This week I have two stories coming from the US and from Europe, covering tech and AI

1-Waymo plans robotaxi in Washington by 2026

Waymo announced Washington, DC will be the next city to host its autonomous ridehailing service, Waymo One, with a planned launch in 2026. Before that can happen, though, the company needs to change existing city regulations, which currently require a human driver to be present in autonomous test vehicles as a safety precaution.

I saw this story at The Verge and Waymo, owned by Alphabet, has already been operating manually driven vehicles in DC since last year, with a focus on areas such as Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom, and Penn Quarter. Let me emphasize that bringing a driverless taxi service to the nation’s capital presents challenges, according to the story.

Currently, Waymo operates driverless ridehailing services in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. It has also launched a partnership with Uber in Austin and plans to expand to Atlanta later this year. Future robotaxi services are also planned for Silicon Valley and Miami. When Waymo begins operations in DC, passengers will be able to request rides through the Waymo One app, which currently facilitates 200,000 trips per week.

A spokesperson for the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) acknowledged Waymo’s announcement, stating that the agency is actively developing a regulatory framework for autonomous vehicle testing in DC. Current laws still require a human operator and do not permit driverless commercial operations. DDOT is working with other local agencies to refine its approach based on public feedback, best practices, and experiences from other cities. The agency emphasized that its priority is ensuring safety, regulatory compliance, and seamless integration into DC’s transportation system.

Waymo goes to Washington

2-Europe seeks alternatives to US cloud providers

European businesses and governments are increasingly reconsidering their reliance on US. cloud service providers, as concerns mount over privacy, security, and geopolitical instability under the second Trump administration. I read this story at Ars Technica and Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) currently dominate the cloud computing industry, hosting critical digital infrastructure worldwide. Marietje Schaake, a former member of the European Parliament and a fellow at Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center, highlighted the growing appetite in Europe to reduce dependence on American tech giants.(By the way I have a storu here about French startup ecosystem)

The momentum for change is already visible. On March 18, the Dutch House of Representatives passed eight motions urging the government to shift away from U.S. cloud providers.

European-based cloud providers, including Exoscale and Elastx, report an increase in inquiries from potential clients looking to move away from U.S. cloud services. Mathias Nöbauer, CEO of Swiss-based Exoscale, confirmed a rise in demand, particularly from Danish clients alarmed by U.S. policy statements on Greenland. Similarly, Joakim Öhman, CEO of Swedish cloud provider Elastx, noted growing unease among European businesses about the U.S.’s commitment to allied interests.

Despite reports of growing interest in alternative providers, AWS spokesperson Harry Staight denied claims that clients are leaving in significant numbers. He emphasized that AWS customers control their data storage locations and encryption, asserting that AWS’s design ensures data sovereignty. Google and Microsoft declined to comment on the situation.

Europe seeks alternatives to US cloud providers

3-OpenAI won’t become cash-flow positive until 2029

OpenAI faces high costs related to chips, data centers, and skilled talent required to advance its AI technology. By 2029, OpenAI projects its revenue will exceed $125 billion. I read this story at Reuters and the company also expects to more than triple its revenue to $12.7 billion in 2025, driven by its paid AI software.

In September 2023, Reuters reported that OpenAI was forecasting revenue of over $11.6 billion for 2025, with 2024 revenue expected to reach $3.7 billion—a figure also mentioned in the Bloomberg report.

Since launching ChatGPT over two years ago, OpenAI has introduced multiple subscription plans for both consumers and businesses. As of February, the number of paying business users surpassed 2 million, more than doubling since the previous update in September.

OpenAI has not yet responded to Reuters’ request for comment.