Amazon commits $2B to affordable housing initiatives

Boeing to repurpose Seattle R&D center | Omnivor and Hyperproof raise cash ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: Become a GeekWire member: [Support independent journalism and join today!]( TODAY'S TOP STORIES Amazon’s new Housing Equity Fund: The tech giant is committing more than $2 billion to affordable housing initiatives in the regions of Seattle, Nashville, Tenn., and Arlington, Va., attempting to leverage its extraordinary financial assets to address disparities in three communities where its rapid growth risks deepening the economic divide. The fund will seek to preserve and create more than 20,000 affordable housing units across the three regions by making below-market loans and grants to public agencies, housing partners and minority-led organizations. It’s the latest effort by a major tech company to address the inequities fueled by the booming tech economy. [Read more](. Big change for Boeing R&D center: Boeing will repurpose a Seattle-area facility that has served as the focus for research into the composite materials used in aircraft ranging from the B-2 Stealth bomber to the 787 Dreamliner. Boeing cast the move as a cost-saving and efficiency-enhancing measure. [Read more](. Nintendo acquires Vancouver, B.C. studio: In a rare move, [Nintendo is buying Next Level Games]( the Canadian developer behind last year’s hit Switch game Luigi’s Mansion 3. Xbox profile: Speaking of Nintendo, [a new Bloomberg story]( details the 20-year history of Xbox, including Microsoft’s failed attempt at acquiring the Japanese game giant. Original Xbox team member Kevin Bachus recalled meeting with Nintendo about a potential deal. “They just laughed their asses off. Like, imagine an hour of somebody just laughing at you. That was kind of how that meeting went.” More Seattle startups raise cash: - [Omnivor reeled in $2.7 million]( for its 3D holographic content media production platform used by Nike. - Data compliance software provider [Hyperproof raised $4 million]( as the pandemic shines a spotlight on the importance and difficulty of safeguarding sensitive digital information. Sleep well with Amazon? The tech giant is reportedly working on a new Alexa-enabled bedside device that uses contactless technology to detect and measure sleep apnea. Business Insider reported that the project — code named “Brahms” after the “Lullaby” composer — uses millimeter-wave radar to track sleeping and breathing patterns. [Read more.]( Thanks for reading, and see all of our latest headlines below. — GeekWire editor Todd Bishop, editor@geekwire.com, managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com, and Geek Life reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com. SPONSOR MESSAGE LATEST HEADLINES [Report: Amazon working on Alexa-enabled device to track and measure sleep disorder]( [Amazon’s new $2B fund aims to boost affordable housing in Arlington, Nashville and Seattle areas]( [Data compliance startup Hyperproof raises $4M as pandemic puts spotlight on security and privacy]( [Boeing says its composites R&D center will be turned to other purposes, ending an era]( [Nintendo makes a rare acquisition, scoops up ‘Luigi’s Mansion 3’ maker Next Level Games]( SPONSORED: GEEK HOME OF THE DAY [Graystone is Giving Homeownership a Major Boost]( [Microsoft-owned Mojang Studios shutting down AR-powered ‘Minecraft Earth’ game in June]( [Omnivor raises $2.7M as pandemic spurs interest in holographic media from Nike, T-Mobile, others]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [Temporal Technologies: Sr. Developer Advocate]( - [Bean Box, Inc.: Principal Software Engineer]( - [Flyhomes: Senior Front End Engineer]( - [INRIX: GM, Automotive Sales]( - [Proprio Vision: Lead Software Development Engineer – Test]( - [GeekWire: Project and Membership Manager]( - [Level: Senior Software Engineer (Full Stack)]( - [Temporal Technologies: Sr. Solutions Architect]( - [Proprio Vision: Principal Software Engineer]( - [GeekWire: GeekWire Technology and Business Reporter]( [FIND MORE JOBS ON GEEKWORK]( [HIRING? BUY A FEATURED LISTING TO APPEAR HERE]( [About GeekWire]( [Contact Us]( [Advertise]( Copyright © 2021 GeekWire LLC, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted to receive emails from GeekWire LLC.  Our mailing address is: GeekWire LLC 123 NW 36th St, Suite 203 Seattle, WA 98107  [change email frequency or address]( | [unsubscribe](