Zulily is back: Reality TV star leads revival of former Seattle tech giant

Amazon-backed Anthropic growing Seattle presence | Redfin rolls out new AI tool 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 Zulily is back: After a sudden shutdown last year, the one-time Seattle tech giant is getting a revival thanks to a former reality TV show star. - Beyond, formerly known as Overstock.com, [announced Thursday]( it paid $4.5 million to acquire Zulily’s brand and intellectual property. - Marcus Lemonis (above), who helped failing small businesses on the CNBC show “The Profit,” recently became executive chairman at Beyond. - In an interview with GeekWire this morning, Lemonis said the way Zulily collapsed last year was “horrific,” and he wants to bring back the company’s flash sales model as it begins a new chapter under Beyond’s ownership. [Read more](. Amazon-backed Anthropic expanding its presence in Seattle area: The San Francisco-based company going head-to-head in the generative AI race with OpenAI has hired several Seattle-based engineers in recent months and has more than 20 open positions with Seattle listed as a potential location for new hires. [Read more.]( Redfin using AI to answer homebuyer questions: The Seattle real estate company has a new virtual assistant called “Ask Redfin” that offers quick replies to listing queries. [Read more.]( AI2 Incubator secures $200 million for computation power: The Seattle organization’s portfolio companies will benefit from the juice needed to build AI models into their software products. [Read more.]( Hot Links: - Microsoft has [scheduled a virtual event]( focused on Copilot, Windows, and Surface on March 21, with new AI announcements expected. [(The Verge)]( - Melinda French Gates is the newest guest on Conan O’Brien’s podcast, discussing her introduction to computer science and the importance of education for personal autonomy. ([TeamCoco]( - Amazon’s plans for “global domination” have slowed as it has failed to launch online storefronts in some new countries. ([The Information]( - A bill to ban TikTok in the U.S. over security fears, backed by Washington state Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, has White House support. ([Punchbowl News]( - Seattle’s Access to Advanced Health Institute received $12.7 million to develop a way to improve the human immune response to vaccines. ([AAHI]( 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 [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 [Redfin rolls out new AI assistant tool that answers homebuyer questions]( [Zulily’s rebirth: Reality TV star and new owner Marcus Lemonis on how online retailer will return to its roots]( [AI2 Incubator secures $200M in AI compute resources for portfolio companies]( [Amazon-backed AI startup Anthropic is growing its Seattle workforce]( [Beyond pays $4.5M to acquire Zulily brand, plans to relaunch online retailer later this year]( [Zulily set to relaunch under new owner Beyond, now led by Marcus Lemonis of ‘The Profit’ fame]( [LinkedIn suffers outage a day after Facebook and Instagram — and X is left as our social media fix]( [Seattle startup lands $6.4M to build AI medical model using smartphone and wearable data]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [GeekWire: The Etzioni Internship in Climate Tech Journalism at GeekWire, Summer 2024]( - [City of Newport: Systems Administrator II]( - [INRIX: Finance Pricing Manager]( [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](