According to @SawyerMerritt, Amazon-owned Zoox was spotted testing its purpose-built robotaxis in Marysville, Ohio, near Honda’s factory, using a multimodal sensor suite of cameras, lidars, radar, and long-wave infrared for perception (as reported by Sawyer Merritt on X). According to Zoox’s published specs, this redundant sensor stack enables 360-degree perception and improved detection in low-light and adverse weather, which is critical for Level 4 autonomous operations and geo-fenced deployment strategies (according to Zoox). For businesses, the sighting signals expanding on-road validation beyond California and Nevada, indicating potential fleet scaling and new logistics and mobility partnerships in the Midwest supply chain corridor anchored by Honda and regional OEMs (as inferred from Zoox operations updates). As reported by Zoox, Amazon’s ownership aligns the service with ecommerce logistics use cases, creating opportunities for autonomous middle-mile shuttles, campus mobility, and factory-to-warehouse routes where controlled domains reduce risk and accelerate ROI.

According to Sawyer Merritt on X, Hyundai will supply Alphabet’s Waymo with 50,000 IONIQ 5 autonomous vehicles by 2028, implying a potential $2.5 billion vehicle supply deal at an estimated $50,000 per unit, excluding additional autonomy hardware costs such as cameras and sensors. As reported by Sawyer Merritt, the scale signals an accelerated robotaxi fleet expansion that could lower per-mile autonomous ride-hailing costs and improve utilization economics across Phoenix, San Francisco, and future markets. According to Sawyer Merritt, separating base vehicle cost from sensor and compute stack spend suggests a layered CapEx model for Waymo, where high-volume standardized EV platforms reduce integration time while LiDAR, radar, and onboard compute remain the main margin drivers for suppliers. As reported by Sawyer Merritt, the 50,000-unit commitment creates near-term opportunities for Tier 1s in perception hardware, ADAS ECUs, thermal management, and high-voltage systems, and positions Hyundai’s E-GMP platform as a preferred robotaxi chassis for scalable autonomous operations.

According to Sawyer Merritt, Waymo has introduced the Waymo World Model, a generative AI system built on Google DeepMind’s Genie 3, which significantly advances large-scale, hyper-realistic autonomous driving simulation. The new model enables proactive training of the Waymo Driver by simulating rare and complex edge-case scenarios, such as tornadoes or airplanes landing on highways, before these are encountered in real-world operations. As reported by Sawyer Merritt, the model features high controllability, allowing engineers to customize simulations using language prompts, driving inputs, and scene layouts. It outputs high-fidelity, multi-sensor data, including both camera and lidar streams, enabling Waymo to enhance safety and scalability across diverse environments.

According to Sawyer Merritt on Twitter, Hyundai’s head of its self-driving division, Chang-Hyeong Song, has resigned after attempting to transition the company’s autonomous vehicle technology from a lidar-based system to a vision-only camera AI system. Song’s departure highlights the ongoing debate within the automotive AI industry regarding optimal sensor strategies for autonomous driving. This leadership change could signal challenges for Hyundai's AI roadmap and impact its competitiveness in the fast-evolving self-driving car market, where vision-based AI approaches are gaining traction due to cost savings and advancements in neural network capabilities (source: Sawyer Merritt on Twitter, December 4, 2025).