Articles from 2021

Nintendo Switch competitor? Valve reportedly plans to release portable gaming PC in late 2021

Sources inside Valve Software have unofficially confirmed that the Bellevue, Wash.-based company is working on a portable gaming PC, codenamed… Read More

TerraClear raises $25M for its rock-picking farm tech as it sees fully autonomous version on horizon

New funding: TerraClear, the ag tech startup that’s using artificial intelligence and robotics to help farmers deal with costly and… Read More

Amazon will acquire MGM for $8.5B in tech giant’s second-largest deal to boost Bezos’ media empire

It’s official: Amazon will buy MGM for $8.45 billion. The Seattle tech giant on Wednesday announced the deal, which would… Read More

Calendar assistant startup Reclaim.ai raises $4.8M, reports 4K companies using its platform

New funding: Portland, Ore.-based Reclaim.ai has raised $4.8 million in a seed funding round to help grow its calendar tool… Read More

Washington state regulators say Amazon’s workflow and pace injures warehouse workers

Washington state workplace regulators fined and admonished Amazon for pushing workers at its DuPont, Wash. fulfillment center so relentlessly that… Read More

Senators spar over the idea of giving billions to Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin venture for lunar lander program

The tussle over NASA funding for lunar landing systems has touched down in the Senate — with one leading senator… Read More

How to maximize your chances of seeing the Supermoon total lunar eclipse

The only total lunar eclipse of 2021 will also be one of the shortest total lunar eclipses in recent years,… Read More

D.C. AG targets Amazon in new antitrust suit over third-party seller pricing policies

A new lawsuit from the Washington, D.C., attorney general alleges that Amazon illegally manipulates the e-commerce market to its own… Read More

Microsoft adapts OpenAI’s GPT-3 natural language technology to automatically write code

Microsoft unveiled new tools for automatically generating computer code and formulas on Tuesday morning, in a new adaptation of the… Read More

Amazon shareholders tackle tech giant’s prickliest problems after a turbulent year amid the pandemic

Amazon has been on a wild ride over the last year. The Seattle retail and tech giant’s profits and stock… Read More

6 tips from Seattle tech companies on how to support racial equity programs

As people around the country observe the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, companies that pledged to do more… Read More

Betacom lands $15M to manage private 5G networks after relocating from Florida to Seattle

The news: Betacom, a longtime telecommunications company, raised $15 million as it launches a fully-managed private wireless service called Betacom 5G-as-a-service.… Read More

Amazon reportedly close to deal to acquire Hollywood studio MGM for almost $9B

Amazon is close to a deal to acquire Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal… Read More

Ultrapotent, nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccine with Univ. of Wash. roots gets $173M for human trials

A project to test what’s being called an ultrapotent, second-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate will receive up to $173.4 million to… Read More

Seattle neurology startup Eliem Therapeutics raises $60M, two months after landing $80M

New funding: Eliem Therapeutics raised $60 million to further development of its therapies for pain and depression. The fresh funding comes… Read More

Microsoft grapples with fallout from Bill Gates affair in unprecedented break from its past

Since becoming CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella has championed a growth mindset, pushing the company to continually evolve and learn… Read More

Phaidra raises more cash from Mark Cuban and others to build the ‘future of industrial automation’

New funding: Phaidra, a startup that launched in 2019 and is building AI tech for industrial customers, raised $4 million.… Read More

Washington state launches center to cater to — and potentially regulate — crypto and fintech companies

Facing explosive growth in NFTs and cryptocurrencies coupled with vague regulations for the wave of new financial technology and investment… Read More

Expedia Group hires top execs from Apple and Verizon as part of leadership structure overhaul

Expedia Group has hired top executives from Apple and Verizon Media as the company overhauls its leadership structure and brand… Read More

Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of May 16, 2021

See the technology stories that people were reading on GeekWire for the week of May 16, 2021. Read More

Podcast

Madrona Venture Group’s Steve Singh on key trends to watch coming out of the pandemic

The 2021 virtual GeekWire Awards were held this week, recognizing the top companies, innovators, entrepreneurs and technologies in the Pacific… Read More

Inside the satellite factory: How LeoStella uses software to track spacecraft hardware

TUKWILA, Wash. — LeoStella’s satellite factory has tons of hardware spread out over 22,000 square feet of space, but the… Read More

Building Seattle, brick by video game brick: City rises in Minecraft as part of immense project

Rome wasn’t built in a day, the saying goes. But hey, Seattle was built in a month! At least a… Read More

Climate solution or corporate greenwashing? Tech taps farmers to help offset carbon footprint

Five years ago, David Gruenbaum abandoned dairy farming and a conventional method of growing vegetables that relied on tilling large… Read More

Tech Moves: Icertis hires new CMO; Expedia Group board member steps down; and more

— Icertis hired longtime SAP executive Gretchen Eischen as its new chief marketing officer. She was most recently global vice… Read More

World map indicating ground stations used by RBC Signals

Why space startups should be careful about (and sometimes avoid) foreign entanglements

Warnings about the potential perils of foreign alliances go back to George Washington’s Farewell Address — but in the Space… Read More

Videos: Sue Bird, Rainn Wilson, Bobby Wagner, and The Drunken Tenor make surprise appearances at the 2021 GeekWire Awards

What do a “drunken” opera singer, NFL linebacker, women’s pro basketball star and comic actor all have in common? They’re… Read More