Amazon adding ads to Prime Video | Latest in Microsoft-Activision deal 

Voyager Capital raising new fund | Tech Moves | Where’s Amazon Astro? ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: The GeekWire Summit returns October 19th! We're assembling some of the top names in artificial intelligence for the half-day summit, taking place in downtown Seattle: [Get your tickets today!]( TODAY'S TOP STORIES Happy Friday, GeekWire readers. Today’s deep thought: Can AI be holistic in its thought process? Also, Microsoft cleared another hurdle in its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, a Seattle VC firm is raising a new fund, and Amazon is ready to interrupt Prime Video programming. Commercials are coming to Prime Video: Advertising, it’s not just for Netflix anymore. In a bid to keep up with other streaming services and generate revenue for content, Amazon will introduce ad breaks to its streaming shows and movies in 2024. - "We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers,” the company said. - Prime members can pay an extra $2.99 a month to go ad-free. [Read more.]( Where’s Astro? Amazon [tells GeekWire that its home robot is very much alive]( despite its absence from the company’s devices event earlier this week. Latest in Microsoft-Activision deal: Microsoft’s plan to sell Activision Blizzard’s cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft [appears to have appeased UK antitrust regulators]( who previously sought to block its $68.7 billion acquisition of the Call of Duty maker. Voyager Capital raising new fund: The longtime Seattle venture capital firm [is gearing up for its sixth fund]( as it looks to back more enterprise software startups across the Pacific Northwest. “Do you think AI has the capacity to be holistic in its thought process, in spirit, soul, body and mind?” That question from the audience sparked an interesting exchange and a larger conversation during a panel featuring leading women in technology at JPMorgan Chase’s PowerHER conference Wednesday in Seattle. (Above, from left: Moderator Monika Panpaliya, head of the Global Technology Product & Agility Office for JPMorgan Chase & Co., Sinead O’Donovan, a Microsoft VP of product management, and Nancy Wang of Felicis Ventures.) [Read more](. Tech Moves: Seattle startup vet Joanna Lord has a new marketing gig; Outreach engineering leader resigns; Maveron hires a CFO; [and more personnel changes](. Hot Links: - Drivers for Amazon Flex, the company’s delivery service powered by gig workers, say they’ve been shot at while making deliveries. ([NBC News]( - Seattle’s Lego clout is showing up strong in the latest season of Fox’s Lego Masters. ([The Seattle Times]( Thanks for [subscribing]( to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great weekend. — GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com; GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com; and GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop, todd@geekwire.com. SPONSOR MESSAGE [If you like Washington wines, thank a Coug]( In vineyards and cellars, in head offices and tasting rooms, graduates and certificate holders from Washington State University’s Viticulture & Enology department are powering the state’s important wine industry. The perfect blend of art and science. Go Cougs Means Experiencing the Perfect Blend. [Learn more.]( LATEST HEADLINES [Where’s Astro? Amazon addresses home robot’s absence from annual devices event]( [Amazon to add commercial breaks to Prime Video shows and movies]( [UK regulator: Microsoft concessions ‘substantially address’ concerns about Activision deal]( [Can AI be holistic in spirit, soul, body, and mind? Insights from the PowerHER conference in Seattle]( [Voyager Capital targeting $100M for its sixth fund to back more B2B startups in the Pacific Northwest]( [Tech Moves: Seattle startup vet Joanna Lord lands new gig; Outreach exec resigns; Maveron hires CFO]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [Submittable: Senior Software Engineer (Back End) – Data]( - [GeekWork: Senior Backend Engineer]( - [City of Redlands: Network Engineer]( - [Submittable: Senior Software Engineer (Backend) – Employee Engagement]( - [INRIX: Lead Software Engineer]( - [Submittable: Senior Product Pricing Strategist]( - [Submittable: Staff Front End Software Engineer – Employee Engagement]( - [Submittable: Senior Machine Learning Scientist]( - [City of Portland Water Bureau: Technology Manager]( - [INRIX: Product Marketing Manager, Public Sector]( [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](