Articles by Todd Bishop

Appeals court rules UW violated computer science professor’s free speech rights

A divided federal appeals court ruled that the University of Washington violated a computer science professor’s First Amendment rights by investigating and warning him over a parody land acknowledgment in a course syllabus, saying student discomfort does not justify retaliation against protected academic speech. Read More

Podcast

Landline phones in 2025? How this tech industry veteran is helping kids connect

A Seattle startup is reviving the landline — without screens, apps, or AI — and parents can’t buy them fast enough. In this Uncommon Thinkers episode of the GeekWire Podcast, Tin Can CEO Chet Kittleson explains why voice-only phones are resonating with families, what sparked the idea, and how a $12 million seed round is helping scale the business. Read More

Starbucks hires Amazon grocery tech leader as new CTO amid turnaround push

Starbucks has named longtime Amazon executive Anand Varadarajan as its new chief technology officer, tapping a veteran of the tech giant’s grocery and supply chain operations as the coffee chain pushes to modernize technology in its stores. Read More

With new Alexa website, Amazon’s consumer AI vision finally comes together — and it’s actually useful

Amazon has quietly started rolling out Alexa.com, bringing its AI-powered Alexa+ assistant to the desktop browser for the first time and completing a long-missing piece of its consumer AI strategy. The web portal offers point-and-click control over reminders, files, and smart home devices — a level of precision that voice commands can’t match. Read More

Amazon AI chief Rohit Prasad leaving; Infrastructure exec Peter DeSantis to lead unified AI group

Amazon AI chief Rohit Prasad is leaving at year’s end, according to a memo from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Peter DeSantis, a 27-year veteran who has led AWS infrastructure, will oversee a new organization combining AI, silicon, and quantum computing. Read More

Allen Institute for AI rivals Google, Meta and OpenAI with open-source AI vision model

Ai2 unveiled Molmo 2, a new open-source AI model that can analyze video with precision — tracking objects, counting events, and pinpointing exactly where and when things happen in a clip. The advanced vision system offers an open alternative to closed video models from Google, OpenAI, and others. Read More

Filing: Amazon cuts 84 jobs in Washington state, unrelated to broader layoffs

Amazon filed a new layoff notice covering 84 Washington employees, but the cuts are unrelated to its October job reductions — stemming instead from a new state disclosure law. Read More

The storyteller behind Microsoft’s print revival, Steve Clayton, is leaving for Cisco after 28 years

The Microsoft executive behind the company’s recent push into books and print magazines is turning the page on a 28-year career, departing for a chief communications role at Cisco. Read More

Podcast

Uncommon Thinkers: Hope for the future from our 2025 honorees

Recorded backstage at the GeekWire Gala, this special episode of the GeekWire Podcast spotlights the 2025 Uncommon Thinkers — innovators working on space, biology, AI, environmental cleanup, and the future of social media. Read More

Inside the Windows 1.0 reunion: How a scrappy team shipped the product that changed everything, eventually

A core group of early Microsoft developers and business leaders reunited this week, 40 years after releasing Windows 1.0, sharing previously untold stories and reflecting on a landmark project that set the stage for a global computing revolution. Read More

Filing: Human rights proposals win more than 25% of votes at Microsoft shareholder meeting

Two human rights proposals at Microsoft’s annual shareholder meeting drew support from more than a quarter of voting shares — far more than any other shareholder proposals this year. Read More

‘We are all kids in the age of AI’: Trevor Noah teaches 5th graders — and learns a few things himself

Trevor Noah joined a 5th grade computer science class in Bellevue for Code.org’s Hour of AI, a Microsoft-supported initiative, learning alongside students and sharing why he believes kids have an edge over adults in the age of AI. Read More

Uncommon Thinkers: Bluesky CEO Jay Graber is planting the seeds for a decentralized digital world

Bluesky CEO Jay Graber is building more than a social network. Her vision centers on a decentralized protocol designed to outlast any single company — and reshape how online communities form, grow, and govern themselves. Read More

AI goes from tool to teammate: Amazon Web Services SVP Colleen Aubrey on the dawn of agentic work

AI “teammates,” faster product development, and a pivot in Amazon’s applied-AI strategy: AWS SVP Colleen Aubrey joins the GeekWire Podcast to explain how agentic systems are reshaping how Amazon builds software. Read More

Podcast

Amazon’s new frontiers: Robotaxis, ultrafast deliveries, AI teammates

Amazon is experimenting again. This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we break down our scoop on Amazon’s new ultrafast delivery service, ride along in a Zoox robotaxi on the Las Vegas Strip, and talk with AWS SVP Colleen Aubrey about Amazon’s push into applied AI and the rise of AI “teammates.” Read More

Microsoft shareholders invoke Orwell and Copilot as Nadella cites ‘generational moment’

Microsoft’s shareholder meeting Friday morning highlighted a sharp divide: executives promoting a “planet-scale” AI future while investors voiced concerns about censorship, bias, privacy, and geopolitical entanglements. All six outside shareholder proposals — focused largely on AI risks — were voted down based on early results, Read More

Stars on the ceiling, Cher on the speakers: Notes from our first ride in Amazon’s Zoox robotaxi

Amazon’s Zoox robotaxi is now offering free rides on the Las Vegas Strip. We took a spin to see how the purpose-built autonomous pod performs, and how it compares with Waymo. Read More

AWS CEO Matt Garman thought Amazon needed a million developers — until AI changed his mind

AWS CEO Matt Garman says Amazon’s biggest constraint is no longer hiring engineers — it’s coming up with the right ideas. In a re:Invent conversation with the Acquired podcast, he detailed how AI is reshaping development, revealed Bedrock’s scale, and explained why Amazon is “particularly bad” at copying competitors. Read More

The hot new thing at AWS re:Invent has nothing to do with AI

At AWS re:Invent, the biggest cheers weren’t for AI but for savings. AWS CEO Matt Garman unveiled new Database Savings Plans offering up to 35% off, highlighting how cost relief still hits harder than cutting-edge tech. Read More

Amazon unveils ‘frontier agents,’ new chips and private ‘AI factories’ in AWS re:Invent rollout

LAS VEGAS — Amazon is pitching a future where AI works while humans sleep, announcing a collection of what it calls “frontier agents” capable of handling complex, multi-day projects without needing a human to be constantly involved. Read More

AWS re:Invent preview: What’s at stake for Amazon at its big cloud confab this year

Amazon faces a critical test at AWS re:Invent this week: showing that its heavy AI investments can pay off as Microsoft and Google gain ground in the cloud. Read More

Podcast

‘Me, Myself and AI’ host Sam Ransbotham on finding the real value in AI — even when it’s wrong

What’s the real value in AI tools — and what separates those who use them well from those who don’t? Sam Ransbotham, host of MIT Sloan Management Review’s “Me, Myself and AI” podcast, joins Todd Bishop for a two-part collaboration between the shows. Read More

Amazon will test new rapid delivery concept at Seattle site, filings reveal

Amazon plans to transform a closed Amazon Fresh Pickup site in Seattle into a new retail-style delivery hub for ultrafast local orders — a sign of the company’s evolving strategy for hyperlocal fulfillment. Read More

Podcast

Bezos is back in startup mode, Amazon gets weird again, and the great old-car tech retrofit debate

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Jeff Bezos steps back into startup life as co-CEO of a new AI venture. Plus, Amazon’s surprising experiment at Seattle-area thrift stores, and a debate over GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop’s plan to bring new tech to his old car. Read More

Ai2 releases Olmo 3 open models, rivaling Meta, DeepSeek and others on performance and efficiency

The Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) unveiled Olmo 3, a new generation of open language models that it says outperforms rivals while using far less computing and offering more transparency. Read More

Read AI steps into the real world with new system for capturing everyday work chatter

Read AI is expanding beyond virtual meetings with a new system called Operator, letting users capture and analyze in-person conversations and spontaneous workplace interactions through its desktop and mobile apps. Read More

Does your AI have an ID? Microsoft looks to document the digital workforce with new ‘Agent 365’

Microsoft is shifting toward “per-agent” computing, unveiling Agent 365 and new tools at Ignite that let companies manage and secure autonomous AI agents like employees. Read More

Microsoft to invest $5B in Anthropic, as Claude maker commits $30B to Azure in new Nvidia alliance

The frenzy of AI deals and cloud partnerships reached another zenith Tuesday morning as Microsoft, Nvidia, and Anthropic announced a surprise alliance that includes a $5 billion investment by Microsoft in Anthropic — which, in turn, committed to spend at least $30 billion on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform. Read More

Amazon’s surprise indie hit: Kiro launches broadly in bid to reshape AI-powered software development

Amazon’s Kiro development tool is launching broadly with new features and a unique branding strategy, as the company pushes deeper into the booming market for AI-assisted software development. Read More

Podcast

Real revenue, actual value, and a little froth: Read AI CEO David Shim on the emerging AI economy

Read AI CEO David Shim talks with GeekWire’s John Cook about the realities of the AI boom — solid fundamentals with some froth at the edges, rising demand for AI assistants, the growing value of cross-team intelligence and multi-platform tools, and the potentially controversial emergence of digital work twins. Read More

Top Stories from Todd Bishop

‘The warning signs are flashing’: New regional partnership calls for cohesive Seattle-area tech strategy

Latest from Todd Bishop

Appeals court rules UW violated computer science professor’s free speech rights

Landline phones in 2025? How this tech industry veteran is helping kids connect

Starbucks hires Amazon grocery tech leader as new CTO amid turnaround push

With new Alexa website, Amazon’s consumer AI vision finally comes together — and it’s actually useful

Amazon AI chief Rohit Prasad leaving; Infrastructure exec Peter DeSantis to lead unified AI group

Allen Institute for AI rivals Google, Meta and OpenAI with open-source AI vision model

Filing: Amazon cuts 84 jobs in Washington state, unrelated to broader layoffs

The storyteller behind Microsoft’s print revival, Steve Clayton, is leaving for Cisco after 28 years

Inside the Windows 1.0 reunion: How a scrappy team shipped the product that changed everything, eventually

‘We are all kids in the age of AI’: Trevor Noah teaches 5th graders — and learns a few things himself

AI goes from tool to teammate: Amazon Web Services SVP Colleen Aubrey on the dawn of agentic work

Amazon’s new frontiers: Robotaxis, ultrafast deliveries, AI teammates

Stars on the ceiling, Cher on the speakers: Notes from our first ride in Amazon’s Zoox robotaxi

Amazon unveils ‘frontier agents,’ new chips and private ‘AI factories’ in AWS re:Invent rollout

AWS re:Invent preview: What’s at stake for Amazon at its big cloud confab this year

‘Me, Myself and AI’ host Sam Ransbotham on finding the real value in AI — even when it’s wrong

Amazon will test new rapid delivery concept at Seattle site, filings reveal

Bezos is back in startup mode, Amazon gets weird again, and the great old-car tech retrofit debate

Ai2 releases Olmo 3 open models, rivaling Meta, DeepSeek and others on performance and efficiency

Read AI steps into the real world with new system for capturing everyday work chatter

Microsoft to invest $5B in Anthropic, as Claude maker commits $30B to Azure in new Nvidia alliance

Real revenue, actual value, and a little froth: Read AI CEO David Shim on the emerging AI economy