Episode 57 | Continuous Commitment to Innovation

Abhijit Ganguly, Managing Director, Goodyear Ventures joined Grayson Brulte on The Road To Autonomy Podcast to discuss Goodyear’s continuous commitment to innovation.

The conversation begins with Abhijit discussing Goodyear’s continuous commitment to innovation since 1898.

We have a rich history and proven track record of innovating in the mobility space. – Abhijit Ganguly

At CES 2020, Goodyear announced the Goodyear Ventures fund.

We announced the fund at CES with the goal of letting everyone know that we were ready to build these strategic relationships with startups. – Abhijit Ganguly

A little over a year has passed since the fund was launched. With a successful exit already under the fund’s belt with the IPO of TuSimple, Grayson asks Abhijit what his thoughts are on the current state of autonomy. With the global truck driver shortage and the rapid expansion of e-commerce, a perfect storm is created for the development and deployment of autonomous trucks.

The Port of LA which handles 40% of the nation’s imports is currently experiencing a backlog that is having a profound negative impact on the supply chain. Autonomous trucks can help to shore up the supply chain and deliver goods in an efficient manner. Goodyear Ventures is currently looking at investment opportunities around autonomous delivery and the supply chain.

We are actively looking to support the acceleration of these trends and support them from our products and services building capabilities for new companies. – Abhijit Ganguly

Shifting the conversation to tires and the impact that tires have on delivery, Grayson, and Abhijit discuss Goodyear’s SightLine, a suite of tire intelligence solutions. Since tires are the only thing on a vehicle that makes contact with the road, tires have the unique ability to gather real-time intelligent data on the driving conditions.

We have the ability now to start telling the vehicle what the tire is feeling from the road. That knowledge allows the vehicle to drive safer and in a more efficient way. – Abhijit Ganguly

Electric vehicles will have a different set of requirements for tires, partly due to the weight of the vehicle and the sudden acceleration of the vehicles. With a growing EV market, Goodyear is actively supporting the trend of electrification by investing in tire technology.

As EVs will need to charge, Goodyear Ventures invested in AmpUp to learn about charging. Today there a several charging companies in the market and no standard on payment. A software layer that allows for a seamless payment experience no matter which charging service that a consumer is using will be one of the keys to the mass adoption of electric vehicles.

Looking to the future of mobility, Grayson asks Abhijit to share his vision of the future of mobility

I do feel like mobility can be much safer than it is today. It can be much more efficient than it is today. I hope it can be more fun than what it is today. – Abhijit Ganguly

Wrapping up the conversation, Grayson, and Abhijit discuss the role that private capital plays in the advancement of autonomous mobility.

Recorded on Tuesday, September 21, 2021

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