Can AI write a better Mother’s Day card? | EU approves Microsoft-Activision deal

Microsoft cleared a regulatory hurdle Monday as the European Union approved its $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision. The decision comes less than a month after regulators in the UK rejected the deal. 

College dropout Bill Gates shared advice for graduates that he wished he had received. The famously hard-working Microsoft co-founder sounded more relaxed about life, career choices and relationships in a commencement speech in Arizona.    

Stratolaunch reached a significant milestone during a test flight in which the large flying launch pad, originally created by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, was able to release a test vehicle for the first time. Read more.

Seattle startup Cascade Health raised $2 million to boost its AI-powered software that aims to increase healthcare pricing transparency. The company was co-founded by vets of Microsoft’s AI and cloud computing departments. Read more.

Watch out for phone scammers using AI. Pierce County Sheriff’s Department is warning people to avoid being fooled by scammers who use AI to clone the voices of family members. 

Meet the “Geeks Give Back” honorees: These four organizations are applying technology to good causes and working to improve the sector, our community and the world. Read more and get ready for this week’s GeekWire Awards with all of our coverage of the finalists.

Hot links:

• Bill’s back: The Science Guy is speaking in Seattle on Tuesday to talk about mitigating climate change. 

• Have you watched “Jury Duty”? Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is giving show recommendations via his LinkedIn.

• A new report from The Wall Street Journal uncovered more details about Bob Lee, the tech exec who died in a stabbing in San Francisco last month.   

Thanks for subscribing to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great week. —  GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com, and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com.