Microsoft @ 50: GeekWire series will explore tech giant’s future, informed by its past

Microsoft @ 50: The tech giant’s rise, fall, and rebound is one of the most colorful and tumultuous stories in business history — and it’s still unfolding. That’s the context for a special year-long GeekWire project, launching this fall in advance of the 50th anniversary next year of Microsoft’s April 1975 founding. Read our preview here.

If you’re looking for AI talent, look West. Silicon Valley and Seattle have a majority of the country’s AI engineers, according to a new report. Read more.

“It’s a very, very rapid and exciting change in how we can do forecasting.” Seattle-based weather prediction pioneer Dale Durran teamed up with colleagues at Nvidia on a new AI-powered tool that can quickly and accurately predict thunderstorms and rainfall pinpointed to a range of just a couple of miles. Read more.

Two Seattle friends hope they have a hit on their hands with a new baseball trivia game called “Daily Walkoff.” The online game lets players choose challenging puzzles for all 30 Major League Baseball teams. Read more.

ZipBio, a new Seattle-based biotech startup founded last year, announced a $4 million seed round. Read more. 

Hot Links:

• Self-driving car companies like Amazon-owned Zoox are using human technicians to help vehicles navigate tricky situations. (The New York Times)

• “Scoring Tech Talent”: Seattle is No. 2 overall in a new ranking, and the region is tops in tech companies with AI-focused talent. (CBRE)

• “Founder mode": Seattle area tech vet and entrepreneur Vikram Chalana offers his take on the recent debate. (LinkedIn)

• Amy Mezulis, co-founder of Seattle teletherapy startup Joon Care, has a new book to help guide teens battling depression. (LinkedIn)

• Opponents of an initiative to repeal Washington state’s Climate Commitment Act put out a new ad warning of the dangers of undoing the law. (Washington State Standard)

• Seattle VC firm Maveron sheds light on four major shifts in consumer behavior and the investment opportunities in what it calls the “Age of Personalization.” (Maveron)