Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday is highlighting a statewide program that will provide $200 energy credits to help low-income residents pay their electricity bills. The $150 million program is funded by the Climate Commitment Act, whose fate will be decided by Washington voters this November. The Initiative 2117 ballot measure would eliminate the act, which created a marketplace where oil refineries, utilities and most of the state’s largest greenhouse gas emitters bid on carbon pollution permits that decrease in number over time. The act has generated more than $2 billion from the state ..read more

In the debate over devices, screen time, online safety, and the appropriate age for young people to be online, Darius Monsef concedes that the internet “isn’t really built for kids.” But the Portland-based startup vet thinks an AI sidekick could help. Monsef is the CEO and co-founder of Genie, a new app-based chatbot that acts as teacher, motivational coach, creative assistant, storyteller, game companion, and more. The goal is to provide a friendly, positive voice on the other end of an internet that can be harsh for kids. “Genie’s entire purpose is to help kids have a better, more fun,… Rea ..read more

A group of former colleagues at DataCloud, a startup that helped mining companies extract value out of data collection, are teaming up again to take aim at another industry: food. Seattle startup Terrantic recently raised a $3.5 million seed round to fuel development of its software system aimed at helping food growers, packers, and processors improve the quality and yield of their products. The idea is to replace the mishmash of traditional spreadsheets with a centralized platform that not only organizes data in one place but can also identify ways to find efficiencies with the help of artif ..read more

Seattle Tech Week is back for another slate of panel discussions and networking events covering a wide range of topics and trends. Seattle Tech Week, which debuted in 2023, is designed to “bring together tech enthusiasts, investors, founders, and innovators at companies big and small from around the globe to mingle in Seattle’s buzzing tech ecosystem,” according to organizers. Seattle venture firm Madrona Ventures is helping coordinate Seattle Tech Week, along with other companies and sponsors that are financing and hosting events. Here are some of the themes and sessions across the agenda. E ..read more

OpenAI announced its long-rumored search engine on Thursday, calling it “SearchGPT,” although it’s being labeled as a prototype for now, and there’s a waitlist for anyone who wants to use it. “SearchGPT will quickly and directly respond to your questions with up-to-date information from the web while giving you clear links to relevant sources,” the San Francisco-based company said on its preview page. The prototype is “temporary,” the company said, but added, “we plan to integrate the best of these features directly into ChatGPT in the future.” Shares of Google parent Alphabet fell after the ..read more

SPOKANE, Wash. — Treasury4 is tapped into the power and history of this place. The headquarters of the financial and treasury data analytics startup, in the Wonder Building, runs on electricity from the nearby hydroelectric dam on Spokane Falls. Co-founder and CEO Steve Helmbrecht likes to point out that Treasury4 makes its technology with help from the region’s abundant renewable energy. Another of Treasury4’s co-founders, Chief Product Officer Ed Barrie, has been spending time in the building since he was a kid. His late father, Richard Barrie, worked there for 22 years as controller f ..read more

(GeekWire File Photo) Another fleet-based car-sharing service is shutting down in Seattle. AAA’s Gig Car Share emailed customers Wednesday notifying them that the service will end Dec. 27. “Since launching Gig Car Share, we have continuously evolved our offerings based on Member feedback and demand,” the email reads. “Despite our best efforts, there have been challenges — primarily around decreased demand, rising operational costs, and changes to consumer commuting patterns.” We’ve reached out to AAA for more details. Gig launched in Seattle in 2020 just after the onset of the p ..read more

Amazon announced its massive new media rights deal with the National Basketball Association on Wednesday, providing a major boost to the company’s sports streaming business. The 11-year deal begins with the 2025-26 NBA season and will include exclusive streaming rights to 66 regular season games, as well as playoff games in six of the 11 years. Earlier reports indicated that Amazon was part of the NBA’s lucrative new media rights package, but questions arose this week after Warner Bros. Discovery said it would match Amazon’s offer in a bid to retain its longtime contract with the league. “War ..read more

The eight projects being planned for the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association (PNWH2 Association). The Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association (PNWH2 Association), a multi-state hub to establish a hydrogen economy, is now eligible for up to $27.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to launch phase 1 of its program. The regional hub, which includes Washington, Oregon and Montana, is one of seven selected last year by the DOE and could receive a total $1 billion of funding over time. This first phase of the project will additionally be matched by up to $125 million from industry partner ..read more

We used this vintage poster to put three AI chatbots to the test. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop) One one of my recent trips to Spokane for our “GeekWire on the Road” series, I ran across this vintage poster in an antique shop, and wondered what year it was from. The poster mentions no year but contains plenty of clues. As is my tendency these days, I wondered if AI could help. Turns out the answer is yes, with some caveats. The brief exercise ended up being a good illustration of the current capabilities and limitations of various AI chatbots, and their need for human collaboration and guidanc ..read more