This month, Autotech Council members, OEMs, suppliers, startups and VCs gather to examine the new technologies and innovations working in next gen AV tech.

This meeting's attendees also have the option of  adding our MatchMaker Meeting Service for curated introductions to new companies from across the wider mobility industry.

Autonomous Vehicles, the “constantly around the corner” technology of the future is … just around the corner. How do you know that’s true? Because I copied that first sentence from our 2018 meeting, and pasted it here, and it still looks spot on. How can this always be the case? Is there no progress being made? The answer is, of course there is, but full driverless autonomy is an elusive goal. While we wait for widespread driverless robotaxis, there are lots of smaller, less dramatic advances every year. And the innovation is coming from more sources: global carmakers, partnering with startups, are now beating Silicon Valley giants in launching advances in autonomy, intensifying the race.

So why is driverless so elusive? It’s because so much of what moves the world forward follows the 80/20 rule: 80% done is much easier to achieve than 100% done, so we build products to 80, and yell “Ship it!”, and then we iterate. Steve Jobs famously said “Real artists ship.” If you spend too long fixing every problem, seeking perfection, your product never ships, and you’ve done nothing. The problem in the mobility space, as compared to the website or app space, is that bugs cost lives. Poor performance costs lives. An inability to handle edge cases cost lives. Thus, for autonomous cars, 80/20 just doesn’t cut it. Driverless cars need to perform north of 99% to be considered a success.

That elusive goal of driverless has been tough on start-ups. The capital requirements, burn rates, and long lead-times mean that it’s a very tough space for new entrants without some other profitable line of business. This January 2022, Local Motors, makers of the Olli driverless shuttle, closed shop after money dried up.

Because driverless is so elusive, the commercialized technology we’re seeing is more in the ADAS and self-driving categories (self-driving has come to represent cars that can drive themselves for certain intervals, but need a human in charge). Every new model year, cars are handling a larger portion of the overall driving task, & are increasing safety in partnership with their human drivers.

At the time of writing, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Beta V10.9 was released, with again, more incremental improvements on driverless, but still noticeably short of the goal. What Tesla illustrates, though, is that some companies will continue to try to leapfrog to Level 4-5 driverless solutions, while others will innovate and build incremental solutions that can leave Beta, ship today, and improve Level 1-2-3 performance and safety.

The self-driving car race isn’t a marathon; it’s not a single trophy race to a distant finish line. It’s more like the Tour de France, with smaller races within the race. Who can enhance L2 driver assistance? Who can commercialize L4, L5 first? Who can do it anywhere? In any road condition? Each smaller race is won by overcoming some constraint, some limitation, and pushing the technology further, while maintaining or improving safety and reliability. Our meeting will welcome many of the innovators, both those trying to leap ahead, and those with compelling incremental improvements.

• Sensors
• Software stacks
• AI, Machine Learning, Computer Vision
• Testing, Training

• Vehicles, Manufacturing
• Modular solutions
• Complete solutions
• Robots, good, and delivery

This meeting will focus on the new technologies and innovations enabling the autonomous vehicle; and introduce you to the startups and entrepreneurs making this future a reality.

Introduce your product or service to OEMs, Tier1s, and tech scouts. Applications are reviewed and invitations extended based on fit.

Demo your product to our audience in a private networking space by selecting a Meeting Table when you register.

Share your thought leadership or market analysis on this topic.  Keynote, Analyst and Panel positions may be available.

Influence and access the auto industry's innovators by sponsoring this topic. Packages customized to meet your marketing goals.

Fees & Options

This is a live, interactive meeting available to attend in-person in Silicon Valley or online in our Virtual Meeting Room. 

• FULL REGISTRATION: $2200 (FREE for members)
  Onsite or Online participation including our MatchMaker Meeting Service facilitating curated, pre-arranged, 15-minute meetings and introductions with Autotech Council members and meeting attendees. Over 1000 meetings will be facilitiated over 2 days both onsite and online. Full registration also includes pre and post meeting networking, onsite demos, and online exhibits.
• MEETING-ONLY: $200
  Register to attend this 1/2 day agenda onsite or online. 

OPTIONAL ADD-ON

• DEMO TABLE: $500 ($50 for members)
  Tables are inside the meeting room, and can be used to show demos, followup on your pitch, or start conversation with other attendees before, during, and after the main agenda. They are 30” round / 42" tall cocktail table with black linen, power, and Wi-Fi when available, and signed with your logo.

MatchMaker Meeting Service Available

Once every 6 months, Autotech Council members, tech scouts, and investors looking for new technology partners who are solving challenges across the mobility sector, allocate 2 days to meeting curated startups and future technology partners in pre-arranged, private, 1-on-1 meetings. Over 500 private meetings are arranged starting March 31, and are available to be scheduled both in-person in Silicon Valley on April 14 after today’s agenda and online on April 15. To participate in these private meetings, whether to promote and demo your autotech innovation to potential partners or as a buyer or investor of new technologies, select Full Registration when you register.

Join us on March 15th for a preview of the service by registering here.

Dual Access Meeting Format

This meeting is available to attend onsite in Silicon Valley or online in our virtual meeting room. No matter how you participate, our meetings are live and interactive allowing our presenters time for rapid fire pitches and Q&A from Autotech Council members with time for networking and private chats before, during and after the agenda.

This is a private meeting; it will not be recorded and is not available for later viewing.

Venue

Autotech Council meetings are hosted by companies around the Silicon Valley who are leading the way in mobility innovation. 

Interested in hosting this or future meetings in 2022?
Host requirements include meeting facilities for 100 executives, catering, AV and tech support, and hosts benefit in many ways when they welcome 100 mobility executives  to their offices and share their industry leadership. Request to Host

Remote Access

Registration is available until midnight prior to the meeting. Online attendees receive a "Remote Meeting Instructions" email with their private link to our Virtual Meeting Room 24 hours before the meeting.

Contact council@autotechcouncil.com with questions.