Rover agrees to $2.3B acquisition deal | Tola Capital lands $230M for new fund

Broadcom layoffs hit Washington state | Grab your early-bird GeekWire Gala tickets ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: BOT or NOT? This special series explores the evolving relationship between humans and machines, examining the ways that robots, AI and automation are impacting our work and lives: [Read more.]( TODAY'S TOP STORIES Rover agreed to be acquired by asset manager Blackstone for $2.3 billion in the latest chapter for a company that got its start at a Startup Weekend event in Seattle 12 years ago. The pet-sitting marketplace was incubated inside Madrona Venture Group before raising millions in venture capital dollars and going public in 2021 via a SPAC deal. [Read more](. Tola Capital raises $230M for new fund: The Bellevue, Wash.-based investment firm says it's bullish about AI driving value creation. It will invest in 25-to-30 early stage enterprise software startups with the fresh cash. [Read more](. Broadcom layoffs hit Washington state: The San Jose, Calif.-based semiconductor and software tech multinational is laying off 158 workers in Bellevue, Wash., following its recent acquisition of VMware. [Read more.]( Amazon promotes new satellite constellation benefits: The space-based broadband network Project Kuiper could enable new options for managing data traffic with Amazon Web Services. Meanwhile, three Japanese telecoms formed a strategic collaboration that will use Kuiper services to boost connectivity for customers. [Read more.]( Suspicious package at Gates Foundation mail facility: A package containing a white powdery substance drew police and fire personnel to the Seattle location on Tuesday. The FBI is now investigating. [Read more.]( Picture this AI-generated gallery of stereotypes: Using the text-to-image generator Stable Diffusion, researchers at the University of Washington tried to create front-facing photos of people from six continents and 26 countries. The results show how far AI has to go. [Read more.]( Early bird gets the … GeekWire Gala tickets! Thursday is the last day to secure the best price for our annual holiday party, Dec. 6 at the Showbox Market in Seattle. [Details here.]( Hot Links: - General Motors is cutting spending on its Cruise self-driving division after recent accidents in San Francisco. Cruise tested the cars, with humans in them, in Seattle earlier this year. ([The New York Times]( - Amazon deliveries are overwhelming a rural post office in Minnesota, where carriers have been told to prioritize packages over regular mail. ([The Washington Post]( - GPT-4 is showing promise for some applications in radiology. ([Microsoft]( 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 [PULL TOGETHER]( When the UW student-athletes pursue greatness, we rally behind them. We always have, and we always will. Help the UW build from their shared legacy – and create the next chapter. [Join in. uw.edu/pulltogether]( LATEST HEADLINES [Looking for a hot holiday party ticket? GeekWire Gala early-bird rates ending soon]( [Tola Capital raises $230M for third fund to help Seattle-area firm back enterprise software startups]( [Rover to be acquired by asset manager Blackstone in $2.3B deal]( [Amazon’s Project Kuiper highlights new connections to AWS and partners in Japan]( [FBI investigating package containing white powdery substance at Gates Foundation mail facility]( [Broadcom laying off workers in Washington state following acquisition of VMware]( [Expense management software company Center is raising more cash]( [AI imaging software generates a gallery of stereotypes, say Univ. of Washington researchers]( [Sphere of influence? Google’s big Vegas ad buy clouds the landscape at Amazon re:Invent]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [City of Redlands: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Analyst]( - [City of Newport: Systems Administrator I or II]( - [INRIX: Lead Software Engineer]( - [Seattle Sounders FC: Director of Lifecycle Marketing]( - [INRIX: Lead Software Engineer, Big Data]( - [INRIX: Finance Pricing Manager]( - [City of Redlands: IT Systems Supervisor]( [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](