Love it or hate it, Tesla Cybertruck turns heads during Seattle test drive

Sonoma Bio opens new R&D center | Vote for CEO of the Year | ‘Tomb Raider’ coming to Seattle ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: The GeekWire Awards return May 9, 2024: [Celebrate the Pacific Northwest's leading innovators, entrepreneurs and technologists at one of the most-anticipated tech events. Register today!]( TODAY'S TOP STORIES “I’ve never had a product where it gets this many reactions from people.” Love it or hate it, Javier Luraschi definitely got behind the wheel of a head-turner when he took delivery of his new Tesla Cybertruck. The Seattle startup founder brought the angular, stainless steel monster of an electric vehicle by GeekWire for a ride and test drive. Here’s some of what we heard: - "Does it still have that new spaceship smell?” - "It looks like a weird pixelated car, like something glitched out in the rendering.” - "It looks like it came out of a LEGO set or a Batman movie.” - [Read the story and watch the video.]( Vote for CEO of the Year: The finalists in this category at the 2024 GeekWire Awards include software veterans working on a variety of enterprise problems, from helping companies manage contracts, to better analyzing data, or conducting A/B testing. [Read more.]( - More Awards coverage: [Startup of the Year]( | [Startup CEO]( Sonoma Biotherapeutics cut the ribbon on a new research and development center and office space on Seattle’s waterfront where it is focused on treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The biotech company has taken over three floors in a building formerly occupied by F5. (Above: Claire Page, a senior associate scientist in process development, works in a fume hood at Sonoma Biotherapeutics.) [Read more](. Seattle startup OpenPipe raised $6.7 million for its technology that helps developers build large language models tailored to their specific use case. The idea is that smaller models can result in better performance and lower cost compared to general-purpose models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. [Read more.]( Tech Moves: Microsoft names new Surface and Windows chief; ex-Zillow CEO joins Match Group board; Oleria adds execs; [and more personnel changes.]( An immersive “Tomb Raider” experience is bringing Lara Croft to life this fall in Seattle in an escape-room-style attraction based on the popular video game and film franchise. [Read more.]( Hot Links: - University of Washington researcher Kate Starbird said she and other academics are being targeted for their work trying to combat misinformation on social media platforms. ([CBS News]( - On the heels of raising $230 million for her third fund at Tola Capital, Sheila Gulati discusses AI enterprise investing, her Microsoft experience and more. ([PitchBook]( - Advice to Apple about the DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit from former Microsoft Windows and Office executive Steven Sinofsky, who’s been there: “The way to mess up now is to act as though you’re guilty of something. You are not.” ([Hardcore Software]( - Amazon Pharmacy is expanding its same-day delivery service, currently available in Seattle and select cities, to New York City and greater Los Angeles. ([Amazon]( Thanks for [subscribing]( to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great day. — GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop, todd@geekwire.com, and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com. SPONSOR MESSAGE [Local Bank Offering A Frictionless Loan Application Process For Small Businesses in Washington State]( 40-50% of small businesses rank access to capital as their main obstacle. 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[Learn More.]( LATEST HEADLINES [Vote for CEO of the Year: These software veterans are taking on a variety of problems]( [Love it or hate it, Tesla Cybertruck turns heads in Seattle as GeekWire test drives futuristic EV]( [Seattle startup OpenPipe raises $6.7M to help companies reduce costs for LLM models]( [‘Tomb Raider’ escape-room-style immersive attraction coming to downtown Seattle]( [Tech Moves: Microsoft’s new Surface and Windows chief; ex-Zillow CEO joins Match Group board; Oleria adds execs]( [Sonoma Bio celebrates new Seattle waterfront R&D center for autoimmune disease research]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [INRIX: Chief Revenue Office]( - [INRIX: Finance Pricing Manager]( - [INRIX: Sales Development Representative (SDR)]( - [City of Newport: Systems Administrator II]( - [GeekWork: ML Engineer]( - [AdaptX: Vice President of Engineering]( [FIND MORE JOBS ON GEEKWORK]( [HIRING? 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