Articles from 2021 – Page 11 of 77

As interest in fusion energy ignites, Helion lands $500M from OpenAI CEO, Facebook co-founder

Fusion energy company Helion raised a whopping $500 million, with the possibility of an additional $1.7 billion in funding if… Read More

Washington state and Finland sign tech-focused MOU, plan to establish smart port in Tacoma

With the global supply chain in disarray and container ships moored in seldom-used Puget Sound anchorages, Washington Lieutenant Gov. Denny… Read More

Astra Space joins broadband internet race with proposal to launch 13,000 satellites

Make room for yet another competitor in the market to provide broadband internet access from low Earth orbit: Astra Space,… Read More

Zillow to lay off 47 workers in Washington state as part of Zillow Offers home buying shutdown

Zillow Group plans to lay off 47 workers in Washington state as part of the 2,000 company employees who will… Read More

Redfin CEO explains how its iBuyer home buying program avoided pitfalls that sunk Zillow Group

Zillow Group’s surprising decision this week to back out of iBuying raised questions about the overall viability of the tech-fueled… Read More

The risk-taking mentality of Zillow’s Rich Barton: ‘It takes just as much energy to swing for the fences as it does to bunt’

Editor’s note: This is a column written by GeekWire co-founder John Cook. “Why bunt?” That was the rhetorical question Zillow… Read More

Blue Origin loses lunar lander lawsuit; NASA says SpaceX work will resume ASAP

A federal judge today rejected Blue Origin’s challenge to a $2.9 billion contract that NASA awarded to SpaceX for building… Read More

Amazon vets land $10M for WhyLabs, a Seattle startup that monitors machine learning models

The news: WhyLabs, a spinout from the Seattle’s Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2), raised $10 million and released a new… Read More

Still caught in a screen-time tsunami with your kids? Tech leaders share their experiences and tips

When school went virtual last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, parents’ carefully forged limits on technology went out the… Read More

Applications everywhere: F5 Networks’ CEO on the surprising evolution of apps and the cloud

Back in 2017, when François Locoh-Donou became CEO of Seattle-based F5 Networks, many people in tech assumed that most applications… Read More

Allen Institute launches new division to study brain circuits and behavior in mammals

Seattle’s Allen Institute has launched a new division called The Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics, which will explore how the… Read More

Boeing finally wins the FCC’s go-ahead for broadband satellite constellation

The Federal Communications Commission has authorized Boeing to put 147 satellites in orbit for a broadband internet constellation, adding to… Read More

Pacific Northwest companies merge and raise cash to build energy efficient, modular construction tech

While COVID-19 and vaccinations have pushed many into us-versus-them camps, for Bec Chapin, the pandemic instead inspired an appreciation for… Read More

Tech Moves: Qualtrics hires Microsoft vet; Amazon voice tech leader steps down; Future For Us founders start new roles

— Future For Us co-founder and former CEO Sage Ke’alohilani Quiamno is now a diversity, equity and inclusion business partner… Read More

Zillow shares tumble after iBuying fumble: Stock plummets 22%, but not all say the sky is falling

Zillow Group co-founder and CEO Rich Barton admitted on Tuesday that it was a “tough day” when the powerhouse real… Read More

Allbirds’ secret sauce: Early investor reflects on shoe company’s success as it goes public

Strong brand ethos; future-focused; and obsessed with customer loyalty. These were some of the ingredients that helped turn Allbirds into… Read More

Sea-change: Business-backed candidates open a wide lead in Seattle’s 2021 election

Nearly all business-backed, moderate candidates have opened leads in Seattle city races as initial election results indicate a voter pushback… Read More

Why the iBuying algorithms failed Zillow, and what it says about the business world’s love affair with AI

Just because a business process can be automated, doesn’t necessarily mean it should be automated. And maybe — just maybe… Read More

Hanks, but no Hanks: Actor turned down Jeff Bezos’ offer to ride Blue Origin rocket because of price tag

Tom Hanks has already been to space, sort of, as the star of 1995’s “Apollo 13.” He wasn’t going to… Read More

Biotech company Absci, which recently went public, cuts ribbon on new HQ in Vancouver, Wash.

Absci cut the ribbon on its new headquarters in Vancouver, Wash., on Tuesday, barely three months after going public in… Read More

GitHub CEO Nat Friedman steps down; Julia Liuson named president of Microsoft Developer Division

Nat Friedman is stepping down as the CEO of Microsoft-owned developer community and code repository GitHub. He’ll be replaced by… Read More

Echodyne wins $20M contract for radar systems designed to watch U.S. borders

Kirkland, Wash.-based Echodyne says it’s won a $20 million, five-year contract from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and… Read More

Zillow to shutter home buying business and lay off 2,000 employees as its big real estate bet falters

Zillow Group’s ambitious tech-fueled bid to shake up how people buy and sell homes is coming to a surprising end.… Read More

Microsoft CEO lays out post-pandemic vision for work — including a new metaverse concept

Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella described his company’s role in a new economy and society transformed by the pandemic… Read More

COP26 updates: Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy, Gates Foundation and Amazon tout climate efforts

Day two of the United Nations COP26 climate talks brought news of recently forged partnerships and new funding commitments from… Read More

Microsoft offers its own take on the metaverse with the introduction of Mesh for Teams

Microsoft laid out its latest vision for a post-COVID work world Tuesday, touching on a buzzword that’s become increasingly prominent… Read More

Can’t find that file? Microsoft’s new Loop app puts workplace collaboration in a different light

Microsoft is aiming to solve a long-irritating problem that seemed to become more irksome as people began working remotely during… Read More

Book excerpt: How tech and government can spin the flywheels of equitable prosperity together

“Flywheels: How Cities are Creating Their Own Futures,” is a new book by Tom Alberg, former Amazon board member, and… Read More

$10B Bezos Earth Fund earmarks $2B for land restoration and food production efforts

As the United Nation’s COP26 climate talks in Glasgow kicked off this week, the Bezos Earth Fund on Monday announced… Read More

Sega and Microsoft announce strategic alliance to develop ‘Super Game’ initiative on Azure

The Japanese video game company Sega announced Monday that it plans to “explore a strategic alliance” with Microsoft, which will… Read More