Alphabet is poised for another “paper gain” from its SpaceX investment. The recent share sale by Elon Musk’s company values SpaceX at essentially around $800 billion, which also raises the book value of Google’s parent company’s ownership.
Alphabet has thus been involved with SpaceX for years and has benefited from similar value increases before. At this point, with SpaceX’s “rise,” investors are now closely watching whether the new increase in value will be visible in the company’s next earnings report.
Here is a recent post from Alphabet’s boss regarding AI stuff , in which he states that Gemini 3 Flash is lightning-fast, efficient, cheaper, and still clearly better than 2.5 Pro.
Alphabet’s Google Cloud and Palo Alto Networks are deepening their partnership even further with a new deal that, according to some sources, is worth nearly $10 billion.
Reportedly, this is the largest cybersecurity services deal in Google Cloud’s history. The investments are particularly focused on AI solutions, as cyber threats are evolving at the same pace as defense technology.
Alphabet is acquiring Intersect for approximately $4.75 billion.
According to the article, the deal accelerates the construction of infrastructure related to data centers and energy production to ensure there is enough capacity to meet the demand for cloud services. Google was already an owner, and Intersect will continue as its own brand.
Google’s parent Alphabet announced Monday it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Intersect, a provider of data center and energy infrastructure solutions, for $4.75 billion in cash plus the assumption of debt.
Google already owns a minority stake in Intersect from a previous funding round. The acquisition aims to enable more data center and generation capacity to come online faster while accelerating energy development and innovation.
The article below describes how Google started this year as an underdog in the AI race.
Over the course of the year, however, the situation shifted as the Gemini 3 models propelled the company back into the lead, user numbers grew rapidly, and the Cloud business gained further momentum from AI.
In-house chips attracted large customers, while Android boosted distribution and AI solutions integrated into Search supported advertising. The company’s well-functioning ecosystem improved growth prospects, pricing power, and market confidence for the coming years.
At the same time, the competitive landscape against OpenAI leveled out, and Gemini’s performance has generally convinced the market. The article suggests that the company is positioning itself as a long-term winner in the tech sector on a global scale, appearing particularly credible right now from the perspectives of earnings growth, strategic focus, and capital allocation.
Google (GOOG, GOOGL) entered 2025 in a difficult position. While its stock price rose 36% in 2024, the company was still largely perceived by Wall Street as playing second (or third) fiddle to OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) in the AI race.
Fast-forward to today, and Google is stealing the show, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has declared a “code red” emergency as the company works to match Google’s latest Gemini 3 AI models. It’s an interesting twist, given that Google declared its own code red after ChatGPT hit the market in 2022.
Waymo’s self-driving taxis indeed caused traffic jams during a power outage in San Francisco, as the system stopped vehicles due to “confirmation requests.”
Most intersections were handled without issues, but the volume of requests overwhelmed the entire support system. The company is now updating its software to better recognize power outages and is also developing emergency protocols with the city to ensure smoother movement of robotaxis in various exceptional situations like these.
Alphabet still dominates the search market with a share of approximately 90 percent and captures the majority of search advertising.
Advertising still accounts for most of the revenue, but according to the article below, investors’ focus has shifted increasingly toward AI. The company is now viewed as an AI leader, which has boosted the stock and pushed up valuation levels.
Google Cloud is growing rapidly, driven by AI, and the entire company benefits from strong vertical integration.
Alphabet‘s (GOOG, GOOGL) Google holds 90% of global search market share and 85% of search ad spend. Advertising accounted for $74.2B of $102.3B total revenue in Q3.
Google’s stock surged 64% year-to-date as investors repriced it from ad company to AI leader. Its EV/EBIT multiple expanded to 23x from multi-year lows.
Google Cloud grew 34% year-over-year to $15.2B in Q3 with a $155B backlog. AI integration across Search and YouTube drove over 10% usage increases.
What is vertical integration?
Vertical integration refers to the combination of several or all activities in the value chain within the same company. Many researchers have argued that vertical integration promotes the creation and adoption of systemic innovations. While ordinary innovations can be adopted as they are without major changes to the broader operating environment, the successful adoption of systemic innovations requires significant changes across the entire operating environment. Often, however, systemic innovations are too complex and extensive for a single company to manage.
Google’s parent company Alphabet quelled investors’ AI fears, and the stock rose 65 percent, which is the company’s best performance since 2009. Although the year got off to a sluggish start, the triumph of Gemini AI and hits like Nano Banana put the company back in business.
The mildness of the feared monopoly rulings, along with strong demand for cloud services, also helped propel the share price upward.
Analysts believe that AI investments will further strengthen their search engine dominance.
The article below has more details on these topics and more.
The tweet showcases the various stages of Google’s AI empire supply chain and the companies that manufacture the necessary chips, memory, cooling systems, and networking equipment.
According to the article below, this year is a significant year of expansion for Waymo, as it plans to enter dozens of new cities in the United States and additionally aims to expand its operations abroad. The company’s goal is to increase the number of weekly trips to one million, which would quadruple its current level. To support this growth, Waymo is, among other things, doubling its vehicle production capacity and introducing a next-generation vehicle platform.
While expensive technology and difficult weather conditions present challenges in northern cities, the article notes that Waymo’s strong “safety record” helps win the trust of regulators and the public. According to statistics, Waymo’s vehicles are involved in accidents significantly less frequently than human drivers or competitors. This safety advantage plays a central role as the service expands into challenging environments such as New York and London.
Waymo’s data shows its robotaxis are involved in fewer accidents involving serious injury, airbag deployment, or any injury, for that matter, compared to human drivers. In fact, a human driver is five times more likely to be involved in an accident resulting in an injury compared to a Waymo robotaxi (0.8 crashes per 1 million miles in Waymo vs 3.96 crashes per 1 million miles with a human driver).
Waymo’s progress has been steady, and they have been moving forward all the time. If they manage to bring London and New York into the robotaxi fold, Finland and the other Nordic countries would also be closer. However, conditions in the Nordics are still a few notches tougher (except in the summer). I almost feel like traveling to London just to try a Waymo taxi
2026 is certainly going to be a year of larger scaling for Waymo, but competition could intensify if Tesla hits its roadmap regarding the robotaxi. In any case, 2026 will be an interesting year for robotaxis, and I believe that by 2030 they could already be in Finland.
Google and Character.AI have settled lawsuits in which they were accused of psychological harm caused to children and even suicides.
The cases highlight the growing legal liability of AI companies for the consequences of technology; although the settlement amounts were not disclosed, regulatory pressure and ethical risks are now taking center stage as the AI industry booms.
AI and quantum company SandboxAQ is in the middle of a rather messy lawsuit in which a former employee accuses CEO Jack Hidary of misappropriating company funds and misleading investors.
According to the allegations, Hidary reportedly used company funds for female companions and also falsified figures. The company strongly denies the claims, calling the plaintiff a serial liar and viewing the case as an attempt at extortion.
Despite this controversy, prominent investors such as Nvidia and Google have continued to fund the company. The company originated from within Alphabet and focuses on quantum research and AI.
, in which he states that Gemini 3 Flash is lightning-fast, efficient, cheaper, and still clearly better than 2.5 Pro.
