Google's Stock Rebounds Amid Autonomous Driving Push and AI Developments
As of last week, Google A (GOOGL) saw a decline of 4.88%, marking a three-day drop that totaled 9.52%. Over the past week, the stock fell 5.89%, and since the beginning of the year, it has depreciated by 18.39%, bringing its latest market capitalization to $1,881.283 billion.
This Tuesday, Google A (GOOGL.US) shares increased nearly 2%, closing at $170.11. The positive movement comes amid news from Alphabet's subsidiary, Waymo, about the planned rollout of a fully autonomous ride-hailing service in Washington, D.C. next year. Waymo began deploying its vehicles in the capital earlier this January and intends to add more in the coming weeks. Currently, fully autonomous driving isn't permitted in D.C., but Waymo has committed to collaborating with policymakers to establish the necessary legal framework for driverless operations.
Advancements in Artificial Intelligence
Amid developments in its autonomous vehicle initiatives, Google is also advancing its artificial intelligence capabilities. The launch of the Gemini 2.5 series AI language model marks a significant milestone, introducing enhanced logical reasoning abilities through a "Chain of Thought" mechanism. This model aims to improve response quality by simulating multi-step logical deductions before generating answers, thus significantly enhancing its ability to tackle complex issues.
The Gemini 2.5 series incorporates advanced features like information integration, logical argument construction, context sensitivity, and decision optimization, differentiating itself from traditional AI models purely reliant on pattern recognition. The company has upgraded the foundational model architecture and refined training methodologies to significantly boost the context understanding capabilities of the new AI series.
The announcement marks Google’s first explicit strategy to position the advanced reasoning capabilities of its AI models as a core product selling point, signifying the onset of "cognitive intelligence" competition in generative AI.
Progress in Quantum Computing
Moreover, Google continues to innovate in quantum computing, with Julian Kelly, Director of Quantum Artificial Intelligence Hardware at Google, expressing confidence that the technology is just five years away from practical applications. Quantum computing is poised to advance cutting-edge physics research and potentially generate new data sets.
Recent breakthroughs in error correction have paved the way for the viability of quantum computing, which is gaining traction as experts anticipate it will require millions of quantum bits for useful applications.
The technology is capturing significant interest amidst the current AI boom, particularly in light of developments in NVIDIA's AI chip production. Kelly noted that quantum computing has substantial potential, and investors are keenly observing its evolution as a next-generation processor akin to the recent wave of investment in graphic processing units fueling AI advancements.
