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I suspect that is more a function of Googles deep pockets. The other players are putting major eggs in self driving, for Google it’s a hobby.
by nytesky 3y ago
I suspect that is more a function of Googles deep pockets. The other players are putting major eggs in self driving, for Google it’s a hobby.
- ra7 3y agoWho else has put more eggs in self driving than Waymo/Google? They have a fully autonomous service running in two cities running 24/7, with two more announced. 700,000+ trips in 2023 so far. They’ve spent tens of billions over the years on R&D, custom sensors and vehicles. That doesn’t sound like a hobby to me.
- pb7 3y agoGoogle is pretty damn good at hobbies then. What is everyone else doing for whom this isn't a hobby? Pretty sad that someone's side hustle is doing better than your "major eggs", no? Waymo pioneered self driving and has been quietly in the lead since. Companies like Tesla and Cruise are all smoke, no fire riding on Waymo's coattails in public perception.
- nytesky 3y agoAutonomous driving is not a core business for Google at this point: almost all profits come from ads, some good chunk of revenues from GSuite and cloud, but autonomous driving is orthogonal to the rest of their business. They have achieved great things, and kept a steady pace, but my point was there is no urgency to "deliver" -- it doesn't really reflect in any way on core business, is not necessary for their survival, but is a moonshot that could really pay off. For Tesla and Cruise, it is much more existential that they are not left behind in self driving.
- pb7 3y agoWaymo is not under Google. It is an independent company under Alphabet, unlike something like Cloud or YouTube for example which are under Google. It has the same leadership but the company is very separate. For Waymo, it is an existential crisis to fail at self driving because Google ad money is not funding Waymo.