The IT behemoth that you might never have heard of

It’s a giant in online search, has also built smart speakers and a voice-activated personal assistant, and is testing a driverless car. But it’s not based in Silicon Valley – it’s Russian.

Earlier this year, I climbed into a self-driving car for the first time. I was one of hundreds who had waited patiently for their turn to take a spin. Some even got sunburnt while waiting, but felt the pain was worth it. In the end each of us got a pin saying “The first self-driving car’s passenger”.

The stunt took place during a conference held by one of the biggest internet companies in the world. It now works in such fields as artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, personal assistants, online-translating and dictionaries, online marketplaces and – most recently – smart speakers. But it wasn't Google. And it wasn’t even in Silicon Valley.

Read more at – BBC Future