Microsoft President Brad Smith during an event with President Biden on Wednesday in Wisconsin. (Screen grab via @POTUS)Microsoft plans to invest $3.3 billion in an artificial intelligence-related initiative in Wisconsin, giving a boost to President Joe Biden’s job-creation efforts in the key election battleground state.The investment, according to a Microsoft announcement on Wednesday, will go toward expanding the tech giant’s cloud computing and AI infrastructure capacity, with the development of a state-o ...

Core Viewpoint - Amazon is expanding its electric vehicle fleet by introducing nearly 50 heavy-duty all-electric trucks in Southern California to enhance its decarbonization efforts in delivery operations [2][5]. Group 1: Electric Vehicle Deployment - The new fleet will handle first- and middle-mile operations, expected to travel over 1 million miles annually with zero tailpipe emissions [2]. - Amazon has already deployed 35 electric heavy-duty vehicles for middle-mile transportation in Southern California and installed over 45 fast chargers across 11 sites [5]. - The battery-electric Class 8 Volvo VNR Electric trucks have a range of up to 275 miles and a gross combination weight of 82,000 pounds [5]. Group 2: Sustainability Goals - Amazon aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 and encourages others to join through the Climate Pledge [6]. - The company is investing in renewable energy sources like wind and solar to power its operations and is also funding climate tech startups [6]. - Amazon's carbon emissions increased from 2019 to 2021 but saw a decline for the first time in 2022 [6]. Group 3: Operational Insights - First-mile operations involve transporting goods from manufacturing sites through customs and into Amazon's fulfillment network [3]. - The company is utilizing electric trucks at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for container transport to its facilities [3]. - Amazon's custom electric delivery vans from Rivian, launched in 2022, have scaled to over 13,500 vehicles across the U.S. [5].

Gaurav Oberoi, Lexion CEO.Docusign announced an agreement to acquire Lexion for $165 million, signaling plans to integrate the Seattle-based company’s AI-powered contract management technology into its Intelligent Agreement Management Platform. The deal looks to be a successful exit for Lexion, which got its start in 2018 after co-founders Gaurav Oberoi (CEO), Emad Elwany (CTO), and James Baird (principal architect) met at the Allen Institute for AI in Seattle. Lexion raised about $36 million since its foun ...

Ashish Kurmi (left) and Varun Sharma, co-founders of StepSecurity. (StepSecurity Photo)StepSecurity, a Seattle-area startup aiming to help developers secure their projects, raised a $3 million seed round led by Runtime Ventures. Founded in 2022 by former Microsoft engineers and cybersecurity veterans Ashish Kurmi and Varun Sharma, StepSecurity focuses on CI/CD, an industry term known as continuous integration and continuous delivery that describes the process of automating the development and deployment of ...

Satya Nadella leaves the stage at Microsoft Build in May 2019. (GeekWire File Photo / Todd Bishop)Satya Nadella has made a habit on Microsoft’s earnings calls of touting the revenue growth in the company’s security technology business. But today the Microsoft CEO took a different approach, talking instead about the Secure Future Initiative that the company launched last fall to improve its cybersecurity safeguards.“We are doubling down on this very important work, putting security above all else — before al ...

In-depth Amazon coverage from the tech giant’s hometown, including e-commerce, AWS, Amazon Prime, Alexa, logistics, devices, and more.(Amazon Photo)Amazon Prime members in more than 3,500 U.S. cities can now get free grocery delivery for orders over $35 — if they pay $9.99 per month. The service initially rolled out to select cities in December, and is now widely available. Prime members — who already pay $139 per year — can order online from Whole Foods or Amazon Fresh and select a one-hour delivery window ...

Amazon says its next-generation MK30 drone will start making deliveries later this year. (Amazon Photo)Amazon says it’s gearing up to add a community in Arizona to its list of Prime Air drone delivery zones.Later this year, customers in the West Valley region of the Phoenix metro area will be able to get their purchases via drones dispatched from Amazon’s Same-Day Delivery site in Tolleson, Ariz., the company said today.The West Valley region joins College Station in Texas as an Amazon drone delivery site. ...

Dilip Kumar, VP of AWS applications, at an Amazon event in 2022. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop)Amazon’s grocery technology has been in the news a lot over the past couple of weeks, following layoffs in the Amazon Web Services group responsible for the company’s physical store checkout and identity services.The company is shifting away from “Just Walk Out” in its large grocery stores, which uses cameras and sensors to detect what people put in their carts, letting them avoid the checkout line. Instead, it’s ...

Tech workers from Google and Amazon alongside activists protested the tech giants’ cloud contract with Israel at a demonstration outside of Google offices in Seattle on April 16, 2024. (GeekWire Photo / Taylor Soper)Google and Amazon workers held protests on Tuesday in Seattle and other tech hubs, demonstrating in opposition to the tech giants’ role in a cloud services contract with the Israeli government. About 50 workers and pro-Palestinian activists gathered outside Google’s Seattle offices in South Lake ...

In-depth Amazon coverage from the tech giant’s hometown, including e-commerce, AWS, Amazon Prime, Alexa, logistics, devices, and more.Business and technology leader Andrew Ng was named to Amazon’s board Thursday. (Photo via Amazon)Amazon’s newest board member is Andrew Ng, a business and technology leader, serial startup founder, investor, and educator who specializes in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and online education. Ng, who co-founded online education company Coursera, is managing general ...