Microsoft Corp. and technology rivals spend a lot of time talking about machine learning. Now Microsoft is talking about something called machine teaching.

Convoy risks drawing comparisons to Uber in less flattering ways: drivers grousing about getting squeezed and a business model that has yet to turn a profit.

Microsoft Corp. agreed to invest $1 billion in a partnership with research group OpenAI, gaining a prominent cloud-computing customer from the artificial intelligence field.

Convoy Inc., a trucking technology developer backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, added another prominent backer through a funding round that values the startup at more than $1 billion.

As Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos jockey for the designation of world’s wealthiest man, the Seattle billionaires are united behind at least one local venture. They’re both investors in Convoy Inc., a trucking logistics startup that competes with Uber Technologies Inc.

Convoy Inc., a Seattle-based startup with designs on becoming an Uber for trucking, has struck its biggest deal yet — with consumer goods giant Unilever NV.

Trucking isn't the first thing that comes to mind when considering industries ripe for disruption.