Riley Rosebee

Waymo Moves Into Manhattan

The Godspeed Weekly

August 23, 2025

Happy Saturday!

Last week, markets were mixed. Small-caps carried +3.30%. The Nasdaq Composite was the only negative major index.

Financials flew +2.12% and closed at an all-time weekly high.

China ran to a 3-year high. $CQQQ soared +6.69% on the week.

Here are the top narratives of the week 🫡

Waymo Moves Into Manhattan

Waymo received the first-ever permit to test autonomous vehicles in New York City. The move drops robotaxis into one of the most complex driving environments in the world — dense traffic, aggressive drivers, and unpredictable pedestrians.

For Waymo, the permit marks a milestone beyond its established operations in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Cracking New York could cement its reputation as the industry leader and set a higher regulatory bar for rivals.

The challenge will be scale. New York streets are an order of magnitude harder than wide-open suburban roads. Success here could accelerate trust in autonomy; failure could reinforce skepticism. Either way, New York is now center stage for the next chapter of the robotaxi race.

Google x Meta Ink $10B Cloud Deal

Google Cloud secured a six-year contract with Meta valued at more than $10B. Meta will use Google’s cloud to power advanced AI workloads, supplementing its own data centers. The partnership signals that even tech giants with vast infrastructure still need outside capacity as AI demand grows.

This is one of Google Cloud’s largest deals ever, underscoring the rising cost of AI compute and the pressure on hyperscalers to capture marquee clients. For Meta, outsourcing workloads buys time as it scales its in-house data centers and custom chips.

The bigger question is whether this signals a new era of cooperation among the hyperscalers. If Meta leans on Google for AI training, rivals like Amazon and Microsoft could strike similar arrangements?

Bottom Line: GPU demand is outpacing supply. The cloud continues to grow.

Dropping Burritos

Chipotle teamed up with Zipline to launch “Zipotle,” a drone-powered delivery service. The partnership brings aerial delivery to urban markets, promising burritos that fly over traffic and land at your door in minutes.

For Chipotle, it’s a branding win and a logistics experiment. Fast food chains live and die on convenience, and shaving delivery times while skipping congested roads may give it an edge over competitors. For Zipline, it’s another step from medical supply deliveries into mainstream consumer use, proof that drones aren’t just for rural hospitals, but for everyday lunch orders.

The bet is simple: if drones can deliver medicine safely, they can deliver burritos too. Success could spark a wave of restaurant–drone partnerships, reshaping last-mile logistics. Food delivery is often the first frontier for big tech shifts.

Washington Buys Into Intel

The U.S. government plans to purchase a 10% stake in Intel, a dramatic step to secure domestic semiconductor production. The move comes as Washington doubles down on chips as critical infrastructure, elevating Intel from national champion to quasi-strategic asset.

For Intel, the backing provides capital and political cover as it races to catch TSMC and Samsung. For Washington, it’s a hedge against supply chain risk and a signal that semiconductors are now as strategic as oil or steel once were. The stake also blurs the line between free markets and industrial policy, echoing Cold War-era government-industry partnerships.

Meta Meets Midjourney

Meta is partnering with Midjourney to build new AI image and video models, blending Meta’s massive infrastructure with Midjourney’s creative edge. The collaboration aims to accelerate generative content for both consumers and advertisers, a space where Meta is betting heavily on engagement and monetization.

For Meta, it’s a way to strengthen its AI portfolio beyond Llama and into media creation. For Midjourney, the deal gives access to scale and distribution it could never reach alone. The move also signals that the frontier of AI is shifting from text to visuals, from words on a screen to immersive content ecosystems.