June 28, 2024
I pitched in to a new community effort to buy the Seattle Seahawks — so far I’m on the hook for $79M
March 10, 2026
Screen grabs from the “Let’s Buy the Seahawks” initiative showing the proposal, center, and a receipt for a share. (LetsBuytheSeahawks.org) A new proposal to buy the Seattle Seahawks has been launched by a fan of the team who thinks such a community treasure should be owned by all of the 12s...
Microsoft’s return-to-office policy creates a return to slower commutes, traffic analysis shows
March 10, 2026
The blur of the morning commute: Sunrise and car lights during the trip across Seattle’s SR 520. (GeekWire File Photo / Kurt Schlosser) Seattle-area Microsoft employees who are showing up in the office three days a week are also showing up on roadways and impacting commuters’ speeds, according...
Judge blocks Perplexity’s AI bot from shopping on Amazon in early test of agentic commerce
March 10, 2026
Perplexity’s Comet browser, which includes an AI assistant that can shop on behalf of users, is the subject of a suit by Amazon. (Perplexity Image) A federal judge in San Francisco granted Amazon a preliminary injunction Monday blocking Perplexity from using its Comet browser’s AI agent to...
Tim Chen’s Essence VC firm is raising a new fund to back more infrastructure startups
March 10, 2026
Tim Chen. (Photo courtesy of Chen) Essence VC, an early stage venture capital firm run by Tim Chen, is raising a new fund. A SEC filing revealed the new fund. Chen confirmed that Essence is aiming to raise about $7 million for the fund, which is separate from the firm’s $41 million fourth...
I got my hair cut at the one-of-a-kind Amazon Salon in London: See before and after photos
March 10, 2026
GeekWire co-founder John Cook, left, with Korell, his hair stylist at Amazon Salon in London. (GeekWire Photo) LONDON — Strolling among the food vendors and independent pop-up shops of London’s historic Spitalfields Market, I stumbled upon a modern slice of American retail. There, just a...
Opinion: You couldn’t pay me to leave Washington state, and I’d pay more to stay
March 10, 2026
Brian Fioca. (Photo courtesy of Brian Fioca) Editor’s note: GeekWire publishes guest opinions to foster informed discussion and highlight a diversity of perspectives on issues shaping the tech and startup community. If you’re interested in submitting a guest column, email us at...
Seattle-area startup turns industrial emissions into high-performance battery materials
March 10, 2026
Homeostasis’ prototype device for producing graphite material for use in batteries. (Homeostasis Photo) Homeostasis co-founder and CEO Makoto Eyre cites a famous Eisenhower line to capture his current leadership mindset: “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” It’s an apt motto for a...
Jay Graber steps down as Bluesky CEO, moves into chief innovation officer role at social media platform
March 09, 2026
Jay Graber accepts her Uncommon Thinkers award at the GeekWire Gala in December 2025. (GeekWire File Photo / Kevin Lisota) Bluesky CEO Jay Graber announced Monday that she’s stepping down from her position and moving to a new role as chief innovation officer of the decentralized social...
Microsoft’s new Copilot Cowork integrates Anthropic’s Claude in rollout of new E7 licensing tier
March 09, 2026
Microsoft is leveraging its new Anthropic partnership to bolster Copilot adoption among businesses. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop) Microsoft unveiled Copilot Cowork, a new AI assistant that can run tasks in the background, create documents, and work across Microsoft 365 apps, the company...
New free, on-demand EV service launches in Redmond to shuttle riders to light rail
March 09, 2026
A RedLink shuttle vehicle in Redmond, Wash. (City of Redmond Photo) Another new transportation option is coming to Redmond, Wash. The city announced the launch Monday of RedLink, a free, on-demand, all-electric ride service to help residents and visitors get around Redmond more easily and...
Contractors sue Modern Hydrogen, alleging the Bill Gates-backed startup left their final invoices unpaid
March 09, 2026
Bill Gates gets hands on with Modern Hydrogen’s solid carbon product during an April 2024 visit to the company. (Gates Ventures Photo) John Hinkey knew there was a risk to doing contract work for startups — sometimes their finances go south and his mechanical design firm might go unpaid. But...
A whole new ballgame for trading cards: Startup uses robots and AI to sort and analyze collections
March 09, 2026
Gradient CEO Tim Clothier, left, and CTO Matt Lubbers hold one of the thousands of trays of trading cards that have been processed by the company’s robotics and AI systems at the startup’s Renton, Wash., headquarters. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser) Matt Lubbers says the genesis for his new...
Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of March 1, 2026
March 08, 2026
Get caught up on the latest technology and startup news from the past week. Here are the most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of March 1, 2026. Sign up to receive these updates every Sunday in your inbox by subscribing to our GeekWire Weekly email newsletter. Most popular stories on...
GeekWire Podcast on location at OpenAI in Bellevue, with CTO of Applications Vijaye Raji
March 07, 2026
Vijaye Raji, OpenAI’s CTO of Applications, speaks at the company’s Bellevue office opening. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop) OpenAI just opened its largest office outside San Francisco, in downtown Bellevue, Wash., and we were there for the grand opening to tour the space, check out the vibe, and...
Rad Power Bikes’ new owner wants to rehire employees, open stores and return e-bike brand to glory days
March 06, 2026
Seattle-based Rad Power Bikes went bankrupt and was acquired by Life Electric Vehicles Holdings of Florida. (Rad Power Bikes Photo) Robert Provost has big plans for Rad Power Bikes, the recently bankrupt Seattle-based electric bike maker that he thinks can reclaim its industry dominance — and...
Washington governor says he’ll sign millionaires tax
March 06, 2026
Gov. Bob Ferguson delivered his State of the State address in Olympia, Wash., on Jan. 13. (Governor’s Office Photo) Gov. Bob Ferguson said Friday that he will sign the latest version of Washington’s proposed “millionaires tax,” paving the way for legislation that has sparked intense debate...
Washington state bill to ban microchipping of employees heads to governor for approval
March 06, 2026
The Legislative Building in Olympia, Wash. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler) Washington state legislators approved a bill to ban employers from requiring or pressuring workers to be microchipped, aiming to prohibit the practice before it ever becomes an issue. HB 2303 was unanimously passed by...
Former startup CFO gets 2 years in prison for wire fraud / crypto scheme that cost company $35M
March 05, 2026
Nevin Shetty. (Fabric File Photo) The former chief financial officer for Seattle-area retail software company Fabric was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle Thursday to two years in prison for a wire fraud scheme that involved the misuse of $35 million from his former employer. Nevin...
Inside OpenAI’s new Bellevue office: A swanky statement about AI’s impact on the Seattle region
March 05, 2026
A lounge area at OpenAI’s new Bellevue office. (Trevor Tondro Photo for OpenAI) OpenAI officially opened its new engineering office in downtown Bellevue, Wash., on Thursday, unveiling a retro-modern, wood-paneled space for its 250 employees in the region — with enough room in the tower to...
Silicon Valley tech vet: ‘No better time to start companies than now’
March 05, 2026
Pablo Casilimas (left), founding partner at OneSixOne Ventures, with Sudheesh Nair, co-founder and CEO of TinyFish. (GeekWire Photo / Taylor Soper) The AI moment is not just another tech cycle — it’s one of the best openings founders have seen in years. That was the message from Sudheesh...
University of Washington team working on CPR feedback device wins health innovation challenge
March 05, 2026
The CPRight team, from left: Shubham Bansal, Deeya Sharma, Prisha Hemani, and Atharv Dixit with their Holloman Health Innovation Challenge winnings at the University of Washington in Seattle this week. (UW Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship Photo / Matt Hagen) A team of students from the...
Xbox surprise: Microsoft reveals ‘Project Helix’ as the codename of its next console
March 05, 2026
(Xbox Image) In the days leading up to one of the games industry’s bigger trade conferences, Microsoft has quietly unveiled the code name for its next-generation Xbox console: Project Helix. The name appeared without initial fanfare in a post on X on Thursday morning. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma,...
Tech Moves: Amperity and Siteimprove name CMOs; AWS director departs; Gong’s new exec
March 05, 2026
Bridget Perry. (LinkedIn Photo) — Amperity, a Seattle-based startup that helps companies collect and manage customer data, named Bridget Perry as chief marketing officer. Earlier in her career, Perry was a marketing director for Microsoft for nearly nine years and worked for more than eight...
Sub Pop Records leaving Amazon HQ space for new store on Seattle waterfront
March 05, 2026
The Sub Pop location on 7th Avenue in Seattle, with Amazon’s Spheres visible across the street. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser) Longtime Seattle independent record label Sub Pop Records is leaving Amazonia. The company announced via social media on Thursday that its retail store at 2130 7th...
Fully charged: Meet the local leader energizing the Pacific Northwest battery boom
March 05, 2026
Grayson Shor, far right, at a recent Pacific Northwest Battery Collaborative meet up at a Seattle brewery on Capitol Hill. Shor launched the organization to help the sector build connections. (PNWBC Photo) Grayson Shor, founder and executive director of the Pacific Northwest Battery...
Rad Power Bikes brand will live on as Life EV completes acquisition of Seattle e-bike maker’s assets
March 05, 2026
Seattle-based Rad Power Bikes makes a variety of electric bicycle styles. (Rad Power Bikes Photo) Rad Power Bikes‘ run as an independent electric bike manufacturer is over, but the brand will live on following the closure of the Seattle-based company’s acquisition by Life Electric Vehicles...
Washington state lawmakers target data center sales tax breaks to help plug $2B budget gap
March 05, 2026
Inside an Amazon data center. (AWS Photo / Noah Berger) Washington lawmakers are considering ending a sales tax break for data center owners when they replace equipment, a move that would take effect July 1, 2026, and apply statewide. While Senate Bill 6231 would retain the sales tax break...
Amazon makes a new bet on healthcare AI, rivaling Microsoft in the doctor’s office
March 05, 2026
Amazon Connect Health uses natural language to schedule appointments, accessing the health record system in real time. (Amazon Image) Amazon Web Services is expanding into AI for healthcare, launching a new agentic system that can handle patient calls, document clinical visits and automatically...
Amazon lays off robotics staff in latest cuts
March 04, 2026
A worker waits for a Hercules drive to move another fabric shelving unit into place at a workstation inside Amazon’s AUS2 fulfillment center. (GeekWire File Photo / Todd Bishop) Amazon is laying off an undisclosed number of employees from its robotics division. Business Insider first reported...
Startup Radar: Seattle-area founders use AI for music videos, real estate, debugging, and more
March 04, 2026
From top left, clockwise: Tambo CEO Michael Magán, The Carry CEO Esther Sedgwick; Logcat CEO Varun Chitre; Rockhood CEO Monica Li; Color42 CEO Prince Bajracharya; Tarka CEO Dan Moore. From fitness equipment to voice AI agents to autonomous debugging, our latest Startup Radar spotlight features...
TerraPower becomes first next-gen nuclear company to get U.S. green light for building reactors
March 04, 2026
Construction of TerraPower’s full-scale demonstration nuclear plant in Kemmerer, Wyo. (TerraPower Photo) Bill Gates-backed TerraPower is the first in the nation to receive federal approval to build its next-generation nuclear power plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued its...
SeaPort Airlines to offer daily flights between Seattle’s Boeing Field and Spokane
March 04, 2026
A Pilatus PC-12 aircraft flown by SeaPort Airlines parked in Spokane, Wash., on Tuesday. (SeaPort Airlines Photo) A hop across Washington state will get a little easier next week with the start of daily flights between Seattle’s Boeing Field and Spokane’s Felts Field from regional airline...
Starbucks plans corporate office in Nashville, impacting some Seattle-based supply chain workers
March 04, 2026
Starbucks headquarters in Seattle. (GeekWire File Photo / Kurt Schlosser) Starbucks plans to open a corporate office in Nashville, Tenn., impacting some Seattle-based jobs related to the coffee giant’s North American supply-chain operations. The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community...
Pre-trial fight in OpenAI case focuses on Elon Musk’s dual role as Microsoft partner and plaintiff
March 04, 2026
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announces the launch of xAI’s Grok on Azure AI Foundry last year. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop) Microsoft’s move to partner with Elon Musk’s xAI while simultaneously being sued by the tech mogul has gone beyond mere irony to become potential courtroom evidence. In...
Washington state bill allowing direct sales of Rivian and Lucid is speeding toward finish line
March 04, 2026
Rivian vehicles. (Amazon Photo) Washington lawmakers are racing to pass legislation to let Rivian and Lucid sell their EVs directly to consumers. The push follows years of dealership opposition — and Rivian’s threat to bypass legislators entirely with a November ballot initiative. The Senate...
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