Google might buy what it can’t build

With a history of shutting down failed projects, Google parent Alphabet is considering the M&A route instead.

4/4/24 1:01PM

Google parent Alphabet is considering a bid for $34 billion marketing software solutions platform, according to Reuters. Why would Alphabet want to acquire Hubspot? And, related, what actually is Hubspot?

Hubspot is one of several publicly traded multi-billion dollar software as a service (SaaS) companies that no one really knows what it does. Think: Atlassian, ServiceNow, or Workday. But its business is straightforward: Hubspot offers sales and marketing teams user-friendly dashboards for creating, tracking, and updating their leads. This data is compiled in a single central database, instead of being siloed in team-specific databases, improving transparency and information continuity across an enterprise, and their dashboards integrate with thousands of third-party apps. TL;DR: Hubspot is a solution for managing a company’s sales and marketing departments.

Why would Alphabet want to acquire Hubspot? Well, they’re infamous for launching, and then shutting down, various projects. A few examples: Google Domains, Google Currents (which was the rebranded version of Google+), Google Jamboard, Google Cloud IoT Core, Google Hangouts, Google Surveys, G Suite, and Google Go Links. For those curious, you can see the full list of Google’s graveyard at killedbygoogle.com.

What Alphabet does have, however, is near-infinite consumer data, a dominant portion of the search market, and a powerful advertising business. Combining Hubspot’s marketing and lead generation solutions with Google’s search and ad capabilities could be valuable for sales and marketing teams, depending on how they are integrated.

If Alphabet makes a formal offer, however, it will almost certainly be flagged by regulators. FTC Chair Lina Khan has been cracking down on big tech M&A since taking over, and the world’s biggest search provider acquiring a $34 billion B2B marketing solution fits the template for deals she would sue to block.

Max Knoblauch5/29/26

The Trump administration is reportedly planning a 50% made-in-America requirement for USMCA tariff relief

Qualifying for USMCA-related lower tariffs may soon require more US-made vehicle components, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.

The Trump administration is reportedly planning to introduce a 50% US content requirement for vehicles covered by the trade pact to receive lower tariffs. The content would be measured by cost, according to the WSJ.

There currently isn’t any US-specific requirement for those lower tariff rates, but in order to receive preferential tariffs, vehicles are must contain at least 75% regional content (components made in North America). Per Reuters reporting, the Trump admin is seeking to raise the regional requirement to 82%.

These reported plans are subject to change as the US negotiates USMCA terms with Mexico over the next few months.

Overall, Tesla will likely have the easiest time qualifying for any stricter requirements. The automaker’s vehicles contained the highest amount of US/Canadian content in 2025, according to American University research. Ford, GM, and Stellantis all scored lower.

Notably: the underlying government data that many domestic content measurements rely on intentionally combines US and Canadian components, so it’s difficult to know exactly how much of any given vehicle is specifically US-made.

Exclusive | Trump Administration Wants Autos Under USMCA to Be at Least 50% Made in America

These reported plans are subject to change as the US negotiates USMCA terms with Mexico over the next few months.

Tom Jones5/29/26

The $640,000 Luce makes the average Ferrari look like a bargain

Put aside the shape; put aside the smoothing out of Ferrari’s iconic sharp edges; put aside, even, the calls from former Chairman and President Luca Cordero di Montezemolo to “take the Prancing Horse off.” On the grounds of price alone, Luce detractors might have a point.

By now, many of us will have read the criticisms of Ferrari’s first fully electric vehicle, as the Luce — which was unveiled to the world earlier this week and promptly saw the company’s shares crash out in New York and Milan — gets subtly shaded by competitors online and not-so-subtly shaded by basically everyone else.

What makes all of this worse for Ferrari is that, even by the luxury car maker’s notoriously high standards, they’ve slapped a pretty hefty price tag on the Luce, and the company’s CEO, Benedetto Vigna, has already been forced to defend the €550,000 ($640,000) price point, saying yesterday that it’s “fair to pay for innovation,” per Reuters.

While Ferrari’s cars have been getting more expensive of late, as recently as 2022, Ferrari’s average revenue per car sold was around $340,000. At nearly twice that price, this new electric model is obviously proving a little much (visually, conceptually, and financially) for many loyal and long-standing fans of the Prancing Horse to stomach.