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Stargate, OpenAI and Microsoft; BlueSky in Seattle; and Madrona's big new funds Jan 25, 2025

Show notes

This week, we delve into the Project Stargate announcement by OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank, in conjunction with President Trump, and assess the implications for OpenAi's relationship with Microsoft. We explain what Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella really meant with his CNBC zinger about the Stargate investment, and consider how Elon Musk's involvement in the new administration could play out in the tech industry.

PLUS, we discuss Madrona's big new funds and the potential impact on startup activity in the Pacific NW, and find a revealing piece of Microsoft history on an old CD-ROM.

‘I’m good for my $80 billion’: What Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella really meant by his Stargate zinger

CNBC: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on $500B Stargate project: Our partnership with OpenAI continues

Madrona raises $770M for new funds — here’s what the Seattle VC firm is betting on

Cascade PBS: The rise of Bluesky, a not-so-Seattle-based social media company

Microsoft @ 50: ‘The Road Ahead’ at 30: What Bill Gates’ classic book about the future says about the world today

Learn more and register here for our special Microsoft @ 50 event, March 20, 2025, in Seattle.

With GeekWire's Todd Bishop and John Cook. Editing by Curt Milton.

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Revisiting 'The Road Ahead': Bill Gates' classic book, and its insights for today Jan 24, 2025

Show notes

For this installment in our Microsoft @ 50 series, GeekWire revisited Bill Gates’ classic book from the mid-1990s, The Road Ahead, with the benefit of three decades of hindsight. We found in its pages a vision for technology that was essentially on the mark — foreseeing pervasive access to information, the rise of smart devices, and the central role of the internet in business, education, and the home. We also discovered striking parallels and insights relevant to the AI revolution we're experiencing today.

https://www.geekwire.com/2025/the-road-ahead-at-30-what-bill-gates-classic-book-about-the-future-says-about-the-world-today/

On this episode, we get the behind-the-scenes story of the book from Peter Rinearson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, writer, entrepreneur, and former Microsoft VP, who co-authored The Road Ahead with Gates and former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold.

Microsoft @ 50 is an independent GeekWire editorial project supported by Accenture. Learn more and register here for our special Microsoft @ 50 event, March 20, 2025, in Seattle.

https://www.geekwire.com/events/geekwire-microsoft50/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inside Amazon's strategic planning process; the state of the Seattle startup community Jan 18, 2025

Show notes

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: An inside look at Amazon's classic process for strategic thinking and decision-making, with a former Amazon product and technology director who has written new book about the documents used by the company to determine its direction. What can others learn from its approach?

Plus, we break down this pivotal moment in Amazon's history, as employees return to the office five days a week; and we check in on the state of the Seattle startup world.

Our guest is Marcelo Calbucci, a serial entrepreneur and longtime Seattle startup community leader who has worked for both Amazon and Microsoft. His new book is The PRFAQ Framework: Adapting Amazon's Innovation Framework to Work for You. It's available in hardback and Kindle.

Calbucci has also created a giveaway contest for GeekWire readers and listeners. Enter here for a chance to win a copy of the book.

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop; edited and produced by Curt Milton.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The state of AI in 2025: A solopreneur software developer's view on where the tech is headed Jan 11, 2025

Show notes

This week, Seattle-area software developer and AI entrepreneur Patrick Husting of Ghostwriter AI and the Equestrian App returns to the show to talk about the evolution of artificial intelligence over the past two years, how people are using the technology today, and where things are headed in 2025.

Related links

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop; edited and produced by Curt Milton

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'From impossible to merely difficult': AI meets a vintage 1980s musical gadget Jan 04, 2025

Show notes

What happens when you mix modern AI with a piece of vintage technology and the musical stylings of a very amateur guitarist? You might be surprised.

That's the subject of this week's episode. GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop's fun holiday project, revisiting a favorite gadget from his youth, illustrated some bigger themes about the AI that has emerged in the past two years, and the role it can play in life and work.

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AI, tech talent, and regional innovation: A swan song from retiring WTIA CEO Michael Schutzler Dec 21, 2024

Show notes

Michael Schutzler, the newly retired CEO of the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA), joins us on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast to reflect on his 11 years running the not-for-profit trade association, assess the state of the tech industry in Seattle and Washington state, and discuss what's next for him.

Schutzler, who has been succeeded as WTIA's CEO by Kelly Fukai, previously its COO, wrote about the extraordinary history of the state's tech industry in a recent post marking the WTIA's 40th anniversary and his retirement.

See more highlights from the episode in this GeekWire post.

Related coverage:

With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. Edited by Curt Milton.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Insights from Uncommon Thinkers: How these innovators found novel approaches in their fields Dec 14, 2024

Show notes

This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we sit down with some of the Seattle region’s “Uncommon Thinkers” — inventors, scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs transforming industries and driving positive change in the world.

We recorded the episode on location, backstage at the GeekWire Gala, where we recognized five Uncommon Thinkers through this annual awards program, presented in partnership with Greater Seattle Partners.

Speaking on the episode are:

Uri Shumlak, co-founder and chief scientist at Zap Energy, a physicist leading a team in pursuit of fusion energy, taking a different approach from others in the field. Read the profile.
Ingrid Swanson Pultz, CTO at Mopac Biologics, and translational advisor at the UW Institute for Protein Design, a microbiologist who led the development of a gluten-destroying enzyme. Read the profile.
Chris Dunckley, director of chemistry and engineering of TerraPower Isotopes, a chemical engineer who leads a team turning radioactive waste into cancer therapy. Read the profile.
Andy Lapsa, aerospace engineer and CEO of Stoke Space, a company focused on developing fully and rapidly reusable space vehicles using a liquid cooling technique for re-entry. Read the profile.

Also featured in in the Uncommon Thinkers series: Hanna Hajishirzi of the Allen Institute for AI and the UW's Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, who focuses on open-source Ai models. Read the profile.

With GeekWire's Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amazon Nova, the future of AI, and more from the AWS re:Invent show floor Dec 07, 2024

Show notes

Amazon's AI strategy came into focus this week with the unveiling of Amazon Nova, its new family of homegrown AI models, a new AI model marketplace for Amazon Bedrock, and other news from the AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas.

It turns out we've seen this before. As the company's AI strategy emerges, there are numerous similarities to its e-commerce business including low cost, broad selection, products from Amazon and its selected vendors, and a marketplace. (This Fortune piece by reporter Jason Del Rey explores these parallels in detail.)

After spending four days in Las Vegas, attending sessions, and talking with AWS executives and attendees, GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook offer their takeaways and dissect Amazon's AI strategy on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, recorded on location at the GeekWire Studios booth on the show floor.

Related links and coverage

Edited by Curt Milton.

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AI, Google Docs, and the messiness of innovation, with Microsoft Deputy CTO Sam Schillace Nov 30, 2024

Show notes

This week on the GeekWire Podcast, our guest is Sam Schillace, a deputy CTO at Microsoft and author of the new book, "No Prize for Pessimism," the first title from Microsoft's new publishing imprint, 8080 Books. Schillace discusses the importance of optimism in innovation, drawing parallels between the early cloud era and the current AI revolution. He also shares his past experiences as one of the creators of Google Docs, and emphasizes the value of tackling difficult, non-obvious problems.

Related Links:

Sam Schillace's Sunday Letters on Substack.
The No Prize for Pessimism custom GPT.
No Prize for Pessimism on Amazon.
GeekWire: Microsoft turns a new page in the book business with its own publishing imprint

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop; Edited by Curt Milton.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk’s problem with Microsoft; What the GeekWire 200 says about the startup scene Nov 23, 2024

Show notes

This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we discuss Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI, which now includes Microsoft, and assess the complexities of the OpenAI-Microsoft partnership, as illustrated by early email exchanges revealed in the lawsuit.

We also consider the latest update to the GeekWire 200, our ranked index of Pacific Northwest technology startups, including the rise of Highspot to the top spot, and other trends in the Seattle region's startup ecosystem.

And we share highlights from tech events around the region this week, including the WTIA's 40th Anniversary, where Mayor Bruce Harrell addressed AI and the incoming presidential administration; and an interesting takeaway from a panel of startup leaders whose companies made the latest Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list.

Related links and coverage

With GeekWire co-founders John Cook and Todd Bishop

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