An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica:

> Multiple studies and investigations have found that about half of American households watch TV and movies with subtitles on, but only a relatively small portion of those include someone with a hearing disability. That's because of the trouble many people have understanding dialogue in modern viewing situations, and Netflix has now [1]introduced a subtitles option to help.

>

> The closed captioning we've all been using for years includes not only the words the people on-screen are saying, but additional information needed by the hard of hearing, including character names, music cues ("dramatic music intensifies") and sound effects ("loud explosion"). For those who just wanted to make sure they didn't miss a word here and there, the frequent descriptions of sound effects and music could be distracting. This new format [2]omits those extras, just including the spoken words and nothing else -- even in the same language as the spoken dialogue. The feature will be available in new Netflix original programming, starting with the new season of You in multiple languages. Netflix says it's looking at bringing the option to older titles in the library (including those not produced by Netflix) in the future.

>

> Traditional closed captions are still available, of course. Those are labeled "English CC" whereas this new option is simply labeled "English" (or whatever your preferred language is).



[1] https://about.netflix.com/en/news/introducing-a-new-way-to-experience-subtitles

[2] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/04/cant-understand-dialogue-on-tv-shows-netflix-has-a-new-feature-for-you/

TV producer Alex Berger criticized Apple TV+ as " [1]the worst marketer in the universe " for failing to promote his French-language show La Maison, despite its success in Europe. Berger said he initially partnered with Apple out of hope, but ultimately felt they undermined their own content by not supporting it properly. 9to5Mac reports:

> Rafa Sales Ross at Variety [2]recently interviewed TV producer Alex Berger, who made La Maison for Apple TV+. That partnership is apparently not one he intends to repeat: "Marketing makes a show," he emphasized. "Apple, for example, is probably the worst marketer in the universe -- the best for iPhones, the worst for television. They don't do marketing, and it was an issue for us with 'La Maison.' We did a great show that had an amazing success in France and other places in Europe, but they never promoted it. It drove me crazy."

>

> Asked why, while believing Apple TV+ to lack in marketing efforts, did he decide to take "La Maison" to the streamer, Berger said simply: "Hope. We had hope." "Apple TV+ had never done a show in France and never really done a show in Europe," adds the producer. "'Slow Horses' started [things] in the U.K., but it was with the U.S.. I was hoping I would change them. We got very frustrated and just thought at one point that they were shooting themselves in the foot, and why?

"La Maison faced the additional challenge of being a French-language series, at the time one of the only non-English shows on the streamer," notes 9to5Mac's Ryan Christoffel. "So it had an uphill battle already, making Apple's marketing struggles even more of a problem."



[1] https://9to5mac.com/2025/04/25/apple-tv-is-worst-marketer-in-the-universe-says-producer/

[2] https://variety.com/2025/tv/global/the-agency-alex-berger-george-clooney-streamers-1236378282/

YKK, the world's largest zipper maker, has [1]unveiled a prototype self-propelled zipper that [2]uses a motorized worm gear to zip itself closed at the push of a button . It currently relies on a wired remote and external power, and can zip spans up to 16 feet in under a minute. The Verge reports:

> Although some recent zipper innovations, such as [3]Under Armour's one-handed MagZip upgrade , are designed to improve accessibility and make zippers easier to use for those with limited mobility, YKK envisions more industrial use cases for its prototype. As demonstrated in a video recently shared on the company's YouTube channel, the self-propelled zipper is seen connecting a pair of 16-foot-tall membranes in about 40 seconds. Zipping them together manually would require the use of a ladder or other machinery.

>

> In another video, the prototype is used to quickly connect a pair of 13-foot-wide temporary shelters standing over eight feet tall, taking about 50 seconds to progress from one side to the other. [...] In addition to miniaturizing the tech and adding a battery, YKK would also need to develop some safety mechanisms before its self-propelled zipper could ever reach consumers' clothing, ensuring there's nothing that might get stuck.



[1] https://www.ykk.com/newsroom/g_news/2025/20250424.html

[2] https://www.theverge.com/news/656535/ykk-self-propelled-zipper-prototype

[3] https://gearjunkie.com/apparel/under-armour-magzip-zipper-review

Some developers are "crying foul" after Microsoft's C/C++ extension for Visual Studio Code [1]stopped working with VS Code derivatives like VS Codium and Cursor , reports The Register. The move has prompted Cursor to transition to open-source alternatives, while some developers are calling for a regulatory investigation into Microsoft's alleged anti-competitive behavior. From the report:

> In early April, programmers using VS Codium, an open-source fork of Microsoft's MIT-licensed VS Code, and Cursor, a commercial AI code assistant built from the VS Code codebase, noticed that the [2]C/C++ extension [3]stopped [4]working . The extension adds C/C++ language support, such as Intellisense code completion and debugging, to VS Code. The removal of these capabilities from competing tools breaks developer workflows, hobbles the editor, and arguably hinders competition. The breaking change appears to have occurred with the release of v1.24.5 on April 3, 2025.

>

> Following the April update, attempts to install the C/C++ extension outside of VS Code generate this error message: "The C/C++ extension may be used only with Microsoft Visual Studio, Visual Studio for Mac, Visual Studio Code, Azure DevOps, Team Foundation Server, and successor Microsoft products and services to develop and test your applications." Microsoft has forbidden the use of its extensions outside of its own software products since at least September 2020, when the current licensing terms were published. But it hasn't enforced those terms in its C/C++ extension with an environment check in its binaries until now. [...]

>

> Developers discussing the issue in Cursor's GitHub repo have noted that Microsoft [5]recently rolled out a competing AI software agent capability, dubbed Agent Mode, within its Copilot software. One such developer who contacted us anonymously told The Register they sent a letter about the situation to the US Federal Trade Commission, asking them to probe Microsoft for unfair competition -- alleging self-preferencing, bundling Copilot without a removal option, and blocking rivals like Cursor to lock users into its AI ecosystem.



[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/24/microsoft_vs_code_subtracts_cc_extension/

[2] https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode.cpptools

[3] https://github.com/getcursor/cursor/issues/2976

[4] https://github.com/VSCodium/vscodium/issues/2300

[5] https://x.com/code/status/1908207162322460710

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica:

> Comcast executives apparently realized something that customers have known and complained about for years: The Internet provider's prices aren't transparent enough and rise too frequently. This might not have mattered much to cable executives as long as the total number of subscribers met their targets. But after [1]reporting a net loss of 183,000 residential broadband customers in Q1 2025, Comcast President Mike Cavanagh [2]said the company isn't "winning in the marketplace " during an [3]earnings call today. The Q1 2025 customer loss was over three times larger than the net loss in Q1 2024.

>

> While customers often have few viable options for broadband and the availability of alternatives varies widely by location, Comcast faces competition from fiber and fixed wireless ISPs. "In this intensely competitive environment, we are not winning in the marketplace in a way that is commensurate with the strength of the network and connectivity products that I just described," Cavanagh said. "[Cable division CEO] Dave [Watson] and his team have worked hard to understand the reasons for this disconnect and have identified two primary causes. One is price transparency and predictability and the other is the level of ease of doing business with us. The good news is that both are fixable and we are already underway with execution plans to address these challenges." [...]

>

> Cavanagh said that Comcast plans to make changes in marketing and operations "with the highest urgency." This means that "we are simplifying our pricing construct to make our price-to-value proposition clearer to consumers across all broadband segments," he said. Comcast last week [4]announced a five-year price guarantee for broadband customers who sign up for a new package. Comcast said customers will get a "simple monthly price starting as low as $55 per month," without having to enter a contract, giving them "freedom and flexibility to cancel at any time without penalty." The five-year guarantee also comes with one year of Xfinity Mobile at no charge, Comcast said. [...] Additional offers are in the works, Cavanagh said. "We are not done. Providing more value to our customers with less complexity and friction is a top priority and you will see our go-to-market approach continue to evolve over the coming months," he said. Comcast investors shouldn't expect an immediate turnaround, though. "We anticipate that it will take several quarters for our new approach to gain traction and impact the business in a meaningful way," Cavanagh said.



[1] https://www.cmcsa.com/static-files/7f0f826a-6462-426b-a767-cb3170d7cdf0

[2] https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/04/after-losing-customers-comcast-admits-prices-are-too-confusing-and-unpredictable/

[3] https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/xurtaib2/

[4] https://corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/comcast-launches-five-year-guarantee-for-xfinity-internet-customers

Families earning $300,000 annually -- placing them among America's highest earners -- are increasingly finding themselves [1]unable to afford elite college tuition without taking on substantial debt. Bloomberg's analysis of financial aid data from 50 selective colleges reveals households earning between $100,000 and $300,000 occupy a precarious middle ground: too affluent for meaningful aid but insufficiently wealthy to absorb annual costs approaching $100,000.

The squeeze begins around $150,000 income, where families typically contribute 20% ($30,000) annually toward tuition. At $270,000 income, expected contributions reach $61,000 per year. Most institutions eliminate financial aid entirely at approximately $400,000 income. Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania recently [2]expanded free tuition thresholds to $200,000 , acknowledging this middle-class pressure. The changes take effect for 2025-26.



[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-college-cost-middle-class-squeeze/

[2] https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/03/17/1740242/harvard-says-tuition-will-be-free-for-families-making-200k-or-less

An anonymous reader [1]shares a Nature story :

> The United States is known for the deep polarization between its two major political parties -- the right-wing Republicans and left-wing Democrats. Now an analysis of hundreds of thousands of policy documents reveals striking differences in partisan policymakers' use of the scientific literature, with Democratic-led congressional committees and left-wing think tanks more likely to cite research papers than their right-wing counterparts. The analysis also shows that Democrats and left-leaning think tanks are more likely to cite high-impact research, and that the two political sides rarely cite the same studies or even the same topics.

>

> "There are striking differences in amount, content and character of the science cited by partisan policymakers," says Alexander Furnas, a political scientist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and a co-author of [2]the analysis , published in Science on 24 April. The researchers used the government-policy database Overton to assemble around 50,000 policy documents produced by US congressional committees in 1995-2021 and around 200,000 reports from 121 ideologically driven US think tanks over a similar period. These documents contained 424,000 scientific references.

>

> A statistical analysis revealed that congressional reports are now more likely to cite science papers than before. But, in each two-year congressional cycle, documents from committees under Democratic control had a higher probability of citing research papers, and the gap between the two parties has increased. Overall, documents from Democratic-controlled committees were nearly 1.8 times more likely to cite science than were reports from Republican-led ones. The differences were starkest for reports produced by partisan think tanks, which the researchers say are "key resources for partisan policymakers." Left-leaning think tanks were 5 times more likely to cite science than right-leaning ones. And there was little overlap between the science referenced by the two sides: just 5-6% of studies were cited by both groups.



[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01311-9

[2] https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adt9895

Intel is grappling with an unexpected market shift as customers eschew its new AI-focused processors [1]for cheaper previous-generation chips . The company revealed during its recent earnings call that demand for older Raptor Lake processors has surged while its newer, more expensive Lunar Lake and Meteor Lake AI PC chips struggle to gain traction.

This surprising trend, first reported by Tom's Hardware, has created a production capacity shortage for Intel's 'Intel 7' process node that will "persist for the foreseeable future," despite the fact that current-generation chips utilize TSMC's newer nodes. "Customers are demanding system price points that consumers really want," explained Intel executive Michelle Johnston Holthaus, noting that economic concerns and tariffs have affected inventory decisions.



[1] https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/intels-ai-pc-chips-arent-selling-instead-last-gen-raptor-lake-booms-and-creates-a-shortage

Microsoft has finally [1]released Windows Recall to the general public , nearly a year after [2]first announcing the controversial feature . Available exclusively on Copilot+ PCs, Recall continuously captures screenshots of user activity, storing them in a searchable database with extracted text. The feature's original launch was derailed by significant security concerns, as critics noted anyone with access to a Recall database could potentially view nearly everything done on the device.

Microsoft's revamped version addresses these issues with improved security protections, better content filtering for sensitive information, and crucially, making Recall opt-in rather than opt-out. The rollout includes two additional Copilot+ features: an improved Search function with natural language understanding, and "Click to Do," which enables text copying from images and quick summarization of on-screen content.



[1] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/04/microsoft-rolls-windows-recall-out-to-the-public-nearly-a-year-after-announcing-it/

[2] https://it.slashdot.org/story/24/06/14/0318213/microsoft-postpones-windows-recall-after-major-backlash

The head of the Swiss National Bank said on Friday that cryptocurrencies [1]failed to meet the institution's currency reserve standards , rebuffing calls by crypto advocates that it hold bitcoin as a hedge against growing global economic risks. From a report:

> Cryptocurrency campaigners are ramping up pressure on the SNB to buy bitcoin, arguing that the economic turmoil triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs made it more important for the central bank to diversify its reserves. They have launched a referendum campaign to change the Swiss constitution and require the SNB to hold bitcoin in its reserves alongside gold. SNB Chairman Martin Schlegel, however, rejected the idea at the central bank's shareholder meeting in Bern.



[1] https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/swiss-national-bank-chairman-rebuffs-bitcoin-reserve-asset-2025-04-25/

An anonymous reader shares a report:

> At Microsoft's annual executive huddle last month, the company's chief financial officer, Amy Hood, put up a slide that charted the number of users for its Copilot consumer AI tool over the past year. It was essentially a flat line, showing around 20 million weekly users. On the same slide was another line showing ChatGPT's growth over the same period, arching ever upward toward 400 million weekly users.

>

> OpenAI's iconic chatbot was soaring, [1]while Microsoft's best hope for a mass-adoption AI tool was idling . It was a sobering chart for Microsoft's consumer AI team and the man who's been leading it for the past year, Mustafa Suleyman. Microsoft brought Suleyman [2]aboard in March of 2024 , along with much of the talent at his struggling AI startup Inflection, in return for a $650 million licensing fee that made Inflection's investors whole, and then some.

>

> [...] Yet from the very start, people inside the company told me they were skeptical. Many outsiders have struggled to make an impact or even survive at Microsoft, a company that's full of lifers who cut their tech teeth in a different era. My skeptical sources noted Suleyman's previous run at a big company hadn't gone well, with Google stripping him of some management responsibilities following complaints of how he treated staff, the Wall Street Journal reported at the time. There was also much eye-rolling at the fact that Suleyman was given the title of CEO of Microsoft AI. That designation is typically reserved for the top executive at companies it acquires and lets operate semi-autonomously, such as LinkedIn or Github.



[1] https://www.newcomer.co/p/microsofts-big-ai-hire-cant-match

[2] https://slashdot.org/story/24/03/19/1614200/microsoft-hires-deepmind-co-founder-suleyman-to-run-consumer-ai-hires-most-of-inflection-ai-startup-staff

Microsoft will remove its Maps app from the Microsoft Store in July 2025, delivering an "update" that [1]renders the application completely nonfunctional . Following the cutoff, users won't be able to reinstall the app even if previously downloaded, according to a Microsoft support document. While the app will retain personal data like saved navigation routes and map URLs, this information will become unusable after the deprecation.

The Maps application, a remnant from the Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile era, will disappear completely while Bing Maps will continue functioning as a web service through bing.com/maps. Microsoft hasn't provided specific reasoning for the decision to sunset the desktop application, which has existed as an increasingly anachronistic holdover from Microsoft's abandoned mobile platform efforts.



[1] https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-kills-windows-maps-app/

The iconic "You Wouldn't Steal a Car" anti-piracy campaign, which dramatically equated digital piracy with physical theft, appears to have [1]used a pirated font in its own materials . New evidence indicates the campaign utilized "XBAND Rough," a free clone of the commercial "FF Confidential" font, which requires a license.

TorrentFreak independently confirmed campaign materials from 2005 embedded the XBAND Rough font rather than the original created by Just Van Rossum in 1992. Researchers discovered the font in PDF files hosted on the campaign's official website. Van Rossum, FF Confidential's creator, called the revelation "hilarious" when informed by TorrentFreak. "I knew my font was used for the campaign and that a pirated clone named XBand-Rough existed. I did not know that the campaign used XBand-Rough," he said.



[1] https://torrentfreak.com/you-wouldnt-steal-a-car-but-would-you-pirate-a-font-250424/

Pete Koomen, a Y Combinator partner, argues that current AI applications often fail by [1]unnecessarily constraining their underlying models , much like early automobiles that mimicked horse-drawn carriages rather than reimagining transportation. In his detailed critique, Koomen uses Gmail's AI email draft feature as a prime example. The tool generates formal, generic emails that don't match users' actual writing styles, often producing drafts longer than what users would naturally write.

The critical flaw, according to Koomen, is that users cannot customize the system prompt -- the instructions that tell the AI how to behave. "When an LLM agent is acting on my behalf I should be allowed to teach it how to do that by editing the System Prompt," Koomen writes. Koomen suggests AI is actually better at reading and transforming text than generating it. His vision for truly useful AI email tools involves automating mundane work -- categorizing, prioritizing, and drafting contextual replies based on personalized rules -- rather than simply generating content from scratch. The essay argues that developers should build "agent builders" instead of agents, allowing users to teach AI systems their preferences and patterns.



[1] https://koomen.dev/essays/horseless-carriages/

Apple plans to [1]shift the assembly of all US-sold iPhones to India [ [2]alternative source ] as soon as next year, according to Financial Times, which cites people familiar with the matter, as President Donald Trump's trade war forces the tech giant to pivot away from China. From the report:

> The push builds on Apple's strategy to diversify its supply chain but goes further and faster than investors appreciate, with a goal to source from India the entirety of the more than 60 million iPhones sold annually in the US by the end of 2026.



[1] https://www.ft.com/content/c2be45b8-cfad-4cbb-9a1a-bfd0626be372

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/apr/25/apple-source-us-iphones-india-china-trump-trade-war

The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have [1]withdrawn several statements regarding banks' crypto-related activities in an effort to support innovation and clarify current policies. From a report:

> Two joint statements from 2023 on liquidity and other risks regarding banks' crypto-related activities were [2]pulled on Thursday , the FDIC said. The move aims to clarify that banking organizations may engage in crypto activities so long as they are consistent with current laws and regulations. Banks may also provide products and services to people and firms engaged in crypto-related activities, the FDIC said. Providing more clarity on banks' crypto activities in the coming weeks and months is being considered, the agencies said.



[1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-reserve-fdic-pull-statements-on-crypto-1f2cad55

[2] https://www.fdic.gov/news/press-releases/2025/agencies-withdraw-joint-statements-crypto-assets

Legacy search brand Yahoo has been working on its own web browser prototype, and says it would [1]like to buy Google's Chrome if the company is forced by a court to sell it. From a report:

> The information came out during the fourth day of the Justice Department's remedies trial to rectify Google's search monopoly. The DOJ has -- among other proposals -- requested Judge Amit Mehta break up Google by requiring it sell its Chrome browser, which the agency says is a key distribution channel for its popular search engine that's amassed too much power for anyone else to compete. Yahoo isn't the only company interested in buying Chrome. While DuckDuckGo's CEO said they wouldn't be able to afford it, witnesses from Perplexity and OpenAI both expressed interest in the popular browser on the stand this week.

Yahoo obviously isn't worth Chrome's estimated price tag of tens of billions of dollars. So the company is saying that its owner, the hedge fund giant Apollo, will help bankroll the purchase should the opportunity present itself.



[1] https://www.theverge.com/policy/655975/yahoo-search-web-browser-prototype-google-trial-antitrust-chrome

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch:

> Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said this week on the [1]TBPN podcast that one reason Perplexity is building its own browser is to [2]collect data on everything users do outside of its own app . This so it can sell premium ads. "That's kind of one of the other reasons we wanted to build a browser, is we want to get data even outside the app to better understand you," Srinivas said. "Because some of the prompts that people do in these AIs is purely work-related. It's not like that's personal."

>

> And work-related queries won't help the AI company build an accurate-enough dossier. "On the other hand, what are the things you're buying; which hotels are you going [to]; which restaurants are you going to; what are you spending time browsing, tells us so much more about you," he explained. Srinivas believes that Perplexity's browser users will be fine with such tracking because the ads should be more relevant to them. "We plan to use all the context to build a better user profile and, maybe you know, through our discover feed we could show some ads there," he said. The browser, named Comet, suffered setbacks but is on track to be launched in May, Srinivas said.



[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZkDPtE4WmA&themeRefresh=1

[2] https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/24/perplexity-ceo-says-its-browser-will-track-everything-users-do-online-to-sell-hyper-personalized-ads/

New Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has [1]mandated that employees return to the office four days a week starting September 1 to boost collaboration and decision-making. Tan also signaled upcoming job cuts and organizational changes, including a flatter management structure and fewer meetings. "When we spend time together in person, it fosters more engaging and productive discussion and debate," Tan wrote in a note to employees posted on Intel's website Thursday. "It drives better and faster decision-making. And it strengthens our connection with colleagues." Oregon Live reports:

> Intel factory workers and many researchers are already on site every day, in cleanrooms and labs. But Intel has thousands of employees in corporate roles who have spent at least part of their time working from home since the pandemic. The company adopted a "hybrid-first" approach in 2021, allowing most employees the flexibility to work from home much of the time. More recently, it sought to have workers on site about three days a week.

>

> "Adherence to this policy has been uneven at best," Tan said Thursday. "I strongly believe that our sites need to be vibrant hubs of collaboration that reflect our culture in action." Intel is Oregon's largest corporate employer, with 20,000 employees in the state, so bringing workers back to the office will have a big impact and could set a benchmark for other organizations. [...] On Thursday, Tan said he wants fewer and smaller meetings to free up employees to do their work. He also told employees to expect "several months" of job cuts, but Tan didn't specify how many positions he plans to eliminate.



[1] https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2025/04/intel-says-employees-must-return-to-the-office-4-days-a-week.html

The Sydney-based CADA station [1]secretly used an AI-generated host named "Thy " for its weekday shows over six months without disclosure. The Sydney Morning Herald reports:

> After initial questioning from Stephanie Coombes in [2]The Carpet newsletter , it was revealed that the station used ElevenLabs -- a generative AI audio platform that transforms text into speech -- to create Thy, whose likeness and voice were cloned from a real employee in the ARN finance team. The Australian Communications and Media Authority said there were currently no specific restrictions on the use of AI in broadcast content, and no obligation to disclose its use.

>

> An ARN spokesperson said the company was exploring how new technology could enhance the listener experience. "We've been trialling AI audio tools on CADA, using the voice of Thy, an ARN team member. This is a space being explored by broadcasters globally, and the trial has offered valuable insights." However, it has also "reinforced the power of real personalities in driving compelling content," the spokesperson added.

>

> The Australian Financial Review reported that Workdays with Thy has been broadcast on CADA since November, and was reported to have reached at least 72,000 people in last month's ratings. Vice president of the Australian Association of Voice Actors, Teresa Lim, said CADA's failure to disclose its use of AI reinforces how necessary legislation around AI labelling has become. "AI can be such a powerful and positive tool in broadcasting if there are correct safeguards in place," she said. "Authenticity and truth are so important for broadcast media. The public deserves to know what the source is of what's being broadcast ... We need to have these discussions now before AI becomes so advanced that it's too difficult to regulate."



[1] http://smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/thy-has-been-on-the-radio-for-six-months-turns-out-she-isn-t-real-20250424-p5ltxi.html

[2] https://www.thecarpet.com.au/p/meet-thy-the-radio-host-i-dont-think

Waymo is now [1]providing over 250,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in the U.S. , up from 200,000 in February, as it expands into cities like Austin and grows partnerships with Uber and automakers. CNBC reports:

> "We can't possibly do it all ourselves," said Pichai on a call with analysts for Alphabet's first-quarter earnings. Pichai noted that Waymo has not entirely defined its long-term business model, and there is "future optionality around personal ownership" of vehicles equipped with Waymo's self-driving technology. The company is also exploring the ways it can scale up its operations, he said.

>

> The 250,000 paid rides per week are up from 200,000 in February, before Waymo opened in Austin and expanded in the San Francisco Bay Area in March. Waymo, which is part of Alphabet's Other Bets segment, is already running its commercial, driverless ride-hailing services in the San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin regions.



[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/24/waymo-reports-250000-paid-robotaxi-rides-per-week-in-us.html