Senate passes ‘historic’ investment in U.S. innovation and tech

Senate passes Chips and Science Act: The bill, deemed a historic investment in technology and job creation, authorizes nearly $250 billion of spending to bolster innovation and tech hubs in America, including support for basic research and strengthening the manufacturing of semiconductor chips. Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell (above) helped spearhead the effort. “This is about innovation everywhere, this is about growing opportunity everywhere,” she said on the floor of the Senate before the vote was taken. 

PC sales slowdown curbs Windows profits: The end of the PC’s pandemic renaissance illustrates why it was so critical for Microsoft to expand aggressively into cloud infrastructure and subscription-based online services starting more than a decade ago. Read more. 

More from Microsoft’s earnings report: 

• Microsoft earnings come up short, hit by global economic trends and cutbacks 

• Microsoft is the latest tech giant to report decelerating advertising revenue

Tech Moves: Amazon promotes two execs to senior vice president; Providence EVP lands at Teladoc Health; and more personnel changes. 

Related: Lucas Joppa, Microsoft’s first chief environmental officer, departs

Startup helps renters with maintenance requests: Seattle-based Latchel is now used in more than 100,000 homes nationwide, up from 33,500 units in 2019. It just raised $16.7 million to fuel growth. 

How is the shaky economy impacting startups? We polled Seattle startup leaders last night at a BBQ hosted by the Allen Institute of Artificial Intelligence to get their take on the economic uncertainty and effect on businesses. Here’s what they said. 

Bill Gates holds court: The Microsoft co-founder is known for his bridge and tennis pursuits, but he also admitted that he’s been playing pickleball — a rapidly growing sport in the U.S. — for more than 50 years. Read more.