The hosts of the popular business and technology podcast Acquired are raising a new fund to invest in growth-stage tech companies. GeekWire spotted a new SEC filing today that revealed the fund. Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, the longtime techies and hosts of Acquired, already do personal investing in companies they know from their work on the podcast. Now they’re creating a more formal mechanism to do so. “The fund is just a vehicle with a small set of LPs that lets us fully utilize those allocations when they’re offered to us,” Gilbert told GeekWire via email Wednesday. Gilbert and Rosenthal… Read More
[This story originally appeared on Real Estate News.] SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — When looking toward Zillow’s future, CEO and co-founder Rich Barton emphasized the company’s tech-influenced past — and tech-heavy present — while speaking at the T3 Leadership Summit. “Our roots, our genes are back at Microsoft,” he told the audience, referring to his early experience working at the software giant during the ’90s. “So we know and love the super geeky people, and we know how to create an environment where they thrive.” A digital, integrated Zillow — with an agent focus Barton discussed Zillow’s efforts to expand its digital offerings… Read More
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman — the entrepreneur, author, podcaster, venture capitalist and Microsoft board member — is on the front lines of the artificial intelligence revolution. Even as a pioneer in the AI field, it was a bit unusual (yet informative) today to see Hoffman sit down for a 14-minute interview with a virtual AI twin of himself — informed by a customized GPT trained on 20 years of Hoffman’s podcasts, speeches and books. Call it Hoffman on Hoffman. In the second half of the interview, the real Reid Hoffman addressed a number of topics presented by his AI twin — regulation, ethics,… Read More
The Washington State Department of Transportation is warning Good to Go! customers to be on the lookout for fraudulent emails or texts seeking payment for past due toll bills. In an email to customers on Wednesday, WSDOT said scammers are claiming to be from a collections agency working on behalf of Good To Go!, the program that allows drivers to automatically pay fees for toll roads in Washington, such as SR 520. “We would like to reassure you that under no circumstances do we disclose individual customer information for use by marketing firms,” WSDOT said. “All Good To Go! customer information, including name,… Read More
Like it or not, the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on non-competition agreements could force a change in mindset inside the companies that use them — ultimately improving their ability to hire and retain talented employees. That’s one take from critics of non-compete deals after the FTC announced a new rule Tuesday that prohibits companies from using the clauses in new employment contracts, and invalidates many existing agreements. Companies will need to keep employees “by giving them the best jobs, and helping them realize their personal aspirations, as well as helping the company realize its aspirations,” said Brian Hall, a longtime… Read More
Washington leaders on Tuesday announced a $45 million program aiming to make electric vehicles more affordable for the state’s low-income residents. The Washington EV Instant Rebates Program will provide rebates at the time of purchase for eligible consumers who buy or lease a new or used EV. The deal applies to residents earning up to $45,180 a year for a single person or $93,600 for a family of four. The state’s Department of Commerce, which is managing the program, estimated potential lease terms for lower-priced EVs, concluding that the new rebates combined with federal government incentives and deals from automakers… Read More
Seattle-based Radical says it has raised $4.5 million to support the development of solar-powered, autonomous airplanes that can beam down connectivity and imagery during long-duration, high-altitude flights. The seed funding round was led by Scout Ventures, with additional funding from other investors including Inflection Mercury Fund and Y Combinator. According to Pitchbook, Radical previously received $500,000 in pre-seed funding from Y Combinator. Radical’s co-founders are CEO James Thomas and chief technology officer Cyriel Notteboom. Both founders are veterans of Prime Air, Amazon’s effort to field a fleet of delivery drones. They left Amazon in mid-2022 to found Radical — and… Read More
Seattle-based digital healthcare startup 98point6 has conducted a new round of layoffs, the company confirmed Tuesday. 98point6 did not provide details on the number of employees affected. A number of posts from affected workers began showing up on LinkedIn last week. One affected employee told GeekWire that a majority of staff was let go. Another worker who joined the company more than six years ago called her layoff an “unplanned departure.” The company has around 100 employees in the U.S., according to LinkedIn. In a statement to GeekWire, 98point6 called the workforce reduction “part of a larger action at the… Read More
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s GOP-dominant Senate on Monday unanimously signed off on legislation requiring minors to have parental consent to create social media accounts. The bill is similar to pushes currently being made across the United States as concern grows over young people’s internet usage. Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Utah have all passed measures […]
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — In a story published April 6, 2024, The Associated Press did not include a statement from TikTok regarding efforts underway in states to ban the app. The story should have included the following statement: “Bans on state government devices and networks prevent state agencies from reaching a wider audience. Bills like […]
ATLANTA (AP) — PrizePicks will expand its operations in Atlanta, hiring an additional 1,000 employees over seven years, the fantasy sports company announced Thursday. It plans to lease an office building northwest of downtown for its new headquarters, investing $25 million, the company said. The company is hiring software engineers, analysts, marketers and other positions. […]
NEW YORK (AP) — An artificial intelligence-powered chatbot created by New York City to help small business owners is under criticism for dispensing bizarre advice that misstates local policies and advises companies to violate the law. But days after the issues were first reported last week by tech news outlet The Markup, the city has […]
BOSTON (AP) — In a story published April 2, 2024, about a federal report critical of Microsoft lapses in a hack last year affecting senior U.S officials and allies, The Associated Press erroneously said Britain’s National Cyber Security Center was among institutions reported compromised. In fact, compromised institutions reported the hacks to the U.K. center.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Donald Trump is suing two co-founders of Trump Media & Technology Group, the newly public parent company of his Truth Social platform, arguing that they should forfeit their stock in the company because they set it up improperly. The former U.S. president’s lawsuit, which was filed on March 24 in Florida […]
AT&T said it has begun notifying millions of customers about the theft of personal data recently discovered online. The telecommunications giant said Saturday that a dataset found on the “dark web” contains information such as Social Security numbers for about 7.6 million current AT&T account holders and 65.4 million former account holders. The company said […]
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia could join other states in requiring children younger than 16 to have their parents’ explicit permission to create social media accounts. Lawmakers on Friday gave final approval to Senate Bill 351, which also would ban social media use on school devices and internet services, require porn sites to verify users are […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud on hundreds of thousands of customers that unraveled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world’s most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency. Though he described Bankman-Fried as “extremely smart,” U.S. District Judge […]
NEW YORK (AP) — A top U.S. prosecutor announced criminal charges Tuesday against a once-ascending company in the cryptocurrency world and two of its founders in a bid to send a message to other players in the industry to follow U.S. laws. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said conspiracy charges against KuCoin and two executives should […]
The Google Chrome move is part of a broader trend towards greater privacy protections for users but also presents challenges for advertisers and publishers.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida will have one of the country’s most restrictive social media bans for minors — if it withstands expected legal challenges — under a bill signed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday. The bill will ban social media accounts for children under 14 and require parental permission for 15- […]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — In a story published March 26, 2024, about Truth Social, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Truth Social had 5 million monthly active users in February, according to Similarweb. The platform had 5 million monthly visits.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Thursday announced a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of engineering an illegal monopoly in smartphones that boxes out competitors, stifles innovation and keeps prices artificially high. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New Jersey, alleges that Apple has monopoly power in the smartphone […]
