Woodside Capital M&A expert predicts some surprises for the self-driving future

Woodside Capital Managing Director Rudy Burger believes that traditional car companies will have trouble adapting to how autonomous vehicles will be developed in the future but will likely still have a place. By Cromwell Schubarth – TechFlash Editor, Silicon Valley Business Journal.

There is still a lot of work to be done before self-driving cars become widely accepted, and the companies at the top of the food chain in the sector may not be what you expect, according to a new report from Woodside Capital Partners. The firm, based in East Palo Alto and London, specializes in mergers and acquisitions that are up to about $300 million in size. It keeps a close watch on emerging technologies such as autonomous vehicles. The following Q&A is with Rudy Burger, managing director at Woodside and the founding CEO of the MIT Media Lab Europe and founded five technology companies in the U.S. 

The full Woodside Capital Partners report on autonomous vehicles can be viewed here.

Your report says investment in the autonomous vehicle sector — including ride sharing and electric vehicle companies — more than doubled to $4.25 billion in the first three quarters of this year. But the number of companies decreased. Why?
We are seeing the maturation and consolidation that happens with every new technology. You get an initial wild boost of innovation and lots of venture money going into lots of companies. That inevitably starts to slow down because new entries into the space start to look at higher and higher barriers to entry.
One example is the lidar market, where there have been over 70 new companies funded… Full article

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