A new desire to go electric | iSpot makes another acquisition

From indifferent to energized: GeekWire reporter Lisa Stiffler (above) admits she’s no car geek. But in her climate tech reporting role, she’s inundated with news about advances in the electric vehicle industry. During a trip to the giant Electrify Expo near Seattle last weekend, a test drive in a new Kia Niro may have finally been the spark to get Stiffler to change auto gears. Read the story.

• Related: Canadian electric bus and truck maker cruises into new assembly facility in Washington state

Microsoft president calls for AI “safety brakes”: Speaking on the phone with GeekWire after addressing a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing on artificial intelligence, Microsoft President Brad Smith discussed his ideas for regulating high-risk AI systems. He also responded to Sen. Josh Hawley’s criticism during the hearing of Microsoft’s policy allowing kids as young as 13 years old to use the company’s Bing AI chatbot. Read more.

Look out, UPS and FedEx, here comes Amazon. The online retail giant is rolling out Amazon Shipping, a service for sellers that picks up items from their warehouses and delivers them to customers, independent of Amazon’s fulfillment network. Read more.

• Related: Amazon expands supply chain services amid growing scrutiny of its relationship with sellers

• Stay tuned: The company is holding its annual conference for sellers, Accelerate, in downtown Seattle starting today. 

M&A news: 

• iSpot makes another acquisition: The Seattle-based TV advertising tech company bought New York-based 605, marking its fourth acquisition in less than three years.

• Seattle real estate startup Flyhomes plans to acquire Home Sale Assured, which helps people buy new homes without needing to sell their current one.  

Microsoft vets land $2M to beef up B2B sales: Vieu is using AI to help enterprise sales teams track down potential buyers. The company is led by CEO Samir Manjure, who previously founded Seattle health-tech startup KenSci. Read more. 

Amazon is investing $40 million in a new initiative to help moderate-income families afford to purchase a home. The effort in the Seattle area, as well as Arlington, Va., and Nashville, is part of the company’s $2 billion Housing Equity Fund. Read more.

Hot Links:

• Microsoft’s updated HoloLens device for The U.S. Army passed its first test. (Windows Central)

• Xbox Game Pass Core, the replacement for Xbox Live Gold, is launching this week with 36 games. (The Verge)

• A tech worker who moved from New York to Seattle for a job at Amazon calls it the loneliest time of his life. But his experience seems less about Seattle itself and more about life in the tech industry as a recent college graduate. (Business Insider)