By Crijn Bouman, CEO and Co-founder Rocsys
In the early days of aviation, all eyes were on the airlines. Sleek aircraft, iconic brands, and glamorous jet-age travel captured the imagination of the world. But over time, the power — and profitability — moved down the value chain.
Today, airports and service providers like Menzies, Swissport, and DNATA have built a multibillion dollar industry by providing the essential services responsible for the operational heartbeat of aviation: refueling, cleaning, ground handling, and maintenance. The aircraft are still the stars of the show — but it’s what’s happening on the ground that drives the business.
The same structural shift is now unfolding in autonomous mobility. Robotaxis are beginning to look less like the “new car” and more like the “new aircraft.” The real value? It’s taking root in the depots and infrastructure that keep fleets running.
At Rocsys, we’re not just observing this shift. We’re building it.
The pattern repeats: from aircraft to AVs
Let’s take a step back. The autonomous vehicle (AV) industry began in “behind-the-fence” logistics — ports, warehouses, and industrial yards where safety and control were easier to manage. But now, it’s entering the public domain. Robotaxis are hitting city streets around the world, and this new market is moving fast.
With this scale and speed comes a new need: operational infrastructure.
Just like planes can’t take off without ground services, robotaxis can’t scale without reliable, automated servicing — fast charging, inspection, cleaning, tire checks, and more. What aviation taught us is now repeating in the robotaxi industry: the real bottleneck isn’t the vehicle. It’s the turnaround time.
Airlines then, Robotaxi operators now
In the 1960s and ’70s, airlines were the heroes. High visibility. Public brand loyalty. Massive investment. But as the market matured, they became commoditized — squeezed by rising costs, low margins, and intense competition.
Now, airlines are effectively “bus companies in the air.” It’s the airports and ground handlers who make a profit by offering the essential services needed to keep the planes on time and in the sky.
Sound familiar?
Today, ride-hail operators like Uber and Lyft are the new heroes — racing to deploy fleets and win cities. But over time, the pressure will mount: hardware standardization, razor-thin ride margins, and high capital expenditures will push value down the chain — just like in aviation.
AV tech platforms like Waymo, Zoox and Mobileye – fueled by billions of investment from their big-tech parent companies – enable a driverless future taking even more costs out of the operation and accelerating the curve.
It is clear that many companies in the value chain are expecting this move to happen in robotaxi as well and that is probably why companies like Uber are already making efforts to own parts of the service-side of the industry too – better be prepared.
| Aviation Industry | Robotaxi Industry | |
| Airlines buy / lease planes produced by airplane manufactures |
Ride-hail companies rent robotaxis powered by AV tech companies and built by EV manufacturers | |
| Airlines pay gate fees | Ride-hail (robotaxi) operators pay bay/ usage fees at the depots |
|
| Airports manage turnaround capacity | Depots host vehicles and service operations | |
| Service providers deliver refueling, cleaning, inspection |
AV service providers deliver charging, inspection, cleaning, tire checks, and other basic maintenance |
As shown in the visual breakdown, the robotaxi chain includes:
- AV tech companies: Waymo, Zoox, Mobileye, Tesla
- Ride-hail operators: Uber, Lyft, Bolt
- Depots: Owned or leased by players like Voltera, Terawatt, Prologis, EVGO and interestingly also Uber
- Service Providers: Delivering essential turnaround infrastructure — from charging to maintenance
That’s where Rocsys comes in!
Rocsys: The Menzies of the Robotaxi era
In aviation, Menzies Aviation is a $2.6 billion powerhouse delivering mission-critical services to thousands of flights a day. They’re invisible to passengers, but indispensable to airlines.
Rocsys is taking that same position in the AV world by offering a tech platform to execute all support services. We offer high-value, automated infrastructure that keeps AV fleets rolling. Unlike generic infrastructure providers, we go beyond plug-and-charge. Rocsys delivers:
- Reliable robotic charging with precision docking
- Automated inspection that reduces downtime and improves turnaround time
- Automated interior cleaning
- End-to-end system integration across platforms and depot types for maximum flexibility
Our vision isn’t to build chargers. It’s to enable critical AV infrastructure that scales, automates, and monetizes fleet servicing.
Why this matters now
Big tech and AV OEMs are racing for fleet deployment and market share. But the landgrab is shifting — from apps and vehicles to strategically located depots and high-performance service partners.
As robotaxi operations scale, they will depend on:
- Depot Capacity: limited and increasingly scarce in urban areas
- Turnaround Time: minutes, not hours
- Operational Costs: gig-worker service crews perform tedious work and are expensive
- Reliability and Automation: downtime is deadly in a high-utilization fleet
That’s why the real winners in this space will mirror the winners in aviation: those who control the ground game.
The takeaway for investors
If history is any guide, the best time to invest in ground infrastructure is before the spotlight hits. In aviation, the Menzies and DNATAs of the world quietly grew into multi-billion-dollar businesses by providing the on-the-ground services airlines need to keep flying.
Today, Rocsys is staking out that position in autonomous mobility.
We’re not betting on a single robotaxi brand. We’re building the rails that all of them will run on. We’re deploying into the depots where AVs will live. And we’re creating the automation backbone that ensures fleets stay moving — safely, reliably, and profitably.
Just the beginning
Robotaxis are the face of the AV future, but infrastructure is its foundation. As vehicles evolve into services, and services into scalable networks, the value will migrate — just as it did in aviation.
At Rocsys, we’re ready for that migration. In fact, we’re driving it.
Get in the driver’s seat with us. Reach out today to learn more.
CEO & Co-founder of Rocsys
SOURCE: Rocsys
