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Nearly a century after construction began on Rock Island Dam — the first hydroelectric power plant on the Columbia River — a new and vastly different energy technology could take shape at the same site. Helion Energy, a company developing fusion devices to harness the power released by smashing atoms together, hopes to break ground this summer for its facility, located near the Rock Island Dam in Washington’s Chelan County. If Helion is able to flip the switch on a successful fusion plant on its planned timeline, it would likely be the first in the world to do so. The… Read More

The Space Needle is getting doubly cool. Visitors to the iconic Seattle tower can now ride to the top in a double-decker, floor-to-ceiling glass elevator 鈥� the first of its kind in North America 鈥� in the latest design twist during the building’s multi-year modernization project. Opening today, the Skyliner elevators allow visitors to see the mechanics of the elevator, the internal double helix core stairway of the Needle, and an expanded view of聽Seattle聽and beyond. The design was inspired by early sketches of the Space Needle, which opened as the centerpiece of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. The gold elevator… Read More

Seattle entrepreneurs are building software to help solve all kinds of problems. The latest batch of companies in our startup radar spotlight aim to help users speed up marketing efforts, find restaurant safety data, buy baby products, and boost video game development. Read on to learn more about the startups and their founders, and check out past startup radar spotlights here. Email us at tips@geekwire.com to flag other companies and startup news. Fritter Founded: 2024 The business: Fritter is trying to make it easier to access restaurant food safety inspection information by funneling various data sources into a single API. It’s targeting developers,… Read More

Amazon鈥檚 latest shareholder results, released Thursday, show a continued drop in support for major environmental and social proposals. Measures on packaging waste and warehouse safety drew far less backing than similar resolutions in past years 鈥� a sharp shift from 2022, when some nearly passed. The trend reflects waning momentum for shareholder activism, even as Amazon faces scrutiny over its environmental impact and labor practices. Amazon鈥檚 board opposed all shareholder resolutions, as it has in previous years, saying they were unnecessary given the company鈥檚 existing disclosures, policies, commitments, and progress on underlying issues. The company announced during its annual meeting… Read More

Megan Winfield has been named the new chief technology officer at USAFacts, the nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization started by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to provide data-driven context on everything from the economy to immigration to crime. Winfield is relocating to Bellevue, Wash., from Lexington, Ky. She’s been the CTO of Campspot, the platform that helps campers find destinations, for almost three years. Prior to that she was senior director of software engineering and digital for Hilton, the global hospitality company, where she spent more than seven years. As CTO, Winfield will lead USAFacts’ engineering organization and sit on the leadership… Read More

Washington ranks among the nation鈥檚 top three states in business R&D spending, but weaker public investment is threatening the innovation ecosystem 鈥� a gap reflected in declining patent activity and limited startup diversity. That is a key takeaway from the 2025 Benchmarking Report from the Technology Alliance, which says Washington is relying too heavily on private companies to drive innovation, while public investment and basic research fall behind. The report also notes that Washington鈥檚 startup activity remains heavily concentrated in IT and healthcare, with fewer ventures emerging from basic science, clean energy, advanced materials, or other research-driven sectors. That narrow… Read More

— Hussein Mecklai has left the role of chief operating officer for Impinj. The Seattle-based RFID company disclosed his departure today in a new regulatory filing. Mecklain resigned on Tuesday, and the company did not name a replacement. Mecklai joined Impinj in 2018, taking the title of COO in 2022. He was previously at Intel in the Portland, Ore., area for nearly six years. Impinj launched in 2000 and manufacturers radio-frequency identification devices that are used by companies in various industries to track everything from apparel to medical supplies to food. Jeff Dossett, chief revenue officer for Impinj, retired in… Read More

The pile of tech hardware taking up space in a closet in my home has been the constant source of daydreams. Someday, I’d unload all the old iMacs, iPhones, chargers, keyboards, cables and more for a nice little payday. When Steve Mount reached out to share the news that he planned to eventually operate a dozen PayMore stores in the Seattle area 鈥� for people who want to sell, buy or recycle used electronics 鈥� I couldn’t wait to visit a location. Mount, a tech veteran with a telecom and software background, is the franchisee behind two PayMore locations so far 鈥� in… Read More