Microsoft hardware leader Panos Panay reportedly headed to Amazon after sudden departure

Oregon factory to mass produce humanoid warehouse robots | Meet the new chief scientific officer at Seattle Children's 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 Welcome to the week, GeekWire readers. Today we’re reporting on a new Oregon factory producing humanoid warehouse robots, a major milestone for a Seattle-area space venture, and the new chief scientific officer at Seattle Children’s. First, big news in the Big Tech hardware world. Microsoft hardware chief headed to Amazon: Panos Panay, the chief product officer who oversees Microsoft’s Windows and Devices division, [is leaving the Redmond tech giant after 19 years]( in a surprise departure. He’s headed across Lake Washington and [will join rival Amazon]( according to a report from Bloomberg. - Panay would replace Dave Limp, Amazon’s devices and services chief, who said in August that he would step down later this year after more than 13 years at the company. - The news comes during a pivotal week for the companies. Amazon is scheduled to hold its annual Devices & Services product unveiling Wednesday morning at its second headquarters in Arlington, Va. Microsoft hosts an event in New York City on Thursday where Surface and Windows-related announcements are expected. Mass producing humanoid warehouse robots: Amazon-backed Agility Robotics says it will ultimately be able to make more than 10,000 robots a year in a new Salem, Ore., factory. [Read more.]( Clean aviation startup lands more cash: ZeroAvia, which is developing hydrogen-electric propulsion systems for aircraft, raised an undisclosed amount from Amazon, Bill Gates, Alaska Airlines and others. The company has an R&D center near Seattle. [Read more.]( Major milestone for Seattle-area space venture: Stoke Space completed a successful up-and-down test of its “Hopper” developmental rocket vehicle over the weekend in Moses Lake, Wash., in the startup’s quest to create a fully reusable launch system.[Read more.]( New chief scientific officer at Seattle Children’s: Vittorio Gallo discusses his vision for the future of the research institute, how to increase diversity in science, and his views of how AI will change biomedicine. [Read the GeekWire interview.]( - Related: Remitly exec Kim Vu to depart, [and other personnel changes in our latest Tech Moves round–up](. Video game engine maker Unity is [planning to backpedal]( on a recent policy change and price increase. Last week we analyzed the backlash and why so many game developers [said they were abandoning Unity](. Hot Links: - Washington state is retiring its online COVID-19 Data Dashboard and replacing it with an enhanced Respiratory Illness Data Dashboard. ([Dept. of Health]( - Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott, the outsider who says he sometimes feels like he doesn’t quite fit in, has become the face of the company’s AI strategy. ([The Wall Street Journal]( - Microsoft planned to release a new Xbox gaming console in 2028, according to a 2022 conversation revealed in court documents. ([Axios]( Thanks for [subscribing]( to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great week. — GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com, and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@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. 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[Learn more.]( LATEST HEADLINES [Tech Moves: Remitly exec to step down; Yoky Matsuoka named CEO of new Panasonic division]( [Report: Departing Microsoft exec Panos Panay set to lead Amazon’s Alexa and Echo business]( [Agility Robotics will mass-produce humanoid warehouse robots in new Oregon factory]( [Interview: Seattle Children’s new research leader Vittorio Gallo on AI, neuroscience, art and more]( [Clean aviation startup ZeroAvia lands more cash from Amazon, Bill Gates, Alaska Airlines]( [Longtime Microsoft hardware leader Panos Panay is leaving the company after 19 years]( [Stoke Space puts its test rocket through a successful hop in central Washington state]( [Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of Sept. 10, 2023]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [Submittable: Senior Site Reliability Engineer]( - [INRIX: Product Marketing Manager, Public Sector]( - [INRIX: Lead Software Engineer]( - [City of Newport: Systems Administrator I or II]( - [Submittable: Senior Software Engineer (Back End) – Data]( - [Submittable: Senior Product Pricing Strategist]( - [NTTA- North Texas Tollway Authority: Sr ETL & Data Modeling Developer]( - [Submittable: Senior Software Engineer (Backend) – Employee Engagement]( - [Submittable: Senior Machine Learning Scientist]( - [Submittable: Senior Software Engineering Manager]( [FIND MORE JOBS ON GEEKWORK]( [HIRING? 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