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☆ Amazon employees speak out about Jeff Bezos's WaPo decision, with some supporting his call, leaked messages show
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-30 | by ( Eugene Kim | Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In leaked messages, Amazon employees are divided, with some supporting his call. Related storiesSome Amazon employees agreed, according to the Slack messages obtained by BI. Other Amazon employees said it was "silly" and "sad" to see so many Washington Post readers cancel their subscriptions over the endorsement issue. 'Suspicious and worrisome'Still, some of Amazon employees who weighed in on the company's internal Slack were suspicious of Bezos's true motivation. Other Amazon employees were more blunt, saying they were going to cancel their own Washington Post subscriptions.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, —, Jeff Bezos's, Bezos, Slack, Donald Trump, I'd, Trump, Dave Limp, Matt Garman, he's, It's, it's Organizations: Washington Post, Amazon, Service, Business, BI, Democratic, Spokespeople, Washington, Blue, Trump Locations: Amazon, Washington

☆ Jeff Bezos has just as much at stake in this election as Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-28 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The billionaire has been less prominent in the election than Elon Musk — but still has much at stake. Bezos's Blue Origin is working with NASA and the Pentagon as it plays catch-up with Musk's SpaceX. Executives from Bezos' rocket company Blue Origin, including CEO Dave Limp, spoke with Donald Trump on Friday, The Associated Press reported. Like all private space companies, Blue Origin relies heavily on federal contracts and is competing with SpaceX for government and military projects. Blue Origin did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Persons: Jeff Bezos's, Elon Musk, —, Jeff Bezos, Dave Limp, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, William Lewis, Bezos, Lewis, Robert Kagan, Michele Norris, Marty Baron, Baron, Elon, Artemis, it's, SpaceX's, Trump Organizations: Washington Post, NASA, Pentagon, Musk's SpaceX, Service, Bezos, Associated Press, New York Times, Trump, SpaceX, Republican, PAC, Business, Bloomberg, White, Twitter, United States Post, United States Postal Service, Web Services, of Defense, Microsoft Locations: Washington, The Texas, Amazon

☆ Amazon employees blast new RTO policy in internal messages: 'Can I negotiate my manager to PIP me?'
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewSome Amazon employees took to an internal Slack channel to blast the company after it announced plans to require corporate employees to work in the office five days a week. One staffer was so upset they issued a plea to Business Insider, which has covered Amazon's RTO crackdown extensively. Other Amazon workers weighed in, too, on a company Slack channel dedicated to RTO-related topics. Amazon's RTO policy was already strict, but Jassy just doubled down hard on the company's in-office approach. "Can I negotiate my manager to PIP me," one employee wrote in reference to Amazon's famously ruthless performance improvement plan.

Persons: —, Andy Jassy's, Slack, It's, Jassy, Amazon's, Andy Jassy, Jeff Bezos's, Bezos, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Service, Business, Google, Amazon

☆ This scientist who worked for Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates is now a VC funding other 'mad scientists'
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

And while he wants to tackle the world's biggest problems such as waste, impact isn't Deep Future's sole priority. Related storiesIn some ways, Deep Future's mission harkens back to Silicon Valley's roots, he said. As for Deep Future's investments, the challenge is whether the technology can be built and made cost-effective, ideally within its investment horizon of 10 years. One of Deep Future's portfolio companies, Descycle, is developing non-toxic chemicals to separate gold in electronics in landfills. Getting investors on board with mad scientistsWith Deep Future's niche, getting investors' attention has been easy, Holman said.

Persons: —, Pablos Holman, Jeff Bezos's, Bill Gates, Michael Reid, Holman didn't, Holman, Matt Mullenweg, that's, Alfred Steiner, I'm Organizations: Service, Origin, Ventures Laboratory, Business, Investors, WordPress

☆ Leaving India and working in tech in the US changed me. I feel too foreign here and too foreign there.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Robin Madell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

It was because I knew that working in Big Tech in Silicon Valley would change me into a different person and I'd never move back. It's been 11 years since then, and I think I've gotten happier with my life here now that I've worked at a few different jobs in Big Tech. But despite this, working in the US suits me better than working in India because of my individualistic mindset. Some people back home think very competitively — they've hinted that they think I'm just plain lucky, and if they had the opportunity, they'd do it too and much better. Even if I had all the resources to go back to India, it'd be different — I've grown apart from who I was.

Persons: Uday Padyana, I'd, It's, I've, India I've, I'm, it's, they've, there's, —, haven't, would've, India I'm, could've, it'd, Jeff Bezos's, Jane Zhang Organizations: Service, Big Tech, Big, Business, PayPal, Uber Locations: Silicon Valley, India, Big Tech, Silicon, Atlanta, Washington , DC, American, janezhang@businessinsider.com

☆ Elon Musk's net worth grew by $67 billion during Tesla's 10-day win streak
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk's net worth soared to $274 billion after Tesla stock's 10-day stock win streak. AdvertisementElon Musk's net worth soared by $67 billion amid a long winning streak for Tesla stock through Tuesday's trading session, once again making him the world's richest person. The 10-day surge propelled Musk's net worth to $274 billion, according to data from Bloomberg. As Tesla stock hit its 52-week low in April, Musk's net worth declined by $65 billion on a year-to-date basis. But since Tesla stock bottomed, Musk's net worth has zoomed higher by $110 billion.

Persons: Elon, Tesla, Jeff Bezos's, —, Musk, Uber, Neil Roarty, Jeff Bezos Organizations: Service, Elon, Tesla, Bloomberg, Business, SpaceX, Musk, The Boring Company

☆ Jeff Bezos has a vision to colonize space with a trillion people. We asked experts to put it to the test.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Jeff Bezos's space colonies would look like cylindersAn artist's concept of an O'Neill space colony, which could theoretically emulate Earth-like living conditions in space. O'Neill space colonies would be large enough to host entire cities, 10,000-foot-tall mountains, and millions of people. AdvertisementBezos isn't suggesting that people will be living in O'Neill space colonies by the end of the century. AdvertisementSaving Earth would be far easier than building Bezos' space colonies, he told BI. Even if we never make it to space colonies, the work of researchers studying extraterrestrial colonization could benefit us here on Earth.

Persons: —, Jeff Bezos, podcaster Lex Fridman, Bezos, Fridman, astrobiologists —, Jeff Bezos's, O'Neill, Gerard K, Anthony Longman, Longman, Rebeca Gonçalves, Adam Watkins, we've, Watkins, you've, We've, Martin Rees, Gonçalves, Rees Organizations: Service, Business, Elon, SpaceX, European Space Agency, NASA, University of Nottingham, United, Royal Locations: Antonio , TX, O'Neill

☆ Whoops! I just (accidentally) screwed Jeff Bezos out of $130.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

I wanted to subscribe to The Washington Post, owned by Jeff Bezos, for $12 every 4 weeks. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . And I definitely wasn't trying to get one over on The Washington Post. But that's just what happened: I tried to pay the Post, owned by the second-richest man in the world, $156 a year. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, —, Jeff Bezos's Organizations: Washington Post, Service, The Washington, Verizon, Hulu, Netflix, Spotify, Business

☆ Bezos resuming Blue Origin spaceflights with the man selected to be the nation's first Black astronaut — in 1961
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Blue Origin is prepping to embark on its 25th mission to space. Among the 6 crew members will be 90-year-old Ed Dwight. AdvertisementSix decades ago, John F. Kennedy's White House chose Ed Dwight to train and become the nation's first Black astronaut. Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin announced on Thursday its six-member crew that will embark on the company's 25th mission to space aboard the New Shepard rocket. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Ed Dwight, JFK, Dwight, —, John F, Jeff Bezos's Organizations: Black, Service, Kansas City, Shepard, Business

☆ Billionaires going to space aim to industrialize the moon, asteroids, and Mars. It's time to set some ground rules.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Read previewThe space business is in bloom and, so far, it's largely unregulated. Other space startups have ambitions including asteroid mining, in vitro fertilization (IVF) in space, and space hotels. As space startups and billionaires vie for a foothold on the moon and beyond, experts say governments probably need to start setting some ground rules. Seven of the world's 10 biggest commercial space operators are based in the US, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. AdvertisementIn another vein, last year Florida passed a bill to protect space companies and their owners from getting sued over spaceflight passenger death or injury.

Persons: —, Jeff Bezos's, Elon Musk, Bezos, NASA What's, George Nield, Galileo, Joel Kearns, Richard Branson, Galactic's, Lyndon B, Johnson, Jeff Bezos, Joe Raedle, Michelle Hanlon, Jared Isaacman, William Shatner, Hanlon Organizations: Service, NASA, Houston, SpaceX, Business, Northeastern University, Federal Aviation Administration's, Space Transportation, JPL, FAA, Virgin Galactic, Virgin, Getty, Artemis Accords, Hague Institute, Global Justice, Washington, Companies, Shepard, Center for Air, Space, University of Mississippi School of Law, titans, US International Trade Commission, Organisation for Economic Co, Federal Communications Locations: Mars, Russia, China, Blue, Florida

NASA awarded Blue Origin $172 million to develop a space station for both astronauts and tourists. The space station, called Orbital Reef, will need to be able to support human life. AdvertisementThe International Space Station won't be around forever, and NASA is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into its potential replacements. One promising candidate is Orbital Reef — a joint venture between Jeff Bezos's space company Blue Origin and Sierra Space. "Think spacious modules with large windows to view Earth, our blue origin, while experiencing the thrill of weightlessness in complete comfort," Blue Origin states on its website.

Persons: —, Jeff Bezos's, Angela Hart, Chris Hadfield, Matthias Maurer, Blue, Thomas Pesquet, Hart, Artemis, George Scott, NASA's, NASA It's, Biden, there's Organizations: NASA, Service, Origin, NASA's, ISS, Space Station, Space, International, ESA, Artemis, Soyuz, Shepard

☆ Obama takes a shot at the likes of Musk and Bezos, says we must protect Earth before colonizing Mars
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Earth would be more liveable than Mars "even after a nuclear war" and climate change, he said. It comes as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos test mega-rockets that could take humans to the red planet. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest on the culture & business of sustainability — delivered weekly to your inbox. The prototype rocket, which is a crucial part of Musk's plan to colonize the red planet, blew up on its previous attempts. The rocket could compete with Starship for NASA's plans to return to the moon ahead of heading to Mars.

Persons: Barack Obama, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Obama, Jeff Bezos's, Glenn Organizations: Service, SpaceX, Amazon Locations: Silicon, Paris, Mars

☆ Another Billionaire Finds It's Hard to Run a Newspaper
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-09 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Another billionaire is having a hard time with his newspaper. That's because the LA Times is owned by billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, and it is losing money; even though Soon-Shiong is a billionaire, even billionaires have limits. Asked for comment, an LA Times spokesperson said that company leaders "don't generally make forward-looking statements about staffing levels and aren't able to comment further at this time." In 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported that Soon-Shiong was considering selling the LA Times itself , but Soon-Shiong said that was not the case. Last fall, for instance, The Washington Post — owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — one of the richest men in the world — underwent giant staff cuts .

Persons: Patrick Soon, Jeff Bezos's Washington, Warren Buffett, —, Kevin Merida, Patrick, Shiong Axelle, Bauer, Griffin, It's, Shiong, doesn't, Jeff Bezos —, Warren Buffett — Organizations: Los Angeles Times, Jeff Bezos's Washington Post, Service, LA Times, LA, San Diego Union, Tribune, Street Journal, Washington Post, Amazon, Omaha, Alden Global Capital Locations: Merida, San Diego, Berkshire

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' fund to support homeless families announced $117 million in new grants on Tuesday to organizations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, which is a part of a $2 billion commitment Bezos made in 2018 to support homeless families and to run free preschools. That brings the amount granted by the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund to benefit homeless families to almost $640 million. The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte received a second grant this year after first being awarded $5 million by the fund in 2018. The Bezos Day 1 Families Fund did not give a timeframe for when the pledged $2 billion would be distributed or what portion would go to homeless families. Last year, Bezos gave away $122.2 million and has pledged around $12.8 billion in charitable donations, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Bezos, Lauren Sánchez, Deronda Metz, ” Metz, Amanda Andere, “, can’t, Andere, Sánchez, Jacklyn Bezos, Miguel, Fred, Dolly Parton, José Andrés, Van Jones Organizations: Fund, Salvation Army, Greater Charlotte, Girls, Urban Institute, National Coalition for, Homeless, Housing, Urban Development, Amazon, CNN, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Associated, Lilly Endowment Inc, AP Locations: Puerto Rico, Seattle, Maui

☆ Is the UK space industry about to take off?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The failure of Virgin Orbit's maiden commercial satellite launch from British soil, and the company's subsequent filing for bankruptcy protection, may have seemed like a fatal blow for the U.K.'s nascent space sector. But a range of companies hope to play a key role in the business of building, launching and operating satellites, a $281 billion industry which has been growing rapidly over the past decade. Billionaire-backed companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX, Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin and Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit have been revolutionizing the space industry over the last decade, which has seen advances in re-usable rockets, the deployment of thousands of small communication satellites and new launch sites opened. To find out how smaller U.K.-based firms are looking to compete, CNBC visited a spaceport being built in the far north of the Shetland Islands, an established satellite-builder and a startup aiming to see one of its re-usable satellites finally make it into space.

Persons: Virgin, Jeff Bezos's, Richard Branson's Virgin Organizations: Elon, SpaceX, CNBC Locations: Shetland

☆ Wealthy movers to South Florida have pushed the real-estate market to new highs. See 6 homes for sale only the rich can afford.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An influx of wealth is reshaping the real-estate market in South Florida. The average home price in Palm Beach hit $20 million, making it the country's most expensive market. Six South Florida homes seeking over $40 million offer perks from a rooftop pool to a tennis court. At the same time, the number of listings has fallen off in Palm Beach and Miami Beach, nudging along competition for what homes come to market. Take a look at six of the most expensive homes for sale in South Florida eyed by these monied movers, with prices topping $40 million.

Persons: —, Larry Ellison's, Ken Griffin's, Jeff Bezos's, Ruthie Assouline, Douglas Elliman, there's, Corcoran Organizations: Palm, Service, Sunshine State, Oracle, Citadel, Miami, Wall, CNBC, Miami Beach Locations: South Florida, Palm Beach, Florida, Valley, New York City, Miami, Beach, Miami Beach, nudging

☆ Bezos' Blue Origin sees third executive departure amid restructuring
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Eilola's departure follows plans announced last month by Bezos to replace Smith, who has been Blue Origin's CEO since 2017, with longtime Amazon executive Dave Limp by the end of the year. Blue Origin did not respond to a request for comment. Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000 with the vision of having millions of people living and working in space. In the past several months, Blue Origin's corporate structure has changed substantially as its leadership gets a revamp. Blue Origin this year also spun its moon lander program into a new independent business unit.

Persons: Jeff Bezos's, Ivan Pierre Aguirre, Origin's, Jeff Bezos, Bob Smith, Mike Eilola, Bezos, Smith, Dave Limp, Brent Sherwood, Shepard, Limp, Joey Roulette, Will Dunham Organizations: Shepard, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Elon, SpaceX, Blue, Amazon, Honeywell Aerospace, Glenn, NASA, Space Systems, Thomson Locations: Van Horn , Texas, U.S, United States

☆ Exclusive: Bezos' Blue Origin expects split on space station partnership -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A Blue Origin spokesperson said Sierra will remain a partner on Orbital Reef but declined to say in what capacity. Last week, Bezos told Blue Origin employees that longtime Amazon executive Dave Limp would replace Blue Origin's current CEO by year's end. In 2021, Blue Origin announced its partnership to build what it envisions as a "business park in space" with Sierra Space, a spinoff from defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corp. Blue Origin secured $3.4 billion from NASA this year for that lander as part of the agency's Artemis program. Blue Origin said at the time it planned to privately invest "well north" of that amount.

Persons: Shepard, Jeff Bezos's, Ivan Pierre Aguirre, Jeff Bezos, Sierra, Brent Sherwood, Sherwood, Bezos, Dave Limp, Glenn, Joey Roulette, Ben Klayman, David Gregorio, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Sierra Space, NASA, Space, CNBC, Blue Origin, Amazon, year's, Sierra Nevada Corp, Origin, Industry, Sierra, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Van Horn , Texas, U.S

☆ US FAA ends probe of Blue Origin's 2022 rocket mishap, needs engine redesign
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The space capsule of Blue Origin's rocket New Shepard, carrying six crew members, is seen before landing, on billionaire Jeff Bezos's company's fourth suborbital tourism flight, near Van Horn, Texas, U.S., March 31, 2022. REUTERS/Ivan Pierre Aguirre/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday it has closed a probe into Blue Origin's 2022 New Shepard rocket failure, forcing a redesign of the vehicle's engine and other fixes before the company can resume its suborbital launch business. Blue Origin must take 21 corrective actions before its reusable New Shepard rocket can return to flight, including a "redesign of engine and nozzle components to improve structural performance during operation as well as organizational changes," the FAA said. The FAA, which regulates launch site safety and oversees mishap investigations led by rocket companies, cited the same conclusion as Blue Origin's in its statement on Wednesday. Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Leslie Adler, David Gregorio and Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Shepard, Jeff Bezos's, Ivan Pierre Aguirre, we've, uncrewed, Jeff Bezos, Joey Roulette, Leslie Adler, David Gregorio, Richard Chang Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, Shepard, FAA, NASA, Thomson Locations: Van Horn , Texas, U.S, Texas, New

☆ Bezos's Blue Origin names former Amazon executive as CEO -internal email
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 25 (Reuters) - The chief executive officer of Jeff Bezos's space company Blue Origin, Bob Smith, will step down at the end of the year to be replaced by former Amazon executive Dave Limp, who ran products such as Kindle, according to emails seen by Reuters. Limp, a former senior vice president at Amazon who led the company's consumer devices unit, will become Blue Origin's CEO on Dec. 4, an email from Bezos, Blue Origin's founder, said. "Jeff and I have been discussing my plan for months," Smith told employees in an email sent Monday. He added he would remain with the company until Jan. 2 "to ensure a smooth transition with the new CEO." Limp, a more than 13-year veteran of Amazon, had overseen some of Amazon's well-known consumer devices, such as Echo products.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Blue, Bob Smith, Bezos, Joe Skipper, Jeff Bezos's, Dave Limp, Jeff, Smith, Limp, Elon, New Glenn, Joey Roulette, Pooja Desai, Sonali Paul Organizations: Billionaire, Blue Origin's, REUTERS, Amazon, Reuters, Blue, SpaceX's, NASA, Honeywell Aerospace, SpaceX, Boeing, Lockheed, United Launch Alliance, Thomson Locations: Van Horn , Texas, U.S, New

☆ Telesat taps SpaceX to launch its broadband satellites in orbit
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LEO satellites operate 36 times closer to Earth than traditional ones so they take less time to send and receive information, leading to better and faster broadband service even in remote areas. "It is another big step forward on our path to get Lightspeed up there," Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg told Reuters. Telesat picked Elon Musk's SpaceX because it had "the best combination of price, performance, reliability and schedule tempo," Goldberg said. Satellite constellations have sapped large amounts of the U.S. launch supply in recent years with considerably large bulk launch orders like Telesat's SpaceX contract. SpaceX aims to nearly double its annual launch rate in 2023 thanks to its growing Starlink constellation.

Persons: Dan Goldberg, Blair Gable, Telesat, Elon, Goldberg, we've, Jeff Bezos's, Steve Scherer, Joey Roulette, Will Dunham Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, SpaceX, LEO, Lightspeed, Reuters, Canada's MDA, Thales Alenia Space, Thales, MDA, Amazon, Thomson Locations: Canadian, Ottawa , Ontario, Canada, Washington

☆ Leaked email shows Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin is tightening its return-to-office policy: 'Blue is a work-from-work company'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Blue Origin tells many employees to be in the office 5 days a week, internal email shows. Last year, Blue Origin told managers it would be flexible about employee work schedules. "As you know, Blue is a work-from-work company," Blue Origin added in the email. A Blue Origin spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment. According to the recent email reminder, Blue Origin leaders said working in-person is important from "a culture, comradery, and results perspective."

Persons: Jeff Bezos, didn't, Mike Eilola, Eilola Organizations: Origin, Amazon, Company, Google, Blue Origin's Locations: Denver , El Segundo, Woodland Hills, Phoenix, Reston , Virginia, Seattle, Florida , Texas, Huntsville , Alabama

☆ Amazon builds $120 million satellite processing hub in Florida
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O) is building a $120 million processing facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for its thousands of planned Kuiper internet satellites, the company and state officials said Friday. The Kuiper internet network, which will largely compete with Starlink from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is expected to complement Amazon’s web services powerhouse. The Florida facility will employ 50 staff and be a last stop for Amazon's Kuiper satellites before they go to space, after being manufactured at the Kuiper project's primary plant in Redmond, Washington. The company has bagged 77 heavy-lift rocket launch contracts, potentially worth billions of dollars combined, mostly from the Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance and Jeff Bezos's space company Blue Origin. Anna Farrar, a spokeswoman for Space Florida, a state-funded entity to attract space businesses to Florida, said Amazon is eligible to receive funds under a state grant for transportation-related projects but "has not received any funding to date."

Persons: Steve Metayer, Jeff Bezos's, Anna Farrar, Joey Roulette, Deepa Babington Organizations: Kennedy Space Center, Amazon, Starlink, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Kuiper Production, Boeing, Lockheed, United Launch Alliance, Origin, Space, Thomson Locations: Florida, Redmond , Washington, Space Florida

☆ Microsoft's market value soared as much as $154 billion in just a day. That nearly matched Jeff Bezos' entire fortune.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Joseph Wilkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft gained as much as $154 billion in market cap in a single day after unveiling the Copilot subscription service. The tech giant is poised to become the second company ever to reach a $3 trillion valuation, according to Morgan Stanley. That saw its market cap balloon by as much as the above-mentioned figure during intraday trades, before ending the session with a $102 billion increase. Amazon founder Bezos' wealth totaled $157 billion as of Tuesday, according to the Bloomberg billionaires index. Their combined value now stands at an eye-watering $11 trillion – which, to offer another comparison, is nearly triple the GDP of Germany.

Persons: Jeff Bezos's, Morgan Stanley, Jeff Bezos, Bezos, OpenAI's, Tesla, Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss Organizations: Microsoft, Service, Bloomberg, Apple, Nvidia Locations: Wall, Silicon, OpenAI, Germany

Virgin Galactic leases part of the facility. The flight marked a long-delayed breakthrough for Virgin Galactic Holding Inc (SPCE.N), finally inaugurating commercial service after nearly 20 years fraught by development setbacks. Virgin Galactic said Unity topped out its flight at an altitude of nearly 52.9 miles (85.1 km). A final crewed test flight to space was conducted with little fanfare five weeks ago. An earlier prototype of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another.

Persons: Richard Branson, Joe, Branson, Burt Rutan, Jeff Bezos's, Elon Musk's, Walter Villadei, Angelo Landolfi, Pantaleone, Colin Bennett, Michael Masucci, Nicola Pecile, Bezos, Shepard rocketship, Jose Luis Gonzalez, Steve Gorman, Will Dunham, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Virgin, REUTERS, Virgin Galactic, National Research Council, VSS Unity, America, Galactic, Virgin Galactic Holding Inc, . Virgin, Elon Musk's SpaceX, Italian Air Force, International Space, Air Force, Unity, NASA, U.S . Air Force, Thomson Locations: New Mexico, U.S, Italy, Mexico, Italian, Los Angeles

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