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<title>Ai2 CEO Ali Farhadi named to ‘AI Power List,’ with a nod to institute’s open-source focus</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/ai2-ceo-ali-farhadi-named-to-ai-power-list-with-a-nod-to-institutes-open-source-focus/</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:06:26 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kurt Schlosser]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AI2]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ali Farhadi]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Allen Institute for AI]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=908116</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="945" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ali-farhadi-2-1260x945.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ali-farhadi-2-1260x945.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ali-farhadi-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ali-farhadi-2-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ali-farhadi-2-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ali-farhadi-2-630x473.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> "From climate modeling to healthcare, Farhadi's work influences how institutions scale AI for the benefit of humanity," Business Insider said. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/ai2-ceo-ali-farhadi-named-to-ai-power-list-with-a-nod-to-institutes-open-source-focus/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="1260" height="945" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ali-farhadi-2-1260x945.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-859551" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ali-farhadi-2-1260x945.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ali-farhadi-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ali-farhadi-2-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ali-farhadi-2-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ali-farhadi-2-630x473.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ali Farhadi, CEO of the Allen Institute for AI, during a GeekWire Podcast recording at the non-profit’s Seattle HQ last year. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop)</figcaption></figure>
Business Insider’s latest list of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-power-list">most influential people in artificial intelligence</a> is a who’s who of key players shaping what the publication calls the “next wave of AI innovation.” A notable Seattle name made the cut.
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-farhadi-098430b1/">Ali Farhadi</a>, CEO of Seattle’s <a href="https://allenai.org/">Allen Institute for AI (Ai2)</a>, is among 25 key players identified by BI who are stepping up to the challenges brought about by the modern AI arms race. They are “building the most powerful AI systems at the fastest rate possible” while also considering “public safety, trust, and environmental impacts,” BI reported.
The list includes people across sectors, from big tech to startups to venture capital and journalism, and includes heavy hitters such as OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, Nvidia co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang, Amazon Web Services Agentic AI VP <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-power-list#swami-sivasubramanian">Swami Sivasubramanian</a>, and Anthropic co-founder and CEO Daniela Amodei.
<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-power-list#peggy-johnson">Peggy Johnson</a>, the former Microsoft exec who leads Salem, Ore.-based Agility Robotics, also made the list.
Farhadi is a longtime Seattle tech leader and computer vision specialist who founded and led Ai2 spinout Xnor.ai as CEO. He <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/exclusive-apple-acquires-xnor-ai-edge-ai-spin-paul-allens-ai2-price-200m-range/">sold the AI startup to Apple in 2020</a> in an estimated $200 million deal that represents one of the institute’s biggest commercial successes to date.
A professor in the University of Washington’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, Farhadi returned to Ai2 <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2023/apple-machine-learning-leader-ali-farhadi-named-ceo-of-allen-institute-for-artificial-intelligence/">as its CEO in July 2023</a>.
<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-power-list#ali-farhadi">In naming Farhardi to its Power List</a>, Business Insider noted how he and Ai2 “make AI research open and accessible to the public,” adding that “from climate modeling to healthcare, Farhadi’s work influences how institutions scale AI for the benefit of humanity.”
In an appearance on the <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/open-source-will-win-allen-institute-for-ai-ceo-ali-farhadi-on-the-new-era-of-artificial-intelligence/">GeekWire Podcast last year</a>, Farhadi discussed what it takes to train AI models, and the importance of open-source AI.
“If the U.S. wants to maintain its edge … we have only one way, and that is to promote open approaches, promote open-source solutions,” Farhadi said at the time. “Because no matter how many dollars you’re investing in an ecosystem, without communal, global efforts, you’re not going to be as fast.”
Related:
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/ai2-releases-olmo-3-open-models-rivaling-meta-deepseek-and-others-on-performance-and-efficiency/">Ai2 releases Olmo 3 open models, rivaling Meta, DeepSeek and others on performance and efficiency</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/allen-institute-for-ai-lands-152m-from-nvidia-and-nsf-to-lead-national-ai-project/">Allen Institute for AI lands $152M from Nvidia and NSF to lead national AI project</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/ai2-and-google-cloud-join-cancer-ai-alliance-with-a-total-of-20m-in-commitments/">Ai2 and Google Cloud join Cancer AI Alliance with a total of $20M in commitments</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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<item>
<title>Startup’s radar tech in a handheld scanner could change how police conduct weapons searches</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/startups-radar-tech-in-a-handheld-scanner-could-change-how-police-conduct-weapons-searches/</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jan 2026 15:47:20 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kurt Schlosser]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Startups]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Funding]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Hardware]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lassen Peak]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[law enforcement]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907896</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="746" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/LP-Scan-Graphic-1260x746.png" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/LP-Scan-Graphic-1260x746.png 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/LP-Scan-Graphic-768x455.png 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/LP-Scan-Graphic-1536x910.png 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/LP-Scan-Graphic-2048x1213.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> A Bellevue, Wash.-based startup is moving closer to commercialization of a handheld scanning device that it says could change one of the most dangerous and controversial procedures in policing: the physical pat-down for weapons. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/startups-radar-tech-in-a-handheld-scanner-could-change-how-police-conduct-weapons-searches/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="3272" height="1938" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/LP-Scan-Graphic.png" alt="" class="wp-image-907945" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/LP-Scan-Graphic.png 3272w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/LP-Scan-Graphic-1260x746.png 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/LP-Scan-Graphic-768x455.png 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/LP-Scan-Graphic-1536x910.png 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/LP-Scan-Graphic-2048x1213.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 3272px) 100vw, 3272px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Lassen Peak is developing a handheld radar system for concealed weapon detection. (Lassen Peak Image)</figcaption></figure>
A Bellevue, Wash.-based startup is moving closer to commercialization of a handheld scanning device that it says could change one of the most dangerous and controversial procedures in policing: the physical pat-down for weapons.
<a href="https://www.lassenpeak.com/">Lassen Peak</a>‘s radar-based imaging system allows officers to detect concealed guns, knives and other weapons from several feet away, without touching a person. The technology — similar to full-body scanners used in airport security checkpoints — is built around a custom-designed semiconductor chip that operates at extremely high radio frequencies, enabling detailed imaging through clothing.
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="300" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/hatchgraham-1-300x300-1.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-655945" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/hatchgraham-1-300x300-1.jpeg 300w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/hatchgraham-1-300x300-1-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/hatchgraham-1-300x300-1-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Hatch Graham, co-founder and CEO of Lassen Peaks. (Lassen Peaks Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
Intended for use by law enforcement, military, and private venues, the device could help reduce use-of-force incidents during pat-downs — known as <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/terry_stop/stop_and_frisk">Terry frisks</a> — while addressing long-standing concerns about privacy, bias and officer safety.
“We want to reduce the use of force. That’s our goal,” Lassen Peak Chairman and CEO <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/hatch-graham-43361611/">Hatch Graham</a> told GeekWire. “And to help build trust between society and law enforcement. Hopefully this does that. That’s our mission.”
Graham, a longtime inventor, engineer and entrepreneur, co-founded the company in 2019 alongside Chief Scientist <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ehsanafshari/">Dr. Ehsan Afshari</a>, a professor at the University of Michigan and an expert in ultra-high frequency microelectronics.
The company <a href="https://www.lassenpeak.com/lassen-peak-raises-10m-in-venture-financing-for-weapons-search-technology/">announced</a> $10 million in debt and equity financings this week led by Menlo Park, Calif.-based Structural Capital. Lassen Peak, which was a finalist for <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/geekwire-awards-nuclear-power-quantum-computing-and-more-innovation-of-the-year-hopefuls/">Innovation of the Year</a> at the 2025 GeekWire Awards, is also backed by Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group, among others, and has raised about $40 million to date.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Radar at 300 gigahertz</h4>
At the heart of Lassen Peak’s system is a proprietary imaging radar chip that operates in the so-called “<a href="https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/the-terahertz-gap-into-the-dead-zone/3004857.article">terahertz gap</a>,” at frequencies around 300 gigahertz — far higher than conventional radar used in autonomous vehicles or wireless communications.
At those frequencies, the wavelength of the signal shrinks to about a millimeter, allowing dozens of antennas to be integrated directly onto a standard chip.
The current chip integrates 24 receiver antennas and eight transmit antennas, enabling the system to capture multiple perspectives of an object simultaneously. The approach works similarly to human vision, using triangulation to infer shape and location.
“You close one eye and somebody hits you a baseball, it’ll hit you in the forehead,” Graham said. “But by having two eyeballs, you can triangulate.”
Raw radar data is processed using a combination of digital signal processing and artificial intelligence software that reconstructs images and highlights suspicious objects, such as the outline of a handgun or a knife. The system is designed to show only abstract shapes and bounding boxes, rather than anatomical details.
The system also includes a cloud-based backend that stores scan data, images and metadata such as time and location. That data can be retained for evidentiary purposes, similar to body-camera footage.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Safer alternative to pat-downs </h4>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="778" height="549" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/lassenpeakscan.png" alt="" class="wp-image-907987" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/lassenpeakscan.png 778w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/lassenpeakscan-768x542.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 778px) 100vw, 778px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Lassen Peak’s handheld scanner software uses digital signal processing and AI to reconstruct images and highlight suspicious objects (Lassen Peak Images)</figcaption></figure>
The Terry stop and Terry frisk, named for a 1968 Supreme Court case, are brief detentions and pat-downs that allow officers to conduct an outer-clothing search for weapons when they have reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.
The frisk has long been criticized as invasive and is widely regarded by officers as one of the most dangerous moments in an encounter.
It’s when officers and those being detained can get hurt, according to Carl Rushmeyer, Lassen Peak’s vice president of public safety and a former law enforcement officer.
Instead of putting hands on a detainee, an officer standing six or eight feet away can remotely scan and verify an individual using the Lassen Peak device.
“You’re still going to do a secondary search before you get them in a patrol car,” Rushmeyer said. “But this is a very, very good initial search without having to contact or touch somebody.”
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Demand and next steps</h4>
Graham said Lassen Peak has been endorsed by a number of law enforcement professionals as well as rights advocates. The scanner has generated interest from law enforcement agencies across the U.S. and internationally, especially in the U.K. and countries where knife violence is a rising concern.
The company has focused on large police departments with more than 1,000 sworn officers, narrowing its initial target market to about 160 agencies nationwide. Graham said Lassen Peak has met with 62 of them in the past year.
The company has about 15 employees and another 10 consultants and is not generating revenue yet, but expects to do so through a subscription model. Lassen Peak plans to conduct demonstrations and beta testing with police departments in early 2026, with initial shipments targeted for midyear.
While the first commercial product is a handheld scanner, Lassen Peak’s long-term vision centers on the chip itself, which can be embedded into multiple platforms. These include drones that could assess a potentially dangerous situation from the air or ceiling-mounted dome cameras with “eyes” on a hospital, school, courthouse or other sensitive location.
“It has to be a product that goes out into the world and does not come back,” Graham said. “And that’s as difficult in these life-and-death applications as anything. We’re heading into 2026 and we believe we’re in the final stages of commercializing.”
]]></content:encoded>
<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">907896</post-id> </item>
<item>
<title>Microsoft debuts Copilot Checkout, joining AI shopping race vs. Amazon, Google and OpenAI</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/microsoft-launches-copilot-checkout-joining-the-ai-shopping-race-against-amazon-google-and-openai/</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jan 2026 15:04:34 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Todd Bishop]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Microsoft]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[agentic commerce]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AI agents]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AI shopping]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Azure]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ChatGPT]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Copilot]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Copilot Checkout]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[e-commerce]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Etsy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Forrester]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Google Gemini]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[IDC]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Microsoft 365]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[NRF]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[NRF 2026]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[OpenAI]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[PayPal]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Shopify]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Stripe]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=908074</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="611" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Copilot-Checkout-2-1260x611.png" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Copilot-Checkout-2-1260x611.png 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Copilot-Checkout-2-768x372.png 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Copilot-Checkout-2-1536x744.png 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Copilot-Checkout-2-2048x992.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> Microsoft is rolling out a new “Copilot Checkout” feature that lets shoppers complete purchases directly inside its AI chatbot, betting that its enterprise ties and retailer relationships can help it compete with OpenAI, Google and Amazon in the race toward AI-driven commerce. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/microsoft-launches-copilot-checkout-joining-the-ai-shopping-race-against-amazon-google-and-openai/">Read More</a>]]></description>
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</button><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Microsoft’s Copilot Checkout lets users browse and buy products without leaving the chat. (Microsoft Image, click for larger version)</figcaption></figure>
[Editor’s Note: <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/special-coverage/agents-of-transformation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Agents of Transformation</a> is an independent GeekWire series and 2026 event, underwritten by Accenture, exploring the people, companies, and ideas behind the rise of AI agents.]
Microsoft is making its own bid to turn AI conversations into agentic commerce, announcing a new feature <a href="https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en/blog/post/january-2026/conversations-that-convert-copilot-checkout-and-brand-agents">called Copilot Checkout</a> that lets users complete purchases directly within its AI chatbot, without being redirected to an external website.
The company is betting that its existing enterprise technology footprint and established relationships with large retailers will give it an edge over OpenAI, Google, and Amazon in winning over merchants wary of giving up control to retail rivals or AI intermediaries.
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<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="714" height="714" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Kathleen_Mitford.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-908087" style="width:350px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Kathleen_Mitford.jpg 714w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Kathleen_Mitford-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Kathleen_Mitford-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 714px) 100vw, 714px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kathleen Mitford, Microsoft corporate vice president of global industry marketing. (Microsoft Photo)</figcaption></figure>
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“We’ve designed it in such a way that retailers own those relationships with the customers,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kmitford/">Kathleen Mitford</a>, corporate vice president of global industry marketing at Microsoft. “It is their data, it is their relationship, and that’s something that’s really important to us.”
It’s part of <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/microsoft-propels-retail-forward-with-agentic-ai-capabilities-that-power-intelligent-automation-for-every-retail-function-302655826.html">a broader AI rollout </a>by Microsoft at NRF 2026, the retail industry’s annual conference in New York. Microsoft is also launching Brand Agents, pitched as a complete solution for Shopify merchants to add AI assistants to their websites, along with new AI tools to assist store employees and help retailers enhance their online product listings and metadata.
Copilot Checkout works by surfacing products from partner retailers within Copilot search results. Purchases can be completed without leaving the conversation. Microsoft says the retailer remains the merchant of record, handling fulfillment and customer service.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">But will people buy in chat?</h4>
The bigger question for the tech industry is whether chat-based commerce is actually the next big thing. Forrester analyst Sucharita Kodali, for example, <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/ai-agents-are-coming-for-your-shopping-cart-how-agentic-commerce-could-disrupt-online-retail/">previously told GeekWire</a> that “e-commerce isn’t a problem that needs to be fixed.” She added that it’s unclear what value chat-based commerce is bringing to retailers, “other than disintermediating Google.”
Microsoft’s Mitford offered a different take in an interview this week, saying that consumer behavior is shifting faster than it may seem. She drew a parallel to how quickly businesses moved from experimenting with AI to putting it into operation over the past year.
“I see the same thing happening with consumers … it just takes a little bit of time,” Mitford said, predicting that the speed of consumer adoption will eventually match the rapid uptake seen in the business world. 
Copilot Checkout is rolling out now in the U.S. on Copilot.com, with PayPal, Shopify, and Stripe handling payment processing. Etsy sellers will be among the first available on the platform. Shopify merchants are set to be automatically enrolled following an opt-out window.
That last detail is notable given the backlash Amazon has faced over <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/why-some-independent-brands-are-upset-with-amazons-new-buy-for-me-shopping-tool/">its “Buy for Me” feature</a>, where brands complained about being included without consent and seeing inaccurate listings. 
Microsoft’s approach is more tightly connected to its partners — the company said Shopify will management the opt-out process for its merchants — but automatic enrollment seems to raise the potential for some of the same concerns. (We’ve contacted Shopify for more information.)
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The competitive landscape</h4>
More broadly, Microsoft is playing catch-up on the consumer side. 
OpenAI <a href="https://openai.com/index/buy-it-in-chatgpt/">launched Instant Checkout</a> in ChatGPT last September, partnering with Shopify and Stripe to let users buy from more than a million merchants. Google followed in November with <a href="https://9to5google.com/2025/11/13/google-agentic-shopping/">its own “Buy for Me” feature</a> which lets its Gemini assistant purchase products on a user’s behalf.
Despite its inroads with businesses, Copilot has a fraction of ChatGPT’s market share with consumers. Recent data from <a href="https://www.similarweb.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/attachment-Global-AI-Tracker-5.pdf">Similarweb’s Global AI Tracker</a> showed ChatGPT with about 68% of AI chatbot web traffic, with Google Gemini at 18% and Copilot in the single digits.
But Microsoft has its advantages: Unlike Amazon and Google, which compete directly with retailers through their own marketplaces, it isn’t a retailer. And retail has long been a major vertical for its enterprise cloud and software business, with large chains running on Azure and Microsoft 365.
Mitford said Microsoft is leaning on its existing trust and long-standing relationships with retailers, along with a commitment to responsible AI, to help differentiate itself from rivals.
Microsoft is making the broader case for AI to retailers based on return on investment. A Microsoft-commissioned study from IDC, <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2025/11/11/bridging-the-ai-divide-how-frontier-firms-are-transforming-business/">released in November</a>, found that retail and consumer packaged goods companies are seeing a 2.7x return on every dollar spent on generative AI. 
Mitford, a former fashion designer who has been in the technology industry for most of her career, said she sees the retail sector among the leaders in AI uptake across the business world. 
The technology, she said, is being “adopted at a pace that I’ve never seen.”
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<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">908074</post-id> </item>
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<title>Former Amazon execs raise $15M for agentic commerce startup that uses AI to generate custom storefronts</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/former-amazon-execs-raise-15m-for-agentic-commerce-startup-that-uses-ai-to-generate-custom-storefronts/</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jan 2026 14:38:05 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Taylor Soper]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Startups]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[agentic commerce]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[e-commerce]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Funding]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[spangle]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907920</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1100" height="775" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/founders-photo.png" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/founders-photo.png 1100w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/founders-photo-768x541.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px"> Spangle AI, a new Seattle startup that helps online retailers build customized shopping experiences in real-time, announced a $15 million… <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/former-amazon-execs-raise-15m-for-agentic-commerce-startup-that-uses-ai-to-generate-custom-storefronts/">Read More</a>]]></description>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="775" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/founders-photo.png" alt="" class="wp-image-907921" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/founders-photo.png 1100w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/founders-photo-768x541.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Spangle co-founders Maju Kuruvilla (left) and Fei Wang. (Spangle Photo)</figcaption></figure>
<a href="https://www.spangle.ai/">Spangle AI</a>, a new Seattle startup that helps online retailers build customized shopping experiences in real-time, announced a $15 million Series A investment round led by NewRoad Capital Partners. The company is now valued at $100 million.
Founded last year by former technology leaders at Amazon, Spangle can instantly generate a tailored storefront for individual customers based on how traffic flows in from social platforms, AI search tools, and even autonomous shopping agents.
For example, a shopper clicking an Instagram ad might see an experience that mirrors social browsing. Or, someone looking for dresses could be served a page with other relevant events-related products.
Spangle is betting that the existing e-commerce stack, built for customers coming directly to a brand’s website, is getting replaced with something more contextual — beyond the traditional product page.
“The problem is that websites are not designed to continue a journey that originated somewhere else,” said Spangle CEO <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/majukuruvilla/">Maju Kuruvilla</a>, a former vice president at Amazon, where he worked on Prime logistics and fulfillment.
Spangle’s system, powered by the latest generative AI tools, does not rely on user identity or historical personalization. Instead, it focuses on intent and context — whether a shopper is browsing, comparison-shopping, or ready to buy — and adapts product selection, layout, and content accordingly. It’s trained on a retailer’s catalog, brand guidelines, and performance data.
The approach has resonated with large fashion and retail brands including REVOLVE, Steve Madden, and Alexander Wang. According to the company, customers using Spangle have seen conversion lifts of up to 50% and significant improvements in return on ad spend. The company says it has landed nine enterprise customers in its first nine months. It declined to share specific revenue metrics. 
Kuruvilla said e-commerce retailers don’t have a problem figuring out how to catch a customer’s interest. But he believes what happens after a shopper clicks on an advertisement is a different story.
“Conversion from all this traffic that’s discovered outside is a huge problem for all these brands,” he said.
Spangle is a new player in the emerging field of agentic commerce that could challenge existing on-site experience vendors and other e-commerce personalization competitors such as Adobe or Mastercard Dynamic Yield.
Kuruvilla previously was CEO and CTO at Bolt, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/10/business/bolt-start-up-ryan-breslow-investors.html">controversial</a> “one-click checkout” e-commerce startup that reached a valuation of $11 billion. He also worked at Microsoft, Honeywell, and Milliman.
Spangle co-founder and CTO <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/fei-wang-tech-leader/">Fei Wang</a> was CTO at Saks OFF 5TH, a subsidiary of Saks 5th Avenue. Wang also spent nearly 12 years at Amazon as an engineer. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/yufeng-gou/">Yufeng Gou</a>, head of engineering, was also previously at Saks OFF 5TH. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenmoon">Karen Moon</a>, Spangle’s COO, is a longtime investor and former CEO at Trendalytics.
Seattle-based Madrona, which previously invested, was part of the latest round, in addition to DNX Ventures, Streamlined Ventures, and other angel investors. The company, which has less than 10 employees, raised a $6 million seed round last year. Total funding to date is $21 million.
Related: <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/microsoft-launches-copilot-checkout-joining-the-ai-shopping-race-against-amazon-google-and-openai/">Microsoft debuts Copilot Checkout, joining AI shopping race vs. Amazon, Google and OpenAI</a>
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<title>Seattle’s Alpenglow moves 3D microscope tech from lab to clinic to help modernize cancer diagnostics</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/seattles-alpenglow-moves-3d-microscope-tech-from-lab-to-clinic-to-help-modernize-cancer-diagnostics/</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jan 2026 13:01:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lisa Stiffler]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Health/Life Sciences]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Startups]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Alpenglow]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Alpenglow Biosciences]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cancer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Funding]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[microscopy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[PathNet]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Zeiss]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907522</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="534" height="722" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Heart-3D-image1.png" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Heart-3D-image1.png 534w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Heart-3D-image1-222x300.png 222w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Heart-3D-image1-200x270.png 200w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Heart-3D-image1-74x100.png 74w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 534px) 100vw, 534px"> Alpenglow Biosciences announced a partnership with PathNet to help commercialize use of the startup's 3D microscope technology in clinical settings. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/seattles-alpenglow-moves-3d-microscope-tech-from-lab-to-clinic-to-help-modernize-cancer-diagnostics/">Read More</a>]]></description>
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<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="534" height="722" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Heart-3D-image1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-907971" style="width:350px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Heart-3D-image1.png 534w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Heart-3D-image1-222x300.png 222w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Heart-3D-image1-200x270.png 200w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Heart-3D-image1-74x100.png 74w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 534px) 100vw, 534px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Imaging of a rat heart created using Alpenglow Biosciences technology. (Photo courtesy of Azalia M. Martinez Jaimes and Karen M. Gonzalez of the Red Horse Lab at Stanford University)</figcaption></figure>
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Seattle-based <a href="https://www.alpenglowbiosciences.com/">Alpenglow Biosciences</a> today <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260108259851/en/Alpenglow-Biosciences-and-PathNet-Form-Strategic-Partnership-to-Advance-National-Platform-for-3D-AI-Cancer-Diagnostics">announced </a>a partnership with <a href="https://pathnetlab.com/">PathNet</a>, a leading U.S. pathology laboratory, to help commercialize use of the startup’s 3D microscope technology in clinical settings. The effort aims to modernize critical diagnostic tests for prostate and bladder cancers.
The company also confirmed $250,000 in new funding from <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikericeseattle">Mike Rice</a>, former CEO of BioLife Solutions and an Alpenglow advisory board member.
Alpenglow, which spun out of the University of Washington in 2018, has developed tools for quickly creating multi-dimensional images from biological tissue samples and accurately analyzing the results. 
The technology is already in use in academic research labs and pharmaceutical companies. The move into clinical applications serving patients requires additional rigor.
“People’s lives are depending on it,” CEO and co-founder <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-reder-210a578b/">Dr. Nick Reder</a> said in an interview. “So there’s a lot more regulatory compliance and validation that needs to be done.”
Alpenglow has been <a href="https://www.alpenglowbiosciences.com/press-releases/zeiss-and-alpenglow-biosciences-announced-a-new-partnership">collaborating </a>with the international optics pioneer Zeiss to engineer the unique microscope hardware and analytics software needed for clinical use. PathNet will take the technology from that partnership and use it at its Little Rock, Ark., lab to develop and validate tools for cancer diagnoses.
Jason Camilletti, CEO of PathNet, praised Alpenglow’s “revolutionary 3D platform.” The new partnership, he added in a statement, can “modernize genitourinary cancer diagnostics for clinicians and patients across the country.”
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="800" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Nick-Reder.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907901" style="width:300px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Nick-Reder.jpg 800w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Nick-Reder-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Nick-Reder-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Nick-Reder-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Nick Reder, co-founder and CEO of Alpenglow Biosciences. (LinkedIn Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
Reder launched the company to solve problems he experienced as a medical resident in pathology at the University of Washington.
“I wasted hundreds, no thousand of hours of my time, sifting through the images and trying to make sense of them,” Reder said.
Alpenglow’s AI-trained algorithms, he said, can analyze biological samples “and then predict ‘this is your risk for metastasis,’ or ‘this is the likelihood that you’ll respond to a drug.’ And so it really adds a lot of value to the diagnostic workflow.”
The startup has 22 employees and raised approximately $10 million from investors. It has also received roughly $10 million in grant support. 
Last year the company was awarded $2 million in federal funding to create a <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240815473451/en/Alpenglow-Biosciences-and-Partners-Secure-a-Total-of-%2424M-for-Development-of-Alpenglows-3D-Spatial-Pathology-Platform">prostate cancer diagnostic tool </a>alongside CorePlus, a pathology software company. Alpenglow is also part of a multi-institution, five-year project worth up to $21 million that launched as part of the Biden administration’s Cancer Moonshot. The effort is developing technology for <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240815473451/en/Alpenglow-Biosciences-and-Partners-Secure-a-Total-of-%2424M-for-Development-of-Alpenglows-3D-Spatial-Pathology-Platform">identifying tumor margins</a> during cancer surgeries.
Alpenglow has customers including GSK (formerly GlaxoSmithKline), InSight Biopharmaceuticals, dermatology companies and others.
The other co-founders are <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonliu123/">Jonathan Liu</a>, an affiliate professor in the UW’s Department of Mechanical Engineering; <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkglaser/">Adam Glaser</a>, now a senior scientist at the Allen Institute; and the UW’s <a href="https://dlmp.uw.edu/faculty/true">Lawrence True</a>.
Reder is pleased to reach this point of development with the company after so many years of work. 
“Actually getting into the clinic this year and then hopefully regulatory approval next year and all these big landmarks, it’s really exciting,” he said. “That was always the goal.”
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<title>New filing: Seattle fusion startup Avalanche Energy raising fresh cash</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/new-filing-seattle-fusion-startup-avalanche-energy-raising-fresh-cash/</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jan 2026 01:59:16 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lisa Stiffler]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Startups]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sustainability]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Avalanche Energy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Funding]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Fusion]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[fusion energy]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=908012</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="926" height="1260" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Avalanche-Energy-staff-prepares-an-experiment-at-the-companys-Seattle-WA-lab-926x1260.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Avalanche-Energy-staff-prepares-an-experiment-at-the-companys-Seattle-WA-lab-926x1260.jpg 926w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Avalanche-Energy-staff-prepares-an-experiment-at-the-companys-Seattle-WA-lab-768x1046.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Avalanche-Energy-staff-prepares-an-experiment-at-the-companys-Seattle-WA-lab-1128x1536.jpg 1128w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Avalanche-Energy-staff-prepares-an-experiment-at-the-companys-Seattle-WA-lab-1504x2048.jpg 1504w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Avalanche-Energy-staff-prepares-an-experiment-at-the-companys-Seattle-WA-lab.jpg 1821w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 926px) 100vw, 926px"> Avalanche and dozens of companies around the world are vying for scientific breakthroughs that would allow them to generate electricity from fusion reactions on a commercially viable scale. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/new-filing-seattle-fusion-startup-avalanche-energy-raising-fresh-cash/">Read More</a>]]></description>
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<figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="926" height="1260" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Avalanche-Energy-staff-prepares-an-experiment-at-the-companys-Seattle-WA-lab-926x1260.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-908018" style="width:325px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Avalanche-Energy-staff-prepares-an-experiment-at-the-companys-Seattle-WA-lab-926x1260.jpg 926w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Avalanche-Energy-staff-prepares-an-experiment-at-the-companys-Seattle-WA-lab-768x1046.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Avalanche-Energy-staff-prepares-an-experiment-at-the-companys-Seattle-WA-lab-1128x1536.jpg 1128w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Avalanche-Energy-staff-prepares-an-experiment-at-the-companys-Seattle-WA-lab-1504x2048.jpg 1504w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Avalanche-Energy-staff-prepares-an-experiment-at-the-companys-Seattle-WA-lab.jpg 1821w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 926px) 100vw, 926px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An Avalanche Energy employee prepares an experiment at the company’s Seattle lab. (Avalanche Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
Seattle startup <a href="https://www.avalanche.energy/">Avalanche Energy</a> is raising new funding to develop its compact fusion energy devices. A new SEC <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1867964/000186796426000001/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml">filing</a> reveals a fresh $14.9 million round. 
A company spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by GeekWire.
Avalanche and dozens of companies around the world are vying for scientific breakthroughs that would allow them to generate electricity from fusion reactions on a commercially viable scale. The sun and stars are the masters of fusion, smashing together light atoms under high-pressure, super hot conditions to produce energy.
Avalanche is pursuing a different strategy than many of its competitors, building desktop-sized energy devices and working multiple angles for revenue generation. That includes:
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Using its fusion machine to produce neutrons for customers in industries such as advanced materials science, semiconductor manufacturing, nuclear power and specialized medical treatments.</li>
<li>The company has <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2022/pentagon-boosts-two-seattle-ventures-working-on-nuclear-powered-prototypes-for-space-applications/">a Pentagon contract</a> from the Defense Innovation Unit to develop technology for space propulsion and power generation. </li>
<li>Last year, the startup landed a $10 million grant from the state to <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/avalanche-lands-10m-state-grant-to-build-fusion-energy-rd-site-in-washington/">launch </a>FusionWERX, a commercial-scale testing facility for fusion technologies in Eastern Washington.</li>
</ul>
Avalanche had previously raised $50 million from investors that include Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital, Founders Fund, Toyota Ventures, Azolla Ventures and others.
The fusion industry produced surprising headlines shortly before Christmas with the <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/science-solved-or-disingenuous-washington-state-fusion-rivals-react-to-6b-tae-trump-media-deal/">announcement </a>of a $6 billion planned <a href="https://tae.com/trump-media-and-technology-group-to-merge-with-tae-technologies/">merger </a>between Trump Media & Technology Group and California fusion company TAE Technologies. 
The partnership aims to site and begin building what it calls the world’s first utility-scale fusion plant this year, with Trump Media committing $300 million in near-term funding. President Trump is the largest shareholder of Trump Media, the publicly-traded parent company of the social media platform Truth Social.
Avalanche is part of a fusion hub in the Pacific Northwest that includes two additional Seattle-area companies working to harness fusion power.
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Helion Energy in July <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/helion-breaks-ground-on-what-could-be-the-worlds-first-fusion-plant-despite-significant-uncertainty/">broke ground</a> on what it says will be the first fusion plant to put power on the grid starting in 2028. </li>
<li>Zap Energy expects in the near future to commission its<a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/zap-hits-new-fusion-milestone-squeezing-plasma-with-pressure-thats-10x-mariana-trench/"> fifth fusion device</a>, allowing it to continue testing and optimizing the different systems required by the technology. </li>
</ul>
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<title>Rubin Observatory spots an asteroid that spins fast enough to set a record</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/rubin-observatory-asteroid-spins-fast-record/</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:41:25 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Alan Boyle]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Space]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AAS]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[asteroid]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Asteroids]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Astronomy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[University of Washington]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Vera Rubin Observatory]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907904</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="709" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/260107-asteroid-1260x709.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="Illustration: Asteroid 2025 MN45 and other rocks in the main asteroid belt" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/260107-asteroid-1260x709.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/260107-asteroid-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/260107-asteroid-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/260107-asteroid.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> A nearly half-mile-wide space rock called 2025 MN45 makes one full revolution in less than two minutes. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/rubin-observatory-asteroid-spins-fast-record/">Read More</a>]]></description>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="709" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/260107-asteroid-1260x709.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907905" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/260107-asteroid-1260x709.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/260107-asteroid-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/260107-asteroid-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/260107-asteroid.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An artist’s conception zeroes in on a main-belt asteroid called 2025 MN45, which makes a full rotation in less than two minutes. (Credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory / NOIRLab / SLAC / AURA / P. Marenfeld)</figcaption></figure>
Astronomers say they’ve <a href="https://rubinobservatory.org/news/rubin-record-breaking-asteroid-pre-survey">found an asteroid that spins faster than other space rocks of its size</a>.
The asteroid, known as 2025 MN45, is nearly half a mile (710 meters) in diameter and makes a full rotation every 1.88 minutes, based on an analysis of data from the <a href="https://rubinobservatory.org/">Vera C. Rubin Observatory</a>. “This is now the fastest-spinning asteroid that we know of, larger than 500 meters,” University of Washington astronomer Sarah Greenstreet said today at the <a href="https://aas.org/meetings/aas247">American Astronomical Society’s winter meeting</a> in Phoenix.
Greenstreet, who serves as an assistant astronomer at the National Science Foundation’s <a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/">NOIRLab</a> and heads the Rubin Observatory’s working group for near-Earth objects and interstellar objects, is the lead author of <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae2a30">a paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters</a> that describes the discovery and its implications. It’s the first peer-reviewed paper based on data from Rubin’s LSST Camera in Chile.
2025 MN45 is one of <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/rubin-observatory-first-look/">more than 2,100 solar system objects</a> that were detected during the observatory’s commissioning phase. Over time, the LSST Camera tracked variations in the light reflected by those objects. Greenstreet and her colleagues analyzed those variations to determine the size, distance, composition and rate of rotation for 76 asteroids, all but one of which are in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. (The other asteroid is a near-Earth object.)
The team found 16 “super-fast rotators” spinning at rates ranging between 13 minutes and 2.2 hours per revolution — plus three “ultra-fast rotators,” including 2025 MN45, that make a full revolution in less than five minutes.
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="618" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/light-curve-1260x618.png" alt="" class="wp-image-907989" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/light-curve-1260x618.png 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/light-curve-768x377.png 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/light-curve-1536x754.png 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/light-curve-2048x1005.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This chart shows the light curve of 2025 MN45. The y-axis shows the asteroid’s brightness, and the x-axis shows its phase, or where it is in its rotation. The resulting curve shows the asteroid’s fluctuating brightness as it spins. Light curves can help scientists determine an asteroid’s rotation period, size, shape and surface properties. (Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory / NOIRLab / SLAC / AURA/ J. Pollard)</figcaption></figure>
Greenstreet said 2025 MN45 appears to consist of solid rock, as opposed to the “rubble pile” material that most asteroids are thought to be made of.
“We also believe that it’s likely a collisionary fragment of a much larger parent body that, early in the solar system’s history, was heated enough that the material internal to it melted and differentiated,” Greenstreet said. She and her colleagues suggest that the primordial collision blasted 2025 MN45 from the dense core of the parent body and sent it whirling into space.
Astronomers have previously detected fast-spinning asteroids that measure less than 500 meters wide, but this is the first time larger objects have been found with rotational rates that are faster than five minutes per revolution. The Rubin team’s other two ultra-fast rotators have rates of 1.9 minutes and 3.8 minutes.
What would it be like to take a spin on 2025 MN45? Imagine riding on a Ferris wheel — say, the Seattle Great Wheel, which typically makes <a href="https://seattlegreatwheel.com/faq">three revolutions in 10 to 12 minutes</a>. Now make the wheel more than 10 times taller, and make the rotation rate at least twice as fast. It’d feel as if you were going more than 40 mph.
“If you were standing on it, it would probably be quite the ride to be going around on the outside edge of this thing that’s the size of eight football fields,” Greenstreet said.
But the significance of the study goes beyond imagining an extraterrestrial amusement ride.
“This is only the beginning of science for the Rubin Observatory,” Greenstreet said. “We are already seeing that we can study smaller asteroids at farther distances than we’ve ever been able to study before. And being able to study these fast rotators further, we’re going to learn a lot of really crucial information about the internal strength, composition and collisional histories of these primitive solar system bodies that date back to the formation of the solar system.”
<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
The study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae2a30/pdf">“Lightcurves, Rotation Periods, and Colors for Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s First Asteroid Discoveries,”</a> lists 71 co-authors. Authors from the University of Washington include Greenstreet as well as Zhuofu (Chester) Li, Dmitrii E. Vavilov, Devanshi Singh, Mario Jurić, Željko Ivezić, Joachim Moeyens, Eric C. Bellm, Jacob A. Kurlander, Maria T. Patterson, Nima Sedaghat, Krzysztof Suberlak and Ian S. Sullivan.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is jointly funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The University of Washington was one of the founding members of the consortium behind the project, which benefited from early contributions by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and software executive Charles Simonyi. The observatory’s Simonyi Survey Telescope was <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2024/charles-simonyi-wide-angle-telescope-rubin/">named in honor of Simonyi’s family</a>.
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<title>WSU’s inflatable robotic apple-picker could take a bite out of farm labor shortages</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/wsus-inflatable-robotic-apple-picker-could-take-a-bite-out-of-farm-labor-shortages/</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jan 2026 17:40:01 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kurt Schlosser]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Tech]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ag-tech]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Agriculture]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Apples]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[robots]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Washington State University]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907837</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="295" height="166" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/wsu-apples.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/wsu-apples.jpg 295w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/wsu-apples-200x113.jpg 200w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/wsu-apples-150x84.jpg 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 295px) 100vw, 295px"> Researchers inWashington State University's School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering said the robot can see an apple, extend and retract to pick fruit in about 25 seconds. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/wsus-inflatable-robotic-apple-picker-could-take-a-bite-out-of-farm-labor-shortages/">Read More</a>]]></description>
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<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Robotic Arm Picking Apples" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1148177273?dnt=1&app_id=122963" width="800" height="450" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"></iframe>
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Never mind the Apple Cup. Washington State University is focused on the apple grip and the apple pick.
Researchers in WSU’s School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering unveiled a low-cost robotic apple-picking arm designed to help offset labor shortages for tasks such as harvesting and pruning, according to a <a href="https://news.wsu.edu/press-release/2026/01/07/inflatable-fabric-robotic-arm-picks-apples/">news release</a> Wednesday.
The inflatable arm can see an apple, extend and retract to pick fruit in about 25 seconds (as demonstrated in the video above). Mounted on a metal base and weighing about 50 pounds, the 2-foot-long arm is made of a soft fabric filled with air.
Researchers published their work in the journal <a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.PSkKAuCO95JrJ2z0aXRG2-2BSK-2BD-2BSGzkj2Ay0M5Kd-2BQWqx9qe0twVwu92pz7A3BrCuRaF8Xhx14jcrQBiyScbGVjKhhVU-2FTsfnLfAv4cj9ckx6F3fo-2FheX0Td07DKmKFT8xq5_S7q3boNKYYicmDimMtKMgUyfTzSyHwaj38KKEK1RiV6wpNCDloHnMuNZrhUVKzF20K261DmdCD8GHIVrNe1GILbqg5OMbBiVpgQj5ECCDkOOmnZRAzfRzjsGmPg46f8dSbNKuCfFQY7DFxxqogD51zGEgnJiwaY-2FPv7Tjwwp7Ryqb91cKdsKffO2YEgQgy7PLJfJHpirb-2B9dOD39dBKgJ5-2BsOxUt3NgHHVZR000ag96L-2BwfGXN-2F6VcS2aA90tT5Ku-2FILysZR2cwX3T59aYg-2BFDrX8IfdnhFT54lmdhhavcoQwLWo-2Fwd01caGCVS7jVJxR4oQaag3F4gtuz7ud2HE0j0VB5lGXqxfiSjcG2ognch9VnhYsukmONf13wSz5SCp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Smart Agricultural Technology</a>. The team is collaborating with researchers at the Prosser Research Extension Center and with Manoj Karkee at Cornell University to adapt the arm to an automated moving platform that is also being developed to move through orchards.
Washington state leads the nation in apple and sweet cherry production, contributing more than $2 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product in 2023, according to WSU. Farms across the state employ hundreds of workers annually for orchard tasks such as pollination, pruning, flower thinning and harvesting. But an aging population and a decline in migrant farmworkers have made it harder for growers to meet labor needs during harvest season.
Compared to humans who can pick an apple every three seconds, the robotic arm is still slow. The researchers are refining some of the mechanical components as well as working to improve its rudimentary detection system, which hinders the picking more than the robotic arm’s movement, WSU Insider reported.
Deploying robots in fruit harvesting and other aspects of agriculture is <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2019/apple-picking-robots-gear-u-s-debut-washington-state/">not a new concept</a>. Apple-picking technology is also being developed at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8KspXl9l6I">Oregon State University</a>, <a href="https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2024/10/apple-of-my-ai-msu-improved-robotic-apple-picker">Michigan State University</a>, and elsewhere. WSU says that some robotic harvesting systems can be large, expensive and complex to use in orchards.
“Having this very low-cost, safe robotic platform is ideal for the orchard environment,” said Ryan Dorosh, a PhD candidate and lead author on the work.
The researchers are working with <a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.PSkKAuCO95JrJ2z0aXRG2yhi8fliGh-2B3JtoM-2FC4hfVE4WbiYaxJ7EptLhmArPfX7sDHR_S7q3boNKYYicmDimMtKMgUyfTzSyHwaj38KKEK1RiV6wpNCDloHnMuNZrhUVKzF20K261DmdCD8GHIVrNe1GILbqg5OMbBiVpgQj5ECCDkOOmnZRAzfRzjsGmPg46f8dSbNKuCfFQY7DFxxqogD51zGEgnJiwaY-2FPv7Tjwwp7Ryqb91cKdsKffO2YEgQgy7PLJfJHpirb-2B9dOD39dBKgJ-2FML8QsQ0IVH1cmJRR-2BFFUBkcHbcxL80SEAm-2FLuGAB6p5ZUQxquTE8QhXXOg8yDapG-2BS9osM7c21AfG3bLUJf39DyMiYDM7yToNvnlHUXo32WfGcsSljDdqTXCyRF2w-2Fw57lkwYf-2FN-2FwDK3mPWmFCXe877StDL6dUFUm-2B6YfehAq" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WSU’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> team for the intellectual property protection and commercialization of the technology. The work was funded by the National Science Foundation, the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission and tested at Allan Brothers Fruit in Prosser, Washington.
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<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">907837</post-id> </item>
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<title>Amazon rolls out new version of its Dash smart grocery cart</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/amazon-rolls-out-new-version-of-its-dash-smart-grocery-cart/</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jan 2026 17:23:25 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Taylor Soper]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Amazon Dash Cart]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Dash Cart]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Shopping]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[shopping cart]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907849</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="842" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Dash-Cart-Still-1-1260x842.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Dash-Cart-Still-1-1260x842.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Dash-Cart-Still-1-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Dash-Cart-Still-1-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Dash-Cart-Still-1-2048x1368.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> The new shopping cart uses upgraded computer vision to capture barcodes more quickly, improved sensors to track the cart's location inside the store, and an integrated produce scale that weighs fruits and veggies directly within the cart. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/amazon-rolls-out-new-version-of-its-dash-smart-grocery-cart/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="4240" height="2832" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Dash-Cart-Still-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907850" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Dash-Cart-Still-1.jpg 4240w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Dash-Cart-Still-1-1260x842.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Dash-Cart-Still-1-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Dash-Cart-Still-1-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Dash-Cart-Still-1-2048x1368.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 4240px) 100vw, 4240px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Amazon’s newest smart grocery cart features upgraded computer vision and sensing capabilities. (Amazon Photo)</figcaption></figure>
Amazon has unveiled a redesigned version of its Dash Cart, the company’s smart shopping cart that lets customers scan items as they shop and skip the checkout line. 
The new shopping cart uses upgraded computer vision to capture barcodes more quickly, improved sensors to track the cart’s location inside the store, and an integrated produce scale that weighs fruits and veggies directly within the cart. 
Amazon said it also reduced the cart’s weight by 25% while increasing basket capacity by 40%. And the carts now charge themselves while parked, eliminating the need for employees to manually swap batteries. There are also expanded payment options.
The updated carts are debuting at three Whole Foods Market locations, with plans to expand to dozens more stores across the U.S. by the end of 2026, according to a <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/amazon-redesigned-dash-cart-whole-foods-market">blog post</a>.
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<iframe loading="lazy" title="Amazon’s Newest Dash Cart" width="800" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o6uInVtst8E?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Amazon first <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/amazon-unveils-smart-grocery-cart-new-effort-automate-physical-retail-checkout/">unveiled</a> Dash Carts in 2020, offering an alternative to its cashierless stores that required elaborate technical infrastructure. The company has since shifted away from the “Just Walk Out” technology in its large grocery stores, which uses overhead cameras and sensors to detect what people put in their carts.
During a GeekWire <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2024/amazon-dash-cart-vs-just-walk-out-we-put-the-tech-giants-new-grocery-strategy-to-the-test/">test</a> in 2024 of an earlier version of Dash Cart, we found the experience cumbersome, with a steep learning curve. We did like tracking our total spend and accessing our Alexa shopping list with the screen in the cart.
Other companies including <a href="https://www.instacart.com/connected-stores/caper-cart">Instacart</a> and Seattle startup <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2022/seattle-smart-shopping-cart-startup-veeve-led-by-ex-amazon-engineers-rolling-into-albertsons/">Veeve</a> have rolled out similar smart carts.
In some ways, the continued investment in Amazon’s Dash Cart reflects the company’s evolving physical retail ambitions: less moonshot, more incremental tech layered onto existing experiences.
Last year Amazon <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/how-amazon-is-bringing-name-brands-to-whole-foods-without-putting-them-on-the-shelves/">revealed</a> a “store within a store” model that uses automated micro-fulfillment to bring name-brand items into Whole Foods locations. The company is also <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/fresh-produce-with-your-package-amazon-testing-tighter-grocery-bundling-for-same-day-deliveries/">pushing tighter integration</a> of fresh grocery delivery with other Amazon.com products.
Amazon <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/amazon-grocery-sales-growth-paper-towels-produce-essentials">said</a> it had more than $100 billion in gross sales of groceries and household essentials in 2024, excluding sales from Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh. 
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<title>Why some independent brands are upset with Amazon’s new ‘Buy for Me’ shopping tool</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/why-some-independent-brands-are-upset-with-amazons-new-buy-for-me-shopping-tool/</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jan 2026 16:47:20 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Taylor Soper]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[agentic commerce]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[buy for me]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[e-commerce]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907813</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1240" height="823" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160720_Amazon_HQ_tour_206-1240x823.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160720_Amazon_HQ_tour_206-1240x823.jpg 1240w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160720_Amazon_HQ_tour_206-768x510.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160720_Amazon_HQ_tour_206-630x418.jpg 630w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160720_Amazon_HQ_tour_206.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1240px) 100vw, 1240px"> Amazon is facing complaints from independent retailers over a new shopping experiment that lets customers buy products from other websites directly within Amazon’s app. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/why-some-independent-brands-are-upset-with-amazons-new-buy-for-me-shopping-tool/">Read More</a>]]></description>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1360" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160720_Amazon_HQ_tour_206.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-262080" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160720_Amazon_HQ_tour_206.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160720_Amazon_HQ_tour_206-768x510.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160720_Amazon_HQ_tour_206-1240x823.jpg 1240w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160720_Amazon_HQ_tour_206-630x418.jpg 630w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Amazon’s Seattle HQ. (GeekWire File Photo / Kevin Lisota)</figcaption></figure>
Amazon is facing complaints from independent retailers over a new shopping experiment that lets customers buy products from other websites directly within Amazon’s app.
The feature, called Buy for Me, started <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/amazon-shopping-app-buy-for-me-brands">rolling out</a> in April last year alongside another program known as Shop Direct. The tools are designed to help shoppers find products that aren’t sold on Amazon — and, in some cases, allow Amazon to complete a purchase on a customer’s behalf using AI. 
<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-06/amazon-ai-tool-blindsides-merchants-by-offering-products-without-their-knowledge?sref=CUpXQy6u">Bloomberg</a>, <a href="https://www.modernretail.co/technology/brands-are-upset-that-buy-for-me-is-featuring-their-products-on-amazon-without-permission/">Modern Retail</a>, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/724c2910-76f2-45d7-8f2e-0ac5c82a5ad2">Financial Times</a>, and others published stories this week citing brands who say they were caught off guard when their products appeared in Amazon search results. Some said they only discovered the program when strange orders started arriving from Amazon-linked email addresses.
Among the complaints raised by brands:
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Some say they never explicitly agreed to participate.</li>
<li>Some say product listings displayed on Amazon were inaccurate or confusing, or were sold out.</li>
<li>Others object on principle, arguing that Amazon is stepping into their customer relationship without permission.</li>
</ul>
In a statement to GeekWire, an Amazon spokesperson said participation in both programs is optional and that the company has received positive feedback.
“Shop Direct and Buy for Me are programs we’re testing that help customers discover brands and products not currently sold in Amazon’s store, while helping businesses reach new customers and drive incremental sales,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “Businesses can opt out at any time by emailing branddirect@amazon.com, and we remove them from these programs promptly.”
Listings created with Buy for Me are labeled as coming from other stores when they show up within Amazon search results. Amazon’s system checks the brand’s website to confirm the item is in stock and that the price is accurate. Product and pricing information is pulled from public information on a brand’s website, though Amazon says in an <a href="https://www.amazon.com/b/?_encoding=UTF8&node=204815362011&ref_=cct_cg_DZinfo_8a1&pf_rd_p=a7c58cae-4143-41ae-acfc-6ca4107d3176&pf_rd_r=SWKV3NPC5EA42HTV10VX">FAQ</a> page that it “may modify these for display on the Amazon Shopping App.”
Amazon <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/amazon-agentic-ai-gen-ai-shopping">said</a> in November that products available to purchase via Buy for Me had increased from 65,000 to more than 500,000. 
The pushback from independent sellers — who make up more than 60% of Amazon’s online store sales — highlights a growing tension as tech companies roll out AI-powered shopping tools. The new technology is sparking debate over who controls product discovery and the customer relationship when platforms can act as an intermediary — or even a buyer — on behalf of consumers.
In November, Amazon <a href="https://www.retaildive.com/news/amazon-sues-perplexity-ai-shopping-agents/804871/">sued</a> Perplexity to stop the startup from using its AI browser agent to make purchases on its marketplace, <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-perplexity-comet-statement">citing</a> computer fraud laws and security risks, along with a “significantly degraded shopping and customer service experience it provides.” 
Related: <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/ai-agents-are-coming-for-your-shopping-cart-how-agentic-commerce-could-disrupt-online-retail/">AI is coming for your shopping cart: How agentic commerce could disrupt online retail</a>
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<title>Trapped at a Tesla Supercharger: A comedy of errors and lessons learned from a first EV road trip</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/trapped-at-a-tesla-supercharger-a-comedy-of-errors-and-lessons-learned-from-a-first-ev-road-trip/</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jan 2026 15:20:49 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lisa Stiffler]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Sustainability]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Charging]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[electric vehicles]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[EV charging]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mustang Mach-E]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907278</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="945" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lisa-Mustang1-1260x945.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lisa-Mustang1-1260x945.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lisa-Mustang1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lisa-Mustang1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lisa-Mustang1-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> By the time we hit Kelso, it was clear my family's post-Christmas EV adventure was hitting the skids. Here's what went wrong — and what we'll do on our next road trip. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/trapped-at-a-tesla-supercharger-a-comedy-of-errors-and-lessons-learned-from-a-first-ev-road-trip/">Read More</a>]]></description>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="945" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lisa-Mustang1-1260x945.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907747" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lisa-Mustang1-1260x945.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lisa-Mustang1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lisa-Mustang1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Lisa-Mustang1-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">I drive a Mach-E that can go from zero to 60 in four seconds. Even better: it’s electric and the turn signal makes a clippity-clop horse hoof noise. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler) </figcaption></figure>
By the time we hit Kelso, it was clear my family’s post-Christmas EV adventure was hitting the skids.
After departing from Seattle, we stopped in Olympia for lunch and a little recharge for our recently purchased 2024 Mach-E — the electric Ford Mustang. But the Level 2 charger found via Google Maps offered a paltry boost and we had 115 miles to our Portland destination.
No problem. We’d make a second stop at a Tesla Supercharger in Kelso, a small city off of Interstate 5 formerly known for logging and smelt fishing. The Mach-E sucked up electrons from the DC fast charger, hitting 80% charge in about 20 minutes.
But when we went to unplug, the third-party adapter that allowed us to charge our non-Tesla EV wouldn’t budge. We were trapped, tethered to the station via a high-powered cable, late on a Saturday afternoon. All-knowing YouTube offered a fix: use a really big pair of pliers called channel locks to force the button to give. My husband went off on foot to a nearby farm supply store seeking the device.
Our 17-year-old daughter, in the meantime, had run out of TikToks and patience. She began wrestling the adapter herself and through a combination of finesse, strength and desperation she disengaged the charger. It was a giddy moment — but a brief reprieve as we continued driving south.
Wintry temperatures and dinner in the brilliantly named Portland suburb of Scappoose left the Mustang battery unnervingly low. More map searching near our hotel led us to a nearly empty parking garage that promised charging on the eighth floor. After circling to the roof we found one broken charger and another being used by a couple in an embrace outside their electric truck, inexplicably kissing in the cold.
The charging mishaps had left us tired, frustrated and anxious — with only ourselves to blame. 
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Falling in love with an EV</h3>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="945" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/PXL_20251229_222106298-1260x945.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907676" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/PXL_20251229_222106298-1260x945.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/PXL_20251229_222106298-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/PXL_20251229_222106298-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/PXL_20251229_222106298-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Returning from a family trip to Portland, we stopped at an EVgo station in Chehalis, Wash., for fast charging and a quick stop at Walmart to buy a mop. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler) </figcaption></figure>
Historically, I’ve been largely indifferent toward cars, owning a series of forgettable Toyotas and Hondas — safe, reliable cars that got me from point A to B with reasonable fuel efficiency. I had wanted to go electric in 2017 when shopping for my previous car, but the Chevy Bolt was underwhelming and Tesla too swanky. A Toyota Prius it was. 
Then on a sunny afternoon last October, a driver mounted a steep hill in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, failed to brake at a stop sign, and smashed into my Prius. I was rattled but largely unscathed, and so was the other driver and his passenger. Both cars, however, were totaled. 
Their insurance covered the loss and we searched for a replacement. My husband genuinely likes cars and took the lead in shopping with my one condition in mind: it had to be an EV.
We landed on the Mach-E, which startled friends and family alike who knew my milquetoast automotive track record. But despite its relative machismo and flash, the Mustang was the practical choice — good real-world range at about 240 miles, great value, and the roomy interior of a crossover-style vehicle. 
One spin behind the wheel and I was smitten. I love the car. It handles nicely. It’s comfortable. The fact it can go from zero to 60 in 4 seconds doesn’t really impact my reality, but pleases me all the same. I size up exhaust-spewing muscle cars next to me at stoplights and imagine smoking them. 
When the holidays arrived, I was cruising in my Mach-E and imagined that our Portland trip would be as easy as traveling via gas power.
After all, the EV market share had hit <a href="https://www.autosinnovate.org/posts/papers-reports/Get%20Connected%20EV%20Quarterly%20Report%202025%20Q2.pdf">more than 20%</a> in Washington in 2024, and charging stations were cropping up at grocery stores and along highways. I didn’t want to spend the time figuring out which of the many available apps was best for finding charging sites. I didn’t want to download and create accounts with the many charging service providers. I just wanted to tap the accelerator.
But that wasn’t realistic. Energy infrastructure takes time to deploy. For decades after the internal combustion engine reigned supreme, drivers still needed to map out gas stops on lengthy road trips. Things improved for EVs in general when Tesla began opening its Supercharger network to non-Tesla drivers in <a href="https://evchargingstations.com/chargingnews/tesla-opens-first-superchargers-to-non-tesla-evs-in-us/">2023</a>. (A <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2022/a-long-strange-ev-trip-father-son-drive-from-l-a-to-seattle-illustrates-road-ahead-on-charging-needs/">GeekWire story</a> the year before recounted the headaches faced by an electric Mustang road tripper without that access.)
The EV charging network, however, is still lagging and faces new challenges under the Trump administration, which has imposed policies to remove incentives and slow EV infrastructure deployment. 
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Pro tips for EV newbies</h3>
In most ways, I’d found the switch to an EV surprisingly convenient. We’re fortunate to have off-street parking at home, and it’s super satisfying to simply click a Level 1 slow charger into the car and walk away. The device uses a regular outlet in our garage and generally provides the vehicle enough power for work, errands and local day trips.
We drove the Mustang on an overnight trip to Bellingham, Wash., in November and easily found power at clearly marked, city-owned parking spots with free electrons. On a separate outing to hike near the tulip capital of Mount Vernon, I simply plugged in afterwards at an EVgo fast charger near my house to quickly refill.
We were lulled into complacency and unprepared for longer EV travel. After botching Portland, I checked in with Seattle-area experts for charging tips, which left me feeling sheepish for my self-inflicted ignorance. 
I got feedback from Matthew Metz, founder of <a href="https://coltura.org/">Coltura </a>and CEO of <a href="https://www.evqengage.com/">EVQ</a>, a startup supporting EV purchases; Scott Case, founder of the EV data platform <a href="https://www.recurrentauto.com/">Recurrent</a>; and Grace Reamer and Jay Donnaway, who are respectively current and past leaders of the <a href="https://www.seattleeva.org/wp/">Seattle Electric Vehicle Association</a>, or SEVA.
My takeaways:
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.plugshare.com/">PlugShare</a> is the one-stop source for maps that include information on how many chargers are available at seemingly every possible site at any given moment and include helpful user feedback. We should have turned here first. </li>
<li>When on a road trip, plan on DC fast charging. Case recommends Tesla as the most numerous and consistently reliable option. Without knowledge of our Kelso fiasco, Donnaway suggested that non-Tesla drivers get an adapter for fast charger plugs and “gain some experience with using it before it’s needed in a tight spot.” </li>
<li>Always carry a Level 1 charger for opportunities to use outlets at hotels and retail sites in a pinch.</li>
<li>Reamer offered battery-saving suggestions, such as following speed limits, slowly accelerating, coasting downhill, drafting behind semi-trucks and using seat heaters in lieu of cabin heat.</li>
</ul>
EVQ and Recurrent also have their own terrific sources for essential information:
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>EVQ/Coltura released EV Chat, a generative AI tool built from a curated library of EV-related information. The chatbot is available for free and found on the <a href="https://www.electricforall.org/chat/">Electric For All site</a> and “should be able to answer your questions really well,” Metz said. A quick test proved him right. </li>
<li>Recurrent has a “<a href="https://www.recurrentauto.com/research/charging-at-home-and-on-the-go" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">great starter resource</a> on charging that everyone should look at when they are just starting out,” Case advised. It covers home and public charging options, charging speeds, costs, diagrams of the different plugs and sockets, and even pointers on public charging etiquette.  </li>
</ul>
Despite our rookie mistakes, panic and wasted time, we did have a nice trip to Portland (I highly recommend <a href="https://www.casazorayapdx.com/">Casa Zoraya</a> for amazing Peruvian food and my body literally aches for a return to <a href="https://thedragontree.com/pages/portland-oregon-day-spa-massage-and-skin-care">Dragontree Spa</a>). To finish the trip and get home to Seattle, we used EVgo fast chargers outside of downtown Portland and in Chehalis, Wash., that worked quickly and without hiccups.
Looking ahead, we’ll undertake our next road trip with a full charge, a better plan and a car I still love.

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<title>Tech Moves: Amazon AI leader joins Google Cloud; Meta taps new chief legal officer from Microsoft</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/tech-moves-amazon-ai-leader-takes-vp-role-at-google-cloud-meta-taps-new-chief-legal-officer-from-microsoft/</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 Jan 2026 21:11:11 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Taylor Soper]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Microsoft]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tech Moves]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[c.j. mahoney]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[karthik Ramakrishnan]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907681</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="199" height="199" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1516243303934.jpeg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1516243303934.jpeg 199w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1516243303934-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1516243303934-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px"> — Karthik Ramakrishnan, who spent the past 14 years at Amazon where he helped develop the company's AI strategy, has taken a VP role within the Data Cloud organization at Google Cloud. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/tech-moves-amazon-ai-leader-takes-vp-role-at-google-cloud-meta-taps-new-chief-legal-officer-from-microsoft/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="199" height="199" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1516243303934.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-907683" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1516243303934.jpeg 199w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1516243303934-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1516243303934-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Karthik Ramakrishnan. (LinkedIn Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
— <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/karthikrama/">Karthik Ramakrishnan</a>, who spent the past 14 years at Amazon where he helped develop the company’s AI strategy, has taken a VP role within the Data Cloud organization at Google Cloud.
“We are entering the ‘Agentic Era,’ and my focus is helping this world-class team build the autonomous data platform of the future,” Ramakrishnan wrote on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/karthikrama_after-13-years-at-amazon-im-reflecting-activity-7414357600168902657-Zz-t?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAALbAY8BAMubgbU_YrKPSMQUTb8n4LKdJA0">LinkedIn</a>. “I can’t wait to dive back into the ‘hard things’ and see what we can build together next.”
Ramakrishnan helped launch Amazon Alexa and develop the Amazon Nova foundation models. “My work at Amazon spanned the full evolution from conversational AI to multi-modal AGI,” he notes on his LinkedIn profile. Before joining Amazon in 2012, Ramakrishnan spent three years at Microsoft following the company’s acquisition of Tellme Networks, where he was a senior platform engineer. He started at Google in September.
Last month, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohitprasad01/">Rohit Prasad</a>, the executive who led Amazon’s AI initiatives and overseen the creation of its homegrown Nova AI models, <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/amazon-ai-chief-rohit-prasad-leaving-infrastructure-exec-peter-desantis-to-lead-unified-ai-group/">left</a> the Seattle-based company.
In <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/andy-jassy-peter-desantis-amazon-leadership-update">a memo sent Dec. 17</a>, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy named <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterdesantis/">Peter DeSantis</a>, a 27-year company veteran and top cloud infrastructure executive, to lead a new organization that combines its Nova and model research teams with custom silicon and quantum computing.
Amazon last month unveiled its Nova 2 models at its annual re:Invent conference. The company is attempting to close the gap with AI rivals including OpenAI and Google in the race to develop increasingly capable AI systems.
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="800" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1754344533683.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-907689" style="width:225px;height:auto" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1754344533683.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1754344533683-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1754344533683-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1754344533683-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">C.J. Mahoney. (LinkedIn Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
— <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/c-j-mahoney-384103a3/">C.J. Mahoney</a>, a corporate vice president and top legal executive at Microsoft, joined Meta as its new chief legal officer. <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/01/06/meta-hires-chief-legal-officer-cj-mahoney">Axios</a> first reported the move.
Mahoney spent the past five years at Microsoft, first as a deputy general counsel focused on international trade and Azure, then later as a corporate vice president and general counsel for product, services, and go-to-market legal. He previously was a deputy U.S. trade representative from 2018 to 2020 during President Trump’s first term.
Mahoney replaces Jennifer Newstead, who departed for the general counsel role at Apple.
Microsoft promoted longtime exec <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jon-palmer-382a54b/">Jonathan Palmer</a> to chief legal officer in September, following the departure of <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/hosseinnowbar/">Hossein Nowbar</a>, who is at ServiceNow as president and chief legal officer.
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<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">907681</post-id> </item>
<item>
<title>Ring around the parking lot: Amazon’s security company unveils a $5,000 surveillance trailer</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/ring-around-the-parking-lot-amazons-security-tech-goes-commercial-with-a-5k-surveillance-trailer/</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 Jan 2026 18:19:38 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Todd Bishop]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Amazon Sidewalk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AWS]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Bosch]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CES]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Fire Watch]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Hikvision]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jamie Siminoff]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[LTE]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Motorola Solutions]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ring]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ring Elite]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ring Mobile Security Trailer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Verkada]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Watch Duty]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907638</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="865" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ring-trailer-1-1260x865.png" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ring-trailer-1-1260x865.png 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ring-trailer-1-768x527.png 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ring-trailer-1.png 1381w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> Amazon’s Ring is taking its home-security technology into the parking lot with a $5,000 solar-powered surveillance trailer aimed at construction sites, retail centers, and outdoor events — a move that puts the doorbell maker into more direct competition with commercial security providers. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/ring-around-the-parking-lot-amazons-security-tech-goes-commercial-with-a-5k-surveillance-trailer/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1381" height="948" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ring-trailer-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-907661" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ring-trailer-1.png 1381w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ring-trailer-1-1260x865.png 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ring-trailer-1-768x527.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1381px) 100vw, 1381px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A rendering of Ring’s new Mobile Security Trailer deployed in a parking lot, showing its solar-powered base and 360-degree camera designed to monitor commercial sites such as retail centers, construction projects, and outdoor events. (Ring Image)</figcaption></figure>
Amazon’s Ring is rolling out a $5,000 solar-powered surveillance trailer for parking lots, construction sites, and events — part of a broader expansion beyond the doorbell and into commercial security.
The new Ring Mobile Security Trailer, <a href="https://blog.ring.com/about-ring/ring-unveils-a-new-generation-of-smarter-more-connected-security-at-ces-2026/">announced Tuesday morning</a> at CES, is designed to be an alternative to the heavy-duty rigs often seen at industrial sites. It uses a 360-degree camera with 4k resolution, which the company says ensures high-definition visibility without blind spots.
Ring, acquired by Amazon in 2018, has renewed its focus on security under Ring founder Jamie Siminoff, who returned to the tech giant last year after his 2023 departure.
The move puts Ring in more direct competition with commercial security players like Verkada and Motorola Solutions, which sell cloud-connected cameras and mobile surveillance systems, and traditional industrial providers such as Bosch and Hikvision known for rugged security gear.
Ring’s strategy appears to be leveraging its brand recognition in residential security and Amazon’s infrastructure — including Amazon Sidewalk connectivity and AWS cloud services — to undercut competitors on price as part of a larger system that bridges home and business security.
Set for release this spring, Ring’s trailer can run on line power with battery backup or operate fully off-grid via solar panels. It comes with built-in LTE connectivity, meaning it requires no external internet infrastructure to work. It can also be detached and mounted in a truck bed or used as a standalone station, making it adaptable for temporary deployments like festivals.
It’s part of Ring’s new <a href="https://ring.com/jobsite-security">“Jobsite”</a> security portfolio, which also includes a new <a href="https://ring.com/ring-elite">Ring Elite</a> camera line designed for large-scale business settings like logistics yards and campuses.
Separately, Ring introduced <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ring-watch-duty-launch-feature-140000217.html">“Fire Watch,”</a> a new feature developed in partnership with the non-profit Watch Duty. It provides real-time wildfire alerts directly within the Ring app and allows camera owners to voluntarily share periodic snapshots with first responders.
Apart from its new commercial offerings, the company announced several new residential security features and products.
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>“Unusual Event Alert” uses AI to learn a home’s routine patterns to filter out false alarms.</li>
<li>“Active Warnings” use computer vision to identify potential threats and play automated audio messages to deter intruders.</li>
<li>An updated <a href="https://ring.com/products/car-alarm">Ring Car Alarm</a>, available for pre-order today for $50, uses GPS and Sidewalk connectivity to track vehicles and send motion alerts even when parked remotely.</li>
<li>The new Ring Appstore marketplace will let third-party developers build specialized apps that integrate with Ring cameras and data.</li>
<li>A new line of sensors priced between $30 and $70 connects <a href="https://ring.com/amazon-sidewalk">via Amazon Sidewalk</a> to operate without Wi-Fi or hubs, covering security, safety, and smart controls.</li>
</ul>
Ring announced that the Sidewalk network itself is expanding globally, launching in Canada and Mexico in the coming months before reaching Europe, Australia, and Japan later this year.
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<title>Wi-Fi on the water: Washington State Ferries explores public internet service with new pilot program</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/wi-fi-on-the-water-washington-state-ferries-explores-public-internet-service-with-new-pilot-program/</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 Jan 2026 17:45:29 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Taylor Soper]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Civic]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Washington State Ferries]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[WSDOT]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907257</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1024" height="768" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/4407960350_4c5ea21ed9_o.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/4407960350_4c5ea21ed9_o.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/4407960350_4c5ea21ed9_o-768x576.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"> A limited pilot would provide Wi-Fi at a single terminal and on a single vessel. WSF currently offers no public internet service anywhere in its ferry system. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/wi-fi-on-the-water-washington-state-ferries-explores-public-internet-service-with-new-pilot-program/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="768" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/4407960350_4c5ea21ed9_o.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907629" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/4407960350_4c5ea21ed9_o.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/4407960350_4c5ea21ed9_o-768x576.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)</figcaption></figure>
Washington State Ferries is taking an initial step toward offering public Wi-Fi service at ferry terminals and aboard vessels.
The agency issued a <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/977027552/Washington-State-Ferries-plans-to-test-new-public-internet-system">report</a> in December proposing a limited Wi-Fi pilot at a single terminal — Bremerton — and on a single vessel, the M/V Chimacum.
The effort is driven by state legislation passed last year directing the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to deploy a Wi-Fi pilot within existing resources and report on viability, costs, and potential free or fee-based models.
Washington State Ferries (WSF), which operates under WSDOT, is working through the procurement process for a vendor for the pilot program, according to a spokesperson. The program is limited in scope and any expansion or continuation would be subject to direction from lawmakers, the spokesperson noted. 
The report estimates that the pilot could cost between $100,000 and $150,000, which includes equipment, installation, and minimal vendor support for the pilot period. WSF estimates that expanding public Wi-Fi across terminals and vessels statewide would likely require a multi-million-dollar capital investment, along with ongoing annual operating and maintenance costs in the seven-figure range. 
WSF currently provides no public internet service anywhere in its ferry system. The report references a private-sector attempt to offer Wi-Fi in the late 2000s that ultimately failed due to high infrastructure costs and insufficient revenue. WSF previously partnered with wireless networking company Boingo on a fee-based Wi-Fi service in 2008, but <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2016/washington-state-ferry-system-end-wifi-service-passengers-june-30">that ended in 2016</a>. 
The new pilot could determine whether modern networking technology and vendor models change that equation. WSF plans to measure how many passengers actually use Wi-Fi, how much bandwidth they consume, service reliability, and what kind of staffing and vendor support is required to keep the system running.
Final costs for a potential broader rollout would depend on factors such as how many terminals and vessels are covered, the level of bandwidth provided, and whether service is free, paid, or a mix of both.
If WSF proceeds as planned, the pilot would move forward in 2026, with installation in the spring, and an operational test period running from May through August, according to the report. WSF would analyze the data in late summer and deliver findings and recommendations in September 2026.
The agency flagged several risks, including cybersecurity requirements, potential strain on staff resources, infrastructure limitations on older vessels and terminals, and the challenge of managing passenger expectations for a temporary test program. Any public Wi-Fi network would need to be fully segmented from ferry operational systems and comply with state IT security and accessibility standards.
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<title>Adaptive Biotechnologies spinout raising $15M to develop clinical sequencing tech</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/adaptive-biotechnologies-spinout-raising-15m-to-develop-clinical-sequencing-tech/</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:51:43 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Taylor Soper]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Startups]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Adaptive Biotechnologies]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[digital biotechnologies]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907252</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="945" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Adaptive-sign-NO-BLOODWORKS-2-1260x945.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Adaptive-sign-NO-BLOODWORKS-2-1260x945.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Adaptive-sign-NO-BLOODWORKS-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Adaptive-sign-NO-BLOODWORKS-2-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Adaptive-sign-NO-BLOODWORKS-2.jpg 1632w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> Digital Biotechnologies Inc., a new Seattle-based subsidiary of publicly traded immune medicine company Adaptive Biotechnologies, has raised fresh cash as part of an initial closing of a Series A investment round. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/adaptive-biotechnologies-spinout-raising-15m-to-develop-clinical-sequencing-tech/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1632" height="1224" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Adaptive-sign-NO-BLOODWORKS-2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907621" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Adaptive-sign-NO-BLOODWORKS-2.jpg 1632w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Adaptive-sign-NO-BLOODWORKS-2-1260x945.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Adaptive-sign-NO-BLOODWORKS-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Adaptive-sign-NO-BLOODWORKS-2-1536x1152.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1632px) 100vw, 1632px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Digital Biotechnologies operates out of Adaptive Biotechnologies’ headquarters in Seattle. (Adaptive Photo)</figcaption></figure>
Digital Biotechnologies Inc., a new Seattle-based subsidiary of publicly traded immune medicine company Adaptive Biotechnologies, has raised fresh cash as part of an initial closing of a Series A investment round.
The round could total up to $15 million, according to a recent <a href="https://investors.adaptivebiotech.com/node/11871/html">regulatory filing</a> from Adaptive.
Digital Biotechnologies is developing DNA sequencing technology. A spokesperson for Adaptive said the startup is “adjacent” to Adaptive’s current strategic focus on immune medicine and Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) testing. 
“We are proud to have supported their journey to date and look forward to seeing their continued progress in the coming years with this new financing in place,” the spokesperson said in a statement. Adaptive will own nearly half of the company when the latest funding round is completed.
Digital Biotechnologies works out of Adaptive’s <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2021/adaptive-biotechnologies-new-hq-co-founders-show-off-100k-square-foot-space-seattle/">headquarters</a> in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood. The spokesperson declined to provide more details about the company’s leadership or website.
A recent job <a href="https://www.adaptivebiotech.com/career-listings/listing/?gh_jid=8308291002">posting</a> notes that Digital Biotechnologies is working on a “clinical sequencing instrument.” From the posting: 
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
Present methods for high-throughput sequencing are not suitable for many clinical applications, as all current NGS platforms lack the combination of high accuracy, rapid turnaround time, and low cost that would lead to robust clinical utility. In collaboration with academic and industry scientists across the country, Digital Biotechnologies is engineering the first solid-state sequencer with the specifications necessary for a widely applicable clinical sequencing instrument.
</blockquote>
The startup appears to leverage Adaptive’s immune medicine expertise and IP with a dedicated engineering and product organization focused on hardware. 
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-h-bielas-301414242/">Jason Bielas</a>, a longtime professor at the University of Washington and leader at Fred Hutch Cancer Center, is a co-founder of Digital Biotechnologies. The company has a handful of other employees, according to LinkedIn. 
Adaptive plans to consolidate the company’s financial results in its own earnings reports.
Founded in 2009 by brothers Chad and Harlan Robins, Adaptive develops immune system-related products for diagnosis and monitoring of cancer and other diseases. The company, which spun out of the Fred Hutch, went public in 2019. 
Chad Robins still leads the company as CEO. Harlan Robins is chief scientific officer. Adaptive employs more than 600 people, according to LinkedIn. 
Adaptive’s stock is up more than 120% over the past 12 months. Shares spiked more than 50% in November after the company topped third quarter expectations, reporting $94 million in overall revenue, fueled by growth in its MRD business.
Adaptive last month <a href="https://investors.adaptivebiotech.com/news-releases/news-release-details/adaptive-biotechnologies-announces-two-immune-receptor-licensing">entered</a> into two autoimmune-related agreements with Pfizer, including one focused on rheumatoid arthritis that could be worth up to $890 million.
The company agreed to <a href="https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/genentechs-summer-struggle-continues-scrapped-2b-cell-therapy-deal">terminate a deal with Genentech</a> last year. That deal, originally announced in 2019, had $2 billion in potential value.
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<title>This plant-based chicken startup is bucking alt-protein trends with a new production milestone</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/this-plant-based-chicken-startup-is-bucking-alt-protein-trends-with-a-new-production-milestone/</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2026 23:34:59 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kurt Schlosser]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Startups]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Christie Lagally Bradburn]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Rebellyous Foods]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907520</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="945" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Rebellyous-Team-Operating-Mock-3-1260x945.jpeg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Rebellyous-Team-Operating-Mock-3-1260x945.jpeg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Rebellyous-Team-Operating-Mock-3-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Rebellyous-Team-Operating-Mock-3-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Rebellyous-Team-Operating-Mock-3.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> Rebellyous Foods demonstrated the ability to continuously produce its plant-based chicken products such as nuggets, patties and tenders, across multiple shifts while scaling up and down as needed in real time. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/this-plant-based-chicken-startup-is-bucking-alt-protein-trends-with-a-new-production-milestone/">Read More</a>]]></description>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="945" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Rebellyous-Team-Operating-Mock-3-1260x945.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-907544" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Rebellyous-Team-Operating-Mock-3-1260x945.jpeg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Rebellyous-Team-Operating-Mock-3-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Rebellyous-Team-Operating-Mock-3-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Rebellyous-Team-Operating-Mock-3.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Rebellyous Foods team running the Mock 3 production system, from left: Founder and CEO Christie Lagally Bradburn, mechanical design engineer Cruz Philippe, and inventory and logistics manager David Miller. (Rebellyous Foods Photo)</figcaption></figure>
Seattle-based food technology startup <a href="https://www.rebellyous.com/">Rebellyous Foods</a> ended 2025 on a high note with the commercial launch of a new production system for its plant-based faux meat.
Last week, Rebellyous successfully ran its Mock 3 over two days, demonstrating the ability to continuously produce its plant-based chicken products such as nuggets, patties and tenders, across multiple shifts while scaling up and down as needed in real time.
Rebellyous founder and CEO Christie Lagally Bradburn called it a “momentous final week” of the year as the startup proved that production of its plant-based meat can be automated in high volumes and with considerably reduced labor compared to conventional methods.
The company says the Mock 3 is capable of producing over 5,000 pounds of its faux chicken per hour. 
The Mock 3 also marks a return to Washington state for Rebellyous, which had been partnering on a Mock 2 system with RMS Foods at a state-of-the-art facility in New Mexico. 
Lagally Bradburn told GeekWire that the system “needed some upgrades” to reach full commercialization, and Rebellyous decided to build its own mini-facility inside an existing food processing site in Stanwood, Wash., north of Seattle.
“Thanks to the extra time and money we invested in the Washington state facility, the Mock 3 system now works perfectly,” Lagally Bradburn said, adding that Rebellyous remains committed to RMS Foods as a co-manufacturing partner, especially amid the rapid expansion of customers in the southeastern U.S.
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="945" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Rebellyous-Spicy-Products-1260x945.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-907545" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Rebellyous-Spicy-Products-1260x945.jpeg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Rebellyous-Spicy-Products-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Rebellyous-Spicy-Products-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Rebellyous-Spicy-Products.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Rebellyous Foods’ Spicy Kick’n (fake chicken) Patties roll off the production line in Stanwood, Wash. (Rebellyous Foods Photo)</figcaption></figure>
A former Boeing engineer, Lagally Bradburn started Rebellyous as Seattle Food Tech, Inc. in 2017 in a bid to make plant-based meat faster, better and less expensive to produce. 
The startup’s customers include school districts across the U.S. who feed children through the National School Lunch Program, as well as hospitals, restaurants, and others.
Rebellyous saw 30% year-over-year growth in 2025, and raised $3.5 million in November to support its plans for 2026. Lagally Bradburn said the startup, which has raised $38.5 million in its 8 1/2 years, is at “break-even.”
“Some months we are cash flow positive, so we are creeping over the ‘profitability’ finish line right now,” she said. “Commercialization of the Mock 3 is a key piece to our mantra of ‘price-parity and profitability’ for Rebellyous and we continue to grow rapidly.”
That growth flies against the investor pullback that some alternative protein companies experienced in 2025, as <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-01-05/green-investing-in-2026-where-the-smart-climate-tech-money-is-going?">Bloomberg reported Monday</a>.
Lagally Bradburn said investors are wary of a “marketing-first approach” to alt-proteins, but Rebellyous’ investors are seeing results with its “price- and quality-first approach.” She said Rebellyous has the highest margins in the plant-based meat industry. The company has eight full-time and two part-time employees.
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<title>Microsoft acquires data analytics startup Osmos to fuel push into ‘autonomous data engineering’</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/microsoft-acquires-data-analytics-seattle-startup-osmos-to-fuel-push-into-autonomous-data-engineering/</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2026 22:28:42 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Taylor Soper]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Startups]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[acquisition]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[M&A]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[microsoft fabric]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[osmos]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907518</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="299" height="299" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1627432586275.jpeg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1627432586275.jpeg 299w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1627432586275-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1627432586275-100x100.jpeg 100w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1627432586275-200x200.jpeg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px"> Instead of selling tools alongside data platforms, Osmos’ technology will live inside one. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/microsoft-acquires-data-analytics-seattle-startup-osmos-to-fuel-push-into-autonomous-data-engineering/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="299" height="299" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1627432586275.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-907529" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1627432586275.jpeg 299w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1627432586275-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1627432586275-100x100.jpeg 100w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1627432586275-200x200.jpeg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Osmos CEO Kirat Pandya. (LinkedIn Photo)</figcaption></figure>
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Microsoft announced Monday that it acquired <a href="https://www.osmos.io/">Osmos</a>, a Seattle startup that helps companies automate data engineering work. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Osmos’ team will join the engineering organization behind <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-fabric">Microsoft Fabric</a>, the tech giant’s data and analytics platform, to “accelerate autonomous data engineering,” according to a <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/01/05/microsoft-announces-acquisition-of-osmos-to-accelerate-autonomous-data-engineering-in-fabric/">Microsoft blog post</a>.
Founded in 2019, Osmos initially focused on external data ingestion — helping companies bring in data from customers, suppliers, and partners. Over time, the startup began experimenting with large language models embedded directly in data engineering workflows, and later built products within Microsoft Fabric, using the platform’s extensibility platform.
Now, instead of selling tools alongside data platforms, Osmos’ technology will live inside one.
“By bringing Osmos’ technology and team into Microsoft, we have the opportunity to accelerate what we’ve been building and deliver it to a far broader audience — directly where customers already operate their data platforms,” Osmos CEO <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiratpandya">Kirat Pandya</a> wrote in a <a href="https://www.osmos.io/a-note-from-kirat">blog post</a>.
Microsoft Fabric, launched in 2023, unifies data engineering, data science, real-time analytics, and business intelligence in a single environment. Osmos’ technology will help turn raw data into “analytics- and AI-ready assets,” according to <a href="http://linkedin.com/in/bogdanc">Bogdan Crivat</a>, who leads Microsoft’s Azure Data Analytics team.
“Many teams spend most of their time preparing data instead of analyzing it,” Crivat wrote in a blog post.
As part of the deal, Osmos is winding down its standalone offerings. The company says its current product suite — including Uploaders, Pipelines, and Datasets, as well as its data agents for Databricks and Fabric — will begin sunsetting in January 2026 as the tech is integrated into Fabric.
Osmos <a href="https://venturebeat.com/ai/osmos-emerges-from-stealth-to-unify-enterprise-data">raised</a> $13 million in a round led by Lightspeed in 2021 that also included CRV, Pear, and SV Angel.
 Pandya previously worked at Google and Microsoft. Osmos co-founder <a href="http://linkedin.com/in/nareshvenkat">Naresh Venkat</a> also worked at Google, as well as Trend Micro and Dell. Osmos has less than 20 employees, according to LinkedIn.

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<title>Desney Tan leaves Microsoft after 21 years leading key research and healthcare initiatives</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/desney-tan-leaves-microsoft-after-21-years-leading-key-research-and-healthcare-initiatives/</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2026 22:24:48 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Todd Bishop]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Health/Life Sciences]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Microsoft]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tech Moves]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[artificial intelligence]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[desney tan]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[digital health]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Human-Computer Interaction]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Microsoft Research]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907531</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="900" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/20181003_GeekWire_Summit_511-1260x900.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/20181003_GeekWire_Summit_511-1260x900.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/20181003_GeekWire_Summit_511-768x549.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/20181003_GeekWire_Summit_511-1536x1097.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/20181003_GeekWire_Summit_511.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> Microsoft Research leader Desney Tan is leaving the company after 21 years, closing a career that spanned breakthrough work in human-computer interaction, health “moonshots,” and products including Xbox Kinect and Microsoft Band. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/desney-tan-leaves-microsoft-after-21-years-leading-key-research-and-healthcare-initiatives/">Read More</a>]]></description>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="900" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/20181003_GeekWire_Summit_511-1260x900.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907532" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/20181003_GeekWire_Summit_511-1260x900.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/20181003_GeekWire_Summit_511-768x549.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/20181003_GeekWire_Summit_511-1536x1097.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/20181003_GeekWire_Summit_511.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Desney Tan speaks at the 2018 GeekWire Summit. (GeekWire File Photo / Kevin Lisota)</figcaption></figure>
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/desney/">Desney Tan</a>, who rose from researcher to corporate vice president and managing director of Microsoft Research, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7413997976945082369/">announced</a> Monday that he’s leaving the company after 21 years.
Tan became known in part for research in “whole body computing,” physiological sensing, brain-computer interfaces and other novel forms of human-computer interaction. His work spanned areas including Windows multi-monitor functionality, handwriting recognition, motion tracking for Xbox Kinect, and the technology behind the Microsoft Band fitness tracker.
In more recent years, he shifted his focus to healthcare, for a time leading Microsoft Health Futures, the company’s health and life sciences “moonshot factory.” He oversaw major partnerships including Microsoft’s <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2018/microsoft-partnership/">collaboration with Adaptive Biotechnologies</a>.
“New year, new adventures,” Tan wrote on LinkedIn, adding that he’s “signing off with a heart full of gratitude and a deep sense of pride.” He thanked colleagues at Microsoft Research for “the warm home, the unwavering trust, and the inspired pursuit of impactful innovation.”
In a message to GeekWire, Tan said he’s intentionally keeping his options open, without anything concrete lined up yet, so he can experiment with a few different things. 
Beyond Microsoft, he serves on the boards of ResMed and the Washington Research Foundation, and advises startups including surgical navigation company Proprio and cognitive health startup NewDays. He’s also senior advisor and chief technologist at Seattle-based incubator IntuitiveX, and holds an affiliate faculty position at the University of Washington.
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<title>‘Designed to be addictive’: Study finds teens spend more than an hour per day on phones at school</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/designed-to-be-addictive-study-finds-teens-spend-more-than-an-hour-per-day-on-phones-at-school/</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2026 17:32:47 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kurt Schlosser]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Health/Life Sciences]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cell phones]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kids]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Smartphones]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[University of Washington]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[uw medicine]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907480</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="900" height="600" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bigstock-Close-Up-Of-A-Line-Of-High-Sch-248288884.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bigstock-Close-Up-Of-A-Line-Of-High-Sch-248288884.jpg 900w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bigstock-Close-Up-Of-A-Line-Of-High-Sch-248288884-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px"> The findings add to the ongoing argument made by teachers, parents and policymakers that has led schools and districts around the country, including some in Seattle, to ban phones during school hours. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/designed-to-be-addictive-study-finds-teens-spend-more-than-an-hour-per-day-on-phones-at-school/">Read More</a>]]></description>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="900" height="600" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bigstock-Close-Up-Of-A-Line-Of-High-Sch-248288884.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907488" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bigstock-Close-Up-Of-A-Line-Of-High-Sch-248288884.jpg 900w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bigstock-Close-Up-Of-A-Line-Of-High-Sch-248288884-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(BigStock Photo)</figcaption></figure>
New research tied to the University of Washington School of Medicine adds to mounting concerns among educators about smartphone use in schools.
U.S. adolescents between the ages of 13–18 spend more than one hour per day on phones during school hours, with “addictive” social media apps accounting for the largest share of use, according to new <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2843506?resultClick=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research published in JAMA</a>. 
The findings add to the ongoing argument made by teachers, parents and policymakers that has led schools and districts around the country, including some in Seattle, to ban phones during school hours. 
The <a href="https://abcdstudy.org/about/">Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study</a> tracked 640 teens whose parents consented to passive monitoring software on their Android smartphones from September 2022 to May 2024, <a href="https://newsroom.uw.edu/news-releases/study-teens-use-cellphones-for-an-hour-a-day-at-school">according to UW Medicine</a>.
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Adolescents spent an average of 1.16 hours per day on smartphones during school hours.</li>
<li>Social media apps Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat accounted for most use, followed by YouTube and games.</li>
<li>Older adolescents (16–18) and teens from lower-income households reported higher smartphone use than their peers.</li>
</ul>
“These apps are designed to be addictive,” said <a href="https://www.peds.uw.edu/directory/dimitri_christakis/1289">Dr. Dimitri Christakis</a>, the paper’s senior author. “They deprive students of the opportunity to be fully engaged in class and to hone their social skills with classmates and teachers.”
Christakis is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine and practices at Seattle Children’s Hospital. 
Based on a national sample of students, the results build on findings <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2829879">published last year in JAMA Pediatrics</a>. That study had fewer participants but also included iPhone users.
<a href="https://www.edweek.org/technology/which-states-ban-or-restrict-cellphones-in-schools/2024/06">At least 32 states and the District of Columbia</a> require school districts to ban or restrict students’ use of cell phones in schools. The effect of those policies “remains to be seen,” Christakis said. 
“To date they’ve been very poorly enforced, if at all. I think the U.S. has to recognize the generational implications of depriving children of opportunities to learn in school,” he added.
A majority of school districts in Washington state planned to have policies in place at the start of the school year last fall to limit students’ use of cellphones and other devices such as smart watches.
Seattle Public Schools has not issued a district-wide policy, though at least three public middle schools in the district have banned phones at school, and at least one high school <a href="https://rainierbeachhs.seattleschools.org/news/welcome-to-the-new-school-year-august-newsletter-from-principal-patu/">prohibits their use</a> during classes.
The UW’s <a href="https://digitalyouth.uw.edu/projects-youth-advisory-board/">Youth Advisory Board</a>, a group of approximately 20 teens from Seattle-area schools, recently published its <a href="https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.uw.edu/dist/b/27017/files/2025/10/Final-UW-YAB.pdf">first memo</a> tackling the contentious issue of phones in school. The memo weighs the pros and cons of phone bans and offers recommendations on how schools should draft and communicate their policies. 
Related:
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/the-kids-have-spoken-teens-holistic-approach-to-school-phone-policies-rivals-adult-rules/">The kids have spoken: Teens’ holistic approach to school phone policies rivals adult rules</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/the-right-call-a-year-after-schools-phone-ban-educators-and-parents-love-it-but-kids-arent-so-sure/">The right call? A year after school’s phone ban, educators and parents love it, but kids aren’t so sure</a></li>
</ul>
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<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">907480</post-id> </item>
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<title>Tech Moves: Amazon leader lands at Anthropic; Microsoft government affairs vet retires</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/tech-moves-amazon-gen-ai-leader-leaves-for-anthropic-microsoft-pm-returns-after-launching-a-startup/</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2026 16:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lisa Stiffler]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Startups]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tech Moves]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Anthropic]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[brian surratt]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Casium]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Coltura]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[EVQ]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[HighSpot]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Invest in Washington Now]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Irene Plenefisch]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jordan Arnold]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Joseph Williams]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Matthew Metz]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Microsoft]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Microsoft AI]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Okta]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Rhizome Research]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sage Ke’alohilani Quiamno]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Steven Maheshwary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[talvita]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Washington State Broadband Office]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Yoodli]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907181</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="800" height="800" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Steven-M.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Steven-M.jpg 800w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Steven-M-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Steven-M-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Steven-M-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"> Steven Maheshwary, a former generative AI leader at Amazon, is now a go-to-market lead in strategic partnerships at Anthropic, the AI giant behind Claude and backed by Amazon. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/tech-moves-amazon-gen-ai-leader-leaves-for-anthropic-microsoft-pm-returns-after-launching-a-startup/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="800" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Steven-M.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907265" style="width:300px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Steven-M.jpg 800w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Steven-M-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Steven-M-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Steven-M-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Steven Maheshwary. (LinkedIn Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
— <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/snmahesh/">Steven Maheshwary</a>, a former generative AI leader at Amazon, is now a go-to-market lead in strategic partnerships at Anthropic, the AI giant behind Claude and backed by Amazon.
On LinkedIn, Maheshwary described AI as “a catalyst for significant transformation and a raw energy that must be shaped, guardrailed, and democratized to be genuinely useful.” 
“I believe Claude represents a distinct vision of what AI can be: powerful and capable, while remaining safe and aligned with human values,” he added. 
Maheshwary was with Amazon for 12 years, most recently as head of growth for AI startups and foundation models on AWS. During his tenure, he also served as former Gov. Jay Inslee’s technology sector lead, working to grow Washington state’s tech and AI economy, and was a Fulbright grantee for the U.S. Department of State.
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="800" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1594092307435.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-907431" style="width:225px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1594092307435.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1594092307435-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1594092307435-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1594092307435-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Irene Plenefisch. (LinkedIn Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
— <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/irene-plenefisch-b61a657/">Irene Plenefisch</a>, a longtime government affairs leader at Microsoft, is retiring after more than 15 years at the Redmond tech company. Plenefisch, most recently a senior director at Microsoft, previously worked at SonoSite for 12 years. 
“I have been proud to represent Microsoft, an important and amazing company, in its home state and around the country,” she <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7413355410021249024/?originTrackingId=r0CggWaZCw7kjmw1zPM6lQ%3D%3D">wrote </a>on LinkedIn, adding: “I’m not going to lie; the path for channeling all the energy, competitiveness and enthusiasm for being in the middle of it all is not completely clear. But I am confident in my decision.”
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="270" height="270" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1716346688217.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-907437" style="width:225px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1716346688217.jpeg 270w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1716346688217-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1716346688217-100x100.jpeg 100w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1716346688217-200x200.jpeg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 270px) 100vw, 270px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Nikhil Hasija. (LinkedIn Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
— <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilhasija/">Nikhil Hasija</a> left his role as vice president of engineering at Okta. Hasija joined the security company following its acquisition of Azuqua, a Seattle startup he founded in 2011. Hasija also spent more than four years at Microsoft. 
“I’m starting to think about what’s next,” he wrote on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7412324805321916416--pOK?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAALbAY8BAMubgbU_YrKPSMQUTb8n4LKdJA0">LinkedIn</a>. “I’m increasingly drawn to problems centered on leverage, speed, and new ways of working. To everyone who made this journey worthwhile, I’m glad our paths crossed, and I welcome that again.”
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="800" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Caitlin-Rollman.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907186" style="width:225px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Caitlin-Rollman.jpg 800w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Caitlin-Rollman-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Caitlin-Rollman-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Caitlin-Rollman-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Caitlin Rollman. (LinkedIn Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
— <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlin-rollman">Caitlin Rollman</a> is back at Microsoft as a partner product manager. She was previously at the tech giant for nearly a decade ending in 2020, leaving the role of principal PM manager for the Office platform.
Rollman <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/caitlin-rollman_back-in-november-i-got-a-phone-call-that-activity-7409092153043292160-FlsN/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAALbAY8BAMubgbU_YrKPSMQUTb8n4LKdJA0">said </a>on LinkedIn that she got a call from Microsoft and was “offered the opportunity to build something new from the ground up, at a company I respect, with people I adore. I couldn’t say no.”
Rollman left Microsoft to work as senior director of product management for Highspot, a Seattle company that sells enterprise software to help make salespeople more efficient. 
Last year she <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/startup-radar-hiring-and-hr-tools-dementia-care-ai-for-financial-advisors-and-smart-home-lights/">co-founded</a> and was CEO of Talvita, an AI-native human resources management platform.
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="461" height="461" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Brian-Surratt-profile.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-903460" style="width:225px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Brian-Surratt-profile.jpg 461w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Brian-Surratt-profile-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Brian-Surratt-profile-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Brian-Surratt-profile-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Brian-Surratt-profile-200x200.jpg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Brian Surratt. (LinkedIn Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
— <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-surratt/">Brian Surratt</a> is now officially deputy mayor at the City of Seattle in new Mayor Katie Wilson’s administration. 
Surratt spent nearly four years leading Greater Seattle Partners, a public-private sector initiative that seeks to attract investment, companies and jobs to the Seattle region. He also previously led the City of Seattle’s economic development arm and was a vice president at Alexandria Real Estate Equities. 
Wilson was sworn in on Friday, becoming the city’s 58th mayor.
“Seattle has shaped my belief in what is possible when public service, community engagement, and economic opportunity come together,” he wrote on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7412521752062398465-CLJq?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAALbAY8BAMubgbU_YrKPSMQUTb8n4LKdJA0">LinkedIn</a> last week. “To step back into City Hall at this moment — when our city is focused on restoring trust and building civic pride, tackling our homelessness crisis, expanding housing and economic opportunity, and building a more affordable, inclusive, innovation-driven future — is both humbling and energizing.”
— <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmarocheteau/">Dr. Emma Rocheteau </a>has taken the role of clinician scientist at Microsoft AI in London.
“Throughout 2025, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we’re at an inflection point where medicine and AI are finally coming together to solve some of healthcare’s toughest challenges,” Rocheteau <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7413633895763685376/?originTrackingId=WBfdThqXCTS0DlHL7dFgWA%3D%3D">said </a>on LinkedIn. “To be able to contribute to this is a dream come true for me, and it represents exactly what I’ve been working towards for the past 12 years.”
Rocheteau joins Microsoft from NHS, the United Kingdom’s publicly funded National Heath Service. She was briefly a research intern for Microsoft in 2019 during which she focused on health intelligence.
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="1260" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Ashlee-Drake-Berry-Headshot-1260x1260.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907187" style="width:225px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Ashlee-Drake-Berry-Headshot-1260x1260.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Ashlee-Drake-Berry-Headshot-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Ashlee-Drake-Berry-Headshot-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Ashlee-Drake-Berry-Headshot-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Ashlee-Drake-Berry-Headshot-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Ashlee-Drake-Berry-Headshot.jpg 1742w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ashlee Drake Berry. (Casium Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
— <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleedrakeberry/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ashlee Drake Berry</a> joined Seattle-based immigration tech company Casium as head of legal. Berry is leaving a role as principal corporate counsel at Microsoft where she focused on legal compliance in the hiring of immigrant and non-immigrant employees globally.
“This role has stretched me, challenged me, and given me the chance to work with some of the most talented and generous colleagues I’ve ever known,” Berry <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7412149767738306562/?originTrackingId=lfWwW5ZV%2FiZoGBa4D1mdcA%3D%3D">said </a>on LinkedIn. 
Berry previously worked on immigration employment issues at Vialto Partners and Envoy Global. Casium spun out of the Seattle-based AI2 Incubator in April 2024.
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="353" height="353" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Sage-Quiamno-Headshot-2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907452" style="width:225px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Sage-Quiamno-Headshot-2.jpg 353w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Sage-Quiamno-Headshot-2-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Sage-Quiamno-Headshot-2-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Sage-Quiamno-Headshot-2-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Sage-Quiamno-Headshot-2-200x200.jpg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 353px) 100vw, 353px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sage Ke’alohilani Quiamno. (Photo courtesy of Quiamno)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
— <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sage-quiamno/">Sage Ke’alohilani Quiamno</a> is now the communications and marketing lead at Yoodli, a Seattle startup that sells AI-powered software to help people practice real-world conversations such as sales calls and feedback sessions. The company last month <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/ai-roleplay-startup-yoodli-raises-40m-reports-900-revenue-growth/">announced </a>$40 million in new funding.
Quiamno has been running a public relations consultancy over the past year. She was previously the global diversity, equity and inclusion leader at Amazon’s Prime Video and Amazon Studios for more than three years, ending in January 2025.
Quiamno was co-founder and CEO of Future for Us, an organization promoting professional development for women of color that was acquired.
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="825" height="825" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/unnamed.png" alt="" class="wp-image-907191" style="width:225px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/unnamed.png 825w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/unnamed-150x150.png 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/unnamed-768x768.png 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/unnamed-100x100.png 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 825px) 100vw, 825px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Adam Stern. (Coltura Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
— <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-stern-ab94a725">Adam Stern</a>, an environmental and clean energy leader, is co-executive director of the Seattle-based electric vehicle nonprofit Coltura. Stern, who resides in San Francisco, joins Janelle London in the shared role.
Former co-executive director <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-metz-04b1137/">Matthew Metz</a> founded Coltura in 2014 to promote EV adoption through research, analysis and policy support. He is transitioning to a full-time role as CEO of EVQ, a public benefit corporation and tech platform that spun out of Coltura to support consumers and organizations in the purchase of EVs. 
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="640" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Matthew-Metz.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907192" style="width:225px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Matthew-Metz.jpg 640w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Matthew-Metz-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Matthew-Metz-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Matthew Metz. (LinkedIn Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
“While Matthew is stepping away from his day-to-day role at Coltura, his impact will continue to be felt for years to come — in the policies passed, the ideas normalized, and the momentum built toward a cleaner transportation future,” the nonprofit said in announcing the changes. 
— <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjosephwilliams/">Joseph Williams</a> has stepped down from his post as interim director of the Washington State Broadband Office within the Department of Commerce. Williams, who has held leadership positions for government agencies and was with Microsoft for nearly a decade, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjosephwilliams/">said </a>on LinkedIn that he’ll be sharing news of his next role later this month.
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-e-arnold/">Jordan Arnold</a> <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/tech-moves-washington-names-broadband-leader-greater-seattle-partners-gets-interim-president-microsoft-legal-exec-departs/">was appointed</a> in December as the permanent Broadband Office lead, effective Jan. 2.
And in case you missed it, Commerce Director <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetjoenguyen/">Joe Nguyen</a> is <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/washington-state-commerce-chief-joe-nguyen-is-leaving-reportedly-to-lead-seattle-metro-chamber/">leaving his post</a> this month <a href="https://www.seattlechamber.com/news/2025/12/29/press-room/seattle-metropolitan-chamber-of-commerce-announces-joe-nguyen-as-new-president-and-ceo/">to become</a> the president and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber. A new Department of Commerce director has not been named.
— <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/carterrabasa/">Carter Rabasa</a>, an entrepreneur, investor and former employee of multiple Seattle-area tech companies, joined Box as head of developer relations. Rabasa previously held similar roles at IBM, DataStax, and Courier. He was also with Twilio for more than five years.
— Invest in Washington Now, a nonprofit promoting tax reform, shared that <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/treasuremackley/">Treasure Mackley</a> is resigning as executive director, effective Jan. 9. Mackley was in the role for more than five years, helping pass the state’s capital gains tax. She previously held leadership positions with Planned Parenthood. 
— The Washington Technology Industry Association <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/washington-technology-industry-association_icymi-congrats-to-our-valued-wtia-staff-activity-7408993987950223360-9mgJ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAALbAY8BAMubgbU_YrKPSMQUTb8n4LKdJA0">announced</a> five internal promotions, including <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickellingson/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_detail_base%3BzXIV8GYVQO6EFsUdcPs6cg%3D%3D">Nick Ellingson</a>, now vice president of innovation and entrepreneurship.
— Rhizome Research, a Seattle biotech startup, announced that <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnproudfoot/">John Proudfoot</a>, a former U.S.-based director in the Medicinal Chemistry Department at Boehringer Ingelheim, has joined as a scientific advisor.
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<title>Amazon’s AI on the web, wrist, and phone: Tech giant chases consumer rivals with latest moves</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/amazons-ai-on-the-web-wrist-and-phone-tech-giant-chases-consumer-rivals-with-latest-moves/</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2026 15:35:10 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Todd Bishop]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Alexa]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Alexa+]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Bee]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[BMW]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[bose]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CES]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Daniel Rausch]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Gemini]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[LG]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Maria de Lourdes Zollo]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[OpenAI]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Samsung]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sonos]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907446</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="709" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/alexa-logo-1600x900-1-1260x709.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/alexa-logo-1600x900-1-1260x709.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/alexa-logo-1600x900-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/alexa-logo-1600x900-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/alexa-logo-1600x900-1-630x354.jpg 630w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/alexa-logo-1600x900-1.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> Amazon is pushing Alexa+ beyond the smart speaker, bringing its upgraded AI assistant to the web, a redesigned mobile app, and new hardware initiatives. The moves, timed to CES, reflect the company’s effort to close the gap with consumer AI rivals such as ChatGPT and Gemini. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/amazons-ai-on-the-web-wrist-and-phone-tech-giant-chases-consumer-rivals-with-latest-moves/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="709" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/alexa-logo-1600x900-1-1260x709.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-860851" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/alexa-logo-1600x900-1-1260x709.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/alexa-logo-1600x900-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/alexa-logo-1600x900-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/alexa-logo-1600x900-1-630x354.jpg 630w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/alexa-logo-1600x900-1.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Amazon says expanding Alexa further beyond the home will be a big focus in 2026. (Amazon Image)</figcaption></figure>
Amazon is expanding its consumer AI ecosystem beyond the smart speaker — <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/alexa-plus-web-ai-assistant">bringing Alexa+ to the web</a>, revamping its mobile app, and offering its first update on <a href="https://www.bee.computer/">Bee</a> since acquiring the wearable AI startup six months ago.
The announcements, timed to CES in Las Vegas, mark Amazon’s latest effort to catch up in the consumer AI race. While the company’s cloud unit has established itself as a major AI infrastructure and enterprise services provider, Amazon has struggled to match the momentum of OpenAI, Google, and the rapidly growing field of consumer AI startups.
New this morning, Amazon released a streamlined Alexa mobile app that makes the AI assistant the primary focus. The redesigned interface features an “Ask Alexa” prompt anchored at the bottom of the screen, personalized suggestions, and quick access to devices and favorites — a cleaner look that prioritizes the AI assistant over other features.
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="913" height="759" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/alexa-app.png" alt="" class="wp-image-907451" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/alexa-app.png 913w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/alexa-app-768x638.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 913px) 100vw, 913px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Amazon is rolling out a new Alexa app that focuses on the chat experience. (GeekWire Screenshots)</figcaption></figure>
Amazon says Alexa+, its upgraded AI assistant, is now available in the browser via alexa.com to all customers in its early access program. As <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/with-new-alexa-website-amazons-consumer-ai-vision-finally-comes-together-and-its-actually-useful/">previously reported by GeekWire</a>, the web interface extends Alexa beyond voice commands, enabling document uploads, web-based chat integration, and point-and-click control over reminders, calendars, and smart home devices.
Alexa+ uses generative AI to offer smoother conversations and better answers than its predecessor, along with new agentic capabilities such as booking tickets and reservations. 
Amazon is competing against consumer AI rivals such as ChatGPT and Gemini, which have become everyday tools for millions of people. It’s looking to leverage its more than 600 million Alexa-enabled devices, and areas of differentiation such as smart-home controls and device integrations.
The company had an initial false start with a more limited conversational Alexa feature called “Let’s Chat,” first shown publicly in <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2023/amazon-previews-alexa-lets-chat-feature-for-echo-devices-building-on-generative-ai-technology/">September 2023</a>, but never fully released. Working on Let’s Chat led to “some realizations about how big of an effort we needed to put in with Alexa+,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielrausch/">Daniel Rausch</a>, vice president of Alexa and Echo, in a recent interview with GeekWire.
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="840" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AMAZON2025_0226_105609-7335_ALIVECOVERAGE-1260x840.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-865148" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AMAZON2025_0226_105609-7335_ALIVECOVERAGE-1260x840.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AMAZON2025_0226_105609-7335_ALIVECOVERAGE-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AMAZON2025_0226_105609-7335_ALIVECOVERAGE-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AMAZON2025_0226_105609-7335_ALIVECOVERAGE-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AMAZON2025_0226_105609-7335_ALIVECOVERAGE-630x420.jpg 630w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Daniel Rausch, Amazon’s vice president of Alexa and Echo, at the Alexa+ launch event.</figcaption></figure>
Alexa+ started rolling out <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/geekwire-podcast-inside-amazons-attempt-to-reinvent-alexa-for-the-new-era-of-ai/">in March 2025</a>. According to the company, tens of millions of customers are now using Alexa+, with engagement rates two to three times higher than prior Alexa versions.
Rausch said 76% of what customers do with Alexa+ “is not possible with any other AI,” citing scenarios that go beyond chat, such as controlling devices, managing home and family logistics, and completing multi‑step tasks across different services and screens.
Amazon is also betting on hardware to extend its AI ambitions beyond the home.
In <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/bee-amazon-wearable-ai-device-new-features">a post Monday</a>, Bee co-founder Maria de Lourdes Zollo gave the first public update since Amazon <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/amazon-is-acquiring-bee-maker-of-a-wearable-ai-assistant-that-listens-to-conversations/">acquired the San Francisco startup</a> last year. Bee makes a $49.99 wearable device that records and transcribes conversations, creating summaries, insights, and suggested actions.
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="819" height="522" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bee-pioneer.png" alt="" class="wp-image-907458" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bee-pioneer.png 819w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bee-pioneer-768x489.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Bee “Pioneer Edition” wrist device. (Bee Photo)</figcaption></figure>
Since joining Amazon, Bee has shipped four major features in 90 days, Zollo wrote, including Voice Notes for capturing thoughts on the go, Actions that connect conversations to email and calendar, and Daily Insights that surface patterns across weeks of interactions.
Zollo described the acquisition as a path toward “ambient AI” — technology that understands and assists users everywhere, “across every surface throughout your day.”
Amazon declined to share details on any plans to integrate Bee with Alexa, leaving open the question of how the wearable fits into the company’s broader AI assistant strategy.
The announcements build on Amazon’s push to bring Alexa+ to third-party hardware, including Sonos and Bose speakers, LG and Samsung smart TVs, and BMW cars.
Rausch said taking Alexa+ further beyond the home will be a big push for Amazon in 2026. He hinted at more to come, including new “personal mobile devices” from Amazon designed to help customers bring Alexa+ with them throughout the day.
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<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">907446</post-id> </item>
<item>
<title>Amazon tees up new private label golf balls — here’s how they stack up against Titleist and Taylormade</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/amazon-tees-up-new-private-label-golf-balls-heres-how-they-stack-up-against-titleist-and-taylormade/</link>
<pubDate>Sun, 04 Jan 2026 18:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Taylor Soper]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sports Tech]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[amazon basics]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Golf]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[golf balls]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Taylormade]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Titleist]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907276</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="945" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5929-1260x945.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5929-1260x945.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5929-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5929-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5929-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> Amazon is taking a swing at golf balls, but are they worth buying? We enlisted the help of two golf pros to test the ultra-cheap Amazon Basics golf balls against premium brands. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/amazon-tees-up-new-private-label-golf-balls-heres-how-they-stack-up-against-titleist-and-taylormade/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="4032" height="3024" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5929.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907277" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5929.jpg 4032w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5929-1260x945.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5929-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5929-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5929-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 4032px) 100vw, 4032px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Evergreen Golf Club instructor Austin Nutt takes a swing as he tries out Amazon’s new Amazon Basics golf balls that recently debuted on the company’s online marketplace. (GeekWire Photos / Taylor Soper)</figcaption></figure>
Amazon is taking a private-label swing on the golf course.
The online retail giant started recently selling golf balls under its Amazon Basics brand in mid-October. Priced at just $15.99 for a dozen balls (when GeekWire purchased a box in November), Amazon is targeting a budget-conscious golfer with one of the cheapest options across its online marketplace.
The price got our attention. Next we needed to test performance.
The balls showed up on my doorstep a day after ordering. I swung by the <a href="https://evergreengolfclub.com/">Evergreen Golf Club</a> practice facility near Seattle and enlisted the help of teaching professionals Austin Nutt and Tyler Yee.
I brought along the Amazon Basics balls, as well as two higher-end competitors: Taylormade TP5x ($45/dozen) and Titleist ProV1 ($55/dozen).
Using each ball, the pros hit 10 shots with three different clubs: driver, 7-iron, and wedge.
It wasn’t a huge surprise to see both professionals generate more distance and higher ball speeds with the Taylormade and Titleist balls, particularly off the driver (about 10 yards on average).
Yee said the Amazon balls felt like hitting a “marshmallow” as opposed to a firmer feeling with Taylormade and Titleist. Amazon brands the balls as “Core Soft.”
Nutt said it would be harder to control the Amazon ball with shorter shots around the green. “You get what you pay for in the world of golf balls,” he said.
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="4032" height="3024" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5896.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907287" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5896.jpg 4032w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5896-1260x945.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5896-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5896-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5896-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 4032px) 100vw, 4032px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Amazon keeps it pretty basic with its golf ball packaging.</figcaption></figure>
However, Yee said he wouldn’t be opposed to a student using the Amazon Basics ball. And at the low price point, Nutt said it’s “certainly not a bad option.”
The Amazon ball also didn’t scuff — while both Taylormade and Titleist had small marks after the test run. That durability may appeal to some golfers.
Online golf reviewers have responded positively. Popular YouTuber Rick Shiels said he was “blown away” by the value <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzb-yHhu3So">in his own test</a>, while instructor Matt Fisher <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLsd8Re1Cd4">called</a> the balls an easy buy for golfers who “lose a bunch.”
The balls have a 4.5-star rating from nearly 600 reviews on Amazon. 
It’s not clear where Amazon’s balls are manufactured. Shiels said they are supplied by the same company behind Costco’s Kirkland Signature balls.
Amazon’s golf balls are USGA-approved, meaning they can be used during competitions. The balls are currently listed as out of stock on Amazon’s site, but will be available again in early 2026.
Personally, as a golfer myself, I prefer the higher-end ball, just to get that slight edge to (theoretically) help lower my score. But I see the appeal for beginners, high-handicap golfers, and anyone more worried about losing balls than squeezing out extra yards down the fairway. 
Amazon’s ball isn’t trying to beat premium tour-level options — but maybe it doesn’t really need to.
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<title>Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of Dec. 28, 2025</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/geekwire-weekly-roundup-2025-12-28/</link>
<pubDate>Sun, 04 Jan 2026 16:00:06 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[GeekWire]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[GeekWire Weekly]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/2026/geekwire-weekly-roundup-2025-12-28/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1200" height="630" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/geekwire-week-in-review1.png" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="GeekWire Week in Review" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/geekwire-week-in-review1.png 1200w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/geekwire-week-in-review1-620x326.png 620w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"> See the technology stories that people were reading on GeekWire for the week of Dec. 28, 2025. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/geekwire-weekly-roundup-2025-12-28/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
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 Dec. 28, 2025.
Sign up to receive these updates every Sunday in your inbox by subscribing to our <a href="http://www.geekwire.com/newsletters/">GeekWire Weekly email newsletter</a>.
<h3>Most popular stories on GeekWire</h3>
<article class="teaser"><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/new-ceo-leading-rad-power-bikes-in-the-midst-of-e-bike-sellers-bankruptcy-proceedings/" class="teaser-thumb"><img decoding="async" width="200" height="200" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/angelinasmith-200x200.jpeg" class="attachment-featured size-featured wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy"></a>
<h2><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/new-ceo-leading-rad-power-bikes-in-the-midst-of-e-bike-sellers-bankruptcy-proceedings/">New CEO leading Rad Power Bikes in the midst of e-bike seller’s bankruptcy proceedings</a></h2>
Angelina “Angy” Smith, who has been chief financial officer at the company since April, assumed the leadership position earlier this month, becoming Rad’s fourth CEO in three years. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/new-ceo-leading-rad-power-bikes-in-the-midst-of-e-bike-sellers-bankruptcy-proceedings/">… Read More</a>
</article>
<article class="teaser"><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/ex-amazon-ai-engineer-bets-six-figures-of-his-own-money-to-disrupt-drug-discovery/" class="teaser-thumb"><img decoding="async" width="200" height="200" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/xhuliano_updated-200x200.jpeg" class="attachment-featured size-featured wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy"></a>
<h2><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/ex-amazon-ai-engineer-bets-six-figures-of-his-own-money-to-disrupt-drug-discovery/">Ex-Amazon AI engineer bets six figures of his own money to disrupt drug discovery</a></h2>
Seattle biotech startup Rhizome Research has emerged from stealth with technology for creating small-molecule drug candidates. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/ex-amazon-ai-engineer-bets-six-figures-of-his-own-money-to-disrupt-drug-discovery/">… Read More</a>
</article>
<article class="teaser"><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/is-there-an-ai-bubble-investors-sound-off-on-risks-and-opportunities-for-tech-startups-in-2026/" class="teaser-thumb"><img decoding="async" width="200" height="200" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-31-at-9.39.24-AM-200x200.png" class="attachment-featured size-featured wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy"></a>
<h2><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/is-there-an-ai-bubble-investors-sound-off-on-risks-and-opportunities-for-tech-startups-in-2026/">Is there an AI bubble? Investors sound off on risks and opportunities for tech startups in 2026</a></h2>
Seattle-area venture capitalists polled by GeekWire say there are clear signs of excess in early-stage AI startups, but they largely reject the idea of a catastrophic bubble and argue the technology is already delivering real value. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/is-there-an-ai-bubble-investors-sound-off-on-risks-and-opportunities-for-tech-startups-in-2026/">… Read More</a>
</article>
<article class="teaser"><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/how-microsoft-is-betting-on-ai-agents-in-windows-dusting-off-a-winning-playbook-from-the-past/" class="teaser-thumb"><img decoding="async" width="200" height="149" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/1990ar-200x149.png" class="attachment-featured size-featured wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy"></a>
<h2><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/how-microsoft-is-betting-on-ai-agents-in-windows-dusting-off-a-winning-playbook-from-the-past/">How Microsoft is betting on AI agents in Windows, dusting off a winning playbook from the past</a></h2>
Microsoft is pushing AI agents deep into Windows, reviving a platform strategy that once made the PC operating system dominant. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/how-microsoft-is-betting-on-ai-agents-in-windows-dusting-off-a-winning-playbook-from-the-past/">… Read More</a>
</article>
<article class="teaser"><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/geekwire-podcast-silver-lining-for-seattle-in-dji-ban-and-a-verdict-on-the-2007-camry-tech-retrofit/" class="teaser-thumb"><img decoding="async" width="200" height="133" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/karl-greif-H5IXIH254AU-unsplash-200x133.jpg" class="attachment-featured size-featured wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy"></a>
<h2><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/geekwire-podcast-silver-lining-for-seattle-in-dji-ban-and-a-verdict-on-the-2007-camry-tech-retrofit/">GeekWire Podcast: Silver lining for Seattle in DJI ban, and a verdict on the 2007 Camry tech retrofit</a></h2>
This week on the GeekWire Podcast: The FCC’s decision to add foreign-made drones to its national security “Covered List” could upend the U.S. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/geekwire-podcast-silver-lining-for-seattle-in-dji-ban-and-a-verdict-on-the-2007-camry-tech-retrofit/">… Read More</a>
</article>
<article class="teaser"><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/seattle-area-tech-company-sues-new-york-acquisition-advisor-alleging-botched-5-2m-deal/" class="teaser-thumb"><img decoding="async" width="200" height="101" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/smartek-itavalon-200x101.png" class="attachment-featured size-featured wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy"></a>
<h2><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/seattle-area-tech-company-sues-new-york-acquisition-advisor-alleging-botched-5-2m-deal/">Seattle-area tech company sues New York acquisition advisor, alleging botched $5.2M deal</a></h2>
SmarTek21 has sued TGP GP Management, accusing the New York-based advisor of flawed due diligence in a $5.2 million acquisition that has since required repeated cash infusions. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/seattle-area-tech-company-sues-new-york-acquisition-advisor-alleging-botched-5-2m-deal/">… Read More</a>
</article>
<article class="teaser"><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/year-in-space-moon-missions-2026/" class="teaser-thumb"><img decoding="async" width="200" height="113" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/220826-orionengine-200x113.jpg" class="attachment-featured size-featured wp-post-image" alt="Illustration: Orion engine firing during lunar flyby" loading="lazy"></a>
<h2><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/year-in-space-moon-missions-2026/">Year in Space: Get ready for moon missions to take center stage in 2026</a></h2>
In the coming year, NASA is due to send four astronauts around the moon, and Blue Origin will put a lander on the lunar surface. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/year-in-space-moon-missions-2026/">… Read More</a>
</article>
<article class="teaser"><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/its-a-wonderful-life-but-a-lousy-edit-if-you-click-wrong-version-of-holiday-classic-on-amazon/" class="teaser-thumb"><img decoding="async" width="200" height="116" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/wonderfullife-200x116.png" class="attachment-featured size-featured wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy"></a>
<h2><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/its-a-wonderful-life-but-a-lousy-edit-if-you-click-wrong-version-of-holiday-classic-on-amazon/">‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ — but a lousy edit — if you click wrong version of holiday classic on Amazon</a></h2>
Prime Video features a few versions of the film, including one that cuts out a key sequence in the life of protagonist George Bailey. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/its-a-wonderful-life-but-a-lousy-edit-if-you-click-wrong-version-of-holiday-classic-on-amazon/">… Read More</a>
</article>
<article class="teaser"><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/startup-radar-meet-four-companies-tackling-insurance-hospitals-construction-and-ai-models/" class="teaser-thumb"><img decoding="async" width="200" height="199" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-24-at-6.22.09-PM-200x199.png" class="attachment-featured size-featured wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy"></a>
<h2><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/startup-radar-meet-four-companies-tackling-insurance-hospitals-construction-and-ai-models/">Startup Radar: Meet four companies tackling insurance, hospitals, construction, and AI models</a></h2>
Our latest Startup Radar spotlights four early stage tech startups in the Seattle region: Amera, Clara, Oiyko, and Specbook. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/startup-radar-meet-four-companies-tackling-insurance-hospitals-construction-and-ai-models/">… Read More</a>
</article>
<article class="teaser"><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/the-mother-of-all-treatments-mitera-lands-1-75m-to-unlock-the-immune-tolerance-secrets-of-pregnancy/" class="teaser-thumb"><img decoding="async" width="200" height="200" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/KevinChow-1079-RT-200x200.jpg" class="attachment-featured size-featured wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy"></a>
<h2><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/the-mother-of-all-treatments-mitera-lands-1-75m-to-unlock-the-immune-tolerance-secrets-of-pregnancy/">The mother of all treatments: Mitera lands $1.75M to unlock the immune-tolerance secrets of pregnancy</a></h2>
Mitera Biosciences is emerging from stealth with a mission to develop new drugs for autoimmune diseases and organ transplant rejection. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/the-mother-of-all-treatments-mitera-lands-1-75m-to-unlock-the-immune-tolerance-secrets-of-pregnancy/">… Read More</a>
</article>
]]></content:encoded>
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<title>GeekWire Podcast: Silver lining for Seattle in DJI ban, and a verdict on the 2007 Camry tech retrofit</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2026/geekwire-podcast-silver-lining-for-seattle-in-dji-ban-and-a-verdict-on-the-2007-camry-tech-retrofit/</link>
<pubDate>Sat, 03 Jan 2026 14:56:37 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Todd Bishop]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Podcasts]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[brinc]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[DJI]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[FCC]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Federal Communications Commission]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GeekWire Podcast]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Seattle]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Toyota Camry]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Washington state]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907349</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="840" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/karl-greif-H5IXIH254AU-unsplash-1260x840.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/karl-greif-H5IXIH254AU-unsplash-1260x840.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/karl-greif-H5IXIH254AU-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/karl-greif-H5IXIH254AU-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/karl-greif-H5IXIH254AU-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> This week on the GeekWire Podcast: The FCC's decision to add foreign-made drones to its national security “Covered List” could upend the U.S. drone market — and create an unexpected opening for Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/geekwire-podcast-silver-lining-for-seattle-in-dji-ban-and-a-verdict-on-the-2007-camry-tech-retrofit/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="840" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/karl-greif-H5IXIH254AU-unsplash-1260x840.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907350" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/karl-greif-H5IXIH254AU-unsplash-1260x840.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/karl-greif-H5IXIH254AU-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/karl-greif-H5IXIH254AU-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/karl-greif-H5IXIH254AU-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo by<a href="https://unsplash.com/@karlgreif_media?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"> Karl Greif</a> on<a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/black-dji-mavi-quadcopter-near-body-of-water-H5IXIH254AU?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"> Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure>
This week on the GeekWire Podcast: The FCC delivered a massive shakeup to the drone industry right before the holidays, adding foreign-made drones (most notably from industry giant DJI) to its “Covered List” of national security threats. 
While the move effectively bans the sale of future foreign-made drone models in the U.S., we explore why it may represent an unexpected economic opportunity for the Pacific Northwest.
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://omny.fm/shows/geekwire-podcast/a-silver-lining-for-seattle-in-the-dji-ban-and-the-verdict-on-the-2007-camry-tech-retrofit/embed?style=cover" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write" width="100%" height="180" frameborder="0" title="A silver lining for Seattle in the DJI ban, and the verdict on the 2007 Camry tech retrofit"></iframe>
This episode features highlights from a recent interview with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/blake-resnick-164871bb/">Blake Resnick</a> of <a href="https://brincdrones.com/">Brinc</a>, the Seattle-based <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/public-safety-drone-maker-brinc-raises-75m-forms-strategic-alliance-with-motorola/">maker of public safety drones</a>, who lobbied for the U.S. policy change.
Related story: <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/drone-capital-of-the-world-seattle-could-be-a-big-winner-in-the-u-s-crackdown-on-dji-and-others/">Drone capital of the world? Seattle could be a big winner in the U.S. crackdown on DJI and others</a>
Plus, the results are in. After <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/bezos-is-back-in-startup-mode-amazon-gets-weird-again-and-the-great-old-car-tech-retrofit-debate/">ignoring John’s advice</a> and deciding to retrofit his 2007 Toyota Camry with a modern infotainment system, Todd shares the outcome. 
Subscribe to GeekWire in <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/geekwire/id427374434?app=podcast&mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2PPEGel5l0v3XxlD8fVxAh">Spotify</a>, or wherever you listen.

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<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">907349</post-id> </item>
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<title>Year in Space: Get ready for moon missions to take center stage in 2026</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2025/year-in-space-moon-missions-2026/</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 16:21:37 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Alan Boyle]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Space]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[2026 outlook]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Artemis]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Blue Moon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Blue Origin]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Moon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[NASA]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Year in Review]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Year in Review 2025]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907023</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="709" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/220826-orionengine-1260x709.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="Illustration: Orion engine firing during lunar flyby" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/220826-orionengine-1260x709.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/220826-orionengine-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/220826-orionengine-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/220826-orionengine-630x354.jpg 630w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/220826-orionengine.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> In the coming year, NASA is due to send four astronauts around the moon, and Blue Origin will put a lander on the lunar surface. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/year-in-space-moon-missions-2026/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="709" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/220826-orionengine-1260x709.jpg" alt="Illustration: Orion engine firing during lunar flyby" class="wp-image-718796" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/220826-orionengine-1260x709.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/220826-orionengine-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/220826-orionengine-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/220826-orionengine-630x354.jpg 630w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/220826-orionengine.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An artist’s conception shows the Orion spacecraft’s main engine firing during a lunar flyby, surrounded by eight auxiliary engines built by L3Harris’ Aerojet Redmond facility. (NASA Illustration)</figcaption></figure>
Lunar missions once felt like the domain of history books rather than current events, but an upcoming trip around the moon is poised to generate headlines at a level not seen since the Apollo era.
NASA’s Artemis 2 mission, which is due to launch four astronauts on a round-the-moon journey as a warmup for a future lunar landing, is shaping up as the spaceflight highlight of 2026. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who took the agency’s helm this month after a <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/12/18/nx-s1-5648277/jared-isaacman-nasa-confirmed">tumultuous year</a>, says it’s the top item on his must-see list.
“What’s not to be excited about?” <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/26/nasa-boss-isaacman-us-will-return-to-the-moon-within-trumps-term.html">he said last week on CNBC</a>. “We’re sending American astronauts around the moon. It’s the first time we’ve done that in a half-century. … We’re weeks away, potentially a month or two away at most from sending American astronauts around the moon again.”
The Pacific Northwest plays a significant role in the back-to-moon campaign. For example, L3Harris Technologies’ team in Redmond, Wash., <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/nasa-trip-redmond-artemis-aerojet-l3harris/">built thrusters for Artemis 2’s Orion crew vehicle</a>. And Artemis 2 isn’t the only upcoming moon mission with Seattle-area connections: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture, headquartered in Kent, plans to <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/blue-origin-blue-moon-lunar-lander-nasa/">send an uncrewed Blue Moon Mark 1 lander to the lunar surface</a> in 2026 to help NASA get set for future moon trips.
“We are taking our first steps to help open up the lunar frontier for all of humanity,” Paul Brower, Blue Origin’s director of lunar operations, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7383930411984515072/">said in a recent LinkedIn post</a>. 
2026 could also be the year when Seattle-based <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/tag/interlune/">Interlune</a> sends <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/interlune-astrolab-camera-moon-helium-3/">its first prospecting instrument to the lunar surface</a> to hunt for signs of helium-3, a rare material the company aims to bring back to Earth for use in fusion reactors or quantum computers.
As we close out 2025, here’s a look back at five of the past year’s space milestones and five trends to watch in the year to come.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Looking back at 2025</h2>
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<iframe loading="lazy" title="New Glenn launch and landing, 13 November 2025" width="800" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pviGlY1PiHQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Blue Origin goes orbital: After <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2016/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-new-glenn-orbital-rocket/">a decade of development</a>, Blue Origin <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/blue-origin-new-glenn-launch/">launched its orbital-class New Glenn rocket for the first time</a> in January, on a mission that lofted test equipment for its Blue Ring space mobility platform into orbit. A <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/second-launch-blue-origin-new-glenn-escapade-mars/">second launch in November</a> sent NASA’s Escapade probes toward Mars and marked the first successful at-sea recovery of a New Glenn booster. On the suborbital side, Blue Origin’s <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/tag/new-shepard/">New Shepard</a> program provided rides to space for seven crews. Notable passengers included <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/blue-origin-launch-women-only-space/">Lauren Sanchez</a>, who became Bezos’ wife two months after her flight; <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/crypto-justin-sun-28m-blue-origin-space/">Justin Sun</a>, the crypto entrepreneur who paid $28 million for his space ticket; and <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/blue-origin-first-wheelchair-user-space-2/">Michaela Benthaus</a>, the first wheelchair user to fly to space.
Amazon’s satellite network gets down to business: The first operational satellites for Amazon’s space-based broadband internet service were <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/amazon-satellites-project-kuiper-orbit/">launched in April</a>. The network’s name was <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/project-kuiper-no-more-amazon-renames-satellite-internet-venture-leo-on-path-to-commercial-service/">changed from Project Kuiper to Amazon Leo</a> in November. Terminals have been <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/amazon-leo-ultra-satellite-internet-service/">shipped to early-stage customers for a preview program</a>, and the rollout is expected to gather steam in 2026. Meanwhile, SpaceX continues to grow its Starlink network, with <a href="https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellites.html">more than 9,300 satellites</a> providing high-speed internet service to <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-celebrates-starlinks-9-003102854.html">more than 9 million customers worldwide</a>.
Rubin Observatory delivers first images: A decade and a half ago, Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Charles Simonyi <a href="https://noirlab.edu/public/news/rubin0801/?nocache=true&">donated $30 million</a> to support the creation of a giant sky-survey telescope in Chile. in June, the Rubin Observatory finally <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/rubin-observatory-first-look/">made its star-studded debut</a>, with Simonyi in attendance. Researchers at the University of Washington <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/university-of-washington-rubin-observatory/">played key roles</a> in shepherding the <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/06/the-bold-bet-that-built-a-telescope">$800 million project</a> to completion.
A first for orbital data centers: Redmond-based <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/tag/starcloud/">Starcloud</a> sent an Nvidia GPU chip into orbit in November, and weeks later it claimed to be <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/starcloud-power-training-ai-space/">the first company to train an artificial intelligence model in space</a>. The achievement marked one small step in Starcloud’s campaign to create a network of data centers in orbit. Several tech titans — including <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/jeff-bezos-orbital-data-centers-next-step/">Bezos</a>, OpenAI’s <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/openai-ceo-stoke-space-data-center/">Sam Altman</a>, SpaceX’s <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1984249048107508061">Elon Musk</a> and Google’s <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/news/google-ceo-data-centers-in-space-could-be-the-norm-in-about-a-decade">Sundar Pichai</a> — see orbital data centers as a way to satisfy the growing hunger for AI processing resources on Earth. Some say the trend is driving <a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/after-years-of-resisting-it-spacex-now-plans-to-go-public-why/">SpaceX’s plans to go public in 2026</a>.
SpaceX’s Starship goes through ups and downs: Many of SpaceX’s ambitions, ranging from orbital data centers to moon landings to Mars migrations, depend on the successful development of its Starship super-rocket. Starship also plays a crucial role in the business models for lots of space startups, including Starcloud and <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2023/orbite-countdown-astronaut-training-programs/">a Seattle-based space travel venture called Orbite</a>. Three Starship test flights <a href="https://cosmiclog.com/2025/05/27/after-awesome-launch-spacexs-starship-spins-out-of-control/">ended badly in the first half of 2025</a>, but SpaceX bounced back with <a href="https://cosmiclog.com/2025/10/13/spacex-flies-starship-to-get-ready-for-the-next-generation/">two successful test flights in the second half of the year</a>. Now SpaceX is working on an upgraded version of Starship — and dealing with the aftermath of a <a href="https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2025/11/booster-18-anomaly-proof-testing/">booster anomaly</a> that occurred during a pressurization test in November.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Looking ahead to 2026</h2>
Artemis 2 to send humans around the moon: For the first time since <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_17">Apollo 17 in 1972</a>, humans will leave Earth orbit. The current plan calls for the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/">Artemis 2</a> mission to take place in the February-to-April time frame. A crew of four — three Americans and one Canadian astronaut — will climb into the Orion spacecraft and be sent into space atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The round-the-moon route will be similar to the trajectory used for NASA’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/">uncrewed Artemis 1 flight in 2022</a>. If Artemis 2 goes well, that could set the stage for an Artemis 3 crewed lunar landing as early as 2027 <a href="https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/nasa-safety-panel-estimates-significant-delays-for-starship-hls/">(but more likely later)</a>.
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="840" height="1260" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/251229-bluemoon2-840x1260.jpeg" alt="Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin team standing in front of Blue Moon lunar lander" class="wp-image-907065" style="width:400px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/251229-bluemoon2-840x1260.jpeg 840w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/251229-bluemoon2-768x1151.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/251229-bluemoon2-1025x1536.jpeg 1025w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/251229-bluemoon2.jpeg 1158w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin employees pose for a picture in front of the Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander. (Blue Origin Photo)</figcaption></figure>
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Blue Moon’s lunar delivery: Blue Origin’s uncrewed lander is tasked with delivering a <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/davelimp_the-scalpss-payload-has-two-parts-stereo-activity-7386132062619176961-2j-_/">NASA experiment called SCALPSS</a> to the moon’s south polar region. Stereo cameras will document how the landing burn interacts with the dusty lunar surface — and the results will be factored into plans for future landings. This <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/blue-moon">Blue Moon</a> Mark 1 mission will blaze a trail for Blue Origin’s Mark 2 lander, which is due to start taking astronauts to the lunar surface in 2030. Other robotic spacecraft scheduled for moon landings in 2026 include China’s <a href="https://www.space.com/the-universe/moon/hopping-robot-will-hunt-for-moon-water-on-chinas-2026-lunar-mission">Chang’e 7</a> rover, Firefly’s <a href="https://fireflyspace.com/missions/blue-ghost-mission-2/">Blue Ghost 2</a> lander, Intuitive Machines’ <a href="https://www.intuitivemachines.com/im-3-lunar-mission">IM-3</a> lander and Astrobotic’s <a href="https://www.intuitivemachines.com/im-3-lunar-mission">Griffin</a> lander (which will be carrying <a href="https://www.astrolab.space/flip-rover/">two</a> <a href="https://www.astrobotic.com/astrobotics-cuberover-is-flight-ready-for-lunar-mission/">mini-rovers</a> and Interlune’s helium-hunting camera).
Seattle space companies count down to liftoff: In addition to Blue Origin, several other companies headquartered near the Emerald City are planning big space missions in 2026. Kent-based Stoke Space could <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/stoke-space-510m-nova-rocket/">launch its first fully reusable Nova rocket from Florida</a>. Bothell-based Portal Space Systems’ <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/portal-space-starburst-maneuverable-spacecraft/">Starburst space vehicle is due to make its orbital debut</a>. And Tukwila-based Starfish Space is scheduled to demonstrate how its maneuverable Otter spacecraft <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2024/starfish-space-contract-intelsat-satellite-servicing/">can give satellites an in-space boost</a>.
Golden Dome takes shape: A proposed $175 billion missile defense system known as the Golden Dome is already <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/space-defense-future-funding-frontier/">attracting interest from space ventures</a> — particularly ventures that are focusing on in-space mobility (such as Portal Space and Starfish Space) or in-space data processing (such as Starcloud and Seattle-based <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/new-space-startup-with-several-seattle-ties-lands-3-5m-to-develop-orbital-data-centers/">Sophia Space</a>). Marysville, Wash.-based Gravitics is building <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/gravitics-space-force-orbital-carrier/">an orbital carrier that would serve as a “pre-positioned launch pad in space”</a> for the U.S. Space Force, under the terms of a deal that could be worth as much as $60 million. Other big-ticket military projects are likely to come to light in 2026.
Whither NASA? Or will NASA wither? Isaacman is taking over at NASA following <a href="https://www.govexec.com/management/2025/12/after-nasa-shed-4000-employees-trumps-pick-lead-space-agency-vows-attract-new-talent/409910/">a year of layoffs</a> and <a href="https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasa-faces-another-shift-in-its-leadership-and-in-its-vision">science program cuts</a>. He has pledged to land astronauts on the moon during the current presidential term, but funding remains a hurdle. “I almost guarantee you he’s going to be walking up the street to the White House, saying ‘I really need more money,’” NASAWatch’s Keith Cowing <a href="https://nasawatch.com/ask-the-administrator/nasawatch-on-i24-in-israel-jared-isaacman/">said on Israel’s i24 TV</a>.
Bonus: Coming to a sky (or a screen) near you: Keep an eye out for a <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/seattle?iso=20260303">total lunar eclipse</a> on March 3 that will be visible over the U.S., weather permitting. There’s also a <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2026-august-12">solar eclipse</a> on Aug. 12 that will bring totality to narrow stretches of Greenland, Iceland and Spain. Although this eclipse can’t be seen in Seattle’s skies, you should be able to <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/live/eclipse-solar-2026-august-12">catch the highlights online</a>.
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<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">907023</post-id> </item>
<item>
<title>Is there an AI bubble? Investors sound off on risks and opportunities for tech startups in 2026</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2025/is-there-an-ai-bubble-investors-sound-off-on-risks-and-opportunities-for-tech-startups-in-2026/</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 14:29:30 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Taylor Soper]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Startups]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[2026 outlook]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AI bubble]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AI startups]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Andy Liu]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Annie Luchsinger]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cameron Borumand]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Chris DeVore]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[sabrina albert]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sheila Gulati]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Startup funding]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tech investing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Technology Trends]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Venture capital]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=906724</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1190" height="1188" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-31-at-9.39.24-AM.png" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-31-at-9.39.24-AM.png 1190w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-31-at-9.39.24-AM-150x150.png 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-31-at-9.39.24-AM-768x767.png 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-31-at-9.39.24-AM-100x100.png 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1190px) 100vw, 1190px"> Seattle-area venture capitalists polled by GeekWire say there are clear signs of excess in early-stage AI startups, but they largely reject the idea of a catastrophic bubble and argue the technology is already delivering real value. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/is-there-an-ai-bubble-investors-sound-off-on-risks-and-opportunities-for-tech-startups-in-2026/">Read More</a>]]></description>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1190" height="1188" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-31-at-9.39.24-AM.png" alt="" class="wp-image-907127" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-31-at-9.39.24-AM.png 1190w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-31-at-9.39.24-AM-150x150.png 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-31-at-9.39.24-AM-768x767.png 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-31-at-9.39.24-AM-100x100.png 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1190px) 100vw, 1190px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">From top left, clockwise: Sheila Gulati, Cameron Borumand, Annie Luchsinger, Chris DeVore, Sabrina Albers (Wu), and Andy Liu.</figcaption></figure>
AI has attracted unprecedented levels of capital and attention. And questions are growing about the so-called AI bubble: Are too many startups chasing the same ideas? Are valuations running ahead of real adoption? And will all this investment pay off — or pop?
GeekWire polled a handful of Seattle-area venture capitalists about whether they think an AI bubble exists, and how startups should prepare as they plan for 2026.
Taken together, the investors paint a picture of a market that is overheated in places, but far from broken. They see clear signs of excess in AI — especially in early-stage private companies where valuations often outpace real traction. But they largely reject the idea of a catastrophic bubble, and most argue that the technology itself is already delivering real value.
They differ on the details: Some see the biggest excess in data center buildouts. Others point to narrative-driven startups raising at huge valuations without real customer traction. One investor puts AI’s full impact 10 to 20 years out. Another sees immediate opportunity as companies rethink their software spending, making longtime vendors vulnerable.
Their advice to startup founders: ignore the hype, focus on real customer problems, build durable revenue and efficient businesses, and be ready for some market cooling.
Read their full responses below.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabrina-albert/">Sabrina Albert (Wu)</a>, partner at <a href="https://www.madrona.com/">Madrona</a></h4>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="840" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/processed-1994C02A-D1DC-4619-A433-C6D4BDCF672F-1260x840.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-881777" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/processed-1994C02A-D1DC-4619-A433-C6D4BDCF672F-1260x840.jpeg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/processed-1994C02A-D1DC-4619-A433-C6D4BDCF672F-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/processed-1994C02A-D1DC-4619-A433-C6D4BDCF672F-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/processed-1994C02A-D1DC-4619-A433-C6D4BDCF672F-2048x1366.jpeg 2048w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/processed-1994C02A-D1DC-4619-A433-C6D4BDCF672F-630x420.jpeg 630w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sabrina Albert (Wu). (Madrona Photo)</figcaption></figure>
“There’s clear froth in parts of the AI market, especially in early-stage private valuations where companies are priced well ahead of fundamentals, which fits a classic ‘bubble’ definition. In the public markets, the strongest AI companies are backing valuations with outsized earnings and growth, so it doesn’t look like a traditional bubble there.
The most pronounced exuberance is in the private markets, particularly at seed and Series A, where many investors are trying to get in earlier on AI exposure. As a result, capital is chasing startups with limited traction and valuations that price in outcomes that may take years of execution to justify.
Startups should focus on durable business fundamentals early on. Build repeatable revenue through annual or multi-year contracts, solve real customer problems, and differentiate by integrating deeply into the customer tech stack to create real product and company flywheels. Long-term success comes from delivering measurable value and defensible growth over time.”
<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-borumand/">Cameron Borumand</a>, general partner at <a href="https://fuse.vc/">Fuse</a></h4>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="960" height="1154" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/fe6a65eebc23cc1e6692a2ca4f3a63f020777729-1554x2248-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-906956" style="aspect-ratio:0.8319048673266074;width:298px;height:auto" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/fe6a65eebc23cc1e6692a2ca4f3a63f020777729-1554x2248-1.jpg 960w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/fe6a65eebc23cc1e6692a2ca4f3a63f020777729-1554x2248-1-768x923.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Cameron Borumand. (Fuse Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
“Many factors are at play here. You have a new and genuinely transformative technology in AI. Over the long term, it will radically reshape how nearly every industry operates. At the same time, history tells us that new technologies tend to be overestimated in the short term and underestimated in the long term. The most profound, fully realized impacts of AI may still be 10-to-20 years away.
In the near term (the next few years), I expect some pullback in the public markets as investors come to terms with the fact that true ‘enterprise readiness’ for AI will take time. This doesn’t suggest anything catastrophic — just that the roughly 21 percent year-over-year growth we’ve seen in the Nasdaq is unlikely to be sustainable and may revert closer to the 30-year average of around 10 percent. After a few meaningful pullbacks, pundits will inevitably claim that AI is overhyped. In reality, this would simply represent a normalization after an extraordinary, AI-fueled run in the public markets.
Late-stage private markets will see some overly hyped companies — this happens in every boom cycle. The winners will be bigger than ever, but the losses will also be bigger than ever. When you have companies like Anthropic growing from $1 billion to a projected $9 billion of revenue in 2025, it’s clear that AI is already delivering real, material impact in the world.
For startups, there’s no better time to be building than now. M&A markets are back, customers have budget, and talent wants to work on interesting projects. With that said, there is a lot of noise, so it’s best to go deep and really focus on a core customer problem. Most of the growth we’ve seen to date is in the infrastructure layer — the next few years will be about the next generation of AI-powered applications.”
<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/devore/">Chris DeVore</a>, founding managing partner at <a href="https://www.founderscoop.com/">Founders’ Co-op</a></h4>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="840" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1802-GW-Summit-20221006-1260x840.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-727697" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1802-GW-Summit-20221006-1260x840.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1802-GW-Summit-20221006-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1802-GW-Summit-20221006-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1802-GW-Summit-20221006-630x420.jpg 630w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1802-GW-Summit-20221006.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Chris DeVore speaks at the GeekWire Summit in 2022. (GeekWire File Photo / Dan DeLong)</figcaption></figure>
“Yes, a significant amount of capital being deployed globally in AI (and particularly in the data center buildout) is almost certainly being misallocated. Specifically in startups, outside a few presumed winners (OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor), the concern is less overcapitalization and more the prices at which financings are being done relative to the actual cash flows and margin potential of the companies being financed.
That said, unlike some recent bubbles I can think of (crypto, metaverse, etc.) there are actual babies in the bathwater this time. LLMs are remarkably capable tools even at their current state of development, and will remain core to many software development and knowledge work tasks long after rationality has returned to the financial landscape.
The founder and investor challenge in moments like the current one is how to make decisions that will look smart ten years from now, not just in the current moment. Are there ways to apply LLMs to create durable business value in segments of the economy that are not likely to be overcapitalized or competed to zero by the near-term flood of dollars? The only alternative strategy is to try to pick winners in the capital wars and pay whatever the market demands for those assets, but history suggests that’s a very low odds proposition for even the best players.
The recipe for success in times like this is not that different from any other time: pick a customer segment that you understand better than anyone else, engage deeply with those customers to understand what problems you can uniquely solve with LLMs that were too hard or expensive to solve previously, build quickly and iteratively to show value to those customers, and maintain that pace of shipping and learning for as long as you can. 
That may sound simple, but it’s remarkable how few founding teams are able to pull it off, and that why startups are so hard, and so fun.”
<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilagulati/">Sheila Gulati</a>, managing director at <a href="https://tolacapital.com/">Tola Capital</a></h4>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="840" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/20170607_Cloud_Tech_Summit_535-1260x840.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-338232" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/20170607_Cloud_Tech_Summit_535-1260x840.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/20170607_Cloud_Tech_Summit_535-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/20170607_Cloud_Tech_Summit_535-630x420.jpg 630w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/20170607_Cloud_Tech_Summit_535.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sheila Gulati of Tola Capital. (GeekWire File Photo)</figcaption></figure>
“Broadly, I don’t think we’re in an AI bubble right now. Similar concerns existed when we launched the Azure platform about fifteen years ago. Back then, people were initially worried about racing to a zero-margin business. 
Today’s massive AI infrastructure buildouts will shape the operational software layers that drive real-world performance — compute orchestration, data pipelines, memory systems, and large-scale inference efficiency. Value is shifting toward packaging and deploying intelligence across enterprise workflows. 
Enterprise software startups should position themselves in the growing TAM of delivering full, end-to-end solutions and new ways of doing things where humans collaborate with AI agents. Winning startups will encompass both the growing IT TAM and economics of a portion of the labor market as well.
We are now seeing unprecedented malleability of CIO budgets. The deeply entrenched application stack can now shift to new players which are built with AI from the ground up. The market opportunity is massive, and companies should set their sights on building the new megacaps, not minor feature companies.”
<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-liu-62a452">Andy Liu</a>, co-founding partner at <a href="https://unlockvp.com/">Unlock Venture Partners</a></h4>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="400" height="400" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Andy-Liu.png" alt="" class="wp-image-761682" style="width:270px;height:auto" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Andy-Liu.png 400w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Andy-Liu-300x300.png 300w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Andy-Liu-150x150.png 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Andy-Liu-100x100.png 100w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Andy-Liu-200x200.png 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Andy Liu.</figcaption></figure>
</div>
“Yes, we are in an AI bubble, but not in the way most people think.
Capital and valuations are running well ahead of fundamentals, particularly for companies without clear customer pull, durable differentiation, or credible/reasonable paths to profitability. We’re seeing a growing gap between narrative-driven AI companies where ‘AI’ is largely a positioning exercise, and value-driven AI companies that use the technology to deliver measurable, repeatable value for customers.
The bubble seems most pronounced at the early and growth stages where AI storytelling can temporarily substitute for traction and raise capital at lofty valuations. Some strong companies will emerge from this cycle, but there will be meaningful drawdowns, recaps, or shutdowns as many startups fail to grow into those expectations.
Looking ahead to 2026, my advice to founders is straightforward:
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Build real businesses, not decks. Products today can be built quickly with real revenue before raising capital.</li>
<li>Prioritize efficiency, customer ROI, and unit economics.</li>
<li>Use AI to create real leverage, not excuses for burning capital.</li>
</ul>
2026 is going to be an incredible moment to build. The cost of experimentation and building products has collapsed, and founders no longer need educational credentials (CS degrees or an MBA) to create real products and revenue. The next generation of durable AI companies will be built by small teams who focus less on hype and more on efficient execution. We’re definitely excited to see more teams building incredible products this upcoming year.”
<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/annieluchsinger/">Annie Luchsinger</a>, partner at <a href="https://www.breakers.vc/">Breakers</a></h4>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="800" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/1738084629178.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-907126" style="width:290px;height:auto" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/1738084629178.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/1738084629178-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/1738084629178-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/1738084629178-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Annie Luchsinger. </figcaption></figure>
</div>
“From my perspective, what we’re seeing is less an AI bubble and more a classic venture cycle playing out around a genuinely transformative platform shift. Venture has always adapted to new normals alongside major technology inflections (cloud, mobile, social), and AI is the fastest-moving one we’ve seen to date. 
The difference this time is speed, scale, and capital availability. AI adoption is happening at a faster clip and at a much larger scale than prior platform shifts, all while private-market capital has reached historic highs. As those forces collide, pricing, timelines, and investor behavior evolve. 
Capital moving ahead of fundamentals is not new. There will be some shakeouts, but that doesn’t mean underlying value creation isn’t happening. Companies with real technology, real distribution, and real customers will endure.”

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<title>Coinme to resume WA state operations after reaching interim deal with regulators</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2025/coinme-to-resume-wa-state-operations-after-reaching-interim-deal-with-regulators/</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 02:37:38 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Todd Bishop]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Startups]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Coinme]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[consumer protection]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[crypto regulation]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cryptocurrency]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[financial regulation]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[fintech]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[money transmission]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[seattle startups]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Washington state]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Washington State Department of Financial Institutions]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907133</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1024" height="256" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/coinme-final-logo-1024x256-1.png" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/coinme-final-logo-1024x256-1.png 1024w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/coinme-final-logo-1024x256-1-768x192.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"> Seattle cryptocurrency company Coinme has reached an interim deal with Washington state regulators allowing it to resume operations after a temporary cease-and-desist order was stayed. The agreement follows allegations that the company improperly claimed more than $8 million owed to consumers from unredeemed crypto vouchers. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/coinme-to-resume-wa-state-operations-after-reaching-interim-deal-with-regulators/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="256" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/coinme-final-logo-1024x256-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-907134" style="width:350px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/coinme-final-logo-1024x256-1.png 1024w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/coinme-final-logo-1024x256-1-768x192.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
</div>
Seattle cryptocurrency company Coinme <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/coinme-resumes-full-operations-in-washington-state-302650674.html">said</a> it reached an agreement with Washington state regulators to pause the temporary cease-and-desist order <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/crypto-atm-startup-coinme-hit-with-cease-and-desist-order-in-washington-state/">issued against it last month</a>, clearing the way for the company to resume operations in the state.
The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions had <a href="https://dfi.wa.gov/news/press/washington-state-dfi-takes-action-against-coinme-halt-all-money-transfers-washington-due">ordered</a> Coinme to stop transmitting money for customers, alleging the startup improperly claimed as its own income more than $8 million owed to consumers from unredeemed crypto vouchers.
Coinme said the order was stayed after it provided detailed financial records and operational information to regulators that clarified key details about its business practices. As a result, the company said, it will be able to “continue serving customers in Washington State while addressing any remaining concerns.” 
The state agency had been seeking to revoke Coinme’s money transmitter license, impose a $300,000 fine, and ban CEO Neil Bergquist from the industry for 10 years. 
The agreement, laid out in <a href="https://dfi.wa.gov/sites/default/files/consumer-services/enforcement-actions/C-25-4009-25-CO01-and-TD01-Coinme-Inc_web_Redacted.pdf">a Dec. 23 consent order</a>, requires Coinme to segregate Washington customer assets into dedicated accounts within 14 days, and move cash or cash equivalents tied to outstanding Washington kiosk transactions into a segregated account within 30 days. 
The order also requires the company to provide monthly compliance updates to regulators. The underlying charges remain unresolved and could still be litigated, according to the order.
“Our commitment to customer protection and regulatory compliance remains our top priority,” Bergquist said in a statement, noting that Coinme has had a collaborative relationship with the agency dating back to the company’s founding in 2014.
Coinme operates what it calls the nation’s largest cash-to-crypto network through partnerships with MoneyGram and Coinstar. The company had called the original charges an accounting dispute over a discontinued voucher product.
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<title>The mother of all treatments: Mitera lands $1.75M to unlock the immune-tolerance secrets of pregnancy</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2025/the-mother-of-all-treatments-mitera-lands-1-75m-to-unlock-the-immune-tolerance-secrets-of-pregnancy/</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2025 20:38:15 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lisa Stiffler]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Health/Life Sciences]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Autoimmune disease]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Biotech]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cedars Sinai Medical Center]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Funding]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[immunotherapy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kevin Chow]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mitera Biosciences]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[regulatory T cells]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Treg]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=906775</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="500" height="500" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/KevinChow-1079-RT.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/KevinChow-1079-RT.jpg 500w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/KevinChow-1079-RT-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/KevinChow-1079-RT-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/KevinChow-1079-RT-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/KevinChow-1079-RT-200x200.jpg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px"> Mitera Biosciences is emerging from stealth with a mission to develop new drugs for autoimmune diseases and organ transplant rejection. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/the-mother-of-all-treatments-mitera-lands-1-75m-to-unlock-the-immune-tolerance-secrets-of-pregnancy/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="500" height="500" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/KevinChow-1079-RT.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-907116" style="width:350px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/KevinChow-1079-RT.jpg 500w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/KevinChow-1079-RT-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/KevinChow-1079-RT-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/KevinChow-1079-RT-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/KevinChow-1079-RT-200x200.jpg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kevin Chow, co-founder, CEO and president of Mitera Biosciences. (Mitera Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
<a href="https://www.miterabio.com/">Mitera Biosciences</a> is taking a cue from one of nature’s most effective biological tricks: how a mother’s body avoids rejecting a fetus.
The Bellevue, Wash.-based startup is emerging from stealth with $1.75 million in funding and a mission to develop new therapeutics for autoimmune diseases and organ transplant rejection. The company’s approach centers on a specific protein naturally expressed by the placenta during pregnancy.
“Our focus is really going back to nature and the human maternal-fetal relationship,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktchow/">Kevin Chow</a>, Mitera’s co-founder, CEO and president. The startup is “trying to leverage what our bodies do naturally to help us with our immuno-tolerance.”
The startup, which uses a Greek word for “mother,” hopes its therapeutics can eventually replace traditional immunosuppressing drugs. Existing medications often hobble a patients’ helpful immune response, leaving them vulnerable to infections and causing toxic side effects over long-term use.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">‘Important agent to investigate’</h4>
Mitera is working to commercialize intellectual property being exclusively licensed from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
While the startup is keeping the specific protein’s identity under wraps, it confirmed it is produced in the thymus — a gland that’s active in the immune system — and the placenta.
The protein plays a dual role: it bolsters regulatory T (Treg) cells, which protect the body’s own tissues, while dampening effector T (Teff) cells, which lead the attack against perceived invaders.
Given the protein’s role with these essential immune system players, “we felt it would be an important agent to investigate as a potential therapeutic,” <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-jordan-m-d-65345216/">Dr. Stanley Jordan</a>, Mitera’s co-founder and chief scientist, said via email.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Mitera’s leadership team</h4>
Mitera’s three co-founders are longtime biotech leaders or medical providers.
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Chow is a serial biotech entrepreneur who previously co-founded and led Vitaeris, which worked on a treatment for kidney transplant rejection and was acquired by CSL Behring. Chow also works part time with Incisive Genetics, a startup developing a delivery system for gene therapy treatments.</li>
<li>Jordan is a 40-year veteran of nephrology and transplant immunology and the medical director of the Kidney Transplant Program at Cedars-Sinai. </li>
<li><a href="https://researchers.cedars-sinai.edu/SAnanth.Karumanchi">Dr. S. Ananth Karumanchi</a>, co-founder and lead scientific advisor, has been at Cedars-Sinai since 2017 and conducts research in hypertension in pregnancy and cardiovascular disease associated with kidney disease.</li>
</ul>
Mitera currently has seven employees. It conducts lab work at Cedars-Sinai and Contract Research Organizations (CROs), while its headquarters are in Bellevue.
The startup’s initial funding was led by Cedars-Sinai and provided as a SAFE, or Simple Agreement for Future Equity that allows an investor to receive a stake in the business in the future.
The biology underlying Mitera’s pursuit is “really new,” Chow said. While there’s clear potential for treating transplant patients, the therapy “could be used for so many bigger, broader diseases out there,” he added. “And that’s really exciting.”
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<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">906775</post-id> </item>
<item>
<title>How Microsoft is betting on AI agents in Windows, dusting off a winning playbook from the past</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2025/how-microsoft-is-betting-on-ai-agents-in-windows-dusting-off-a-winning-playbook-from-the-past/</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2025 16:32:30 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Todd Bishop]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cloud Tech]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Microsoft]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AI agents]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[artificial intelligence]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cloud Computing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Copilot]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Enterprise Software]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Microsoft Copilot]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Operating Systems]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Satya Nadella]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Windows]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907082</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1125" height="838" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/1990ar.png" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/1990ar.png 1125w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/1990ar-768x572.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1125px) 100vw, 1125px"> Microsoft is pushing AI agents deep into Windows, reviving a platform strategy that once made the PC operating system dominant. The question is whether that approach can still work in a world defined by phones, browsers, and the cloud. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/how-microsoft-is-betting-on-ai-agents-in-windows-dusting-off-a-winning-playbook-from-the-past/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1125" height="838" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/1990ar.png" alt="" class="wp-image-907090" style="width:800px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/1990ar.png 1125w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/1990ar-768x572.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1125px) 100vw, 1125px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The cover of Microsoft’s 1990 annual report, showing Microsoft Word for Windows 3.0, reflected the company’s confidence as Windows was emerging as a true platform.</figcaption></figure>
[Editor’s Note: <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/special-coverage/agents-of-transformation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Agents of Transformation</a> is an independent GeekWire series and 2026 event, underwritten by Accenture, exploring the people, companies, and ideas behind the rise of AI agents.]
It was “like bringing a Porsche into a world of Model Ts.” 
That’s what Microsoft said in its 1990 annual report about the shift from MS-DOS to Windows. But the bigger breakthrough for the company wasn’t the graphical interface. It was Windows’ ability to serve as a platform for applications made by others.
Windows 3.0, released that year, made third-party software easier to find and launch, and offered developers a clear bargain: build to Microsoft’s specs, and your software would become a first-class citizen on the computers that were arriving “on every desk and in every home,” as the company’s original mission statement put it. 
Thirty-five years later, AI feels less like a car and more like a rocket ship. But Microsoft is hoping that Windows can once again serve as the platform where it all takes off.
A new framework called Agent Launchers, <a href="https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/12/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26220-7522-dev-beta-channels/">introduced earlier this month</a> as a preview in the latest Windows Insider build, lets developers register agents directly with the operating system. They can describe an agent through what’s known as a manifest, which then lets the agent show up in the Windows taskbar, inside Microsoft Copilot, and across other apps.
The long-term promise for Windows users is autonomous assistants that operate on their behalf, directly on their machines. Beyond routine tasks like assembling a PDF or organizing files, agents could monitor email and calendars to resolve scheduling conflicts, or scan documents across multiple apps to pull together a briefing for an upcoming meeting.
Achieving that level of autonomy requires more than just a clever interface. It will take deep, persistent memory that operates more like the human brain.
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="840" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/20250404_Microsoft_117-1260x840.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-866216" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/20250404_Microsoft_117-1260x840.jpg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/20250404_Microsoft_117-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/20250404_Microsoft_117-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/20250404_Microsoft_117-630x420.jpg 630w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/20250404_Microsoft_117.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella this week framed AI agents as a new layer of computing infrastructure that requires greater engineering sophistication. Windows is one of the places where Microsoft is attempting to implement that vision. (GeekWire File Photo / Kevin Lisota)</figcaption></figure>
“We are now entering a phase where we build rich scaffolds that orchestrate multiple models and agents; account for memory and entitlements; enable rich and safe tools use,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote <a href="https://snscratchpad.com/posts/looking-ahead-2026/">in a blog post</a> this week looking ahead to 2026. “This is the engineering sophistication we must continue to build to get value out of AI in the real world.”
Elements of this are already emerging elsewhere.
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude offer <a href="https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/computer-use">desktop-style agents</a> through browsers and native apps, with <a href="https://www.anthropic.com/engineering/desktop-extensions">extensions</a> that can read pages, fill forms, and take limited actions on a user’s behalf.</li>
<li>Amazon is developing <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/amazon-unveils-frontier-agents-new-chips-and-private-ai-factories-in-aws-reinvent-rollout/">“frontier agents”</a> aimed at automating business processes in the cloud. </li>
<li>Startups like Seattle-based <a href="https://vercept.com/">Vercept</a> are building standalone agentic apps that coordinate work across tools. </li>
</ul>
But Microsoft’s Windows team is betting that agents tightly linked to the operating system will win out over ones that merely run on top of it, just as a new class of Windows apps replaced a patchwork of DOS programs in the early days of the graphical operating system. 
Microsoft 365 Copilot is using the Agent Launchers framework for first-party agents like Analyst, which helps users dig into data, and Researcher, which builds detailed reports. Software developers will be able to register their own agents when an app is installed, or on the fly based on things like whether a user is signed in or paying for a subscription.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The risks posed by PC agents</h4>
The parallels to the past only go so far. Traditional PC applications ran in their own windows, worked with their own files, and didn’t touch the rest of the system for the most part.
“Agents are going to need to be able to scratchpad their work,” Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott said recently <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/microsoft-cto-to-ai-startups-stop-waiting-for-better-models-and-do-the-damned-experiments/">on the South Park Commons Minus 1 podcast</a>, explaining that agents will need to retain a history of user interactions and tap into the necessary context to solve problems.
Agents are meant to maintain this context across apps, ask follow-up questions, and take actions on a user’s behalf. That requires a different level of trust than Windows has ever had to manage, which is already raising difficult questions for the company.
Microsoft acknowledges that agents introduce unique security risks. In <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/experimental-agentic-features-a25ede8a-e4c2-4841-85a8-44839191dfb3">a support document</a>, the company warned that malicious content embedded in files or interface elements could override an agent’s instructions — potentially leading to stolen data or malware installation.
To address this, Microsoft says it has built a security framework that runs agents in their own contained workspace, with a dedicated user account that has limited access to user folders. The idea is to create a boundary between the agent and what the rest of the system can access.
The agentic features are off by default, and Microsoft is advising users to “understand the security implications of enabling an agent on your computer” before turning them on.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">A different competitive landscape</h4>
Even if Microsoft executes perfectly, the landscape is different now. In the early 1990s, Windows became dominant because developers flocked to the platform, which attracted more users, which attracted more developers. It was a virtuous cycle, and Microsoft was at the heart of it.
But Windows <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2024/a-new-era-for-windows-can-microsofts-longtime-engine-power-another-tech-revolution/">isn’t the center of the computing world anymore</a>. Smartphones, browsers, and cloud platforms have fragmented the landscape in ways that didn’t exist back then. Microsoft missed the mobile era almost entirely, and the PC is now one screen among many.
In the enterprise, Microsoft has better footing. Azure, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and a growing ecosystem of business-focused agents give the company a strong position, competing against Google, Amazon, OpenAI and others for cloud-based AI agents and services.
Agent Launchers is a different bet — an attempt to make Windows the home for agents that serve individual users on their own machines. That’s a harder sell when the PC is competing with phones, browsers, and cloud apps for people’s attention. Microsoft can build the platform, but it can’t guarantee that developers will show up the way they did 35 years ago.
And unlike in the 1990s, Microsoft can’t count on users to embrace what it’s building. There’s a growing sentiment that these AI capabilities are being pushed into Windows not because users want them, but because Microsoft needs to justify its massive AI investments. 
In October, for example, Microsoft announced <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/microsofts-new-ai-features-aim-to-give-windows-a-voice-and-mind-of-its-own/">new features</a> including “Hey Copilot” voice activation, a redesigned taskbar with Copilot built in, and the expansion of “Copilot Actions” agentic capabilities beyond the browser to the PC itself. 
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“They’re thinking about revenue first and foremost,” longtime tech journalist and Microsoft observer Ed Bott said <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/the-next-pc-platform-shift-ed-bott-on-microsofts-big-windows-ai-bet/">on the GeekWire Podcast at the time</a>. The more users rely on these AI features, he explained, the easier it becomes for the company to upsell them on premium services.
There is a business reality driving all of this. In Microsoft’s most recent fiscal year, Windows and Devices generated $17.3 billion in revenue — essentially flat for the past three years. 
That’s less than Gaming ($23.5 billion) and LinkedIn ($17.8 billion), and a fraction of the $98 billion in revenue from Azure and cloud services or the nearly $88 billion from Microsoft 365 commercial.
By comparison, in fiscal 1995, five years after the launch of Windows 3.0, Microsoft’s platforms group (which included MS-DOS and Windows) represented about 40% of its total revenue of $5.9 billion. Windows was the growth engine for the company.
Windows is unlikely to play that kind of outsized role again. But AI integration is the company’s best bet to return the OS to growth. Whether that ultimately looks like a restored Porsche or a rocket ship on the launchpad probably doesn’t matter as much as keeping it out of the junkyard.
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<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">907082</post-id> </item>
<item>
<title>Ex-Amazon AI engineer bets six figures of his own money to disrupt drug discovery</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2025/ex-amazon-ai-engineer-bets-six-figures-of-his-own-money-to-disrupt-drug-discovery/</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2025 15:16:58 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lisa Stiffler]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Health/Life Sciences]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Startups]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[drug discovery]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Foundations]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Rhizome Research]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[small molecules]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Xhuliano Brace]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=906588</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="1260" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/xhuliano_updated-1260x1260.jpeg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/xhuliano_updated-1260x1260.jpeg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/xhuliano_updated-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/xhuliano_updated-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/xhuliano_updated-1536x1536.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/xhuliano_updated-2048x2048.jpeg 2048w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/xhuliano_updated-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> Seattle biotech startup Rhizome Research has emerged from stealth with technology for creating small-molecule drug candidates. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/ex-amazon-ai-engineer-bets-six-figures-of-his-own-money-to-disrupt-drug-discovery/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="1260" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/xhuliano_updated-1260x1260.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-906933" style="width:350px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/xhuliano_updated-1260x1260.jpeg 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/xhuliano_updated-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/xhuliano_updated-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/xhuliano_updated-1536x1536.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/xhuliano_updated-2048x2048.jpeg 2048w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/xhuliano_updated-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Rhizome Research team CEO and co-founder Xhuliano Brace. (Rhizome Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/xhuliano/">Xhuliano Brace</a> quickly realized that venture capitalists weren’t going to write big checks for two under-30 founders pursuing what he describes as a “contrarian” approach to using AI to design new drugs.
So he’s making the bet himself.
After four years of working on AI projects at Amazon, Brace left the tech giant to self-fund his vision. Using personal savings and proceeds from online trading, he invested a six-figure sum into <a href="https://rhizomeresearch.ai/">Rhizome Research</a>, a Seattle-based startup developing made-to-order, small drug-like molecules.
After launching last year, the five-employee startup recently came out of stealth. In addition to CEO Brace, who has degrees in math, computer science and economics from the University at Albany, Rhizome’s leadership includes:
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/yiwen-wang-467766116/">Yiwen Wang</a>, co-founder and chief scientist, who has a PhD in chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregory-sinenko/">Gregory Sinenka</a>, chief technologist, who is a physics PhD and worked at a European research center and Johnson & Johnson. </li>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnproudfoot/">John Proudfoot</a>, a former U.S.-based director in the Medicinal Chemistry Department at Boehringer Ingelheim, is serving as a scientific advisor. </li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">A different approach to drug discovery</h4>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1140" height="573" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Rhizome.png" alt="" class="wp-image-906935" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Rhizome.png 1140w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Rhizome-768x386.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Rhizome Research’s Yiwen Wang, co-founder and chief scientist, left, and Gregory Sinenka, chief technologist. (Rhizome Photos)</figcaption></figure>
Rather than working from existing molecule-building tools, Rhizome has built its own fine-tuned foundational model, named <a href="https://rhizomeresearch.ai/blog/announcing-r1">r1</a>. The technology is a “graph neural network” and was trained on more than 800 million small drug-like molecules.
The approach is different from the popular RoseTTAFold model created by the University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design, which at its core is based on the amino acids that build proteins. 
The r1 model focuses on the atoms and bonds that make up a molecule and its topography. That’s where the graph idea comes in — the atoms are analogous to the points in a graph while the bonds are akin to its connecting lines. 
The team aims to provide fragment-based drug discovery, creating small molecules optimized to bind to customer-specified targets. They will ensure each drug candidate can be synthesized efficiently in the lab and is suitable for patent protection.
Rhizome last week released <a href="https://github.com/Applied-Scientific/ADAMS">ADAMS</a>, an open-source, automated AI tool that uses natural language instructions for simulating the binding between biological molecules. It also plans to share MolSim, which is a physics-based simulation that uses advanced, free-energy calculations that predict how strongly a small molecule will bind to its target. MolSim won’t be open source.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Vision for a Seattle hub</h4>
Rhizome recently established partnerships with wet labs that can validate the real-world performance of the potential drugs it designs, and it’s exploring customer relationships. 
Brace is operating out of <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/seattle-startup-community-foundations-adds-more-office-space-plans-expansion-in-bellevue/">Foundations</a>, the Seattle-based startup community launched by entrepreneur and investor <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/avielginzburg/">Aviel Ginzburg</a>. Rhizome’s other employees are working remotely, but the plan is to bring folks to Washington.
“I really want to make Seattle kind of a hub for small molecule drug discovery,” Brace said.
He pointed to the Allen Institute, the Institute for Protein Design and other Seattle-area organizations as key players. The region is also home to a slate of related drug design startups that include <a href="https://www.pauling.ai/">Pauling.AI</a>, <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/tag/synthesize-bio/">Synthesize Bio</a> and <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/tag/xaira-therapeutics/">Xaira Therapeutics</a>, which is based in San Francisco and has labs in Seattle.
Brace said he’s energized by the opportunity to work on a project that could have a meaningful impact on humanity and has no regrets in ponying up his own money for the effort. He’s bullish in general on the use of AI for designing molecules, whether for health care or fields such as materials science and advanced manufacturing.
“This is the most interesting problem space to be in,” Brace said. 
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<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">906588</post-id> </item>
<item>
<title>New CEO leading Rad Power Bikes in the midst of e-bike seller’s bankruptcy proceedings</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2025/new-ceo-leading-rad-power-bikes-in-the-midst-of-e-bike-sellers-bankruptcy-proceedings/</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Dec 2025 20:24:30 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kurt Schlosser]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Startups]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tech Moves]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Angelina Smith]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[e-bikes]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Rad Power Bikes]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=906986</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="800" height="800" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/angelinasmith.jpeg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/angelinasmith.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/angelinasmith-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/angelinasmith-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/angelinasmith-100x100.jpeg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"> Angelina "Angy" Smith, who has been chief financial officer at the company since April, assumed the leadership position earlier this month, becoming Rad's fourth CEO in three years. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/new-ceo-leading-rad-power-bikes-in-the-midst-of-e-bike-sellers-bankruptcy-proceedings/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="300" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/angelinasmith-300x300.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-906994" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/angelinasmith-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/angelinasmith-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/angelinasmith-100x100.jpeg 100w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/angelinasmith.jpeg 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Angelina Smith. (LinkedIn Photo)</figcaption></figure>
</div>
Rad Power Bikes has a new CEO as the Seattle-based electric bike manufacturer navigates Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/angy-smith/">Angelina “Angy” Smith</a>, who has been chief financial officer at the company since April, assumed the leadership position earlier this month, becoming Rad’s fourth CEO in three years.
Smith previously held CFO and other finance roles at a number of companies, including TrovaTrip, Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp., Thrive Causemetics, glassybaby, Mixpo, Razorfish and aQuantive. She was vice president of finance at Zulily for almost five years.
Smith replaces <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathilentzsch/">Kathi Lentzsch</a>, who took over the CEO role in March. Lentzsch previously ran Bartell Drugs as CEO before the company sold to Rite-Aid in 2020. 
Lentzsch replaced <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/philmolyneux/">Phil Molyneux</a>, the former Sony president who <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/rad-power-bikes-ceo-phil-molyneux-is-out-in-latest-shakeup-at-seattle-e-bike-maker/">stepped down</a> earlier this year after leading Rad for more than two years. Rad founder Mike Radenbaugh led the company until stepping down in 2022.
Rad <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/rad-power-bikes-files-for-bankruptcy-protection-as-seattle-e-bike-maker-pursues-potential-sale/">filed for bankruptcy protection</a> earlier this month even as the company said it was still working toward a sale that would keep the popular brand alive.
Conceived in 2007 and launched as a direct-to-consumer brand in 2015, Rad Power Bikes rose to become a leading seller of e-bikes in North America, employing hundreds and raising more than $329 million. But after the pandemic-era sales boom dropped off, the company was hit by layoffs and economic headwinds, <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/rad-power-bikes-biggest-unpaid-bill-is-8-3m-to-u-s-customs-as-tariffs-squeeze-the-industry/">including tariffs</a>.
Rad <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/rad-power-bikes-faces-possible-shutdown-as-it-tries-to-survive-significant-financial-challenges/">announced in November </a>that it was facing “significant financial challenges” and in danger of shutting down in January.
In its bankruptcy filing, Rad reported total liabilities of nearly $73 million, more than double its assets of $32 million. The filing also revealed a steady drop in gross revenue — from $129.8 million in 2023 to $103.8 million in 2024, and $63.3 million so far this year.
]]></content:encoded>
<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">906986</post-id> </item>
<item>
<title>Joe Nguyen named Seattle Chamber president and CEO after leaving Washington state Commerce role</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2025/joe-nguyen-named-seattle-chamber-president-and-ceo-after-leaving-washington-state-commerce-role/</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Dec 2025 20:13:32 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kurt Schlosser]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Civic]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Joe Nguyen]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=907000</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="875" height="683" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/joe-Nguyen-new.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/joe-Nguyen-new.jpg 875w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/joe-Nguyen-new-768x599.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/joe-Nguyen-new-630x492.jpg 630w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 875px) 100vw, 875px"> A tech veteran who previously worked at Microsoft and Expedia, Nguyen served in the Washington State Senate representing Seattle’s 34th Legislative District. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/joe-nguyen-named-seattle-chamber-president-and-ceo-after-leaving-washington-state-commerce-role/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="875" height="683" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/joe-Nguyen-new.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-810874" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/joe-Nguyen-new.jpg 875w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/joe-Nguyen-new-768x599.jpg 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/joe-Nguyen-new-630x492.jpg 630w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 875px) 100vw, 875px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Joe Nguyen. (Legislative Support Services Photo)</figcaption></figure>
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetjoenguyen/">Joe Nguyen</a> is the new president and chief executive officer of the <a href="https://www.seattlechamber.com/">Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce</a>, the organization announced Monday.
Less than a week after <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/washington-state-commerce-chief-joe-nguyen-is-leaving-reportedly-to-lead-seattle-metro-chamber/">revealing that he was stepping down</a> from his role as director of Washington state’s Department of Commerce, Nguyen was confirmed as the head of Seattle’s business advocacy organization.
A tech veteran who previously worked at Microsoft and Expedia, Nguyen previously served in the Washington State Senate representing Seattle’s 34th Legislative District. He said his focus as Chamber CEO will be on ensuring the region is an attractive place to do business, grow companies, and create jobs.
“The Chamber plays a critical role in advocating for policy outcomes that support businesses and our region’s economic stability,” Nguyen said in a news release. “My priority is to work closely with our members and policymakers to strengthen the business climate, ensure smart use of public resources, and advance solutions that support job creation, affordability, and a safe, thriving regional economy.”
The Chamber job has been open since Rachel Smith left as the organization’s president and CEO to become <a href="https://www.waroundtable.com/2025/08/20/news-rachel-smith-to-lead-washington-roundtable/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">president of the Washington Roundtable</a>. Nguyen succeeds interim Chamber President and CEO Gabriella Buono.
“He brings an incisive, results-oriented approach and the ability to work across sectors to advance a strong, competitive economy for the Seattle region,” Chamber Board Chair Teresa Hutson, a Microsoft executive, said in a statement.
Nguyen told Commerce employees last Tuesday that he was leaving after one year on the job, but he didn’t say where he was headed. Rumors began circulating online and among business lobbyists in recent days, according to the <a href="https://washingtonstatestandard.com/briefs/head-of-wa-department-of-commerce-is-leaving/">Washington State Standard</a>, which noted that Nguyen is the first member of Gov. Bob Ferguson’s <a href="https://governor.wa.gov/office-governor/executive-cabinet" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">executive cabinet</a> to quit, though others have retired.
At Commerce, Nguyen managed a budget of $7.9 billion and administered more than 100 programs in the areas of housing, energy, community and economic development, local government and business services.
The Seattle Chamber is an independent business organization with 2,600 members.
Nguyen, who will officially assume the Chamber role at the end of January, is a lifelong Washington resident and graduate of Seattle University, where he earned degrees in finance and humanities.
Previously:
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/can-one-agency-reboot-washington-state-commerce-chief-brings-tech-to-the-task/">Can one agency reboot Washington state? Commerce chief brings tech to the task</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2024/techie-turned-lawmaker-uses-his-microsoft-chops-to-challenge-the-status-quo-as-a-state-senator/">Techie-turned-lawmaker uses his Microsoft chops to challenge the status quo as a state senator</a></li>
</ul>
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<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">907000</post-id> </item>
<item>
<title>Startup Radar: Meet four companies tackling insurance, hospitals, construction, and AI models</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2025/startup-radar-meet-four-companies-tackling-insurance-hospitals-construction-and-ai-models/</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Dec 2025 17:22:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Taylor Soper]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Startups]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Amera]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AWS]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Clara]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Microsoft]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Oiyko]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[outreach]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[seattle startups]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Specbook]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[startup radar]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[University of Washington]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Viome]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[WTIA]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Y Combinator]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=906469</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1170" height="1164" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-24-at-6.22.09-PM.png" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-24-at-6.22.09-PM.png 1170w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-24-at-6.22.09-PM-150x150.png 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-24-at-6.22.09-PM-768x764.png 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-24-at-6.22.09-PM-100x100.png 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px"> Our latest Startup Radar spotlights four early stage tech startups in the Seattle region: Amera, Clara, Oiyko, and Specbook. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/startup-radar-meet-four-companies-tackling-insurance-hospitals-construction-and-ai-models/">Read More</a>]]></description>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1170" height="1164" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-24-at-6.22.09-PM.png" alt="" class="wp-image-906615" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-24-at-6.22.09-PM.png 1170w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-24-at-6.22.09-PM-150x150.png 150w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-24-at-6.22.09-PM-768x764.png 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-24-at-6.22.09-PM-100x100.png 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Clockwise from top left: Amera CEO Deep Kapur; Clara CEO Melinda Yormick; Oikyo CEO Saptak Sen; and Specbook AI CEO Gordon Hempton.</figcaption></figure>
Founders in the Seattle area are busy building software for health insurance, AI model tuning, construction processes, and hospital operations. 
Our latest Startup Radar spotlights four early stage tech startups in the region: Amera, Clara, Oiyko, and Specbook AI.
Read on for brief descriptions of each company — along with pitch assessments from “Mean VC,” a GPT-powered critic offering a mix of encouragement and constructive criticism. 
Check out past Startup Radar posts <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/tag/startup-radar/">here</a>, and email me at <a href="mailto:taylor@geekwire.com">taylor@geekwire.com</a> to flag other companies and startup news.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.amerahealthsolutions.com/">Amera</a></h4>
Founded: 2025
The business: Targeting health insurance payers with software that automates the claims processing workflow. Its product converts medical claim documents into structured data, replacing manual entry and supporting newer payment models. Amera is generating revenue, working with multiple plan administrators, and participating in the Fall 2025 cohort at Y Combinator.
Leadership: CEO <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepkkapur/">Deep Kapur</a> previously worked at Microsoft, Protocol Labs, and most recently Rupa Health. Co-founder <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/louise-tanski/">Louise Tanski</a> was also at Rupa Health and co-founded QueryStax (acquired by Moonshot Brands).
Mean VC: “You’re solving a real pain point in healthcare admin, and early revenue plus YC traction suggest you’re on the right track. The key will be proving your structured data actually drives measurable cost or accuracy improvements — not just faster paperwork.”
<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.claraguide.com/">Clara</a></h4>
Founded: 2022
The business: A self-described “AI-powered operating room orchestration” platform for hospitals. Clara aims to be like Apple’s “Find My” app, but for patient care, helping hospital staff quickly locate equipment and people. The company has raised around $375,000 and is working with a lab at the University of Washington on a non-clinical pilot. 
Leadership: CEO <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/melinda-yormick/">Melinda Yormick</a> has more than a decade of operating room experience as a registered nurse and nurse manager. She was named a 2025 “Up and Comer” at the PSBJ Healthcare Leadership Awards. Co-founder <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-cooke-9901a7a/">Aaron Cooke</a> was previously a senior software engineer at Viome and Julep.
Mean VC: “The problem is clear to anyone who’s worked in a hospital, and your background gives you credibility where it counts. But unless you can tie this to patient outcomes or hard ROI, hospital budgets may treat it as a luxury.”
<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://oikyo.ai/">Oikyo</a></h4>
Founded: 2025
The business: Helps companies fine-tune AI models using their own data, enabling employees to add business-specific context. The company is participating in WTIA’s startup accelerator. 
Leadership: Co-founders <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/saptak/">Saptak Sen</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/suchi-mohan-tech/">Suchi Mohan</a> first met at Microsoft in India in 2001. Sen, the CEO at Oiyko, was most recently a vice president at Tetrate and head of container integrations at AWS. Mohan was a senior technical program manager at Microsoft for more than four years.
Mean VC: “Fine-tuning with business context is a sharp idea, especially as enterprises grow wary of generic AI outputs. Still, you’ll need to show how you differ from the wave of enterprise LLM tooling coming from giants and better-funded peers.”
<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.specbook.ai/">Specbook AI</a></h4>
Founded: 2025
The business: Builds AI agents for industrial and civic projects that can quickly analyze data and perform tasks such as design reviews and reviewing construction submittals. Specbook AI is working with large construction companies and municipalities. Contracted revenue is in the six figures. 
Leadership: Co-founders <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ghempton/">Gordon Hempton</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/whather">Wes Hather</a> co-founded Outreach, the Seattle-based sales software company. More recently they launched two startups: B2B sales software company <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2024/outreach-founders-reveal-new-buyer-copilot-ai-startup-that-automates-customer-demos/">FullContext</a> and virtual work platform <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2021/outreach-founders-raise-1-7m-build-sims-enterprise-new-seattle-startup-spot/">Spot</a>.
Mean VC: “Digitizing construction reviews and civic workflows is overdue, and six-figure contracts suggest you’re solving a real pain. To scale, you’ll need to prove your product can handle diverse requirements without slipping into custom consulting.”
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<title>‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ — but a lousy edit — if you click wrong version of holiday classic on Amazon</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2025/its-a-wonderful-life-but-a-lousy-edit-if-you-click-wrong-version-of-holiday-classic-on-amazon/</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Dec 2025 17:05:49 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kurt Schlosser]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Geek Life]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Amazon Prime Video]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[It's a Wonderful Life]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Movies]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=906958</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="731" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/wonderfullife-1260x731.png" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/wonderfullife-1260x731.png 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/wonderfullife-768x445.png 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/wonderfullife.png 1355w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> Prime Video features a few versions of the film, including one that cuts out a key sequence in the life of protagonist George Bailey. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/its-a-wonderful-life-but-a-lousy-edit-if-you-click-wrong-version-of-holiday-classic-on-amazon/">Read More</a>]]></description>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="731" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/wonderfullife-1260x731.png" alt="" class="wp-image-906963" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/wonderfullife-1260x731.png 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/wonderfullife-768x445.png 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/wonderfullife.png 1355w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">One of the versions of “It’s a Wonderful Life” on Amazon Prime Video. (Prime Video screen shot)</figcaption></figure>
Holiday cheers turned to jeers directed at Amazon last week as some film fans were surprised by a gutted version of the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” on Prime Video.
The 1946 film stars Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, a man who learns the value of his life after seeing what the world would be like without him.
In a story on Christmas Day, the <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/12/25/business/amazon-prime-slammed-for-streaming-its-a-wonderful-life-with-key-scene-cut-out-sacrilege/">New York Post</a> called out Amazon for airing a “butchered” version of the film that is shorter than the original and missing a key sequence that the newspaper calls “the movie’s emotional core.”
Unsuspecting viewers who clicked on the cut copy vented on social media, calling it “an abomination” and <a href="https://x.com/grok/status/2003952733296968068" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“sacrilege.”</a>
A search of the movie title on Prime Video on Monday morning brought up a few options, including a black and white version, a color version, and one clearly marked “abridged.” That version included a description which read, in part, “a condensed ending but still contains all the sweetness and Christmas wonder.”
It’s unclear if Amazon recently added the “abridged” labeling on that version. We reached out to the company for comment and will update when we hear back.
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="604" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/abridged-1260x604.png" alt="" class="wp-image-906974" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/abridged-1260x604.png 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/abridged-768x368.png 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/abridged.png 1271w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A shortened version of “It’s a Wonderful Life” that appears on Amazon Prime Video. (Prime Video screen shot)</figcaption></figure>
The Post story, and an accompanying video (below), detailed how the missing sequence factors into the film as a distraught George Bailey — who wishes he’d never been born — sees how his hometown of Bedford Falls devolves into a corrupt, neon-lit “Pottersville” without his existence. 
The sequence helps Bailey realize how important his simple life is in shaping the fate of many, and his despair turns to joy.<a href="https://nypost.com/2025/12/25/business/amazon-prime-slammed-for-streaming-its-a-wonderful-life-with-key-scene-cut-out-sacrilege/#"></a>
The existence of the shorter version of the movie is not the work of Amazon editors, but rather is rooted in the copyright history of the film, as the Post points out.
A 2022 University of Connecticut <a href="https://library.law.uconn.edu/2022/12/08/its-a-wonderful-life-how-a-copyright-glitch-created-a-christmas-cult-classic/">law school blog post</a> explains how the film fell into the public domain when its distributor failed to renew its copyright in 1974. This lapse helped turn “It’s a Wonderful Life” into a holiday classic because TV stations freely aired the movie for decades around Christmas without paying royalties.
In the 1990s, Republic Pictures regained control of the movie when it argued that it held properly maintained rights to two underlying elements: the original short story “The Greatest Gift,” by Philip Van Doren Stern, and the musical score by Dimitri Timokin.
Television networks were directed to stop playing “It’s a Wonderful Life” without permission or the payment of royalties. The Post reported that the abridged version appears to be a workaround that removes the “Pottersville” sequence to avoid infringing on a key portion most directly adapted from the short story.
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Amazon Prime SLAMMED for Streaming ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ with Key Scene Cut Out: ‘Sacrilege’" width="800" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5B5QTdZoIOY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>
<a href="https://nypost.com/2025/12/25/business/amazon-prime-slammed-for-streaming-its-a-wonderful-life-with-key-scene-cut-out-sacrilege/#"></a>
<a href="https://nypost.com/2025/12/25/business/amazon-prime-slammed-for-streaming-its-a-wonderful-life-with-key-scene-cut-out-sacrilege/#"></a>
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<title>Seattle-area tech company sues New York acquisition advisor, alleging botched $5.2M deal</title>
<link>https://www.geekwire.com/2025/seattle-area-tech-company-sues-new-york-acquisition-advisor-alleging-botched-5-2m-deal/</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Dec 2025 16:51:51 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Todd Bishop]]></dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Tech]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[due diligence]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lawsuits]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[legal issues]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[mergers and acquisitions]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Private Equity]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Seattle Tech]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[SmarTek21]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[technology consulting]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[TGP GP Management]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tortuga Growth Partners]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.geekwire.com/?p=906970</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img width="1260" height="635" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/smartek-itavalon-1260x635.png" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/smartek-itavalon-1260x635.png 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/smartek-itavalon-768x387.png 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/smartek-itavalon.png 1322w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px"> SmarTek21 has sued TGP GP Management, accusing the New York-based advisor of flawed due diligence in a $5.2 million acquisition that has since required repeated cash infusions. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2025/seattle-area-tech-company-sues-new-york-acquisition-advisor-alleging-botched-5-2m-deal/">Read More</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1260" height="635" src="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/smartek-itavalon-1260x635.png" alt="" class="wp-image-906972" style="width:350px" srcset="https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/smartek-itavalon-1260x635.png 1260w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/smartek-itavalon-768x387.png 768w, https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/smartek-itavalon.png 1322w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px" /></figure>
</div>
A Kirkland, Wash.-based tech company is suing its New York-based acquisition advisor, alleging it was pushed into a $5.2 million acquisition that was supposed to generate $1 million annually but has instead required ongoing cash infusions just to stay afloat.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of <a href="https://smartek21.com/">SmarTek21</a>, a longtime technology consulting services firm, accuses TGP GP Management of “egregiously defective due diligence” in its May 2025 acquisition of <a href="https://www.itavalon.com/">IT Avalon</a>, another U.S.-based tech consulting company.
According to <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/973669815/SmarTek21-v-TGP-Management" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the complaint</a>, Tortuga Growth Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, acquired a minority stake in SmarTek21 in 2024. Its affiliate, TGP GP Management, a management and acquisition advisory firm, entered into an agreement to advise SmarTek21 on acquisitions and related matters.
TGP responded in a statement: “TGP strongly disputes the allegations in this complaint and stands by the comprehensive due diligence process conducted for the IT Avalon acquisition.”
The lawsuit was filed Dec. 18 in King County Superior Court in Seattle by Totem Lake Investments II, the majority owner of SmarTek21. Totem Lake Investments is led by SmarTek21 CEO <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/allalji/">Alkarim Lalji</a>. The suit seeks at least $6 million in damages, plus punitive damages and other relief.
According to the complaint, TGP almost immediately began pressuring SmarTek21 to acquire IT Avalon, as a complementary business that would augment SmarTek21’s existing model and diversify its customer base. The suit says TGP represented that IT Avalon would generate at least $1 million annually in free cash flow, before other benefits from the combination.
The complaint alleges that TGP’s principal <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashray-prasad-77730510/">Ashray Prasad</a> dismissed concerns raised by SmarTek21 executives about IT Avalon’s deteriorating finances in the days before closing. According to the suit, Prasad repeatedly called Lalji urging him to close the deal — placing many of these calls while Lalji was undergoing treatment for a serious medical condition.
The lawsuit alleges TGP pursued the IT Avalon acquisition out of “enthusiasm for transaction fees, publicity, and the appearance of quick deal-making.”
According to the suit, IT Avalon’s revenue had been declining since 2022, and its operating income had dropped significantly, while its vendor relationships deteriorated.
TGP structured the deal so that any working capital shortfall would be offset against future earnout payments to IT Avalon’s sellers. But that proved worthless, the suit alleges, because IT Avalon had almost no chance of hitting the revenue targets that would trigger those payments.
In its statement, TGP disputed these claims.
“IT Avalon is a strong technology business with valuable client relationships,” it said. “The combined entity now benefits from an expanded client base, talented personnel, and a robust pipeline of opportunities. We intend to vigorously defend against these baseless claims.”
The dispute illustrates the complicated nature of private equity-led technology roll-up strategies, in which smaller companies are combined to create larger platforms.
The acquisition of IT Avalon in May was the second in six months for SmarTek21, following its earlier <a href="https://www.intelligentcio.com/africa/2025/03/10/retro-rabbit-joins-forces-with-us-global-enterprise-smarttek21/">combination</a> with Retro Rabbit, a South Africa-based product design firm, according to <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tortuga-growth-partners-backed-smartek21-completes-strategic-combination-with-it-avalon-expanding-its-global-innovation-capabilities-and-clients-302467672.html">a press release</a> by Tortuga Growth Partners announcing the IT Avalon deal at the time.
“We are building a category-defining platform,” said TGP’s Prasad, who is also a member of SmarTek21’s board of managers, in the press release. He added that the completion of the second acquisition over that time frame reflected “the momentum behind SmarTek21’s growth.”
According to the company’s public materials, SmarTek21 provides product engineering and enterprise software services to Fortune 250 clients in industries including financial services, healthcare, and telecom. It says it has more than 650 associates across the U.S., India, and South Africa.
IT Avalon, founded in 2012, provides technology consulting services to clients in financial services, healthcare, gaming, and hospitality. The May press release announcing the deal described the company as having a 95% client retention rate.
Lalji and SmarTek21 did not respond to requests for comment. See the full complaint below.
<iframe loading="lazy" class="scribd_iframe_embed" title="SmarTek21 v. TGP Management" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/973669815/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-sTCt9YinFTwxZtj2xA8N" tabindex="0" data-auto-height="true" data-aspect-ratio="0.7735849056603774" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0" ></iframe> <a title="View SmarTek21 v. TGP Management on Scribd" href="https://www.scribd.com/document/973669815/SmarTek21-v-TGP-Management#from_embed" style="color: #098642; text-decoration: underline;"> SmarTek21 v. TGP Management </a> by <a title="View GeekWire's profile on Scribd" href="https://www.scribd.com/user/330039756/GeekWire#from_embed" style="color: #098642; text-decoration: underline;" > GeekWire </a>
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