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GeekWire Awards 2024 revealed: Winners bask in momentum of AI and potential of region

Washington State Dept. of Transportation warns ‘Good to Go!’ customers of bill-paying scam

by Kurt Schlosser on April 24, 2024April 24, 2024 at 12:33 pm

The Washington State Department of Transportation is warning Good to Go! customers to be on the lookout for fraudulent emails or texts seeking payment for past due toll bills. In… Read More

Good riddance? Critics of non-competes say tech companies may ultimately benefit from FTC ban

by Todd Bishop on April 24, 2024April 25, 2024 at 8:07 am

Like it or not, the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on non-competition agreements could force a change in mindset inside the companies that use them — ultimately improving their ability to… Read More

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Washington state launches program to cut costs of new and used EVs for low-income residents

by Lisa Stiffler on April 24, 2024April 24, 2024 at 10:21 am

Washington leaders on Tuesday announced a $45 million program aiming to make electric vehicles more affordable for the state’s low-income residents. The Washington EV Instant Rebates Program will provide rebates… Read More

James Thomas and Cyriel Notteboom with Radical demonstration airplane

Former Amazon Prime Air employees raise $4.5M for stealthy solar airplane startup

by Alan Boyle on April 24, 2024May 5, 2024 at 1:45 pm

Seattle-based Radical says it has raised $4.5 million to support the development of solar-powered, autonomous airplanes that can beam down connectivity and imagery during long-duration, high-altitude flights. The seed funding… Read More

Bot or Not

AI startup’s new tool creates music for video footage without requiring text prompts

Generative AI is a dual concern for cybersecurity industry — and will drive increased labor demand

The UW’s Institute for Protein Design keeps boosting startups, fueling AI-powered science

10 important questions about the promise and pitfalls of AI

For more about the evolving relationship between humans and machines, check out Bot or Not.

98point6 hit by new layoffs in latest change at health tech startup

by Kurt Schlosser on April 23, 2024April 23, 2024 at 2:46 pm

Seattle-based digital healthcare startup 98point6 has conducted a new round of layoffs, the company confirmed Tuesday. 98point6 did not provide details on the number of employees affected. A number of… Read More

FTC bans all new non-compete clauses and strikes down most existing agreements

by Lisa Stiffler on April 23, 2024April 23, 2024 at 2:26 pm

Goodbye, non-competes. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission today released its final rules addressing non-compete clauses by banning all future agreements. Non-competes have traditionally restricted workers from taking jobs with a… Read More

Civic

Revised minimum wage law for delivery drivers moves forward in Seattle, set for full council vote

Uber CEO says minimum wage law in Seattle has ‘hurt the people that it’s supposed to protect’

Can tech help cities plan for disasters? 7 ideas from an urban resilience hackathon

Drawing parallels to post-World War II, Sen. Maria Cantwell says U.S. needs an ‘AI Bill for education’

Read more about tech policy, urban development, transportation, housing, the environment, regulation, and issues impacting the innovcation economy. Civic.

Atari buys ‘Totally Reliable Delivery Service’ from Seattle-area publisher tinyBuild

by Thomas Wilde on April 23, 2024April 23, 2024 at 12:56 pm

Bellevue, Wash.-based game publisher tinyBuild has sold the rights to Totally Reliable Delivery Service to the French corporation Atari, which intends to use the acquisition to revive a legacy brand.… Read More

Zillow and Grubhub vets launch new Seattle-based advisory firm to help growth companies

by Taylor Soper on April 23, 2024April 24, 2024 at 10:58 am

Longtime technology industry leaders Chad Cohen and Ryan Domyancic unveiled Scala Advisors, their new Seattle-based advisory firm designed to help growth-stage companies in the public and private markets. Cohen is… Read More

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Who will be the Next Tech Titan? A preview of the upcoming GeekWire Awards

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Microsoft earnings preview: Tech giant’s results will test AI traction

by Todd Bishop on April 23, 2024April 23, 2024 at 12:19 pm

How many points will AI add to Microsoft’s financial scoreboard? That’s the big question going into the Redmond company’s earnings report on Thursday afternoon, for the third quarter of the… Read More

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After lobbying by Uber and DoorDash, new proposal would overhaul Seattle’s minimum wage law

by Taylor Soper on April 23, 2024April 26, 2024 at 7:53 am

After a controversial minimum wage law for food delivery drivers in Seattle went into effect in January, tech giants including Uber and DoorDash made it clear they weren’t happy. They… Read More

Amazon updates AWS Bedrock with new capability to import custom AI models

by Todd Bishop on April 23, 2024April 23, 2024 at 6:49 am

Amazon Web Services is releasing new capabilities for its Bedrock artificial intelligence service, including the ability for customers to import their own custom AI models to run alongside models from… Read More

Outpost, which manages semi-truck parking facilities, raises $12.5M

by Taylor Soper on April 23, 2024April 23, 2024 at 11:11 am

Outpost, an Austin, Texas-based trucking parking facility operator that has an engineering center in Seattle, announced a $12.5 million Series A investment round. The company was founded two years ago… Read More

Amazon expands $9.99/month grocery delivery service for Prime members nationwide

by Taylor Soper on April 23, 2024April 23, 2024 at 9:32 am

Amazon Prime members in more than 3,500 U.S. cities can now get free unlimited grocery delivery for orders over $35 — if they pay $9.99 per month. The service initially… Read More

Illustration: Bifröst orbital transfer vehicle backed by NASA

New Frontier Aerospace and HyBird get in on innovation research grants from NASA

by Alan Boyle on April 22, 2024April 22, 2024 at 7:54 pm

Two Washington state aerospace companies — Tukwila-based New Frontier Aerospace and Spanaway-based HyBird Space Systems — are among 95 ventures that have won project development funding from NASA through its… Read More

Microsoft and partners open major new pedestrian bridge to span campus and transportation needs

by Kurt Schlosser on April 22, 2024May 7, 2024 at 8:18 am

People on foot, riding bicycles, and even those cruising on electric skateboards crisscrossed over a busy highway between Microsoft’s old and new campuses on Monday as a dramatic new pedestrian… Read More

Tech Moves: Ex-Meta infrastructure VP joins Microsoft; DoorDash adds Amazon vet to board

by Taylor Soper on April 22, 2024April 22, 2024 at 3:12 pm

Jason Taylor, the former vice president of infrastructure at Meta, joined Microsoft as corporate vice president and deputy CTO for the company’s AI supercomputing efforts. Taylor spent more than 13… Read More

WeWork files motion to hold onto another co-working space in Seattle amid restructuring

by Kurt Schlosser on April 22, 2024April 23, 2024 at 6:51 am

WeWork is looking to hold onto another location in Seattle, negotiating new terms with its landlord and filing a court motion Monday to remain in the 15th and Market building… Read More

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Amazon plans drone deliveries in Arizona while shutting down drones in California

by Alan Boyle on April 22, 2024April 23, 2024 at 9:52 am

Amazon says it’s gearing up to add a community in Arizona to its list of Prime Air drone delivery zones. Later this year, customers in the West Valley region of… Read More

After personal experience with cyberstalking, tech founder launches startup battling deepfake content

by Lisa Stiffler on April 22, 2024April 22, 2024 at 9:33 am

In January, pornographic deepfake images of Taylor Swift were viewed by millions of people on X and other social media platforms before the sites took action. No one has been… Read More

Atomo opens new roastery in Seattle to produce its beanless coffee for cafes around the U.S.

by Kurt Schlosser on April 22, 2024April 22, 2024 at 8:12 am

Atomo, the Seattle-based beanless coffee maker, is marking Earth Day with the grand opening of a new roastery in its hometown that will produce the company’s grounds for coffee shops… Read More

Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of April 14, 2024

by GeekWire on April 21, 2024April 21, 2024 at 8:00 am

See the technology stories that people were reading on GeekWire for the week of April 14, 2024.… Read More

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