GeekWire

Laura Ruderman, CEO of the Technology Alliance, brings a nonprofit’s view on regional innovation. Tracy Drinkwater, founder of the Seattle Universal Math Museum and award-winning STEM educator, talks hands-on math and human-centered learning. They discuss AI in education, what it means for teaching and critical thinking, and how communities and startups are reshaping how we work, build, and learn.

A reporter brings courtroom color from Musk's high-profile lawsuit and tense jury selection. Big Tech earnings reveal massive cloud growth and huge capital spending. A tiny Seattle VC hustles into a $1.1 billion seed round alongside top investors. A serial entrepreneur reportedly ceded daily life to an autonomous AI agent that schedules and emails for him.

Bill Hilf, veteran tech executive and chair of the Allen Institute for AI, now turns novelist. He explains why sci-fi frames hard AI questions. He imagines Gaia, an AI inspired by fungal networks, and links AI to ecology and conservation. He discusses open models, enterprise resilience, and using AI to accelerate scientific discovery.

Todd Bishop, co-founder and editor who covers Microsoft and tech, explains Microsoft's surprise voluntary retirement program. He outlines eligibility rules and the program's scale. He discusses why the package may appeal to employees and how this fits into cost cuts amid massive AI spending. He also considers implications for cloud revenue and whether other tech firms might follow suit.

A roundup of how AI is rewriting startup hiring, funding and what counts as a regional HQ. Discussion of concentrated mega-rounds and why Seattle lags behind Austin and Miami. Big moves from Amazon around chips, robotics and a major satellite deal. A surprising corporate pivot as a footwear brand shifts into AI infrastructure. Plus a trivia dive into top companies' histories.

Henry Benden, Sound Transit public information officer (aka Henry on Board), shares behind-the-scenes perspectives on the Cross Lake Connection. The conversation covers opening-day ridership and crowding. He also explains train capacity plans and the engineering of the world’s first light rail on a floating bridge.

A shutdown of a once-hot social VR platform and a tech giant scooping up parts of it. MLB’s new automated ball-strike system and the spectacle it already creates. A baffling media move by an AI company. A tester’s quirky experience with an Amazon-FedEx returns partnership and a skeptical take on a bat study.

A post-summit recap about the economics of AI, from token budgets shaping hiring to startups relying on subsidized credits. Stories of runaway spending, costly shutdowns, and why some metrics look healthy but hide losses. Conversations about agents, vibe coding and changing developer roles. Practical prep tips using Claude, Gemini and inbox automation.

Amazon may be building an AI-first smartphone led by a veteran device designer. Microsoft reorganized its Copilot team and refocused consumer AI strategy. A reporter tested Claude CoWork on LinkedIn and hit automated-activity warnings. Local transit gets tap-to-pay and a new cross-lake light rail opens. Plus a look back at Amazon’s Treasure Truck and same-day delivery experiments.

Brice Budke, president running the commercial and operational side of Shep and Packrat. Zeek Earle, executive creative director known for handmade miniatures and award-winning creative work. They talk about AI-driven photorealistic storyboarding, AI interpolation in stop-motion shoots, how AI changes production workflows and business expectations, and the psychology of having endless creative tools.