Tech

Seattle-area quarterly VC deal activity from 2016 through Q1 2026, showing capital invested and deal count. Deal count dropped to 69 in Q1 2026, the lowest level since mid-2020, with total capital raised of $1.5 billion. (GeekWire Graphic / Data: PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor) Seattle-area startups attracted about $1.5 billion in venture funding across 69 deals in the first quarter of …

Apple’s MacBook Neo is a $600 (or $500 for students) shot across the bow at affordable Windows laptops, and it seems like Microsoft has ready its first response. The newly announced “Microsoft College Offer” is a bundle of Microsoft 365 Premium, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, custom Xbox controller and discounted laptop that the company thinks could woo students away from …

Doug Field, the high-profile executive who shaped Ford’s electric vehicle (EV) and technology strategies over the past five years, is leaving the automaker. Field’s departure was announced as part of a broader reorganization of the company’s leadership. Field joined Ford in 2021 with a robust resume from Silicon Valley that included leading Apple’s special projects team and serving as senior …

The web of litigation around Live Nation, Ticketmaster, and the companies’ alleged monopoly is getting more complicated — but it could be good news for concertgoers who are sick of dynamic pricing and inexplicable service fees. The Department of Justice and 40 state attorneys general sued Live Nation, owner of Ticketmaster, in 2024 for alleged monopolistic practices. The two companies …

Monarch Tractor’s assets have been acquired by construction giant Caterpillar, after struggling to pivot to a software services business, according to filings with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The acquisition, first reported by Bloomberg, caps a few tough years for Monarch as it went through multiple rounds of layoffs, was sued by three different dealers, and lost a …

Live Nation, which operates the Ticketmaster platform, has been determined to be a monopoly. A federal jury handed down its decision today that the company violated federal and state antitrust rules. This finding won’t surprise anyone who has used Ticketmaster and been sticker-shocked by their final bill. However, it’s unclear what the jury’s decision will mean in practice. For starters, …

For PlayStation Plus subscribers, April is going to be a little bit spooky, a tad sporty and extra squirrelly. PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium players will get access to The Crew Motorfest, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, Football Manager 26 Console, Warriors: Abyss, Squirrel with a Gun, The Casting of Frank Stone and Monster Train. Additionally,Wild Arms 4 will be exclusive …

Agentic AI is the tech industry’s newest success story, and companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are racing to give enterprises the tools they need to create these automated little helpers. To that end, OpenAI has now updated its agents software development toolkit (SDK), introducing a number of new features designed to help businesses create their own agents that run on …

Historically, marketers relied on designers and other creative professionals to develop images and videos for personalized online ad campaigns. In late 2024, seven-year-old startup Hightouch launched an AI-powered service that allows marketing professionals to create custom content for brands such as Domino’s, Chime, PetSmart, and Spotify without involving brand design teams or ad agencies. The offering has been highly successful. …

LinkedIn’s Blake Lawit, the chief global affairs and legal officer of the Microsoft-owned professional networking site, confirmed in an interview at the Semafor World Economy summit this week that the company’s data shows a decline in hiring of around 20% since 2022. However, he pushed back at the idea that AI was to blame. “At LinkedIn… we have an economic …