New venture fund in Seattle aims to accelerate climate tech adoption

Sam Altman on Bill Gates’ podcast | Amazon brings Just Walk Out to hospitals 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 Seattle tech vet Ben Eidelson is behind a new climate venture capital fund focused on software-driven solutions for accelerating the deployment of carbon cutting technologies. Stepchange has already invested in four companies. “We want to help companies and capture the opportunity of now,” said Eidelson (above), who previously sold startups to Google and Stripe. [Read more](. Washington state educators will soon get new guidance on how to incorporate AI in the classroom. Chris Reykdal, the state’s superintendent of public instruction, told GeekWire he’s bullish about how the tech can enhance student learning. [Read more](. Seattle-area travel-planning startup Steller raised $5 million to boost its app that combines human experiences with artificial intelligence to help people plot their next adventure. The company is led by longtime tech investor Pete Bryant, who said AI helps fill in “data gaps” around the content produced by travel influencers and other users. [Read more.]( Google Cloud says it will eliminate ‘exit fees’ for customers who decide to fully migrate their data to other clouds, becoming the first major cloud vendor to take this step. Regulators in the U.S. and Europe are increasingly scrutinizing customer lock-in by the major cloud platforms, including Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. Read more in this [Google blog post]( and [Reuters report](. The news that Pete Carroll is out as Seattle Seahawks head coach after 14 seasons shocked NFL fans as well as current and former players, [who shared]( how much Carroll meant to them as a leader. Beyond football, Carroll brought his expertise to [tech startup conferences]( and[Microsoft training events](. Hot Links: - Amazon is bringing its Just Walk Out retail technology to hospitals, allowing workers to buy food and drink items with their employee badges. ([Amazon]( - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is the newest guest on Bill Gates’ podcast. They discuss AI regulation and what apps they use most frequently. ([Axios]( [Gates Notes]( - U.S.-China tensions are causing Microsoft execs to question whether to maintain an advanced technologies lab in Beijing. ([The New York Times]( - Google laid off hundreds of employees across engineering and hardware groups. ([CNBC]( - Recent layoffs at Amazon also hit teams working on Amazon Pay. ([Business Insider]( - Melinda French Gates says her priorities for 2024 include increasing women’s power and influence; addressing health inequities; and advocating for a more inclusive economy. ([LinkedIn]( - Founder fights: Seattle tech investor Leslie Feinzaig shares advice for startups dealing with co-founder issues. ([LinkedIn]( Thanks for [subscribing]( to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great day. — GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com; GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop, todd@geekwire.com; and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com. SPONSOR MESSAGE [Your Future in Cybersecurity Starts at WGU]( You can help safeguard the digital world with WGU! Our online, accredited cybersecurity degrees include key industry certs at no extra cost. You’ll have the ability to accelerate through coursework, with no set log-in times. [Learn More.]( LATEST HEADLINES [Travel planning startup led by longtime tech investor combines human insight and AI]( [A new venture fund in Seattle aims to accelerate adoption of climate technologies that slash carbon]( [Washington state educators will soon get guidance on using AI as educational tool]( [Valve Software reveals new rules for AI-powered game development on Steam]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [City of Redlands: Network Engineer]( - [BRINC: Senior/Principal Full-Stack Software Engineer]( - [INRIX: Finance Pricing Manager]( - [BRINC: Senior Computer Vision Engineer]( - [INRIX: Chief Revenue Office]( - [BRINC: Head of Manufacturing & Supply Chain Operations]( - [City of Redlands: IT Security Analyst]( - [Submittable: Director of Engineering]( - [BRINC: Senior HR Generalist]( - [Dexis Professional Services: PRISM Integration SME/Engineer (Advisor-Grade 8)]( [FIND MORE JOBS ON GEEKWORK]( [HIRING? BUY A FEATURED LISTING TO APPEAR HERE]( [About GeekWire]( [Contact Us]( [Advertise]( Copyright © 2024 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](