Alphabet spinoff Waymo is poised to lead the way in the development of driverless vehicles.
That’s the position of Frost & Sullivan, which expects the former Google self-driving-car project to produce a Level 5 autonomous vehicle – based on the Chrysler Pacifica – by 2025.
“With over 3 million miles of on-road testing of autonomous cars and an industry-first car without a steering wheel or pedals, Waymo could potentially help commercialize its autonomous technology earlier than its competition, disrupt multiple industries ranging from shared mobility to logistics, as well as hold the key to Alphabet’s ecosystem of connected devices, thus enabling the collection of data from vehicles and users to offer customized services,” Frost & Sullivan asserted.
According to Frost & Sullivan, potential growth opportunities for Waymo include:
- Securing partnerships with third-party developers to build applications for vehicles based on vehicular data
- Licensing its autonomous software and tailoring it to logistics, thereby saving fuel and driver charge costs
- Licensing its in-house manufacturing and distribution of lidars and sensors for autonomous cars
- Extending its software to power autonomous buses for public transport
“Waymo’s autonomous technology has vast revenue potential in shared mobility and data-based services, and in various applications such as self-driving trucks, cars and drones,” said Frost & Sullivan mobility research analyst Ajay Natteri Mangadu. “However, with every major automotive original equipment manufacturer working on their own in-house autonomous software, finding the right partner to license Waymo’s technology will be imperative to its success.”
Waymo’s recent partnership with Lyft “is a strong indication of Waymo’s interest in entering the shared-mobility space,” Mangadu added.
