Departing AWS exec Dave Brown is heading to Meta, report says

Dave Brown's mystery role is at Meta: The news of the longtime AWS exec's departure earlier this week came without a destination. Now the Wall Street Journal reports he's headed to Meta to work on its data center buildout — as Meta weighs launching a cloud business that would compete with the company Brown just left. Read more. 

Icertis CEO out: Anand Subbaraman is departing as CEO of Icertis less than a year after taking the role. The Bellevue-based contract management company said Friday that CFO Rajat Bahri and board member Jim Moffatt will serve as interim co-CEOs while the company searches for a permanent leader. Read more.

Office market turns a corner: The Seattle region posted positive net absorption in Q2 — its first meaningful improvement in years — as tech and AI firms including Databricks, DocuSign and Pokémon signed major deals across the region, according to a new JLL report. Read more.

Sounders honor Soma Somasegar: The Seattle Sounders paused before Thursday's match against the Portland Timbers to pay tribute to S. "Soma" Somasegar, the longtime Microsoft executive, Madrona venture capitalist and Sounders minority owner who died in May at age 59. Fans stood in silence as his image appeared on the video boards at Lumen Field, a nod to a figure whose ownership stake was one piece of a long run backing the region's developers, startups and sports franchises. Read more.

Hot Links

• Robotaxi recall: Amazon's Zoox is recalling 105 autonomous vehicles after one entered a smoke-filled fire scene in Las Vegas, prompting a software update designed to help its robotaxis better detect heavy smoke and avoid interfering with emergency responders. (CNBC)
• Redmond‑based Aduro, known for its corporate wellness programs, is moving into clinical care with a new in‑house therapy team — signaling a broader shift in how self‑insured employers deliver mental‑health benefits. (PRWeb)

• Databricks keeps riding the AI wave: The data and AI software giant — with a growing presence in Bellevue — is set to reach a staggering $188 billion valuation in a new Coatue-led investment round of $3 billion, underscoring investors' continued appetite for enterprise AI leaders ahead of a potential IPO. (WSJ)

• Verizon will lay off 54 Washington employees as part of a nationwide restructuring — shifting 274 company‑owned stores to franchise ownership while cutting roughly 3,000 jobs companywide. (Seattle Times)

• Redmond‑based Kestra Medical Technologies, which makes wearable cardiac monitoring systems, secured up to $200  million in non‑dilutive financing. (Globe Newswire)