Tech

May 15, 2026, 8:52 AM

Starbucks announces new round of corporate layoffs following cuts in Seattle tech roles

Starbucks is laying off hundreds of additional corporate employees and closing several regional offices after earlier this week providing details on the elimination of 61 tech roles in Seattle. Read More

May 13, 2026, 12:14 PM

Etzioni on AI: Vibe coding needs an on-ramp — and seat belts

What vibe coding needs is its Windows moment — the point at which a powerful but arcane technology gets a user interface so good that the machinery underneath disappears. Read More

May 12, 2026, 5:07 PM

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s stake in Helion Energy draws scrutiny in Musk trial and on Capitol Hill

Sam Altman faced pointed questions about his financial ties to the Everett, Wash., fusion startup during testimony in the Musk v. Altman trial, as Congress separately raised conflict-of-interest concerns. Read More

May 11, 2026, 10:17 AM

Filing shows Starbucks’ recent job cuts will impact 61 tech jobs at Seattle HQ

A new filing with Washington state shows that Starbucks’ previously reported job cuts will impact 61 tech jobs at its Seattle headquarters. Read More

May 8, 2026, 11:37 AM

Expedia Group sees reward and risk in the rise of AI-powered travel

Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin detailed the company’s AI strategy on its Q1 earnings call, describing booking integrations with ChatGPT and Claude, AI-powered customer support, and rising compute costs funded by cuts elsewhere. Read More

May 8, 2026, 11:25 AM

Photos: Inside the 2026 GeekWire Awards

The shimmering scene inside Showbox SoDo — highlighted by crystal accents to mark the event’s 15th anniversary — included an especially geeky and futuristic acrobatic dance performance by members of Maison de V’s circus and dance community. Read More

May 8, 2026, 10:18 AM

2026 GeekWire Awards revealed: Big winners — and big love for Seattle — at annual tech celebration

More than 300 members of the Pacific Northwest tech scene packed the Showbox SoDo to honor the year’s top startups, founders, leaders and deal makers across a dozen awards categories. Read More

May 8, 2026, 9:32 AM

Bid on the ultimate Seattle World Cup suite experience, and support a great cause

Microsoft is donating a private suite at Lumen Field for the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 knockout match on July 6, with GeekWire running an online auction and 100% of the proceeds going to Seattle Children’s Hospital. Read More

May 7, 2026, 11:49 AM

Allen Institute for AI launches big computing cluster for $152M project backed by Nvidia and NSF

Ai2 says it has started using a new Nvidia-powered computing system funded through a $152 million NSF and Nvidia project to build open AI models for scientific research. The milestone comes as the Seattle nonprofit works to regain its footing after losing key researchers to Microsoft. Read More

May 7, 2026, 8:31 AM

Etzioni on AI: The AI capex conundrum

The AI capex debate hinges on whether AWS and other hyperscalers will see demand grow fast enough to justify massive spending — and the data to settle that argument is still about a year away. Read More

May 6, 2026, 4:02 PM

Opinion: The myth of Washington’s tax burden, by the numbers

Contrary to popular myths, our taxes are relatively low, haven’t exploded skyward, and are nowhere near the point of creating serious damage to the commercial sphere. Read More

May 3, 2026, 12:37 PM

Etzioni on AI: If at first you don’t succeed, prompt, prompt again

The people who get the most out of AI aren’t the ones with the best prompt templates. They’re the ones who treat the model as a powerful tool for advancing their work. Read More

Apr 30, 2026, 8:23 AM

Geeks Give Back: AI House and UW’s Center for an Informed Public to be honored at GeekWire Awards

This year’s Geeks Give Back honorees are advancing AI innovation and providing education and research in our rapidly evolving media landscape. Read More

Apr 29, 2026, 5:04 PM

Microsoft puts a price on its voluntary retirement program

Microsoft says its voluntary retirement program will result in a $900 million charge in the current quarter. The company, which is spending record sums on AI infrastructure, said headcount dropped year over year and will decline again in fiscal 2027. Read More

Apr 29, 2026, 10:14 AM

Opinion: AI is not a product — it’s an environment

Bill Hilf, a veteran systems architect and conservationist, argues that we must prioritize system diversity and “recovery over performance” to prevent a chain reaction of failures that could collapse our critical infrastructure. Read More

Apr 28, 2026, 6:00 AM

T-Mobile enlists Starlink satellites for new ‘SuperBroadband’ business internet service

T-Mobile unveiled SuperBroadband, a business internet service that combines its 5G network with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite constellation to provide two independent connectivity pathways. Read More

Apr 27, 2026, 9:06 AM

Microsoft and OpenAI revamp partnership, with trial in Elon Musk suit set to begin

Microsoft and OpenAI announced a major amendment to their partnership Monday, making Microsoft’s IP license non-exclusive and opening all OpenAI products to any cloud provider. It came just as jury selection began in Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI, Altman, and Microsoft. Read More

Apr 26, 2026, 6:36 AM

An AI hater’s guide to keeping LLMs as far from your workflow as possible in 2026

A freelance gaming journalist’s offers tips on ditching Chrome, Office, Gmail, Photoshop, and other AI-infested tools in favor of alternatives that just do the normal stuff. Read More

Apr 24, 2026, 5:59 PM

Internal memo: Five senior execs out at Qualtrics as new CEO restructures leadership team

Qualtrics CEO Jason Maynard shook up the company’s senior leadership team on Friday at its dual headquarters in downtown Seattle and Provo, Utah, less than three months after taking the helm of the experience management technology company. Read More

Apr 23, 2026, 1:07 PM

It’s just Xbox: Microsoft gaming leaders start new era with old name, new metric, and challenger mindset

A strategic memo from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and Chief Content Officer Matt Booty lays out the division’s vision, including a new internal metric, a name change, and plans to reevaluate game exclusivity and AI. Read More

Apr 23, 2026, 7:34 AM

Opinion: Which capitalism are we defending?

Seattle venture capitalist Nick Hanauer responds to Chris DeVore’s recent call for Democrats to embrace capitalism, arguing that the real question isn’t whether to support free markets but which version of capitalism America should be building. Read More

Apr 22, 2026, 10:27 AM

Washington state flunks school phone policy rankings

Washington received an “F” for its lack of statewide school cellphone restrictions. While other states move toward “bell-to-bell” bans, it’s opting for more research. Read More

Apr 22, 2026, 9:28 AM

Seattle report says gig worker pay law is working, countering claims by DoorDash and Uber

Seattle’s Office of Labor Standards released its first report analyzing data from the five largest delivery platforms, finding that worker pay increased and order volume grew under the city’s gig worker minimum payment ordinance. DoorDash and outside researchers have reached different conclusions. Read More

Apr 21, 2026, 4:31 PM

Starbucks cuts tech jobs as new CTO reshapes organization

Starbucks is laying off workers in its technology organization as new CTO Anand Varadarajan, who joined from Amazon in January, restructures the team. The cuts come amid a broader turnaround effort under CEO Brian Niccol. Read More

Apr 21, 2026, 10:03 AM

Microsoft’s new Xbox chief makes first major change, cutting Game Pass price, but with a catch

Microsoft is dropping Xbox Game Pass Ultimate from $29.99 to $22.99 a month, but future Call of Duty games will no longer be available at launch. It’s the first significant move by new gaming CEO Asha Sharma. Read More

Fixed-wing drone in the air, seen from below

Apr 20, 2026, 3:35 PM

PowerLight’s laser power beaming system keeps a drone in the air for hours during Pentagon test flights

Wireless technology could keep military drones flying indefinitely, or be adapted as a directed-energy defense system for countering drones. Read More

Apr 20, 2026, 2:49 PM

Amazon doubles down on Anthropic with $25B investment, mirroring its OpenAI cloud deal

Two months after investing $50 billion in OpenAI and striking a $100 billion cloud deal, Amazon announced a similar arrangement with its original AI partner, Anthropic: up to $25 billion in new investment and a $100 billion-plus commitment to AWS over 10 years. Read More

Apr 20, 2026, 12:34 PM