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Waymo to Expand Autonomous Driving Tests to Over 10 New Cities

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Alphabet’s self-driving unit, Waymo, announced plans on Wednesday to expand its autonomous driving technology testing to over 10 new cities in 2025. Following successful trials of its Waymo Driver in various locations, the company is now preparing to test its technology in additional urban environments, including San Diego and Las Vegas, among other cities to be revealed later.

Waymo has already conducted trials in regions such as Truckee, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Upstate New York, and Tokyo, and reports that its technology has successfully adapted to these diverse settings. The new expansion will involve a limited fleet of vehicles, with trained human specialists behind the wheel at all times. Testing will begin with manual driving through the most complex areas of each city, such as city centers and freeways.

Initially, fewer than 10 vehicles will be deployed to each location, where they will be manually driven for a few months to evaluate the technology’s performance. This marks a strategic move as Waymo aims to strengthen its autonomous ride-hailing services, having already expanded to Miami, Florida, in December. The company is under close scrutiny from safety regulators, following several incidents involving autonomous driving technology.

In October, Waymo closed a $5.6 billion funding round led by its parent company, Google, as part of its efforts to scale its autonomous services in an increasingly competitive market.

 

Anthropic Nears $2 Billion Funding Deal, Valued at $60 Billion

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AI startup Anthropic is in advanced talks to secure $2 billion in additional funding, which would value the company at $60 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter. The new round of funding is being led by venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners. This follows a previous $4 billion investment from Amazon, which included convertible notes that will be converted into equity during this funding round.

The latest funding will bring Anthropic’s total funding to $6 billion, marking a significant increase in the company’s valuation from $18 billion in a 2023 fundraise led by Menlo Ventures. Anthropic, a major competitor to OpenAI in the generative AI space, has seen substantial growth, with its annualized revenue reaching approximately $875 million. The company sells access to its AI models both directly and through third-party cloud services, including Amazon Web Services.

Founded by former OpenAI executives Dario and Daniela Amodei, Anthropic’s rapid growth is part of a broader AI arms race sparked by the popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, launched in November 2022. In addition to Amazon, Anthropic also received a $2 billion investment from Alphabet in 2023.

The recent surge in AI-related investments is part of a broader trend, with AI startups accounting for nearly half of the venture capital raised in the U.S. last year, according to PitchBook data.

Sygnum Hits $1 Billion Valuation After $58 Million Funding Round

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Crypto-focused bank Sygnum has achieved a $1 billion valuation following its successful $58 million funding round, the company announced on Tuesday. The round was led by bitcoin-centric venture capital firm Fulgur Ventures, with additional participation from both new and existing investors, including some of Sygnum’s employees.

Why It Matters

This milestone reflects the recovery in the cryptocurrency industry as investor sentiment rebounds. The sector has shown resilience after enduring challenges such as stricter monetary policies and the collapse of major players like FTX.

Company Overview

Sygnum, headquartered in Zurich and Singapore, specializes in serving institutional clients. It offers services such as cryptocurrency trading, digital asset custody, and crypto-backed lending. The bank also enables its customers to earn interest on their crypto holdings. Unlike other platforms, Sygnum does not cater to retail users.

Recently registered in Liechtenstein, Sygnum is aiming to expand its reach across the European Union and European Economic Area markets. Additionally, it plans to broaden its footprint in Europe and launch operations in Hong Kong. The new funding will be directed towards infrastructure development, product diversification, and international expansion.

Sygnum reported robust financial performance, stating that revenues from its trading services — including crypto spot, derivatives, foreign exchange, and traditional securities — surpassed 2023’s total by the third quarter of 2024.

Key Quotes

“Sygnum has focused on its home markets in Europe and Asia and has no current plans to enter the U.S. market with our own entities,” said Mathias Imbach, co-founder and group CEO. “The U.S. developments for positive crypto market reform are, however, highly encouraging. Sygnum is exploring other options to benefit from this trend, such as partnerships and M&A.”

Context

As the crypto sector stabilizes, firms like Sygnum are leveraging improved investor confidence and regulatory clarity to expand their operations. This funding round solidifies Sygnum’s position as a leading player in the institutional crypto banking space.