Business Insider’s Lloyd Lee attended CES 2025 for the first time, focusing on the rapidly evolving robotaxi and autonomous vehicle landscape. His hands-on experience with multiple self-driving services revealed a stark reality: Waymo appears significantly ahead of competitors like Amazon’s Zoox and German startup Vay, while the entire industry faces substantial challenges before achieving mainstream adoption.
Lee tested two robotaxi services at CES, including Amazon’s Zoox, and came away with two critical observations. First, Waymo’s lead in autonomous driving technology and operational infrastructure is more substantial than many realize. Second, creating a profitable business model for robotaxis remains extraordinarily difficult, even for well-funded players. The challenge extends beyond perfecting self-driving AI algorithms to include complex operational elements like fleet scaling and management—areas where Waymo has invested heavily but still burns significant cash.
The event showcased impressive demonstrations of AI-powered mobility technology. Hyundai Motor Group’s booth featured an extensive display of autonomous systems, from EV charging stations to robotaxis, robotic arms, and Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid robot. Lee described watching the Atlas robot activate and stand as simultaneously “terrifying and awe-striking,” highlighting how far AI-driven robotics has advanced.
Chris Ahn, a principal at Deloitte specializing in software-defined vehicles, provided insights into the future of automotive AI. He predicts automakers won’t uniformly chase full autonomy like Tesla or Rivian. Instead, they’ll tailor AI autonomy levels to specific customer needs, weighing whether adding expensive LiDAR systems justifies the cost for their target demographics.
Ahn also forecasts a convergence of emerging technologies—humanoid robotics, generative and agentic AI, and software-defined vehicles—into a unified mobility tech ecosystem. Meanwhile, Vay’s contrarian approach using remote driving technology (typically avoided by robotaxi companies) for vehicle delivery demonstrates innovative thinking in the autonomous space.
Lee’s key takeaway for covering AI and emerging tech: embrace uncertainty rather than trying to resolve every ambiguity, as company leaders often don’t have definitive answers about these rapidly evolving technologies.
Key Quotes
CES has become a car show as much as it remains a tech show.
Paul Costa, a 25-year Apple veteran who worked on the company’s self-driving car project and now works at Ford, observed how automotive technology and AI have become central to CES, reflecting the industry’s massive investment in autonomous systems.
Trying those services only made me realize 1.) how far ahead Waymo is or at least appears to be, and 2.) just how difficult it is to make a profitable business case for robotaxis right now.
Lloyd Lee’s assessment after testing multiple robotaxi services at CES highlights both Waymo’s technological lead and the fundamental business challenges facing the entire autonomous vehicle industry, despite significant AI advances.
Right now, we’re having separate conversations between humanoid robotics, generative/agentic AI, and software-defined vehicles. I think all three of those terms are going to converge.
Chris Ahn from Deloitte predicts a major integration of AI technologies across robotics, autonomous vehicles, and generative AI systems, suggesting the emergence of a unified mobility tech ecosystem powered by artificial intelligence.
My instinct is to resolve that ambiguity, which in this space, will not always be realistic. Instead, I should write to the uncertainty, not through it.
Lee’s reflection on covering emerging AI technologies acknowledges the inherent unpredictability in the field, where even company leaders often lack definitive answers about future developments and business outcomes.
Our Take
This CES report reveals a sobering reality check for the autonomous vehicle industry. While AI technology has advanced dramatically—as evidenced by Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robots and sophisticated self-driving systems—the path to profitability remains elusive even for leaders like Waymo. This pattern mirrors broader AI industry challenges: impressive technical capabilities that struggle to translate into sustainable business models. The predicted convergence of humanoid robotics, generative AI, and autonomous vehicles represents the next frontier, where AI systems become increasingly integrated and multipurpose rather than siloed. Vay’s contrarian remote-driving approach also demonstrates that alternative AI-assisted models may find niches where full autonomy proves too expensive or complex. The differentiated autonomy strategies Ahn describes suggest we’re moving beyond the hype cycle into a more mature phase where practical considerations and customer needs shape AI deployment more than technological possibility alone.
Why This Matters
This firsthand account from CES 2025 provides crucial insights into the autonomous vehicle industry’s current state and the AI technology powering it. Waymo’s apparent dominance suggests the robotaxi market may consolidate faster than expected, with significant implications for competitors and investors. The revelation that even leading companies struggle with profitability despite advanced AI capabilities highlights a critical gap between technological achievement and commercial viability.
The convergence Ahn predicts between humanoid robotics, generative AI, and autonomous vehicles signals a transformative shift in how AI applications will integrate across industries. This matters for businesses planning AI investments and workers whose roles may be affected by these technologies. The fact that automakers will pursue differentiated AI autonomy strategies rather than uniform approaches suggests a more nuanced market evolution than the “winner-take-all” narrative often portrayed. For the broader AI industry, this demonstrates that even well-funded, technically sophisticated AI applications face substantial operational and economic hurdles before achieving mainstream adoption.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/first-time-ces-experience-robotaxis-humanoid-robots-ai-2026-1