Waymo, the Alphabet subsidiary behind autonomous taxis, announced that its robotaxis can now travel on freeways in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and Phoenix. The move adds curbside service at San Jose Mineta International Airport and promises faster trips, such as cutting the San Francisco‑Mountain View ride in half. Waymo’s fleet, already operating in five metros, uses redundant onboard computers, data from private courses and simulations, and works closely with law‑enforcement agencies to handle emergencies. The company also outlined plans to launch in additional U.S. and international markets next year. Read more →

Google has extended its AI‑powered Search mode to 40 more countries and 35 additional languages, bringing the feature to over 200 nations and territories. The rollout follows the initial US launch on June 27 and showcases the growing capabilities of Google’s Gemini models. According to Hema Budaraju, vice president of Google Search product management, the expansion lets users ask questions in their preferred language and benefits from the system’s improved natural‑language understanding and multimodal features. Read more →