The article below states how Google has to pay Texas $1.4 billion for privacy violations.
The state accused the company of unauthorized tracking of users’ location, voice, and facial data. Google did not admit guilt.
Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said the company did not admit any wrongdoing or liability in the settlement, which involves allegations related to the Chrome browser’s incognito setting, disclosures related to location history on the Google Maps app, and biometric claims related to Google Photo.
Waymo means business! Waymo is top-notch, brother.
Apparently, Waymo drivers are safer and more reliable than humans. We are still in the early stages, but this “project” seems promising. People are unlikely to improve their driving skills (except for us middle-aged masters of our own destiny), but Waymo is constantly developing and reducing accidents.
According to statistics, Waymo’s accident rates are already significantly lower in many different situations, such as at intersections and near pedestrian crossings.
Google believes that Waymo can reduce accidents by up to 99 percent in the future…
Google has established a new “AI Futures Fund” aimed at supporting AI startups.
Companies selected through the fund will receive capital investments, as well as early access to Google’s advanced AI models, expert assistance, and access rights to Google Cloud.
The idea behind this is that Google wants to stay at the forefront of generative AI development and reach the most promising growth companies in the field. Of course, Amazon and Microsoft are also in the competition, investing heavily in AI startups with their own programs.
The event will be held on May 20-21, and product updates are expected.
In addition to Android updates, there is speculation about the pricing of the updated AI model, Gemini Ultra. Will it still be included in the cheapest Advanced package? Otherwise, package prices have only varied according to cloud storage capacity.
Furthermore, discussions about AI agents and possibly a new LearnLM application are anticipated, which could generate videos in the same style that NotebookLM creates podcasts.
The tweet below describes how Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi praises Waymo as a leading player in autonomous vehicles.
He mentions that customers like Waymo, which is safe and performs excellently.
Waymo has reportedly been particularly successful in Austin, and the local team has shared valuable practices from which Uber has learned more for its own operations.
Here’s Blumma’s take on Google’s annual I/O developer conference. Naturally, there were AI-focused buzzwords.
The company highlights its progress in developing Gemini models, even though the future of its search business worries investors, at least. AI chatbots have eroded the popularity of search engines, and the company’s future, for example regarding market share, has begun to be re-evaluated.
Meanwhile, Google is growing other revenue streams to monetize AI. Last week, the company told Reuters its Google One consumer subscription service had crossed 150 million subscribers helped by “millions” of customers who signed up for a $19.99 per month plan with access to AI capabilities unavailable for most free users.
Here is a summary of the key highlights from Google I/O 2025, which, according to Gemini, are significant for investors:
Note! Text entirely generated by Gemini. No personal contribution.
Google I/O 2025 confirmed Google’s transition to an “AI-first” company, with the Gemini AI model at its core. The event showcased an aggressive and rapid deployment of AI features, fundamentally transforming the company’s future.
Key takeaways for investors:
Gemini AI’s dominant position and commercialization:
Google is deeply embedding Gemini into all its core products – Search, Workspace, Chrome, and Android – creating a comprehensive AI ecosystem that aims for undisputed market leadership.[1, 2, 3, 4] New premium subscription tiers, such as Google AI Ultra ($250 per month), demonstrate a clear strategy to monetize the most advanced AI features, especially from professional users.[2, 3, 4, 5]
Radical overhaul of search and shopping experience: “AI Mode” is now available to all US users, and “Deep Search” can generate expert-level, referenced reports in minutes for complex queries.[3, 6, 7] The AI-powered shopping experience includes virtual try-on and an “agentic checkout” that can automatically make purchases on behalf of the user.[5, 6, 7] This profoundly changes traditional information retrieval and e-commerce.
New growth platforms in extended reality (XR):
Google is making a new, decisive venture into the XR space with Android XR, relying on the power of Gemini AI.[1, 8, 2, 3, 9] Collaboration with Samsung, Gentle Monster, and Warby Parker in developing lightweight AR glasses, as well as the Google Beam platform for 3D video calls (with HP), point to a potential new computing platform and the future of communication.
Democratization of creative content production:
New generative AI tools, such as Veo 3 (video with sound), Flow (filmmaking app), Imagen 4 (images), and Lyria 2 (music), offer “Pixar in a box”-type solutions that can revolutionize content production and open new markets.
Ethical and legal risks:
While Google aims to watermark AI-generated content, Gemini 2.0 Flash’s ability to remove watermarks from copyrighted images is a “deeply unethical act.”[3] This could lead to legal challenges and reputational damage, which is a significant risk for investors.
Massive scale and performance: Google’s proprietary TPU v7: Ironwood chip offers a 10-fold performance improvement and processes 480 trillion tokens monthly, which is 50 times more than the previous year. This demonstrates the company’s enormous investments and computational power behind AI development.
In summary, Google I/O 2025 demonstrated Google’s aggressive strategy to establish itself as a leader in the AI market, but at the same time, it raised significant ethical questions that require close monitoring.
Now, almost seven years since its launch, Waymo remains unprofitable. While Google does not break down Waymo’s financials, its Other Bets segment, which includes the robotaxi startup, posted a $4.4 billion loss over the last fiscal year. The cost base is high.
Google is offering voluntary severance programs to employees in several departments, including at least the search engine, advertising, and communications teams.
These measures are part of the company’s ongoing staff reductions, and remote workers living less than 80 kilometers from an office are required to return to hybrid work. At the same time, Google is investing in AI skills training for its staff.
In the tweet below, there is a rough sum-of-the-parts calculation for Alphabet. According to the tweet, YouTube, Cloud, and other units already cover almost the entire current value, so the search engine is practically free.
The market might be severely underestimating the potential, this tweeter thinks:
I have to disagree with the tweeter, Google Search is not valued at 380 M$. Someone could, for example, value YouTube at 400 M$, in which case the P/S would be 8.
That’s not what was said there. The point of the tweet was probably that if Alphabet’s parts were valued in the same way many similar companies are valued in the market, search would be quite cheap.
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