:17.200 --> 0:19:18.040 let them look at it. 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:22.480 Yes, so, first and foremost, this was a child, and 0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:26.560 we are extremely happy that she walked away from this incident. 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:30.760 As you said, because there's you know, an investigation pending, 0:19:30.760 --> 0:19:32.399 we thought it was important to become a party to 0:19:32.440 --> 0:19:36.080 the investigation, and so we're doing that. And as we've 0:19:36.119 --> 0:19:40.080 already stated, you know, our car was traveling sixteen miles 0:19:40.080 --> 0:19:41.360 per seventeen miles per hour. 0:19:41.600 --> 0:19:43.520 We did detect her, you. 0:19:43.480 --> 0:19:48.080 Know, coming between from behind a tall suv into the roadway. 0:19:48.320 --> 0:19:50.480 We heartbreaked and we made. 0:19:50.280 --> 0:19:55.240 Contact at six miles an hour, and we also determined 0:19:55.280 --> 0:19:58.480 and our human equivalent model that human would not have 0:19:58.560 --> 0:20:03.080 been able to perform as our superhuman driver performed. And 0:20:03.119 --> 0:20:06.720 so this is an example we believe of exactly why 0:20:06.760 --> 0:20:08.960 we do what we do. We want to make roads safer, 0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:12.520 and we welcome the opportunity to cooperate with the NTSB 0:20:12.640 --> 0:20:13.520 and this investigation. 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:17.680 Separately, safety investigators are looking at the issue of how 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:22.679 the WEIM interacts with parked school buses. This seems to 0:20:22.720 --> 0:20:26.960 be sort of a separate technical challenge and what is 0:20:27.000 --> 0:20:30.720 that about. Why is it that the weaiymos system has 0:20:30.840 --> 0:20:34.120 to I guess struggles with is the is the headline 0:20:34.160 --> 0:20:37.080 that came out, but with a parked vehicle of that 0:20:37.200 --> 0:20:40.000 size in a school zone of course, where you have 0:20:40.160 --> 0:20:42.480 mixed foot traffic of children in particular. 0:20:43.240 --> 0:20:46.120 Yeah, I think you know, first and foremost, with safety 0:20:46.160 --> 0:20:48.879 being our priority, how we perform around school buses and 0:20:48.960 --> 0:20:52.800 children is a top priority for our company. You know, 0:20:52.840 --> 0:20:58.199 we've already addressed this situation with software release, which is 0:20:58.240 --> 0:21:01.040 really important to us. But also we partnered with the 0:21:01.080 --> 0:21:04.360 Austin Independent School District, Yes to look at data they have. 0:21:04.560 --> 0:21:06.920 So we can make sure that we are learning from 0:21:06.920 --> 0:21:09.800 what they have. You know, their data obviously would be 0:21:09.840 --> 0:21:13.119 more based on human driven vehicles, but still having that 0:21:13.200 --> 0:21:15.880