June 05, 2015
Filing: IPIC closing movie theater near Seattle, will lay off 64 workers amid bankruptcy
March 03, 2026
(Photo by Felix Mooneeram on Unsplash) IPIC Theaters plans to permanently close its Redmond, Wash., movie theater on April 28, according to a WARN notice filed with Washington state regulators. The upscale movie theater chain notified state officials on Feb. 23 that all operations at the...
Seattle ranked best city to live in U.S. — right as tech leaders threaten to leave over taxes
March 03, 2026
The Seattle skyline from Lake Union. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser) It feels like every couple of days I stop in my tracks somewhere in Seattle and find myself questioning why on earth I’d want to live anywhere else. It also seems like I read every few days — on GeekWire — about the next...
Washington state’s data center regulation bill fails following pushback from tech industry
March 03, 2026
The Legislative Building in Olympia, Wash. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler) A Washington state bill requiring utilities and data center companies to create agreements that protect rate payers from increased power costs and brings transparency to the environmental impacts of the facilities has...
Seattle tech and education vets launch ‘Trajectory Playbook’ platform for startup founders
March 03, 2026
Dave Parker and Kathy Cox. (Photos courtesy of Trajectory Playbook) Seattle tech veteran Dave Parker‘s techniques for empowering early stage entrepreneurs has a new playbook. The longtime startup founder, leader and advisor, in partnership with strategist and educator Kathy Cox, announced the...
Seattle’s newest early stage fund makes a bet on vertical AI startups
March 03, 2026
TheFounderVC team, from left: Paul Longhenry, Mia Lewin, and Shail Kaveti. Not pictured: Jay Bartot. (TFVC Photo) TheFounderVC (TFVC), a new early stage fund based in Seattle and San Francisco, announced the public launch Tuesday of its inaugural $5 million fund. The firm is focused on...
Accenture to acquire Seattle network data company Ookla in $1.2B deal
March 03, 2026
Ziff Davis has agreed to sell its Connectivity division — which includes Ookla, the Seattle-based network analytics company known for its flagship Speedtest app — to Accenture in a $1.2 billion deal announced Tuesday. Ziff Davis acquired Ookla in 2014. The company’s Connectivity division...
Amazon launches AI-generated ‘canvas’ for sellers as e-commerce platforms race to add AI tools
March 03, 2026
Amazon’s new dynamic canvas in Seller Central shows product expansion opportunities alongside the Seller Assistant chat interface. (Amazon Photo) Amazon is adding a new layer to its AI tools for online sellers, rolling out a feature that provides customized, interactive dashboards and scenario...
Energy company Doosan GridTech lays off staff at Seattle-area office
March 03, 2026
Doosan GridTech plans to lay off 18 employees connected to its Bellevue, Wash., office, according to a new notice filed with Washington state regulators. The job cuts are expected to begin May 1. Doosan GridTech, part of South Korea’s Doosan group, develops software for energy storage systems....
MicroVision layoffs impact senior-level engineering roles
March 03, 2026
MicroVision plans to lay off 49 employees at its Redmond, Wash., headquarters in a series of job cuts starting in late April, according to a new regulatory filing with Washington state. The cuts are heavily concentrated in engineering and technical roles. Several senior-level positions —...
Last chance to grab early bird tickets for GeekWire’s AI summit in Seattle, March 24
March 02, 2026
Agents of Transformation speakers, from left: Charles Lamanna of Microsoft; Deepak Singh of Amazon; and Angela Garinger of Outreach. Early bird ticket pricing ends this week for GeekWire’s Agents of Transformation, a half-day summit in Seattle that will explore how agentic AI is redefining...
Is my 7th grader falling behind? New Code.org leader offers insight and tips on the ‘tinkering age’ of AI
March 02, 2026
One eye on AI: How much of the technology should a seventh grader be using and understanding? (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser) I recently asked my 13-year-old daughter, a Seattle Public Schools seventh grader, how much she was currently learning about and/or using artificial intelligence. “Not...
Opinion: The narratives and realities of an income tax in Washington
March 02, 2026
Editor’s note: GeekWire publishes guest opinions to foster informed discussion and highlight a diversity of perspectives on issues shaping the tech and startup community. If you’re interested in submitting a guest column, email us at tips@geekwire.com. Submissions are reviewed by our editorial team...
Total lunar eclipse will turn the full moon red — but will the skies be clear enough to see it?
March 02, 2026
A photo sequence shows the total lunar eclipse of March 14, 2025. (Sky & Telescope Photo / Edwin L. Aguirre and Imelda B. Joson). Tonight’s full moon will turn into a red moon during the last total lunar eclipse we’ll be able to see for the next two years — but whether we’ll truly be able to see...
Tech Moves: HP director departs; AWS leader leaves; Truveta adds new leaders
March 02, 2026
Elizabeth Scallon. (LinkedIn Photo) — Elizabeth Scallon, a longtime leader in Seattle’s startup ecosystem, has left HP after serving for nearly four years as director of technical and business incubation and strategy. “At HP, I had the privilege of diving deep into technologies ranging from...
Bay Area-based Aetherflux to join Seattle space race with new hub for satellite development
March 02, 2026
Baiju Bhatt, founder and CEO of Aetherflux. (LinkedIn Photo) Aetherflux, a Bay Area-based space startup, is expanding to Seattle to open what it calls a “core center for satellite development.” In a post on LinkedIn last week, Aetherflux said its team is growing and the company is currently...
In new letter to governor, Seattle tech leaders say income tax proposal will hurt region’s AI innovation
March 02, 2026
The Seattle skyline. (GeekWire File Photo / Kurt Schlosser) Seattle tech leaders are warning that a new income tax proposal could stall the region’s momentum in artificial intelligence. In a letter sent Monday to Gov. Bob Ferguson, a group of AI researchers, founders, and investors argue that...
Filings: How Amazon’s $50B OpenAI deal actually works, and what they’re keeping secret
March 01, 2026
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, left, and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced a multi-year strategic partnership on Friday that includes a $50 billion investment from Amazon into the AI company. (GeekWire File Photos) Amazon’s OpenAI investment and cloud partnership made big headlines Friday, but the...
Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of Feb. 22, 2026
March 01, 2026
Get caught up on the latest technology and startup news from the past week. Here are the most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of Feb. 22, 2026. Sign up to receive these updates every Sunday in your inbox by subscribing to our GeekWire Weekly email newsletter. Most popular stories on...
Seattle startup Carbon Robotics gets another shoutout from RFK Jr. for its weed-zapping robots
February 28, 2026
Carbon Robotics founder and CEO Paul Mikesell with the company’s LaserWeeder G2. (Carbon Robotics Photo) Carbon Robotics, the Seattle startup that builds robots used by farmers to eliminate weeds without the use of chemicals, got another vote of confidence from the nation’s health policy...
Microsoft urges major changes to Washington data center regulations as bill nears final vote
February 28, 2026
A Microsoft Azure data center. (Microsoft Photo) The race to regulate artificial intelligence infrastructure has arrived at a crossroads in Washington state. After weeks on the sidelines, Microsoft publicly declared its opposition to a controversial state bill that aims to rein in the...
Anthropic acquires Vercept, the AI job crisis scenario, and Microsoft’s past Epstein connections
February 28, 2026
Anthropic acquired Seattle startup Vercept on Wednesday, raising familiar questions about the impact of early exits on the broader Seattle startup ecosystem, and the question of whether AI startups can compete long-term against the giants of the field. We dig into the deal, the public feud...
Washington state is primed to let Rivian and Lucid sell EVs directly to consumers
February 27, 2026
The Rivian showroom at University Village in Seattle in 2025. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser) With the threat of a ballot initiative looming, a slate of auto dealers in Washington have come out in support of EV makers Rivian and Lucid Motors in their pursuit of direct sales to...
NASA overhauls Artemis moon program — and Blue Origin’s lander may be given a bigger role
February 27, 2026
An artist’s conception shows the integrated design for the Blue Moon Mark 2 lander. (Blue Origin Illustration) NASA is reworking its Artemis moon program to add a test mission for commercial lunar landers in low Earth orbit next year, with a crewed lunar landing to follow in 2028 at the...
City of Seattle CTO Rob Lloyd is resigning to lead a government institute with national reach
February 27, 2026
Rob Lloyd, chief technology officer for the City of Seattle, announced that he is stepping down from his role in March. (Photo courtesy of Rob Llloyd) Rob Lloyd, Seattle’s chief technology officer, is leaving his post to become executive director of the Center for Digital Government. His last...
Washington state gets federal sign-off for huge broadband buildout
February 27, 2026
(Photo by Jason Richard on Unsplash) Washington state has received a federal green light for its final plan under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program — the national push to extend high-speed internet to places that still don’t have adequate service. The National...
Amazon invests $50B in OpenAI, deepens AWS partnership with expanded $100B cloud deal
February 27, 2026
Inside Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle. (GeekWire Photo / Taylor Soper) Amazon is doubling down on OpenAI, announcing a strategic partnership Friday that includes a $50 billion investment in the ChatGPT maker. The companies said Amazon will start with $15 billion, with $35 billion more...
Seattle fintech startup Confido Legal raises fresh cash
February 26, 2026
Confido Legal, a Seattle startup that builds financial software for law firms and legal tech companies, raised $9 million across two rounds. The company spun out of Seattle-based Gravity Payments and is led by Emery Wager, a Stanford grad and former Marine who was previously featured in...
In Seattle protest, workers call on Uber and Lyft to stop adding new drivers to ‘flooded’ market
February 26, 2026
(BigStock Photo) Uber and Lyft drivers protested in downtown Seattle on Wednesday, calling on the companies to stop adding new drivers to what they call a “flooded” market. The action comes as a new report shows the majority of miles driven by rideshare drivers are without a passenger. The...
‘Meaningless’ theater? As tech giants pledge ratepayer protections in D.C., others question real-world impact
February 26, 2026
Inside an Amazon data center. (AWS Photo / Noah Berger) Data center titans Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, xAI, Oracle, and OpenAI are headed to the White House next week to sign a commitment to fund their own energy infrastructure costs, CNBC reported today. The deal, teased by President...
Bill Gates won’t be following Paul Allen’s lead, says he’s not interested in buying Seattle Seahawks
February 26, 2026
Paul Allen and Bill Gates in 1980. The Microsoft co-founders shared a love for computer software, but pro sports was Allen’s thing. (Photo courtesy of Microsoft Archives) Cross Bill Gates off the list of super rich potential buyers for the Seattle Seahawks. Gates said he has no interest in...
Read AI rolls out ‘Digital Twin’ that can respond to work emails and schedule meetings
February 26, 2026
(Read AI Image) Seattle startup Read AI launched a new “Digital Twin” product that works through email and can help schedule meetings, answer questions, and keep conversations moving. The AI bot, branded as “Ada,” builds on the company’s existing meeting and productivity tools. Read AI says...
Reviving the ‘Mosquito Fleet’: Washington eyes passenger ferries to scale maritime transit and tech
February 26, 2026
A high-speed passenger-only ferry crossing Washington’s Puget Sound. (Kitsap Transit Agency Photo) Five days a week for more than three decades, Greg Nance‘s dad commuted by ferry from Bainbridge Island to Seattle where he worked as a public defender. “That’s how he put food on the table....
Valve Software sued by New York AG, accused of promoting illegal gambling via video game loot boxes
February 26, 2026
(Valve Software Image) A new suit filed by the New York attorney general seeks to stop Valve Software’s use of “loot box” mechanics in its popular PC games, accusing the Bellevue, Wash.-based company of making billions of dollars by luring children and teenagers into gambling on rare...
Rubin Observatory sends out thousands of data alerts with an assist from Seattle astronomers
February 26, 2026
Each night, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory issues thousands of alerts about changes in the night sky. (NOIRLab / NSF / DOE-SC Illustration) An astronomical alert system developed at the University of Washington started off with a bang this week, sending out 800,000 notifications about moving...
Tech Moves: Zillow names CPO; AWS leader retires; Microsoft hires AI expert from Apple
February 25, 2026
Zillow Group’s new senior leadership team members, from left: Christopher Roberts, Jon Lim and Marissa Brooks. (Zillow Photos) Zillow Group announced three promotions to its senior leadership team. After nearly two decades with Zillow, Christopher Roberts is now chief product officer....
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