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☆ Google, Lendlease axe plans for $15 billion development in Bay Area
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Alphabet’s Google has scrapped a development deal to build $15 billion worth of homes, offices and retail space in California’s Silicon Valley. The announcement comes amid a period of deep cost-cutting and layoffs for Google and during a time when commercial real estate is faltering. Billion-dollar investmentsIn June 2019, Google made a $1 billion pledge to help develop more affordable housing in the increasingly unaffordable region. A month later, Google partnered with Lendlease to redevelop its landholdings for a 10- to 15-year project valued at $15 billion. Lending to commercial real estate developers and managers largely comes from small and mid-sized banks, where the pressure on liquidity has been most severe.

Persons: Lendlease, “, ” Lendlease, Google’s, we’ve, ”, Sundar Pichai, “ We’ve, ” Scott Foster, Goldman Sachs Organizations: CNN, Google, San Francisco Bay Project, Alexa, Wall Street Journal, Lendlease Locations: Silicon, San Francisco Bay, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Bay, Mountain View

☆ Google and property developer Lendlease ended a deal on $15 billion of Bay Area real estate projects, as Big Tech continues to review the role of offices
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Google ended an agreement with Australian construction firm Lendlease to build four campuses in the Bay Area. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. It additionally worked with Lendlease to pave the way for 12,900 units to be built in San José and Mountain View. Lendlease laid off 67 employees earlier this year including several community engagement managers, senior development managers, a head of business operations, and other executives, per CNBC. This was after Google halted construction of its Downtown West campus in San José.

Persons: Lendlease, —, we've, Google's, Meta Organizations: Google, Service, CNBC, Big Tech, Facebook Locations: Bay, San Francisco, San José, Moffet, Sunnyvale, Bayshore, Mountain View, Francisco Bay, Downtown West, London

☆ Lendlease, Google end development deals for $15 bln San Francisco Bay Area projects
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Himanshi Akhand | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured outside a Google office near the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 8, 2019. Under the project, Lendlease was to develop up to 15 million square feet of residential, retail and hospitality space and Google would develop office space. As of June-end, 12,900 of the planned housing units were approved for development in San Jose and Mountain View, according to Google. Lendlease said it will remove the San Francisco Bay project, which was expected to commence construction in fiscal 2026, from its development pipeline. Lendlease retained its forecast for fiscal 2024, with core operating return on equity at the lower end of its 8%-10% range.

Persons: Paresh Dave, Lendlease, Himanshi, Ayushman Ojha, Sonia Cheema, Rashmi, Sohini Organizations: REUTERS, Lendlease, Google, San Francisco Bay Area, Francisco's, Alexa Arena, San, UBS, Thomson Locations: Mountain View , California, U.S, San Francisco Bay, Sunnyvale, San Jose, Mountain, Westfield, Bay, Hayes, San Francisco, Americas, Bengaluru

Google confirmed on Thursday that the company ended its agreement with the development partner that was working on four key campus sites. Alphabet-owned Google is embarking on its most expansive cost cuts in its almost two decades on the public market. CNBC reported that, as part of Google's downsizing that went into effect early this year, the company gutted its development team for the San Jose campus. As recently as September, Google executives, including CFO Ruth Porat, appeared at a San Jose event that aimed to reaffirm the company's commitment to building in the city. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said in a statement to CNBC that the latest news "doesn't change Google's commitment to San Jose or their timeline."

Persons: Lendlease, we've, Ruth Porat, Matt Mahan, Mahan Organizations: Google, Lendlease, Downtown, San, Alexa, CNBC, San Jose Locations: Jose, Sunnyvale, Bayshore, Mountain View, San Francisco Bay, Bay, San Jose, San

☆ I moved my family from California to Texas 2 years ago. A friend warned me we would hate it — 6 months later, other families followed us.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Kiera Fields | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Jian Jiao left the Bay Area in 2021 and moved his family to Austin, Texas. The Bay Area had a great job market for senior tech roles with many similar people around. AdvertisementAdvertisementAustin is expensive for Texas but cheap compared with the Bay Area. When my parents flew in from Beijing, they had multiple direct flights into the Bay Area. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe North Austin-South Austin divideMost of the new developments are in north Austin because that's where the tech hubs have been set up.

Persons: Jian Jiao, Jiao, Austin, —, we've, I've, it's, there's Organizations: Area, Service, BP, Google, Oracle, that's Locations: Austin , Texas, San Francisco, Austin, Sunnyvale, California, America, Orange County, Irvine, Southern California, Texas, Bay, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Beijing, South Austin

☆ Silicon Valley CEO gets 8-year prison sentence in case over blood-testing company that gives off Elizabeth Holmes-Theranos vibes
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Associated Press | Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The CEO of medical testing company Arrayit was sentenced to 8 years in prison on Wednesday. Schena's case is similar to Elizabeth Holmes', who was sentenced to prison for defrauding investors in Theranos. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . In meetings with investors, Schena claimed he was on the shortlist for the Nobel Prize and falsely represented that Arrayit could be valued at $4.5 billion, prosecutors said.

Persons: Arrayit, Elizabeth Holmes, —, Mark Schena, Schena, Holmes, State Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, Richard Kovacevich, William H, Foege, San Organizations: Service, US Department of Justice, Arrayit Corporation, Stanford University, SEC, State, Wells, Centers for Disease Control Locations: Theranos, Sunnyvale , California, San Jose , California, Texas

Mark Schena, 60, was convicted last year of paying bribes to doctors and defrauding the government after his company billed Medicare $77 million for fraudulent COVID-19 and allergy tests, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. Schena claimed his Sunnyvale, California-based company, Arrayit Corporation, had the only laboratory in the world that offered “revolutionary microarray technology” that allowed it to test for allergies and COVID-19 with the same finger-stick test kit, prosecutors said. In meetings with investors, Schena claimed he was on the shortlist for the Nobel Prize and falsely represented that Arrayit could be valued at $4.5 billion, prosecutors said. Holmes was convicted on four felony counts of investor fraud following a nearly four-month trial in the same San Jose, California, courtroom where Schena’s trial was held. In May, Holmes entered a Texas prison where she could spend the next 11 years.

Persons: Mark Schena, Schena, Elizabeth Holmes, Holmes, San Organizations: JOSE, Calif, U.S . Department of Justice, Arrayit Corporation, Stanford University Locations: Sunnyvale , California, San Jose , California, Texas

☆ Artificial Intelligence Steps In to Lower Carbon Footprint of Buildings
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Artificial intelligence is starting to help buildings go greener. Developers and construction companies have pursued more-efficient energy use in buildings over the past couple of decades. “We want to make every building out there as smart as it can be,” said Ramya Ravichandar, JLL Technologies’s vice president, technology platforms—smart and sustainable buildings. For instance, software and hardware that automatically manages lights, heating and cooling can help buildings cut 20% or more of their yearly energy use. “The main message overall is we’re not going to save the planet with software, and AI is software,” Smithies said.

Persons: JLL, “, ”, Ramya Ravichandar, ” Ravichandar, Thomas Kiessling, ” Kiessling, Greg Smithies, ” Smithies, Dieter Holger Organizations: International Energy Agency, Energy, Environmental, Envio Systems, Royal London Asset Management, JLL, London Asset Management, Siemens Smart Infrastructure, Siemens, Sustainable Business, Venture, Fifth, dieter.holger Locations: Turntide, Sunnyvale, Calif, Berlin, Birmingham, England

☆ 15 cities where getting a graduate degree pays off the most
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The San Jose area has the largest pay gap between holders of a graduate degree versus a bachelor's. Some top law schools cost over $200,000 over the course of the program, while medical schools average nearly $219,000 a year. SmartAsset found the average graduate degree holder made $72,000 a year. For cities including The Villages, Florida; Prescott, Arizona; and Morristown, Tennessee, graduate-degree holders made less than $55,000. Florida has two metropolitan areas in the top 15 for graduate-degree income difference, though neither Texas nor New Jersey ranks in the top 25.

Persons: SmartAsset Organizations: Trenton, Service, Education Data Initiative, Park, San Locations: California , Alabama, Utah, San Jose, Huntsville , Alabama, Princeton , New Jersey, Wall, Silicon, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, California, Princeton, New Jersey, Jose, San Francisco, Huntsville, Trenton, George , Utah, Zion, Provo, Orem, Merced, Fresno, Tuscaloosa , Alabama, Elizabethtown, Fort Knox, Kentucky, Florida, Prescott , Arizona, Morristown , Tennessee, Florida , Texas, New Jersey . Florida, Texas

☆ NetApp beats revenue estimates on rising demand for cloud services
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 23 (Reuters) - NetApp (NTAP.O) reported first-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, driven by strong demand for cloud based services from businesses. Enterprise spending on cloud held strong as businesses moved to upgrade their technology infrastructure that is core to their operations and also incorporate newer AI capabilities. NetApp also reiterated its profit and revenue outlook for fiscal 2024. NetApp's total revenue for the quarter ended July 28 was $1.43 billion, compared to analysts' estimate of $1.41 billion, according to Refinitiv data. The company earned an adjusted profit of $1.15 per share, which beat expectations of $1.07 per share.

Persons: NetApp, Yamini, Shailesh Organizations: Enterprise, Thomson Locations: Sunnyvale , California, Bengaluru

☆ The top 20 areas real-estate investors are piling into for high population growth, increasing rental demand, or price appreciation, according to a property-data firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

When it comes to single-family homes, it's predominantly investors, according to recent data from CoreLogic, a property-data firm that tracks real-estate transactions. But whether they are small or large investors, they are targeting specific areas, according to the data. "All the others make sense as these have been hot real estate investment areas that have been hot for a very long time in terms of investment. Small investors are active all around the country and make up most of the investors, he said. The below table is based on CoreLogic public records data for single-family transactions.

Persons: Thomas Malone, Goldman Sachs, who's, Malone, upticks, There's Organizations: CoreLogic, Investor, Mega, McAllen, El, San Bernardino -, Thousand Oaks, Beaumont, UT, KS Locations: CoreLogic, California, Jose, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, CA, Angeles, Long, Anaheim, Edinburg, Mission, Brownsville, Harlingen , TX, Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Francisco, Oakland, Hayward , CA, El Paso , TX, Diego, Carlsbad, Fresno, Modesto, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Bernardino - Ontario, Oxnard, Ventura, Santa Rosa, Stockton, Lodi , CA, Albuquerque, NM, Port Arthur, TX, Memphis, TN, Salt Lake City, Christi , TX, Wichita

☆ The 5 U.S. metro areas with the highest single-family rents — 3 are in California
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Downtown Los Angeles. However, financial experts warn consumers about some of the unexpected expenses. "Probably the most overlooked hidden cost is when you are looking for the next job," said certified financial planner Michael Hansen, co-founder and managing partner of Frontier Wealth Strategies in Walnut Creek, California. What you might save in dollars, you may lose in connection, collaboration and community. Eric Roberge Founder of Beyond Your Hammock

Persons: Michael Hansen, Eric Roberge Organizations: Downtown, TheCrimsonRibbon, Getty, U.S Locations: Downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Long Beach , California, Anaheim , California, Diego, Carlsbad , California, Naples, Florida, Immokalee , Florida, Marco Island, Bridgeport , Connecticut, Stamford , Connecticut, Norwalk , Connecticut, Jose , California, Sunnyvale , California, Santa Clara , California, Rock , Arkansas, North, Conway , Arkansas, Montgomery , Alabama, Birmingham , Alabama, Hoover , Alabama, Louisville , Kentucky, Jefferson County , Kentucky, Indiana, Cleveland , Ohio, Elyria , Ohio, Walnut Creek , California

☆ How America fell out of love with ice cream
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Ice cream is “the ultimate comfort food.”Drinkers swapped a pint for a scoop, and for ice cream makers, Prohibition was a boon. “In fact they say that the ice cream business is bound to increase in volume from year to year as more people are using ice cream since the coming in of nation-wide prohibition and the going out of the saloon.”The interest in ice cream continued in World War II, buoyed by the government’s use of the frozen dessert to help boost morale. Margaret Bourke-White/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock“We built pop-up ice cream factories on the front lines, delivered individual ice cream cartons to foxholes and spent more than a million dollars on a floating ice cream barge that patrolled the Pacific delivering ice cream,” Siegel said. Scoops of Falooda ice cream are placed on top Blueberry Lavender ice cream at Pints of Joy in Sunnyvale, California. Today, she teaches aspiring ice cream entrepreneurs how to make ice cream.

Persons: Earl Leaf, Michael Ochs, Baskin Robbins, —, Matt Siegel, ” Siegel, Yuengling, ”, Margaret Bourke, “, Siegel, John Robbins, Robbins, Burt Baskin, Robbins ’, ” Robbins, Robbins “, Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson, Lucas Fuess, Richard B, Levine, Levine Roberts, Fuess, John Crawford, “ There’s, Circana, Aric Crabb, Talenti, Earl Grey, ” Crawford, Bryan Olin Dozier, Deborah Lee Organizations: New, New York CNN, US Department of Agriculture, Michael Ochs Archives, Food, Anheuser, Busch, Manufacturers, Cream, Baskin, New York Times, Rabobank, MediaNews, East Bay Times Locations: New York, NY, American, USS Maryland, Chicago , Illinois, Circana, Joy, Sunnyvale , California, Van Leeuwen, North Carolina

SANTA CLARA, California May 22 (Reuters) - U.S. semiconductor toolmaker Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O) on Monday said it plans to spend up to $4 billion on a research center in the heart of Silicon Valley to speed up advances in semiconductor manufacturing. Applied Materials said the new facility, called the Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization (EPIC) Center, will be the size of more than three American football fields. The scale of how fast we invest is going to be tied to the government incentives," Gary Dickerson, CEO of Applied Materials, told Reuters. Taking ideas from research universities and turning them into tools used in factories can take many years, said Applied executives. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to attend an Applied Materials' event in Silicon Valley announcing the center, along with top executives from major chip companies.

☆ Google Cloud boss Kurian's rocky path to profit: 'We were not in a very good situation'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian, right, arrives on stage as Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai exits during the Google Cloud Next event in San Francisco on April 9, 2019. Earlier this week, Alphabet said Google's cloud unit generated $191 million in operating profit, after losing a total of $4 billion in 2021 and 2022. Under Kurian's predecessor, VMware co-founder Diane Greene, critics said Google's cloud business hadn't matured enough to handle enterprises even as it was investing heavily to do so. The cloud division includes the Google Cloud Platform, which competes with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, and the Google Workspace productivity software bundle that goes head-to-head with Microsoft Office. Google Cloud technology chief Will Grannis said Kurian's commitment to improving the division's offerings was evident right away.

☆ Google's 80-acre San Jose mega-campus is on hold as company reckons with economic slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

The city of San Jose may now be paying the price. CNBC has learned that, as part of Google's downsizing that went into effect early this year, the company has gutted its development team for the San Jose campus. By then, the company had already completed much of its multi-year land grab of downtown San Jose for the future campus. Google spent several years planning for the San Jose complex and invested significant resources in winning over the local community. "We all originally knew that it's going to be a long-term plan," San Jose councilmember Omar Torres, who represents the downtown area, told San Jose Spotlight in February.

☆ Intuitive Surgical beats first-quarter sales on higher procedure volumes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Sriparna Roy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 18 (Reuters) - Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG.O) beat estimates for first-quarter sales on Tuesday as the surgical robot maker recorded a rise in total procedure volumes. The company reported quarterly sales of $1.70 billion, beating analysts' estimates of $1.60 billion, according to IBES Refinitiv data. The medical device maker posted a 26% growth in procedure volumes of its surgical robot da Vinci in the first quarter through March from a year earlier. Investors are eyeing the launch of company's new multiport surgical robot, which could be a potential near-term catalyst, analysts said after Intuitive in January told its next generation system is not expected to be launched this year. Excluding items, Intuitive earned $1.23 per share in the first quarter, above analysts' average estimate of $1.20 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

☆ Why banning TikTok could be a bad idea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Download Insider's app here. Screenshots from Lemon8 app, Ese Nuesiri / Shantania Beckford1. The rise of Lemon8 proves how pointless a TikTok ban would be. The US government wants to ban TikTok, but its parent company ByteDance is coming out with a new app aimed at the US market. Paayal writes that even if the US banned TikTok, Lemon8 would still exist.

☆ Leaked memos show Google is closing some of its cafes 'until further notice' as it cuts back on employee perks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Rosalie Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Google is closing some of its cafes "until further notice," according to memos sent on Wednesday. As part of its plan to cut costs this year, Google is closing some of its cafes "until further notice." Cafes at Google's campuses are one of the search giant's most famous employee perks as workers have access to free meals. The cafes called Steam, Costa, Go!, Slice, and Deja Brew Hub, and some lunchtime food trucks, will be "closed until further notice." The cafes called Till Cafe, Java Corner, Share, Fresh Market, Cornerstone, and lunchtime food trucks, will be "closed until further notice."

☆ In the Whirl of ChatGPT, Startups See an Opening for Their AI Chips
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Isabelle Bousquette | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Generative AI and large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT require massive amounts of computing power to run, and typically rely on chips like Nvidia’s graphics-processing units, or GPUs, that are specialized for these types of calculations. Graphcore sells primarily to AI startups looking to build and train models at lower cost, he said, and the company is benefiting from the proliferation of those startups. Shane Rau, who leads International Data Corp.’s semiconductor research, said chip startups are increasingly pivoting to focus their products on supporting large language models. Still, he added, “you’re going to see a combination of real adaptation and marketing.”“There will be the pressure to say: ‘Hey, we’re already relevant, our AI chip technology’s already relevant to generative AI’,” said Mr. Rau. Some chip makers say they expect yet another surge in demand once businesses more widely adopt generative AI.

☆ Mercedes-Benz cars to have 'supercomputers', unveils Google partnership
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But the car companies also want to keep control over their customer relationships as well as valuable data generated by their cars. Mercedes-Benz is moving from a patchwork approach of integrating software from a range of suppliers to controlling the core of its software. Under the Google partnership, Google Maps will be Mercedes-branded and provide drivers with Google traffic information and automatic rerouting, as well as the ability to watch YouTube on the cars' entertainment system when the car is parked, or in Level 3 autonomous driving mode. Google and Mercedes-Benz also agreed to explore further collaboration with Google Cloud data and artificial intelligence capabilities. Others carmakers like General Motors, Renault (RENA.PA), Nissan (7201.T) and Ford (F.N) have embedded an entire package of Google services into their vehicles, offering features like Google Maps, Google Assistant and other applications.

Executives across the technology sector are talking about how to operate AI like ChatGPT while accounting for the high expense. What makes this form of AI pricier than conventional search is the computing power involved. Still, footing the bill is one of two main reasons why search and social media giants with billions of users have not rolled out an AI chatbot overnight, said Paul Daugherty, Accenture's chief technology officer. Technology experts also said a workaround is applying smaller AI models to simpler tasks, which Alphabet is exploring. The company said this month a "smaller model" version of its massive LaMDA AI technology will power its chatbot Bard, requiring "significantly less computing power, enabling us to scale to more users."

☆ Google asks some employees to share desks amid office downsizing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Google is asking cloud employees and partners to share their desks and alternate days with their desk mates starting next quarter, citing "real estate efficiency," CNBC has learned. Google also used its internal data it has on it its employee office return patterns to inform the decision, the FAQ stated. In addition to slower office return patterns, the company has slowed hiring and laid off 11,000 employees in January. A Google spokesperson explained, "Since returning to the office, we've run pilots and conducted surveys with Cloud employees to explore different hybrid work models and help shape the best experience. In the fourth quarter, Google Cloud brought in $7.32 billion, growing 32% from the prior year, considerably faster than the company's overall growth rate of less than 10%.

☆ Mass Shootings in the U.S.: A Symptom of Despair - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Jillian Peterson | James Densley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +23 min

Seven killed and 46 injured in Highland Park, Ill., on July 4, 2022He suffered from severe back pain. Eight killed and seven injured in Indianapolis on April 15, 2021He was known for being paranoid with a short temper. Five killed and seven injured in Aurora, Ill., on Feb. 15, 2019He had expressed violent thoughts. Nine killed and seven injured in Red Lake, Minn., on March 21, 2005He had been noticeably depressed and angry at church. Seven killed and seven injured in Fort Worth on Sept. 15, 1999He killed his daughter’s cat because he was upset.

For decades, searching for such hard-to-reach plants and collecting samples was carried out by intrepid botanists who rappelled by rope down dangerous cliffs to hunt for what was lost. Now, we may have a little more time before extinction.”DIRE SITUATIONToday, two in five plant species globally are threatened with extinction. Kauai has 250 plant species that can be found only on the island. To protect species in the long run, botanists need to collect samples — seeds and genetic material — which they can cultivate in greenhouse nurseries. They might even use drones to bomb down collected seeds, packing them into sticky fertilizer balls that can adhere to steep cliffs.

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