Debris field near Titanic may suggest OceanGate sub broke apart

Convoy co-founder Grant Goodale is stepping down from his chief experience officer role at the Seattle trucking marketplace startup after eight years. The tech vet wants to spend more time with his two sons before one of them heads off to college. Read more.

Regulatory season for tech: There has been a flurry of activity in the realm of regulatory and legislative oversight of big tech companies this week. 

• The Federal Trade Commission's case against Microsoft's $69 billion Activision-Blizzard deal is the subject of a five-day hearing starting today in San Francisco, with expected witnesses including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. (The Verge)

• In a letter to the FTC, Google alleged that Microsoft and Oracle are engaged in anti-competitive practices in the cloud industry using "overly complex agreements that seek to lock in clients to their ecosystems." (CNBC and The Information)

• Sen. Bernie Sanders opened an investigation into what he calls “dangerous and illegal conditions” at Amazon’s warehouses. (The Washington Post)

• The FTC is suing Amazon on allegations that the company "tricked and trapped" people into becoming (and remaining) Prime members, a claim Amazon vehemently denies.

IonQ, a Maryland-based tech firm, is expanding its Seattle research facility to broaden the reach of its advanced Forte quantum computer. It’s a step towards using quantum computers for real-world tasks, not just theoretical experimentation. Read more.

AltPep, a University of Washington biotech spinout developing tests and treatments for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, completed a $52.9 million funding round. Read more.

Amazon Web Services says it will invest $100 million in a new initiative to encourage and accelerate the development of generative AI applications and products on the company's widely used cloud platform. Read more.

The CEO of Seattle health-tech startup DexCare has been working in startups for 25 years and says the market for venture capital is “pretty rough” right now. Even so, Derek Streat and DexCare just raised $75 million. He shares his insights in a GeekWire Q&A.

Amazon’s return to the office is contributing to a spirit of renewal in Seattle’s urban core, but the age-old concept of the “third place” could “set the tone for continued recovery, and spur more innovative ideas,” writes urbanism consultant Chuck Wolfe.

Hot links:

• Remitly CEO Matt Oppenheimer discusses how he took the company from 0 to 4.2 million customers and a multi-billion dollar IPO. (Traction Podcast)

• Musk vs. Zuckerberg? The Twitter owner and the Meta founder are jawing on social media about settling some kind of score with a cage fight. (CNN)