Go Sonics! We know many of you are busy dusting off your Kevin Durant jerseys right now. We're watching the
NBA expansion news closely for Seattle tech angles, but there's plenty more to get to today — including highlights from our big AI conference yesterday — so let's get to it.
Inside GeekWire’s Agents of Transformation AI summit: The debate over whether AI will transform industries is over. Founders, executives and engineers in Seattle now want to know what’s working, what isn’t, and how fast everything is moving. And the shift is clearly on, from AI as a chat tool to AI as an autonomous actor, performing tasks and improving as it goes. Leaders from Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, OpenAI and elsewhere shared their insights.
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Microsoft EVP Charles Lamanna shed light on the job candidate request that is changing the dynamics of hiring in the AI era: ample funds for AI tokens, the fuel that powers interactions with AI systems. Read more.
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Startups pitched their big AI ideas in a mini-competition that featured innovations around AI spend, HR support, agent “workers” and hardware cooling. Read more.
Seattle-based Brinc Drones unveiled a new drone that’s the world’s first to feature Starlink connectivity. Founder and CEO Blake Resnick has a bold vision for the device aimed at emergency first responders: “To replace the police helicopter.” Read more.
Amazon and FedEx, together again: FedEx severed its logistics relationship with Amazon in 2019. Now more than 1,500 FedEx Office locations are accepting box-free Amazon returns, the latest step in a partnership the two companies started to rekindle last year. Read more.
Innovation of the Year: The finalists for this GeekWire Awards category include companies and organizations developing cutting-edge technology to power data centers, modernize healthcare diagnostics, and more.
Epic Games layoffs: The gaming giant is laying off 82 employees at its Bellevue, Wash., office — part of a broader 10% cut at the company. CEO Tim Sweeney cited reduced engagement with Fortnite — not AI — as a reason behind the workforce reduction. Read more.
Microsoft is continuing its internal overhaul: Chief People Officer Amy Coleman announced a major reorganization of the company's HR team, according to Business Insider, including a series of promotions and the departure of Chief Diversity Officer Lindsay-Rae McIntyre.
Aetheon, a new startup helping job candidates map their real world capabilities into work opportunities, raised $1.24 million as part of its seed round.
Hot Links:
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Amazon is making a move into consumer humanoids with the acquisition of New York startup Fauna Robotics, which is developing a machine designed to handle house chores. (Bloomberg)
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Amazon’s Ring unit is introducing its first battery-powered doorbell with 4K video, adding sharper imaging and a redesigned internal architecture for more reliable performance. (Amazon News)
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Zillow launched "AI mode," a conversational interface designed to guide users through the entire home-buying process via personalized, end-to-end intelligence. (Zillow)
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Madrona co-led a $55 million funding round for Doss, an AI-powered inventory management platform. (Madrona, TechCrunch)
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Amazon is rolling out its Zoox robotaxis in Austin and Miami later this year, expanding beyond Las Vegas and San Francisco. (CNBC)
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Gov. Ferguson signed a bill that undoes a recent increase to Washington’s estate tax. (Washington State Standard)
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Labor economists examine why Seattle’s minimum pay law for delivery drivers didn’t result in higher pay. (The Conversation)
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A professional woodworking course at Seattle Central College is in jeopardy of being cut just as AI job worries make the trades popular again. (The Seattle Times)
- A tiny fishing village in Washington state made Airbnb’s list of “Off-the-Map” destinations across the U.S. seeing a rise in tourism. (Airbnb)
Thanks for subscribing to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great day. — GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop, todd@geekwire.com; editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com; and reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com. 
