Today’s Top Tech Stories: Waymo, NASA, Oracle, and Quantum Breakthroughs
Here’s a summary of the most significant developments in AI, autonomous driving, cloud infrastructure, and quantum computing for October 15, 2025.
Waymo Announces 2026 London Robotaxi Service Launch
Waymo, the autonomous driving technology company under Alphabet, has officially announced its plan to launch a driverless robotaxi service in London. The full rollout is scheduled for 2026, making London the first European city to host Waymo’s autonomous ride-hailing service. Initial vehicle testing with safety drivers will commence in the upcoming weeks. The service, accessible via the Waymo app, will directly compete with established ride-hailing platforms. This expansion represents Waymo’s second international market after Tokyo. UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander voiced support, emphasizing the initiative’s potential to advance the UK’s autonomous vehicle sector and enhance transportation accessibility.
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NASA’s Astrobee ISS Robots to Begin Commercial Operations
NASA’s Astrobee robots, the autonomous, cube-shaped assistants on the International Space Station (ISS), are set to resume operations in early 2026 under new commercial management. The space logistics firm Arkisys has been chosen to maintain and sustain the Astrobee platform. This transition, announced at LA Tech Week, ensures that universities and private companies will have continued access to the microgravity research environment for robotics and autonomy testing. The Astrobee platform has been crucial for diverse research, including experiments with tentacle-like arms for capturing debris and developing genderless docking systems for small spacecraft.
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Oracle Unveils AI Data Platform for Enterprise Generative AI
Oracle has announced the general availability of its AI Data Platform, a new solution engineered to connect enterprise data and workflows with generative AI models. The platform streamlines data preparation for AI applications by integrating automated data ingestion, semantic enrichment, and vector indexing with native generative AI tools. It combines the power of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), Oracle Autonomous AI Database, and the OCI Generative AI service. This platform empowers business users to derive real-time insights and automate tasks with AI agents, while developers can build and scale agentic applications on high-performance, NVIDIA-accelerated computing infrastructure.
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Oracle Introduces Zettascale10, the Largest Cloud AI Supercomputer
In a major cloud infrastructure announcement, Oracle has revealed the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Zettascale10, which it describes as the largest AI supercomputer available in the cloud. This massive system connects hundreds of thousands of NVIDIA GPUs across multiple data centers, forming multi-gigawatt clusters that can achieve 16 zettaFLOPS of peak performance. Built on the next-gen Oracle Acceleron RoCE networking architecture, the OCI Zettascale10 is the foundation for the supercluster being constructed with OpenAI in Abilene, Texas, for the Stargate project. Orders are now open, with availability expected in the latter half of next year, scaling up to 800,000 NVIDIA AI infrastructure GPU platforms.
D-Wave to Deploy Advantage2 Quantum Computer in Europe
D-Wave Quantum Inc. has entered into a €10 million agreement with Swiss Quantum Technology SA (SQT) to deploy an Advantage2 annealing quantum computer in Europe. The deal includes an option for SQT to purchase the system and will support the new Q-Alliance initiative to bolster Italy’s quantum computing capabilities. The Advantage2 system, with over 4,400 qubits, is engineered to tackle complex optimization problems intractable for classical computers. Global customers will be able to access the system via D-Wave’s Leap real-time quantum cloud service. D-Wave CEO Dr. Alan Baratz called the agreement a pivotal step in expanding global access to their powerful annealing quantum technology.
China Commercializes ‘Zuchongzhi 3.0’ Superconducting Quantum Computer
China has made its “Zuchongzhi 3.0” model superconducting quantum computer commercially available. Deployed by a team from China Telecom Quantum Group (CTQG) and QuantumCTek Co., Ltd., the system features 105 readable qubits and 182 couplers. It is reported to perform quantum random circuit sampling tasks quadrillions of times faster than the world’s most powerful supercomputers. This launch signifies a major advancement in the practical application of quantum computing in China. The computer will be integrated into the “Tianyan” quantum computing cloud platform, making it accessible to users worldwide. Since its 2023 launch, the Tianyan platform has reportedly received over 37 million visits.
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