Italy is revamping its web tax to target large tech companies while sparing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and publishing groups, government officials announced. The move aims to balance domestic fiscal needs with international concerns, especially those raised by the United States, which has criticised the tax as unfairly targeting US-based firms like Meta, Google, and Amazon.
Introduced in 2019, the 3% tax applies to digital firms with global revenues exceeding €750 million and at least €5.5 million generated in Italy. Recent attempts by Italy’s Treasury to expand the tax’s scope were met with backlash, prompting officials to retain the original revenue thresholds to avoid burdening smaller companies.
Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti argued that a broader tax base could reduce friction with the US, but internal government opposition led to a pivot. Rome also plans to cut corporate taxes for companies that invest and create jobs, offsetting the cost by raising €5 billion from banks and insurers over three years through measures outlined in the 2025 budget. By refining its approach, Italy seeks to strike a balance between fiscal responsibility and fostering a favorable business environment for smaller enterprises.
Google has announced a $20 billion partnership with Intersect Power and TPG Rise Climate to build renewable energy projects, battery storage, and grid upgrades for its data centres. The initiative includes wind, solar, and battery storage facilities, each paired with 1-gigawatt-scale data centres to meet growing energy demands for AI technology. The first phase is expected to be operational by 2026.
The plan aims to address grid bottlenecks, with Google funding required upgrades to accelerate connectivity. This strategy highlights renewables’ speed over nuclear options, which have longer timelines for implementation.
Industry experts predict a shortfall in energy for AI-focused data centres by 2027, underscoring the urgency for alternative power sources. While Google also invests in nuclear energy projects, renewables are expected to dominate in the near term.
Luke Littler, a 17-year-old darts sensation, has made history as the youngest player to reach the World Darts Championship final and later became Google’s most-searched athlete in the UK for 2024. Dubbed “The Nuke,” Littler’s breakout year began with a record-setting performance in January and culminated in major victories, including the Grand Slam of Darts and the Premier League Darts title.
His meteoric rise saw him ranked fourth globally and trending higher on Google than figures like the prime minister and the King. Littler’s nine-dart finish at the Bahrain Darts Masters and his string of high-profile wins captured global attention, drawing millions of viewers and sparking widespread online interest.
Reflecting on his remarkable success, Littler said, “It’s been an amasing year for me personally and for darts as a sport. Being recognised in Google’s Year in Search is a huge honor and shows how much the sport is growing.” His achievements highlight a banner year for young athletes breaking boundaries and captivating audiences worldwide.
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is doubling down on AI to reshape its core search business, which generates the majority of its $300 billion annual revenue. At the Reuters NEXT conference in New York, Alphabet President Ruth Porat described AI as a ‘generational opportunity’ for the company, with tools like AI-generated query overviews aiming to make search more intuitive. However, challenges such as AI ‘hallucinations,’ where incorrect information is generated, remain a key hurdle.
Beyond search, Alphabet is channeling its AI expertise into healthcare advancements. Porat highlighted innovations like AlphaFold, which predicts protein structures to aid drug discovery, and AI tools that could prevent blindness or enhance the doctor-patient relationship by reducing screen time for medical professionals. These efforts reflect the company’s broader commitment to applying technology for societal benefits.
Alphabet’s financial investments in AI are substantial, with $50 billion projected in capital expenditures for 2024, including data centres and chips. Porat emphasised the need for these investments to yield tangible returns while shaping the future of both technology and human connection.
Alphabet’s stock jumped 5% on Tuesday after the company unveiled Willow, a groundbreaking chip that addresses a major hurdle in quantum computing. Introduced on Monday, Willow solved a problem in five minutes that would take classical computers longer than the age of the universe. This breakthrough brings quantum computing closer to practical applications in science, medicine, and finance.
Quantum computers, powered by qubits, promise incredible speed but face challenges with error rates that grow with scale. Google’s Willow chip reduces errors exponentially by stringing qubits together in a way that allows for real-time error correction. This innovation marks a significant step toward making quantum computing reliable and commercially viable.
While the technology is still in its infancy, experts believe Willow could drive breakthroughs across industries. Alphabet’s shares, up 25% this year, outpaced market expectations, with investors optimistic about the potential impact of quantum computing on the company’s future. Other tech leaders like Microsoft and Quantinuum are also advancing in the race to commercialise quantum systems.
Google has joined forces with TPG Rise Climate and other investors to back clean energy developer Intersect Power in a funding round exceeding $800 million. The investment aligns with Google’s strategy to expand its domestic data centre capacity as demand for AI-driven cloud services surges.
These data centres will be part of innovative industrial parks co-developed with Intersect Power, integrating gigawatts of clean energy generation alongside state-of-the-art computing facilities. That approach reflects a shift in addressing the growing strain on US power grids, exacerbated by the energy-intensive requirements of generative AI technologies.
By situating data centres adjacent to carbon-free power plants, Google aims to streamline energy delivery, enhance grid reliability, and fast-track project timelines. The first co-located facility is slated to begin operations in 2026, with full completion expected by 2027.
Google, a primary customer of Intersect Power’s new clean energy facilities, underscores that these projects are designed to launch simultaneously with their data centres. That directly contributes to grid stability while meeting Google’s operational energy needs. Founded in 2016, Intersect Power focuses on scalable, low-carbon energy solutions and is backed by TPG’s climate-focused fund.
Amazon is establishing the Amazon AGI SF Lab in San Francisco to develop cutting-edge AI agent technology. This new initiative will be led by David Luan, co-founder of the AI startup Adept, which Amazon effectively acquired earlier this year. The lab’s primary focus will be creating agents capable of performing complex tasks across various software, web browsers, and even real-world applications.
Amazon’s move builds on its broader efforts in artificial general intelligence (AGI) and aligns with its recent acquisition of talent and technology from Adept. Luan will work alongside robotics expert Pieter Abbeel, who joined Amazon through its deal with Covariant. The lab plans to start with Adept’s existing team while adding a few dozen researchers from fields like quantitative finance and physics.
The company aims to develop AI agents that can learn from human feedback, self-correct, and intuit user goals, advancing a vision of intelligent systems that go beyond static tools. This initiative positions Amazon in the competitive “agentic AI” sector, which industry analysts estimate could grow to $31B by year-end.
Amazon’s AGI SF Lab comes amid a broader push by major tech players to develop similar autonomous systems. With competitors such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google already making strides in this field, Amazon’s new lab highlights its commitment to being a leader in the next wave of AI innovation.
European regulators are investigating a previously undisclosed advertising partnership between Google and Meta that targeted teenagers on YouTube and Instagram, the Financial Times reports. The now-cancelled initiative aimed at promoting Instagram to users aged 13 to 17 allegedly bypassed Google’s policies restricting ad personalisation for minors.
The partnership, initially launched in the US with plans for global expansion, has drawn the attention of the European Commission, which has requested extensive internal records from Google, including emails and presentations, to evaluate potential violations. Google, defending its practices, stated that its safeguards for minors remain industry-leading and emphasised recent internal training to reinforce policy compliance.
This inquiry comes amid heightened concerns about the impact of social media on young users. Earlier this year, Meta introduced enhanced privacy features for teenagers on Instagram, reflecting the growing demand for stricter online protections for minors. Neither Meta nor the European Commission has commented on the investigation so far.
The United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced on Friday it will subject Google Payment Corp., Alphabet‘s payment arm, to federal oversight, citing potential risks to consumers. The move follows complaints involving fraud and unauthorised transactions, although the agency stopped short of alleging direct misconduct.
Google has filed a lawsuit challenging the order, arguing that the service in question is no longer active and poses no risk. The CFPB, however, maintains its authority to regulate even discontinued services if they posed prior risks.
The announcement comes as the Biden administration intensifies regulation of tech-driven financial services, seeking parity with traditional banks. Last month, the CFPB finalised rules extending banking supervision to tech firms offering payment and digital wallet services, a move opposed by Republican lawmakers.
With Biden leaving office and President-elect Trump set to return, the decision may face political challenges. Google’s case highlights the broader conflict between Silicon Valley and federal regulators over financial innovation.
Google’s DeepMind has introduced GenCast, a cutting-edge AI weather prediction model that outperforms the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts’ (ECMWF) ENS, widely regarded as the global leader in operational forecasting. A study in Nature highlighted GenCast’s superior accuracy, predicting weather more effectively 97.2% of the time during a comparative analysis of 2019 data.
Unlike earlier deterministic models, GenCast creates a complex probability distribution of potential weather scenarios by generating 50 or more forecasts per instance. This ensemble approach provides a nuanced understanding of weather trajectories, elevating predictive reliability.
Google is integrating GenCast into its platforms like Search and Maps, while also planning to make real-time and historical AI powered forecasts accessible for public and research use. With this advancement, the tech giant aims to revolutionise weather forecasting and its applications worldwide.
