Articles from 2021 – Page 28 of 77

Walmart takes another page from Amazon, reports 95% increase in U.S. advertising sales

Walmart reported a 95% increase in its U.S. advertising sales in the second quarter, and said its number of active… Read More

How this travel startup raised $5M from ex-CEOs of Orbitz and Vacasa in the middle of a pandemic

The travel industry took a major blow when the pandemic hit last year, slashing revenue for airlines, hotels, and tech… Read More

Agtech startup Dewey Scientific raises $3.2M to further advance cannabis industry innovations

Dewey Scientific, the Pullman, Wash.-based agtech startup that is leveraging genomics, data science and more to improve the quality and… Read More

Athira Pharma extends Alzheimer’s clinical trial, adds new execs after CEO placed on leave

Athira Pharma is advancing its clinical trials in the wake of allegations of image manipulation in papers authored by its… Read More

Porch makes $35M acquisition; reshuffles board; revenue up 200%; loss grows; PPP loan forgiven

Seattle-based home services technology company Porch Group boosted its second quarter revenue by 200% to $51.3 million, exceeding analysts’ expectations.… Read More

Amazon exec Wei Gao, a former technical advisor to Jeff Bezos, latest to leave tech giant

Wei Gao, an Amazon executive who helped lead the company’s grocery efforts, is leaving the Seattle tech giant after more… Read More

Seattle fintech startup Allio raises $5M for robo-advisor investment tool

Allio, a new Seattle startup building a robo-advisor investment tool for consumers, has raised $5 million. “We’re the first micro-savings… Read More

Bezos’ Blue Origin sues NASA for giving Musk’s SpaceX sole contract to return astronauts to moon

After focusing for much of his career on delivering packages to doorsteps, Jeff Bezos is turning his attention to delivering… Read More

T-Mobile confirms data breach, but unclear if hackers accessed customer info

Update: T-Mobile on Monday confirmed that “unauthorized access to some T-Mobile data occurred” but it has not determined if personal customer… Read More

Are we just ants in a death spiral? Researchers call for scientific studies of social media networks

As misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines is spiking, the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public (CIP) is gearing… Read More

Q&A with Amazon Alexa chief Rohit Prasad on the future of ambient computing

When Amazon’s first Alexa-enabled smart speaker debuted in 2014, it was something of a novelty: A voice-activated natural language processing… Read More

Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of Aug. 8, 2021

See the technology stories that people were reading on GeekWire for the week of Aug. 8, 2021. Read More

Podcast

Wall Street goes to pot, and to the dogs — and that’s a good thing for Seattle’s startup scene

An online marketplace that helps to facilitate trade between marijuana sellers and buyers will soon see its own stock traded… Read More

Milky Way and Perseids meteor over Mt. Rainier

How I got this photo of the Perseids meteor shower over Mount Rainier — and tips for watching more

The Perseid meteor shower is one of the best summer stargazing activities. GeekWire photographer Kevin Lisota captured this image of a meteor and the Milky Way rising above Mt. Rainier. Read More

Zillow Group faces antitrust scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers over $500M ShowingTime acquisition

Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) sent a letter on Thursday to the FTC that raises antitrust… Read More

U.S. senators question Amazon about its use of palm-reading biometric data

New Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is facing questions about how the company plans to use the data it gathers from… Read More

Intrado acquires Hubb, which builds software for in-person and virtual events

Tech services giant Intrado has acquired Hubb, a Vancouver, Wash.-based startup that makes technology for virtual and in-person events. Terms… Read More

Census data shows Seattle’s population surge over last decade, fueled in part by tech job growth

Seattle’s population grew by 21% to 737,015 people and King County swelled by more than 300,000 residents since 2010, according… Read More

Ranked: The states where Amazon has invested most in jobs and infrastructure in the past decade

New stats from Amazon reveal the company’s total spending on jobs and infrastructure in each U.S. state from 2010 to… Read More

Livestreaming report: Amazon’s ‘New World’ gains attention as gamers flock to closed beta

Twitch’s growth rate has been slowed but not eliminated in the summer months; Facebook Gaming continues to grow its share… Read More

First ‘murder hornet’ of 2021 spotted in Washington state, 2 miles from where old nest was eradicated

If things weren’t feeling quite apocalyptic enough for you these days, don’t bother cuing the locusts. The murder hornets are… Read More

Facebook focuses on ‘data, not dates’ as it, too, pushes office return to January 2022

A new day, another new year return-to-office plan. Facebook joined the growing list of companies that are pushing back the… Read More

Online gambling giant Entain to acquire Seattle esports betting startup Unikrn

Entain, one of the world’s largest sports betting and gaming companies, announced Thursday that it has agreed to acquire Unikrn,… Read More

Visus Therapeutics lands $20M to develop eye drop that corrects vision loss

Visus Therapeutics, a Seattle-based startup developing a presbyopia-correcting eye drop, raised $20 million. The fresh cash comes just six months… Read More

Gates offers $1.5B for carbon-cutting innovation if lawmakers enact public-private program

Bill Gates has pledged to invest $1.5 billion on joint projects with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to remove… Read More

Convoy inks 123,000 square-foot lease in downtown Seattle and reveals return-to-office plan

Some companies are looking to reduce their physical office footprint with the shift to remote work. Seattle startup Convoy is doing… Read More

Cryptocurrency startup TaxBit, which just opened a new HQ in Seattle, lands $130M at $1.33B valuation

TaxBit, a cryptocurrency tax and accounting firm which opened a second headquarters in Seattle this summer, has raised $130 million… Read More

How Washington state’s potential federal infrastructure largess could spark a broadband fight

Rep. Drew Hansen, a longtime advocate for increasing the reach and affordability of broadband in Washington state, found himself both… Read More

Z2 vets raise $5M to grow Seattle studio Starform and launch social games

Seattle-based game studio Starform has raised $5 million. The startup plans to use the money on further development for its… Read More

Ex-Amazon chief Jeff Wilke invests in new digital ad targeting company that uses first-party data

Former Amazon leader Jeff Wilke is among the investors in a new digital advertising company operating as a subsidiary of… Read More