June 28, 2024
Hydrogen aviation startup ZeroAvia retreats from Seattle area as it scales back ambitions
June 08, 2026
The nose of ZeroAvia’s Q400. The company in 2023 announced a partnering with Alaska Airlines to retrofit the aircraft with ZeroAvia’s powertrain. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler) ZeroAvia was flying high. After launching in California in 2017, the clean aviation startup was expanding,...
FCC gives Amazon Leo more leeway on its satellite deployment schedule
June 08, 2026
Amazon Leo satellites are folded up in their dispenser, ready for deployment in low Earth orbit. (Amazon Photo) The Federal Communications Commission has freed Amazon from a requirement to deploy the first 1,616 satellites in its Amazon Leo broadband internet constellation by July 30. The...
This is bold … and italic and more: Microsoft Azure CTO vibe codes a text formatter for LinkedIn posts
June 08, 2026
Microsoft Azure CTO Mark Russinovich at the GeekWire Cloud Tech Summit in 2018. (GeekWire File Photo / Kevin Lisota) Mark Russinovich writes a lot of LinkedIn posts. Going forward it appears he’ll be formatting the text for those posts in a new tool he built. In a LinkedIn post on Sunday —...
Zillow co-founder and Seattle tech icon Rich Barton takes up residence in Las Vegas
June 08, 2026
Zillow Group co-founder Rich Barton. (GeekWire File Photo / Kevin Lisota) The man who helped revolutionize how Americans buy and sell homes has a new residence. Seattle entrepreneur Rich Barton, who co-founded Zillow Group in Seattle 20 years ago and remains its co-executive chairman,...
Remaster specialist Nightdive takes on classic stealth game ‘Thief: The Dark Project’
June 07, 2026
(Nightdive Studios press image) Nightdive Studios, based in Vancouver, Wash., has made its reputation from remasters and re-releases of dozens of out-of-print PC gaming classics. On Sunday, it announced its next project is the 1998 cult classic Thief: The Dark Project. The news came as part...
Xbox Showcase 2026: New CEO’s first broadcast shows off ‘Gears of War,’ ‘Halo,’ ‘Spyro’ and more
June 07, 2026
(Microsoft press image) Microsoft released a new pre-recorded Xbox Showcase on Sunday morning as part of this year’s Summer Game Fest event, which also marked new CEO Asha Sharma’s first big public event since taking over the company’s gaming division. Back in February when Sharma took over...
Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of May 31, 2026
June 07, 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 May 31, 2026. Sign up to receive these updates every Sunday in your inbox by subscribing to our GeekWire Weekly email newsletter. Most popular stories on...
Microsoft Build decoded: Solara, Scout, AI models, GitHub’s woes and more with Mary Jo Foley
June 06, 2026
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks onstage at Microsoft Build 2026 in San Francisco. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft) Microsoft’s Build conference was a firehose: in-house AI models, agent-first devices, new coding tools, and a Copilot “super app” that got teased but not yet shown. This...
The big AI labs are eating the startup playbook — here’s where founders can still compete
June 05, 2026
Mia Lewin of TheFounderVC, left, and Yifan Zhang of AI2 Incubator spoke on a panel with Bryan Hale of Anthos Capital, and Tim Porter of Madrona discuss where startups can find a niche at the Technology Alliance Seattle Investor Summit+Showcase in Redmond, moderated by Laura Barr of Orrick,...
Tech Moves: Salesforce names president; Microsoft execs coming and going; Amazon departures
June 05, 2026
Rohan Kumar on the big screen. (LInkedIn Photo) — After 28 years at Microsoft, Rohan Kumar is heading to Salesforce as president and chief platform officer, based out of the San Francisco company’s Bellevue, Wash., offices. The rise of automated AI agents is “reshaping how every company...
Zuckerberg’s superyacht moves north out of Seattle, dwarfing ferries along the way
June 05, 2026
The superyacht Launchpad, right, passes in front of the Walla Walla, a Washington State Ferries vessel making the run from Kingston to Edmonds across Puget Sound on Thursday. (Tim Davis Photo / timdavisimages) Give way, Washington State Ferries, Mark Zuckerberg’s superyacht has a new port of...
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman to leave Microsoft board after nearly a decade
June 05, 2026
Reid Hoffman speaks at a Tech Alliance event in Seattle in 2017. (GeekWire File Photo / Todd Bishop) Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn co-founder who has served on Microsoft’s board since 2017, will not stand for re-election at the company’s 2026 annual meeting, ending a board tenure that coincided...
Etzioni on AI: Ten Commandments for AI Startups
June 05, 2026
Not on the list: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s GPUs. (AI-Generated Image by Google Gemini) For my 10th column in the “Etzioni on AI” series, I want to share ten commandments for AI startups, preceded by timeless classics that still apply. They draw on my work with founders at the AI2...
Innovega’s smart glasses aim to improve sight for people with visual impairments
June 05, 2026
Innovega’s Gen One smart glasses capture the scene with a camera and project an enhanced image onto transparent displays to help people with low vision see more clearly. (Innovega Image) Innovega, a company known for its augmented-reality contact lens technology, has turned its focus to a...
Docusign moving downtown Seattle offices, leaving its namesake tower
June 05, 2026
The JPMorganChase Center in downtown Seattle will be getting a new tech tenant, Docusign. (GeekWire Photo / Taylor Soper) Electronic signature powerhouse Docusign is reportedly moving its offices in downtown Seattle a few blocks north, leaving the tower that bears its name. The Seattle Times...
Find it, fix it: Seattle startup Emphere raises $2.1M to automate software vulnerability patching
June 04, 2026
Emphere co-founders Ankit Kumar, CEO, left, and Pallav Gupta, CTO. (Emphere Photos) AI-powered security tools are getting increasingly good at finding vulnerabilities, but a new Seattle startup is aiming to help software companies do the harder part: fixing them. Emphere announced $2.1...
World Cup scoreboard in the sky: Drones will fly over Seattle to put match results in lights
June 04, 2026
High-scoring affair: A rendering of a drone-enabled score between the USA and Australia in the FIFA World Cup as it might appear in the Seattle sky near the Space Needle. (Visit Seattle Image) Soccer fans who aren’t there in person or not glued to their phones or TVs during FIFA World Cup...
Data center operator reveals plans for downtown Seattle facility as city weighs one-year ban
June 04, 2026
The building at 301 Virginia St. in downtown Seattle, formerly a Bed Bath & Beyond store. (Image via King County property records) A Texas company has formally signaled plans to build a data center in downtown Seattle, even as the city moves toward a moratorium that could impact the construction...
Google alert! Seattle-area teen wins Doodle contest with artwork celebrating hair and culture
June 04, 2026
The winning Google Doodle artwork by Kameirah Johnson of Renton, Wash. (Google Image) The Google homepage has a special look this morning thanks to the artwork of a Seattle-area teen. Kameirah Johnson, a senior at Lakeside School, is the winner of the 2026 Doodle for Google contest, and her...
Helion hits $15.5B valuation with $465M in new cash as it aims to commercialize fusion this decade
June 04, 2026
The glow from a super hot plasma generated inside Polaris, Helion Energy’s seventh fusion prototype device. (Helion Photo) Helion Energy, a startup racing to commercialize fusion power, announced $465 million in new funding Thursday, bringing its total capital raised to more than $1.5 billion....
With $12M second fund, fintech startup aims to pump more cash into climate entrepreneurs
June 03, 2026
Enduring Planet’s co-founders, from left: Chief Technology Officer Joshua Krafchin, CEO Dimitry Gershenson, and Chief Operating Officer Erin Davis. (Enduring Planet Photo) Enduring Planet, a fintech company with Pacific Northwest roots, on Wednesday announced it has closed its second fund at...
Ag tech startup wins top prize as UW’s Dempsey competition awards $92,500 across finalists
June 03, 2026
BioBead won the top prize at the Demsey Startup Competition, awarded by Trish Held (left), manager of philanthropy at the BECU Foundation, and received by BioBead’s Jared Espinosa and Renee Davis. (UW Photo) The big winner at the University of Washington’s 29th annual Dempsey Startup Competition...
‘Biometrics for things’: Alitheon raises $8M to expand its optical AI tech to ID physical objects
June 03, 2026
From industrial gears to healthcare products to luxury goods, Alitheon’s FeaturePrint provides a link between physical objects and digital traceability without tags, labels, or stickers. (Alitheon Photo) Bellevue, Wash.-based Alitheon raised $8 million in new funding to expand its FeaturePrint...
Amazon knocks Walmart from the top spot on Fortune 500 for the first time in 13 years
June 03, 2026
An Amazon delivery van parked in front of the company’s headquarters campus and The Spheres in Seattle. (GeekWire File Photo / Kurt Schlosser) For the first time in 13 years, the Fortune 500 has a new No. 1— and it’s Amazon. The Seattle-based e-commerce and cloud giant knocked Walmart from...
Space Northwest teams up with Commercial Space Federation on business accelerator program
June 02, 2026
Stoke Space has its 168,000-square-foot headquarters in Kent, Wash., where Mount Rainier can be seen on a good day. (Stoke Space Photo) Space Northwest, a nonprofit association serving the Pacific Northwest’s space industry ecosystem, says it’s partnering with the Commercial Space Federation to...
Amazon’s ‘Tomb Raider’ reboot gets a new trailer and release date at Sony’s State of Play
June 02, 2026
(Official PlayStation image) This week marks one of the biggest events on the modern video game calendar, as studios from around the world bring their newest projects to the annual Summer Game Fest event in California. This includes a new look at Amazon Game Studios’ impending reboot of the...
Blue Origin CEO pledges to repair ruined launch pad and return to flight by the end of the year
June 02, 2026
The SkySat satellite image at left shows Blue Origin’s launch pad in Florida on May 20, before the New Glenn rocket explosion. The satellite image at right shows the pad on May 31, three days after the blast. Click on the image for a larger version. (Credit: Planet Labs PBC) Jeff Bezos’ Blue...
Mary Jo Foley: No Copilot ‘Super App’ at Microsoft Build, but plenty of agentic fodder
June 02, 2026
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella teases the coming Copilot “Super App” during the Build keynote, telling the audience that Chat, Cowork and Code will come together in one app this summer. Despite the rumors, Microsoft didn’t demo the app itself. (Screenshot via webcast) The token-hungry developers...
Microsoft unveils seven homegrown AI models in new bid for ‘long term self-sufficiency’
June 02, 2026
Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman presents seven new in-house MAI models at the company’s Build developer conference. (Via webcast) Microsoft has based much of its AI business on models from OpenAI, before expanding more recently to Anthropic. On Tuesday, the company showed how it plans to rely...
WTIA selects 21 startups for 14th Founder Cohort Accelerator Program
June 02, 2026
Founders participating in the WTIA Founder Cohort Accelerator, a program designed to support emerging entrepreneurs and strengthen Washington state’s innovation ecosystem. (WTIA Photo) The Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) named the 21 startups that will be participating in its...
Inside Microsoft’s Project Solara: A new platform for devices that run AI agents instead of apps
June 02, 2026
Stevie Bathiche, Microsoft CVP and technical fellow, presents Project Solara during a briefing in Redmond. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop) [Editor’s Note: Agents of Transformation is an independent GeekWire series, underwritten by Accenture, exploring the adoption and impact of AI and agents. See...
Tech Moves: Expedia names SVP; Microsoft AI leader departs for Uber; ZeroAvia CEO steps down
June 02, 2026
Bill Watkins. (LinkedIn Photo) — Expedia Group appointed Bill Watkins as senior vice president and general manager of global advertising within its marketing organization. He will focus on helping outside advertisers across Expedia’s portfolio of sites engage with consumers planning...
Version One Ventures raises fresh capital for early bets on AI, robotics and deep tech
June 02, 2026
Boris Wertz and Angela Tran Kingyens, partners at Version One Ventures. (Version One Ventures Photo) Version One Ventures, the Vancouver, B.C.-based early stage venture firm led by Boris Wertz, has raised $108 million across two new funds. The firm announced Tuesday that it closed Version One...
Allen Institute’s big new bet: $400M effort aims to go from mapping the brain to treating disease
June 02, 2026
Ed Lein, left, who leads the Allen Institute’s new Brain Health Accelerator, with scientist Aaron Garcia. (Allen Institute Photo / Erik Dinnel) Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new figures, partners and details announced by the Allen Institute after the initiative’s launch Tuesday...
Code.org rebrands as CodeAI, solidifying its shift to AI education
June 02, 2026
The rise of AI has been changing the focus of Code.org for the past two years. On Tuesday, the Seattle-based computer science education platform acknowledged the shift and rebranded as CodeAI. “In the past, the focus of computer science was coding,” co-founder Hadi Partovi said in a video...
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