Microsoft and Amazon, together on housing: Tech giants find common ground in push for policy changes

Microsoft and Amazon, together on housing: Tech giants find common ground in push for policy changes

By Todd Bishop
Publication Date: 2026-01-24 17:00:00

Microsoft and Amazon published a joint op-ed and full-page ad in The Seattle Times urging Washington lawmakers to address the state’s housing crisis. (GeekWire Illustration)

They’re rivals in the cloud, and competitors for customers and talent. But Microsoft and Amazon are on the same page when it comes to Washington state’s housing crisis — literally, in the case of an op-ed Friday and full-page ad last Sunday in The Seattle Times.

The Seattle region “faces a housing emergency that threatens our state’s quality of life, health and economic competitiveness,” write Brad Smith, Microsoft’s vice chair and president, and David Zapolsky, Amazon’s chief global affairs and legal officer.

It was an unusual joint byline, to say the least, but it reflected the similar big-picture goals of their…