Welcome, this industry newsletter shares key market changes, in a twice-monthly publication, curated by Jeremiah Owyang, Founder of Catalyst Companies™, you can subscribe to the email newsletter on the footer of the homepage.

Uber’s Self-Driving Cars Ready to Hit the Streets
Capitalizing on the information-rich 100 million miles per day logged by current Uber drivers, the leading ride-sharing company is teaching its cars to drive themselves, and the first “student” drivers are ready to pick up regular customers in downtown Pittsburgh — for free. The bold experiment is expected to hit the streets in late August with safety “drivers” watching from behind the wheel, ready to take over at the sound of a warning tone. Uber plans to put 100 self-driving Volvo SUVs into service by the end of the year, and it is racing to full automation as soon as possible. Its $300 million Volvo partnership aims to deploy a fully autonomous car by 2021, and driverless trucks are in the works with the pending acquisition of Otto. Read more about the latest developments in self-driving cars on Bloomberg.

Ford Building Self-Driving Fleet With No Human Controls
Wary of the pitfalls of driver re-engagement (or lack thereof) in semi-autonomous vehicles, Ford is taking human error out of the equation. Showcasing confidence in its autonomous technology, the automaker just announced it is designing a fleet of self-driving taxis without steering wheels and pedals for use beginning in 2021. But without the human fallback option, Ford’s autonomous cars will only drive in geofenced urban areas and in favorable weather conditions. En route to that fully-automated day in 2021, Ford is revving up its test vehicle numbers this year to attain the largest fleet of any automaker. Read more about Ford’s 2021 self-driving taxi project on Business Insider.

Self-Driving Cars Steering Their Way to Your Business Model
While the first stop for driverless technology may be a ride-sharing or taxi service, the next stop might be much closer to your business model. Self-driving cars are speeding up the advent of the Autonomous World, which would make inroads to industries as diverse as travel and hospitality, insurance, logistics, retail and municipal government. Catalyst Companies has analyzed the implications of intelligent technology on the rest of the business world and integrated them into an insightful infographic and a members-only full report focused on the role of humans and robots as well as the business strategies required to compete in this coming Autonomous World. Check out the infographic on our blog.

We want to hear from you! What are the market impacts of this week’s news stories? Email Catalyst Companies™ Founder Jeremiah Owyang directly to share your thoughts.

Image from Uber via Bloomberg