About This Episode
<p><strong>This Week In Startups is made possible by:</strong></p><p><br /></p><p><strong>IM8 Health:</strong><a href="http://im8health.com/twist"><strong> IM8health.com/TWIST</strong></a></p><p><strong>Squarespace:</strong><a href="https://squarespace.com/twist"><strong> Squarespace.com/TWIST</strong></a></p><p><strong>Render -</strong><a href="http://render.com/twist"><strong> Render.com/TWIST</strong></a></p><p><br /></p><p><strong>Self-driving just stopped being a science problem and became an engineering challenge instead. That's the through-line of today’s double-header with the CEOs of two of the most important AV companies in the world — Wayve's Alex Kendall and Waabi's Raquel Urtasun. Between them: ~$2B raised in the last six months, Uber as a partner, Nissan and Volvo as OEMs, and a shared bet that end-to-end AI plus world models beats Waymo's city-by-city map-and-pray approach.</strong></p><p><strong>If you want to understand the state of the self-driving industry beyond recent Waymo announcements, this is the episode for you.</strong></p><p><strong>Guest Links:</strong></p><p><strong>Wayve:</strong><a href="http://wayve.ai/"><strong> wayve.ai/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Waabi:</strong><a href="http://waabi.ai/"><strong> http://waabi.ai/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Alex Kendall</strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexgkendall/"><strong> https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexgkendall/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Raquel Uratsun:</strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/raquel-urtasun-298400139/"><strong> https://www.linkedin.com/in/raquel-urtasun-298400139/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Company Links:</strong></p><p><strong>Wayve’s GAIA-2 world model:</strong><a href="https://wayve.ai/thinking/gaia-2/"><strong> https://wayve.ai/thinking/gaia-2/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Wayve’s 500 city roadshow:</strong><a href="https://wayve.ai/thinking/ai-500-roadshow-500-cities/"><strong> https://wayve.ai/thinking/ai-500-roadshow-500-cities/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Wavye’s most recent funding round:</strong><a href="https://wayve.ai/press/series-d/"><strong> https://wayve.ai/press/series-d/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Waybe + Uber:</strong><a href="https://wayve.ai/press/wayve-nissan-uber-robotaxi-collaboration/"><strong> https://wayve.ai/press/wayve-nissan-uber-robotaxi-collaboration/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Waabi closed-loop simulator:</strong><a href="https://waabi.ai/insights/waabi-world"><strong> https://waabi.ai/insights/waabi-world</strong></a></p><p><strong>Waabi + Volvo:</strong><a href="https://waabi.ai/insights/waabi-and-volvo-autonomous-solutions-partner-to-jointly-develop-and-deploy-autonomous-transportation-solutions"><strong> https://waabi.ai/insights/waabi-and-volvo-autonomous-solutions-partner-to-jointly-develop-and-deploy-autonomous-transportation-solutions</strong></a></p><p><strong>Waabi + Uber:</strong><a href="https://www.uberfreight.com/en-US/blog/uber-freight-and-waabi-introduce-industry-first-autonomous-truck-deployment-solution"><strong> https://www.uberfreight.com/en-US/blog/uber-freight-and-waabi-introduce-industry-first-autonomous-truck-deployment-solution</strong></a></p><p><br /></p><p><strong>Timestamps:</strong></p><p><strong>0:00 Alex Kendall (Wayve) joins the show</strong></p><p><strong>1:19 The contrarian bet on end-to-end AI and world models in 2017</strong></p><p><strong>3:05 What is a world model? GAIA-2 and GAIA-3 explained</strong></p><p><strong>7:34 Sensor agnosticism: camera, radar, LiDAR and minimum bar for safety</strong></p><p><strong>9:56 $1.5B raised — have we cracked self-driving?</strong></p><p><strong>10:09 Render: Find out why 5 million developers are already using the all-in-one cloud platform, Render. Go to https://render.com/twist and apply for the Render Startup Program to get $500-$100,000 in free credits, depending on your stage and backers.</strong></p><p><strong>20:38 Squarespace: Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST</strong></p><p><strong>25:03 How consumers will actually pay: bundle, subscription, or free trial</strong></p><p><strong>30:15 IM8 Health: Start feeling like your best self every day. Go to https://IM8health.com/twist and use the code TWiST to get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order.</strong></p><p><strong>35:59 Raquel Urtasun (Waabi) joins the show</strong></p><p><strong>36:25 World models as controllable simulators for physical AI</strong></p><p><strong>43:34 One AI brain across trucks, robotaxis, and beyond</strong></p><p><strong>47:35 What changed in AI to make 2026 the deployment year</strong></p><p><strong>52:28 Why Waabi raised $1B when they're capital-efficient</strong></p><p><strong>58:52 Where Waabi is today: Volvo VNL Autonomous, Dallas-Houston, Uber Freight</strong></p><p><strong>1:00:50 Per-mile pricing and the Driver-as-a-Service model</strong></p><p><strong>1:07:20 Has Uber tried to buy Waabi? "Not for sale"</strong></p><p><br /></p><p><strong>Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter:</strong><a href="https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com"><strong> https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com</strong></a></p><p><strong>Check out the TWIST500:</strong><a href="https://www.twist500.com"><strong> https://www.twist500.com</strong></a></p><p><strong>Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple:</strong><a href="https://rb.gy/v19fcp"><strong> https://rb.gy/v19fcp</strong></a></p><p><strong>Follow Lon:</strong></p><p><strong>X:</strong><a href="https://x.com/lons"><strong> https://x.com/lons</strong></a></p><p><strong>Follow Alex:</strong></p><p><strong>X:</strong><a href="https://x.com/alex"><strong> https://x.com/alex</strong></a></p><p><strong>LinkedIn:</strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm/"><strong> https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm</strong></a></p><p><strong>Follow Jason:</strong></p><p><strong>X:</strong><a href="https://twitter.com/Jason"><strong> https://twitter.com/Jason</strong></a></p><p><strong>LinkedIn:</strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis"><strong> https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis</strong></a></p><p><br /></p><p><strong>Check out all our partner offers:</strong><a href="https://partners.launch.co/"><strong> https://partners.launch.co/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Great TWIST interviews:</strong><a href="https://youtu.be/pvJa2pzuXWQ"><strong> Will Guidara,</strong></a><a href="https://youtu.be/9dHN4YFkgv4"><strong> Eoghan McCabe</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-on-mod-revolt-building-a/id315114957?i=1000617333424"><strong> Steve Huffman</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/airbnb-ceo-brian-chesky-on-early-rejection-customer/id315114957?i=1000611761112"><strong> Brian Chesky</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://youtu.be/y2UMzSqX94Q"><strong> Bob Moesta,</strong></a><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/box-ceo-aaron-levie-breaks-down-box-ai-and-generative/id315114957?i=1000612384545"><strong> Aaron Levie</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/sophia-amoruso-on-branding-raising-a-fund-portfolio/id315114957?i=1000601352978"><strong> Sophia Amoruso</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/reid-hoffman-on-ais-crescendo-moment-regulation-and/id315114957?i=1000612548498"><strong> Reid Hoffman</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/snowflake-ceo-frank-slootman-on-moving-the-needle-win/id315114957?i=1000602560622"><strong> Frank Slootman</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/billy-mcfarland-on-fyre-fest-fraud-failure-hacking/id315114957?i=1000610922577"><strong> Billy McFarland</strong></a></p><p><strong>Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters:</strong><a href="https://substack.com/@calacanis"><strong> https://substack.com/@calacanis</strong></a></p><p><strong>Follow TWiST:</strong></p><p><strong>Twitter:</strong><a href="https://twitter.com/TWiStartups"><strong> https://twitter.com/TWiStartups</strong></a></p><p><strong>YouTube:</strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin"><strong> https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin</strong></a></p><p><strong>Instagram:</strong><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups"><strong> https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups</strong></a></p><p><strong>TikTok:</strong><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups"><strong> https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups</strong></a></p><p><strong>Substack:</strong><a href="https://twistartups.substack.com"><strong> https://twistartups.substack.com</strong></a><br /></p>