Anthropic’s compute ledger:AmazonandMicrosofthave invested billions inAnthropicand won high-profile spending commitments from the Claude maker. But bothtrail Google, chipmaker Broadcomand Elon Musk’s SpaceX in their shares of Anthropic’s planned spending on computing power, its IPO filing shows.
Microsoft earnings preview:Microsoftreports fiscal first-quarter results Wednesday, its first under a new structure that splits the company into two segments and reports Azure revenue every quarter. The report comes two days after the company offered buyouts to about 60,000 employees
Power struggle:Seattle AI Weekopened with a discussionof how Washington state can compete in AI while managing the electricity demands of data centers. Former Gov. Chris Gregoire warned that the state needs to do more to stay competitive, while a top aide to Gov. Bob Ferguson said getting enough power is “a major challenge” and state Sen. Marko Liias said communities should get first claim on energy when it’s scarce.
- Climate activists made the point more bluntly, interrupting the opening panel several times before security led them out. Seeour storyfor more on their concerns. The protests continued Tuesday morning during an AI Week session withVijaye Raji,OpenAI’s CTO of Applications, moderated by GeekWire’s Todd Bishop.
Anchors aweigh, atoms aboard:Seattle startupEmerald Nuclearisleading a Norwegian
Anchors aweigh, atoms aboard:Seattle startupEmerald Nuclearisleading a Norwegian project backedby a $2.1 million award to develop nuclear power for ships and offshore uses. The team is starting with a non-nuclear prototype, with its first commercial deployment targeted for 2031 and financing, fuel supplies and regulatory approvals still ahead.
Benefits check:Seattle startupAvantelanded a $30 million Series Afor its AI platform that helps employers manage health care and other employee benefits. The round brings total funding to $40 million, and the company will use it to expand internationally and build out more agents.
Lung rehab at home:Getting to lung rehab can be difficult for older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), so Seattle startupKivo Healthbrings the sessions into their homes over video. Itjust raised $10 millionto expand the service.
Second pad, bigger rocket:Kent, Wash.-basedStoke Spacehas aconditional commitment
Second pad, bigger rocket:Kent, Wash.-basedStoke Spacehas aconditional commitment for a $150 million Pentagon loanto build a second Cape Canaveral launch pad, this one for Nova Block 2, a larger version of its fully reusable rocket designed to carry 15 metric tons to orbit. The bigger rocket is due in 2029, while Stoke’s smaller Nova Pathfinder is slated to make its first launch in early 2027.
Hot Links
- Bellevue-basedQorusDocslaunched a workspace where AI agents help consulting, legal and engineering firms draft proposals, drawing on past projects and approved content. CEORay Meiringsays buyers are “inundated with slop” from generic AI-written proposals. (QorusDocs)
- In his upcoming memoir “Secrets,”Watergate reporter Bob Woodward faults Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos for sweeping staff cuts, the opinion-page overhaul and his public silence on President Trump’s attacks on the press. (The New York Times)
- A new $129,795 city grantawarded to the Porsesh Policy Research Institute will examine how Seattle’s gig worker laws are affecting local app-based workers. (Office of Labor Standards)
- Former Amazon retail chief Jeff Wilkeis helping leadRe:Build, a Massachusetts startup that just raised $2.1 billion to expand U.S. manufacturing, with ambitions to build a domestic version of China’s Shenzhen. (The New York Times)
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