Inside Expedia's annual partner conference | Microsoft won't give salary raises this year

AI2 raises $30M fund for incubator | Microsoft and Helion plan historic fusion power plant ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: Money Hacks is a financial education series from GeekWire and BECU: [Get financial tips and find other resources to help you manage your money.]( TODAY'S TOP STORIES We went inside Expedia Group's annual partner conference at its corporate headquarters in Seattle, where Chairman Barry Diller (above) and other executives talked about how the company is positioned to capitalize on a new era of artificial intelligence as storm clouds clear for travel. [Read more.]( Microsoft and Helion Energy announced a historic agreement that could pave the way to the world’s first fusion power plant. If the Washington state facility is successful — serious hurdles remain in the chase for carbon-free power — it could have massive benefits long term as clean energy’s “Holy Grail” is finally achieved. [Read more.]( More Microsoft news: - The tech giant will not give pay raises to salaried full-time employees this year, citing “a dynamic economic environment.” [Read more](. - More job cuts: The company is laying off 158 employees in Washington state, [according to a new filing](. The cuts are separate from the 10,000 global layoffs announced in January. - Microsoft made a tiny dent in its annual carbon footprint in 2022, but the company’s chief sustainability officer said progress is [“not happening fast enough.”]( The Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence raised $30 million to invest in “AI-first” startups born from its incubator program. The second fund for the AI2 Incubator comes at a key moment for the AI sector, as more companies adopt generative AI technology and investors pour billions into nascent startups. [Read more.]( Swedish drugmaker Sobi plans to acquire Seattle biotech company CTI BioPharma for $1.7 billion. Founded in 1991, CTI went public in 1997 and has one FDA-approved product. [Read more](. Thanks for [subscribing]( to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great day. — GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com, and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com. SPONSOR MESSAGE [Canned cheese? Only if it’s Cougar Gold]( 75 years ago a professor at Washington State University invented a secret ingredient that made it possible to make high-quality cheese in a can. More than 9 million cans later, Cougar Gold is going strong, making headlines and winning new fans. [Learn why Go Cougs Means YUM!]( LATEST HEADLINES [Microsoft won’t give raises to full-time salaried employees this year]( [Microsoft cutting more jobs in Seattle region, beyond global layoffs announced in January]( [Allen Institute for AI raises $30M fund for incubator to boost more startups amid AI gold rush]( [Swedish drugmaker SOBI to acquire Seattle biotech giant CTI BioPharma for $1.7B]( [As storm clouds clear for travel, Expedia Group looks to become a bigger tech provider to industry]( [Microsoft and Helion want to build the world’s first fusion plant and seize energy’s ‘Holy Grail’]( [Microsoft makes tiny dent in annual carbon footprint but says ‘it’s not happening fast enough’]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [INRIX: Frontend Engineer]( - [City of Redlands: Network Engineer]( - [National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR): Software Engineer III – DevOps]( - [Craft3: Marketing Operations Manager]( - [MedBridge: Software Engineer III (Back end)]( [FIND MORE JOBS ON GEEKWORK]( [HIRING? BUY A FEATURED LISTING TO APPEAR HERE]( [About GeekWire]( [Contact Us]( [Advertise]( Copyright © 2023 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](