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 Nov. 17, 2019.
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Most popular stories on GeekWire
Company backed by Bill Gates claims solar breakthrough, looks to replace fossil fuels in industrial plants
A solar energy tech company founded by serial entrepreneur and inventor Bill Gross — and backed by investors including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates — says it has developed a way to create concentrated solar energy at temperatures hot enough to replace fossil fuels in industrial processes that contribute significantly to global carbon emissions. … Read More
Update: Microsoft Teams and other Office 365 services back online after untimely outage
Update: Microsoft said it resolved the issue as of 10:30 p.m. … Read More
Microsoft Teams hits 20M daily users, up 50% in 4 months — here’s how that compares to rival Slack
Microsoft Teams now has more than 20 million daily active users, a 50 percent spike in four months that puts the tool well ahead of its chief rival Slack. … Read More
NASA says much-anticipated meteor outburst could be a bust for the West Coast
Skywatchers say parts of the world could see a brief, brilliant meteor outburst known as the Alpha Monocerotids on Thursday night, but NASA notes that it’ll be at the wrong time for the U.S. … Read More
Elon Musk shatters stereotypes (and windows) with Tesla’s all-electric, edgy Cybertruck
Amid clouds of smoke and “Blade Runner” hype, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled a hard-edged, all-electric pickup truck that will cost as little as $39,900 and is due to hit the market by as early as 2021. … Read More
Key Zillow Group exec Greg Schwartz leaving after 12 years, amid massive changes at real estate giant
Greg Schwartz, president of Zillow Group’s media and marketplace businesses, is leaving after more than 12 years with the company. … Read More
Inside Zipwhip’s new Seattle HQ, where the culture gets a chance to shine and the sunsets are ‘epic’
Looking across the street at Elliott Bay and the water’s edge, Zipwhip CEO John Lauer swore he saw some orcas recently from his office in the startup’s new Seattle headquarters. … Read More
Seattle’s socialist City Council member Kshama Sawant wants to make an example out of Amazon
“Seattle was like a test lab. If we allowed them to get away with it here, then we can be sure they’re going to go after other cities as well.” So said Seattle’s socialist City Council member Kshama Sawant, speaking about Amazon’s unprecedented political donations in an interview with GeekWire on Tuesday afternoon, just a few days after winning re-election despite a massive financial push by the tech giant to unseat her. … Read More
Amazon cites Fox News segment, Trump rally in formal protest of Pentagon’s $10B JEDI award
Amazon filed its formal protest over Microsoft’s victory in a $10 billion Pentagon cloud computing contract, citing video evidence that the bidding process was improperly influenced by political pressure from the White House. … Read More
Why the WeWork fallout isn’t affecting women-focused co-working startup The Riveter
The WeWork fallout isn’t having any negative effects on The Riveter, a Seattle-based startup that has grown its women-focused co-working business rapidly over the past year. … Read More
