Git, redistributed: Former GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke's startup Entire is launching a distributed network for mirroring code repositories, arguing the centralized model he once oversaw for the Microsoft-owned company can't keep up with the crush of AI coding agents. The startup itself is also distributed, with no centralized headquarters, but Dohmke and his co-founder are in Bellevue, Wash., and the company previously raised a $60 million seed round from investors including Seattle-based Madrona.
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Chatbot whisperer: Seattle startup Optimly has closed an $800,000 pre-seed round from Mighty Capital, Flywheel Angel Network and AI House to build a public index where brands can correct what AI chatbots say about them. Founder and CEO Apurva Luty, a veteran of Microsoft, Meta and Discord, swept three awards at the Flywheel Investment Conference in Wenatchee, Wash., before catching the attention of Seattle investors. Read more.
The drive to build a better golf app: Bellingham, Wash.-based Barkie is using AI, voice-activation and more in a bid to change the way people play golf and interact on the course. Co-founder and CEO Dane Renkert, above, is a former pro baseball player and a scratch golfer who has recruited high-profile backers and a team with Big Tech experience. Read more.
UW puts startups in motion: Ten startups have emerged from the University of Washington’s CoMotion program, securing UW-licensed intellectual property over the past year. Eight are in healthcare and two focus on K-12 education or climate change. Learn about the companies.
Big startup hire: Bill Colleran, the former CEO of Impinj who also sold Innovent Systems to Broadcom for roughly $500 million, has joined Seattle AI coding startup Adronite as CEO. Founding CEO Edward Rothschild moves to CTO. Read more.
More Tech Moves: Dropbox hired Seattle product vet Mike Torres as its first CPO; Chris Sambar is joining T‑Mobile as chief enterprise officer; Adam Schoenfeld stepped down as Inflection.io’s CMO; and Stoke Space added former OpenAI exec Kevin Weil to its board. Read more.
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Amazon is borrowing $25 billion in a bond sale to help pay for its big AI build‑out but told banks it won’t take on any more debt this year beyond that. (CNBC)
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Microsoft is quietly swapping out OpenAI and Anthropic in Excel and Outlook, now routing tens of thousands of weekly prompts through its in‑house MAI models to cut costs and reduce reliance on outside labs. (Bloomberg)
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Microsoft is offering up to 39 weeks of severance to newly laid-off workers in a package that includes continued stock vesting and paid health coverage, making it one of the more generous deals in Big Tech’s recent cuts. (Business Insider)
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Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is close to landing a $10 billion funding round valuing the company at $130 billion, as big funds bet on its lunar contracts and satellite network despite a recent New Glenn test explosion. (NYT DealBook)
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Washington Attorney General Nick Brown announced two major settlements totaling $21.8 million with Block Inc. over its peer-to-peer payment platform, Cash App. (AG’s Office)
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Amazon Prime Video landed 28 Emmy nominations, more than double last year's 12, led by "Fallout," which racked up nine nods. HBO Max was tops with 122. (The Wrap)
Thanks for subscribing, and have a great day. — GeekWire editor Todd Bishop, [email protected]; reporter Kurt Schlosser, [email protected]; and reporter Lisa Stiffler, [email protected].
