Amazon's trailblazing Sparrow warehouse robot set for wider rollout

Seattle’s Essence VC raises $27M fund | Indiana Jones and the tale of real-life archaeologists ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: GeekWire's Rooftop BBQ + Mariners Day returns on Wednesday, August 9th: [Register today for Seattle's party of the summer.]( TODAY'S TOP STORIES Amazon’s Sparrow robot is ready to leave the nest. Unveiled last fall, Sparrow represents the next stage in the evolution of Amazon's robots, as the first capable of picking up individual products of many different shapes and sizes, not just cardboard boxes and padded mailers. - GeekWire’s Todd Bishop got a first-hand look during a visit to Amazon’s fulfillment center in San Marcos, Texas, where Sparrow has been learning the job and honing its skills as part of a working warehouse operation for more than a year. [Read the story.]( Seattle pre-seed venture capital firm Essence VC, led by managing partner and veteran entrepreneur Timothy Chen, raised $27 million for its third fund to back early-stage technical infrastructure startups. [Read more.]( Indiana Jones and the tale of real-life archaeologists: As a new film featuring Harrison Ford’s beloved character hits theaters, new generations of archaeologists, including those from Seattle’s Burke Museum, are ready to dig in with 21st-century technologies and sensibilities. [Read more.]( The City of Seattle awarded $545,000 in Technology Matching Fund grants to 18 nonprofits working on projects to expand digital literacy. [Read more.]( Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell released his “Downtown Activation Plan,” with a variety of initiatives aimed at helping the city’s urban core bounce back from the pandemic. A new website called “Downtown is You” spells out the plan. [Read more.]( Astrophysicists have found the best evidence yet for a low-frequency “hum” of gravitational waves rippling through the cosmos. The NANOGrav Collaboration includes researchers from the University of Washington at Bothell. [Read more.]( Seattle technical recruiting startup Karat laid off 47 employees for the second time this year as it restructures various organizations and seeks profitability. [Read more.]( 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 [GeekWire Rooftop BBQ + Mariners Day is August 9th, tickets on sale now]( Celebrate summer, baseball and sensational views at GeekWire’s festive rooftop BBQ, taking place Wednesday, August 9th before the Seattle Mariners face the San Diego Padres. Don’t miss the party of the summer! [Register now!]( LATEST HEADLINES [Amazon’s Sparrow is leaving the nest: Trailblazing warehouse robot is ready for a wider rollout]( [Indiana Jones and the Last Movie: Why archaeologists say he’s ancient history]( [Seattle venture firm Essence VC raises $27M to back technical infrastructure startups]( [Astrophysicists report solid evidence for a background hum of gravitational waves]( [City of Seattle awards $545k in grants to 18 nonprofits working to expand digital literacy]( [Seattle mayor unveils goals and timelines for plan to build a ‘downtown of the future’]( [Technical recruiting startup Karat lays off 47 employees for the second time this year]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [INRIX: Director, Customer Success]( - [INRIX: Lead Software Engineer]( - [University of Washington Information School: IT Support Manager]( - [Radiant Vision Systems: Test Engineer]( - [NTTA- North Texas Tollway Authority: Sr ETL & Data Modeling Developer]( - [City of Redlands: Network Engineer]( - [MedBridge: Software Engineer III (Back end)]( [FIND MORE JOBS ON GEEKWORK]( [HIRING? BUY A FEATURED LISTING TO APPEAR HERE]( [About GeekWire]( [Contact Us]( [Advertise]( Copyright © 2023 GeekWire LLC, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted to receive emails from GeekWire LLC.  Our mailing address is: GeekWire LLC 123 NW 36th St, Suite 203 Seattle, WA 98107  [change email frequency or address]( | [unsubscribe](