tech

Amazon rolls out 30-minute delivery in four cities with plans to expand to dozens more

Amazon is officially escalating the logistics arms race with the rollout of Amazon Now, a new service promising 30-minute delivery on thousands of grocery items and household essentials — Amazon mentioned AirPods, laundry detergent, and toothpaste — across dozens of US cities. Currently live in Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas, and Philadelphia, the service leverages a network of hyper-local micro-fulfillment centers “strategically placed close to where customers live and work” to bypass traditional shipping delays.

For orders more than $15, Prime members pay $3.99 delivery fee per order, while non-Prime members pay $13.99. By targeting the "need it right now" market, Amazon is directly challenging the dominance of local convenience stores and quick-commerce rivals like Walmart and Instacart, betting that customers will pay a premium to have their impulse buys arrive before they even have time to rethink them.

This might trigger flashbacks for those who remember the dot-com bubble startups Webvan, which scheduled same-day grocery delivery in 30-minute intervals, or Kozmo.com, which offered one-hour delivery on convenient store basics and DVDs. The difference? While Webvan and Kozmo.com built their delivery networks from scratch before there was demand, Amazon is simply layering speed onto its already massive logistics engine and customer base.

Amazon Rolls Out Amazon Now to Dozens of Cities Across the U.S., Providing 30-Minute Delivery to Millions of Customers

For orders more than $15, Prime members pay $3.99 delivery fee per order, while non-Prime members pay $13.99. By targeting the "need it right now" market, Amazon is directly challenging the dominance of local convenience stores and quick-commerce rivals like Walmart and Instacart, betting that customers will pay a premium to have their impulse buys arrive before they even have time to rethink them.

This might trigger flashbacks for those who remember the dot-com bubble startups Webvan, which scheduled same-day grocery delivery in 30-minute intervals, or Kozmo.com, which offered one-hour delivery on convenient store basics and DVDs. The difference? While Webvan and Kozmo.com built their delivery networks from scratch before there was demand, Amazon is simply layering speed onto its already massive logistics engine and customer base.

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OpenAI employees are cashing out their shares, dozens making $30 million each

OpenAI’s planned IPO later this year is expected to be one of the largest of all time. Employees who got equity early on are sure to reap a windfall when the company shares hit the public markets.

Often these pre-IPO shares can’t be cashed in until the company goes public, and many startups have longer lockup periods before employees can sell their shares.

But The Wall Street Journal reports that OpenAI has a relatively short two-year vesting period, and the company allowed employees to sell shares before the IPO via a tender offer, as long as they’ve reached the two-year mark.

According to the report, in October, more than 600 current and former OpenAI employees sold shares through this process, minting a cluster of new multimillionaires. The Journal said about 75 of those walked away with $30 million (the maximum sale amount for this offer).

How a Job at OpenAI Became the Greatest Lottery Ticket of the AI Boom

How a Job at OpenAI Became the Greatest Lottery Ticket of the AI Boom

But The Wall Street Journal reports that OpenAI has a relatively short two-year vesting period, and the company allowed employees to sell shares before the IPO via a tender offer, as long as they’ve reached the two-year mark.

According to the report, in October, more than 600 current and former OpenAI employees sold shares through this process, minting a cluster of new multimillionaires. The Journal said about 75 of those walked away with $30 million (the maximum sale amount for this offer).

How much Apple’s biggest contribution to the AI boom matters for its sales

Hint: it’s not Siri and it’s not much.

Mac Mini M4

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Rani Molla5/8/26

Intel pops on reported Apple chip deal

Intel soared more than 14% on a Wall Street Journal report saying the company has reached a preliminary agreement with Apple to manufacture chips for the iPhone maker. Intel, already on a tear as of late, jumped earlier this week when Bloomberg first reported the two companies were in talks. It’s still unclear which chips Intel would manufacture for Apple, which has been facing supply constraints for its iPhone as well other products.

In any case, the deal could help Apple ease supply constraints that have hit some of its products and reduce its reliance on longtime partner TSMC, as it aims to bring more chip manufacturing stateside.

Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement

Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement

In any case, the deal could help Apple ease supply constraints that have hit some of its products and reduce its reliance on longtime partner TSMC, as it aims to bring more chip manufacturing stateside.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (R) greets OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during the OpenAI DevDay event

Emails show Microsoft wasn’t impressed by OpenAI’s early work, but wanted to keep it from Amazon

OpenAI wanted further Azure computing discounts, but Microsoft didn’t think it was on the verge of a breakthrough.

Jon Keegan5/8/26

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