Bill Hilf has spent decades enterprise tech, open-source technologies, and AI, from IBM and Microsoft to running Paul Allen's portfolio as the CEO of Vulcan. He now chairs the Allen Institute for AI and American Prairie. His debut sci-fi novel, "The Disruption," imagines AI gone very wrong, and implicitly challenges the industry to think differently about how it's building our real future today.

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.

<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-h-b554/">Bill Hilf </a>has spent decades enterprise tech, open-source technologies, and AI, from IBM and Microsoft to running Paul Allen's portfolio as the CEO of Vulcan. He now chairs the <a href="https://allenai.org/">Allen Institute for AI</a> and <a href="https://americanprairie.org/">American Prairie</a>. His debut sci-fi novel,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Disruption-Cycle-W-H-Hilf/dp/B0GD2NCLYW">"The Disruption,"</a> imagines AI gone very wrong, and implicitly challenges the industry to think differently about how it's building our real future today.
With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.

GeekWire brings you the week's latest technology news, trends and insights, covering the world of technology from our home base in Seattle. Our regular news podcast features commentary and analysis from our editors and reporters, plus interviews with special guests.

GeekWire reporters John Cook, Todd Bishop and guests talk about the latest tech news and trends.

GeekWire

AI, fungi, and the future of enterprise tech: Industry vet Bill Hilf on his debut novel 'The Disruption'

This week: Microsoft and Amazon both reported quarterly numbers, and both stocks rose on cloud results that beat expectations. Is AI spending is paying off in real business? And in related news, Microsoft sees a rare annual headcount decline, hitting product R&D hardest. 

Plus: Satya Nadella builds a Power BI dashboard out of an analyst's research report, and touts it on the earnings call to make a bigger point. Jeff Bezos names Amazon's chips business as the long-awaited fourth pillar. And AI House managing director Jacob Colker delivers a much-needed pep talk for Seattle tech, calling on the region to recognize and build on its strengths. 

With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook.

Related stories and links:

Microsoft and Amazon earnings
Microsoft Azure tops $100B in annual revenue as record AI spending cuts into cash flow
AWS is 'booming,' but Amazon's free cash flow turns negative on record AI spending
Microsoft R&D jobs drop for second straight year as total headcount falls for first time in a decade
Which Microsoft businesses are growing and shrinking, according to obscure table in regulatory filing

Amazon's fourth pillar
Jeff Bezos says this business is becoming Amazon's next 'pillar'

A rallying cry for Seattle tech
Watch: A venture capitalist's passionate speech, a rallying cry, really, about Seattle
Seattle's AI2 Incubator rebrands as AI House, and adds key investor as managing director
'I'm tired of that narrative': Seattle VC pushes back on tech exodus talk

The Washington tech ecosystem
New map traces Washington state's tech 'universe' to a few key hubs, and shows what's at risk
After hiring AWS exec and raising $107M seed round, Virginia startup plants flag in Seattle area
GeekWire's Seattle engineering centers list

<blockquote></blockquote>
This week: Microsoft and Amazon both reported quarterly numbers, and both stocks rose on cloud results that beat expectations. Is AI spending is paying off in real business? And in related news, Microsoft sees a rare annual headcount decline, hitting product R&amp;D hardest.&nbsp;
Plus: Satya Nadella builds <a href="https://x.com/satyanadella/status/2082640036949008570">a Power BI dashboard</a> out of an analyst's research report, and touts it on the earnings call to make a bigger point. Jeff Bezos names Amazon's chips business as the long-awaited fourth pillar. And AI House managing director Jacob Colker delivers a much-needed pep talk for Seattle tech, calling on the region to recognize and build on its strengths.&nbsp;
With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook.
Related stories and links:
Microsoft and Amazon earnings
<ul dir="ltr">
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/microsoft-azure-tops-100b-in-annual-revenue-as-record-ai-spending-cuts-into-cash-flow/">Microsoft Azure tops $100B in annual revenue as record AI spending cuts into cash flow</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/aws-is-booming-but-amazons-free-cash-flow-turns-negative-on-record-ai-spending/">AWS is 'booming,' but Amazon's free cash flow turns negative on record AI spending</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/microsoft-product-rd-jobs-decline-for-second-straight-year-new-filing-shows/">Microsoft R&amp;D jobs drop for second straight year as total headcount falls for first time in a decade</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/which-microsoft-businesses-are-growing-and-shrinking-according-to-obscure-table-in-regulatory-filing/">Which Microsoft businesses are growing and shrinking, according to obscure table in regulatory filing</a></li>
</ul>
Amazon's fourth pillar
<ul dir="ltr">
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/jeff-bezos-says-this-business-is-becoming-amazons-next-pillar/">Jeff Bezos says this business is becoming Amazon's next 'pillar'</a></li>
</ul>
A rallying cry for Seattle tech
<ul dir="ltr">
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/watch-a-venture-capitalists-passionate-speech-a-rallying-cry-really-about-seattle/">Watch: A venture capitalist's passionate speech, a rallying cry, really, about Seattle</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/seattles-ai2-incubator-rebrands-as-ai-house-and-adds-key-investor-as-managing-director/">Seattle's AI2 Incubator rebrands as AI House, and adds key investor as managing director</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/im-tired-of-that-narrative-seattle-vc-pushes-back-on-tech-exodus-talk/">'I'm tired of that narrative': Seattle VC pushes back on tech exodus talk</a></li>
</ul>
The Washington tech ecosystem
<ul dir="ltr">
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/new-map-traces-washington-states-tech-universe-to-a-few-key-hubs-and-shows-whats-at-risk/">New map traces Washington state's tech 'universe' to a few key hubs, and shows what's at risk</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/after-hiring-aws-exec-and-raising-107m-seed-round-virginia-startup-plants-flag-in-seattle-area/">After hiring AWS exec and raising $107M seed round, Virginia startup plants flag in Seattle area</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/engineering-centers/">GeekWire's Seattle engineering centers list</a></li>
</ul>

Amazon's next big business, Satya Nadella's DIY app, and a VC's rallying cry for Seattle tech


On this special mid-week episode, we're sharing a remarkable installment of GeekWire’s new podcast, Positive Charge, which is all about finding slivers of hope in climate and sustainability. 

In their latest show, reporter Lisa Stiffler and producer Laura Scott find that hope in an unexpected place: an innovative alternative to traditional burial and cremation. It might not be the topic you were planning to delve into today, but we think you'll find it enlightening and inspiring. You can follow and subscribe for more at geekwire.com/positivecharge.

John Cook and Todd Bishop will be back this weekend with the regular weekly show. 

What if the greenest thing you ever do is die? This episode of Positive Charge digs into human composting — the process, also called natural organic reduction, that turns a body into clean soil instead of ash or embalmed remains. It's the end-of-life option Martha Stewart says she wants, and a Seattle entrepreneur is the reason it exists.

Katrina Spade set out to build a climate-friendly alternative to cremation and burial while still a graduate student in architecture, drawing on a practice farmers have long used to compost livestock. Turning that idea into a business meant clearing two enormous hurdles: engineering a process that safely breaks a body down into soil in a matter of weeks, and rewriting laws that made the practice illegal in all 50 states. We go inside Recompose, her Seattle facility, where bodies rest in stainless steel vessels and naturally occurring microbes generate all the heat that does the work.

Then the episode turns to the people signing up. Interest cuts across the political map, with as many customers coming from conservative Eastern Washington as from Seattle, and a surprising share of them are young. Tune in to hear why composting is catching on as death care, how the science actually works, and what it means to choose becoming soil.

Sources and references

Interviews:
Katrina Spade, founder and CEO of Recompose
Micah Truman, founder and CEO of Return Home
Elyssa Tappero, customer of Recompose and tsunami program manager for the Washington Emergency Management Division

Additional sources:
Lynne Carpenter-Boggs, chair of the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at Washington State University
Inside Recompose, where the human composting startup is ready to grow its formula beyond Seattle (GeekWire)
50+ & Unfiltered with Shawn Killinger, Episode 124 with Martha Stewart
The environmental toll of cremating the dead (National Geographic)
The Potential of Our Decay: Cemeteries That Save the American Landscape (Smithsonian)

This episode was hosted by Lisa Stiffler and Laura Scott, and edited and produced by Laura Scott, with editorial assistance from Todd Bishop. Sponsored by Amazon Sustainability. 

On this special mid-week episode, we're sharing a remarkable installment of GeekWire&rsquo;s new podcast,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.geekwire.com/positivecharge/">Positive Charge</a>, which is all about finding slivers of hope in climate and sustainability.&nbsp;
In their latest show, reporter Lisa Stiffler and producer Laura Scott find that hope in an unexpected place: an innovative alternative to traditional burial and cremation. It might not be the topic you were planning to delve into today, but we think you'll find it enlightening and inspiring. You can follow and subscribe for more at <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/positivecharge/">geekwire.com/positivecharge</a>.
John Cook and Todd Bishop will be back this weekend with the regular weekly show.&nbsp;
What if the greenest thing you ever do is die? This episode of Positive Charge digs into human composting &mdash; the process, also called natural organic reduction, that turns a body into clean soil instead of ash or embalmed remains. It's the end-of-life option Martha Stewart says she wants, and a Seattle entrepreneur is the reason it exists.
Katrina Spade set out to build a climate-friendly alternative to cremation and burial while still a graduate student in architecture, drawing on a practice farmers have long used to compost livestock. Turning that idea into a business meant clearing two enormous hurdles: engineering a process that safely breaks a body down into soil in a matter of weeks, and rewriting laws that made the practice illegal in all 50 states. We go inside Recompose, her Seattle facility, where bodies rest in stainless steel vessels and naturally occurring microbes generate all the heat that does the work.
Then the episode turns to the people signing up. Interest cuts across the political map, with as many customers coming from conservative Eastern Washington as from Seattle, and a surprising share of them are young. Tune in to hear why composting is catching on as death care, how the science actually works, and what it means to choose becoming soil.
Sources and references
Interviews:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrina-spade-37047439/">Katrina Spade</a>, founder and CEO of Recompose</li>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/micah-truman-b998745/">Micah Truman</a>, founder and CEO of Return Home</li>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/elyssa-tappero/">Elyssa Tappero</a>, customer of Recompose and tsunami program manager for the Washington Emergency Management Division</li>
</ul>
Additional sources:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cahnrs.wsu.edu/people-directory/people/wsu-profile/lcboggs/">Lynne Carpenter-Boggs</a>, chair of the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at Washington State University</li>
<li>Inside Recompose, where the human composting startup is ready to grow its formula beyond Seattle (<a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/inside-recompose-where-the-human-composting-startup-is-ready-to-grow-its-formula-beyond-seattle/">GeekWire</a>)</li>
<li>50+ &amp; Unfiltered with Shawn Killinger, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Xrhf9Udj9c2QcXoF0aDTN">Episode 124 with Martha Stewart</a></li>
<li>The environmental toll of cremating the dead (<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/is-cremation-environmentally-friendly-heres-the-science">National Geographic</a>)</li>
<li>The Potential of Our Decay: Cemeteries That Save the American Landscape (<a href="https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/cemeteries-burials-american-landscape">Smithsonian</a>)</li>
</ul>
This episode was hosted by Lisa Stiffler and Laura Scott, and edited and produced by Laura Scott, with editorial assistance from Todd Bishop. Sponsored by Amazon Sustainability.&nbsp;

The greenest goodbye: Human composting and the science of becoming soil

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Seattle startup funding drops 40% in the first half of the year while AI money floods everywhere else. We dig into the numbers and the implications for the region. Plus: a Seattle judge deals Kalshi a setback, Impinj marks a decade on the Nasdaq after a 26-year climb, and nearly 40 Seattleites trade their smartphones for flip phones for five weeks. 

Related Stories

Venture funding drops in Seattle area as AI boom reshapes startup world

Helion raises $465M at $15.5B valuation as it aims to commercialize fusion

UK data center startup Nscale bets big on Bellevue for U.S. engineering hub

Anthropic expands in Seattle as AI boom offers hope for struggling office market

Seattle judge deals blow to Kalshi, rejects prediction market's federal defense

How Impinj has survived 26 years in a market that's 'just getting going'

Ditch your smartphone for a flip phone for a month?

With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. Edited by Curt Milton.

 

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Seattle startup funding <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/venture-funding-drops-in-seattle-region-as-ai-boom-reshapes-startup-world/">drops 40%</a> in the first half of the year while AI money floods everywhere else. We dig into the numbers and the implications for the region. Plus: a Seattle judge <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/seattle-judge-deals-blow-to-kalshi-rejects-prediction-markets-federal-defense/">deals Kalshi a setback</a>, Impinj <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/the-little-chips-that-could-how-impinj-has-survived-26-years-in-a-market-thats-just-getting-going/">marks a decade on the Nasdaq</a> after a 26-year climb, and nearly 40 Seattleites <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/ditch-your-smartphone-for-a-flip-phone-for-a-month-this-group-wants-seattleites-to-try/">trade their smartphones for flip phones</a> for five weeks.&nbsp;
Related Stories
<a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/venture-funding-drops-in-seattle-region-as-ai-boom-reshapes-startup-world/">Venture funding drops in Seattle area as AI boom reshapes startup world</a>
<a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/helion-hits-15-5b-valuation-with-465m-in-new-cash-to-commercialize-fusion-this-decade/">Helion raises $465M at $15.5B valuation as it aims to commercialize fusion</a>
<a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/uk-data-center-startup-nscale-bets-big-on-bellevue-for-u-s-engineering-hub-amid-ai-boom/">UK data center startup Nscale bets big on Bellevue for U.S. engineering hub</a>
<a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/anthropic-expands-in-seattle-as-ai-boom-offers-hope-for-struggling-office-market/">Anthropic expands in Seattle as AI boom offers hope for struggling office market</a>
<a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/seattle-judge-deals-blow-to-kalshi-rejects-prediction-markets-federal-defense/">Seattle judge deals blow to Kalshi, rejects prediction market's federal defense</a>
<a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/the-little-chips-that-could-how-impinj-has-survived-26-years-in-a-market-thats-just-getting-going/">How Impinj has survived 26 years in a market that's 'just getting going'</a>
<a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/ditch-your-smartphone-for-a-flip-phone-for-a-month-this-group-wants-seattleites-to-try/">Ditch your smartphone for a flip phone for a month?</a>
With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. Edited by Curt Milton.
&nbsp;

AI, fungi, and the future of enterprise tech: Industry vet Bill Hilf on his debut novel 'The Disruption'

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