June 05, 2015
BioLife Solutions to be acquired by Repligen in $1.5B cell therapy deal
July 23, 2026
Roderick de Greef, CEO of BioLife Solutions. (BioLife Photo) BioLife Solutions, a Bothell, Wash.-based company developing tools for cell and gene therapy, is being acquired for $1.5 billion by the life sciences corporation Repligen. BioLife is a publicly traded business that makes products...
Amazon puts Luna gaming service inside its Prime Video app, hoping people finally notice
July 23, 2026
Amazon will begin to fold its Luna cloud platform directly into the Prime Video app via the new Games tab, in an effort to get word about Luna to Prime members. (Amazon Luna promotional image) Amazon announced today that it has updated some versions of its Prime Video app to include direct...
Microsoft 2.5: New security business chief Hayete Gallot on the company’s push into the agentic era
July 23, 2026
Hayete Gallot, now executive vice president of Microsoft Security, speaks at a Microsoft event in France in 2024. (Microsoft Photo) GeekWire is profiling over the next few weeks some of the people and teams that are shaping the evolution of Microsoft in what we’re calling its “Microsoft 2.5”...
Startup Spotlight: MediaPact wants to reinvent digital ads for the AI era
July 23, 2026
Lacie Thompson previously worked in marketing at Expedia, Blue Nile and New Engen, and is now putting those skills to work at MediaPact. As AI changes how people discover products online, marketers are rethinking the traditional digital advertising playbook. With AI-generated answers reducing...
Amazon cuts jobs in AGI group as it puts more focus on customer-facing AI
July 22, 2026
GeekWire File Photo Amazon confirmed Wednesday that it laid off an unspecified number of employees in its artificial general intelligence (AGI) organization, the division working on the company’s advanced AI models. The move, first reported by Reuters, comes as the company invests heavily in...
Game developer Harebrained Schemes kicks off its new indie era with survival-horror RPG ‘GRAFT’
July 22, 2026
(Harebrained Schemes press image) The latest game from Seattle-based developer Harebrained Schemes, and its first since its return to independence in 2023, is a dark sci-fi/horror adventure where the player must constantly change and enhance their body in order to survive. In GRAFT, players...
Microsoft 2.5: A new series on the people shaping the company’s future
July 22, 2026
Nearly 20 years ago (!), in 2007, I published my first and only book: Microsoft 2.0. It focused on changes I expected at the company in the “Post-Gates” era. What would remain the same and what likely would be different once co-founder and CEO Bill Gates had left the building? CEO Satya...
Microsoft commits $60M to ‘Genesis Mission’ to help power Dept. of Energy’s AI-for-science push
July 22, 2026
(GeekWire File Photo / Todd Bishop) Microsoft is putting $60 million behind the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission, a push to use artificial intelligence to speed up scientific research across the government’s 17 national labs. The company’s investment is split into two pieces: $40...
New Markdown rival: Open-source DGML format aims to turn docs into data that AI (and humans) can trust
July 22, 2026
L-R: Mantra CEO John Patrick Mullin, Docugami CEO Jean Paoli, and Inveniam CEO Patrick O’Meara. The companies are partnering to make DGML a standard for AI, with Docugami turning documents into data, Inveniam verifying it on a blockchain, and Mantra providing the chain. Jean Paoli has spent his...
The greenest goodbye: Human composting and the science of becoming soil
July 22, 2026
Katrina Spade, CEO and founder of Recompose, a startup providing human composting as death care. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler) Subscribe to Positive Charge: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, All Episodes Last year, lifestyle icon Martha Stewart created an internet...
Mars Society and South Seattle College strike a deal to build a simulated space habitat
July 22, 2026
Two analog astronauts trudge toward the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. (Mars Society Photo) The Mars Society is planning to build a Pacific Northwest research station suitable for simulating missions to the moon or Mars, in partnership with South Seattle College. The...
Interlune extracts helium-3 from ordinary helium, demonstrating a process it plans to use on the moon
July 22, 2026
Mechanical engineer Sam Heyd, Chief Technology Officer Gary Lai and chemical engineer Brenden Pelkie operate the Cold Capture system in Interlune’s Cryogenic Lab at the company’s Seattle headquarters. (Interlune Photo) Seattle-based Interlune says it has managed to produce 99% pure helium-3 from...
Seattle judge deals blow to Kalshi, rejects prediction market’s federal defense
July 21, 2026
GeekWire Illustration A judge in Seattle issued a preliminary injunction against Kalshi, finding that Washington state is likely to prove that the fast-growing prediction market is running illegal online gambling. The ruling by King County Superior Court Judge John McHale, issued Monday, does...
Grammy-winning artist and entrepreneur Diplo invests in Seattle startup Copper
July 21, 2026
Recording artist, DJ and entrepreneur Diplo invested in Copper. Photo via BusinessWire Seattle’s Copper has landed a high-profile new backer as it looks to accelerate growth of its consumer rewards platform, announcing Tuesday that Grammy-winning artist, DJ and entrepreneur Diplo has invested in...
The little chips that could: How Impinj has survived 26 years in a market that’s ‘just getting going’
July 21, 2026
Impinj co-founder and CEO Chris Diorio, center, and members of the Impinj team at the Nasdaq opening bell ceremony in New York City on Tuesday, marking the 10th anniversary of the company’s IPO. (Nasdaq Photo) Backstage at a Seattle tech event in the early 2000s, Chris Diorio was waiting his...
TerraByte AI expands its ‘Earth Search Engine’ with satellite imagery partnership and interactive features
July 21, 2026
An interactive map displays the sites of wildfires, earthquakes and severe weather events, with links to satellite imagery. (Credit: TerraByte) Two months after emerging from stealth mode, TerraByte AI is using artificial intelligence and a new partnership to upgrade its “Earth Search...
Seattle’s Clarify acquires S.F. startup Seam AI, joining forces to challenge CRM stalwarts
July 21, 2026
From left: Clarify CEO Patrick Thompson, Seam AI CEO Nicholas Scavone, and Clarify CTO Ondrej Hrebicek. (Clarify and Seam Photos) Clarify, the Seattle-based AI startup that has raised more than $22 million to take on Salesforce and other CRM incumbents, has made its first acquisition: San...
Next-gen battery startup Sila raises $300M to expand manufacturing plant in Washington state
July 21, 2026
Sila began operations at its Moses Lake, Wash., plant in September. (Sila Photo) Sila, a startup producing next-generation battery materials, on Tuesday announced $300 million in new funding. The company previously raised $1.3 billion and was valued at close to $2 billion two years ago,...
Jimothy keeps on giving: Amazon and others match winning bid for raccoon art, to benefit food bank
July 21, 2026
A painting of Jimothy, the viral raccoon, by Seattle artist Ryan Henry Ward. (@henry_beyond_museums via Instagram) Jimothy isn’t just a viral internet sensation — he’s a cause for good. A painting of the beloved raccoon by Seattle artist Ryan Henry Ward attracted a winning bid of $6,543.21 in...
Protesters confront Microsoft CSO over carbon goals and AI, disrupting climate event
July 20, 2026
Melanie Nakagawa, Microsoft chief sustainability officer, left, speaking with GeekWire reporter Lisa Stiffler at a fireside chat at Seattle City Hall on July 17. (PNW Climate Week / Fer Sagastume Photo) Microsoft Chief Sustainability Officer Melanie Nakagawa faced a barrage of pointed questions...
Veteran Microsoft security executive joins AWS amid broader reshuffle in Redmond
July 20, 2026
Rudra Mitra will lead Amazon security services in his new role. (LinkedIn Photo) Rudra “Rudy” Mitra, who spent more than 27 years at Microsoft and most recently led its Purview data-security business, is joining Amazon Web Services as vice president of security services. Mitra will oversee an...
UK data center startup Nscale bets big on Bellevue for U.S. engineering hub amid AI boom
July 20, 2026
Nscale’s Nidhi Chappell. Photo via Nscale. Fresh off a $2 billion fundraising and $900 million line of credit, London-based data center startup Nscale is planning a big expansion at a new engineering office in Bellevue, Wash. Nscale, one of the fastest-growing companies building AI computing...
8-bit ‘Jimothy’: Viral sensation raids trash cans, eludes paparazzi in Seattle creator’s video game
July 20, 2026
The “Jimothy” video game features Seattle’s beloved raccoon making his way through assorted challenges. (Image via Chris Pirillo) Jimothy, the short-spined Seattle raccoon, has become a global sensation whose likeness has been immortalized in artwork, clothing, songs and tattoos — and now a...
Etzioni on AI: Uncle Sam wants a stake in leading AI companies — what could possibly go wrong?
July 19, 2026
(Image generated by Google Gemini) Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump agree on almost nothing. But they do agree that the public should own a piece of the AI industry. The Vermont senator and the president disagree on both the structure and stake of public ownership, but the idea is being...
Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of July 12, 2026
July 19, 2026
Get caught up on the latest technology and startup news from the past week. Here are the most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of July 12, 2026. Sign up to receive these updates every Sunday in your inbox by subscribing to our GeekWire Weekly email newsletter. Most popular stories on...
AI weapons under scrutiny as activists plan weekend protest at Anduril’s Seattle office
July 18, 2026
Defense giant Anduril is operating its autonomous naval vessel manufacturing facility at the old Foss Shipyard on the Lake Washington Ship Canal in Seattle. Demonstrators plan to protest a different location, Anduril’s downtown Seattle office. (GeekWire Photo / John Cook) A coalition of...
Silicon Valley icon Vinod Khosla: What kind of Seahawks owner will he be?
July 18, 2026
Vinod Khosla at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco in October 2024. (TechCrunch Photo / Flickr / CC BY 2.0) This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Silicon Valley legend Vinod Khosla’s family is leading a group that’s buying the Seattle Seahawks for a record $9.6 billion. We dug into hours of...
Ditch your smartphone for a flip phone for a month? This group wants Seattleites to try
July 18, 2026
Maggie Hollinbeck and James Wagar are leading the charge on Month Offline Seattle, a move to get people off their smartphones. Seattle helped create the modern smartphone era. Now, nearly 40 people in the heart of one of the world’s biggest technology hubs are voluntarily putting theirs...
Seattle indie hit ‘Stardew Valley’ is coming to ‘Magic: The Gathering’
July 17, 2026
Credits: Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone and Sylvain Sarrailh for Wizards of the Coast. One of the biggest hits ever produced by Seattle’s independent video game scene is joining the Magic: The Gathering multiverse later this month. Sort of. Magic, the long-running collectible card game published...
Icertis CEO is departing; contract management company names CFO and board member interim leaders
July 17, 2026
Anand Subbaraman. (LinkedIn Photo) Anand Subbaraman is departing as CEO of Icertis, the Bellevue, Wash.-based contract management software company said Friday. Chief Financial Officer Rajat Bahri and longtime executive and Icertis board member Jim Moffatt will serve as interim co-CEOs as Icertis...
Departing AWS exec Dave Brown is reportedly joining Meta, as Facebook parent mulls its own cloud
July 17, 2026
Dave Brown, the departing AWS senior vice president, has been a member of its senior leadership team. (Amazon Photo) One of Amazon’s top cloud leaders will be joining Meta as the Facebook parent company considers turning its massive AI buildout into a cloud business of its own. That’s the...
Seattle Sounders FC pay tribute to S. ‘Soma’ Somasegar, beloved tech leader and team owner
July 17, 2026
A tribute to venture capitalist S. “Soma” Somasegar before the Sounders FC match. (GeekWire Photo / John Cook) The Seattle Sounders paused before Thursday night’s rivalry match against the Portland Timbers to honor one of their own. Before the match at Lumen Field, the club paid tribute to S....
Seattle region’s office market shows signs of life as AI companies bring stability
July 17, 2026
Part of the Seattle skyline as seen from the waterfront. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser) For the first time in several years, there are indications that the worst may be over for the Seattle region’s battered office market — and artificial intelligence companies appear to be playing a leading...
Whatnot acquires Madrona-backed AI startup Shaped to boost live shopping recommendations
July 16, 2026
(Image via Shaped) Live-shopping unicorn Whatnot is expanding its AI capabilities with the acquisition of Shaped, a startup that builds real-time recommendation and search technology. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Shaped founder and CEO Tullie Murrell will join Whatnot to...
Tech Moves: Former Amazon exec joins F5; Microsoft security CVP departs; Qualtrics adds leadership
July 16, 2026
Cathy Peterman. (F5 Photo) — F5 named former Amazon executive Cathy Peterman as executive vice president and chief people officer of the Seattle-based application-delivery and security company. In May, F5 celebrated its 30th year in business. “Cathy brings a rare combination of strategic...
Comments(0)