Articles from 2026

Seattle’s Alpenglow moves 3D microscope tech from lab to clinic to help modernize cancer diagnostics

Alpenglow Biosciences announced a partnership with PathNet to help commercialize use of the startup’s 3D microscope technology in clinical settings. Read More

New filing: Seattle fusion startup Avalanche Energy raising fresh cash

Avalanche and dozens of companies around the world are vying for scientific breakthroughs that would allow them to generate electricity from fusion reactions on a commercially viable scale. Read More

Illustration: Asteroid 2025 MN45 and other rocks in the main asteroid belt

Rubin Observatory spots an asteroid that spins fast enough to set a record

A nearly half-mile-wide space rock called 2025 MN45 makes one full revolution in less than two minutes. Read More

WSU’s inflatable robotic apple-picker could take a bite out of farm labor shortages

Researchers inWashington State University’s School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering said the robot can see an apple, extend and retract to pick fruit in about 25 seconds. Read More

Amazon rolls out new version of its Dash smart grocery cart

The new shopping cart uses upgraded computer vision to capture barcodes more quickly, improved sensors to track the cart’s location inside the store, and an integrated produce scale that weighs fruits and veggies directly within the cart. Read More

Why some independent brands are upset with Amazon’s new ‘Buy for Me’ shopping tool

Amazon is facing complaints from independent retailers over a new shopping experiment that lets customers buy products from other websites directly within Amazon’s app. Read More

Trapped at a Tesla Supercharger: A comedy of errors and lessons learned from a first EV road trip

By the time we hit Kelso, it was clear my family’s post-Christmas EV adventure was hitting the skids. Here’s what went wrong — and what we’ll do on our next road trip. Read More

Tech Moves: Amazon AI leader joins Google Cloud; Meta taps new chief legal officer from Microsoft

— Karthik Ramakrishnan, who spent the past 14 years at Amazon where he helped develop the company’s AI strategy, has taken a VP role within the Data Cloud organization at Google Cloud. Read More

Ring around the parking lot: Amazon’s security company unveils a $5,000 surveillance trailer

Amazon’s Ring is taking its home-security technology into the parking lot with a $5,000 solar-powered surveillance trailer aimed at construction sites, retail centers, and outdoor events — a move that puts the doorbell maker into more direct competition with commercial security providers. Read More

Wi-Fi on the water: Washington State Ferries explores public internet service with new pilot program

A limited pilot would provide Wi-Fi at a single terminal and on a single vessel. WSF currently offers no public internet service anywhere in its ferry system. Read More

Adaptive Biotechnologies spinout raising $15M to develop clinical sequencing tech

Digital Biotechnologies Inc., a new Seattle-based subsidiary of publicly traded immune medicine company Adaptive Biotechnologies, has raised fresh cash as part of an initial closing of a Series A investment round. Read More

This plant-based chicken startup is bucking alt-protein trends with a new production milestone

Rebellyous Foods demonstrated the ability to continuously produce its plant-based chicken products such as nuggets, patties and tenders, across multiple shifts while scaling up and down as needed in real time. Read More

Microsoft acquires data analytics startup Osmos to fuel push into ‘autonomous data engineering’

Instead of selling tools alongside data platforms, Osmos’ technology will live inside one. Read More

Desney Tan leaves Microsoft after 21 years leading key research and healthcare initiatives

Microsoft Research leader Desney Tan is leaving the company after 21 years, closing a career that spanned breakthrough work in human-computer interaction, health “moonshots,” and products including Xbox Kinect and Microsoft Band. Read More

‘Designed to be addictive’: Study finds teens spend more than an hour per day on phones at school

The findings add to the ongoing argument made by teachers, parents and policymakers that has led schools and districts around the country, including some in Seattle, to ban phones during school hours. Read More

Tech Moves: Amazon leader lands at Anthropic; Microsoft government affairs vet retires

Steven Maheshwary, a former generative AI leader at Amazon, is now a go-to-market lead in strategic partnerships at Anthropic, the AI giant behind Claude and backed by Amazon. Read More

Amazon’s AI on the web, wrist, and phone: Tech giant chases consumer rivals with latest moves

Amazon is pushing Alexa+ beyond the smart speaker, bringing its upgraded AI assistant to the web, a redesigned mobile app, and new hardware initiatives. The moves, timed to CES, reflect the company’s effort to close the gap with consumer AI rivals such as ChatGPT and Gemini. Read More