Latest news with #Alphabet-backed
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why WeRide Stock Soared Higher This Week
The Chinese autonomous driving company is launching in Saudi Arabia with full commercial operations expected before the end of the year. The company has also launched a pilot program for its sanitation vehicle in Riyadh. The company recently announced a major share repurchase program, signaling confidence. 10 stocks we like better than WeRide › Shares of WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD) are up this week. The company's stock spiked 9% as of 2:19 p.m. ET but was up as much as 16.8% earlier in the week. The jump comes as the S&P 500 rose 1.5% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5%. The Chinese company's stock jumped after it announced a major expansion into Saudi Arabia in partnership with the ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies. The company announced earlier in the week that it will be launching operations in Saudi Arabia, marking a major expansion of its business in the Middle East. Its robotaxis will be available to the public via Uber by the end of the year. WeRide also launched its Robosweeper S1 -- an autonomous sanitation vehicle -- in Riyadh. The company says it is the first "monetized autonomous sanitation project in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East" and expects to further expand the program in the coming year. The news of the Saudi Arabia launch comes just weeks after WeRide announced that its board had approved a substantial share repurchase program of up to $100 million over the next 12 months. The move shows leadership is confident in the company's future and will help drive value for stockholders. WeRide CFO Jennifer Li said of the decision, "The adoption of the share repurchase program reflects our confidence in our business fundamentals, financial health, and long-term outlook, and underscores our commitment to delivering value to shareholders." WeRide is finding success early among a field of many autonomous vehicle competitors in the race to bring autonomous technology to market. However, stiff competition remains from major players like Tesla and Alphabet-backed Waymo. While WeRide still operates deep in the red, it's not unusual for a company in its position and with the launch of commercial operations to have a negative balance. For those with patience and a high risk tolerance, I think WeRide is a good pick. Before you buy stock in WeRide, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and WeRide wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $638,985!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $853,108!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 978% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Tesla, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why WeRide Stock Soared Higher This Week was originally published by The Motley Fool Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Why This Nvidia-Backed Robotaxi Stock Is Skyrocketing Today
Key Points WeRide is significantly expanding its partnership with Uber. The company's robotaxi technology will be introduced to an additional 15 cities worldwide. The company has proven itself as one of the more dynamic robotaxi players. 10 stocks we like better than WeRide › Shares of WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD) were soaring on Tuesday. The stock was up 24% as of 1:45 p.m. ET. The move comes as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slipped by 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively. The autonomous vehicle pioneer yesterday announced a significant expansion of its strategic partnership with Uber Technologies. This drove investor enthusiasm. Image source: Getty Images. WeRide and Uber expand their partnership WeRide and Uber announced a major expansion of their existing partnership on Monday. The companies will add 15 additional cities globally over the next five years -- including locations in Europe -- to the rollout of WeRide's robotaxi services. The announcement makes one of the largest partnerships of its kind in the autonomous vehicle industry and helps accelerate the timeline for WeRide's global deployment of its technology. Under the terms of the partnership, WeRide's robotaxi services will be available through the Uber app in these new markets, while Uber will handle fleet operations. This division of responsibilities plays to each company's strengths: WeRide provides the autonomous technology, and Uber contributes its existing massive user base and operational expertise. The expanded partnership builds on the companies' initial collaboration in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. WeRide could be pulling ahead Yesterday's announcement suggests China-headquartered WeRide is pulling ahead of many autonomous vehicle competitors in the race to actually bring the technology to market. However, stiff competition remains from major players like Tesla and Alphabet-backed Waymo. Uber also announced today it was partnering with Pony AI to roll out in certain Middle East markets, with more to come. WeRide operates deep in the red, but that is not unusual for a company like it. This will change once its technology establishes itself and sales grow. The company's stock is also slightly better priced than Pony AI's, and it has the backing of Nvidia. For those with patience and a high risk tolerance, I think WeRide is a good pick. Should you invest $1,000 in WeRide right now? Before you buy stock in WeRide, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and WeRide wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Zawya
10-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Google deploys AI to speed up connections at PJM, largest US power grid
NEW YORK - Alphabet Inc's Google unit is partnering with the largest electrical grid operator in North America, PJM Interconnection, to roll out artificial intelligence technologies aimed at getting new power supplies connected faster, the company said on Thursday. The collaboration is the first time AI would be used to comprehensively manage an interconnection queue. Electricity demand has been rising as Big Tech builds more data centers to train and deploy artificial intelligence. "The industry has been talking about building smarter grids for well over a decade, and now with AI, we have a real opportunity to turn discussion into action," Amanda Peterson Corio, Google's data center energy lead, said at a press conference. Wait times have grown to historic lengths in recent years for connecting the country's grids to new electricity supplies generated from sources like wind, solar and natural gas. Those delays have worsened an electricity supply crunch in many parts of the country, pushing up power bills and raising the risk of blackouts, as old power plants retire faster than new supplies connects. Google, in partnership with the Alphabet-backed Tapestry, says it can help eliminate at least some of the wait by using artificial intelligence to synthesize information and automate parts of the review and planning processes for projects in line to connect to PJM. "This is really about automating a lot of the things that are being laboriously reviewed," said Page Crahan, General Manager of Tapestry, which will work with PJM to develop AI tools and models that will be rolled out in 2025 and phased in over the course of several years. Initially, the technology will be used to automate parts of processes currently done by hand by grid planners, including a review of applications to determine whether a project seeking to connect to the grid is viable. Over time, the collaboration between Google, Tapestry and PJM will develop a model of the PJM grid like a Google Maps for grid information, "bringing in different layers that planners might need to see in a single toggle on and off view to guide faster decisions, introduce new insights, hopefully find efficiencies in those ways," Crahan said. It remained too early to say how working with Google would cut down on times to add new power plant supply to the system, said Aftab Khan, executive vice president of operations, planning and security for PJM. PJM controls the electrical system that covers 67 million people in the U.S. PJM's territory includes northern Virginia, the world's largest data center hub.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Google deploys AI to speed up connections at PJM, largest US power grid
By Laila Kearney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google unit is partnering with the largest electrical grid operator in North America, PJM Interconnection, to roll out artificial intelligence technologies aimed at getting new power supplies connected faster, the company said on Thursday. The collaboration is the first time AI would be used to comprehensively manage an interconnection queue. Electricity demand has been rising as Big Tech builds more data centers to train and deploy artificial intelligence. "The industry has been talking about building smarter grids for well over a decade, and now with AI, we have a real opportunity to turn discussion into action," Amanda Peterson Corio, Google's data center energy lead, said at a press conference. Wait times have grown to historic lengths in recent years for connecting the country's grids to new electricity supplies generated from sources like wind, solar and natural gas. Those delays have worsened an electricity supply crunch in many parts of the country, pushing up power bills and raising the risk of blackouts, as old power plants retire faster than new supplies connects. Google, in partnership with the Alphabet-backed Tapestry, says it can help eliminate at least some of the wait by using artificial intelligence to synthesize information and automate parts of the review and planning processes for projects in line to connect to PJM. "This is really about automating a lot of the things that are being laboriously reviewed," said Page Crahan, General Manager of Tapestry, which will work with PJM to develop AI tools and models that will be rolled out in 2025 and phased in over the course of several years. Initially, the technology will be used to automate parts of processes currently done by hand by grid planners, including a review of applications to determine whether a project seeking to connect to the grid is viable. Over time, the collaboration between Google, Tapestry and PJM will develop a model of the PJM grid like a Google Maps for grid information, "bringing in different layers that planners might need to see in a single toggle on and off view to guide faster decisions, introduce new insights, hopefully find efficiencies in those ways," Crahan said. It remained too early to say how working with Google would cut down on times to add new power plant supply to the system, said Aftab Khan, executive vice president of operations, planning and security for PJM. PJM controls the electrical system that covers 67 million people in the U.S. PJM's territory includes northern Virginia, the world's largest data center hub.
Reuters
10-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Google deploys AI to speed up connections at PJM, largest US power grid
NEW YORK, April 10 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google unit is partnering with the largest electrical grid operator in North America, PJM Interconnection, to roll out artificial intelligence technologies aimed at getting new power supplies connected faster, the company said on Thursday. The collaboration is the first time AI would be used to comprehensively manage an interconnection queue. Electricity demand has been rising as Big Tech builds more data centers to train and deploy artificial intelligence. "The industry has been talking about building smarter grids for well over a decade, and now with AI, we have a real opportunity to turn discussion into action," Amanda Peterson Corio, Google's data center energy lead, said at a press conference. Wait times have grown to historic lengths in recent years for connecting the country's grids to new electricity supplies generated from sources like wind, solar and natural gas. Those delays have worsened an electricity supply crunch in many parts of the country, pushing up power bills and raising the risk of blackouts, as old power plants retire faster than new supplies connects. Google, in partnership with the Alphabet-backed Tapestry, says it can help eliminate at least some of the wait by using artificial intelligence to synthesize information and automate parts of the review and planning processes for projects in line to connect to PJM. "This is really about automating a lot of the things that are being laboriously reviewed," said Page Crahan, General Manager of Tapestry, which will work with PJM to develop AI tools and models that will be rolled out in 2025 and phased in over the course of several years. Initially, the technology will be used to automate parts of processes currently done by hand by grid planners, including a review of applications to determine whether a project seeking to connect to the grid is viable. Over time, the collaboration between Google, Tapestry and PJM will develop a model of the PJM grid like a Google Maps for grid information, "bringing in different layers that planners might need to see in a single toggle on and off view to guide faster decisions, introduce new insights, hopefully find efficiencies in those ways," Crahan said. It remained too early to say how working with Google would cut down on times to add new power plant supply to the system, said Aftab Khan, executive vice president of operations, planning and security for PJM. PJM controls the electrical system that covers 67 million people in the U.S. PJM's territory includes northern Virginia, the world's largest data center hub.
