Just had a thought about something that's been flying under the radar for a lot of investors. While everyone's obsessed with the Magnificent Seven, there's actually a ride-hailing giant that might be sitting on an even bigger opportunity.

Uber's CEO Dara Khosrowshahi basically said hello to a massive multi-trillion-dollar market in their recent earnings call. The autonomous vehicle space. Yeah, Tesla and Waymo are getting all the attention, but here's the thing—they don't have what Uber has.

Think about it. Uber's got 202 million active users, a network effect that's basically unmatched in mobility, and decades of experience instantly matching millions of trips in real time. That's not something you just build overnight. When AVs actually become viable at scale, Uber's already sitting in the driver's seat with the infrastructure to make it work.

Right now, AVs represent only 0.1% of ride-hailing trips globally. That's tiny. But Khosrowshahi is convinced this will grow meaningfully over the next few years. They're already running AV rides in seven cities and planning to expand to 15 by year-end. Every time they add capacity, demand actually grows—we saw this happen in Austin and Atlanta.

The real advantage? Uber can handle the crazy demand fluctuations throughout the day and week because they've got both human drivers and AVs on the platform. For pure AV companies, that's their biggest headache. For Uber, it's just another day.

Obviously, there's still a long road ahead. Weather issues, low-density areas, regulatory hurdles—all of that needs solving. But if you're watching the transportation market, this is the kind of position you want to be in. Uber's not betting the farm on AVs being the future; they're already integrated into their business model.

Worth keeping on your radar if you're thinking about where mobility is headed.