49 results found
Amazon has officially become the No. 1 company on the Fortune 500 list for the first time in 13 years, dethroning Walmart. Reporting over $700 billion in 2025 revenue, this marks a historic shift for the tech giant. Other leaders like Microsoft, Alphabet, and Nvidia also achieved notable milestones.
Microsoft has launched ASSERT, an open-source framework designed to simplify AI behavior testing. It enables developers to create comprehensive, application-specific evaluations using natural language descriptions, ensuring AI systems act as intended for particular products and services. The tool translates high-level goals into structured tests, generates scenarios, scores results, and logs execution paths.
Xbox's new Chief Strategy Officer, Matthew Ball, declares console gaming "important, durable, and still growing," aiming to revive iconic franchises like _Halo_ and _Gears of War_. His commitment comes amidst fan concerns about multiplatform shifts, offering a cautious glimmer of hope for the future of Xbox's traditional console identity.
Google's Gemini AI is rapidly expanding its presence across Workspace apps, drawing comparisons to Microsoft's controversial Copilot rollout. This aggressive integration, marked by ubiquitous "sparkle icons," is leading to user fatigue and criticism. Critics warn that Google risks alienating users and developers by pushing unwanted AI features, potentially repeating Microsoft's past mistakes.
A federal jury has cleared OpenAI, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and Microsoft in Elon Musk's landmark AI lawsuit. The unanimous decision found Musk waited too long to file his claims, ruling them time-barred after a three-week trial in Oakland.
A prominent artificial intelligence veteran is urging federal intervention regarding OpenAI's controversial conversion from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity, arguing that the ongoing legal battles, particularly the
Yunyan Wang, a former Amazon VP, has been appointed CTO of Chewy, while Smartsheet named Josh Schauer as its new CFO. Additionally, NetApp brought in longtime Microsoft executive Alvaro Celis as Chief Partner and Ecosystem Officer. These moves are part of a broader wave of executive shifts across the tech industry.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has initiated a major reorganization of the Xbox platform team, bringing in top technical and design talent from Microsoft's CoreAI division. This strategic move aims to enhance engineering, data analytics, and user-centric design within Xbox, focusing on improved developer tools, streamlined operations, and a fan-first approach to platform development.
GeekWire's "Week in Review" for April 26, 2026, is an efficient digest of top tech news, covering Microsoft and Amazon's AI bets, startup funding, and regional issues. It's a valuable, curated snapshot for busy tech enthusiasts.
Seattle HR leader Mikaela Kiner's new book, "The Reverb Way," offers candid insights into building a thriving business without personal sacrifice. Drawing on her experience at Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, and her firm Reverb, Kiner provides practical advice for founders. The book covers navigating challenges, prioritizing work-life balance, and leveraging community, with current insights on AI's impact and Reverb's recent business rebound.
Xbox pulled Call of Duty from day-one Game Pass launches, moving them to roughly a year later. This came with Game Pass price cuts. Data shows CoD wasn't driving new subscriptions but cannibalizing premium sales, and the franchise itself faces declining engagement and revenue, prompting Xbox's strategic pivot.
Microsoft's gaming division is undergoing a major strategic shift, rebranding as "Xbox" and adopting "daily active players" as its core metric. Under new CEO Asha Sharma, the company aims to tackle player frustrations, reevaluate game exclusivity, and pursue acquisitions, reflecting a renewed challenger mindset amidst recent financial pressures.
Daniel Shapero, LinkedIn's COO since 2021, has been appointed CEO, succeeding Ryan Roslansky. Roslansky will now serve as Executive Vice President, overseeing both LinkedIn and Microsoft Office, emphasizing Microsoft's AI strategy. This leadership shift aims to bolster AI integration and comes as LinkedIn reports record quarterly revenue exceeding $5 billion, part of a $20 billion annual run rate.
Microsoft's quantum lead, Jeff Henshaw, joins IonQ as SVP of quantum compute products. Heptio co-founder Joe Beda becomes CTO at Seattle AI startup Stacklok, returning from semi-retirement. Additionally, Amazon’s Air Science & Tech executive director, Stefan Karisch, is departing, among other significant personnel changes across the tech industry.
France is making a strategic shift from Windows to Linux across government systems, driven by digital sovereignty. This move aims to reduce reliance on U.S. tech and gain control over national data, despite facing significant implementation challenges.
GeekWire's Todd Bishop and John Cook recorded a podcast on Sound Transit's new 2 Line, the world's first light rail on a floating bridge, connecting Seattle to Microsoft's Redmond campus. They discuss engineering challenges, regional cooperation, and the future of transit.
France announced plans to transition government computers from Microsoft Windows to Linux to reduce reliance on U.S. tech and achieve "digital sovereignty." This decision, driven by geopolitical tensions and weaponized sanctions by the Trump administration, is part of a broader European effort to secure digital independence. The open-source nature of Linux offers transparency and control, aligning with France's strategic goals.
Microsoft veteran Eric Boyd has joined AI leader Anthropic to head its infrastructure team, marking a major personnel shift in the competitive AI sector. Concurrently, Tagboard, a Redmond-based live broadcast production company, announced Marty Roberts as its new CEO, succeeding Nathan Peterson. Expedia Group also promoted Ryan Desjardins to Vice President of Technology, bolstering its efforts in AI integration.
NASA swiftly resolved a Microsoft Outlook glitch on Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman’s personal computing device during the mission to the Moon. Mission Control remotely accessed the Microsoft Surface Pro to reload Outlook files, a common fix, demonstrating robust deep-space IT support. This incident highlights the integration and maintenance of commercial tech in critical space endeavors.
In a decisive move signaling its intent to build an AI empire independent of OpenAI, Microsoft has unveiled three proprietary AI models: MAI-Transcribe-1, MAI-Voice-1, and MAI-Image-2. Released on April 3, 2026, these
Xbox's new boss, Asha Sharma, has officially retired the 2024 'This is an Xbox' marketing campaign, citing it 'didn’t feel like Xbox.' This signals a major brand reset, but deeper corporate pressures and past hardware decisions pose ongoing challenges to Xbox's path forward.
Smartsheet has announced four C-suite changes, including two new hires and two promotions, as CEO Rajeev Singh continues to build his leadership team after recent layoffs. Separately, fashion rental startup Armoire has appointed Morgan Cundiff as head of product and machine learning. Additionally, long-time Microsoft director Javier Páramo has launched AIQLinea, a new Redmond-based startup focused on guiding companies through AI adoption strategies.
The new Crosslake Connection of Sound Transit's Link light rail 2 Line opens Saturday, connecting Seattle and the Eastside. Tech companies like Microsoft and Lime are actively participating in celebrations across 10 stations. This expansion is set to transform commutes for thousands of tech workers, promising a significant shift in regional transportation dynamics.
Norwegian startup Lace has secured $40 million in Series A funding to advance its groundbreaking chip-making technology. The company plans to replace traditional light-based lithography with helium atom beams, promising chip features up to ten times smaller than current capabilities. This investment, led by Atomico and including Microsoft's M12, highlights a strategic push to diversify the semiconductor supply chain and meet growing AI demand.
CNET identifies LibreOffice as a free alternative to Microsoft 365. While the provided source highlights the product's existence, specific review details are not available for a comprehensive analysis.
