51,600 more satellites? Blue Origin adds another twist to the data center space race with Project Sunrise
An artist’s conception shows a constellation of satellites in orbit. (OneWeb Illustration) Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is asking the Federal Communications Commission for authority to send up to 51,600 data center satellites into low Earth orbit, signaling its entry into an increasingly crowded space race. The proposed constellation, dubbed Project Sunrise, would complement Blue...
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Why Amazon’s second shot at a smartphone might not be as crazy as it sounds
An artist’s conception of Amazon’s Leo satellite constellation. The satellite internet initiative sits in the same division as Amazon’s new phone project, raising the question of whether Amazon could eventually provide its own wireless connectivity. (Amazon Illustration) When Reuters reported Friday that Amazon is working on a new smartphone, the reflexive reaction was obvious: Didn’t they...
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Microsoft Copilot shakeup, Amazon phone ambitions, and pushing Claude to the limits of LinkedIn
This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Amazon is working on a new smartphone, code-named “Transformer,” more than a decade after the Fire Phone debacle, according to Reuters. We dig into the connection to a past GeekWire scoop: former Microsoft Xbox leader J Allard joined Amazon’s devices team in 2024, and he’s now leading a group called ZeroOne with a mandate to create “breakthrough”...
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Report: Amazon is making another phone, this time for the AI era
Different this time? Jeff Bezos unveils the Amazon Fire Phone in June 2014. (GeekWire File Photo / Todd Bishop) Amazon is working on another phone. That’s the jaw-dropper from Reuters this morning, reporting that the company is developing a new smartphone codenamed “Transformer” within its devices and services unit. The project is reportedly led by an internal team known as ZeroOne, a...
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Seattle’s biotech scene is world-class — Life Science Washington is teaching it how to brag
Marc Cummings, president and CEO of Life Science Washington, speaking at a one-day forum focused on AI-driven biotech that was held in Seattle in October 2025. (Life Science Washington Photo) Seattle is already a top global hub for AI-driven biotechnology. It just doesn’t know how to say so. That’s the view of Marc Cummings, president and CEO of Life Science Washington. “We focus on...
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Tech Moves: Carbon Robotics’ new CFO; Microsoft gaming GM goes to Netflix; Nordstrom gets VP of AI
Kevan Kryslter, CFO of Carbon Robotics. (Carbon Robotics Photo) Agtech company Carbon Robotics appointed Kevan Krysler as chief financial officer. The Seattle startup, known for zapping weeds with lasers, reports it has surpassed $100 million in annual revenue. Carbon has also been name-checked twice by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for its pesticide-free...
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Seahawks star Marshawn Lynch had one Amazon exec on edge when he took the wheel of Treasure Truck
Amazon’s beloved Treasure Truck finally ran out of road in 2022, after about a seven-year run. But Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores and an early champion of the deals-on-wheels concept, once worried that Marshawn Lynch was going to crash the party just as it got rolling. In a new episode of his “Learn and Be Curious” podcast (below), Herrington recalled a December 2016...
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Sidewalk scooter riders, beware: AI-powered ‘Lime Vision’ will soon call you out
A Lime e-scooter rider cruises past on the sidewalk in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood, home to Amazon HQ. New tech on the scooters coming this summer will generate audible and app alerts warning riders to move to a safer riding area. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop) Lime scooters in Seattle are going to start policing their own riders, using cameras and AI to catch — and call out — bad...
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Bluesky discloses $100M Series B round raised last year
Decentralized social network Bluesky revealed on Thursday that it raised $100 million in a Series B round led by Bain Capital Crypto, with participation from Alumni Ventures, Anthos Capital, Bloomberg Beta, Knight Foundation and True Ventures. The round closed in April 2025. Bluesky previously raised a $15 million Series A round in October 2024. “This new funding gives us the foundation upon...
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GeekWire Awards: Billion-dollar deals, rare IPO, pharma pact, and mega-round vie for Deal of the Year
The finalists for Deal of the Year at the 2026 GeekWire Awards. Clockwise from top left: Temporal co-founders Samar Abbas and Maxim Fateev; Protect AI co-founders Badar Ahmed, Daryan Dehghanpisheh, and Ian Swanson; Kestra Medical Technologies’ cardiac monitoring device; the ribbon cutting at OpenAI’s new Bellevue office, home to the former Statsig team; an Omeros lab. (GeekWire / Company...
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City of Seattle awards $455k in ‘Technology Matching Fund’ grants to support digital equity efforts
The TMF program is a partnership between the City of Seattle and community organizations improving digital literacy and skills for underserved communities. (City of Seattle Photo) The City of Seattle is awarding $455,000 in Technology Matching Fund grants to help support 11 community organizations and their projects aimed at overcoming barriers to accessing and using technology. The TMF...
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The rise of vertical AI agents — and the startups racing to build them
San Francisco startup Nooks hosted a panel in Seattle last month focused on vertical AI agents. From left: Chinmay Barve, vice president of engineering at Nooks; Nikhil Cheerla, CTO at Nooks; Sharbani Roy, VP of AI Services at Arm; and Joe Duffy, CEO and founder at Pulumi. (GeekWire Photo / Taylor Soper) [Editor’s Note: Agents of Transformation is an independent GeekWire series, underwritten...
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From computer to lab to market: Nobel winner David Baker lands $7M for new protein program
Research underway at UW Medicine’s Institute for Protein Design. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler) Nobel Laureate David Baker will lead a new University of Washington initiative that’s launching with $7 million to develop designer enzymes and proteins to solve challenges in medicine, technology and sustainability. The funding comes from the Washington Research Foundation (WRF), a nonprofit...
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Got space junk? Portal and Paladin team up to create an orbital trash disposal service
An artist’s conception shows Portal Space Systems’ Starburst spacecraft at left and its larger Supernova platform in the distance at right, both outfitted with Paladin Space’s Triton payload for orbital debris tracking and removal. (Portal Space Systems Illustration) Bothell, Wash.-based Portal Space Systems is partnering with an Australian venture called Paladin Space on a commercial service...
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Portland cybersecurity startup Eclypsium raises $25M to secure AI infrastructure
Eclypsium co-founders Yuriy Bulygin, left, and Alex Bazhaniuk. (Eclypsium Photo) Eclypsium, a Portland-based cybersecurity startup, raised $25 million in new funding to expand its hardware and firmware security platform. The round was led by PEAK6 Strategic Capital, with participation from Ten Eleven Ventures and an undisclosed bank. Existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Madrona, Qualcomm...
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AI enters the chat: New Seattle dating app relies on tech to facilitate meaningful human connections
Screen grabs from the Lamu app show various interactions with AI, including, from left, answering profile questions, receiving a “love score” and completed profile, and discussing date location options. (Lamu Images) Ada Jin was suffering from dating app fatigue. She was tired of the constant swiping and the hook-up mentality that’s prevalent on many legacy platforms. She wanted a product that...
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Compass drops lawsuit against Zillow over home-listing policy
(BigStock Photo) This story originally appeared on Real Estate News. One of the biggest lawsuits to capture the real estate industry’s attention over the past year has come to an abrupt end. Compass International Holdings announced Wednesday that it is dismissing the lawsuit it filed last June against Zillow. The two industry titans have battled in court for months over Zillow’s Listing...
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Microsoft nixes NDAs with local governments worldwide when deploying data centers
Microsoft’s Fairwater data center near Atlanta is part of the company’s broader AI expansion. (Microsoft Photo) Amid widespread blowback against the spread of data centers, Microsoft on Wednesday announced it is abandoning its practice of secrecy with local governments when deploying new facilities. “[W]e’ve made the decision that being transparent with the communities where we operate or...
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Backed by Nvidia, Seattle’s Phaidra targets data center overheating with proactive AI
Phaidra leaders, from left: CTO Vedavyas Panneershelvam, CEO Jim Gao, and COO Katherine Hoffman. (Phaidra Photo) Phaidra, a startup using artificial intelligence to make data center operations more energy efficient, this week announced key collaborations with Nvidia, CoreWeave and Applied Digital. The Seattle company revealed “groundbreaking methodology” that predicts and prevents data...
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Seattle area ranks No. 3 among U.S. metros in new study measuring AI growth around jobs, pay and more
Part of the Seattle skyline as seen from the waterfront. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser) Seattle ranks No. 3 nationally in AI industry growth according to a new study that measures employment, salaries, job concentration and more in metropolitan areas across the U.S. The new report from CoworkingCafe puts Seattle behind San Jose, Calif., (Silicon Valley) and New York City. San Francisco...
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GeekWire 200 update: A new No. 1 and plenty of newcomers join list of top Pacific Northwest tech startups
There’s a new No. 1. Fusion power company Helion Energy has taken the top spot in the latest update of the GeekWire 200, our quarterly ranking of the top privately held technology startups in the Pacific Northwest. Helion replaced Highspot, which announced a merger with Seismic in a significant sales software deal last month (exited companies graduate from the list). Backed by the likes...
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From Sydney to South Lake Union: VR startup Vantari brings its ‘flight simulator for healthcare’ to Seattle
Vantari co-CEO Vijay Paul, COO Jagrup Kahlon, and co-CEO Nishant Krishnanathan. (Vantari Photos) Vantari, a virtual reality startup that builds “flight simulator” software for doctors and nurses, has officially moved its headquarters to Seattle as it ramps up work with health systems and device makers across North America. CEO and co‑founder Nishanth Krishnananthan relocated from Australia...
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It’s time to vote for the GeekWire Awards finalists! Help us select the best in Pacific Northwest tech
The team from Auger accepts the Startup of the Year trophy at the 2025 GeekWire Awards. (GeekWire File Photo / Dan DeLong) Boot up the robot trophies, it’s time to vote for the finalists for the 2026 GeekWire Awards! This is your chance to help us honor the top innovators and entrepreneurs in Pacific Northwest tech — from Startup of the Year to Next Tech Titan, from Young Entrepreneur of...
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Microsoft hires employees from Cove, a small Sequoia-backed AI startup that helps teams collaborate
The Cove team. (Photo via Cove) Cove, a Silicon Valley startup that helps workers collaborate while using AI agents, announced Tuesday that its team is joining Microsoft. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Cove will shut down its product on April 1. “When we started Cove, we set out to reimagine how people collaborate with AI,” Cove co-founder and CEO Stephen Chau wrote on LinkedIn....
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Tech Moves: Ex-Microsoft leader takes nonprofit CEO role; Google vet joins LinkedIn; Amazon leaders depart
Steven VanRoekel. (ESP Photo) — Steven VanRoekel, a longtime former Microsoft leader and U.S. chief information officer under President Obama, is now CEO of Earth Species Project (ESP). The non-profit research lab is using artificial intelligence to better understand animal communication in creatures from carrion crows to beluga whales. VanRoekel, who is based in Bend, Ore., said his...
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Microsoft revamps Copilot structure, elevating former Snap exec as Suleyman shifts to AI models
Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, will shift his focus to building frontier AI models and leading the company’s superintelligence efforts under a reorganization announced Tuesday. (GeekWire File Photo / Kevin Lisota) Microsoft is reorganizing its Copilot organization, unifying its consumer and commercial AI efforts under former Snap executive Jacob Andreou while narrowing the role of...
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Cybersecurity startup Native, led by AWS vets with roots in Seattle, comes out of stealth with $42M
Native CEO Amit Megiddo. (LinkedIn Photo) A new cloud security startup called Native came out of stealth mode on Tuesday, announcing $42 million in funding to build what it describes as a “control plane” for cloud security. The funding includes a $31 million Series A round led by Ballistic Ventures, with participation from General Catalyst, YL Ventures, and Merlin Ventures. Phil Venables,...
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Amazon rolls out 1-hour and 3-hour options in latest offering of ever-faster deliveries
Amazon’s new one-hour and three-hour delivery options as seen next to products. (Amazon Image) Amazon is speeding up delivery times again. The company announced Tuesday that it is now offering one-hour and three-hour delivery options on more than 90,000 products to cities and towns across the U.S. The faster service comes with a cost: $9.99 for one-hour delivery and $4.99 for three-hour...
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Ramp acquires Juno, a corporate travel expense startup backed by Madrona
Juno co-founders Devon Tivona (left) and Sam Felsenthal. (Juno Photo) Fintech giant Ramp announced the acquisition of Juno, a startup founded in 2024 that built a corporate travel platform to help manage non-employee expenses. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Juno will maintain its brand and employees. Juno’s platform guides coordinators and their guests through booking,...
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Former CrowdStrike and Bloomberg engineers raise $2M for Seattle fintech startup OpenCFO
OpenCFO co-founders: On the left, Sankalp Singayapally, chief operating officer, and CEO Prudhvi Rao Shedimbi. (OpenCFO Photo) OpenCFO, a Seattle-based startup tackling the “fragmented and manual” nature of modern finance, has raised $2 million to automate financial functions for mid-sized companies. “CFOs are being asked to operate with greater speed and accuracy than ever, yet the...
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Seattle puts Microsoft Copilot expansion on hold as new mayor takes stock of AI
The downtown Seattle skyline. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler) Five months after releasing its “responsible AI plan” providing guidelines for the municipality’s use of artificial intelligence, the City of Seattle has tapped the brakes on the tech’s official deployment for city employees. Mayor Katie Wilson last month paused the planned citywide rollout of Microsoft Copilot, as first...
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FAQ: What the millionaires tax means for Seattle startup founders, investors, and tech workers
Washington state’s Legislative Building, which houses the Legislature. (GeekWire Photo / Brent Roraback) Washington state lawmakers last week approved what’s known as the “millionaires tax,” a landmark shift for a state that has long been a tax-friendly destination for entrepreneurs and high earners. GeekWire spoke with legal experts and wealth advisors to learn more about how the tax may...
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No Oscar nods for Amazon this year, but company is among tech targets from host Conan O’Brien
Academy Awards host Conan O’Brien. (ABC via YouTube) Amazon has a solid record of success at the Academy Awards, scoring dozens of Oscar nominations and a handful of wins for its studio business over the past nine years. Amazon MGM Studios was shut out of the race this year, but the tech giant still got a mention in host Conan O’Brien’s monologue to open the show on Sunday night. “Amazon...
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Microsoft’s Gaming Copilot: Another setback for the gaming press?
(Xbox press image) Microsoft’s Gaming Copilot plans to answer players’ in-game questions by searching the open internet for guide content and presenting it to gamers without attribution, at least based on a demo at last week’s Game Developers’ Conference in San Francisco. This is a potentially seismic event for what’s left of the gaming press. Microsoft says it’s exploring ways to license...
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Seattle startup Certiv launches with $4.2M to build endpoint security layer for AI agents
Certiv co-founders, from left: CEO Jason Needham, CTO Paul Allen and Chief AI Officer Daniel Morris. (Certiv Photo) A Seattle startup called Certiv emerged from stealth Monday with $4.2 million in funding to build security software that monitors and controls AI agents operating on employee computers. Certiv is led by CEO Jason Needham, a Seattle tech veteran who co-founded Union Bay...
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