Self-driving taxis cleared for London streets later this summer

Uber and Wayve have been granted the first Minicab licences in London, allowing them to offer self-driving taxi rides to paying customers but with a human safety driver in place, for now.

The companies said they would start trips in the UK later this summer before the full public launch.

The San Francisco-headquartered Uber and London-based Wayve are racing against the Google-owned Waymo and its Chinese equivalent Baidu's Apollo Go to launch self-driving taxi services in London. Their progress is being watched closely because the British capital will be one of the first cities in the world to have American and Chinese Tech firms operating on the same roads.

Reference Sources

1. theguardian - Leicester Square, please guv: Self-driving taxis cleared for London streets later this summer
2. standard - Fleet of London self-driving 'robotaxis' given minicab licences
3. politico - Self-driving startup approved to take taxi passengers in London
4. bloomberg - Uber and Wayve Win Licenses for Supervised Robotaxis in London
5. wsj - Wayve, Uber Win Approval for Supervised Robotaxi Rides in London

Chinese Telecom Hack Exposed Data Centers, House Report to Say

US telecommunications companies connected their systems to data centers and related infrastructure in a way that exposed them to cybersecurity vulnerabilities, potentially opening the door to the massive Salt Typhoon hacking campaign that breached several mobile carriers two years ago, according to an upcoming House committee’s report.

The carriers ’ networks had routine pathways to equipment and data centers that may have been connected to Chinese telecommunications companies that are otherwise barred from operating in the us.

Those connections established a link between US Telecom companies and the infrastructure breached by the Chinese hacking group known as Salt Typhoon.

At issue are carriers’ secondary connections, ones that tangentially link them to the broader information ecosystem and fall outside of Federal regulators’ purview.

The report concludes that US operators were not aware of cybersecurity risks posed by these connections. US intelligence officials in 2024 accused the Chinese hacking group of a “broad and significant cyber-espionage campaign” that breached the systems of several US telecommunications companies and targeted the phones of prominent politicians, including then-Presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The hackers infiltrated Telecom networks in an effort to steal call records and compromise the communications belonging to a “limited number” of people in government and politics, US officials have said.

Reference Sources

1. bloomberg - Chinese Telecom Hack Exposed Data Centers, House Report to Say

AMD falls as investors seek bigger AI payoff

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) reported adjusted earnings of $1.66 per share for the second quarter, slightly above the $1.62 per share expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Revenue of $11.54 billion also topped the street's consensus estimate of $11.28 billion.

Despite those strong results, Amd plunged 8% in premarket trading — a sign that investors were left unimpressed by the slight top- and bottom-line beat. Investors may also be concerned about whether shares have more room to run.

Amd Ytd mountain Amd year to date, the stock has surged about 198% over the past year as AMD has deepened its push to sell the hardware that powers AI models, positioning itself as a rival to Nvidia and a prime beneficiary of widening AI adoption.

Yet many analysts reiterated their bullish outlook.

However, AMD's stronger-than-expected revenue forecast fell short of lofty expectations, and investors sought clearer signs that a multibillion-dollar AI spending boom will translate into faster growth.

The shares were last down 7.4% at $480.28, set to wipe out about $61.1 billion from AMD's market value.

The move underscores elevated expectations facing AMD as it aims to challenge Nvidia's dominance amid intensifying competition with Intel racing to regain technology leadership after strong results.

Reference Sources

1. cnbc - AMD to outperform despite post-earnings slide, Wall Street analysts say
2. thestarmy - AMD falls as investors seek bigger AI payoff
3. thestarmy - AMD forecasts upbeat revenue on strong AI chip demand, but shares fall on lofty expectations
4. wsj - AMD Shares Slip as Company Narrowly Beats Revenue Forecasts
5. barrons - Reaction to AMD Earnings Shows Why It’s Hard Being in Second Place

The CommonWealth English daily news digest is a service curated by CommonWealth English team with the help of AI tools.  

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