Google Surges Ahead of OpenAI in AI Race, Investors Cheer Stellar Growth

• Alphabet (Google's parent) is now perceived as the leader in AI, a significant shift from a year ago when it was seen as lagging behind rivals.
• Google's Gemini 3 model has impressed users, helping the company catch up in the AI race and driving revenue across its consumer and enterprise businesses.
• CEO Sundar Pichai reported that the Google Gemini app exceeded 750 million monthly active users, and the enterprise version reached 8 million paying licenses.
• Alphabet plans to potentially double its capital expenditures in 2026 to $175-$185 billion, driven by massive investments in AI computing capacity.
• Wall Street's confidence in Google's AI strategy was reinforced by strong cloud unit revenue (up 48%) and overall AI-powered business growth, despite initial investor alarm over capex forecasts.