One podcast—and a packed week of conversations with startup founders, fellow investors, and mobility insiders at MOVE—brought one thing into sharp focus: mobility founders aren’t just building in a fast-moving industry. They’re building inside one of the most structurally complex systems on the planet.

The latest episode of Autoline After Hours zoomed in on this complexity. It explored how legacy players, OEMs, and tech entrants are all struggling with today’s pace of change, caught between electrification, autonomy, capital constraints, and the growing burden of structural complexity.

The rest of my week, filled with back-to-back founder discussions and VC meetings around MOVE, confirmed the same thing: beneath the surface of AI buzz and investor optimism lie some profound, immovable truths. This sector isn’t just evolving—it’s resisting, rewiring, and renegotiating itself.

We’ve Always Been "On the Verge"

Every decade in automotive and mobility feels like a tipping point. In the 1980s, there was lean manufacturing. In the 1990s, there were digital dashboards. In the 2000s, there were connected vehicles. In the 2010s, there were EVs and ridesharing. Now, it’s Agentic AI.

But these shifts are rarely revolutions. They’re waves. And those waves break over what came before—they don’t wash it away. Founders eager to disrupt the space must understand that the foundations still matter and are not giving way easily.

The Hard Stuff Never Went Away

The Autoline discussion laid it out clearly. Yes, EVs are gaining traction. Yes, Agentic AI could reshape workflows. But the same old headaches persist:

• Fragmented regulation
• Distribution locked into outdated contracts
• Fragile, globalised supply chains
• Procurement and pilot cycles that move at glacial speed

Perhaps most importantly, the customer hasn’t changed. They still care most about reliability, cost, and trust. Your clever pricing model or AI-enhanced experience won’t overnight override decades of buying behaviour.

Agentic AI Is Coming—But It’s Not a Silver Bullet

Agentic AI—software that takes initiative on your behalf—is the newest mobility trend. Theoretically, it could transform dealership operations, fleet management, and driver experience.

But, as one founder said at MOVE, “AI solves pain points—it doesn’t fix the system.” He’s right. True transformation requires more than technology. It demands rethinking incentives, partnerships, and processes across an entrenched value chain.

Startups often misjudge this. They design for a world that hasn’t arrived yet. Success means understanding what won’t change—and building from there.

Founders: Build for Flux, but Master the Foundations

Here’s what I took away from the week:

1. Acknowledge the duality – You’re in one of the most exciting eras in tech, but in one of the slowest-moving industries. That’s not a contradiction—that’s your challenge.
2. Map the slow lanes – Tech can move fast, but regulation, procurement, and culture won’t. Anticipate the friction.
3. Use Agentic AI surgically – It’s a powerful lever, not a strategy. Don’t confuse a tool with a business model.
4. Focus on the unsexy stuff—cap tables, margin discipline, governance structures. These are your shock absorbers.
5. Think like a systems builder – The best founders don’t just build features. They make companies that fit mobility, infrastructure, and consumer behaviour machinery.

Mobility is a long game.

Yes, change is constant, but so is resistance. Agentic AI might be the next wave, but politics, regulation, and human behaviour shape the tide.

Founders who embrace that paradox—who build boldly but think systemically—will still be around when the next wave hits.

I hope you have a great week.