Amazon (AMZN) News

Inside ‘Amazon Go Grocery’: Tech giant opens first full-sized store without cashiers or checkout lines

by Kurt Schlosser on February 25, 2020February 25, 2020 at 3:58 pm 16 Comments

Amazon Go is going full grocery. Two years after launching a chain of convenience stores without cashiers or checkout lines, Amazon is opening its first “Amazon Go Grocery” store in… Read More

Is Alexa always listening? New study examines accidental triggers of digital assistants

by Nat Levy on February 24, 2020February 24, 2020 at 11:07 amComment

The listening capacity of digital assistants like Alexa and Siri has become a major privacy sticking point in the last year. A group of researchers out of Northeastern University and Imperial… Read More

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Elizabeth Warren takes aim at Amazon’s taxes again during speech at Seattle rally

by Jake Goldstein-Street on February 23, 2020February 23, 2020 at 10:08 am 3 Comments

Sen. Elizabeth Warren called out Amazon in its own backyard at a rally in Seattle on Saturday evening. The Democratic presidential candidate again criticized the Seattle-based tech giant for skirting… Read More

Podcast

GeekWire Podcast: Bezos fields criticism despite $10B climate pledge; Seattle braces for The Big One; and more

by Monica Nickelsburg on February 22, 2020February 22, 2020 at 8:24 am1 Comment

Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast. PBS’s Frontline profiled the Amazon empire and painted a complicated picture of unrelenting ambition. Frontline spent a year examining… Read More

News Brief

Report: Amazon will pull products from third-party sellers that claim to treat coronavirus

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House lawmakers question Ring about partnerships with police

Jeff Bezos wants to curb climate change via $10B fund — but is money his most powerful tool?

by Monica Nickelsburg on February 19, 2020February 19, 2020 at 1:44 pm 6 Comments

Jeff Bezos’ surprise pledge this week to donate $10 billion of his personal fortune to non-profits fighting climate change is one of the largest single philanthropic gifts in recent memory.… Read More

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Amazon launches on-demand virtual healthcare service for Seattle-area employees

Video

The definitive account of Amazon’s perilous ambition: Key scenes from PBS’s epic investigation

by Taylor Soper on February 18, 2020February 19, 2020 at 2:13 pm 2 Comments

The highly-anticipated PBS Frontline documentary about Amazon’s historic 25-year ascension aired Tuesday evening. The two-hour episode, Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos, resulted from a year-long examination… Read More

Jeff Bezos launches $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund, kicking off his own effort to fight climate change

by Alan Boyle on February 17, 2020February 17, 2020 at 2:12 pm 9 Comments

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says he’s launching a $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund that will issue grants aimed at addressing climate change — a move that comes less than a… Read More

Podcast

GeekWire Podcast: We (almost) hacked the election; Amazon vs. Trump; cashless stadiums

by Curt Milton on February 15, 2020February 15, 2020 at 6:50 amComment

Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast: Voting online is fast, convenient and also … vulnerable. In the wake of the Iowa caucuses app fiasco, we… Read More

Amazon stops working with several small delivery contractors, forcing companies to lay off hundreds

by Taylor Soper on February 14, 2020February 14, 2020 at 5:18 pm 3 Comments

Amazon is ending relationships with a number of small delivery contractors across the U.S., forcing companies to lay off hundreds of workers. Bloomberg first reported Friday morning that Bear Down… Read More

Judge blocks Microsoft from working on Pentagon’s $10B JEDI contract pending Amazon’s lawsuit

by Monica Nickelsburg on February 13, 2020February 13, 2020 at 1:15 pm 3 Comments

A federal judge has paused work on a hotly contested cloud contract that the Defense Department awarded to Microsoft in November. The decision issued Thursday is a victory for Amazon,… Read More

Whip it good! Amazon patents a launch system for snapping payloads into the air — or even into orbit

by Alan Boyle on February 12, 2020February 13, 2020 at 7:13 am 4 Comments

Never let it be said that Amazon Prime Air VP Gur Kimchi thinks small: His latest patent lays out a plan for a launch system that could theoretically send payloads… Read More

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Video: Amazon PR chief Jay Carney on deposing Trump, worker conditions and political flak

Senators Sanders, Warren and others demand Amazon overhaul ‘profit-at-all costs culture’

by Monica Nickelsburg on February 10, 2020February 10, 2020 at 4:41 pm 2 Comments

More than a dozen high-profile U.S. Senators are urging Amazon to change its workplace culture and implement new safety measures at its warehouses across the country. Senators Elizabeth Warren and… Read More

Can Amazon really depose Trump? Explaining the tech giant’s rare legal move in $10B cloud dispute

by Monica Nickelsburg on February 10, 2020February 10, 2020 at 2:52 pm 3 Comments

The relentless ambition that brought customers same-day delivery and a new category of home speakers apparently extends to Amazon’s legal strategy. The Seattle tech giant prides itself in being a… Read More

Amazon asks to depose Trump in lawsuit challenging Pentagon’s award of major cloud contract to Microsoft

by Monica Nickelsburg on February 10, 2020February 13, 2020 at 11:52 am 6 Comments

Amazon is asking a federal judge for permission to depose President Donald Trump and Defense Department officials to prove bias and personal animus led the Pentagon to award a lucrative… Read More

Amazon-owned Audible and major publishers settle lawsuit over audiobook translation feature

by Nat Levy on February 10, 2020February 10, 2020 at 8:57 amComment

Amazon-owned Audible and a group of major book publishers settled a copyright lawsuit filed last year over a feature called Captions that transcribes audiobooks to text. The settlement between Audible… Read More

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Amazon pulls out of Mobile World Congress tech event due to coronavirus, no word from Microsoft

Podcast

GeekWire Podcast: Amazon’s real HQ2; Iowa caucus tech fallout; augmented reality at the ballpark

by Todd Bishop on February 8, 2020February 8, 2020 at 7:58 am1 Comment

Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast. Amazon’s second headquarters may be closer to Seattle than you think. Amazon says it plans to grow its presence… Read More

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ stock sales reach nearly $4B over past week, latest filings show

by Taylor Soper on February 6, 2020February 7, 2020 at 2:36 pm 2 Comments

Update, Feb. 7: Bezos sold another 283,632 shares Friday, worth more than $579 million, according to new filings. This brings the total to nearly $4 billion over the past week. Original… Read More

Yes, Virginia, there is an Amazon HQ2, but it’s actually 10 miles outside of Seattle

by Monica Nickelsburg on February 6, 2020February 7, 2020 at 5:18 am1 Comment

When Amazon coined the term “HQ2” and announced plans to open a second North American headquarters, the company promised it would be the “full equal” to its Seattle home base,… Read More

Amazon to bring 15,000 employees to Bellevue as rapid expansion in Seattle-area city continues

by Nat Levy on February 6, 2020February 6, 2020 at 9:01 am1 Comment

Amazon said it plans to expand its headcount to more than 15,000 people in Bellevue, Wash., the growing city 10 miles east of Seattle where the tech giant was originally… Read More

Reading Amazon’s mind: Subtle changes in annual report hint at tech giant’s strategies and plans

by Nat Levy on February 5, 2020February 5, 2020 at 10:11 amComment

Amazon’s 2019 was about as eventful as it gets. The tech giant plowed billions into an ambitious one-day shipping promise, put out a slew of new Alexa devices, lost out… Read More

Video

Amazon opens registration for re:MARS 2020, starring Jeff Bezos and Hollywood’s Jon Favreau

by Alan Boyle on February 5, 2020February 6, 2020 at 8:12 pmComment

How do you follow up on Iron Man? The answer for Amazon’s second annual re:MARS conference is to bring the godfather of Baby Yoda to the Vegas stage. Jon Favreau… Read More

News Brief

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sells more than $1.8B in stock, new regulatory filings show

Amazon and Microsoft back proposed business tax in breakthrough for fight against homelessness

by Monica Nickelsburg on February 4, 2020February 5, 2020 at 8:03 am1 Comment

The Seattle-area business community is throwing its weight behind a proposal to tax high-paying companies in the region to fund housing and services for the homeless. Amazon, Alaska Airlines, Expedia,… Read More

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Trump’s new executive order targets counterfeits on Amazon and other e-commerce sites

Report: How blockbuster tax deals for Tesla and Boeing influenced Amazon’s HQ2 search

by Nat Levy on February 3, 2020February 3, 2020 at 8:34 amComment

A report from Bloomberg reveals new details about Amazon’s thinking throughout the HQ2 search process and how its secretive approach and push for tax incentives strained relationships with New York… Read More

Amazon

Inside ‘Amazon Go Grocery’: Tech giant opens first full-sized store without cashiers or checkout lines

Is Alexa always listening? New study examines accidental triggers of digital assistants

Elizabeth Warren takes aim at Amazon’s taxes again during speech at Seattle rally

GeekWire Podcast: Bezos fields criticism despite $10B climate pledge; Seattle braces for The Big One; and more

Report: Amazon will pull products from third-party sellers that claim to treat coronavirus

House lawmakers question Ring about partnerships with police

Jeff Bezos wants to curb climate change via $10B fund — but is money his most powerful tool?

Amazon launches on-demand virtual healthcare service for Seattle-area employees

The definitive account of Amazon’s perilous ambition: Key scenes from PBS’s epic investigation

Jeff Bezos launches $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund, kicking off his own effort to fight climate change

GeekWire Podcast: We (almost) hacked the election; Amazon vs. Trump; cashless stadiums

Amazon stops working with several small delivery contractors, forcing companies to lay off hundreds

Whip it good! Amazon patents a launch system for snapping payloads into the air — or even into orbit

Video: Amazon PR chief Jay Carney on deposing Trump, worker conditions and political flak

Senators Sanders, Warren and others demand Amazon overhaul ‘profit-at-all costs culture’

Amazon-owned Audible and major publishers settle lawsuit over audiobook translation feature

Amazon pulls out of Mobile World Congress tech event due to coronavirus, no word from Microsoft

GeekWire Podcast: Amazon’s real HQ2; Iowa caucus tech fallout; augmented reality at the ballpark

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ stock sales reach nearly $4B over past week, latest filings show

Yes, Virginia, there is an Amazon HQ2, but it’s actually 10 miles outside of Seattle

Amazon to bring 15,000 employees to Bellevue as rapid expansion in Seattle-area city continues

Reading Amazon’s mind: Subtle changes in annual report hint at tech giant’s strategies and plans

Amazon opens registration for re:MARS 2020, starring Jeff Bezos and Hollywood’s Jon Favreau

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sells more than $1.8B in stock, new regulatory filings show

Amazon and Microsoft back proposed business tax in breakthrough for fight against homelessness

Trump’s new executive order targets counterfeits on Amazon and other e-commerce sites

Report: How blockbuster tax deals for Tesla and Boeing influenced Amazon’s HQ2 search

Meet This Billionaire Space Tourist Who created Microsoft Word and Excel

Mission to Mars – Everything you need to know

Startup Pitch Bootcamp: Learn from Seattle’s Top Entrepreneurs