Waymo, the Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company, removed human safety drivers from its test vehicles in Nashville, Tennessee, signaling a move toward launching a robotaxi service in the city later this year. In other tech news, YouTube megastar MrBeast's company, Beast Industries, acquired the teen-focused banking app Step, while ChatGPT users may soon begin seeing ads unless they subscribe to a paid plan. Social network Bluesky also rolled out a long-awaited drafts feature.
Waymo, which has been testing in Nashville for months, plans to launch its robotaxi service in partnership with Lyft, according to TechCrunch. Riders will initially hail rides directly through the Waymo app, with the service expanding to the Lyft app later. Lyft will handle fleet services, such as vehicle maintenance and charging, through its subsidiary Flexdrive. Waymo currently operates commercial services in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco, as reported by TechCrunch.
MrBeast's acquisition of Step, a banking app designed for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, was announced on Monday, as reported by both TechCrunch and The Verge. Step, which has over 7 million users and raised half a billion in funding, offers financial services aimed at helping young people build credit, save money, and invest. The app has attracted celebrity investors, including Charli D'Amelio, Will Smith, and Stephen Curry. MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has over 466 million subscribers on his main YouTube channel, as noted by The Verge. This acquisition comes after Donaldson announced plans to start a new YouTube channel focused on personal finance and investing.
ChatGPT users will soon start seeing sponsored links unless they pay at least $20 per month for a Plus subscription, according to The Verge. OpenAI announced on Monday that it is testing ads on its AI platform. The ads will appear as labeled sponsored links at the bottom of ChatGPT answers.
Bluesky, a social network, finally rolled out drafts, a feature long requested by its users, as reported by TechCrunch. Users can access drafts by opening the new post flow and selecting the Drafts button. The company also plans to improve its algorithmic Discover feed, offer better recommendations, and make the app feel more real-time.
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