When I lifted the lid on the Glowforge laser cutter to reveal the family portrait engraved on a wooden jigsaw puzzle, it brought a smile to my face like few other tech products I’ve used before. This simple project—enabled by a very complex machine—was a long time coming, but it was worth the wait. I … Continue reading “Here’s What I Made (Finally) With My Glowforge Laser Cutter”
Author: Benjamin Romano
Benjamin is the former Editor of Xconomy Seattle. He has covered the intersections of business, technology and the environment in the Pacific Northwest and beyond for more than a decade. At The Seattle Times he was the lead beat reporter covering Microsoft during Bill Gates’ transition from business to philanthropy. He also covered Seattle venture capital and biotech. Most recently, Benjamin followed the technology, finance and policies driving renewable energy development in the Western US for Recharge, a global trade publication. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication.
Hey Alexa, What’s in a Name? Actually, Let’s Call You Amazon
With “Hey Google” and “Alexa” echoing from the expo halls of Las Vegas to millions of homes, the hype around voice-controlled computing is reaching a new peak in early 2018. Voice-controlled devices are permeating our world, and this new user interface is the future of computing—or so we are told by the companies purveying it. … Continue reading “Hey Alexa, What’s in a Name? Actually, Let’s Call You Amazon”
Three Takes on How Tech Can Rebuild Trust in 2018
Rounding out our series of perspectives and prognostications for the new year, we asked people in Xconomy’s network about trust in the tech industry. Specifically, if you think public perception about the tech industry took a turn for the worse in 2017, what should the industry do to rebuild trust in 2018? Here are responses … Continue reading “Three Takes on How Tech Can Rebuild Trust in 2018”
Loving LTE or Tossing the Smartphone: Tech Leaders Share New Habits
We asked people around the Xconomy network whether their personal patterns of technology usage changed much in response to something that happened in 2017, as part of our series of perspectives and predictions marking the start of a new year. Here are answers from Ben Gilbert, co-founder of Pioneer Square Labs in Seattle and interim … Continue reading “Loving LTE or Tossing the Smartphone: Tech Leaders Share New Habits”
Seattle Area Had a Middling 2017 for Venture Investment, Fundraising
The $1.73 billion in venture capital raised by Seattle-area companies in 2017 was the third-highest total of the last five years, according to the Venture Monitor report out Tuesday from PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association. The 2017 investment total for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area was spread across 297 deals. The total for the year … Continue reading “Seattle Area Had a Middling 2017 for Venture Investment, Fundraising”
Facebook, Google, and Huawei Fund New AR, VR “Reality Lab” at UW
The University of Washington will host a new computer science laboratory focused on virtual and augmented reality technologies, having attracted $6 million for the effort from Facebook, Huawei, and Google. For Facebook and Huawei, the Chinese devices and telecom giant, the $2 million each will contribute represents the largest single gift they’ve made to the … Continue reading “Facebook, Google, and Huawei Fund New AR, VR “Reality Lab” at UW”
Xconomy Survey: Seattle Angel Investors’ Perspective, Predictions
A majority of Seattle angel investors in a recent poll by Xconomy plan to make more investments this year than in 2017, and artificial intelligence tops the list of technologies they’re excited about. Those are just two of the takeaways from a survey of the Seattle-based Alliance of Angels, one of the Northwest’s most active … Continue reading “Xconomy Survey: Seattle Angel Investors’ Perspective, Predictions”
What Can Seattle Learn from Amazon’s HQ2 Search? 3 Takes
Perhaps the biggest story in Seattle last year was Amazon’s decision to seek a second headquarters elsewhere in North America. The tech and retail juggernaut has transformed this city and its economy over the last decade, for good and for ill. So, what lesson should Seattle take from Amazon’s move? We put that question to … Continue reading “What Can Seattle Learn from Amazon’s HQ2 Search? 3 Takes”
Six West Coast Tech Leaders Share Top Developments of 2017
Xconomy asked technology and innovation leaders around our network to reflect on the most important developments in their industries during 2017, and the answers were appropriately wide-ranging. Responses from individuals in Seattle and San Diego touch on the rapid advance of machine learning, tech’s full-scale invasion of digital health, dramatic growth in blockchain and cryptocurrency, … Continue reading “Six West Coast Tech Leaders Share Top Developments of 2017”
Oregon Tech Employers Look to Apprenticeships to Build Local Skills
Like tech employers everywhere, Sabrina Parsons is scrambling to find employees from all walks of life who have the skills her company needs, in this case to build online software tools for small businesses. Her company, Palo Alto Software, is based in Eugene, OR, a small city about 100 miles south of Portland. The southern … Continue reading “Oregon Tech Employers Look to Apprenticeships to Build Local Skills”
Amid Global Race for A.I. Talent, China’s Tencent Sets Up Seattle Lab
They’re still putting the finishing touches on the sixth-floor offices in Bellevue, WA, where Chinese Internet giant Tencent hopes to employ as many as 20 artificial intelligence researchers by next year. Like technology companies the world over, Tencent is scrambling to recruit as many of the computer scientists and engineers with skills necessary to advance … Continue reading “Amid Global Race for A.I. Talent, China’s Tencent Sets Up Seattle Lab”
Gateses Pledge $15M for UW Computer Science Building Named for Them
First their friends named the new University of Washington computer science building in their honor. Now Bill and Melinda Gates have contributed $15 million to complete the fund-raising drive for the project, which marks a construction milestone on Wednesday. The building, which is expected to more than double the number of computer science majors the … Continue reading “Gateses Pledge $15M for UW Computer Science Building Named for Them”
Northwest Startup Supporters Grow U.S.-Canada Economic Ties
There’s a new network organizing the incubators, accelerators, and investors fostering innovation in the Pacific Northwest on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border. Business collaboration across the 49th parallel is having a moment, thanks in no small part to a dramatic divergence in immigration policies between the two countries this year that have prompted U.S. … Continue reading “Northwest Startup Supporters Grow U.S.-Canada Economic Ties”
Alexa Roundup: Amazon Improves Its Wish Fulfillment Device
From its earliest days, Amazon has built its business on removing the barriers between people and the things they want to buy. New voice computing technologies and business models unveiled at the company’s annual developer conference in Las Vegas this week represent the continuation of that vision. Alexa and the ecosystem of services and skills … Continue reading “Alexa Roundup: Amazon Improves Its Wish Fulfillment Device”
Microsoft Stays Home, Plans Remodel to Urbanize Headquarters Campus
The Seattle area’s twin technology behemoths—Microsoft and Amazon—have pursued markedly different real estate strategies over the years, driven in part by the changing character of the region as they’ve grown. That divergence was underscored Tuesday by Microsoft’s announcement of a major redevelopment and expansion of its headquarters campus in Redmond, about 16 miles east of … Continue reading “Microsoft Stays Home, Plans Remodel to Urbanize Headquarters Campus”
Healthcare + A.I. Northwest: The Photos
Xconomy convened an outstanding group of innovators in healthcare and artificial intelligence for a half-day conference in Seattle earlier this month. As testament to the excitement around this topic, our event was sold-out with a lengthy waiting list. Those who made it in the door of Cambia Grove, our event host, were rewarded with a wide-angle … Continue reading “Healthcare + A.I. Northwest: The Photos”
Campaign Against Killer Robots Depicts Bleak Future as Nations Meet
This video is the stuff of nightmares. It depicts A.I.-directed drones loaded with small amounts of explosive, seeking out and killing targets autonomously. A slick tech executive makes his (for now) fictional pitch of this “improvement” on the large, Predator-style military drones that are familiar today. He shows a bomber flying over a city, dropping … Continue reading “Campaign Against Killer Robots Depicts Bleak Future as Nations Meet”
Microsoft’s Strategy for Finding What’s Next in Healthcare A.I.
[Updated 11/10/17, 10:25 a.m. See below.] Microsoft is applying the same model it used to launch its quantum computing and chatbot efforts to innovation in healthcare, signaling the company’s ambition and optimism about the transformative potential of artificial intelligence technologies in this enormous endeavor. Peter Lee is the Microsoft Research executive in charge of the … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Strategy for Finding What’s Next in Healthcare A.I.”
Etzioni on A.I. Hype, Reality, Lifesaving Potential, and More
Oren Etzioni, CEO of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2), still isn’t worried about nefarious A.I. taking over the world, but says there are real and growing concerns about its potential impacts on society and the economy. That said, he is an A.I. optimist and sees potentially lifesaving applications emerging in autonomous vehicles and … Continue reading “Etzioni on A.I. Hype, Reality, Lifesaving Potential, and More”
Remitly Loads Up for Global Growth with $115M from PayU, Others
International money transfer business Remitly will add $115 million to its coffers through what would be the largest investment in a Seattle company in the last year. The investment—which requires Hart-Scott-Rodino approval due to its size, as well as sign-off from state regulators because Remitly is a licensed financial services provider—is expected to close by … Continue reading “Remitly Loads Up for Global Growth with $115M from PayU, Others”
Investors Navigate Promise, Hype, in Funding A.I. for Healthcare
From a venture investment perspective, digital health is having a record year—one that has come as something of a surprise against the backdrop of federal policy uncertainty. But is investor interest extending into artificial intelligence applications for healthcare? That’s a topic we’ll explore at Xconomy’s Healthcare + A.I. Northwest event in Seattle on Nov. 9 … Continue reading “Investors Navigate Promise, Hype, in Funding A.I. for Healthcare”
Partnership on AI Taps Obama Administration Tech Adviser as Director
An effort launched a year ago by big tech companies to address ethical and societal issues presented by the advancement of artificial intelligence has named as its first executive director a former top technology policy adviser in the Obama administration. Terah Lyons (pictured above right), who led government initiatives to develop machine intelligence strategies, will … Continue reading “Partnership on AI Taps Obama Administration Tech Adviser as Director”
WSU Researchers Team Sensors, Clinicians, Algorithms for Senior Care
An older woman, still living independently in a senior care community, contracts a urinary tract infection. She ignores it for a few days, because she’s had them before and maybe it will go away. She takes more trips to the bathroom. The infection worsens and creates side effects including dizziness. She falls, breaks her hip, … Continue reading “WSU Researchers Team Sensors, Clinicians, Algorithms for Senior Care”
Fast-Growing Vacasa Raises $103.5M for Vacation Rentals Marketplace
Vacation rental marketplace and management service Vacasa announced a $103.5 million Series B funding round, which the Portland, OR-based company says will help fund continued technology development and expansion to new markets. Vacasa, co-founded in 2009 by Eric Breon and Cliff Johnson, grew for six years without raising outside capital. Last spring it announced a … Continue reading “Fast-Growing Vacasa Raises $103.5M for Vacation Rentals Marketplace”
LevelTen Raises $6.8M as Corporations Demand More Wind, Solar
LevelTen Energy, a Seattle startup making it easier for corporations to purchase renewable energy, has raised $6.8 million from investors. LevelTen aims to give more companies access to the power purchase agreements that sophisticated energy buyers such as Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) negotiate directly with wind and solar energy developers, rather than buying power through an … Continue reading “LevelTen Raises $6.8M as Corporations Demand More Wind, Solar”
Wellpepper’s Voice-Enabled Scale Wins Alexa Diabetes Challenge
Seattle-based Wellpepper took the $125,000 grand prize in the Alexa Diabetes Challenge, a competition to develop voice technology specifically to help people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Wellpepper’s entry, called Sugarpod, is an interactive care and management plan, paired with a voice-enabled scale and foot scanner, that’s meant to help people with the disease … Continue reading “Wellpepper’s Voice-Enabled Scale Wins Alexa Diabetes Challenge”
Healthcare + A.I. Northwest on Nov. 9: Agenda Highlights
Artificial intelligence—the catchall term for a broad swath of technologies imbuing computer systems with the capacity to perceive and act—is poised to upend industries across the economy. But nowhere is its promise more alluring than in healthcare, as the sweeping human endeavor of keeping ourselves well runs up against demographic and financial realities. Will A.I. … Continue reading “Healthcare + A.I. Northwest on Nov. 9: Agenda Highlights”
Bill’s Friends Pledge $30M, Name New UW Computer Building for Gateses
As Amazon looks beyond Seattle for a large part of its future growth, Microsoft is stamping its legacy on the region’s foremost engine of the innovation economy, University of Washington. The computer science department at the state’s flagship public research institution played a formative role in the early lives of budding programmers Bill Gates and … Continue reading “Bill’s Friends Pledge $30M, Name New UW Computer Building for Gateses”
Healthcare is Ready for Alexa, as Soon as HIPAA Issue Resolved
[Corrected 10/10/17, 12:51 p.m. See below.] A voice-enabled bathroom scale that can scan for diabetic foot ulcers uses Amazon’s voice service, Alexa, to instruct patients to step on when they’re ready to begin. In one test, a patient responded to Alexa’s prompt by declaring, “Ready when you are.” Anne Weiler, co-founder and CEO of Wellpepper, … Continue reading “Healthcare is Ready for Alexa, as Soon as HIPAA Issue Resolved”
At Japan-Seattle A.I. Meetup, Caution Leavens Tech Optimism
The hype around artificial intelligence continues to inflate, even as technologies lumped under that broad and ill-defined heading begin to deliver real results. Meanwhile, there is a growing chorus asking technologists to proceed with caution—not so much because of fears stoked by Hollywood depictions of a malevolent computer intelligence out to destroy humanity, but rather … Continue reading “At Japan-Seattle A.I. Meetup, Caution Leavens Tech Optimism”
Contemplating E-Sports, NFL, and Fandom with Taunt CEO Ben Gilbert
While I can understand professional video game playing, I was, until recently, baffled by the millions of avid fans of e-sports. I didn’t get why people—perhaps more than 300 million—would spend countless hours watching someone else manipulate the controls when they could be playing themselves, or doing any number of other things. A recent conversation … Continue reading “Contemplating E-Sports, NFL, and Fandom with Taunt CEO Ben Gilbert”
UW Remains Among Global Elite in Ranking of Innovative Universities
The University of Washington remains among the top 10 most innovative universities in the world and holds its position as the highest-ranked American public university, as measured by Reuters, but it fell a couple of spots from 2016 to seventh overall. The important takeaway, for those who follow these rankings, is that the UW can … Continue reading “UW Remains Among Global Elite in Ranking of Innovative Universities”
Federal Grant Funding Boosts Cascadia CleanTech Accelerator
Nearly two dozen Northwest cleantech startup companies have found their footing in the last two years through the Cascadia CleanTech Accelerator, a pre-equity business development program that on Tuesday won a half-million-dollar grant to expand its curriculum. The funding, through a U.S. Department of Commerce program focused on regional innovation, goes to Seattle-based industry trade … Continue reading “Federal Grant Funding Boosts Cascadia CleanTech Accelerator”
Xconomy Q&A: Todd Schulte of Tech Immigration Advocacy Org FWD.us
[Updated 9/25/17, 1:55 p.m. Clarified 9/27/17, 10:01 a.m. See below.] Immigration policy has always been important to the tech industry, but this year is different. Under a steady barrage of nationalist, anti-immigrant policies promulgated by the Trump administration, the tech industry has been forced to respond like never before, in the halls of Congress, the … Continue reading “Xconomy Q&A: Todd Schulte of Tech Immigration Advocacy Org FWD.us”
Techstars Heads to Norway in Search of Energy Startups with Statoil
Global startup launcher Techstars plans to run a program next year in Oslo, with Norwegian state-owned energy giant Statoil, focused on startups working in the energy industry. Statoil (NYSE: [[ticker:STOS]]) is a 45-year-old vertically integrated oil and gas giant with deep expertise in offshore exploration and drilling, as well as a significant hydroelectric and wind energy … Continue reading “Techstars Heads to Norway in Search of Energy Startups with Statoil”
Itron-Silver Springs, Doosan’s Storage Win, and More Smart Grid News
Here’s a look at recent news from some of Washington state’s grid modernization and energy storage players, including Itron’s planned acquisition of Silver Spring Networks; a big energy storage project in the Mojave Desert for Seattle-based Doosan GridTech; and a bolus of federal funding for electricity grid researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: Itron Buying … Continue reading “Itron-Silver Springs, Doosan’s Storage Win, and More Smart Grid News”
Qumulo Fulfills Cloud Promise of Its Name with AWS Integration
Enterprise data storage software company Qumulo is making its technology available in Amazon’s public cloud for the first time starting Tuesday, fulfilling the promise of its cloud-inspired name five years after it emerged from Seattle’s early-2000s data storage success story. The move to the cloud, and a related set of technology improvements that comprise the … Continue reading “Qumulo Fulfills Cloud Promise of Its Name with AWS Integration”
Washington Faces Outward with Opening of Global Innovation Exchange
A five-year effort launched by a top Microsoft executive to unite some of the Pacific Rim’s top educational institutions and businesses came to fruition Thursday with the grand opening of the Global Innovation Exchange in Bellevue, WA. The graduate education program aims to train a new generation of international innovators and entrepreneurs through project-based learning … Continue reading “Washington Faces Outward with Opening of Global Innovation Exchange”
Heptio Pilots Businesses Toward Hybrid Cloud with $25M Investment
The praise Heptio co-founder Joe Beda received after the Seattle startup company announced a $25 million funding round “seems a little strange,” he said in a tweet Wednesday, because the “real work” is still ahead. Thanks for all of the “congrats” but seems a little strange. We convinced VCs of good team and plan. Real … Continue reading “Heptio Pilots Businesses Toward Hybrid Cloud with $25M Investment”
Uniting Cascadia: Cross-Border Efforts on Accelerators, Investment
Startups in Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia can look forward to more regional networking and, perhaps, an increased pool of investment capital under a pair of initiatives announced Tuesday. The Cascadia Innovation Network, spearheaded by the Canadian Consulate General in Seattle, would unite startup incubators and accelerators from across the region in an effort to … Continue reading “Uniting Cascadia: Cross-Border Efforts on Accelerators, Investment”
To Win Amazon’s HQ2, Incentives Are Nice, But Talent Is Required
Amazon lists one requirement in the stunning request for proposals it issued Thursday, which invites cities across North America to compete to host a second corporate headquarters for the tech and commerce giant. Economic development officials are justifiably salivating at the once-in-a-generation opportunity to attract what is arguably the 21st century’s most important company, and … Continue reading “To Win Amazon’s HQ2, Incentives Are Nice, But Talent Is Required”
Zipwhip Continues Business Texting Push With $22.5M in New Funding
How many texts did you send today? And how many did you send to a business? Whatever the number, Zipwhip and the investors who just poured another $22.5 million into the Seattle company are betting you’ll be sending more—and they’re not alone. Zipwhip makes software that allows businesses to better communicate with customers via text … Continue reading “Zipwhip Continues Business Texting Push With $22.5M in New Funding”
Smartphone Medicine: Detecting Concussions With Machine Learning
If you’re rolled into the emergency room of Harborview Medical Center with a head injury, doctors there might use an $8,000 infrared camera to track how your pupils respond to light. The digital pupilometer can measure the pupillary light reflex with more precision than even an expert clinician can, using a pen light and his … Continue reading “Smartphone Medicine: Detecting Concussions With Machine Learning”
Seattle Week in Review: Dreamers, Uber, Harvey, Satellites, & More
Heading into Labor Day weekend, mourning for Houston, here’s a look at this week’s tech news from Seattle and beyond, with updates on several big stories: —President Donald Trump is reportedly set to decide next week the fate of the Dreamers—young, undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children and registered with the government … Continue reading “Seattle Week in Review: Dreamers, Uber, Harvey, Satellites, & More”
Booster Sees Membership Surge as Dallas Faces Fuel Shortage
On-demand fuel delivery startup Booster Fuels, which operates in Dallas-Fort Worth and the San Francisco Bay Area, says thousands of new users downloaded its app on Thursday. Long lines have formed at gas stations in Dallas and elsewhere as drivers fear fuel shortages in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, which struck the heart of the … Continue reading “Booster Sees Membership Surge as Dallas Faces Fuel Shortage”
Rivals Microsoft, Amazon Let Their Intelligent Assistants Be Friends
Two of the biggest names in tech—Cortana and Alexa—are getting together. The makers of these two intelligent, voice-enabled assistants—Seattle’s tech giants, Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) and Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]), respectively—said Wednesday they are collaborating to make it easier to access one with the other. Specifically, later this year, Windows 10 users will be able to call … Continue reading “Rivals Microsoft, Amazon Let Their Intelligent Assistants Be Friends”
Amplero Raises $17.5M to Build A.I. System for Consumer Marketers
Picture the trove of data that companies have stored up about you over the years—your clicks, likes, posts, purchases, devices, demographics, credit score, and more. That’s the fuel for a new wave of automated, highly personalized marketing pitches. Seattle startup Amplero just raised $17.5 million to build the machine that would create those pitches “at … Continue reading “Amplero Raises $17.5M to Build A.I. System for Consumer Marketers”
University of Washington Team Among Finalists in $2.5M Alexa Prize
The finalists in Amazon’s contest that recruited university student teams to develop better conversational chatbots include a team from University of Washington. Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) announced that the UW’s Sounding Board team is in the finals of the $2.5 million Alexa Prize competition, along with Alquist, a team from Czech Technical University in Prague; and What’s … Continue reading “University of Washington Team Among Finalists in $2.5M Alexa Prize”
Who is Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s Pick to be CEO?
The news broke Sunday night that Uber has offered the job of CEO to Dara Khosrowshahi, the outspoken steady hand guiding Bellevue, WA-based online travel giant Expedia (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EXPE]]) for the last dozen years. Khosrowshahi and Uber have not officially confirmed the news as of Monday evening. An internal e-mail from Barry Diller, Expedia chairman, … Continue reading “Who is Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s Pick to be CEO?”
Seattle Week in Review: Amazon, Whole Foods, Salmon Spill, Beef Beef
The dog days of summer are here, but there’s plenty of tech news to catch up on. Here’s a look at what’s happening with Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods and its amazing impact on real estate in Seattle and elsewhere; a farmed salmon spill in Puget Sound; a careful look at Crowd Cow and the … Continue reading “Seattle Week in Review: Amazon, Whole Foods, Salmon Spill, Beef Beef”