Ed Lazowska
Ed Lazowska is a Professor at the University of Washington and holds the Bill & Melinda Gates Chair Emeritus in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. He is recognized for expertise in high performance computing, communication systems, data-intensive discovery, and public policy related to STEM education and research innovation.
Impinj CEO Chris Diorio rings Nasdaq bell as RFID chipmaker marks 10th IPO anniversary after growing to $4.2B market cap
Impinj, maker of tiny battery-free RFID chips embedded in over 160 billion items, celebrated the 10th anniversary of its IPO as CEO Chris Diorio rang the Nasdaq bell; the Seattle company commands about two-thirds of its market, grew from a $250 million IPO valuation to a $4.2 billion market cap, but has reported only one profitable year and carries a $400 million accumulated deficit.
Madrona celebrates Impinj’s 10th IPO anniversary, remembering founders Carver Mead and Chris Diorio and their low-power transistor breakthrough
Impinj marked the 10th anniversary of its IPO, and Madrona celebrates its long partnership with the company dating back to its founding in 2000 by Carver Mead and Chris Diorio. The piece highlights Mead's influential contributions to semiconductor industry and neuromorphic computing and explains that Impinj originated from their work on low-power, low-cost field-tunable transistors.
Zuckerberg's yacht, Meta's layoffs, a robot pizza flameout, and a reality check on AI expenses
This week on the show: Mark Zuckerberg's superyacht arrives in Seattle the same day Meta discloses nearly 1,400 local layoffs, robot pizza startup Picnic flames out and sells to a mystery buyer, and corporate America confronts the rising cost of AI, including the leaderboard-gaming practice known as "tokenmaxxing." And we return to the theme of billionaire yachts for our trivia challenge. With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
UW Students Pitch AI Startup Ideas to Seattle Venture Capitalists After 10-Week Program at Pioneer Square Labs
University of Washington students from seven teams pitched AI-driven startup ideas to influential Seattle investors at Pioneer Square Labs, concluding a 10-week entrepreneurship program led by venture capitalist Greg Gottesman and UW professor Ed Lazowska. The event featured realistic pitch rounds, attracting prominent tech leaders as guests throughout the course.
Seattle Opens AI House and Foundations Startup Hubs Amid Growing AI Ecosystem
Seattle launched two new startup hubs, AI House and Foundations, to support its growing AI ecosystem, hosting events with notable figures like venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and Mayor Bruce Harrell. These hubs aim to foster collaboration and growth within Seattle's burgeoning AI startup community.
University of Washington Students Pitch AI and Tech Startups After 10-Week Entrepreneurship Course Led by Greg Gottesman
The University of Washington offers a popular 10-week entrepreneurship class led by venture capitalist Greg Gottesman, culminating in student pitches of tech startups at Pioneer Square Labs. The course attracted strong demand, featured high-profile guest speakers like Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, and highlighted trends such as AI and computer vision.
WTIA Marks 40 Years of Supporting Washington Tech Growth as CEO Michael Schutzler Retires
The Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) celebrated its 40th anniversary, marking its role in supporting Washington state's tech growth from the early days of Microsoft to today's tech giants. WTIA CEO Michael Schutzler is retiring after 11 years, with the association continuing to influence the state's tech-driven economy that now accounts for 21% of GDP and millions of jobs.
Microsoft's Early Focus on Software and Key 1980 Investment Meeting Shaped Its Rise to Tech Giant
This article explores Microsoft's early history, focusing on how its choice to develop software rather than hardware led to its success, highlighting key moments like Bill Gates securing investment support from David Marquardt in 1980. It also commemorates Microsoft's upcoming 50th anniversary with a series reflecting on its past, present, and future.
Pioneer Square Labs Assembles Expert Technical Advisory Board Featuring Seattle Tech Leaders to Support Early-Stage Startups
Pioneer Square Labs has formed a new Technical Advisory Board comprising leading technology researchers, executives, and startup veterans to support its early-stage startups, with a focus on AI and technology innovation. The board includes prominent figures from the University of Washington, Microsoft, Google, and other notable tech companies.
2024 GeekWire Awards on May 9 in Seattle to Honor Over 50 Pacific Northwest Tech Innovators
The 2024 GeekWire Awards event will be held on May 9 in Seattle to honor top innovators and leaders in tech from the Pacific Northwest, with over 50 finalists across multiple categories. Tickets are limited and the ceremony features awards, a dinner, and entertainment.
Seattle University Seniors Win Inaugural Hackathon with ResponseSight ML Predicting Traffic Accident Hotspots
Six Seattle University computer science seniors won their first-ever hackathon on Dec. 2 by developing ResponseSight ML, a machine learning model that predicts traffic accident hotspots for emergency response. The hackathon, hosted by INRIX and Amazon Web Services, involved 20 teams creating prototypes in 24 hours.
Melinda French Gates positions Pivotal Ventures to expand women- and family-focused VC and philanthropy after divorce
Melinda French Gates founded Pivotal Ventures in January 2015 as a vehicle to pursue initiatives outside the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and following her divorce from Bill Gates she is poised to expand Pivotal’s influence on empowering women and families. Observers say her resources and focus could shift venture capital dynamics for female founders and have “transformational potential.”
Top Stories of 2020
To say that 2020 unfolded in unexpected ways would be an epic understatement. The changes caused by the pandemic promise to impact tech, business and everything else for years to come. And that's just the start. The influence of Seattle's tech and scientific communities rippled throughout the world. The region's life sciences institutions played a key role in uncovering and battling COVID-19, and Bill Gates emerged as a leading voice for science and equity in the pandemic. Enterprise tech companies provided the bedrock for a massive global acceleration of digital technologies. A national reckoning over race, sparked by the killing…
How this Seattle tech CEO landed in the pro bowling Hall of Fame
Rob Glaser is best known as the founder and CEO of RealNetworks, the Seattle-based company that specializes in digital media, games and computer vision technology. But for about two decades, he was also part of the ownership group for the Professional Bowlers Association, along with his former Microsoft colleagues Chris Peters and Mike Slade. That's how Glaser landed in the PBA Hall of Fame earlier this year, despite never having been a pro bowler himself. It also makes Glaser the answer to what turned out to be a real stumper of a trivia question on the latest episode of the…
Tom Alberg invested in Amazon’s 1995 seed round, joined its board and co-founded Madrona to build Seattle’s tech scene
Tom Alberg invested in Amazon’s 1995 seed round, joined its board, and later co-founded Madrona Investment Group to back Pacific Northwest internet startups, helping shape Seattle’s tech ecosystem. His early bets and leadership influenced regional tech growth and left a legacy noted by Jeff Bezos and others.
Organizations
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University of Washington eScience Institute Founding Director 2008–2017 · past
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Computing Community Consortium Founding Chair 2007–2013 · past
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University of Washington Professor 1977–2025, Former Department Chair 2025, Professor Emeritus 2025, Computer Science Professor 2025 · past
Education
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University of Toronto Ph.D., Computer Science · 1972–1977
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Brown University A.B., Independent Concentration (Computer Science) · 1968–1972
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Woodrow Wilson High School 1965–1968
