No new unicorns in Seattle | Amazon gets into car sales and aces orbital tests

Paul Allen Foundation gives $10M to support arts | Longtime Seattle art school moving to Amazon HQ space ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: Explore our immersive expo: [Meet and learn from hundreds of AWS Partners all in one place.]( TODAY'S TOP STORIES Hello GeekWire readers! Artists are getting a boost from Amazon and the Paul Allen Foundation; messaging between iPhone and Android users may become easier; and we take a look at the unicorn slowdown in Seattle. The unicorn stampede has screeched to a halt. Nine Seattle-area startups reached a $1 billion valuation in 2021. But with venture capitalists tightening their belts and an overall funding slowdown, not a single Seattle startup this year became a unicorn — and some existing billion-dollar companies may no longer have that moniker. [Read more](. Amazon aces orbital tests: A month after launch, Amazon says its prototype Project Kuiper satellites have registered a "100% success rate" during testing, opening the way for mass production to start next month in Kirkland, Wash. One test involved streaming a movie on Amazon Prime Video. [Read more](. Paul Allen Foundation giving another $10 million to Washington state arts: In partnership with Seattle’s ArtsFund, the gift to the Community Accelerator Grant program follows the same move made last year, which benefitted 671 organizations across the state. [Read more](. Longtime Seattle art school moving into Amazon building: Gage Academy of Art will vacate its Capitol Hill space for a modern facility at the base of the 37-story re:Invent tower, with financial assistance from Amazon. Both players hope the move helps in efforts to reinvigorate the downtown core, creating a district where tech and art coexist. [Read more.]( A new website from Seattle nonprofit Sage Bionetworks corrals and promotes biomedical contests, with the aim to connect scientists working on health issues, and the AI-engineers who build algorithms. [Read more](. Hot Links - Amazon is getting into car sales, announcing a deal with Hyundai to sell vehicles on its marketplace. ([CNBC]( - Perkins Coie is moving into a new Seattle office designed for hybrid work that will reduce the law firm’s real estate footprint by just under 50%. ([Perkins Coie]( - Apple will adopt the messaging standard Rich Communication Services, bringing iMessage-style features to cross-platform messaging between iPhone and Android. ([MacRumors]( Thanks for [subscribing]( to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great day. — GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com; and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com. SPONSOR MESSAGE [WSU Breadlab champions whole-grain goodness]( The Washington State University Breadlab is a research station, a bakery, and a school. But mostly, it’s a movement. A movement toward community-oriented food systems. Toward grains that work for local growers, millers and bakers. Toward a more “approachable loaf.” [Go Cougs Means Lead the Movement.]( LATEST HEADLINES [No new unicorns in Seattle: The billion-dollar startup milestone is harder to reach these days]( [Paul Allen Foundation giving another $10M to support arts and culture groups in Washington state]( [Amazon is helping a longtime Seattle art school move into modern space at base of HQ building]( [New website helps engineers find biomedical challenges that crown winning algorithms]( [Amazon says Project Kuiper satellites ace orbital tests — including video streaming and online sale]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [City of Redlands: IT Systems Supervisor]( - [City of Portland Water Bureau: Technology Manager]( - [Seattle Sounders FC: Director of Lifecycle Marketing]( - [City of Newport: Systems Administrator I or II]( - [City of Redlands: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Analyst]( - [City of Redlands: Network Engineer]( - [INRIX: Finance Pricing Manager]( [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](