GeekWire

Amazon partners with Petco in latest expansion of return drop-off footprint

Tech Moves: Seattle tech vet Liz Pearce joins climate startup; Absci names AI chief; and more

by Nate Bek on October 9, 2023October 9, 2023 at 3:31 pm

— Longtime tech executive Liz Pearce announced Monday that she is joining Seattle-based climate marketplace startup Ever.green as chief revenue officer. Pearce said she was motivated to make the career… Read More

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Great Washington Shakeout drill on Oct. 19 designed to help people practice for earthquake

by Kurt Schlosser on October 9, 2023October 9, 2023 at 12:10 pm

With a small earthquake near Seattle still top of mind, it’s a good time to remind people that the Great Washington ShakeOut earthquake preparedness drill is coming up next week.… Read More

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Seattle data analysis startup lands $250K after winning Madrona Venture Labs competition

by Nate Bek on October 9, 2023October 9, 2023 at 11:32 am

A startup that helps data teams at consumer packaged goods companies (CPG) analyze and visualize their data through an artificial intelligence platform won a Madrona Venture Labs startup formation competition… Read More

She helped lead the fight against Amazon’s return to office — and then had to leave a job she loved

by Kurt Schlosser on October 9, 2023October 9, 2023 at 9:10 am

Pamela Hayter just wanted someone at Amazon to answer “the why.” After more than eight years at the tech giant, Hayter had come to expect that decisions large and small… Read More

Fun & Geeky

Jeff Bezos buys $79M mansion in Florida’s exclusive ‘Billionaire Bunker’

Seattle’s former Cinerama becomes SIFF Cinema as new signs go up on iconic movie theater

Life goals: Megan Rapinoe says goodbye to soccer, and Seattle tech leaders share how she inspired

Get an AI reality check on ‘The Creator’ — Hollywood’s latest robo-doomsday movie

For more fun & geeky stuff, check out Geek Life.

Meet the 24 new startups in Techstars Seattle, as accelerator doubles class size

by Nate Bek on October 9, 2023October 9, 2023 at 3:12 pm

Startup accelerator program Techstars Seattle on Monday unveiled 24 companies for its 15th cohort, doubling the class size from last year’s dozen graduates. This year’s cohort is made up of… Read More

Magnitude 4.3 earthquake hits near Seattle; tsunami not expected

by Taylor Soper on October 8, 2023October 9, 2023 at 7:41 am

Did you feel it? A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck Sunday evening at 7:21 p.m. PT about 35 miles northwest of Seattle, south of Port Townsend, according to preliminary reports from… Read More

Health Tech/Life Sciences

Washington startups receive $25K grants aimed at boosting state’s life sciences sector

Genomics pioneer Lee Hood joins forces with the Buck Institute to study aging and disease

First Lady Jill Biden visits Seattle, stops at Fred Hutch to boost Cancer Moonshot program

Interview: Seattle Children’s new research leader Vittorio Gallo on AI, neuroscience, art and more

Read more health technology and life sciences articles on Health Tech/Life Sciences.

Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of Oct. 1, 2023

by GeekWire on October 8, 2023October 8, 2023 at 8:01 am

See the technology stories that people were reading on GeekWire for the week of Oct. 1, 2023.… Read More

Meet the latest next-gen battery startup to put down roots in a rural town in Washington

by Lisa Stiffler on October 7, 2023October 7, 2023 at 8:20 am

California battery startup OneD Battery Sciences is breaking ground Monday on a pilot manufacturing facility in the Eastern Washington town of Moses Lake. It joins two other companies — Group14… Read More

GeekWire Podcasts

What Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in court about Google, Apple, search, and the future of AI

Unpacking the FTC’s case vs. Amazon: What the landmark suit means for the e-commerce empire

Lumen CEO Kate Johnson on Seattle tech, AI, lessons from Microsoft, and ‘cloudifying’ telecom

Longtime Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley is our Copilot on this week’s GeekWire Podcast

Listen to more GeekWire Podcasts.

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What Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in court about Google, Apple, search, and the future of AI

by Todd Bishop on October 7, 2023October 7, 2023 at 9:02 am

You may have read the juicy sound bites from Satya Nadella in Google’s antitrust trial this week, as the Microsoft CEO made the case that the search giant unfairly leverages… Read More

Atlas V launch with Amazon's Project Kuiper satellites

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Atlas V rocket launches prototype Amazon satellites to test Project Kuiper network

by Alan Boyle on October 6, 2023October 8, 2023 at 2:09 pm

Amazon’s first satellites were launched today on a mission aimed at testing out the hardware and software for the Seattle company’s worldwide Project Kuiper broadband internet constellation. Two prototype satellites… Read More

Tech Moves: Former Sprint CEO rejoins F5 board; Flexport engineering exec departs; and more

by Nate Bek on October 6, 2023October 6, 2023 at 1:40 pm

— Michel Combes, a longtime telecommunications and finance executive, rejoined F5’s board of directors. He previously stepped down from the board in 2021 after serving for about three years. Combes… Read More

Life goals: Megan Rapinoe says goodbye to soccer, and Seattle tech leaders share how she inspired

by Kurt Schlosser on October 6, 2023October 6, 2023 at 7:23 am

Megan Rapinoe’s reign is drawing to a close. But the global soccer star’s influence and activism is sure to continue to be felt on and off the pitch. After 11… Read More

Epic Games’ layoffs hit its Seattle-area office, affecting 39 employees

by Thomas Wilde on October 5, 2023October 5, 2023 at 3:21 pm

The recent round of layoffs at Epic Games impacted its office in Bellevue, Wash., with 39 employees affected, according to a new filing with the Washington state Employment Security Department (ESD).… Read More

Alaska Airlines launches aviation-focused startup program with Los Angeles venture lab

by Nate Bek on October 5, 2023October 5, 2023 at 2:45 pm

Alaska Airlines wants to help more startups take off. The Seattle-based airline announced Thursday a partnership with UP.Labs to launch Airline Venture Lab, a new collaboration to create aviation-focused spin-out… Read More

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Stoke Space fuels up with $100M in funding in quest to build fully reusable rockets

by Nate Bek on October 5, 2023October 8, 2023 at 11:27 am

Stoke Space announced Thursday that it raised $100 million, boosting the Kent, Wash.-based company’s quest to develop a new breed of fully reusable rockets and reach orbit by 2025. “This… Read More

Amazon begins shifting 2,000 employees from Seattle to new Bellevue office towers

by Kurt Schlosser on October 5, 2023October 5, 2023 at 12:40 pm

Amazon has moved about half of a planned 2,000 employees from Seattle to Bellevue, Wash., where the company ultimately plans to employ 25,000 people. Despite an ongoing pause in the… Read More

Bill Gates-backed Likewise launches AI-powered Pix ‘personal entertainment companion’

by Todd Bishop on October 5, 2023October 5, 2023 at 10:46 am

Likewise, the Seattle-area content recommendation startup that spun out of Bill Gates’ private office five years ago, launched a free AI assistant called Pix to help users find TV shows,… Read More

SeekOut lays off 7% of staff in restructuring but plans to grow headcount this year

by Nate Bek on October 5, 2023October 5, 2023 at 7:49 am

Seattle-area recruiting software startup SeekOut laid off 16 employees, or about 7% of its workforce. The company confirmed the layoffs in response to a GeekWire inquiry Wednesday, citing a restructuring… Read More

Emmett Watson meets ChatGPT: What if the champion of ‘Lesser Seattle’ could see us now?

by Todd Bishop on October 5, 2023October 5, 2023 at 6:28 am

The late, great Seattle newspaper columnist Emmett Watson died more than 20 years ago. A lot has happened since then in his beloved burg. What would he say about Seattle… Read More

Fake Amazon calls and the use of generative AI highlight new phone scam report

by Kurt Schlosser on October 5, 2023October 4, 2023 at 6:18 pm

Generative AI is playing an increasing role in phone scams, and fake calls related to Amazon accounts or purchases are among the leading scams in 2023. Those are two of… Read More

TikTok owner ByteDance grabs another 66K square-feet of office space in Seattle area

by Taylor Soper on October 4, 2023October 4, 2023 at 4:31 pm

ByteDance is expanding in the Seattle area. A third quarter report from real estate firm Broderick Group reveals that TikTok owner ByteDance recently subleased another 66,000 square-feet of office space… Read More

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Amazon pulls the plug on Amp, the live-audio app it launched last year to ‘reimagine radio’

by Kurt Schlosser on October 4, 2023October 4, 2023 at 1:24 pm

Amazon is pulling the plug on Amp, the audio app it launched last year to let users DJ their own live radio shows complete with a catalog of millions of… Read More

Seattle VC firm creates startup investment competition to help grow PNW angel network

by Nate Bek on October 4, 2023October 4, 2023 at 11:51 am

Seattle venture capital firm First Row Partners is launching The Ensemble Event Fund, a new startup competition that aims to help boost angel investor networks in the Pacific Northwest. The… Read More

GeekWire Summit, Oct. 19: Check out the agenda and join us to explore the new era of AI

by Todd Bishop on October 4, 2023October 4, 2023 at 10:23 am

The long-awaited promise of artificial intelligence is quickly becoming a reality in our work and lives, with far-reaching implications for business, tech, and the world. We’ll explore these issues the… Read More

Report: FTC alleges Amazon tested price increases as part of secret ‘Project Nessie’

by Todd Bishop on October 4, 2023October 4, 2023 at 7:25 am

The Federal Trade Commission alleges that Amazon’s “Project Nessie” was designed to gauge the impact of its product price increases on the broader retail market, monitoring whether its rivals followed… Read More

‘Forever chemicals’ are eternal no more thanks to a pollution destroying device from Tacoma startup

by Lisa Stiffler on October 4, 2023October 4, 2023 at 6:28 am

It would be fair to expect the destroyer of toxic “forever chemicals” to be a massive, intimidating device. In which case it’s either disappointing or delightful to discover that a… Read More

Qualtrics cuts 780 jobs, about 14% of workforce, citing ‘complexity’ from rapid hiring

by Taylor Soper on October 4, 2023October 5, 2023 at 11:06 am

Qualtrics is cutting about 14% of its workforce to reduce costs and restructure its organization, citing a need to address the internal complexity created by its past hiring and growth.… Read More

Seattle entrepreneur David Niu launches new startup that reimagines PR

by Taylor Soper on October 4, 2023October 3, 2023 at 11:03 pm

As a serial entrepreneur who started and sold three startups, David Niu knows what it’s like to be a CEO seeking media coverage. And he thinks there’s a better way… Read More

VC funding to Pacific Northwest startups in Q3 was down nearly 50% year-over-year

by Nate Bek on October 3, 2023October 4, 2023 at 6:46 am

Pacific Northwest startups raised $920 million in the third quarter, marking the lowest quarterly amount in five years and a 46% drop compared to the same time period in 2022.… Read More

Neurophs co-founder Andrew Traverso in lab

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Stealthy startup Neurophos raises $7M to create metamaterials-based chips for AI

by Alan Boyle on October 3, 2023October 3, 2023 at 9:30 pm

A semi-stealthy startup called Neurophos says it’s raised $7 million in seed funding to support the development of a chip that makes use of metamaterials for heavy-duty AI applications. And… Read More