Alphabet

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai dismisses AI job fears, emphasizes expansion plans

AI /

In a Bloomberg interview Wednesday night in downtown San Francisco, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai pushed back against concerns that AI could eventually make half the company’s 180,000-person workforce redundant. Instead, Pichai stressed the company’s commitment to growth through at least next year. “I expect we will grow from our current engineering phase even into next […]

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai dismisses AI job fears, emphasizes expansion plans Read More »

Google quietly released an app that lets you download and run AI models locally

Apps /

Last week, Google quietly released an app that lets users run a range of openly available AI models from the AI dev platform Hugging Face on their phones. Called Google AI Edge Gallery, the app is available for Android and will soon come to iOS. It allows users to find, download, and run compatible models

Google quietly released an app that lets you download and run AI models locally Read More »

Waymo gets OK to expand robotaxi service into more of Silicon Valley

Transportation /

The California Public Utilities Commission has approved Waymo’s request to expand its commercial robotaxi service area, opening the door for the Alphabet company to bring its driverless ride-hailing vehicles into more communities south of San Francisco. The company said in a post on X the approval won’t change its plans in the near term. Today,

Waymo gets OK to expand robotaxi service into more of Silicon Valley Read More »

Waymo may use interior camera data to train generative AI models, but riders will be able to opt out

Privacy /

Waymo is preparing to use data from its robotaxis, including video from interior cameras tied to rider identities, to train generative AI models, according to an unreleased version of its privacy policy found by researcher Jane Manchun Wong, raising fresh questions about how much of a rider’s behavior inside autonomous vehicles could be repurposed for

Waymo may use interior camera data to train generative AI models, but riders will be able to opt out Read More »

Waymo may use interior camera data to train generative AI models, sell ads

AI /

Waymo is preparing to use data from its robotaxis, including video from interior cameras tied to rider identities, to train generative AI models, according to an unreleased version of its privacy policy found by researcher Jane Manchun Wong.  The draft language reveals Waymo may also share this data to personalize ads, raising fresh questions about

Waymo may use interior camera data to train generative AI models, sell ads Read More »

Alphabet’s AI drug discovery platform Isomorphic Labs raises $600M from Thrive

Biotech & Health /

Isomorphic Labs, the AI drug-discovery platform that was spun out of Google’s DeepMind in 2021, has raised external capital for the first time. The $600 million round was led by Thrive Capital, with participation from GV and existing investor Alphabet, Google’s parent, it said.     The funding will accelerate further development of Isomorphic’s AI drug

Alphabet’s AI drug discovery platform Isomorphic Labs raises $600M from Thrive Read More »

Google is buying Wiz for $32B to beef up in cloud security, sources say

Enterprise /

Google is making the biggest acquisition in its history. The company’s parent company Alphabet is acquiring Wiz, the cloud security startup, for $32 billion, our sources say. The deal will still need regulatory and other approvals before closing. From what we can see, Google and Wiz have yet to confirm anything official. Other outlets are

Google is buying Wiz for $32B to beef up in cloud security, sources say Read More »

Google revives talks to acquire Wiz at higher valuation

Government & Policy /

Google’s parent company Alphabet is again in advanced talks to acquire cloud cybersecurity startup Wiz, a person familiar with the deal told TechCrunch. The two companies were close to securing a deal at a $23 billion valuation last summer, but the transaction failed to materialize.  This time, the price being discussed is higher, the person

Google revives talks to acquire Wiz at higher valuation Read More »

Alphabet praises DeepSeek, but it’s massively ramping up its AI spending

AI /

Booming AI budgets seemed at risk last week when DeepSeek crashed Nvidia’s stock based on speculation that its cheaper AI models would lower demand for AI chips and data centers. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has certainly noticed the Chinese AI company, praising its work as “tremendous” in Alphabet’s latest earnings call (while adding that some of Gemini’s models are

Alphabet praises DeepSeek, but it’s massively ramping up its AI spending Read More »

FTC says partnerships like Microsoft-OpenAI raise antitrust concerns

Government & Policy /

The Federal Trade Commission said in a staff report issued Friday that there are potential competitive issues in partnerships between big tech companies and generative AI developers — specifically, Microsoft’s backing of OpenAI and Amazon and Alphabet/Google’s partnerships with Anthropic. “The FTC’s report sheds light on how partnerships by big tech firms can create lock-in,

FTC says partnerships like Microsoft-OpenAI raise antitrust concerns Read More »