GeekWire's Most-Read Stories of the Week

Catch up on the top tech stories from this past week. Here are the headlines that people have been reading on GeekWire. 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.]( THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES [Expedia Group cutbacks will impact 1,500 roles this year, more than 8% of workforce]( Expedia Group expects about 1,500 roles to be impacted by cutbacks under an operational review announced in an internal memo. [Former AWS engineers raise $3M to take on tech giants with ‘world’s fastest spreadsheet’]( When a spreadsheet gets big, your computer can get slow. [Pfizer to close Seagen manufacturing plant in Seattle area following $43B acquisition]( Pharma giant Pfizer, fresh off its $43 billion acquisition of Seagen, said it will shut down construction on a new 270,000 square-foot manufacturing facility Seagen was building north of Seattle near its headquarters. SPONSOR MESSAGE [87% of young people are talking to their parents about online risks, says new research from Microsoft. However, greater awareness of safety features and tools is needed.]( Earlier this month, Microsoft celebrated [Safer Internet Day]( – an annual event that brings people around the world together to create a safer and better online environment for all. The day provided an opportunity for people of all ages to engage and discuss online activities and safety, particularly with growing interest in emerging technologies. However, we should have conversations about online safety every day, not just on Safer Internet Day. To support that goal, Microsoft released the latest findings from our annual [Global Online Safety Survey]( along with a [Family Safety Toolkit](. We share our results publicly so that others can benefit from the insights as we collectively strive to create a safer digital ecosystem. [Learn more here.]( [Former Snowflake and Microsoft execs back new data governance startup Codified]( Venture capital firms and longtime tech execs are making a bet on Codified, a new startup out of Seattle that aims to help companies get a better handle on how to manage internal data access standards. [New game ‘Pacific Drive’ from Seattle studio Ironwood is the last road trip at the end of the world]( Pacific Drive is a survival game where your car’s survival is more important than yours. [5 days in the office? Some tech startups are bringing workers together all week, every week]( At a time when hybrid and remote work have become common, some tech startups are working at their desks, in the office, five days a week. [Glowforge gets in legal tangle with tech ‘activist’ who questions safety of startup’s laser engravers]( Glowforge, the Seattle-based maker of 3D laser engravers, has been tangled in a legal dispute with a Las Vegas man who claimed online for years that the startup is selling defective and dangerous machines. [Tech Moves: Instacart COO lands at Microsoft in AI product role; ZoomInfo accounting chief departs]( Asha Sharma is headed back to Seattle full-time for a new role leading product for Microsoft’s AI platform. [Author and former Navy SEAL David Goggins sues Amazon over bootleg books]( Amazon has been sued by David Goggins, the author, endurance athlete, motivational speaker, and former Navy SEAL, on allegations that the company knowingly allowed the sale of fake versions of his books and other products. [Seattle biotech company Kineta lays off majority of staff, including its CEO]( Kineta announced Thursday that it is laying off 64% of its workforce, or seven employees — including its CEO Shawn Iadonato — as it undergoes a restructuring process. [SpaceX and Microsoft vets raise $5.4M for Gradial, a Seattle startup using generative AI for marketing]( Gradial, a new Seattle startup using generative AI to help marketing operations teams increase productivity, raised $5.4 million in a seed investment round led by Madrona. [Oceanography professors transform a research tool into a startup that’s sucking CO2 from seawater]( A decade ago, University of Washington oceanographers Julian Sachs and Alex Gagnon were working in a tropical paradise, studying the impacts of climate change on coral reefs surrounding remote islands in French Polynesia. [Seattle’s Pioneer Square Labs and Silicon Valley stalwart Mayfield form AI co-investing partnership]( Seattle startup studio Pioneer Square Labs (PSL) and esteemed Silicon Valley venture capital firm Mayfield are teaming up to fund the next generation of AI-focused startups. [Rivian, Lucid and other EVs stuck in park by failed effort to change car sales laws in Washington]( If you own one of the 3,853 Rivians registered in Washington, odds are you didn’t test drive the electric vehicle in the state. [Tech Moves: AWS vet lands at health startup; Lumen hires longtime Microsoft GM; ex-Qualtrics exec joins Typeform board]( — Harshit Shah, a former head of engineering at Amazon Web Services, is now chief technology officer at Boston, Mass-based healthcare software company Kyruus Health. GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [GeekWire: The Etzioni Internship in Climate Tech Journalism at GeekWire, Summer 2024]( - [INRIX: Finance Pricing Manager]( - [INRIX: Chief Revenue Office]( - [City of Newport: Systems Administrator II]( - [BRINC: Senior/Principal Backend & Platform Software Engineer]( [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](