Amperity CEO no longer on company's board | Expedia CEO on the ‘real-verse’ 

Zillow reveals ‘housing super app’ strategy | Super Bowl ad roundup ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: Want $10K for your start-up?: [Voodle launches first-ever Visionaries $10K Grant for Female and/or BIPOC Founders.]( TODAY'S TOP STORIES Forget the metaverse, for now: Expedia CEO Peter Kern (above) thinks we will want to be in the “real-verse” for some time to come. “I don’t think the metaverse, in my lifetime, will ever make up for being in Paris, being in Rome, being in a National Park,” [Kern said in an interview]( following [Expedia’s strong earnings report]( as the travel industry looks to bounce back. Amperity CEO departs board: Kabir Shahani, who left his position as CEO of Seattle-based marketing tech startup Amperity [without public explanation last week]( is also no longer on the company’s board, according to people with knowledge of the situation. [Read more](. Zillow’s ‘housing super app’: In its first earnings report since announcing the shutdown of the company’s home-buying business, Zillow Group revealed a new strategy to make money off real estate transactions. [Read more](. Super Bowl ad roundup: The tech-focused commercials airing during Sunday’s big game use a variety of big Hollywood stars to push everything from smartphones to electric vehicles. See what Expedia, Amazon, T-Mobile and many more [have already released online](. UW student tests trivia smarts on ‘Jeopardy!’: Kaden Lee grew up a trivia geek in Eastern Washington. Now the junior studying aeronautics and astronautics at the University of Washington will [go up against other clever undergrads]( in the game show’s college tourney. Curevo lands $60M: The Seattle startup is developing a new vaccine for shingles, an often-painful condition caused by reactivation of the chickenpox virus. [Read more.]( No, it’s not The Onion: Gary W. Bowser — who shares his surname with Super Mario Bros. antagonist Bowser — [was sentenced to 40 months in jail and owes Nintendo $14.5 million]( for selling tools used to pirate video games for the Nintendo Switch. In case you missed it: If you thought the Seattle region’s housing situation was already concerning, news of Amazon’s plan to dramatically hike the base pay of its employees likely won’t help. [Read more.]( Thanks for reading, have a great weekend. — GeekWire Managing Editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com, and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com. SPONSOR MESSAGE [Deloitte Technology Fast 500 – CEOs of some of the region’s fastest growing tech companies share their thoughts on life and success]( Washington’s presence on the Deloitte Tech Fast 500 list continues to rise. 26 of our region’s tech companies made the list, up from 25 in 2020 and 19 the year prior, achieving stellar growth rates between 212% and 2,198%. The Wall Street Journal was right to report Washington is a leading tech hub. See who made the list and hear the insights of three featured CEOs [here](. LATEST HEADLINES [Vaccine startup Curevo takes on pharma giant GSK, raises $60M for trial of shingles shot]( [Amperity’s ex-CEO also left board in abrupt departure from billion-dollar Seattle tech startup]( [Super Bowl ad roundup: Big stars push a range of tech, from travel to phones to electric vehicles]( [Expedia CEO says maybe the metaverse emerges in 100 years, predicts more interest in the ‘real-verse’]( [Data linked to professional licenses may be affected by potential Washington state breach]( SPONSORED: GEEK REAL ESTATE [Just Listed: Picture Perfect in Mount Baker]( [Switch hacker Gary W. Bowser given 40-month sentence, owes Nintendo $14.5M]( [Vaccinated Amazon employees can remove their masks at work as tech giant adjusts COVID policies]( [With tech overhaul in place, Expedia Group sees ‘solid return to travel’ as profits top expectations]( [Univ. of Washington student tests trivia smarts in ‘Jeopardy! 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