Articles from 2026 – Page 27 of 36

Washington state gets federal sign-off for huge broadband buildout

“This is a transformative moment for Washington,” Washington State Broadband Office Director Jordan Arnold said in a statement. Read More

Amazon invests $50B in OpenAI, deepens AWS partnership with expanded $100B cloud deal

“We think they’ll be one of the big winners in AI, we can help them grow, and we believe we’ll earn a strong return for Amazon over the long term,” said Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Read More

Seattle fintech startup Confido Legal raises fresh cash

The startup, which builds financial software for law firms and legal tech companies, raised $9 million across two rounds. Read More

In Seattle protest, workers call on Uber and Lyft to stop adding new drivers to ‘flooded’ market

The action comes as a new report shows the majority of miles driven by rideshare drivers are without a passenger. Read More

‘Meaningless’ theater? As tech giants pledge ratepayer protections in D.C., others question real-world impact

While the tech companies pledge to cover data center energy costs, some industry veterans say they’re solving a problem that doesn’t exist. Read More

Bill Gates won’t be following Paul Allen’s lead, says he’s not interested in buying Seattle Seahawks

Bill Gates logically landed on a short list of potential Seahawks buyers because of his Seattle connection and his net worth of $107 billion. Read More

Read AI rolls out ‘Digital Twin’ that can respond to work emails and schedule meetings

Read AI CEO David Shim framed the launch as an evolution from “AI assistant” to something closer to a software colleague that can act on your behalf. Read More

Reviving the ‘Mosquito Fleet’: Washington eyes passenger ferries to scale maritime transit and tech

Supporters of a proposed bill argue that a fast-tracked, passenger-only ferry service would help workers commute, connect residents to medical care, and boost tourism in harder-to-reach areas. Read More

Valve Software sued by New York AG, accused of promoting illegal gambling via video game loot boxes

The suit alleges that Valve’s first-party games are essentially an illegal gambling operation aimed at younger players. Read More

Illustration: Data alerts indicated in night sky with Rubin Observatory in the mountains below

Rubin Observatory sends out thousands of data alerts with an assist from Seattle astronomers

A software system developed at the University of Washington generates 800,000 alerts about moving asteroids, exploding stars and other celestial changes on its first night of full-fledged operation. Read More

Tech Moves: Zillow names CPO; AWS leader retires; Microsoft hires AI expert from Apple

Zillow Group announced three promotions to its senior leadership team. Earlier this month, Zillow reported its revenue grew 16% last… Read More

Anthropic acquires Vercept in early exit for one of Seattle’s standout AI startups

Anthropic is acquiring Seattle AI startup Vercept, folding its desktop “computer use” technology and team into Claude as the race to build AI agents that can operate software intensifies. Vercept will shut down its Vy application as part of the deal. Read More

Seattle-area startup Union.ai raises $19M to fuel AI workflow platform

Union is the company behind Flyte, an open-source orchestration tool used to run complex machine learning and data workflows. Read More

Bill Gates addresses Epstein fallout at foundation as new Microsoft revelations emerge

Bill Gates apologized to Gates Foundation staff over his interactions with Jeffrey Epstein, as a new report revealed the depth of the late sex offender’s connections to Microsoft. Read More

The rooftop solar reset: Seattle startup launches platform to streamline financing and installation

Solar power is appealing, but the economics are tricky. Enter loanTERRA, a startup offering transparent financing and vetted installers. Read More

Pick Alexa’s personality: Amazon lets users choose ‘Brief,’ ‘Chill,’ or ‘Sweet’ conversation styles

Amazon is letting Alexa+ users customize how the voice assistant communicates, choosing between Brief, Chill, and Sweet personality styles. It’s a first for Alexa. Read More

Amazon to move out of longtime office building near its main Seattle headquarters

The tech giant has occupied the seven-story, 251,000-square-foot space owned by Seattle Children’s since 2014. Read More

As AI reshapes work, Microsoft and UW expand partnership for training, research — and a looming jobs gap

The University of Washington and Microsoft are deepening their partnership with a new effort aimed at preparing Washington state residents for an AI-driven economy. Read More

Head of Amazon’s AGI lab is leaving in latest exit from high-profile Adept startup deal

David Luan, who led Amazon’s AGI Lab and its Nova Act AI agent initiative, is leaving less than two years after joining through the Adept acqui-hire deal. Four of five Adept co-founders have now left the company. Read More

Illustration: Sophia TILE satellite in orbit

Sophia Space raises $10M to accelerate creation of orbital computing systems

Startup plans to start with in-space edge computing, then progress to orbital data centers. Read More

San Francisco AI startup Nooks makes engineering push in Seattle

Nooks is nestling into Seattle. The San Francisco-based startup, which builds AI software for sales teams, is expanding its engineering… Read More

Column: Public trust is becoming AI’s real bottleneck

The two towers near Aberdeen weren’t supposed to be monuments. They were supposed to be engines. Drive west from Olympia… Read More

Group alleges fake sign-ins used to pad apparent opposition to Washington state ‘millionaires tax’

Invest in Washington Now said there have been tens of thousands of duplicate names used as sign-ins for hearings and more than 100 sign-ins marked “con” were confirmed as fraudulent over the weekend. Read More

Water, power, and transparency: Amazon’s $12B data center deal signals a new era of accountability

Amazon announced a $12 billion data center project in Louisiana in which the company vowed to pay its own way for energy and other infrastructure. Read More

Seattle startup Elevāt raises $12M to help industrial companies speed up equipment repairs

The company is positioning itself as an answer to a growing shortage of skilled workers with expertise to maintain complicated industrial equipment. Read More

Temporal CEO Samar Abbas on the ‘massive platform shift’ in AI fueling the startup’s $5B valuation

“There is a massive platform shift happening,” Temporal CEO Samar Abbas told GeekWire. “And there is a whole layer of infrastructure being developed right now.” Read More

Nominate the best in Pacific NW tech and help set the stage for the 2026 GeekWire Awards

Community nominations will close this Wednesday, Feb. 25, for the annual event, which takes place May 7 in Seattle. Read More

Who is Asha Sharma? A closer look at Microsoft’s surprise pick to lead the Xbox business

Microsoft’s new top gaming exec has the trust of Satya Nadella, a track record running platforms at Facebook, Instacart, and Microsoft’s AI division, and a goal to restore Xbox’s “renegade spirit.” What she doesn’t have is gaming industry experience — and the community is watching closely. Read More

Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of Feb. 15, 2026

See the technology stories that people were reading on GeekWire for the week of Feb. 15, 2026. Read More

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and other personnel at LC-39B launch pad with SLS rocket in background

Helium problem forces NASA to delay Artemis 2 launch to the moon and roll back the rocket

NASA’s chief says troubleshooting an interruption of helium flow at the launch pad will rule out a liftoff in March. Read More