Microsoft’s very big week | Seattle mapping startup Unearth acquired

Happy weekend, GeekWire readers. We tracked two important visits to Seattle on Friday from First Lady Jill Biden and UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. Seattle startup Unearth announced its acquisition, and Unity backtracked on a controversial licensing policy change. First, let’s take stock of a big week for Microsoft. 

From the unveiling of new Windows and AI features to the resignation of a key exec, it has been an eventful five days for Satya Nadella & Co.

• To help sort it all out, we’re excited to be joined on a new episode of the GeekWire Podcast by someone who has covered the company for many years, journalist Mary Jo Foley, editor in chief at DirectionsOnMicrosoft.com. 

• One of the big stories on her radar: Microsoft 365 Copilot, the all-in-one business AI toolset that’s now set for release on Nov. 1, a little over a month from now. Is that too early? Yes, Mary Jo says, theorizing that Microsoft is hustling the service to general availability in part to keep up with Google. Read more and listen here.

• Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.

Seattle startup acquired: Unearth Technologies, which develops mapping software for the construction industry, was acquired by Procore Technologies, a publicly traded company based in Southern California. Read more. 

UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was in Seattle on Friday, meeting with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy (above, left), Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan, and Alphabet/Google CFO Ruth Porat. His visit was part of a West Coast tour to promote the expansion of the UK’s tech sector, and lay the groundwork for an upcoming global AI safety summit organized by the British government. We spoke with Hunt after his meetings in Seattle.

First Lady Jill Biden (above, center) was also in Seattle on Friday, visiting the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center to meet with researchers and discuss the Cancer Moonshot, a White House initiative aiming to improve cancer treatment and halve deaths from the disease within the next 25 years. Read more. 

Unity apologies: After more than a week of controversy, Unity Technologies promised to undo or roll back many of the changes it had planned to make to the licensing agreements for its game engine. Read the apology letter penned by Unity exec Marc Whitten, a former leader at Microsoft and Amazon.