Lessons from Satya Nadella’s decade as Microsoft CEO | AI2 releases highly anticipated open-source LLM

There’s no ‘M’ in FAANG. Microsoft was on a path to becoming irrelevant, as evidenced by its omission from that popular acronym for the biggest tech stocks. At least, that was the case when Satya Nadella became the third CEO in Microsoft’s history, 10 years ago. Fast-forward to today, and all that has changed, writes S. “Soma” Somasegar, Madrona managing director and former Microsoft executive, in a guest post analyzing Nadella’s tenure so far. The former colleagues are lifelong friends, but Somasegar offers a clear-eyed assessment not just of Nadella’s successes but also missteps on the way to a $3 trillion valuation. Read it here.

It’s like studying the solar system without a telescope. That’s what researchers working with closed AI models are up against, says Hanna Hajishirzi of the Allen Institute for AI and the University of Washington, whose AI2 team today released the OLMo open-source large language model, along with underlying data and code meant to significantly improve the industry’s understanding of how generative AI actually works. Read more.

Apple Vision Pro:

• “The next best thing to being there in person.” Zillow is bringing its immersive home tours to the new spatial computing headset for virtual room-by-room walkthroughs.

• Microsoft, meanwhile, will bring its productivity apps to the Vision Pro, continuing a tradition of developing for Apple platforms that stretches back to the original Mac.

Back in 2021, Bellevue’s tech scene was flourishing as Amazon, Meta and others rushed to expand their footprints in the city east of Seattle. But what comes next is unclear, with rising office vacancies and Amazon’s big construction plans on pause. Supporters say Bellevue is still an appealing alternative to Seattle. Its leaders want to grow and diversify the economy while safeguarding the features that drew companies and residents in the first place. Read more.

• More from Bellevue: The city’s police department is adding Axon body-worn cameras to officers’ tech tool belts for the first time, while also upgrading their Tasers.