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Driverless

A podcast that analyzes legal issues surrounding autonomous vehicles.

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Ride Hailing Launches 2019 Tech IPO Run

2019 is expected to be the year of the unicorn on Wall Street. A number of privately held companies valued at more than $1 billion are expected to launch initial public offerings in 2019. Lyft filed its S-1 registration statement to go public on March 1. Lyft has consistently lost money on operations, but its chief executive officer John Zimmer has long suggested that deploying autonomous vehicles will reduce their operating costs dramatically, leading to big profits. Lyft has started limited autonomous operations (level 4) in several cities, including Las Vegas. In addition to battling for market share in the United States, Lyft face strong competition globally since there are limited barriers to entry. Host Zach Adams discusses the future of autonomy and ride-hailing with a new voice, Raven Taylor, intellectual property lawyer Jay Campbell and business attorney Tod Northman.

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Show Notes
1:20 Background on the IPO Process
5:45 Fake it till you make it: IPO-ing while unprofitable
7:15 Ride hailing market
11:00 Will autonomous vehicles drive profit in ride hailing?
13:45 What to watch for this week for Lyft’s IPO
18:25 Waymo’s expansion in the Phoenix metro area