Autonomous cars are experiencing a ChatGPT-like moment, according to Bank of America, meaning they have moved beyond unrealistic expectations and are becoming a reality. The investment bank predicts that the unmanned transportation market will expand to $1.2 trillion within 15 years and offers a list of stocks that could benefit from the commercialization of this technology.

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Bank of America counted more than 200 active projects in the field of autonomous transportation around the world. Full-fledged robotaxis are already running in seven cities: Alphabet's Waymo drones in Austin, San Francisco, Los Angeles and other U.S. metropolitan areas, as well as Baidu's Apollo Go in Wuhan, China, CNBC reported. About 20 other projects are in the launch phase, including robotaxi Tesla.

«Unmanned cars no longer look like a pipe dream. They are having their ChatGPT moment,» BofA strategist Martin Briggs wrote in a report quoted by CNBC. He said commercialization of the technology has been made possible by breakthroughs in AI and complex computing, falling sensor costs, a more favorable regulatory environment and U.S.-China technology rivalry.

Briggs estimates that the largest market for autonomous vehicles is passenger cars, a segment estimated to be worth $700 billion by 2040. Including trucks, logistics, public transportation and agriculture, the total market could grow to $1.2 trillion by then.

«Until now, the focus has been on passenger cars. However, other types of autonomous vehicles for public roads and off-roading are now emerging, indicating the possibility of automating anything that moves. This greatly expands the potential market and opportunities for this breakthrough technology,» says the BofA report.

Companies from different fields - cab platforms, automakers, software developers, semiconductors and sensors - can benefit from the sector's development, BofA said.

Beneficiaries of the drone boom

In total, Bank of America analysts named more than 20 stocks of companies with high growth potential due to the development of unmanned technologies. The list includes robotaxi developers themselves: in addition to Tesla, Waymo and Apollo Go, it includes Amazon-owned Zoox and Chinese manufacturer of unmanned electric vehicles XPeng. In addition, BofA named the following companies: 

- Chipmaker Nvidia, which is perceived by investors as one of the main beneficiaries of AI development. The company is heavily involved in drone technology, producing specialized chips for cars and software for automakers, BofA recalls. This division shows the strongest growth in Nvidia's latest reports. 

- Caterpillar is a less obvious but promising player in the market of unmanned technologies. The company started with autonomous trucks and now offers solutions for mining automation: drilling rigs, dump trucks and underground equipment. Caterpillar makes money from supplying sensor and radar equipment, as well as software license fees. According to BofA analyst Michael Feniger, autonomization will allow fewer machines to be used with higher utilization, which will increase parts and service sales.

- Uber, according to the investment bank, will benefit by expanding the number of partners in the unmanned transportation industry. The company now has 18 of them, including Waymo. «Uber's partner network, its fleet and demand generation capabilities all add great value to the company in the robotaxi industry,» said BofA analyst Justin Post. He believes more than half of Uber's value comes from the human transportation segment, and success in drone technology will be an important driver of growth.

- Qualcomm is a manufacturer of processors and hardware platforms for unmanned systems.

- Aptiv is a supplier of sensor equipment.

- Mobileye is an Intel subsidiary specializing in autonomous driving systems.

- Pony AI is a Chinese-American developer of unmanned systems.

- Deere & Co. - a manufacturer of agricultural machinery.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor

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