Microsoft AI CEO hints at what’s next | OpenAI investor eyes a future IPO

• Is an IPO next for OpenAI? Also at the Madrona event, OpenAI investor Brad Gerstner of Altimeter Capital spoke about the next steps for the ChatGPT maker following its record $6.6 billion investment round announced yesterday. Read more.

Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman voiced his support for Amazon’s plan to bring workers back to the office five days a week, describing it as a key way to maintain the company’s culture of innovation. Read more.

Amazon plans to hire 250,000 workers across the U.S. to meet the holiday season demand in its fulfillment and transportation operations. Read more.

“We are so excited, we can hardly stand it,” said Scott Claunch, president of TerraPower Isotopes, the Bill Gates-backed company that has developed a rare, radioactive ingredient that is a promising candidate for cancer treatments. (Above: Gates visiting TerraPower Isotopes in Everett, Wash.) Read more.  

Goodbye, cold calls. Hello, warm introductions. That’s the promise of Vieu, a Seattle startup led by former Microsoft leaders that just announced $11 million in funding to help companies boost their enterprise sales processes with help from AI. 

Brex opens Seattle office: The San Francisco-based corporate credit card and expense management company plans to double its Seattle-area headcount. Read more.

• See a full list of Seattle-area engineering outposts

Hot Links:

• Google told employees it won’t follow Amazon’s lead on returning to the office five days per week, saying its current hybrid system was working well. (Business Insider)

• Microsoft is investing $5.6 billion in Italy to expand cloud and AI data center infrastructure and provide digital skills training to 1 million Italians. (Microsoft)

• Microsoft’s big bet on AI and the power to run the tech is leading to more than $100 billion in data center leases for the company. (CNBC)

• As the debate over how to use Seattle’s Jumpstart tax on big businesses is heating up during city budget negotiations, here’s how the funds have been spent in the past.  (Cascade PBS)