Articles from 2026

Game developer Harebrained Schemes kicks off its new indie era with survival-horror RPG ‘GRAFT’

The latest game from Seattle-based developer Harebrained Schemes, and its first since its return to independence in 2023, is a dark sci-fi/horror adventure where the player must constantly change and enhance their body in order to survive. Read More

Microsoft 2.5: A new series on the people shaping the company’s future

Mary Jo Foley is launching a GeekWire series profiling the people and priorities behind Microsoft’s evolution. It’s a look at what she calls the “Microsoft 2.5” era, where cloud and AI dominate but the company still can’t walk away from Windows, Office, and enterprise customers whose products weren’t built around AI. Read More

Microsoft commits $60M to ‘Genesis Mission’ to help power Dept. of Energy’s AI-for-science push

The commitment includes Azure compute credits and a new internal program office, called SPARK, to coordinate the company’s work with DOE’s 17 national laboratories. Read More

New Markdown rival: Open-source DGML format aims to turn docs into data that AI (and humans) can trust

Docugami, the Kirkland, Wash., startup led by XML co-creator Jean Paoli, is open-sourcing DGML, a format that turns business documents into structured, verifiable data for AI. The company is releasing it under an open-source license and partnering with Inveniam and Mantra to anchor the data on a blockchain. Read More

The greenest goodbye: Human composting and the science of becoming soil

In 2020, Recompose was the first U.S. company to develop the technology needed for the commercial composting of human bodies, disrupting a funeral industry that had been largely unchanged for decades. Now 14 states have legalized the climate-friendly practice and more than a dozen others are considering it. Additional startups have launched to offer a greener goodbye and all are looking to scale. Read More

Two astronauts walking in the Utah desert with habitat buildings in the background

Mars Society and South Seattle College strike a deal to build a simulated space habitat

Partnership would give the Pacific Northwest a role in research missions aimed at blazing a trail to the moon and Mars. Read More

Interlune engineers working on apparatus for extracting helium-3 from industrial-grade helium

Interlune extracts helium-3 from ordinary helium, demonstrating a process it plans to use on the moon

Seattle startup uses cryogenic distillation to produce helium-3 for quantum computing and other applications — initially on Earth, and eventually on the lunar surface. Read More

Seattle judge deals blow to Kalshi, rejects prediction market’s federal defense

A King County Superior Court judge granted Washington state a preliminary injunction against Kalshi, ruling the prediction market platform is likely running illegal online gambling. The judge rejected Kalshi’s argument that federal oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission preempts state gambling laws. Read More

Grammy-winning artist and entrepreneur Diplo invests in Seattle startup Copper

Seattle startup Copper is getting a high-profile boost from Grammy-winning artist and entrepreneur Diplo, who has invested in the company as it expands its consumer rewards platform. Copper, which says it has more than 4 million members, helps users earn money through shopping, mobile games and everyday digital activities. Read More

The little chips that could: How Impinj has survived 26 years in a market that’s ‘just getting going’

More than a quarter-century after Impinj was founded, CEO Chris Diorio and team rang the Nasdaq opening bell Tuesday to mark the Seattle RFID chipmaker’s 10th anniversary as a public company. GeekWire chronicles the company’s ups and downs, and what’s next. Read More

U.S. map with sites of wildfires, earthquakes and other natural phenomena pinpointed

TerraByte AI expands its ‘Earth Search Engine’ with satellite imagery partnership and interactive features

Startup upgrades ‘Earth Search Engine’ to open new paths to high-resolution satellite imagery and data-driven insights. Read More

Seattle’s Clarify acquires S.F. startup Seam AI, joining forces to challenge CRM stalwarts

Clarify, the Seattle-based AI startup that has raised more than $22 million to take on Salesforce and other CRM incumbents,… Read More

Next-gen battery startup Sila raises $300M to expand manufacturing plant in Washington state

Sila, a startup producing next-generation battery materials, on Tuesday announced $300 million from investors, which will help fund the expansion of its Moses Lake, Wash., manufacturing plant. The company is seeing increased demand from AI-driven applications such as drones, space technologies and wearable devices. Read More

Jimothy keeps on giving: Amazon and others match winning bid for raccoon art, to benefit food bank

A painting of the short-spined raccoon by prolific Seattle artist Ryan Henry Ward attracted a winning bid of $6,543.21 in an informal Instagram auction this weekend, with all proceeds directed to the Ballard Food Bank. Read More

Protesters confront Microsoft CSO over carbon goals and AI, disrupting climate event

A fireside chat with Microsoft Chief Sustainability Officer Melanie Nakagawa, moderated by GeekWire reporter Lisa Stiffler at a PNW Climate Week closing event, was derailed by protesters raising concerns about data center energy impacts. Read More

Veteran Microsoft security executive joins AWS amid broader reshuffle in Redmond

Rudra “Rudy” Mitra, who led Microsoft’s Purview data-security business, is joining Amazon Web Services as vice president of security services. His move is part of a broader reshuffling of Microsoft’s security leadership this year under new chief Hayete Gallot. Read More

UK data center startup Nscale bets big on Bellevue for U.S. engineering hub amid AI boom

AI infrastructure company Nscale is expanding its presence in Bellevue with a new U.S. engineering headquarters, adding to the Eastside’s growing role as a hub for artificial intelligence talent and cloud computing infrastructure. Read More

8-bit ‘Jimothy’: Viral sensation raids trash cans, eludes paparazzi in Seattle creator’s video game

Jimothy, the short-spined Seattle raccoon, has become a global sensation whose likeness has been immortalized in artwork, clothing, songs and tattoos — and now a video game created in the creature’s hometown. Read More

Etzioni on AI: Uncle Sam wants a stake in leading AI companies — what could possibly go wrong?

Although bipartisan momentum is building for the federal government to take equity positions in major AI firms, this strategy risks compromising regulatory neutrality unless strict guardrails and sunset clauses are established. Read More

Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of July 12, 2026

See the technology stories that people were reading on GeekWire for the week of July 12, 2026. Read More

AI weapons under scrutiny as activists plan weekend protest at Anduril’s Seattle office

Activists plan a Sunday protest outside Anduril’s Seattle office over AI-powered military technology, as the defense company expands its presence in Washington. Read More

Podcast

Silicon Valley icon Vinod Khosla: What kind of Seahawks owner will he be?

Silicon Valley legend Vinod Khosla’s family is leading a group that’s buying the Seattle Seahawks for a record $9.6 billion. We dug into hours of his talks and interviews to answer the big questions on this week’s GeekWire Podcast. Read More

Ditch your smartphone for a flip phone for a month? This group wants Seattleites to try

In one of the world’s biggest technology hubs, a growing group of Seattle residents is trying something counterintuitive: spending a month with fewer digital distractions by trading smartphones for “dumb phones Read More

Seattle indie hit ‘Stardew Valley’ is coming to ‘Magic: The Gathering’

Stardew Valley, the blockbuster farming sim from solo Seattle developer Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone, is coming to Magic: The Gathering via a three-part Secret Lair drop from Renton-based Wizards of the Coast — with original pixel art from Barone himself. Read More

Icertis CEO is departing; contract management company names CFO and board member interim leaders

Anand Subbaraman is departing as CEO of Icertis less than a year after taking the role. CFO Rajat Bahri and board member Jim Moffatt will serve as interim co-CEOs while the Bellevue company searches for a permanent leader. Read More

Departing AWS exec Dave Brown is reportedly joining Meta, as Facebook parent mulls its own cloud

Dave Brown, the senior AWS executive whose departure Amazon announced this week, is joining Meta to work on its data center build-out, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The move comes as Meta weighs whether to launch a cloud business of its own, which would put it in competition with AWS. Read More

Seattle Sounders FC pay tribute to S. ‘Soma’ Somasegar, beloved tech leader and team owner

The Seattle Sounders honored the late S. “Soma” Somasegar before Thursday night’s match against the Portland Timbers, recognizing the Microsoft and Madrona leader, startup mentor, and Sounders minority owner whose impact extended far beyond Seattle’s technology community. Read More