Testing Amazon’s new AI shopping assistant | PSL spinout raises $3M to use AI for hardware development

Bezos bumps Musk from billionaire throne | Glowforge releases new 3D printer ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: The GeekWire Awards return May 9, 2024: [Celebrate the Pacific Northwest's leading innovators, entrepreneurs and technologists at one of the most-anticipated tech events. Register today!]( TODAY'S TOP STORIES Will AI change how we shop online? Amazon’s new Rufus artificial intelligence shopping assistant is, at turns, truly impressive and mildly disappointing, based on GeekWire’s experience with the beta in the Amazon app over the past few days. Overall, the technology left us impressed with the potential for AI to make it easier to be a savvy shopper. [Read more](. AI for hardware development: Enzzo, a new Seattle startup that spun out of Pioneer Square Labs, just raised $3 million to help companies supercharge the early stages of product creation. [Read more](. Peggy Johnson, the former Microsoft executive who stepped down as Magic Leap CEO last fall, is the new CEO of Agility Robotics, the Corvalis, Ore.-based company backed by Amazon and known for the Digit bipedal humanoid warehouse robot. [Read more.]( - Related story from Bloomberg: [Humanoid Robots at Amazon Provide Glimpse of an Automated Workplace]( Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is aiming to send an uncrewed lander to the surface of the moon in the next 12 to 16 months. [Read more](. Back on Earth, Bezos just passed Elon Musk as the richest person in the world with a net worth of $200.3 billion. [Read more](. Glowforge released another low-priced 3D laser engraver called the Spark. Priced at $699, the machine comes less than a year after the $1,200 Aura, which was designed to attract more home crafting enthusiasts. [Read more.]( Seattle peer-to-peer laundry startup Loopie acquired Bidbud, a Tacoma, Wash.-based gig economy platform that allows clients to post job opportunities that can be bid on by freelancers and service providers. [Read more.]( Fighting cow burp methane: Seattle biotech startup Phase Genomics is receiving $1.5 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fund research into two important areas: killing drug-resistant bacteria and battling methane-producing microorganisms that live in the guts of cows and other ruminants. [Read more](. Hot Links: - Google is giving up office space in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. ([Puget Sound Business Journal]( - Nintendo won a legal fight against a Nintendo Switch emulator. ([The Verge]( - Oregon is the latest state to pass a right-to-repair bill, which makes it easier for consumers to fix their devices. ([Ars Technica]( - Some of Seattle’s double-decker electric buses will be charged wirelessly. ([Axios]( - Bill Catterall, a University of Washington professor and pioneer in the research of electrical signals in living cells, passed away at the age of 77. ([UW Medicine]( Thanks for [subscribing]( to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great day. — GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com; GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com; and GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop, todd@geekwire.com. SPONSOR MESSAGE [Tell your story with GeekWire Studios.]( Looking to highlight a key customer, showcase your presence at an industry conference or spread the word about an important product launch? [GeekWire Studios]( the sponsored content arm of GeekWire, helps companies tell their stories. Learn how AWS, Smartsheet, BECU and other top brands tap into the power of GeekWire Studios [here]( or contact us at advertising@geekwire.com to learn more. LATEST HEADLINES [Phase Genomics gets $1.5M grant from Gates Foundation to fight cow burp methane]( [Glowforge releases Spark, another low-priced 3D laser engraver to attract more home crafters]( [Jeff Bezos bumps Elon Musk from billionaires top spot with net worth of $200.3B]( [Enzzo, a PSL spinout led by Seattle startup vet, raises $3M to use AI for hardware development]( [Will AI change how we shop? What it’s like to use Amazon’s new Rufus assistant]( [Agility Robotics names new CEO: Peggy Johnson, former Magic Leap CEO and Microsoft exec]( [Peer-to-peer laundry startup Loopie acquires Bidbud, a gig economy job-bidding platform]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [GeekWire: The Etzioni Internship in Climate Tech Journalism at GeekWire, Summer 2024]( - [INRIX: Finance Pricing Manager]( - [City of Newport: Systems Administrator II]( [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](