Global Scans · GAFA et al · Weekly Summary

• [New] Google has confirmed that Gemini will fully replace Google Assistant in 2026. Shelly Palmer
• [New] Warby Parker and Google teaming on AI-powered smart glasses for 2026, pushing distribution through optical retail rather than only tech stores. Glass Almanac
• [New] Amazon currently has over 1M warehouse robots deployed and hopes to automate 75% of its global operations by 2027 - a goal that would reduce new human worker hires by 160 K. The Tech Buzz
• [New] Google will launch its first AI glasses in 2026. MarketingProfs
• [New] The revenue at the major cloud providers (Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud) will continue to grow 30% year over year. Fortune
• [New] Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta will spend more than $400bn on data centers in 2026, on top of more than $350bn in 2025, as they battle for supremacy in artificial intelligence. McAlvany Financial Group
• [New] Google and Warby Parker plan AI glasses in 2026, increasing competitive pressure. Glass Almanac
• [New] Apple might turn to Intel's new fabrication business to make its M-series chips starting in 2027. Cult of Mac
• [New] The smart speaker HomePod mini 2 could be the only Apple smart home product launched in 2025. DIGITIMES Inc.
• [New] The new generation of iPhones will still support Thread, indicating that Apple does not intend to be absent from the smart home field. DIGITIMES Inc.
• [New] Apple will double its U.S. Advanced Manufacturing Fund, create a training academy in Detroit, and grow its domestic R&D investments to support cutting-edge fields like artificial intelligence and silicon engineering. Assembly
• [New] Google announced an update to AI Mode in Search that will embed more in-line links to source content and AI-generated snippets explaining their relevance. Lumar
• [New] Tech giants Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Oracle have been investing billions of dollars in a race to build out their artificial intelligence ventures in the last year, further stoking Wall Street fears of a bubble capable of disrupting the entire economy. Harvard Gazette
• [New] Google targets 2027 launch or first two test satellites in partnership with Planet. NextBigFuture.com
• For companies like Amazon and Oracle, the continued expansion of cloud capacity will be the metric to watch as they compete for a slice of the $520 billion AI capex pie projected for the coming year. FinancialContent
• Global temperatures rising well above 4 C by 2100 could happen if climate action collapses or if there are strong feedback loops such as the Amazon rainforest dying and releasing its enormous store of carbon. The Guardian
• In the 5-year outlook, Amazon will likely solidify its position as the dominant force in e-commerce, cloud computing, and content creation. Billionaire Net Worth
• If Amazon deepens its financial ties to OpenAI, it could create new strategic pressure on Microsoft (already a major OpenAI partner) and intensify the battle among the largest clouds to be the default home for AI workloads. Tech Startups - Tech News, Tech Trends & Startup Fundin
• Consensus estimates for 2025 capital expenditures (capex) from the five hyperscalers - Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle (ORCL) - in 2025 are expected to come in at $400 billion. Tortuga Wealth Management
• High-end accelerators will remain the largest contributor to revenue growth in 2026, supported by the launch of NVIDIA's Vera Rubin and AMD's MI400 rack-scale platforms, along with the next generation of custom accelerators from Google and Amazon. Yahoo Finance

Last updated: 28 December 2025