Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, announced today that it’s expanding its coverage area by 200 square miles in several existing markets, including Miami, the San Francisco Bay Area, Houston, Austin, and Atlanta. That will bring its total coverage area to more than 1,400 square miles. The autonomous car service is currently offering public rides in 11 markets, after expanding to Nashville last month.
AI companies are amping up their spending in Washington as they push for federal approval for more data centers and industry-friendly rules regarding their use of copyrighted material, among other asks, The New York Times reports, citing data from nonprofit watchdog Public Citizen. 25% of currently registered federal lobbyists are now involved in pushing AI interests. That’s more than double what it was — 11% — in 2023. Meta, Nvidia, and Alphabet spent $47.8 million combined last year, up 22% from 2024.
Reuters is reporting that Microsoft subsidiary LinkedIn is preparing to lay off 5% of its 17,500 staff, the latest in a string of tech cutbacks this year. Reuters doesn’t yet know what teams are affected, but a source said the reason wasn’t AI replacing jobs. LinkedIn sales rose 12% last quarter compared with a year earlier, representing accelerating growth.
At its Android event today, Google teased a new AI-first, Android-compatible laptop called Googlebook. The company is marketing the device, coming out this fall, as a premium successor to its budget-friendly Chromebook, though it has yet to release a price. It does, however, mention the word “premium” four times in the blog post. Much like how the original Chromebook placed cloud tech and ChromeOS at its center, this new model highlights the company’s latest tech — namely AI — through Gemini.
In a feature called “Magic Pointer,” users can wiggle their cursor to pull up contextual information about anything on the screen. “Point at a date in an email to set up a meeting, or select two images — like your living room and a new couch — to instantly visualize them together,” the company said as an example. In a long-anticipated move, the device also deepens ecosystem ties, allowing users to run Android phone apps natively on the desktop.
The announcement comes just two months after Apple announced the MacBook Neo, a rare foray by the iPhone maker into the lower-cost laptop market dominated by the Chromebook.
In a feature called “Magic Pointer,” users can wiggle their cursor to pull up contextual information about anything on the screen. “Point at a date in an email to set up a meeting, or select two images — like your living room and a new couch — to instantly visualize them together,” the company said as an example. In a long-anticipated move, the device also deepens ecosystem ties, allowing users to run Android phone apps natively on the desktop.
The announcement comes just two months after Apple announced the MacBook Neo, a rare foray by the iPhone maker into the lower-cost laptop market dominated by the Chromebook.
