Amazon (AMZN) News

Amazon partners with Petco in latest expansion of return drop-off footprint

by Taylor Soper on October 13, 2023October 13, 2023 at 10:56 pm

Amazon is teaming up with another retail competitor to offer customers more places to return products. The Seattle retailer confirmed that it recently began testing a partnership with pet giant… Read More

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Amazon CEO calls attacks on civilians in Israel ‘shocking,’ says company will support relief efforts

by Kurt Schlosser on October 10, 2023October 10, 2023 at 10:44 am

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy called the attacks against civilians in Israel “shocking and painful to watch” in a post on X on Monday night. Jassy joined the chorus of those… Read More

She helped lead the fight against Amazon’s return to office — and then had to leave a job she loved

by Kurt Schlosser on October 9, 2023October 9, 2023 at 9:10 am

Pamela Hayter just wanted someone at Amazon to answer “the why.” After more than eight years at the tech giant, Hayter had come to expect that decisions large and small… Read More

Atlas V launch with Amazon's Project Kuiper satellites

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Atlas V rocket launches prototype Amazon satellites to test Project Kuiper network

by Alan Boyle on October 6, 2023October 8, 2023 at 2:09 pm

Amazon’s first satellites were launched today on a mission aimed at testing out the hardware and software for the Seattle company’s worldwide Project Kuiper broadband internet constellation. Two prototype satellites… Read More

Amazon begins shifting 2,000 employees from Seattle to new Bellevue office towers

by Kurt Schlosser on October 5, 2023October 5, 2023 at 12:40 pm

Amazon has moved about half of a planned 2,000 employees from Seattle to Bellevue, Wash., where the company ultimately plans to employ 25,000 people. Despite an ongoing pause in the… Read More

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Amazon pulls the plug on Amp, the live-audio app it launched last year to ‘reimagine radio’

by Kurt Schlosser on October 4, 2023October 4, 2023 at 1:24 pm

Amazon is pulling the plug on Amp, the audio app it launched last year to let users DJ their own live radio shows complete with a catalog of millions of… Read More

Report: FTC alleges Amazon tested price increases as part of secret ‘Project Nessie’

by Todd Bishop on October 4, 2023October 4, 2023 at 7:25 am

The Federal Trade Commission alleges that Amazon’s “Project Nessie” was designed to gauge the impact of its product price increases on the broader retail market, monitoring whether its rivals followed… Read More

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Testing Amazon’s new cashierless clothing shop at Lumen Field that uses RFID technology

by Taylor Soper on October 2, 2023October 2, 2023 at 4:34 pm

In a small corner of Lumen Field, Amazon is putting a new spin on its cashierless “Just Walk Out” shopping system. At the home of the Seattle Seahawks, just down… Read More

FTC’s case against Amazon hinges on internal messages and secrets yet to be revealed

by Todd Bishop on September 27, 2023October 4, 2023 at 7:24 am

What lurks beneath all that blacked-out text? That’s the immediate question for anyone reading the Federal Trade Commission’s landmark antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, filed Tuesday in federal court in Seattle.… Read More

FTC targets alleged secret Amazon pricing algorithm ‘Project Nessie’ in antitrust complaint

by Todd Bishop on September 26, 2023October 4, 2023 at 7:24 am

The Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon alleges, for the first time publicly, that the company used a secret pricing algorithm known internally as “Project Nessie” to compete unfairly… Read More

FTC and 17 states sue Amazon for maintaining alleged monopoly power that stifles competition

by Kurt Schlosser on September 26, 2023October 4, 2023 at 7:24 am

The Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general filed suit against Amazon on Tuesday, alleging that the Seattle-based tech giant is a monopoly that abuses its power. The complaint… Read More

Departing Amazon exec Dave Limp will become CEO at Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture

by Alan Boyle on September 25, 2023September 25, 2023 at 3:32 pm

Blue Origin has confirmed that Dave Limp, who is leaving his post as Amazon’s senior vice president of devices and services, will take over as the CEO of Jeff Bezos’… Read More

Amazon pours up to $4B into AI startup Anthropic, escalating rivalry with Microsoft and Google

by Todd Bishop on September 25, 2023September 25, 2023 at 7:36 am

Amazon will invest up to $4 billion and take a minority stake in Anthropic, the San Francisco-based artificial intelligence company founded two years ago by former OpenAI executives and considered… Read More

Interview: UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt visits Amazon and Microsoft; talks AI, China, economy

by Todd Bishop on September 22, 2023September 22, 2023 at 10:24 pm

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, the United Kingdom’s chief financial minister, visited Seattle on Friday as part of a West Coast tour to promote the expansion of the UK’s tech sector, and… Read More

Where’s Astro? Amazon addresses home robot’s absence from annual devices event

by Todd Bishop on September 22, 2023September 22, 2023 at 10:16 am

Amazon’s Astro home robot was introduced at the company’s fall Devices & Services event two years ago. Last year, Astro’s name was mentioned no less than 25 times during the… Read More

Amazon to add commercial breaks to Prime Video shows and movies

by Kurt Schlosser on September 22, 2023September 22, 2023 at 8:46 am

Amazon is ready to interrupt Prime Video programming to bring commercial breaks to its streaming shows and movies, the company announced Friday. Amazon joins a growing list of streamers giving… Read More

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Amazon unveils new AI features in quest to make Alexa ‘superhuman’

by Todd Bishop on September 20, 2023September 20, 2023 at 2:54 pm

It was tough, as usual, to keep up with the announcements coming out of Amazon’s fall Devices & Services event Wednesday morning. But in a change from the past, there… Read More

Amazon previews Alexa ‘Let’s Chat’ feature for Echo devices, building on generative AI technology

by Todd Bishop on September 20, 2023September 20, 2023 at 9:15 am

Amazon this morning showed a new feature, dubbed “Let’s Chat” driven by generative artificial intelligence, designed to make its Alexa voice assistant more conversational on its Echo devices. Demonstrated on… Read More

Should Amazon be ‘pumped’ to land Panos Panay? A closer look at longtime Microsoft devices leader

by Todd Bishop on September 19, 2023September 20, 2023 at 6:11 am

Microsoft developed its first Surface tablet more than a decade ago under strict secrecy to give then-CEO Steve Ballmer the option to pull the plug shortly before it launched if… Read More

Amazon to hire 250k U.S. holiday workers, up 100k from last year, projecting strong shopping season

by Todd Bishop on September 19, 2023September 19, 2023 at 2:21 pm

Amazon says it will seek to hire 250,000 people for the holiday season, a significant increase from past years, citing projections for a strong holiday shopping season. As part of… Read More

Amazon adds RFID capability to ‘Just Walk Out’ to enable cashierless shopping for clothing and more

by Kurt Schlosser on September 19, 2023September 19, 2023 at 7:56 am

Amazon is adding a new wrinkle to “Just Walk Out,” combining its cashierless retail technology with RFID capability so that the quicker checkout experience can be offered on expanded selection… Read More

Report: Departing Microsoft exec Panos Panay set to lead Amazon’s Alexa and Echo business

by Todd Bishop on September 18, 2023September 18, 2023 at 11:43 am

Amazon is expected to name Panos Panay, the longtime Microsoft Windows and Devices leader, as the new executive in charge of the division that includes its Alexa voice assistant and… Read More

Former Intuit CEO Brad Smith joins Amazon board

by Taylor Soper on September 13, 2023September 13, 2023 at 2:00 pm

Brad Smith, the former Intuit CEO and current president of Marshall University, has joined the Amazon board of directors. The Seattle-based company revealed the news in an SEC filing Wednesday.… Read More

News Brief

Amazon investing $40M in Seattle and elsewhere to help moderate-income families afford homes

by Kurt Schlosser on September 13, 2023September 13, 2023 at 8:47 am

Amazon is investing $40 million to help moderate-income families purchase homes in the Seattle area as well as other regions where the tech giant has a major presence.

Amazon rolls out ground shipping service for sellers in broader challenge to UPS and FedEx

by Todd Bishop on September 13, 2023September 13, 2023 at 6:34 am

Amazon is further expanding its delivery business with the official rollout of Amazon Shipping, a service for sellers that picks up items directly from their warehouses and delivers them to… Read More

Amazon expands supply chain services amid growing scrutiny of its relationship with sellers

by Todd Bishop on September 12, 2023September 12, 2023 at 11:53 am

An expansion of Amazon’s supply chain services will give sellers the ability to distribute products in bulk from Amazon’s warehouses to fulfillment channels and physical retail stores not affiliated with… Read More

Amazon distinguishes between AI ‘generated’ and ‘assisted’ content in new policy for Kindle authors

by Todd Bishop on September 11, 2023September 11, 2023 at 10:29 am

Amazon added a new artificial intelligence policy to its content guidelines for authors who distribute their work through its Kindle Direct Publishing platform, reacting to a wave of new books… Read More

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New robots are making Amazon’s warehouses more efficient — can they also make them safer?

by Todd Bishop on September 7, 2023September 7, 2023 at 3:33 pm

AUSTIN, Texas — It’s lunchtime at Amazon’s AUS2, a six-story warehouse set between housing subdivisions and a state highway on the edge of vast farmland just outside this city’s famous… Read More

Podcast

GeekWire Podcast: Amazon is done debating RTO policy; Robot umps update; Summit sneak peek

by Todd Bishop on September 2, 2023September 2, 2023 at 6:45 am

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made it clear in a recent internal meeting that he wants employees to “disagree and commit” to the company’s policy of working three days in the… Read More

Amazon adds three execs to its senior leadership team — here’s how the list has changed this year

by Todd Bishop on September 1, 2023September 1, 2023 at 7:04 pm

Amazon named three additional executives to its senior leadership team Friday: Andy Jassy, the Amazon CEO, announced the additions in a message to employees that was also published on the… Read More