Articles from 2026

Former NSA director Keith Alexander stepping down from Amazon’s board

Keith Alexander, a retired four-star Army general and former director of the National Security Agency, is stepping down from Amazon’s board of directors after six years. Read More

Facade of IonQ quantum manufacturing facility in Bothell, Wash.

World Quantum Day serves as a cause for computer celebration

Leaders of the Pacific Northwest’s quantum computing realm had lots to celebrate — including a $500,000 boost from Washington state. Read More

GeekWire Awards: The machines of the future, from self-driving earthmovers to space robots

An emerging class of startups is pushing the boundaries of what machines can do in the physical world — retrofitting bulldozers to dig on their own, launching drones that beat police cars to 911 calls, outfitting retail workers with spatial computing badges, building robotic arms for spacecraft, and servicing satellites in orbit. Read More

AI-powered hiring startup Humanly acquires Anthill to boost employee engagement

Humanly said that the acquisition adds “post-hire engagement capabilities” to its offerings, which include helping organizations attract, screen, and interview job candidates. Read More

Seattle startup Ambassador acquires ad platform Humming, eyes more deals amid AI shakeout

Seattle customer engagement startup Ambassador has acquired the operating assets of Tacoma-based programmatic ad platform Humming, part of a roll-up… Read More

These fifth graders vibe coded a real-world Braille tool — and wowed their Microsoft teacher

The students in a computer science class at the Global Idea School, an independent, non-profit elementary school in Redmond, Wash., learned vibe coding through GitHub Spark and built a Braille 3D Generator, a tool that turns text into printable, tactile 3D Braille models in seconds. Read More

Opinion: Make Democracy capitalist again

If you listen to Democrats at both the state and national level today, capitalism is the enemy. Billionaires and their current avatars, AI and data centers, have become the bogeymen that electeds and party leaders invoke to stir outrage in the base. Read More

Amazon and Apple vs. Starlink: Globalstar satellite acquisition comes with a big iPhone bonus

Amazon’s deal for satellite operator Globalstar doesn’t just bulk up Amazon Leo — it brings Apple along for the ride, with a long-term agreement to power iPhone and Apple Watch satellite features. Read More

Does AI even know you exist? Seattle startup Parsnipp helps brands find out, and do something about it

Seattle startup Parsnipp launched a platform to help brands track and improve how they show up in AI-generated answers from chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, entering the fast-growing field known as Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO. Read More

Can AI revive democracy? Former Amazon product manager builds tool to spark civic engagement

A former Amazon product manager is using AI to turn dense city council agendas and meeting minutes into plain-language briefings, with alerts tuned to each user’s interests, aiming to inspire people to show up to local government meetings. Read More

There’s a tech week for that: Seattle’s ever-growing calendar of events for AI, space, oceans, energy and more

Keeping track of the days of the week is exhausting enough. Managing a calendar full of various “tech weeks” in Seattle and elsewhere feels like a full-time job. Read More

OpenAI sees ‘staggering’ demand for Amazon offering, says Microsoft partnership held it back

OpenAI’s chief revenue officer touted the AWS alliance as a key enterprise growth driver, saying that the Microsoft relationship has constrained the company’s reach into big business. Read More

Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of April 5, 2026

See the technology stories that people were reading on GeekWire for the week of April 5, 2026. Read More

Podcast

Riding the rails — over a floating bridge: GeekWire Podcast takes the train across the lake to Microsoft

The GeekWire Podcast rides on Sound Transit’s 2 Line, taking the world’s first light rail on a floating bridge from Seattle to Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, joined by special guests. Read More

Orion splashdown as seen from above, with parachutes unfurled

Artemis 2 crew makes triumphant splashdown at the end of humanity’s first trip around the moon since 1972

Textbook mission to the moon and back comes to a close, but NASA’s chief says ‘this is just the beginning’ of a grand era of exploration. Read More

Cry til you laugh: Chris Pirillo vibe codes his job-search frustrations into brutally honest apps

Pirillo, the longtime tech enthusiast and entrepreneur, has been showing off his skills by illustrating how hard it is to get anyone to pay attention to his skills. Two of his latest vibe-coded creations include a Resume Analyzer and a pre-rejection letter generator called Dear Applicant. Read More

Mary Jo Foley: Microsoft Windows’ new lease on life — why now?

For the past few years, it felt as if Microsoft’s Windows org was on autopilot. (No, not THAT Autopilot.) Microsoft… Read More

Tech Moves: Syndio names 7 execs; avante and Tanium add to C-suite; Amazon leaders depart

Pay equity startup Syndio name seven new years while two Amazon leaders depart, and avante and Tanium add to their C-suites. Read More

Non-compete ban stirs optimism and uncertainty in Washington state — here’s what it means for tech

A new state law wipes out nearly all non-compete agreements in Washington, sparking debate across the tech ecosystem about innovation, talent mobility and employer rights. Read More

Image from Orion: Thrusters in foreground to the left, Earth in center of image

Artemis 2’s trip around the moon enters the home stretch — here’s how to watch the splashdown

Sen. Maria Cantwell talks to the astronauts about Washington state’s connection to milestone test mission, and invites them to visit. Read More

Flush with cash: Washington startup lands up to $500M to deploy facilities treating sewage, dairy waste

Wastewater treatment startup Sedron Technologies – a company that once served Bill Gates a glass of water purified from sewage – is being acquired by Ara Partners. The firm is investing up to $500 million in Sedron to facilitate the deployment of its sewage and manure cleaning technologies. Read More

Former NSA director Keith Alexander stepping down from Amazon’s board

World Quantum Day serves as a cause for computer celebration

GeekWire Awards: The machines of the future, from self-driving earthmovers to space robots

AI-powered hiring startup Humanly acquires Anthill to boost employee engagement

Seattle startup Ambassador acquires ad platform Humming, eyes more deals amid AI shakeout

These fifth graders vibe coded a real-world Braille tool — and wowed their Microsoft teacher

Opinion: Make Democracy capitalist again

Amazon and Apple vs. Starlink: Globalstar satellite acquisition comes with a big iPhone bonus

Does AI even know you exist? Seattle startup Parsnipp helps brands find out, and do something about it

Can AI revive democracy? Former Amazon product manager builds tool to spark civic engagement

There’s a tech week for that: Seattle’s ever-growing calendar of events for AI, space, oceans, energy and more

Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of April 5, 2026

Riding the rails — over a floating bridge: GeekWire Podcast takes the train across the lake to Microsoft

Artemis 2 crew makes triumphant splashdown at the end of humanity’s first trip around the moon since 1972

Cry til you laugh: Chris Pirillo vibe codes his job-search frustrations into brutally honest apps

Mary Jo Foley: Microsoft Windows’ new lease on life — why now?

Tech Moves: Syndio names 7 execs; avante and Tanium add to C-suite; Amazon leaders depart

Non-compete ban stirs optimism and uncertainty in Washington state — here’s what it means for tech

Artemis 2’s trip around the moon enters the home stretch — here’s how to watch the splashdown

Flush with cash: Washington startup lands up to $500M to deploy facilities treating sewage, dairy waste

GeekWire Awards: AI Innovation of the Year finalists transform HR, retail, biotech and more

Microsoft 365 Copilot and the end of the single-model era in enterprise AI

Etzioni on AI: How to read with AI

Portal Space Systems raises $50M as it gets set to launch its first orbital vehicle made for rapid maneuvers

‘Not on a hunch’: Andy Jassy defends Amazon’s $200B spending spree

Seattle startups combine: Inflection.io acquires Keyplay, reuniting longtime entrepreneurs

Microsoft Moves: Longtime exec Julia Liuson to retire; new accessibility chief; and other changes

Avalanche Energy lands share of $5.2M DOD award to develop long-lasting ‘nuclear batteries’

Defense giant Anduril is quietly building autonomous warships on Seattle’s historic ship canal