Amazon
Facts
- HQ
- SEATTLE
- Sectors
- E-commerce, Cloud computing, Aerospace/Satellites, Media/Streaming, Advertising, Consumer devices
- Founded
- 1994
- Type
- Corporation Seattle business license
- Employees
- 1600000
- Registered name
- Amazon.Com Inc Seattle business license
- Stage
- Public
AI that writes your emails; a Seattle tech visionary; and our trivia challenge returns
Here’s what we’re talking about on the GeekWire Podcast this week: OthersideAI thinks it can help you be more productive by using artificial intelligence to write your emails for you. But is that really a good idea? The months-old firm announced a $2.6 million seed round this week. It's one of several startups creating email products based on OpenAI's GPT3 language processing technology. We talk about the long-term implications for the industry and for humanity. Tom Alberg was an internet financial pioneer when he became one of the first investors in Amazon in 1995. He didn't stop there. He was…
Startup CEOs optimistic despite pandemic; Amazon moves into virtual travel
Here’s what we’re talking about on the GeekWire Podcast this week: The results are in from the first-ever GeekWire 200 CEO Insights survey and they may surprise you. Startup CEOs in Seattle are generally optimistic about the state of the economy for the next 18 months. And they have some thoughts on who should be president. Amazon's latest offering is virtual tourism through its new Amazon Explore service. GeekWire's Todd Bishop went for a walk around Quebec City with a local guide and took a cooking lesson in Buenos Aires, all without leaving the office. Ex-Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff jumps…
Matt McIlwain (Madrona) on lessons from 20 years of VC investing, traits of top entrepreneurs, and building a bigger pie
20 years as a VC at Madrona. Headline IPOs like Accolade, Smartsheet, Apptio, Isilon. Invested in cloud before it was cool. 3x Midas list. 3x CB's top 100 VC list. Matt goes behind the scenes on his lessons (from the highs and lows), Madrona's philosophy, and how the best leaders work.
Amazon's ambitious health band; 4-day work week; Convoy hires ex-Expedia CEO
Here’s what we’re talking about on the GeekWire Podcast this week. Amazon surprised everyone by unveiling a new health band, the Halo, this week. The device will not only track your steps but also measure your body fat and even analyze your voice to assess your degree of “energy and positivity." But will it protect your private health info from prying eyes? Seattle startup Volt has taken the pandemic-inspired work-from-home plan to a new level by going to a four-day work week. Are Volt employees as productive as they were when they worked five days a week? And what do…
Madeline Haydon
Nutpods Founder and CEO and Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Madeline Haydon, shares her story from humble beginnings and lessons she learned from her refugee parents immigrating to the US. On this episode, you’ll learn how her Kickstarter campaign provided the assurance that she had a good idea, how the odds were stacked against her when it came to fundraising and what the moment was when she felt like she made it. In five short years, Nutpods has grown to the #3 brand in the plant-based creamer category, the #1 selling brand on Amazon, Amazon 2019 Small Business…
Ambika Singh (Armoire CEO) on pitching friends, building a dream closet, and learning from others
Amoire is 3.5 year into building the "dream closet" for woman, $5M in funding, 50 employees, 1000s of customers, and moving 10s of thousands of garments. Ambika Singh, the founder and Chief Bosslady, goes inside her process, how she learns, and the obstacles and upsides she's found as a woman founder in Seattle.
Matt Oppenheimer (Remitly CEO) on finding things that piss you off, willful ignorance, taking the road less traveled, and COVID-19
1,000+ employees, over $300M in funding, nearly $1B valuation, just 9 years in... Remitly's numbers impress. But I love the story even more. Go behind the scenes with Matt Oppenheimer on the path from business school to Kenya to Seattle, his learnings building Remitly, and how he's leading during COVID-19.
Uber, Grubhub and Seattle; Amazon's virus-killing robot; Surface Earbuds first take
Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast. Word leaked out this week that Uber is considering buying food-delivery service Grubhub, and it turns out there are many Seattle connections behind the possible deal, including links to Expedia and several other companies. Food delivery is a tough market to make a buck in, for companies and their drivers, so what's in the deal for Uber? Uber Eats is #2 and Grubhub is #3 in food delivery services, behind leader DoorDash. DoorDash grew its market share 42% in March while Grubhub stayed flat. Uber Eats grew 20% (it…
Bezos is Back
Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast: Amazon's sales rose 26% in the first quarter as the COVID-19 crisis made the online retailer an even bigger part of many lives, but profits were down 30% due to expenses from dealing with the virus. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos gave a clear message to shareholders, saying they "may want to take a seat," because there are big challenges ahead and they won't be easy or cheap to overcome. The company says it will spend $4 billion this quarter on initiatives related to the pandemic. With Amazon bigger and…
Julie Sandler (PSL) on how humanity & mental health are driving business decisions in this crisis
Go behind the scenes on Julie's conversations with portfolio companies during the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for conviction and speed in the face of uncertainty, and how humanity & mental health are driving decision making.
Bill Gates on the future of work; Vicis reborn; Nintendo meets Lego
Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast. Bill Gates talks about how work will change after the coronavirus ... and how school shouldn't. A Seattle startup that is trying to make a safer football helmet gets a new lease on life. And Lego and Nintendo bring Super Mario into the physical world in a surprising way. We have a lot of tech news to discuss on this week's episode: Vicis assets sold for $2.85M to Schutt investor, promising to revive failed startup’s helmet tech No Neo in 2020: Microsoft pauses work on dual-screen device running Windows…
Seattle adjusts to life under the coronavirus threat
Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast. The gravity of the COVID-19 virus outbreak hit home hard in Seattle this week: Large events were banned, schools were closed, and thousands of people struggled to adjust to working from home. Restaurants began to feel the pinch – some even closed temporarily – as people stayed home. The Seattle Archdiocese said it would suspend celebration of the Eucharist at services. Amazon will hold its annual shareholder meeting online … a first. Over three dozen people have died from the virus and over 500 cases of the disease were…
Michel Feaster on running toward fear, 7-figure deals, and category creation at Usermind & Apptio
Usermind has raised $50M, created a category, and closed 7-figure deals. But, CEO Michel Feaster, didn't always think of herself as a founder. Hear how she ran toward her biggest fears to make the leap from executive to founder after 15 years, lessons from Apptio's success, and how creating a category lets you "set the price."
Seattle confronts the coronavirus
Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast. Seattle became ground zero in the U.S. coronavirus outbreak this week and tech firms were trying to adjust. Meetings and conferences were cancelled or moved online and many firms told employees to work from home for the rest of the month. GeekWire was no exception: Our annual awards event has been postponed. How will the virus impact Seattle’s tech scene in the short term and in the long run? Will it change the way many of us work? We discuss … Coronavirus Live Updates: The latest COVID-19 developments in…
Sandi Lin on how Skilljar raised $16.5M with her car breaking down on Sand Hill Road
Skilljar raised $16M last year after tripling from $1M to $3M ARR. Hear how CEO Sandi Lin got bay area VCs competing for her attention during her Series A after barely getting any replies to her seed round.
Glenn Kelman on humility & leadership in Redfin's 14-year journey
Redfin brought real-estate online, had an IPO, and built a role model culture in Seattle. It's been a 14-year journey -- an overnight success! Hear the story and go behind the scenes with CEO Glenn Kelman on leadership, humility, and the opportunity he sees ahead.
Apple acquires Xnor.ai; Microsoft's bold climate plan; Seattle startup trivia
Apple doubled down on artificial intelligence and boosted its presence in Seattle with the acquisition of Xnor.ai, an Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence spinout with roots at the University of Washington, as first reported by GeekWire this week. It was a win for those institutions, and investors including Seattle's Madrona Venture Group, but it's also an example of an ambitious startup selling to a tech giant before it has the chance to become one itself. So how should we look at deals like this? Plus, Microsoft's ambitious plan to go "carbon negative" puts the tech company at the forefront of…
An extraordinary year in Seattle tech
From Amazon to Zillow, big successes to surprising failures, it was an extraordinary year for technology and innovation emerging from and impacting Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. That's the consensus from GeekWire co-founders John Cook and Todd Bishop, who independently compiled their own lists of the biggest stories of the year, then compared notes in this year-end GeekWire Podcast discussion. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The future of data with Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky
LAS VEGAS -- Nearly 20,000 people are here this week to learn about the latest from Seattle-based Tableau Software, whose technologies turn large amounts of data into visualizations, or vizzes, interactive graphics and charts for interpreting and telling the underlying stories. They also heard from Tableau's new parent company, Salesforce, whose co-CEO Marc Benioff joined Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky on stage for the keynote address as a last-minute addition a little more than a week after European regulators cleared the companies to integrate the $15.7 billion acquisition. On this special episode of the GeekWire Podcast, recorded on location at the…
Microsoft's new era unfolds
Microsoft is back in the smartphone business with the unveiling of its new Surface Duo dual-screen folding device this week. It's a fascinating story all on its own, as the company finally goes public with a concept it has been experimenting with behind-the-scenes for much of the past decade. Surprise twist: It runs Android. But combined with the larger Surface Neo dual-screen tablet/notebook, the story is much bigger. Microsoft is trying to take the lead in a new category of computing, while expanding its focus beyond Windows to focus on apps and experiences across a range of devices. We share…
Why millennials love Amazon
Amazon ousted Apple this year as the most loved brand among millennials, people age 19 through 39, according to a new study. What does this say about the future of the world? OK, that might be taking it too far, but some of our resident millennials offer their take on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast. And in news for slightly older generations, the startup HopSkipRide made its debut in Seattle this week, promising to safely shuttle your kids around town. We explain how it works and try to decide if we and our kids will use it. Plus, in…
Headphones, AI and the future of humanity
New wireless Bluetooth headphones from Seattle startup Human are getting mixed reviews based on their appearance, and their initial starting price of $399 (which the company quickly dropped to a promotional price of $259). But their unique design, which completely envelops both ears, reflects a vision of the future in which technology will be melded to our bodies, and potentially to our minds. Plus: Jeff Bezos' first Amazon job ad, 25 years later; A new Netflix documentary will go inside the mind of Bill Gates, and Alexa makes a "Jeopardy!" cameo. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Xiao Wang
Xiao Wang talks about his own family’s process of immigrating to the United States from China and how it influenced him to start his company, Boundless Immigration. Before Boundless, Xiao received degrees from both Stanford and Harvard Universities and worked for McKinsey, the New York City Department of Education, and Amazon. With the help of Pioneer Square Labs, Xiao decided to leave the corporate world and cofound his company in 2017. Xiao discusses what his parents went through during their immigration process, his plans for what he wants to achieve with Boundless in the future, and how he’s extremely proud…
Secret Startup Ingredient: Microsoft
Would you have guessed that nearly 25 percent of the Seattle region's top tech startups are led by CEOs with backgrounds at Microsoft? That was the surprising result of our analysis of the GeekWire 200, our index of the top privately held tech companies in the Pacific Northwest. And fundings for the region's startups bucked the national trend, as reflected in data from our new startup deal tracker. Nintendo unveiled a new iteration of its Switch game console; former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer pulled off what might be his greatest deal ever; and an Amazon employee showed the potential of…
Slack CTO Cal Henderson
Workplace chat and collaboration technology company Slack is going public on Thursday, with implications for a wide variety of companies in the Seattle region and beyond. Microsoft is Slack’s primary competitor with its Teams service, and Slack is a big Amazon Web Services customer. And many companies that sell technologies to businesses will be watching Slack’s stock market debut closely to assess their own potential in the public markets. So how does Slack work behind the scenes? On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, we’re featuring a conversation with a co-founder of Slack, Cal Henderson, the company’s chief technology officer…
People
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Jamie Siminoff Executive, Vice President
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Ben Wild Co-founder of Hubble Network, Former Amazon Product Lead
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Manish Srivastava Director, Product & Technology, A to Z Platform & PXT AI
