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Before Waymo was Waymo, it was Googles self-driving car project. Starting in 2009, the effort spent many years in test modewith humans in the drivers seats ready to take over, just in casethat its vision of vehicular autonomy often felt far from practical reality. Since last year, however, Alphabets robotaxi service has begun to scale up quickly. Its now fully open to the public in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and the San Francisco Bay Area. And today the company is announcing that its testing fully autonomous trips, sans human driver, in Miami, and plans to do so in Orlando, Florida; Dallas; Houston; and San Antonio in the coming weeks. For now, the only passengers will be Waymo employees. But the news is one of the final big milestones before the company offers rides to the public in those five cities, which it says it expects to do next year once all the necessary logistics are in place. In most of the cities, Waymo began driving with an in-car supervisor late last May. (Remote human monitoring and control remain part of the system in all service areas.) By autonomy standards, taking the human out of the drivers seat in five cities over such a short period is a one-fell-swoop sort of move. According to Waymo Chief Product Officer Saswat Panigrahi, the 10 million driverless rides the company has already completed helped it reach this point. Having dealt with high-speed roads in Phoenix and very narrow corridors in San Francisco, L.A. was faster, he told me. Austin was faster than that. Atlanta was faster than that. So this is just the next step. The five cities that are part of todays announcement represent only a portion of those where Waymo has announced its intention to add service. Seven moreDenver, Detroit, Las Vegas, London, Nashville, San Diego, and Washington, D.C.are coming soon but not yet ready to do without a human driver aboard. Yet another sevenBoston, Buffalo, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Tokyoare in an earlier stage, where the company is driving and collecting data. Thats a lot of places that are at least partway down the road to being Waymo cities. Each is different when it comes to their roads and the challenges they present. As Panigrahi notes, even specific intersections can present idiosyncrasies that the companys Waymo Driver platform must map out individually. But he says that localities that might at first blush seem quite different can boil down to similar problems for the Waymo Driver to solve. You can imagine how when we’re serving the civic center in San Francisco, [after] a Warriors game, he says. It’s not that dissimilar to a whole host of pedestrians coming from the beach and crossing over in Miami Beach. Panigrahi adds that Waymo highway drivingwhich came to Los Angeles, Phoenix, and the San Francisco Bay Area last week, after years of anticipationshould also scale up to new markets more quickly. Highway is a super hard technical problem, and that’s why we took our time to build it and validate it over multiple years, he says. But once you do get that, then the highways do look much more similar across states. There are more nuances in surface streets. Waymos time as the only company offering a fully commercialized robotaxi service in the U.S. may be winding down. When I tried Teslas robotaxi service last month in San Francisco, a human attendant was in the drivers seat, greatly reducing the amazingness of the experience. But Tesla plans to offer truly autonomous rides to the public by the end of this year, at least in Austin. Earlier this month, the company said that it also plans to deploy robotaxis in Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, and Phoenix, portending eventual head-to-head competition with Waymo in all those areas. Tesla also says it intends to begin mass production of its two-seater Cybercab in April and is rethinking its original plan to remove the drivers seat and steering wheel altogether. Meanwhile, Amazon-owned Zoox just announced that its begun Zoox Explorers robotaxi service in San Francisco. That means its allowing waitlisted members of the public into its app and giving them free rides in return for feedback. Zoox is already in Explorers mode in Las Vegas. Should a critical mass of American cities grow thick with driverless Waymo, Zoox, and Tesla robotaxis, it might turn autonomy from a futuristic novelty into mundane workaday transportation. That exposure could boost the technologys reputation, which still isnt great among people who havent been for a ride. For example, a February AAA study reported that only 13% of respondents said they trusted self-driving vehicles. In Waymos home turf of San Francisco, its cars are omnipresent and public attitude toward self-driving vehicles has been on the rise. Yet the recent death of a bodega cat who was struck by one of its vehicles sparked more of an uproar than the hundreds of animals who are killed by human drivers in the city each year. Waymos own data, based on 96 million passenger-only miles its cars have driven, shows its record is dramatically safer than that of humans. For instance, cars have been in 92% fewer crashes that caused pedestrian injuries. Panigrahi argues that merely seeing Waymos driving carefully reassures pedestrians and cyclists. After theyve taken a trip in one, its a lot harder to hate them. (In August, The Information wrote that 99% of the 69% of its subscribers whod been in a self-driving car were satisfied with the experience.) Pedestrians notice that we stop to give them that confidence that they can cross and not play a game of chicken, he says. Even skeptical or on-the-fence folks, once they take their first ride, that magical experience changes their heart.
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E-Commerce
Over the last decade, dozens of cities have reshaped streets around cycling and slower, safer, healthier travel. Take Paris: at rush hour, boulevards that were once packed with cars are now filled with thousands of people on bikes, newly planted trees, and cleaner air. In a detailed new analysis, the urban design consultancy Copenhagenize ranked 100 global cities on how far they’ve come to make it easier to bikeexamining everything from changes in bike infrastructure to whether cities are promoting cargo bikes for delivery and teaching kids to bike in school. Nearly all top-ranked cities are in Europe, where strong pro-bike policies have lowered speed limits, added separated bike lanes, and created new bicycle streets where bikes take priority over cars. But the benchmarking report, the most comprehensive of its kind, also looks at progress in cities worldwide, from Nairobi, Kenyawhere “bike trains” of hundreds of riders make commuting by bike saferto Minneapolis, where some car lanes have been converted to two-way bike paths. If any politicians have doubts about adding new bike infrastructure, “they can look at this report and see that everywhere in the world, other cities are investing in cycling, and they are getting back all the benefits from active mobility,” says Clotilde Imbert, director of Copenhagenize. Cities like Paris show that massive changes can happen fast. “If you want to transform your city quickly, you can,” says Imbert. For the full breakdown, see the reportbut here’s a snapshot of the top 30 cities for cyclists. [Photo: Konstantinos/Adobe Stock] 1. Utrecht, Netherlands In the index’s top-ranked city, nearly a third of all trips happen by bike. The Dutch city continues to shrink space for cars, taking away some parking spots and car lanes to make room for more bike lanes and trees. A new car-free neighborhood designed for 12,000 residents is now under construction. The city also includes amenities like the worlds largest bike parking garage, part of more than 100,000 bike parking spots throughout the city. Low-income residents can buy refurbished bikes for 30 ($34) through a program that also includes a year of free repairs. [Photo: Lightfield Studios/Adobe Stock] 2. Copenhagen Protected bike lanes cover more than half of the streets in the Danish capital, and other roads have been converted to “bicycle streets” that prioritize bikes over cars. The city is continuously improving its bike infrastructure; 29% of all trips happen by bike and nearly half of all commutes to work or school are on bikes. On a typical weekday, Copenhageners collectively ride 2.75 million kilometers (1.7 million miles). [Photo: Dmitry Rukhlenko/Adobe Stock] 3. Ghent, Belgium Over the last few decades, Ghent has redesigned streets to prioritize biking, walking, and public transportation. With more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) of protected bike lanesalong with low speed limits for cars and two dozen bicycle streets, the number of car trips keeps dropping. More than a third of trips now happen by bikes, up from 22% a decade ago. [Photo: Kirill/Adobe Stock] 4. Amsterdam One of the worlds most famous cycling cities keeps improving. Amsterdam now has around 560 kilometers (350 miles) of protected bike lanes and 11,000 bike parking spaces, including the worlds first underground bike garage. Most city streets now have a 30-kilometers-per-hour (18-miles-per-hour) speed limit. A school street program blocks off traffic in front of schools when kids are arriving and leaving, making it safer for kids to walk or bike to school. Thirty-seven percent of all trips happen on bikes. [Photo: UlyssePixel/Adobe Stock] 5. Paris Over the past decade, Paris has transformed. Some major streets are now car free, and on others, parking spaces and car lanes have been removed to put in bike lanes. A 30-kilometers-per-hour (19-miles-per-hour) speed limit is the norm. There are more than 122,000 public bike parking places. Local businesses have used city subsidies to buy 1,500 cargo bikes. The bikeshare system had 56 million trips in 2024. In the last five years, bike trips jumped from 5% of all trips taken to 11%. [Photo: Lev Karavanov/Adobe Stock] 6. Helsinki To help make it easier to bike in Finlands frigid winters, the city clears snow from 150 kilometers (93 miles) of bike lanes. The city now has an extensive network of separated lanes, along with traffic calming, redesigned intersections, and awareness campaigns focused on safety. It also continues to add bike parking, including a new parking garage at the central train station. [Photo: Schroptschop/iStock/Getty Images Plus] 7. Münster, Germany In Münster, a compact university town, 40% of city streets have protected bike lanes. The city also has a network of bicycle streets, coated in red to remind drivers that bikes have priority, and a new scenic bike route along a canal. Nearly half of all trips take place on bikes. To nudge people to bike even more, the city uses public billboards to display stats from bike counters that show how many people are riding. [Photo: Matthias De Boeck/iStock/Getty Images Plus] 8. Antwerp, Belgium Antwerp has nearly 600 kilometers (372 miles) of protected bike lanes and continues to expand them through its 100 Missing Links program, which includes underpasses and bridges for direct, continuous routes. About 70% of streets are limited to 30 kilometers per hour (19 miles per hour). To help add more bike parking in dense neighborhoods with little extra space, the city has been converting some unused buildings into secure subscription-based bike parking. They now have more than 60 neighborhood sites with 1,600 spaces. Cycling in the city is inclusive, with children and seniors on the road, and women make over half of daily commuting bike trips. [Photo: pony/Unsplash] 9. Bordeaux, France Nearly 90% of Bordeauxs streets have speed limits of 30 kilometers per hour (19 miles per hour) or less, and the city has been closing major gaps in its bike network, including new two-way cycle tracks along both riverbanks. Former car lanes on streets like the Quai des Queyries have been converted into continuous, green-framed bikeways. Bicycletteries in the historic center offer video-protected, resident-only parking. The city also uses cargo bikes for waste pickup and deliveries. 10. Nantes, France Nantess Grandes Voies Vélo network provides high-quality, well-marked bike routes across the city. Almost 90% of streets have low speed limits, complemented by car-free areas, shared streets, and low-traffic neighborhoods. The main train station offers 1,200 secure parking spaces, with more on-street racks throughout the city. Awareness campaigns support a steadily growing bike culture. [Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images] 11. Bonn, Germany Bonn is shifting from painted lanes to a growing protected network; about 20% of streets now have protected bike lanes, and over half the city has 30-kilometer-per-hour (18-mile-per-hour) speed limits. The city remains relatively car-dependent, but bike counters show rising use, and cycling mode share has increased from 15% in 2017 to 21% in 2024. [Photo: oliver de la haye/Adobe Stock] 12. The Hague, Netherlands The Hague has an expanding network of protected bike routes, with 60% of streets at or below a 30-kilometers-per-hour (18-miles-per-hour) speed limit and major investments since 2020. The central station holds 8,500 bikes, with 47,000 more spaces on streets. The city continues linking suburban routes and opened the 335-meter (1,099-foot) Jan Linzel bike bridge over the A4. Its “Den Haag Fiets!” program includes kids bike lessons from age 2, free or low-cost bikes for families, and subsidies for shared and cargo bikes. [Photo: Kseniia Penkova/Unsplash] 13. Strasbourg, France Strasbourgs Velostras network links the entire metro area, giving the city one of the most recognizable and complete bike systems in Europe. It still needs slower speed limits and redesigned streets, but cycling culture is strongits annual Bike to Work challenge brings new riders, and the city offers over 400 bike parking spaces per 1,000 residents, among the worlds highest. Cargo bikes are widely used for deliveries. [Photo: Chris Barbalis/Unsplash] 14. Lyon, France Nearly three-quarters of Lyons streets have 30-kilometers-per-hour (18-miles-per-hour) speed limits or below, and the branded Voies Lyonnaises network makes navigation easy. The city is redesigning major corridors with protected routes, tunnels, and new riverside bikeways, and opened Frances largest secure bike parking hub at its main station in 2025. Its long-running bikeshare now includes low-cost plans for broad access. [Photo: imageegami/Adobe Stock] 15. Montreal The highest-ranked non-European city on the list, Montreal has rapidly expanded its protected network with clear, cohesive design and safer intersections. The Saint-Denis corridor hit 1.3 million trips in the first nine months of 2025, helping revive local businesses. Bixi, the city’s bikesharing program, set a record 13 million rides in 2024 and now operates year-round with bike trailers. Montreal pioneered North Americas first bicycle streets and continues to grow ridership. [Photo: Marek Lumi/Unsplash] 16. Malmö, Sweden Malmös bike mode share reached 27% in 2024, supported by a dense network with 49 kilometers (30 miles) of protected lanes per 100 kilometers of road. A new regional bike highway is adding underpasses and bridges to close gaps. The city provides extensive parkingincluding 5,000 spaces at train stationsplus air pumps, footrests, and school streets. Cargo bikes are common, and developers are encouraged to include bike pools in new housing.
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E-Commerce
The most anticipated quarterly earnings of the month will be announced on Wednesday, November 19, as AI chip giant Nvidia Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) reveals financial results for its 2026 fiscal third quarter. A lot is riding on these resultsand not just for Nvidia. Investors are increasingly on edge about a possible AI bubble, and if Nvidia posts good or better than expected earnings, it could give those investors faith that AI infrastructure is on solid ground and has plenty of room to grow. But if Nvidias earnings disappointor show signs of upcoming weaknessit could spell bad news not just for NVDA stock, but for the stock prices of all companies operating in the AI space. Here is what Nvidia has previously forecast for its Q3 2026, and what investors are expecting when the company releases its earnings results tomorrow after markets close. Nvidias Q3 2026 guidance On August 27, Nvidia announced its Q2 2026 results. That same day, the company released its forecast for the quarter that it is currently operating in. Here is what the company said it expected for its Q3 2026, which ran from July 28 to October 26: Revenue: $54 billion (plus or minus 2%) GAAP gross margins: 73.3% (plus or minus 50 basis points) Non-GAAP gross margins: 73.5% (plus or minus 50 basis points) GAAP operating expenses: approximately $5.9 billion Non-GAAP operating expenses: approximately $4.2 billion Heres what analysts are expecting from Nvidias Q3 2026 Nvidias estimates above are the best guess the company had for its Q3 based on the data it had at the time, which in this case was in August. But analysts calculate their own estimates, which fluctuate as the quarter progresses and additional data is assessed. Thats why analyst estimates will typically not entirely align with what a company has forecast. Also, nearly every individual analyst will have a different estimate. These estimates are often pooled to produce a consensus figure, and yet even those consensus figures will differ depending on what analysts are included. The number that analysts usually care most about is revenue. Nvidia forecast its Q3 2026 revenue to come in at $54 billion plus or minus 2%, which would equate to a range of roughly $52.9 billion to $55 billion. Heres what analysts are expecting: CNBC reports that LSEG analysts expect revenue of $54.9 billion. Investors Business Daily (IBD) says analysts polled by FactSet expect revenue of $54.8 billion. Yahoo Finance says Bloomberg consensus data shows analysts expect revenue of $55.2 billion. What this means for NVDA and AI as a whole As you can see, three separate analyst roundups show that Wall Street expects Nvidia to come in at the high end of its $52.9 billion to $55 billion Q3 revenue estimate. That means that if Nvidia doesnt meet these lofty expectations, investors could get spooked and the stock could drop. But a miss in these revenue estimates could also add fuel to the fire over growing concerns that the AI sector is in a bubble. And if Nvidias results fuel bubble fears, the companys earnings could have an adverse knock-on effect on the stock prices of other companies operating in the space. How have AI-related stocks been performing? Nvidia’s shares have been strong so far in 2025. As of yesterdays close, the stock is up more than 38% for the year. And back in October, Nvidia made history when its share price rose to as high as $212, making Nvidia the worlds first public company ever to be valued at $5 trillion. But since then, the companys stock has fallen almost 10%. In the run-up to its Q3 earnings tomorrow, investors are hoping that strong results will mean that NVDA shares can make back some of those losses. Most of the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks (Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla) are down over the last five days, as is the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite.
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E-Commerce
Each year after Thanksgiving, people flock to TikTok to show off the elaborate sandwiches they build out of their holiday meal leftovers. The ritual, going strong for at least four years now, is often paired with a viral audio clip from the quintessential ’90s sitcom Friends describing the perfect sandwich made out of holiday leftovers. The sandwich, starring an extra slice of gravy-soaked bread in the middle, is known as the moist maker. This Thanksgiving, Heinzmaker of ubiquitous and inoffensive condiments like ketchup and mustardis escalating matters considerably by introducing a squeeze bottle gravy designed to engineer the ultimate Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich. The squeeze bottle, labeled leftover gravy, actually comes empty in a special kit paired with a jar of Heinz turkey gravy and instructions that quote the Friends episode. The limited edition kit will be for sale through Walmart.com. A social media favorite among millennial sitcom-lovers, the Moist Maker epitomized an obsession with holiday food crafted with care and detail, Heinz Associate Director of Brand Communications Jamie Mack said in a press release, adding that the gimmick is a celebration of fans who share an irrational love of the moist maker. The concept of squeeze bottle gravy prompts many further lines of inquiry. Heinz already sells a surprisingly diverse array of jarred gravies with flavors like caramelized onion and thyme (for the adventurous) and regular turkey gravy for traditionalists who wont be cooking a gigantic hunk of poultry for hours and savoring its juices the old fashioned way. While the jars make sense, does a squeeze bottle really add any convenience? Would anyone try it? Is the gravy cold? The TV moment, from 1998s fittingly titled Friends episode The one with Ross’s sandwich, is capped off by Ross discovering that his boss keeps eating his sandwiches at work, including his prized moist maker, and absolutely crashing out. [Image: Heinz] FoodTok trends Brands hot on the trail of food-related TikTok trends is nothing new. Food and cooking are extremely popular enduring topics on TikTok, regularly launching micro-trends, viral one dish meals, horrifying products, dubious historical recipes, and massive content categories. Like all things on TikTok, these trends come and go quickly (mini pancake cereal, we miss you), but videos that hop on a food trend at the right time can easily rack up millions of views and a ton of engagementa tempting prize for any brand trying to stay relevant. While Gen Z generally powers TikToks viral food scene, Heinz says its gravy stunt is aimed squarely at a generation thats old enough to have watched Friends as the show aired. According to Heinz, the new condiment is aimed at the growing demographic of millennial hosts who are redefining holiday traditions. And redefine them you will, if you invite squeezable gravy to mingle with your precious post-Thanksgiving leftovers. Heinz isnt the first brand to hop on the gravy train. Last year, the upscale kitchen store Williams Sonoma posted its own version of the moist maker. Kings Hawaiian bread company, maker of excellent rolls for Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches, did too. The grocery chain Kroger was even earlier to the trend, quizzing its audience on the audio clip of Ross describing his sisters culinary flash of genius back in 2022. The TikTok account cooking panda appears to have originally uploaded the sound in 2021, juxtaposing the Friends clip with video of a moist makers step-by-step construction process and racking up 1.7 million likes in the process. Heinz might not be early to the moist maker trendnow ancient by TikTok standardsbut what it lacks in timeliness it plans to compensate for with sheer commitment to the bit.
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E-Commerce
Imagine youre watching a basketball game. Youre not focused on the stat sheetyoure watching how the players read the court, pivot when a play breaks down, and celebrate their teammates. Those moments tell you a lot more about how someone performs under pressure than any metric ever could. I think about hiring the same way. Like a stat sheet, a résumé might list someones achievements, but it wont show how they adapt under pressure or support a team. Yet in the age of AI, companies often overlook that, prioritizing technical skills instead. According to a 2024 report from Microsoft and LinkedIn, 71% of employers said they would choose an AI-fluent candidate with less experience over someone more experienced but with limited AI knowledge. Technical ability matters, of course. But in a world where technology is evolving by the week, so are the skills needed to keep up. Thats why I dont screen for skillI scout for character. Because when everything else is changing, character is the one thing that cant be automated or learned from a prompt. Its the foundation for building a culture that wins together, not just works together. While tech keeps shifting, culture endures Were in what Goldman Sachs economists are calling a period of jobless growthan era where the economy is expanding but hiring lags behind. There are fewer openings, more applicants, and slower movement on both sides. At the same time, AI is reshaping the definition of work and what companies think they need. Everyones racing to hire the candidate who knows the latest model or has experience with the newest tools. But no one really knows what AI skills will mean six months from now. PwC found that requirements for AI-exposed roles are shifting 66% faster than in other jobsmore than twice the rate of change just a year ago. Whats cutting-edge today could be obsolete by next quarter. Even with a deeper pool of applicants, many companies are still hiring against moving targets, chasing technical standards that continue to evolve. And in a job-hugging economy where employees are staying put longer and hiring cycles have slowed, every decision carries more weight. The people you hire today will shape your company for years to come. Thats why culture matters more than ever. Too often its treated like an elusive vibesomething that magically appears when the right mix of people land in the same room. Or worse, its reduced to sameness: hiring people who share the same background, and likely talk and think the same way. Thats not culture, thats comfort. Real culture is chemistry. Its intentionally built on how people think, collaborate, and recover together when things go wrong. As technology keeps rewriting job descriptions, that chemistry is what helps teams move faster, grow stronger, and stay resilient through cycles of disruption and reinvention. Build a resilient culture one character interview at a time After years of conducting culture interviews, I know that one great hire can lift a team, and the wrong one can just as easily unravel it. Im looking for people who stay calm under pressure, think critically, and are driven by purpose, not titlestraits that endure long after roles, tools, and technologies change. Culture interviews are where you see that come to life; they strip away polish and show why someones really sitting across from you. These are a few ways I approach interviews to get a truer sense of the person behind the résumé. Be in the room As an HR executive, I make it a point to lead every culture interview I can, because who you hire shapes the culture, and culture shapes the business. Thats a responsibility no senior leader should be removed from. When senior leaders make time for interviews, it signals to candidates that culture isnt just talkits taken seriously and owned at every level. As an executive, being in the room gives you a better read on the energy, mindset, and values someone will bring to the team. Its also an opportunity to establish a mutual sense of respect and investment right out of the gate. If leaders expect candidates to show up with honesty and humility, we have to do the same. That starts with being fully present, making clear that their time matters as much as yours. Use consistency to reveal character In every culture interview, I ask the same core questionsnot because Im looking for perfect answers, but to see the level of energy behind them. When candidates are given the same starting point, you start to notice characteristics that cant be rehearsed, like thoughtfulness, curiosity, and excitement. Confidence can easily be mistaken for competence, especially when people have polished their right answers. But consistency helps surface patterns: Who takes a beat to reflect? Who connects ideas instead of reciting them? Who lights up when they talk about their career goals? In a time when ChatGPT and Copilot can write a résumé and coach candidates through mock interviews, a consistent framework helps cut through the performance and surface honesty and self-awareness. Remember that questions are a two-way street Some of the most revealing moments in a culture interview are when the questions go both ways. I pay close attention to what candidates ask, because their questions can say just as much as their answers. Are they trying to understand how decisions get made, how teams collaborate, what growth looks like? That tells me they care about more than a title or a paycheck. They are thinking about the environment they might step into. Curiosity signals investment. When a candidate asks me a tough questionthe kind that makes me pauseI respect it. It shows theyll bring that same honesty and initiative once theyre on the team, and thats what strengthens culture. Look for the same values, not the same story Great talent exists everywhere; the key is knowing what to look for. Whether Im interviewing in Milwaukee or Medellín, Im scouting the same core traits: curiosity, drive, honesty, and self-awareness. What changes is how people express those valueswhat ambition looks like to them, what stability means in their world, how they define success. Recognizing those nuances is how you build a culture that scales across borders, departments, and generations. The framework stays the same, but the conversation flexes. By knowing what to hold constant and what to adapt, you build and maintain a culture that lasts through technologies. Skills will change, but character is consant Technology will keep evolving faster than any job descriptionthats a given. But character doesnt run on an update cycle. Its what keeps companies steady when everything around them is in motion. Great hiring isnt about predicting the next trending skill. Great hiring means building teams that can adapt and problem-solve together, regardless of the new tools that come along. Whether or not your company has the shiniest or newest tech stack, organizations need people who can show up for each other and grow with the work. Skills will shift. Platforms will change. But your culture? Thats what gives you staying power.
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E-Commerce