Amazon hires Seattle U leader — then makes a big donation: Roshanak Roshandel (above) took a high profile job at Amazon in December, leaving her post as chair of Seattle University’s computer science department. It was the latest example of tech companies hiring star faculty from academia. But in a unique twist, Seattle U leaders worked with Amazon to create an endowed chair at the university, aiming to elevate the profile of its computer science program. Read more.
‘Look at her go!’: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture put the New Shepard spaceship that’s destined to fly people on suborbital trips through its first uncrewed test flight on Thursday — and by all appearances, the practice run was a success. The outing was a first for this particular spaceship, as the reusable booster and its attached crew capsule lifted off in West Texas. Blue Origin could start flying people to the edge of space and back later this year.
Record-setting year for startup investments: Despite the pandemic, investors poured record sums into U.S. startups, according to the latest numbers from PitchBook. Companies across Seattle and the Pacific Northwest reeled in nearly $1 billion during Q4, according to data from GeekWire’s fundings list.
Costco closing photo centers: Citing the lack of demand for in-person photo printing services in the age of smartphones and social media, the warehouse-style retailer will shutter photo departments at all of its stores. Customers can still order prints through the company online.
Making a pitch for ‘authentech’: When Rebekah Bastian realized that her Seattle-based startup OwnTrail didn’t neatly fit into accepted tech business models, she decided to come up with a new category to join the ranks of the “-tech” set (edtech, fintech, healthtech and others). “Authentech is emerging not because the world needs another technical business model, but because the world needs inclusive, authentic connections in order to move forward in this turbulent decade,” she says. Read more.
New startup to help with return to offices: Seattle-based Worksphere is a software platform designed to manage the process of returning to and running offices after the COVID-19 pandemic. Developed by the founders of workplace catering startup Lish, Worksphere’s users can schedule time in the office and automate such things as capacity limits, wellness surveys and contract tracing. Read more.
Thanks for reading, and see all of our latest headlines below. — GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com, and reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com.
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