Microsoft hits the brakes

Plus: Nuro raises $106M; Google can call 911 for you

Joey Padgett
April 10, 2025

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What’s up: Nuro, the self-driving delivery company, raised $106M at a valuation of $6B, down from a peak valuation of $8.6B in 2021. Nuro’s leadership sees the fundraise as a validation of their new approach — focusing on self-driving software only rather than also manufacturing the delivery pods.
So what: It’s fascinating to see Nuro following Waymo’s strategy, specializing in software while partners contribute the hardware. To me it sounds like a great idea, because it’s less capital intensive and lets Nuro invest in their longer term competitive moat — the autonomous tech. Plus, it’s always fun to root for Nuro because their founding story is inextricably linked to the birth of the self-driving industry (full story here).

What’s up: Google is adding loss of pulse detection to the Pixel Watch 3 in the US. It just got cleared by the FDA, and it uses sensors and AI to immediately detect potential cardiac issues. If it senses an issue and you don’t respond to its alert to you, it’ll call 911.
So what: I love this. It’s encouraging to see mainstream consumer tech continue to get approved for use cases that will actually move the needle for people’s health. Activity tracking has been an awesome (albeit lower stakes) proof of concept, but the FDA has been slow to approve other use cases. Hopefully this marks a turning point.

What’s up: Microsoft paused a $1B investment in data centers in Ohio, which was originally announced in October 2024. Microsoft has canceled several other projects recently, but claims they’re still on track to…

Random nostalgia — Did anyone else get addicted to StumbleUpon back in the day? Well… I found a similar site this week and uncovered some gems (this slide game and pug-in-a-rug). Enjoy the randomness!
Truly funny writing — Huge fan of this writer, so I wanted to share a recent post. His tone and storytelling are so good.
YouTube & golf — Shoutout to my brother for being way ahead on this trend, but it’s been super impressive to see the rise of YouTube golfers. They even had their own tournament last week with Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson joining. YouTubers are getting TV deals… why not pro golf deals next?

The forest is growing.
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