| Hi from San Francisco. Waymo is adding paying passengers and reaching deals with partners to try to make its robotaxi service viable. But first... Three things you need to know today: • Even Facebook concluded it couldn’t compete with Google ads
• Iran launched a homemade research satellite into space on Saturday
• Elon Musk’s X was deemed too small to be affected by new EU law You’ve got a lot of options these days for how to get from Point A to Point B, many of them powered by mobile apps to help you make that choice. This past week, we learned some more about where Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo wants to figure in your calculation between cost and convenience. First, to the latest news. The autonomous driving company is jumping in to two new markets, Austin and Atlanta, in collaboration with Uber Technologies Inc. Waymo’s shiny new fleet of Jaguar I-Paces will be dispatched to you in those markets via the ride-hailing giant’s app. Uber will keep them clean and maintained, while Waymo manages the sensor hardware, software and rider support. All this starts at some point next year. From the rider’s point of view, the sensor-adorned Jag will come as a bit of pot luck. When an UberX, Green, Comfort or Comfort Electric is requested in these two new markets, the customer may be matched with a Waymo on trips that qualify. Interestingly, the pricing for that ride would be consistent with a human-driven one. It’s an important first step for Waymo, which will become a real option alongside all other transit that’s available in two major US cities. Waymo and Uber are frenemies because, even though they’re helping each other out, any Waymo expansion comes at a cost to Uber drivers — who rely on the app for their livelihoods and would be affected even in markets where demand exceeds supply. The bigger goal that Waymo is working toward is securing a lane for itself in this market with a focus on becoming a premium choice, based on what co-Chief Executive Officer Tekedra Mawakana told me on Bloomberg Television. Right now, Waymo is used for a mixture of short trips that are built on convenience, novelty and safety. But the deal with Uber begins an exploration of whether consumers will also want a robotic chauffeur to take them from home or office to the airport or other transit hubs. Away from Atlanta and Austin, Waymo operates its own show — for now — in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles. To date, Waymo has driven more than 22 million miles with no one in the driver’s seat across those markets. “When you talk about the economics, we are a premium service,” Mawakana said. “People are paying for the consistency and the safety of the Waymo driver and the Waymo service.” The airport commute has emerged as a point of focus because Waymo’s driverless rides can offer a measure of privacy that an Uber, friend or public transport cannot. Plus, for visitors, there’s the novelty of trying new tech. Even in the medium term, that’s an exciting market opportunity. Recently, Waymo started offering pickup and dropoff 24/7 at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor, and talks are ongoing with San Francisco International Airport officials, Mawakana told me. Waymo has started doing freeway rides around SF, only available to employees for now, that will be a big part of unlocking trips between downtown and SFO when approved.
Mawakana, a veteran of the tech industry, smartly sidestepped questions on the specific economics that Waymo envisions. But I do think it’s significant and deliberate to hone in on the word “premium.” When asked about Alphabet’s recent commitment to invest $5 billion in Waymo, she was keen to emphasize that the company has been hammering away at its expenditures. Still, those special-edition, retrofitted Jaguars cost a lot, and we know that the 100,000 weekly paid rides that Waymo announced aren’t nearly enough. “We are laser-focused on scaling this technology,” Mawakana said. “That investment, while a big number, does not represent an overall growth in our trajectory because we have been very diligent in bringing down our cost structure.” Now with the Uber deal, Waymo has a little more help and is a little closer to that goal of making its premium economics work.—Ed Ludlow On the first episode of the new season of The Future with Hannah Fry, the professor, mathematician and writer explores the promise of AI as she witnesses robots struggling with simple tasks humans take for granted. She also speaks with experts who warn that, given the trillions of dollars being spent on AI research and the even larger potential for profit, it’s unlikely the tech barons of Silicon Valley will prioritize safety in their race. Cloud computing firm CoreWeave is in talks to sell shares at a $23 billion valuation. Jailed FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried is asking for a new trial, blaming a judge for preventing him from mounting a proper defense. SAP Chief Technology Officer Jürgen Müller faces a criminal probe in Germany over a sexual harassment claim. Talks to merge DirecTV and Dish are back on, rekindling a potential deal that could create the largest pay-TV provider in the US. | 
