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Amazon to Expand Tech Hubs, Corporate Offices, Adding 3,500 Jobs

The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. (Reuters)
The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. (Reuters)
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Amazon to Expand Tech Hubs, Corporate Offices, Adding 3,500 Jobs

The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. (Reuters)
The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. (Reuters)

Amazon unveiled plans Tuesday to hire 3,500 new employees as part of an expansion of its technology hubs and corporate offices across the United States.

The US technology and e-commerce giant said the latest plans call for some 2,000 new jobs in New York City, where Amazon has acquired the landmark Lord & Taylor building on Fifth Avenue.

The move comes after Amazon -- which has seen gains in revenue during the pandemic from its e-commerce and cloud computing operations -- said it would make permanent 125,000 of the 175,000 jobs it added since the start of the public health crisis.

The latest moves expand Amazon tech hubs in Dallas, Detroit, Denver, New York, Phoenix and San Diego and represent an investment of some $1.4 billion, according to the company.

"People from all walks of life come to Amazon to develop their careers -- from recent graduates looking for a place to turn their ideas into high-impact products, to veterans accessing new jobs in cloud computing thanks to our upskilling programs," said Beth Galetti, senior vice president of human resources at Amazon.

"These 3,500 new jobs will be in cities across the country with strong and diverse talent pools. We look forward to helping these communities grow their emerging tech workforce."

In New York -- where Amazon had announced but then canceled plans for a high-profile headquarters -- the announcement confirms Amazon's acquisition of the iconic Lord & Taylor department store building earlier this year, in a deal reported to be worth nearly $1 billion, from office-sharing startup WeWork.

The building will be used for some 58,000 square meters (630,000 square feet) of office space, according to Amazon.

Amazon, whose expansion has attracted increased antitrust scrutiny in the US and elsewhere, said its global workforce now stands at some 876,000.

In addition to e-commerce and cloud computing, Amazon has operations in streaming video and music and artificial intelligence and owns the Whole Foods supermarket chain.

It recently unveiled plans to invest $10 billion for its planned space-based internet delivery system that will deploy more than 3,000 low-orbit satellites.

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Technology

Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Retires as Microsoft Shakes Up Gaming Unit

During 12 years leading Xbox, Phil Spencer oversaw blockbuster studio buys and an evolution to video games being played just about anywhere players can get online. KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
During 12 years leading Xbox, Phil Spencer oversaw blockbuster studio buys and an evolution to video games being played just about anywhere players can get online. KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
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Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Retires as Microsoft Shakes Up Gaming Unit

During 12 years leading Xbox, Phil Spencer oversaw blockbuster studio buys and an evolution to video games being played just about anywhere players can get online. KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
During 12 years leading Xbox, Phil Spencer oversaw blockbuster studio buys and an evolution to video games being played just about anywhere players can get online. KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

Microsoft on Friday put out word that Xbox stalwart Phil Spencer is retiring, in a shakeup of leadership at the tech titan's video game unit.

Former Instacart chief operating officer Asha Sharma will take over as head of Microsoft Gaming, with Matt Booty becoming executive vice president and chief content officer, said AFP.

"As we celebrate Xbox's 25th year, the opportunity and innovation agenda in front of us is expansive," Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said in a message to employees.

"I am long on gaming and its role at the center of our consumer ambition."

Changes to the gaming team include Sarah Bond leaving her job as Xbox president "to begin a new chapter" away from Microsoft, according to the company.

The shakeup comes as cloud computing and artificial intelligence have become priorities at Microsoft, driving revenue growth but also massive spending on infrastructure to power the technology.

"When I walked through Microsoft's doors as an intern in June of 1988, I could never have imagined the products I'd help build, the players and customers we'd serve or the extraordinary teams I'd be lucky enough to join," Spencer said in a message to colleagues.

"It's been an epic ride and truly the privilege of a lifetime."

Spencer headed the Xbox unit for 12 of his 38 years at Microsoft, nearly tripling the size of the business as video games evolved from packaged software for consoles to subscription services and digital downloads on an array of devices.

Spencer also guided the Xbox team through acquisitions of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax, and Minecraft.

Xbox boasts more than 500 million monthly users and a vast stable of game studios, along with a subscription gaming service.

"We are witnessing the reinvention of play," Sharma said in a blog post announcing the leadership changes.

"To meet the moment, we will invent new business models and new ways to play by leaning into what we already have: iconic teams, characters and worlds that people love."

Technology

Indian PM, President of Saudi Arabia’s SDAIA Discuss AI Cooperation 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) President Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghamdi meet on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026. (SPA)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) President Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghamdi meet on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026. (SPA)
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Indian PM, President of Saudi Arabia’s SDAIA Discuss AI Cooperation 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) President Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghamdi meet on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026. (SPA)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) President Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghamdi meet on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026. (SPA)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with President of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) President Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghamdi on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Friday.

Discussions focused on knowledge transfer and the exchange of expertise to accelerate digital development in both nations. They also tackled expanding bilateral cooperation in data and AI.

Al-Ghamdi commended India’s leadership in hosting the summit, noting that such international partnerships are essential for harnessing advanced technology to benefit humanity and achieve shared strategic goals.

Technology

India Chases 'DeepSeek Moment' with Homegrown AI

A handout photo made available by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking with global leaders at the AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India, 19 February 2026.EPA/PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU HANDOUT HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking with global leaders at the AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India, 19 February 2026.EPA/PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU HANDOUT HANDOUT
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India Chases 'DeepSeek Moment' with Homegrown AI

A handout photo made available by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking with global leaders at the AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India, 19 February 2026.EPA/PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU HANDOUT HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking with global leaders at the AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India, 19 February 2026.EPA/PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU HANDOUT HANDOUT

Fledgling Indian artificial intelligence companies showcased homegrown technologies this week at a major summit in New Delhi, underpinning big dreams of becoming a global AI power.

But analysts said the country was unlikely to have a "DeepSeek moment" -- the sort of boom China had last year with a high-performance, low-cost chatbot -- any time soon, AFP reported.

Still, building custom AI tools could bring benefits to the world's most populous nation.
At the AI Impact Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded new Indian AI models, along with other examples of the country's rising profile in the field.

"All the solutions that have been presented here demonstrate the power of 'Made in India' and India's innovative qualities," Modi said Thursday.

One of the startups making a buzz at the five-day summit was Sarvam AI, which this week released two large language models it says were trained from scratch in India.

Its models are optimized to work across 22 Indian languages, says the company, which received government-subsidized access to advanced computer processors.

The five-day summit, which wraps up Friday, is the fourth annual international meeting to discuss the risks and rewards of the fast-growing AI sector.

It is the largest yet and the first in a developing country, with Indian businesses striking deals with US tech giants to build large-scale data center infrastructure to help train and run AI systems.

On Friday, Abu Dhabi-based tech group G42 said the United Arab Emirates would deploy an AI supercomputer system in India, in a project "designed to lower barriers to AI innovation".

So-called sovereign AI has become a priority for many countries hoping to reduce dependence on US and Chinese platforms while ensuring that systems respect local regulations, including on data privacy.

AI models that succeed in India "can be deployed all over the world", Modi said on Thursday.

But experts said the sheer computational might of the United States would be hard to match.

"Despite the headline pledges, we don't expect India to emerge as a frontier AI innovation hub in the near term," said Reema Bhattacharya, head of Asia research at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

"Its more realistic trajectory is to become the world's largest AI adoption market, embedding AI at scale through digital public infrastructure and cost-efficient applications," she said.

Another Indian company that drew attention with product debuts this week was the Bengaluru-based Gnani.ai, which introduced its Vachana speech models at the summit.

Trained on more than a million hours of audio, Vachana models generate natural-sounding voices in Indian languages that can process customer interactions and allow people to interact with digital services out loud.

Job disruption and redundancies, including in India's huge call center industry, have been one key focus of discussions at the Delhi summit.

Prihesh Ratnayake, head of AI initiatives at think-tank Factum, told AFP that the new Indian AI models were "not really meant to be global".

"They're India-specific models, and hopefully we'll see their impact over the coming year," he said.

"Why does India need to build for the global scale? India itself is the biggest market."
And Nanubala Gnana Sai at the Cambridge AI Safety Hub said that homegrown models could bring other benefits.

Existing models, even those developed in China, "have intrinsic bias towards Western values, culture and ethos -- as a product of being trained heavily on that consensus", Sai told AFP.

India already has some major strengths, including "technology diffusion, eager talent pool and cheap labor", and dedicated efforts can help startups pivot to artificial intelligence, he said.

"The end-product may not 'rival' ChatGPT or DeepSeek on benchmarks, but will provide leverage for the Global South to have its own stand in an increasingly polarized world."