From TuSimple to Bot Auto: Xiaodi Hou’s New Plan for Profitable Autonomous Trucking
Xiaodi Hou, Founder & CEO, Bot Auto joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss his plans for building and scaling a profitable autonomous trucking company.
In a revealing conversation Dr. Xiaodi candidly discusses his departure from TuSimple and the founding of Bot Auto, offering candid insights into lessons learned, decisions he made and why his new approach to building an autonomous trucking business is largely focused on profitability over rapid scaling.
Recorded on Monday, October 14, 2024
Episode Chapters
- 0:00 What Happened at TuSimple
- 3:52 What if TuSimple Did Not Go Public
- 6:46 Decision Making
- 9:41 Bot Auto Business and Commercialization Strategy
- 20:39 Bot Auto Cost Structure
- 24:07 Making a Truck Autonomous and Going Driver-Out
- 30:18 Safety
- 33:11 Tesla FSD (Full Self-Driving)
- 37:08 Bot Auto Lanes
- 39:47 Small Teams
- 44:53 Commercial Operations Timeline
- 50:35 GPUs
- 52:17 Takeaway
