This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we put Amazon's new 30-minute delivery service to the test — ordering live on the show to see if it arrives before the episode ends. Mike Levin and Josh Lowitz of Consumer Intelligence Research Partners explain what Amazon's speedy delivery means for grocery stores, retail strategy, and the massive 225,000-square-foot superstore Amazon is planning in suburban Chicago. Plus: Amazon trivia.
Read more and listen here, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
It’s the end of an era at Xbox. Phil Spencer, the face of Microsoft’s gaming business for more than a decade, is retiring. Asha Sharma, a Seattle tech vet who joined Microsoft two years ago, is stepping in to lead Microsoft Gaming through its next chapter. Read more.
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In a memo to employees, Sharma — who does not have prior game industry experience — said “we will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop,” and referenced inventing new business models. Here’s why a hands-off approach might be a good first step.
Amazon Web Services issued a sharp rebuttal after the Financial Times reported that its AI coding tools caused at least two AWS outages in recent months. AWS attributed a December disruption to misconfigured access controls, not a flaw in the AI itself, and called the claim of a second AWS outage "entirely false." An AWS spokesperson later told GeekWire the second incident took place elsewhere within Amazon, not within AWS. Read more.
Tech Moves: Code.org named Karim Meghji as its new leader; former Tableau CEO Ryan Aytay has a new gig; and more key personnel changes.
“Robot umps” have arrived — sort of. In their Spring Training opener, the Seattle Mariners tested MLB’s new ball-strike challenge system, powered by Hawk-Eye tracking and a private 5G network from Bellevue-based T-Mobile. Here’s how it played out.
Upcoming events: Tech and startup community gatherings on our radar in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.
Check out the GeekWire Calendar for more.
Hot Links:
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As more people use AI chatbots to find information, brands “have to win over the robots.” (The New York Times)
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Four things a new company should focus on when starting to raise funding. (Patrick Thompson via LinkedIn)
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The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board on Washington state’s “latest tax gambit.” (WSJ)
Thanks for subscribing to the GeekWire newsletter and have a great weekend. — GeekWire editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com; co-founder Todd Bishop, todd@geekwire.com; and reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com.
