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Waymo is eyeing NYC
Plus: Zuck offering $100M bonus; Netflix’s TV deal
Joey Padgett
June 19, 2025
Hey people!
Welcome back to Forests Over Trees, your tech strategy newsletter. It’s time to zoom-out, connect dots, and (try to) predict the future.
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Waymo is eyeing NYC
Plus: Zuck offering $100M bonus; Netflix’s TV deal
⚡ Tech News Takes ⚡
What’s up: Waymo plans to launch robotaxis in New York City, pending state law changes that currently require safety drivers in test vehicles. It’s applying for a city permit to begin testing with drivers and will start collecting mapping data in Manhattan next month. A bill to allow driverless operation is under review in the state Senate. Waymo already operates 1,500 robotaxis across four U.S. cities and aims to expand to Atlanta, Miami, and D.C., adding 2,000 more vehicles by 2026.
So what: Two thoughts here. First, while it would be a great training ground and absolutely put Waymo to the test, I’m not sure they are ready for the chaos of NYC streets. Even in Los Angeles, where urban sprawl means wide roads and plenty of space to maneuver, the Waymos get squirrely around incorrectly parked cars, aggressive pedestrians, etc… Second, it seems like a possible distraction from other cities that are more open-minded/accessible. Waymo could be gobbling-up market share in other cities (or even internationally)…
What’s up: Meta is offering compensation packages of $100M+ to recruit top AI researchers from OpenAI and Google DeepMind for its new superintelligence team, led by Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed the offers but said none of his top talent had accepted, citing OpenAI’s stronger AGI mission and culture. Meta has had limited success so far, despite securing some hires like DeepMind’s Jack Rae.
So what: This is pretty fascinating. Meta went the open-source route for their AI at first, releasing public LLaMA models to compete with and put pressure on OpenAI… but now Zuckerberg and Meta seem to be entering a new phase where they try to compete more directly. I think part of that stems from LLaMA 4’s lackluster performance in the eyes of analysts, and part also comes from the fact that OpenAI threatening to use AI to enter spaces Meta cares more about (i.e. OpenAI hinting at a social network, teasing a Jony Ive device that might threaten Meta’s AR/VR ambitions, etc.).
What’s up: France’s top TV channel TF1 signed a deal with Netflix to stream its broadcasts, including soap operas and major sports events. The move comes as linear TV continues to decline globally, with streaming recently overtaking traditional TV in the U.S., accounting for 44.8% of viewership. TF1 aims to expand its audience and advertiser reach by leveraging Netflix’s massive platform.
So what: For TF1 and other legacy linear TV players, this is the best among a dwindling set of good options… For Netflix, on the other hand, this is awesome. While Netflix needs to continue strengthening their live TV ops (based on the performance issues they faced streaming the Tyson/Paul fight last year), this regional network should be a good starting point. Plus, they’ll get to continue leaning into international content/audiences this way.
What’s up: Microsoft is planning to cut thousands of jobs, primarily in its sales division, as it reallocates resources toward its expanding AI efforts, according to Bloomberg. The layoffs follow a previous round in May that affected about 6,000 employees. Microsoft is investing $80 billion this fiscal year—mainly into data centers—to meet growing AI demand. The cuts are expected to be announced after the company’s fiscal year ends next month.
So what: Big tech layoffs in general aren’t surprising, but I am surprised to see Microsoft announcing cuts in successive months while their competitors are mostly quiet. Why? Because there’s safety in numbers… For example, if your competitors point to COVID for earnings impacts, it’s safe for you to parrot that talk track. Layoff announcements follow the same logic. While I do think Microsoft is being especially frugal/forward-looking with their cuts (including saying “no” to a blank check of R&D spend for OpenAI), I’d be surprised if we don’t see Google, Meta, etc. announcing big layoffs soon.
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🌲 F/T Shoutouts 🌲
AI blowing-up business models — Brett Taylor (Quip founder, OpenAI Board member, etc — who we’ve fan-boyed about before) did a great talk at Sequoia about how AI is changing business models. Worth a listen!
Hitting the ground running — Stumbled across this video from ThePrimeagen, and I think you’ll dig it. He talks specifically about ramping-up as an engineer on a new team, but there are golden nuggets here that everyone should pay attention to (especially when starting a new gig).