The latest GeekWire 200 is out, and our quarterly ranking of top Pacific Northwest startups shows them increasingly building physical things — rockets, fusion reactors, robots and data centers bound for orbit. Starcloud, which is building solar-powered data centers in space (photo above), jumped 96 spots. Fusion company Helion held onto No. 1. Two new unicorns joined the list, including autonomous-hacking startup XBOW.
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the full ranking.
Major cuts at Bungie: The Bellevue, Wash.-based creator of the Halo and Destiny video game franchises was hit by a significant round of layoffs Wednesday as the Sony-owned studio undergoes a reorganization following the end of development on its long-running online shooter Destiny 2. Exact numbers haven’t yet been disclosed. Read more.
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Meanwhile, developers for a video game based on “Magic: The Gathering” — made by Renton, Wash.-based Wizards of the Coast — successfully unionized to advocate for remote-work rights, layoff protections, and safeguards against mandated AI usage. Read more.
Former Redfin CEO’s new home: Glenn Kelman, who stepped down from the Seattle real estate brokerage in January, has joined venture firm Greylock as an executive in residence. “I’m still looking to start some kind of new mission-driven enterprise, which involves being in the wilderness a bit …,” Kelman told GeekWire. Read more.
Navigating the transition to AI: Amazon and Microsoft are among the anchor partners behind RAISE US, a newly launched nonprofit that aims to raise $1 billion to retrain American workers displaced by the AI economy. Read more.
Short-form science: A University of Washington research team has launched PaperTok, a free, human-in-the-loop AI tool designed to help scientists turn dense academic papers into verified quick videos for TikTok and Reels to counter scientifically inaccurate online "slop." Read more.
Bill Gates’ Epstein testimony released: The U.S. House Oversight Committee shared the transcript of a closed-door interview in which the Microsoft co-founder answered lawmakers’ questions about his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Read more.
Seahawks team up with Accenture: The reigning Super Bowl champs signed a multi-year partnership with the global consulting firm to revamp the team’s data, AI and other tech capabilities while innovating around fan engagement opportunities. Read more.
Hot Links:
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Microsoft’s touted "quantum leap" regarding topological qubits is invalid due to basic Python coding errors in its measurement tool that hid data from peer reviewers and introduced systematic data distortions, argues a new paper in Nature. (The Register)
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Microsoft has updated Copilot in Excel with new data integrations and automated workflow tools aimed at helping financial professionals automate repetitive tasks. (Microsoft 365)
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Boise, Idaho-based fintech firm Clearwater Analytics announced the completion of its $8.4 billion acquisition by investment firm partners Permira and Warburg Pincus. (Business Wire)
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].
