Microsoft’s AI dreams: Key company insiders on tech giant’s 50-year journey

Microsoft’s AI dreams: Just as the PC and cloud defined Microsoft’s first 50 years, and just as its struggles in mobile set the company back in the smartphone era, its success or failure in AI promises to determine its fate for decades to come. For the first installment in our Microsoft @ 50 series, GeekWire spent more than a month digging into the company’s work in AI; interviewing key Microsoft insiders, past and present; and revisiting the historical archives, including our own reporting on the company as journalists in Seattle. Read more.

Amazon will support construction of a next-generation nuclear power plant in its home state of Washington — marking the latest development in the tech-driven resurgence of nuclear energy as companies look for clean sources to power data centers amid the rise of AI. Nuclear is attractive because it doesn’t produce carbon emissions and can operate 24/7, unlike wind and solar power that are available intermittently. Read more. 

Amazon unveiled its first color Kindle, dubbed the Kindle Colorsoft, marking the company’s first expansion beyond the realm of black-and-white e-readers. Amazon also announced a second-generation Kindle Scribe writing tablet and e-reader; an updated Kindle Paperwhite; and a revamped entry-level Kindle. Read more.

Seattle startup Live Aware raised $4.8 million for its software platform that helps video game creators get feedback from a community of players and testers. Read more.

• See recent startup investments across the Pacific Northwest with our funding tracker. 

Eight years ago, Jeff Bezos said he'd like to put one of his Blue Origin New Shepard rocketships in a museum. Now that plan is coming to fruition, with a booster and crew capsule heading to the Smithsonian.

Hot Links:

• Microsoft refreshed its Digital Equity Data Dashboard to provide a clearer picture of broadband gaps across the U.S. (Microsoft)

• Expedia chairman and media mogul Barry Diller is set to release a new memoir. (Hollywood Reporter) 

• Tacoma, Wash., is a trending winter destination, according to Airbnb data. (Airbnb) 

Thanks for subscribing to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great day. — GeekWire Editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com; GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop, todd@geekwire.com; and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com.