Waymo approved by regulator to expand robotaxi service in Los Angeles, San Francisco Peninsula
Passengers ride in an electric Waymo full self-driving technology in Santa Monica
Allen J. Schaben | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
Alphabet’s Waymo robotaxi unit won approval from the California Public Utilities Commission to expand service to parts of Los Angeles and the Bay Area, according to a notice posted to the regulator’s website on Friday.
“Waymo may begin fared driverless passenger service operations in the specified areas of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Peninsula, effective today,” the release said.
In mid-February, Waymo initiated a voluntary recall filing notice with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, saying it would fix software issues. The recall followed two previously undisclosed incidents that occurred in Phoenix on Dec. 11, in which unmanned Waymo vehicles crashed into the same towed pickup truck within minutes of each other.
The collisions added to existing concerns about autonomous vehicle use in California. Competing taxi and transit service providers and labor activists are worried about the loss of drivers’ jobs, while safety advocates wrote letters to regulators and politicians asking them to thwart Waymo’s expansion in the state.
The CPUC in February had suspended Waymo’s expansion efforts for up to 120 days to provide for added review time.
In its letter on Friday, the regulator said it was approving the new proposal, due in part to “Waymo’s updated Passenger Safety Plan (PSP), submitted in connection with its expanded operational design domain (ODD) for deployment,” which was also approved by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
“We’re grateful to the CPUC for this vote of confidence in our operations, which paves the way for the deployment of our commercial Waymo One service in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Peninsula,” a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement.
Waymo’s progress in California comes after General Motors-owned Cruise and Apple bowed out of the autonomous vehicle business in California, while Elon Musk’s Tesla has yet to develop an autonomous vehicle that can safely operate without a human driver at the controls.
California regulators halted operations of self-driving Cruise robotaxis in October after a series of incidents, including one that resulted in a robotaxi rolling over a pedestrian who had first been hit by a human-driven car and was then pulled forward about 20 feet by the Cruise vehicle.
Waymo’s new approvals allow the company’s robotaxis to operate close to Tesla’s Palo Alto engineering headquarters in San Mateo County.
The latest notice applies to the commercial ride-sharing service Waymo One. The company has deployed testing vehicles in those areas for several years.
A cartoon image of US President-elect Donald Trump with cryptocurrency tokens, depicted in front of the White House to mark his inauguration, displayed at a Coinhero store in Hong Kong, China, on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The $TRUMP meme coin jumped more than 50% on Wednesday after the top 220 holders of the token were promised dinner with the president.
“Have Dinner in Washington, D.C. With President Trump,” reads a message on the front page of the Trump coin’s website. The dinner — black tie optional — is scheduled for May 22, with a reception for the top 25 wallets. A “VIP White House Tour” will take place the following day, the site says.
The price spike gives the $TRUMP coins in circulation a total value of $2.7 billion. It had by far the biggest move of any cryptocurrency, outpacing Sui, which is up 23%, according to CoinMarketCap.
The Trump coin debuted in January, just ahead of the inauguration, offering an early indication of the president’s willingness to embrace crypto and the wealth creation it offers him and his family. The project’s market cap soared to $15 billion almost instantly, fueled by Trump’s posts on Truth Social and X declaring, “It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING!” Within days it had lost most of its value.
First Lady Melania Trump launched her own coin — $MELANIA — as well. It briefly topped $2 billion in market value before crashing alongside $TRUMP.
Shortly after the launch of the $TRUMP and $MELANIA coins, the SEC issued guidance stating that meme tokens don’t qualify as securities, effectively shielding the projects from immediate regulatory scrutiny.
So far, just 20% of $TRUMP’s supply has been available to trade. The remaining 80% — held by insiders — remains locked under a three-year vesting schedule. The first tranche is scheduled to unlock soon, freeing up millions of dollars worth of tokens for sale and potentially allowing President Trump and project insiders to cash in on Wednesday’s pop.
As with most meme coins, there is no underlying product or service. The project’s website claims that 80% of the token supply is held by the Trump Organization and affiliated entities.
WATCH: Digital Assets Council Director Bo Hines on the priorities for Trump’s crypto working group
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna speaks at the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, on March 11, 2025.
Andy Wenstrand | Sxsw Conference & Festivals | Getty Images
IBM reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the first quarter on Wednesday.
Here’s how the company performed:
- Earnings per share: $1.60 adjusted vs. $1.40 expected
- Revenue: $14.54 billion vs. $14.4 billion expected
Revenue increased 0.6% in the quarter from $14.5 billion a year earlier, according to a statement. Net income slid to $1.06 billion, or $1.12 per share, from $1.61 billion, or $1.72 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.
For 2025, IBM reiterated its expectation for $13.5 billion in free cash flow and 5% revenue growth at constant currency. At current exchange rates, currency will provide 150 basis points of benefit for 2025 growth, down from the company’s forecast of 200 basis points in January.
Management called for $16.4 billion to $16.75 billion in second-quarter revenue. The middle of the range, $16.58 billion, is ahead of the LSEG consensus of $16.33 billion.
“We remain bullish on the long-term growth opportunities for technology and the global economy,” IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said in the statement. “While the macroeconomic environment is fluid, based on what we know today, we are maintaining our full-year expectations for revenue growth and free cash flow.”
In the first quarter, software revenue rose 7% to $6.34 billion, in line with the consensus among analysts polled by StreetAccount. The hybrid cloud software category that includes Red Hat grew 12%, compared with 16% in the fourth quarter.
IBM’s consulting unit contributed $5.07 billion in revenue, which was down 2% and slightly above StreetAccount’s $5.05 billion consensus.
The company’s infrastructure division, which includes mainframe computers, posted a 6% decline in revenue to $2.89 billion, higher than the $2.76 billion consensus. Earlier this month, IBM introduced its z17 mainframe. Infrastructure revenue growth generally picks up as customers adopt the next generation and then drifts down late in the cycle.
During the first quarter, IBM said it had settled its lawsuits with chip manufacturer GlobalFoundries. IBM also closed its $6.4 billion acquisition of cloud software maker HashiCorp and announced plans to buy data storage software startup DataStax for undisclosed terms.
IBM has been an outperformer this year as the broader market has sold off due largely to concerns around President Donald Trump’s tariffs and their potential impact on the economy. As of Wednesday’s close, IBM shares were up 11%, while the Nasdaq was down almost 14%.
The stock slipped 6% in extended trading.
No one is immune from fallout from President Trump’s tariffs on imported goods, the company’s finance chief, Jim Kavanaugh, said in an interview with CNBC’s Jon Fortt.
IBM’s customers are prioritizing efficient spending and the preservation of cash, Kavanaugh told the Wall Street Journal. The U.S. Department of Governmental Efficiency had delayed or nixed 15 federal contracts, he told Bloomberg.
Executives will discuss the results with analysts on a conference call starting at 5 p.m. ET.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
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