Core Insights - The self-driving car company, a subsidiary of Google's parent company, is experiencing rapid expansion of its services beyond a limited number of cities [1] Company Expansion - The company is broadening its operational footprint, indicating a strategic move to increase market presence and service availability [1]

Core Viewpoint - The article highlights the significant movements in the U.S. stock market, particularly focusing on the performance of major companies and the implications of recent economic data. Group 1: Stock Market Performance - On February 2, U.S. stock indices closed higher, with the Dow Jones up 1.05%, S&P 500 up 0.54%, and Nasdaq up 0.56% [1][3] - Major tech companies are set to report earnings this week, including Google, Amazon, and others across various sectors [1] Group 2: Technology Sector Insights - Micron Technology rose over 5%, while other tech stocks like Texas Instruments, Dell Technologies, and Apple saw gains exceeding 4% [5] - Apple is expected to launch a new MacBook Pro with an M6 chip, which will not utilize TSMC's latest 2nm N2P process, potentially saving costs and ensuring supply [5] - Nvidia's stock fell 2.89% amid stalled negotiations with OpenAI regarding a $100 billion investment, highlighting risks associated with reliance on a single client [6] Group 3: Semiconductor and Memory Market - SanDisk shares surged 15.44% following reports of a 35% increase in average NAND flash prices by Q4 2025, attracting investment from funds moving away from precious metals and cryptocurrencies [6] Group 4: Economic Indicators - The U.S. manufacturing PMI unexpectedly rose from 47.9 to 52.6 in January, marking the highest level since February 2022 and indicating a shift towards expansion [9][11] - The U.S. government shutdown has delayed the release of the January non-farm payroll report, affecting data collection and publication by the Bureau of Labor Statistics [10]

Google Cloud, one of Alphabet's fastest-growing businesses, and Liberty Global have agreed a five-year strategic partnership to deploy Google's Gemini AI models and other cloud tools across the cable ... ...

Core Insights - Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, has completed a $16 billion financing round, aiming to expand its autonomous taxi fleet to over ten new cities globally, including London and Tokyo [1][3] Financing and Valuation - The financing round was led by Dragoneer Investment Group, DST Global, and Sequoia Capital, resulting in a company valuation of $126 billion [3] - Major investors included Andreessen Horowitz, Mubadala Capital, and several others, with Alphabet maintaining its status as the controlling shareholder [3] Business Expansion - Waymo plans to use the funds to drive business expansion, having significantly accelerated its development over the past year [3] - The company has received approval to operate autonomous ride-hailing services to and from San Francisco International Airport, covering all of Northern California and several major U.S. urban areas [3][4] Operational Scale - Waymo currently provides 400,000 rides per week across six major U.S. urban areas, with a projected annual ride total of 15 million by 2025, tripling its previous figures [5] - The cumulative ride total has surpassed 20 million, indicating a strong operational scale [5] Safety and Regulatory Challenges - Despite rapid expansion, Waymo's autonomous taxis have faced operational errors, leading to increased regulatory scrutiny and public criticism [5] - Investigations have been launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board regarding incidents involving the autonomous vehicles, including a recent case where a child was injured near a school [5]

Market Overview - On February 2, US stock indices closed higher, with the Dow Jones up 1.05%, S&P 500 up 0.54%, and Nasdaq up 0.56% [1] - Major technology stocks showed mixed results, with Apple rising over 4% and Nvidia falling nearly 3% [2] Technology Sector - The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index increased by 1.7%, with Micron Technology up over 5% and Intel up nearly 5% [2] - SanDisk's stock surged over 15% due to better-than-expected earnings, while Western Digital and Seagate also saw gains [3] - NAND flash memory prices are expected to rise by over 30% according to reports from SK Hynix and SanDisk [3] Energy Sector - The energy sector experienced declines, with ExxonMobil down over 2% and Chevron down more than 1% [3] - WTI crude oil futures fell by 4.71%, closing at $62.14 per barrel, while Brent crude oil futures dropped by 4.36% to $66.30 per barrel [4] Cryptocurrency Market - Bitcoin prices rose above $78,000 after previously dipping to around $74,560, with significant market volatility leading to over 170,000 liquidations [4] - Bitcoin ETF saw a net outflow of $1.61 billion in January 2026, indicating liquidity issues in the market [4] International Relations and Trade - A trade agreement between the US and India was announced, reducing tariffs on Indian goods from 25% to 18%, effective immediately [5] - India is expected to increase its procurement of US products, including energy and agricultural goods, valued at over $500 billion [5] - The Indian stock index Nifty 50 saw a rise in futures, and the Indian Rupee strengthened against the US dollar following the trade announcement [6]

Market Performance - The U.S. stock market showed stability as the sell-off in precious metals and cryptocurrencies eased, with better-than-expected PMI data contributing to gains across major indices [1] - The S&P 500 index closed up 0.54% at 6976.44 points, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.56% to 23592.11 points, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 1.05% to 49407.66 points [1] Sector Performance - The S&P 500 index is close to its historical closing high, just 2.16 points away from 6978.60 points and approximately 20 points from its intraday high of 7002.28 points [3] - Notable stock movements included Nvidia down 2.89%, Google-A up 1.68%, Apple up 4.06%, and Amazon up 1.53% [3] - The "storage giants" performed well, with SanDisk up 15.44%, Micron Technology up 5.52%, Seagate Technology up 6.2%, and Western Digital up 7.99% [3] - The rare earth sector saw mixed results, with U.S. Antimony up 7.23%, while other companies like U.S. Rare Earths and Critical Metals experienced fluctuations [3] Cryptocurrency Impact - Bitcoin fell below $80,000, leading to a significant drop in Robinhood Markets by 9.62%, making it the largest decliner in the S&P 500 [4] - Other cryptocurrency-related stocks also faced declines on the same day [4] Chinese Stocks - Chinese stocks showed mixed performance, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index down 0.65% [5] Commodity Market - International oil prices fell, with WTI crude oil down $2.88 to $62.33 per barrel, a decline of 4.42% [6] - COMEX gold futures dropped $64.20, or 1.35%, to $4680.9 per ounce, while COMEX silver futures rose slightly by $0.73, or 0.93%, to $79.265 per ounce [6] - Spot gold decreased by $205.25, or 4.22%, to $4660.1 per ounce, and spot silver fell by $5.49, or 6.48%, to $79.21 per ounce [6]

Core Insights - Waymo has raised $16 billion to expand its fleet of driverless taxicabs internationally, targeting over a dozen new cities including London and Tokyo, with a current valuation of $126 billion [1][2] Funding and Investment - The funding round was led by Dragoneer Investment Group, DST Global, and Sequoia Capital, with significant contributions from Andreessen Horowitz, Mubadala Capital, and others [1][2] Growth and Expansion - The funds will be utilized to accelerate growth, which has already seen a significant increase, with 400,000 rides provided weekly across six major U.S. metropolitan areas [3][6] - Waymo has expanded its robotaxi service to major cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and Miami, and plans to operate in over 20 additional cities by 2026 [5][9] Operational Milestones - Waymo's robotaxi service in California began charging for rides after receiving the necessary permit in August 2023, marking a significant operational milestone [5] - The company has reported tripling its annual ride volume to 15 million rides in 2025, surpassing 20 million lifetime rides [6] Challenges and Scrutiny - The rapid expansion has led to increased scrutiny, with investigations opened by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board due to incidents involving robotaxis, including a recent case where a child was struck [9][10]

Alphabet旗下自动驾驶汽车子公司Waymo于当地时间周一宣布完成了一轮 160 亿美元的融资，这使得该 公司在"融资后"的估值达到 1260 亿美元。 这轮融资是Alphabet为支持 Waymo 进一步拓展至更多市场所采取的最新举措。 这轮融资是Alphabet为支持 Waymo 进一步拓展至更多市场所采取的最新举措。 此次的估值比 Waymo 在 2024 年 10 月上一轮融资时所达到的估值高出一倍多。上一轮融资是该公司的 C 轮融资，金额为 56 亿美元，估值为 450 亿美元。 Waymo联合首席执行官Tekedra Mawakana和Dmitri Dolgov在一篇博客文章中写道："这一里程碑建立在 安全性的基础上，而如今，Waymo的安全性在统计数据上已经优于人类驾驶。我们不再是在验证一个 概念，而是在将商业现实规模化。" 此次的估值比 Waymo 在 2024 年 10 月上一轮融资时所达到的估值高出一倍多。上一轮融资是该公司的 C 轮融资，金额为 56 亿美元，估值为 450 亿美元。 Waymo联合首席执行官Tekedra Mawakana和Dmitri Dolgov在一篇博客文章中 ...

Alphabet's self-driving car unit Waymo on Monday said it raised a $16 billion funding round that values the company at $126 billion "post-money."The new valuation is more than double from Waymo's last funding. That was a series C round of $5.6 billion at a $45 billion valuation, which closed in October 2024. Alphabet committed $5 billion in a multiyear investment to Waymo at the time."​​This milestone is built on a foundation of safety that is now statistically superior to human driving," Waymo co-CEOs Teke ...

Group 1 - Waymo, a unit of Alphabet, has successfully raised $16 billion in its latest fundraising round [1] - This fundraising round has resulted in a valuation of $126 billion for the self-driving car startup [1]