Alphabet (GOOGL) Wins $200 Million AI Defense Contract
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Alphabet is the most high profile publicly traded company to secure a lucrative AI contract from the U.S. Defense Department. Other companies that were granted contract awards of up to $200 million for AI work include privately held start-ups Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI.
American defense officials said the awards will help the agency accelerate its adoption of 'advanced AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges.' The selected companies will work to develop AI agents across several mission areas at the Defense Department, although exactly what projects Alphabet and the other companies will work on is not clear.
Strategic Advantage
In a news release, the U.S. Defense Department said, 'The adoption of AI is transforming the Department's ability to support our warfighters and maintain strategic advantage over our adversaries.' This appears to be Alphabet's first contract with the Defense Department specifically for AI.
OpenAI was previously awarded a year-long $200 million contract from the Defense Department in 2024, shortly after it said that it would collaborate with defense technology start-up Anduril to deploy advanced AI systems for 'national security missions.' In June of this year, the company launched OpenAI for Government for U.S. federal, state, and local government workers.
Is GOOGL Stock a Buy?
The stock of Alphabet has a consensus Strong Buy rating among 37 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 28 Buy and nine Hold recommendations issued in the last three months. The average GOOGL price target of $202.24 implies 12.24% upside from current levels.
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Car and Driver
34 minutes ago
- Car and Driver
Unfair Fight? 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX vs. Audi S4 Quattro and BMW 330xi
From the October 2001 issue of Car and Driver. The Law of Diminishing Returns: A yield rate that, after a certain point, fails to increase proportionately to additional outlays of capital or investments of time and labor.* *American Heritage Dictionary, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. Relax, we're not about to launch into a sleep-inducing lecture on money supply, interest rates, and the effects of Alan Greenspan's bedtime rituals on the Gross Domestic Product. The definition is for those of you who are wondering how we could even think of comparing a car costing $25,000 with two that each cost 60 percent more. The question here is: If you spend that extra 60 percent—40 thousand bucks in all—do you get a car that is 60 percent better? In the 40-grand corner we have the Audi S4 Quattro and the BMW 330xi. In the other corner—actually, down in the bargain basement—lurks our underdog, the $24,520 samurai challenger, the Subaru Impreza WRX. Unfair comparison, you say? Duuuh! 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One can only marvel at what Subaru could do with another 15 grand. 1st Place: Audi S4 Quattro View Photos JEFFREY G. RUSSELL | Car and Driver So, you say there's no mystery to the Audi's win. Why wouldn't the most expensive car in the test win? Its as-tested price is $1659 above the BMW's and a universe beyond the Subaru's sticker—exactly $16,262 more. Likewise, you get a ton of stuff—power, torque, valves, features, gears, grip, and pounds in this contest. But you don't get the quickest sprinter to 60 mph. Owing to its greater girth and tires that refuse to break loose at the moment of launch despite our best efforts, the Audi trailed the Subaru to 60 mph by a smidge, 0.1 second. By 100 mph, however, the Audi had picked up enough steam to be a half-second ahead of the two other cars, and it continued to widen the gap to its governed 142-mph top speed. 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Car and Driver Specifications Specifications 2001 Audi S4 Vehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan PRICE Base/As Tested: $40,782/$39,534 ENGINE twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 30-valve V-6, iron block and aluminum heads, port fuel injection Displacement: 163 in3, 2671 cm3 Power: 250 hp @ 5800 rpm Torque: 258 lb-ft @ 1850 rpm TRANSMISSION 6-speed manual CHASSIS Suspension, F/R: multilink/multilimk Brakes, F/R: vented disc/vented disc Tires: Pirelli P6000 225/45YR-17 DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 102.6 in Length: 176.7 in Width: 72.7 in Height: 54.9 in Curb Weight: 3652 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 5.5 sec 1/4-Mile: 14.2 sec @ 97 mph 100 mph: 15.0 sec 120 mph: 23.1 sec Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 6.6 sec Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 8.7 sec Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 7.4 sec Top Speed (gov ltd): 142 mph Braking, 70–0 mph: 164 ft Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.86 g C/D FUEL ECONOMY 950-Mile Trip: 21 mpg EPA FUEL ECONOMY City/Highway: 17/24 mpg -- 2001 BMW 330xi Vehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan PRICE Base/As Tested: $36,385/$39,123 ENGINE DOHC 24-valve inline-6, aluminum block and head, port fuel injection Displacement: 182 in3, 2979 cm3 Power: 225 hp @ 5900 rpm Torque: 214 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm TRANSMISSION 5-speed manual CHASSIS Suspension, F/R: struts/multilink Brakes, F/R: vented disc/vented disc Tires: Continental ContiTouring Contact DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 107.3 in Length: 176.0 in Width: 68.5 in Height: 56.5 in Curb Weight: 3525 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 5.7 sec 1/4-Mile: 14.4 sec @ 96 mph 100 mph: 15.5 sec 120 mph: 25.2 sec Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 6.6 sec Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 8.3 sec Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 8.2 sec Top Speed (gov ltd): 129 mph Braking, 70–0 mph: 175 ft Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.78 g C/D FUEL ECONOMY 950-Mile Trip: 24 mpg EPA FUEL ECONOMY City/Highway: 20/27 mpg -- 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX Vehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan PRICE Base/As Tested: $24,520/$24,520 ENGINE turbocharged and intercooled flat-4, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection Displacement: 122 in3, 1994 cm3 Power: 227 hp @ 6000 rpm Torque: 217 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm TRANSMISSION 5-speed manual CHASSIS Suspension, F/R: struts/struts Brakes, F/R: vented disc/disc Tires: Bridgestone Potenza RE92 205/55VR-16 DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 99.4 in Length: 173.4 in Width: 68.1 in Height: 56.7 in Curb Weight: 3092 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 5.4 sec 1/4-Mile: 14.1 sec @ 96 mph 100 mph: 15.5 sec 120 mph: 25.2 sec Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 6.6 sec Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 14.2 sec Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 10.0 sec Top Speed: 142 mph Braking, 70–0 mph: 181 ft Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.82 g C/D FUEL ECONOMY 950-Mile Trip: 23 mpg EPA FUEL ECONOMY City/Highway: 20/27 mpg C/D TESTING EXPLAINED
Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Putin got a warm Trump meeting. Europe is afraid Zelenskyy won't.
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