Convenience Big Store: xAI inks lease in Bellevue | Ex-GitHub CEO raises $60M for new startup

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TODAY'S TOP STORIES

Can AI pass this test? Washington state school districts got rolling on new AI projects last week at Microsoft, backed by grants from the tech giant’s Elevate Washington program and the Gates Foundation. National research presented at the event found most districts are just using AI to do what they already do, but faster. These projects aim to go further. Read more.

Elon Musk’s xAI is establishing its Seattle-area engineering center in a former Epic Games space in downtown Bellevue, Wash. The lease makes xAI the latest AI company to set up shop in Bellevue, following the news last week that OpenAI is expanding to nearly 300,000 square feet at nearby City Center Plaza. Read more.

A warning to Seattle: Don’t become the next Cleveland. Longtime tech leader and startup investor Charles Fitzgerald draws a stark historical parallel, arguing that civic complacency, strained relations between government and tech, and a lack of focus on future industries could put Seattle’s long-term prosperity at risk. Read more.

They met working on security at Amazon. Now Emily Choi-Greene and Joe Choi-Greene are married — and just raised $8.4 million for Seattle startup Clearly AI, which is using AI to automate security and privacy reviews as software teams ship faster than ever.

Another startup is aiming to ride tailwinds from the rapid changes in coding. Entire, backed by Madrona and led by former GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke, came out of stealth with a huge $60 million seed round.

Bigger than the iPhone moment: As Zillow Group marks its 20th anniversary this week, executives say generative AI is a more significant platform shift than mobile — powering a push to turn Zillow into a “remote control” for buying and renting homes. Read more.

How do you design a kitchen with no gravity? Seattle design firm Teague is helping answer that question as it shapes the interiors of future commercial space stations. Read more.

Tech Moves: Former Amazon communications leader Rebekah Nicodemus is now the head of Bastion America; tech policy vet Joseph Williams joins Artemis Connection; Accolade SVP Liz Ferega departs; and more key personnel changes.

Hot Links:

Former Washington Post columnist Geoffrey Fowler, who was part of recent layoffs and reported on Amazon, wonders about the paper’s independence from Jeff Bezos. (Substack)
Seattle-area agtech startup Pollen Systems partnered with Arbol to address agricultural and climate risk insurance. (Arbol)
Microsoft and PC makers are updating the behind‑the‑scenes security keys that help Windows start safely, with the originals from 2011 nearing expiration. (Windows Blog)
UW computer science professor Thomas Rothvoss won the inaugural Trevisan Prize for his work on optimization problems. (Allen School)
A Waymo vehicle spotted in Bellevue appeared to have trouble navigating some “chaos caused by humans acting irrationally.” (LinkedIn)

Seattle is the 14th largest co-working market in the U.S. and fourth largest on the West Coast, with 3.2 million square feet, up 8% year-over-year. (CoWorking Cafe)

Thanks for subscribing to the GeekWire newsletter and have a great day. — GeekWire editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com; co-founder Todd Bishop, todd@geekwire.com; and reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com.

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