Microsoft, Amazon, AI, the economy, and another bad tech ad
GeekWire
GeekWire
4.4 • 116 Ratings
🗓️ 3 August 2024
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we take a closer look at the earnings reports from Microsoft and Amazon this week, as a litmus test for artificial intelligence demand and the state of the economy. We also consider the implications of Boeing's new CEO being based in the Seattle region, discuss a new AI tool that aims to streamline marketing tasks, and weigh in on the backlash to Google's Olympics ad for its Gemini AI chatbot
- Microsoft capital spending soars to $19B, betting big on AI, as Azure growth underwhelms Wall Street
- Amazon sales come up short, profits nearly double
- Amazon looks to reduce costs to compete more aggressively on price as consumer habits shift
- Boeing chooses its next CEO — and he will reportedly be based back in Seattle
- Seattle tech vets launch 'Spok,' an AI copilot that aims to streamline marketing tasks – GeekWire
- CNBC: Google pulls AI ad for Olympics following backlash
With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop and editor Taylor Soper.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | What's with these tech companies and the tone-deafness when it comes to how people are going to receive the technology and the message that they put out about that technology? |
| 0:11.0 | Bad tech ad of the week, it's our new weekly feature. |
| 0:18.7 | Welcome to GeekWire. |
| 0:20.7 | I'm GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. And I'm GeekWire editor Taylor Soper. |
| 0:25.0 | We are coming to you from Seattle where we get to report each day on what's happening around us in business, |
| 0:29.5 | technology, startups, science and innovation. What happens here matters everywhere and every week |
| 0:34.8 | on this show we get to talk about some of the most interesting stories and trends in the news. |
| 0:39.9 | Taylor, it's good to see you. It's good to be back Todd. can't wait to talk about AI and AI. |
| 0:45.0 | We got a lot of AI coming up this week. We've also got Microsoft and Amazon earnings |
| 0:51.0 | tons of stuff on the site. |
| 0:52.9 | I'll link to the things that we talk about, |
| 0:54.5 | but I encourage you if you were busy heads down at work this week. |
| 0:57.9 | Catch up on GeekWire, there was much news |
| 1:00.9 | all over the place, and we did our best to cover it. |
| 1:03.4 | But Microsoft earnings in particular were a real litmus test for the current state of AI |
| 1:10.3 | within the realm of corporate adoption and how much leeway investors are going to give these big tech companies |
| 1:17.0 | to build out the infrastructure, to spend the billions of dollars for what these companies believe will be the long-term AI demand. |
| 1:25.0 | Microsoft spent $19 billion in the most recent quarter, |
| 1:30.0 | a record amount on capital expenditures, primarily to create new data centers and also to upgrade the chips inside its existing data centers. |
| 1:39.0 | And man, they got hammered. |
| 1:41.0 | People were not happy with the Azure cloud growth. It was really kind of |
| 1:46.8 | interesting to watch. You know, Microsoft said that Azure growth was going to be in the realm of 30 to 31 percent when adjusted for foreign exchange |
... |
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