How a Starbucks AI pullback upended a Seattle-area startup

Report details demise of Starbucks inventory tool: The coffee giant rolled out AI-powered “Automated Counting” last fall and scrapped it nine months later amid rampant glitches and barista complaints, according to Fast Company. The end of the initiative reportedly “blindsided” NomadGo, the Redmond, Wash., startup that provided the tech. Read more.

Jeff Bezos linked to Liverpool FC: The Amazon founder is reportedly connected to a group of wealthy investors interested in buying a 30% stake in the storied English Premier League soccer team for about $1.8 billion. Read more.

Microsoft earnings preview: The tech giant reports fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year results Wednesday. Microsoft keeps beating Wall Street's expectations, and the stock keeps falling. Why? We look at the key numbers to watch, including capital spending, Azure growth, cloud margins, Copilot adoption and the first capital spending forecast for fiscal 2027. Read more.

• Microsoft on Monday unveiled Project Perception, a new agentic security framework designed to detect and respond quickly to threats, reflecting how AI‑driven attacks are outpacing traditional, human‑centered defenses. (Official Microsoft Blog, NYT)

• Previously: Microsoft 2.5: New security business chief Hayete Gallot on the company’s push into the agentic era

Tech Moves: Seattle's Remitly names a new CISO amid continued leadership shuffling; Seattle tech and public service leader Joseph Williams is director of cybersecurity programs at Western Washington University; Yoodli hires a VP of product and more personnel changes. 

Hot Links:

• Amazon Web Services and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are partnering to develop advanced AI tools to help electric grid operators respond to severe weather, increasing power demand, and cyber or physical threats. (PNNL) 

• Amazon is seeking FCC approval to launch 5,105 satellites for a direct‑to‑device network, tapping Globalstar’s spectrum and aiming to begin deployment in 2028 — a move that escalates its rivalry with SpaceX’s Starlink. (CNBC)

• The Khosla family, the Seattle Seahawks owners in waiting, are in talks with billionaire Mark Stevens and private‑equity firms including Sixth Street, Carlyle, and Dynasty Equity to join their $9.6B ownership consortium. (Bloomberg)