Waymo will begin testing its autonomous vehicle technology in Tokyo in early 2025, the first time the Alphabet company’s robotaxis have driven on public roads outside the U.S.The move to Japan is part of Waymo’s “road trips,” a development program that involves bringing its technology to a variety of cities and testing it — with each city having different challenges. In Tokyo, the Waymo robotaxis will face left-hand driving and a dense urban environment. Until now, those road trips have focused on a dozen ...

Ireland’s media regulator has put social media giant Meta on watch over terrorist content takedowns again — it issued a decision against Facebook on Monday. The Coimisiún na Meán said the tech giant would have to take “specific measures” to prevent its services from being used for the dissemination of terrorist content and report back to the regulator on the measures taken.The decision follows a similar determination by Coimisiún na Meán against Meta-owned Instagram in November, along with TikTok and X. T ...

Core Insights - Apple is reportedly planning to launch two foldable devices in the coming years, including a larger model with a 19-inch screen and a smaller foldable iPhone with a screen larger than the iPhone 16 Pro Max [1][2] Group 1 - The foldable iPhone is expected to be ready first, with a potential launch in 2026, although this timeline may be delayed by a year [2] - The larger device is described as a giant iPad and has been the primary focus of Apple's foldable development efforts [3] - Apple is making significant progress in developing a foldable screen that does not have the visible crease seen in current foldable devices [3]

Group 1 - General Motors (GM) has decided to cease funding for its commercial robotaxi business and will integrate its self-driving car subsidiary, Cruise, into its own driver-assistance development efforts [1] - GM acquired Cruise in 2016 for $1 billion and has invested over $10 billion in its development since then [1] - OpenAI has launched real-time video capabilities for ChatGPT, allowing users to interact with the app by pointing their phones at objects and sharing screens [1] Group 2 - Google introduced Project Mariner, an AI agent that can navigate the web and perform tasks within the Chrome browser, marking a shift in user interaction with websites [1] - Duolingo has partnered with Netflix to help viewers learn Korean ahead of the new season of "Squid Game," also releasing a TikTok filter inspired by the show [3] - Google announced its latest quantum computing chip, Willow, claiming it operates at extraordinary speeds, suggesting it may utilize computational power from other universes [3] Group 3 - Spotify has discontinued its in-car streaming device, Car Thing, and is offering refunds to customers who provide proof of purchase [3] - Bluesky is exploring a paid subscription model, teasing features such as custom app icons and post analytics [3] - Krispy Kreme reported a cyberattack that caused operational disruptions but confirmed that its shops remain open and deliveries are unaffected [3]

Microsoft has announced the newest addition to its Phi family of generative AI models.Called Phi-4, the model is improved in several areas over its predecessors, Microsoft claims — in particular math problem solving. That’s partly the result of improved training data quality. Phi-4 is available in very limited access as of Thursday night: only on Microsoft’s recently launched Azure AI Foundry development platform, and only for research purposes under a Microsoft research license agreement. This is Microso ...

Autonomous Vehicles - GM's decision to no longer fund its self-driving car subsidiary Cruise was a surprise, leading to significant changes including layoffs of 24% of Cruise's workforce and the resignation of its co-founder Kyle Vogt [1] - Cruise, acquired by GM for $1 billion in 2016, faced regulatory suspension and ceased operations after an incident involving a pedestrian in October 2023 [1] - The autonomous vehicle industry has seen consolidation, with major players like GM's Cruise, Alphabet's Waymo, Hyundai-backed Motional, and Amazon-owned Zoox remaining by 2023 [1] - San Francisco is identified as the most prepared city for new transportation technologies like AI, autonomous vehicles, and air taxis [10] - Uber and WeRide launched a robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi [10] Urban Air Mobility - Hyundai's urban air mobility startup, Supernal, is shifting its global headquarters from Washington, D C to Irvine, affecting around 5% of its workforce [2][3] - Investors continue to show interest in future-of-flight SPACs, with companies like Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation raising significant funds [5][6] - Archer Aviation raised $430 million for a new business unit focused on defense applications, including a partnership with Anduril to build a hybrid VTOL [7] - Joby Aviation launched a public offering to sell up to $300 million of its shares, adding to the $222 million raised in October, aiming for a total of $522 million [7] Electric Vehicles and Charging - Fisker resolved a federal safety investigation regarding its Ocean SUVs potentially rolling away unexpectedly [11] - Lightship launched its all-electric travel trailer, the AE 1 Cosmos Edition, with plans to produce only 50 units priced at $250,000 [12] - Lucid Gravity SUV entered production with an estimated EPA range of 450 miles [12] - Rivian's EVs ranked last on Consumer Reports' reliability list [12] - WeaveGrid, an EV charging software startup, raised $28 million in a round led by Toyota's Woven Capital [7] Other Transportation News - Amazon expanded into online car sales with Amazon Autos, allowing customers to buy new vehicles from dealerships [13] - Salvatore Palella resigned as CEO of Micromobility com, with his holding company taking on all of the company's debt [13] - Spotify discontinued its in-car streaming device, Car Thing, with all units now disabled [13] - Uber has 30 days to require certain drivers to get fingerprinted to continue transporting unaccompanied teens in California [13] Industry Trends and Investments - Nikola, a producer of battery and hydrogen-electric trucks, is taking steps to repay debts and raise equity, including a $100 million common stock sale [7] - The autonomous vehicle industry saw significant hype and investment, with parallels drawn to the current AI boom [1]

Core Insights - Big tech companies are shifting focus from nuclear power investments to renewable energy projects, with Google and Microsoft leading the charge [1][2] Group 1: Company Initiatives - Google announced a funding of $20 billion for renewable power projects across the U.S. [1] - Microsoft is involved in launching the Climate and Communities Investment Coalition, aiming to invest $9 billion to develop 5 gigawatts of renewable power, sufficient to power nearly 1 million homes [2] - Microsoft has already invested in a 210-megawatt solar farm in Texas through the coalition, with support from the Sustain Our Future Foundation [3] Group 2: Investment Strategy - The coalition, organized by Acadia, emphasizes that corporate involvement can exponentially accelerate the expansion of renewable energy [2] - Microsoft has not linked its renewable projects to specific data centers, suggesting that renewable energy credits (RECs) will contribute to its general energy portfolio [4] - Acadia plans to complete the renewable projects over a five-year period [5]

GM’s decision to shut down its Cruise robotaxi program continues to ripple through the market, extending to the self-driving car company’s minority investors. Microsoft, which in 2021 made an investment into Cruise, will take $800 million impairment charge as a result of GM’s actions, according to a regulatory filing. Microsoft said the charge will be recorded in other income and expense and was not included in its second quarter guidance provided on October 30, 2024. It is estimated to have a negative impa ...

General Motors said Tuesday it will no longer fund the development of a commercial robotaxi business and will instead absorb its self-driving car subsidiary Cruise and combine it with the automaker’s own efforts to develop driver assistance features — and eventually fully autonomous personal vehicles.The pivot is a remarkable step for the automaker, which acquired the self-driving startup Cruise in March 2016 for $1 billion. Since then, GM has spent more than $10 billion on the company in a bid to commercia ...

Core Insights - Meta's apps, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, experienced a global outage on Wednesday, with the cause currently unknown [1] - The company acknowledged a "technical issue" affecting user access and is working to resolve it [1] - The outage began around 1 p.m. ET, with user reports on Downdetector spiking to over 97,000 for Facebook and over 67,000 for Instagram [1] User Impact - The outage significantly increased user reports, with Facebook typically receiving an average of 16 reports per hour, which surged during the outage [1] - Meta's status page indicated "major disruptions" in Facebook Ads Manager and issues with Workplace from Meta, which is in recovery [2] Company Response - Meta has publicly acknowledged the issue and is actively working to restore normal operations [1][2] - Further comments from Meta regarding the outage have been requested but not yet provided [2]