☕ Dream come true

Waymo keeps expanding despite safety concerns... June 27, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [Indeed]( Good morning. It’s here: the first presidential debate of the election season. At 9pm ET, Joe Biden will square off against Donald Trump in the first instance of a sitting president debating a former president. That’s not all that’s unusual about this debate: - It comes months earlier than presidential debates in the past, and neither candidate has participated in a debate since their showdowns in 2020. - There will be no in-person audience, microphones will be muted when the candidates are not asked to talk, and they can’t bring in pre-written notes or props. How to watch: The debate is being hosted by CNN, but the feed will be shared across most other networks and major news sites. In short, it’ll be hard to miss it. —Cassandra Cassidy, Matty Merritt, Molly Liebergall, Adam Epstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 17,805.16 +0.49% S&P 5,477.90 +0.16% Dow 39,127.80 +0.04% 10-Year 4.316% +8.0 bps Bitcoin $60,724.91 -2.06% Rivian $14.74 +23.24% Data is provided by *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00pm ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stocks [ticked up]( for the second straight day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq making the biggest move among the major indexes. Speaking of moves, Rivian electrified investors with a 23% surge after the automaker announced a $5 billion joint venture with Volkswagen.  AUTO [Waymo’s California dream come true]( [A Waymo self-driving car in San Francisco]( Collection/Gado/Getty Images People who are afraid of talkative Uber drivers, rejoice: Driverless taxi rides are one step closer to ubiquity. Waymo One, the ride-hailing service that employs self-driving white Jaguars, is now [available]( to everyone in San Francisco. San Francisco is the second city to go [full Waymo]( four years after the company opened operations to the general public in Phoenix, Arizona. Not to be confused with John Mulaney’s soda-delivering robot friend, [Saymo]( Waymo was started 15 years ago as a project within Google’s parent, Alphabet. Multiple tests and destroyed cars later, it stands out as a pioneer in the nascent robotaxi space. And it could be coming to a city near you. Waymo currently offers limited service in Los Angeles and plans to start operating in the San Francisco of Texas—Austin—later this year. Everyone’s cool with this? Waymo’s success makes it almost easy to forget that it’s had plenty of hiccups: - As recently as last month, a probe by the US Highway Traffic Safety Administration discovered safety incidents relating to Waymo’s cars. - Waymo recalled software in all its cars earlier this month after one crashed into a telephone pole. - In February, a San Francisco crowd set a Waymo car on [fire](. And yet, Waymo is still cruising. The company said 300,000 people were on its San Francisco waitlist before it opened to the public. Waymo claims that its cars have driven riders over 3.8 million miles across SF as of April. Its next goal…make [money](. As the company vies for a piece of the market dominated by Uber and Lyft, it hopes to find a way to be profitable and make back some of the billions that Google has spent to develop it. Zoom out: Waymo is the future of the US robotaxi industry. Its closest competitor, GM’s autonomous vehicle unit Cruise, had its licenses in California suspended in October after a series of collisions.—CC PRESENTED BY INDEED [Source your superstars]( [Indeed]( Hiring managers are facing a unique challenge. The more time they spend searching for applicants, the less time they have to focus on what they do best: connecting with people and evaluating quality candidates. According to a recent Indeed-commissioned survey with Harris Poll, 99% (!!!) of 300 US hiring managers say [sourcing qualified candidates]( is a challenge. Sheesh. That’s why Indeed built [Smart Sourcing](. It uses advanced matching tech and AI to help: - Provide a shortlist of candidates who match your criteria. - Get actionable insights on candidate engagement. - Connect with responsive candidates quickly. Indeed believes better work begins with better hiring. That’s why Smart Sourcing expedites the talent-sourcing process without losing that essential human touch. Spend less time searching through applications and more time [meeting future team superstars](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [A graphic of a social media post being put in the trash]Francis Scialabba SCOTUS issued one big ruling, then made an even bigger oops. In a highly anticipated decision, the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 in favor of the White House, saying it can urge social media companies to [remove content]( it deems to be misinformation. A group of conservative-led states had sued to block federal agencies from communicating with employees at social media sites, but the court ruled that the states had no standing to do so. Shortly after the ruling came down yesterday, Bloomberg reported that SCOTUS [accidentally posted]( a draft of a pivotal abortion decision online before taking it down. If made official (which could be as soon as today), the ruling would allow emergency abortions in Idaho despite the state’s ban. Kenya’s president withdrew a controversial tax plan after deadly protests. Kenyan President William Ruto said he [will not sign]( a bill that would have raised taxes a day after 23 people were killed and 300 others were injured during violent protests at the Parliament building in Nairobi. Most of the protesters were young people who took to TikTok and X to organize against the finance law and address politicians directly. “The people have spoken,” Ruto said in an address to the nation yesterday. Amazon joined the $2 trillion market cap club. The e-commerce giant now gets to sit at the [cool kids’ table]( with Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, and Alphabet. Amazon shares are up about 26% so far this year, fueled by hysteria excitement around artificial intelligence. Investors have been impressed by the company’s ability to bounce back from a recent slowdown while cutting costs. Microsoft, which has also surged in market cap thanks to the AI boom, currently leads the pack with a value north of $3.3 trillion. AI [Generative AI is a treasure chest for consultants]( [Treasure chest of glowing coins.]( Anna Kim, Photo: Getty Images Generative AI is giving Wharton grads many new PowerPoint topics. Businesses are increasingly turning to their trusty old consultant friends in matching vests because they’re desperate for artificial intelligence [guidance]( even if they don’t exactly know how AI can work for them. Big consulting firms are doing everything from developing plans for AI customer service bots for some clients to streamlining R&D for healthcare companies. Some also track and make sense of the rapidly changing laws and policies around the tech. - McKinsey said generative AI will make up about 40% of its business this year. - IBM’s 160,000 consultants have locked in $1 billion in generative AI sales commitments. - Consulting firm BCG’s CEO Christoph Schweizer [told]( the Financial Times, “We have never seen a topic become relevant as rapidly as Gen AI.” The widespread interest in the new tech is like a flashback to the dot-com boom when everyone immediately needed a website. Big picture: The profusion of AI work is welcome news for a consulting industry still lagging from the pandemic—but the push for speedy adoption could come with some bugs. McDonald’s just [pulled the plug]( on the AI voice ordering system it developed with IBM because of its many mistakes.—MM TOGETHER WITH DELTA [Delta]( The full scoop on women’s work lives. How satisfied are women feeling with their careers? We’re glad you asked—because we did too, and 800+ women responded. [Read our article]( to see the data behind women’s career satisfaction + [see the factors]( that both help and hinder women’s happiness at work. MARKETS [You’ll soon be able to bet on inflation & global temps]( [Two line charts]( Brew/ForecastTrader/[Interactive Brokers LLC]( A new online prediction market, ForecastEx, will earn you more than just pride and ego if you accurately call the next economic report or climate gauge. It’ll be easier than sports betting. The electronic brokerage Interactive Brokers Group is launching commission-free penny contracts on July 8 that will let its customers make wagers on future events by choosing “yes” or “no” on its website, the Wall Street Journal [reported]( yesterday. For example: If you think the consumer price index will surpass 313.23 in the next inflation report, you’d take a “yes” position on the contract pictured above and pony up $0.83 for the 83% odds in your favor. Correct contracts pay out $1, and wrong predictions get nothing. - ForecastEx contracts will also cover US unemployment, retail, and other economic indicators, as well as national and global temperatures—and even atmospheric CO2 numbers. - Interactive Brokers [intends]( to expand ForecastEx outside the US and cover “local and controversial global issues,” it said. (Un)fortunately for Super Bowl halftime setlist gamblers, the brokerage isn’t planning to let people bet on pop culture. Zoom out: More event contracts were filed in 2021 than in the 15 years prior, and the pile keeps growing, WSJ reported. Trading regulators are [trying to ban]( contracts related to elections, sports, and awards shows.—ML STAT [Prime number](#) [graphic of A24 movies]Illustration: Francis Scialabba, Photos: A24 The company that your film school friend hasn’t stopped talking about since 2017 just got a lofty new valuation, thanks to Jared Kushner’s brother. A24, the indie studio known for turning mid-budget films like Uncut Gems and Everything Everywhere All at Once into award winners and thinkpiece generators, is now [worth $3.5 billion]( after a $100 million investment from Josh Kushner’s venture capital firm, Thrive Capital. That’s a 40% jump in the studio’s worth since 2022. Over the last decade, A24 has carved out a niche in Hollywood as a top destination for auteurs to flex their creativity, though it’s starting to push into more commercial projects like the dystopian thriller Civil War. NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [IATSE]( the union representing Hollywood craftspeople, reached a tentative agreement with the studios, likely averting another entertainment industry strike. - [The yen]( fell to its lowest level since 1986, raising the possibility that Japanese officials could step in to save the enervated currency. - [The Biden administration]( issued mass pardons to US military members who were discharged and court-martialed for being gay under a Cold War-era rule. - [Verizon]( updated its logo, which eliminates the checkmark and sure looks a lot like Netflix’s. - [Ovax]( a new startup, has raised $10 million to develop a fentanyl vaccine, which would prevent users from overdosing on the often deadly drug. - [Guy Beahm]( aka the popular video game streamer Dr Disrespect, is shedding sponsorship deals after admitting to inappropriately messaging a minor in 2017. RECS [To do list Thursday] Eat: 22 of the [best pizza places]( in the US, per the New York Times (most are not in NYC). Fly: The latest travel trend is staring at the real-time flight map [for the whole trip](. Laugh: Martin Short dons his “Jiminy Glick” alter ego to [interview Bill Hader]( hilarity ensues. Swim: America’s [greatest lake towns]( from Lake George to Hot Springs. Free Excel workshop: Learn everything you need to know about pivot tables and data analysis in Miss Excel’s [free 60-minute live workshop](. The next gold rush: EnergyX can extract 3x more lithium than traditional methods. [Today’s the final day to invest in EnergyX for $9/share]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini: Someday you’ll find it—the rainbow connection in today’s Mini. [Find the pot of gold here](. Three Headlines and a Lie Three of these headlines are real and one is faker than saving money at a summer happy hour. Can you spot the odd one out? - Cup Noodles [serves]( up notoriously poisonous pufferfish - GTA San Andreas used ‘real gang members’ to [record]( voiceover - LA food creator [booed]( out of event after claiming ‘pasta is out’ - Labour [suspends]( candidate accused of betting on himself to lose SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=4904f90a]( ANSWER We made up the pasta one. Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: enervated, meaning “drained of energy or weakened.” Thanks to Russ from Arlington Heights, IL, and others for the vital suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✤ A Note From EnergyX This is a paid advertisement for EnergyX’s Regulation A+ offering. Please read the offering circular at [invest.energyx.com/](. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Adam Epstein]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( [Matty Merritt]( and [Molly Liebergall]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Interested in podcasts? - Check out ours [here]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. View our privacy policy [here](. Copyright © 2024 Morning Brew. All rights reserved. 22 W 19th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011