Business
GM plans to launch eyes-off driving, Google AI and other new in-vehicle tech by 2028
Mary Barra speaks onstage during WSJ’s Future of Everything 2025 at The Glasshouse on May 28, 2025 in New York City.
Dia Dipasupil | Getty Images
NEW YORK — General Motors is targeting a suite of new software initiatives for its vehicles over the next three years, including an in-vehicle artificial intelligence assistant from Google and a driver-assistance system that can largely control the vehicle without human interaction or monitoring.
GM said the conversational Google Gemini AI will begin launching in its vehicles next year, followed by the new driver-assistance system, which will allow drivers to be hands-free and take their eyes off the road under certain circumstances, in 2028.
GM CEO Mary Barra and other executives made the announcements Wednesday as part of a “GM Forward” software event that also showcased other initiatives designed to “transform the car from a mode of transportation into an intelligent assistant,” the automaker said.
The company also announced that it is working on a new centralized computing platform, which is planned to roll out starting with the Escalade IQ in 2028; increased use of collaborative robots, also known as cobots, that can work alongside humans; and expanding availability of products from its GM Energy business.
GM displays its plans for a new centralized computing platform during the automaker’s “GM Forward” event on Oct. 22, 2025, in New York City.
Michael Wayland | CNBC
“Today we’ll share our vision for our vehicles, our industry and how we’re driving the future of transportation forward,” Barra said to kick off the event in lower Manhattan.
‘New era of mobility’
GM said the announcements are meant to usher in a “new era of mobility” for the company, which has struggled to achieve such initiatives in the past. Its previous efforts at moving forward include announcing plans in 2021 to double revenue by 2030, led by many now-defunct growth businesses, as well as growing annual software and services revenue to between $20 billion and $25 billion.
In recent years, it also killed an “Ultra Cruise” system meant to be able to drive in 95% of circumstances that was initially due to come out in 2023 and folded its Cruise robotaxi business.
GM executives on Wednesday declined to discuss revenue potential of the new announcements. CFO Paul Jacobson has previously walked back the doubling revenue goal, but has noted the company’s growing revenue, up 9.1% last year to $187.44 billion.
GM graphic of the automaker’s upcoming centralized computing design that’s set to debut in the Cadillac Escalade IQ in 2028.
GM
GM President Mark Reuss on Wednesday said the company’s revenue plans are “pretty much on track … maybe a year or two different” as it plans to continue to grow revenue, especially with the technologies announced Wednesday. He also said these initiatives are “very different” than prior announcements, as they’re tangible products that are entering the market shortly.
As of the third quarter of this year, GM recognized $2 billion from software services. That’s up from 2021, when the plans were announced and it took the full year to hit that mark. It also cited $5 billion in deferred revenue, up 90% from a year earlier, to end the third quarter.
The event comes a day after GM reported standout third-quarter earnings and upped its guidance, pushing the stock to have its second-best day on record since the automaker’s 2009 emergence from bankruptcy.
GM stock on Wednesday was trading relatively flat.
AI
GM said the artificial intelligence system from Google, which its infotainment system is developed on, will make “it possible to talk to your car as naturally as you would to a fellow passenger.”
“Our vision is to create a car that knows you, that looks out for you, and just meets your needs, even before you say,” Sterling Anderson, GM chief product officer, said during the event.
Anderson called the centralized computing a “foundational piece” of the company’s plans in increasing the capabilities of its vehicles.
GM Chief Product Officer Sterling Anderson during the automaker’s “GM Forward” event on Oct. 22, 2025 in New York City.
Michael Wayland / CNBC
The Detroit automaker said it expects to update select vehicles from the 2016 model year to all new models in the U.S. beginning next year with the AI tech.
GM also said it plans to develop its own “AI, custom-built” technology in the years to come but did not provide an exact time frame.
“In the future, we will introduce our own AI fine-tuned to your vehicle,” said David Richardson, a former Apple executive who is now GM vice president of software and services engineering. “Think of this as an assistant. It’s going to anticipate your needs, offer timely help and make every journey more personable and more enjoyable.”
Hands-free, ‘eyes-off’
GM said it plans for its upgraded advanced driver-assistance system, also known as ADAS, to feature hands-free, “eyes-off” driving technology, beginning on the Cadillac Escalade IQ EV, which currently starts around $127,500, in 2028.
The automaker then expects to expand the availability of the tech to other models, company executives said.
“Autonomy will make our roads safer. They’ll give customers back their most valuable asset: time. It’ll be a cornerstone of GM product portfolio going forward,” Anderson said.
Cadillac Escalade IQ with lidar
GM
The vehicle will use lidar, or light detection and ranging, systems that allow it to better detect or “see” its surroundings. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has notably been a critic of the technology, and his company’s vehicles rely on camera-based systems and computer vision.
“Just be clear, we’re developing a self driving product,” Anderson, a former Tesla executive, told CNBC. “It’s an eyes-off, self-driving system. As it relates to use of lidar in it, your product will be better with multiple modes of sensing, period. Full stop.”
Anderson, calling it an “ocean that’s too big to boil,” said the system is expected to evolve incrementally to its full potential.
GM declined to say whether the new technology will be called “Super Cruise,” which is its current system that allows drivers to be hands-free on 600,000 miles of pre-mapped roads in North America.
The current Super Cruise system monitors a driver’s attentiveness through the use of sensors and eye-detection cameras.
GM was the first automaker to offer such a hands-free system in 2016, but it was slow to roll out the technology until recent years.
Barra said the rollout of the new system will be significantly faster than the company’s initial expansion of Super Cruise.
GM Energy
Starting in 2026, GM said it will make its “Energy Home System” — which includes bidirectional electric vehicle charging and a stationary home battery — available via leasing, compared with outright purchasing the equipment.
The leasing will begin with GM all-electric vehicles owners and later roll out to other homeowners interested in backup power and solar integration, the company said.
GM Energy launched in 2022 as one of the automaker’s growth initiatives involving EVs. It was started to rival Tesla‘s home energy systems and provide battery packs, EV chargers and software to help customers optimize charging and ride out electric grid disruptions.
GM has not disclosed the size or revenue of its GM Energy business other than a blog by Wade Sheffer, vice president of GM Energy, that said momentum for its services are growing.
“It’s really incredible to see all the great things that are right on the horizon, and I know we will deliver for our customers, and that’s what matters most,” Barra said. “This moment builds on our history and sets the course.”
Business
Vets to be legally required to publish price lists and cap prescription fees
Vets will be legally bound to prescription fee caps and publishing price lists among new measures which will start coming into force later this year, the competition watchdog has announced.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its final reforms for the sector will help pet owners better navigate the vet services market.
Other legally binding measures will include a price comparison website and mandatory branding by the large groups to boost competition and drive down prices.
The CMA said pet owners using a vet practice that is part of a larger chain can expect to see changes before Christmas, including standard price lists.
The measures follow the CMA finding that fees have risen at almost twice the rate of inflation, with pet owners not being given enough information about their vet and the prices of treatments.
Martin Coleman, chairman of the independent Inquiry Group, said: “This is the most extensive review of veterinary services in a generation, and today’s reforms will make a real difference to the millions of pet owners who want the best for their pets but struggle to find the practice, treatment and price that meets their needs.
“Too often, people are left in the dark about who owns their practice, treatment options and prices – even when facing bills running into thousands of pounds.
“Our measures mean it will be made clear to pet owners which practices are part of large groups, which are charging higher prices, and for the first time, vet businesses will be held to account by an independent regulator.
“Our changes put pet owners at the centre but also help vets by enhancing trust in the profession and protecting clinical judgment from undue commercial pressure – and that is important to ensure our pets continue to get the best care.”
The CMA said practices must publish a comprehensive price list for standard services, including consultations, common procedures, diagnostics, written prescriptions and cremation options under its new rules.
Prescriptions – for which “many” practices charge £30 or more for each – are to be capped at £21 for the first medicine and £12.50 for any additional medicines.
Practices must also provide a written estimate in advance for any treatment expected to cost £500 or more, including aftercare costs, as well as an itemised bill.
Emergency care will be the only exception for written estimates.
Prices and information about who owns the surgery are to be made available to pet owners through the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) ‘Find a Vet’ service, which will share the data with third-party comparison sites.
Vet businesses must make it clear whether they are part of a group or an independent business, with details of group ownership to be displayed on signs at the surgery and online.
British Veterinary Association president Rob Williams said: “The majority of the CMA’s measures focus on increasing transparency and information, which will help pet owners make more informed choices and support competition, which is a really positive step.”
He added: “Delivering highly skilled veterinary medicine is costly and whilst we recognise prices have risen sharply in recent years this is due to a number of factors, including the higher costs all businesses are experiencing – and vet practices are not immune.
“Plus, thanks to advances in diagnostics and medical technology over the last 20 years, vets can now do much more to manage disease and injury in animals, whereas in the past the only option available may have been to euthanase.
“Owners today also have a greater expectation of their vet, with many expecting human quality healthcare for their pets and whilst this is possible to deliver, it comes at a cost.”
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Business
Estée Lauder is in talks to merge with Puig amid ongoing turnaround plan
An Estée Lauder pop-up store is seen inside a Daimaru store on Nanjing Road in Shanghai, China, Aug. 6, 2021.
Costfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Images
Estée Lauder Companies said Monday that it is in talks with Spanish beauty group Puig to potentially merge the two companies.
“No final decision has been made, and no agreement has been reached,” Estée Lauder said in a statement.
Shares of the U.S. beauty company were down nearly 8% following the news, which was first reported by the Financial Times. Puig’s stock rose roughly 3%.
Puig owns major beauty brands including Charlotte Tilbury, Jean Paul Gaultier and Rabanne. The companies did not disclose any financial details of the potential deal.
Estée Lauder has been struggling amid ongoing headwinds from tariffs and its restructuring as it enacts its “Beauty Reimagined” turnaround plan to revitalize the business. In its second-quarter earnings report last month, the beauty retailer said it’s expecting a $100 million hit to its full-year profitability due to tariff impacts.
Estée Lauder’s stock has dropped roughly 25% this year.
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