Google-owned Waymo is going to begin testing its autonomous vehicles in the busiest city in the US: New York City. The company received a permit to test up to eight self-driving cars — with a trained AV specialist behind the wheel — in parts of Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Waymo, which is already operating its autonomous ride-hailing service in several cities across the country, applied for the permits in June and began collecting data with human drivers operating the vehicle in the city in July.
The Journal report says Waymo will be able to test through late September and can apply for an extension.
Recently, competitor Tesla started hiring robotaxi test drivers in the city, but had not yet applied for autonomous permits.
Waymo, which is already operating its autonomous ride-hailing service in several cities across the country, applied for the permits in June and began collecting data with human drivers operating the vehicle in the city in July.
The Journal report says Waymo will be able to test through late September and can apply for an extension.
Recently, competitor Tesla started hiring robotaxi test drivers in the city, but had not yet applied for autonomous permits.
On Wednesday, Google unveiled AI features on its new Pixel 10 that — if they work as advertised — put those on Apple’s last iPhone to shame. However, as far as US market share goes, for now Apple’s iPhone is far and away a more popular phone than Google’s Pixel. Apple made up nearly half — 49% — of all US smartphone shipments last quarter, according to data from Canalys, compared with about 3% for Google.
Apple is raising the price of its streaming service, Apple TV+, to $12.99 from $9.99, Variety reports. The company justified the price hike by saying it’s launched numerous new shows and movies and, unlike competitors like Netflix or Disney, it doesn’t have an ad-supported tier. The service is also losing a lot of money — reportedly more than $1 billion a year.
After a very expensive AI hiring spree in its search to create AI that surpasses human intelligence, Meta is now freezing new AI hires without express permission from Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Earlier this week, The New York Times reported that amid a broader restructuring of its AI efforts into four groups (first reported by The Information), Meta is even considering downsizing the group.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed the freeze to WSJ, saying it’s part of “basic organizational planning: creating a solid structure for our new superintelligence efforts after bringing people on board and undertaking yearly budgeting and planning exercises.”
With reports of compensation packages for top AI recruits reaching nine digits, investors are wary of what such over-the-top costs might mean for their returns. During the company’s last earnings call, Meta executives said that employee compensation would be the second-largest driver of expense growth in 2026 after capex, which has been enormous. This week, Morgan Stanley warned of dilution risks thanks to increasing stock-based compensation among tech companies like Meta.
This week’s tech sell-off may be linked to renewed concerns about the potential returns associated with all this unbridled spending on AI.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed the freeze to WSJ, saying it’s part of “basic organizational planning: creating a solid structure for our new superintelligence efforts after bringing people on board and undertaking yearly budgeting and planning exercises.”
With reports of compensation packages for top AI recruits reaching nine digits, investors are wary of what such over-the-top costs might mean for their returns. During the company’s last earnings call, Meta executives said that employee compensation would be the second-largest driver of expense growth in 2026 after capex, which has been enormous. This week, Morgan Stanley warned of dilution risks thanks to increasing stock-based compensation among tech companies like Meta.
This week’s tech sell-off may be linked to renewed concerns about the potential returns associated with all this unbridled spending on AI.
AI features are front and center for Google’s new phones.
37% of US Amazon customers included traditional grocery store items in their most recent order.

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