Google’s “Other Bets”

I’m using the day to catch up on a bunch of reading. I came across this story about Alphabet’s Waymo division hitting another milestone – they’re now the first company to charge passengers money for an automated taxi service on the streets of the real world. Reuters says a 15 minute / 3 mile ride will cost the select group of riders invited to try their app approximately $7. They’ve been developing the technology to do this for ten years now and have driven millions of miles on the roads of Arizona, California, etc.

And now they’re beginning to commercialize, beating Uber and GM’s Cruise unit to the punch.

You can read about it here:

Waymo unveils self-driving taxi service in Arizona for paying customers (Reuters)

I asked my followers about driverless cars this morning in a poll. Here was the their response to the question of whether a baby born next year will have a need for driving:

My kids are 12 and 9 – as teenagers in a few years, would I be more comfortable allowing them to be in a teenage friend’s car, in an automated taxi operated by Waymo without a human driver, or with a stranger who is driving with Uber as a contractor? Or, none of the above, hang on kids I’ll get my shoes on and drive you…

Speaking of Alphabet, there was a story about one of the company’s other initiatives that it classifies as “Google X” or “Other Bets” – a drone delivery service known as Wing. The idea of using unmanned miniature aircraft to drop deliveries of food, medicine and other materials is something that Amazon is also hard at work on, but not many people realize Alphabet is also going to be a player there. Wing has been in development for six years at Alphabet.

18 months ago the company began testing its service in remote areas of Australia, bringing Ben & Jerry’s ice cream pints to koala bears or some shit, I don’t know.

You can watch their video here:

This week Wing announced its launch into Finland. You can read more about it at their official site.

Alphabet’s stock has been bruised and beaten in the last couple of months just like the rest of the technology sector, but investors thinking beyond the current cycle and far into the future have no shortage of projects to be excited about.

Full disclosure, I own some shares of Alphabet stock, for a long time, and clients in our strategies will have exposure to GOOGL given the size of its market cap and prevalence in funds and indices. 

This content, which contains security-related opinions and/or information, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in any manner as professional advice, or an endorsement of any practices, products or services. There can be no guarantees or assurances that the views expressed here will be applicable for any particular facts or circumstances, and should not be relied upon in any manner. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment.

The commentary in this “post” (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of the Ritholtz Wealth Management employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded the views of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. or its respective affiliates or as a description of advisory services provided by Ritholtz Wealth Management or performance returns of any Ritholtz Wealth Management Investments client.

References to any securities or digital assets, or performance data, are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.

Wealthcast Media, an affiliate of Ritholtz Wealth Management, receives payment from various entities for advertisements in affiliated podcasts, blogs and emails. Inclusion of such advertisements does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Content Creator or by Ritholtz Wealth Management or any of its employees. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. For additional advertisement disclaimers see here: https://www.ritholtzwealth.com/advertising-disclaimers

Please see disclosures here.

What's been said:

Discussions found on the web
  1. Google’s “Other Bets” – Financial Solutions commented on Dec 05

    […] I’m using the day to catch up on a bunch of reading. I came across this story about Alphabet’s Waymo division hitting another milestone – they’re now the first company to charge passengers money for an automated taxi service on the streets of the real world. Reuters says a 15 minute / 3 mile ride will cost the select group of riders invited to try their app approximately $7. They’ve been deve… Source: https://thereformedbroker.com/2018/12/05/googles-other-bets/ […]

  2. click here commented on Sep 14

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Information here on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2018/12/05/googles-other-bets/ […]

  3. pinewswire commented on Sep 23

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2018/12/05/googles-other-bets/ […]

  4. bitcoin evolution review 2020 commented on Sep 23

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2018/12/05/googles-other-bets/ […]

  5. How do I start a Bitcoin loophole? commented on Sep 25

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you can find 6656 additional Information on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2018/12/05/googles-other-bets/ […]

  6. What is quality engineering commented on Nov 11

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you will find 81689 additional Information on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2018/12/05/googles-other-bets/ […]

  7. enter tangerine commented on Nov 12

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2018/12/05/googles-other-bets/ […]