(GeekWire File Photo / Nat Levy) Microsoft posted its latest earnings report on Thursday, which was broadly speaking good news for the company. For its embattled Xbox department, however, there are mixed signals. This is the second quarterly report from Microsoft that included the effects of its record-setting acquisition of the formerly independent game developer Activision Blizzard King. Xbox content and services revenue grew 62% and gaming revenue as a whole grow 51%, both of which were primarily credited to Activision. At the same time, Xbox hardware revenue declined by 31%, and the repor ..read more

Clean aviation company ZeroAvia hosted a ribbon cutting on Wednesday at its new manufacturing facility in Everett, Wash., which was attended by a slate of Washington leaders. From left: U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, ZeroAvia CEO and founder Val Miftakhov, Gov. Jay Inslee, and U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene. (ZeroAvia / Joe Nicholson Photo) Clean aviation company ZeroAvia this week celebrated a new 136,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Everett, Wash., and announced it will be selling components of its hydrogen-electric airplane engines to other commercial companies. The company is based in California ..read more

Satya Nadella leaves the stage at Microsoft’s Build developer conference in May 2019. (GeekWire File Photo / Todd Bishop) Satya Nadella has devoted a portion of Microsoft’s past earnings calls to touting the revenue growth in the company’s security technology business. Today the Microsoft CEO took a different approach, talking instead about the Secure Future Initiative that the company launched last fall to improve its cybersecurity safeguards. “We are doubling down on this very important work, putting security above all else — before all other features and investments,” Nadella said Thursday ..read more

Dropzone AI, a Seattle-based startup that uses artificial intelligence to help companies boost their Security Operations Centers (SOC), raised a $16.8 million Series A round. Dropzone’s pre-trained AI security agents use large language models and work alongside human security analysts, handling repetitive tasks and investigating alerts. The agents mimic the thought process and techniques of expert security analysts. Dropzone is led by CEO and founder Edward Wu, who previously spent eight years at Seattle-based security company ExtraHop. Theory Ventures led the round. Other backers includ ..read more

A Microsoft sign on the company’s redeveloped headquarters campus in Redmond, with renovation work ongoing in the background. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop) Microsoft posted a 17% increase in revenue, to $61.9 billion, with $21.9 billion in profits, up 20%, and earnings of $2.94 per share, beating Wall Street’s expectations across the board for the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal year. Investors will be listening closely to Microsoft’s conference call, starting at 2:30 p.m. Pacific, for indications about the impact of artificial intelligence on the company’s results, as a barometer for the br ..read more

Portland Seed Fund’s Angela Jackson (left) and Steve Eichenlaub will manage the new Intrepid Oregon Fund, which will invest in climate and other tech startups from the state. (Portland Seed Fund Photo) Portland Seed Fund managers announced the launch of the Intrepid Oregon Fund, which has $4 million to invest in early-stage startups working on climate tech as well as healthcare, medical devices, advanced manufacturing and natural resource innovation. Business Oregon, the state government’s economic development agency, provided anchor funding for the initiative and additional investors have ple ..read more

University of Washington IPD head David Baker (left) and assistant professor Neil King show off molecular models of proteins at UW’s Institute for Protein Design. (UW IPD Photo / Ian Haydon) The University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design is on a hot streak. New protein designs, companies and spinouts are emerging at a rapid clip from the research hub, propelled by advances in artificial intelligence. On Tuesday the latest venture based on IPD technology emerged: Xaira, a San-Francisco area startup co-founded by IPD head David Baker, backed with more than $1 billion from investors ..read more

An artist’s conception shows a Gravitics space station module in orbit. (Gravitics Illustration) Marysville, Wash.-based Gravitics says it will work with Rocket Lab USA and other partners to adapt its space station architecture for the U.S. Space Force under the terms of a $1.7 million contract. The contract was awarded through the 2023 SpaceWERX Tactically Responsive Space Challenge, a competition that was conducted in partnership with Space Safari. Gravitics was among 18 companies that were fast-tracked for Phase II Small Business Innovation research contracts. Gravitics provided further det ..read more

Shares of Impinj were up 20% on Thursday following the company’s first quarter earnings release. The Seattle-based RFID-maker reported revenue of $76.8 million, up from the previous quarter and ahead of analyst estimates, but down from the year-ago period. The company posted GAAP net income of $33.3 million, which was boosted by $45 million from the settlement of recent patent litigation that also includes an annual license fee. Founded in 2000, Impinj manufacturers radio-frequency identification devices that are used by companies in various industries to track everything from apparel to ..read more

The Seattle Kraken take on the Vancouver Canucks in the first home game at Climate Pledge Arena in 2021. (GeekWire File Photo / Kurt Schlosser) Seattle Kraken fans will have a new place to root for the pro hockey team next season. The franchise announced an innovative new broadcast deal Thursday that will bring games to Amazon Prime Video and Tegna stations KING 5 and KONG in the Seattle area. The move is a departure from regional cable broadcaster ROOT Sports, where Kraken games have been televised for the past three seasons. As part of the multi-year agreements, KING 5 and KONG will bro ..read more