How to Invest in the Self-Driving Revolution
We are on the brink of the self-driving revolution.
According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, “Full autonomy is going to come a lot faster than anyone thinks it will. And I think what we’ve got under development is going to blow people’s minds. It blows my mind.”
But this post is about the companies that could take advantage of what’s going on inside the self-driving car. And one of the real challenges facing a self-driving car is that it has to process a mind-boggling amount of data.
The car needs to know its exact location. It needs to be able to recognize all the objects that are around it. And it needs to be able to process this information in real time, so the car can calculate a safe route.
When it comes to making the most advanced autonomous driving platform, NVDIA is currently the king of the mountain. You can learn all about this company by clicking the tile at the bottom of this page.
Some auto-industry experts have questioned the logic of Apple entering the car business. One former GM executive said that Apple entering the auto industry would create a “gigantic money pit” for the company.
And the former CEO of GM predicted that Apple investors would not be happy with the idea since the car business is a “low-margin heavy manufacturing business.”
According to many analysts, “It’s no secret that the bigger play in this space is around data.” Think about if a company knows where you’re driving, when you’re driving, and how long you’re staying there. That information is going to be incredibly valuable to advertisers.
Google and Facebook are both proof of how valuable this kind of data can be to companies. And we believe the companies that can figure out how to take advantage of all the information that these cars can collect are going to be positioned to do very well.
Criteo (CRTO) is a small fast growing digital marketing company that is already partners with Google, Facebook, and the New York Times with what our analysts consider to be a strong competitive moat. You can learn all about this company by clicking the tile at the bottom of this page.
The average American spends over 39,000 hours in a car in their lifetime.
Right now, you have to spend that time paying attention to the road.
When cars drive themselves you’ll be free to do other things like watch your favorite TV shows and movies, or play games.
This means that demand for content is likely going to continue to explode.
One of our current favorite content companies is Netflix (NFLX).