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AI learns nature’s code: The Allen Institute, University of Washington and Fred Hutch Cancer Center are launching a nearly $95 million initiative that will generate data and train AI models to design proteins and genes that don’t exist in nature — sharing the results freely to help others develop new medicines and materials. The Fund for Science and Technology, created by Paul Allen’s estate, is funding the five-year open science project.
UW settles free speech lawsuit: The university has agreed to pay $600,000 to resolve a years-long case brought by computer science professor Stuart Reges, who was disciplined after including a parody land acknowledgment in a course syllabus. Reges sued in 2022 and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ultimately found university officials violated his academic freedom rights by retaliating against his speech and engaging in viewpoint discrimination.
A tale of two tech hubs: While a surge in AI-generated wealth is driving bidding wars and pushing San Francisco median home prices up 6%, Seattle’s housing market has slipped into a slump with prices dropping 3.6%, according to a new Redfin report. Ongoing tech layoffs and corporate belt-tightening have dampened buyer confidence in the Seattle region, causing active listings to surge while net migration from the Bay Area falls to historic lows.
The layoffs behind that slump kept coming this week: Two more employers quantified their cuts in state filings.
- Uber is cutting 93 jobs in Washington state, mostly software engineers and senior managers at its downtown Seattle engineering hub, as part of global layoffs that will eliminate roughly 10% of its workforce.
- Qualtrics cut 117 jobs tied to its Seattle HQ as part of the experience management software company’s layoffs first reported two weeks ago. Engineering and product roles dominate the list, and the company still isn’t saying how many jobs it cut overall.
McGraw Hill buys Seattle-area edtech startup: The education publishing giant acquired Bothell, Wash.-based TeachAlly, whose AI tools help teachers build and customize lessons and assessments aligned to state standards. Founder Daniel Bernstein, who sold Sandlot Games two decades ago, spent much of the past decade as an M&A advisor before running the sale of his own startup.
New space for battery innovation: The University of Washington has opened the West Coast’s first public, open-access battery manufacturing lab to help startups scale novel chemistries for grid storage, defense and transportation. Built with $7.5 million in state climate funding, the Seattle facility provides equipment and expertise for developing prototype pouch cells.
Blue Origin’s Mars contract: Jeff Bezos’ space venture won a NASA deal worth up to $700 million to build and operate a telecommunications orbiter at Mars, using a version of its Blue Ring spacecraft. Delivery is due by the end of 2028, with the network expected to be operational by 2030.
Lessons from 28 years at T-Mobile: Veteran marketing and product leader Mike Katz, who’s leaving the Bellevue, Wash.-based wireless company, looks back at the Un-carrier turnaround and what it taught him about resilience, competition, marketing, creativity, and just plain having fun in business.
NBA comes down hard on Steve Ballmer: The league suspended the L.A. Clippers owner (and former Microsoft CEO) for one year, slapped the team with a $30 million fine, and took away five first-round draft picks following an investigation into a salary-cap evasion scheme involving star forward Kawhi Leonard.
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