Todd Bishop
Todd Bishop is Editor and Co-Founder at GeekWire, a media company he co-founded in 2009 and where he remains active. He is a business and technology journalist with expertise in in-depth reporting, podcast hosting, and live event moderation.
Magic Leap sued by Rainier Brewery owner for $52,547 in unpaid rent; landlord seeks possession (filed May 15)
Magic Leap, which raised over $2.6 billion and recently cut about half its workforce, is being sued by the owner of the Rainier Brewery building in Seattle for $52,547 in unpaid rent and to regain possession; the company closed its Seattle office affecting 39 workers. The suit was filed May 15 in King County Superior Court and follows the company's announced shift toward enterprise markets amid COVID-19 economic pressures.
Uber, Grubhub and Seattle; Amazon's virus-killing robot; Surface Earbuds first take
Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast. Word leaked out this week that Uber is considering buying food-delivery service Grubhub, and it turns out there are many Seattle connections behind the possible deal, including links to Expedia and several other companies. Food delivery is a tough market to make a buck in, for companies and their drivers, so what's in the deal for Uber? Uber Eats is #2 and Grubhub is #3 in food delivery services, behind leader DoorDash. DoorDash grew its market share 42% in March while Grubhub stayed flat. Uber Eats grew 20% (it…
Grammarly makes first-ever investment, joins $10M seed round in Seattle AI startup Docugami
Grammarly made the first investment in its 11-year history by participating in a $10 million seed round for Seattle AI document-engineering startup Docugami, reflecting shared goals between CEOs Brad Hoover and Jean Paoli. The companies currently have no short-term product partnership plans but may collaborate in the future.
U.S. VC Funding Falls 46% in April to $7.3B; Washington State Raises $190M in 21 Deals Led by Health and Biotech
U.S. venture capital investment plunged in April — down 46% from March to $7.3 billion and 43% year-over-year — while Washington state fared better with $190 million across 21 deals, helped by health and life-sciences financings.
Bezos is Back
Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast: Amazon's sales rose 26% in the first quarter as the COVID-19 crisis made the online retailer an even bigger part of many lives, but profits were down 30% due to expenses from dealing with the virus. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos gave a clear message to shareholders, saying they "may want to take a seat," because there are big challenges ahead and they won't be easy or cheap to overcome. The company says it will spend $4 billion this quarter on initiatives related to the pandemic. With Amazon bigger and…
NVCA warns COVID-19 will slash venture capital and trigger widespread startup layoffs, after 30,000 cuts reported
The National Venture Capital Association warns that COVID-19 will cause a significant drop in venture capital investment, triggering more startup layoffs and a tougher fundraising environment; reports estimate 30,000 layoffs already and predict widespread workforce cuts over the next year. Impact varies by industry, with travel-related startups cutting large shares of staff while some well-funded companies fare better.
Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman and Tokki CEO Jane Park describe pandemic pivots; Tokki shifts to cloth mask production
GeekWire hosted a virtual event called “Pivoting in a Pandemic” featuring Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman and Tokki CEO Jane Park, who discussed how they adapted their businesses during COVID-19. Park described how Tokki went from zero sales to producing cloth face masks using their eco-friendly fabric, while Kelman shared long-term lessons from leading Redfin through economic turmoil.
Boundless CEO Xiao Wang and Angel investor Dan Rosen urge startups to shift to 'wartime' survival, extend runway to 18 months
Startup leaders must shift from rapid-growth mindsets to survival strategies amid the COVID-19 shock, learning from past downturns and peers. Leaders like Dan Rosen and Xiao Wang recommend extending cash runway, cutting and renegotiating expenses, and using government programs to preserve teams and prepare for recovery.
Avast acquires Seattle startup Tenta and releases Avast Secure Browser for Android
Avast acquired Seattle startup Tenta in November and used Tenta’s code and team to build its new Secure Mobile Browser for Android, offering VPN, encryption and free and $12/year premium tiers. The Tenta Android browser remains available and Avast plans an iOS version later this year.
Bill Gates on the future of work; Vicis reborn; Nintendo meets Lego
Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast. Bill Gates talks about how work will change after the coronavirus ... and how school shouldn't. A Seattle startup that is trying to make a safer football helmet gets a new lease on life. And Lego and Nintendo bring Super Mario into the physical world in a surprising way. We have a lot of tech news to discuss on this week's episode: Vicis assets sold for $2.85M to Schutt investor, promising to revive failed startup’s helmet tech No Neo in 2020: Microsoft pauses work on dual-screen device running Windows…
Former Microsoft AI chief Harry Shum joins $2.7M angel round for Seattle blockchain startup Asensys
Seattle startup Asensys raised a $2.7 million angel round that includes investor Harry Shum, former head of Microsoft’s AI and Research Group, to build a more scalable blockchain aimed at supporting AI and other applications. Founder Brendon (JiaPing) Wang says Asensys will address the blockchain “trilemma” using techniques like asynchronous consensus zones to improve scalability, security and decentralization.
Seattle confronts the coronavirus
Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast. Seattle became ground zero in the U.S. coronavirus outbreak this week and tech firms were trying to adjust. Meetings and conferences were cancelled or moved online and many firms told employees to work from home for the rest of the month. GeekWire was no exception: Our annual awards event has been postponed. How will the virus impact Seattle’s tech scene in the short term and in the long run? Will it change the way many of us work? We discuss … Coronavirus Live Updates: The latest COVID-19 developments in…
Apple acquires Xnor.ai; Microsoft's bold climate plan; Seattle startup trivia
Apple doubled down on artificial intelligence and boosted its presence in Seattle with the acquisition of Xnor.ai, an Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence spinout with roots at the University of Washington, as first reported by GeekWire this week. It was a win for those institutions, and investors including Seattle's Madrona Venture Group, but it's also an example of an ambitious startup selling to a tech giant before it has the chance to become one itself. So how should we look at deals like this? Plus, Microsoft's ambitious plan to go "carbon negative" puts the tech company at the forefront of…
An extraordinary year in Seattle tech
From Amazon to Zillow, big successes to surprising failures, it was an extraordinary year for technology and innovation emerging from and impacting Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. That's the consensus from GeekWire co-founders John Cook and Todd Bishop, who independently compiled their own lists of the biggest stories of the year, then compared notes in this year-end GeekWire Podcast discussion. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Car2go exits, Vicis crumbles
John and Todd make it through the rain and into the studio to discuss some of the biggest stories of the week: Car2go's exit from North America, which will leave Seattle without a free-floating car-sharing service for the first time in many years; and the sudden downfall of Vicis, the high-tech football helmet maker backed by some of the NFL's biggest names. Plus the answer to last week's Name that Tech Tune challenge. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The future of data with Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky
LAS VEGAS -- Nearly 20,000 people are here this week to learn about the latest from Seattle-based Tableau Software, whose technologies turn large amounts of data into visualizations, or vizzes, interactive graphics and charts for interpreting and telling the underlying stories. They also heard from Tableau's new parent company, Salesforce, whose co-CEO Marc Benioff joined Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky on stage for the keynote address as a last-minute addition a little more than a week after European regulators cleared the companies to integrate the $15.7 billion acquisition. On this special episode of the GeekWire Podcast, recorded on location at the…
Microsoft's new era unfolds
Microsoft is back in the smartphone business with the unveiling of its new Surface Duo dual-screen folding device this week. It's a fascinating story all on its own, as the company finally goes public with a concept it has been experimenting with behind-the-scenes for much of the past decade. Surprise twist: It runs Android. But combined with the larger Surface Neo dual-screen tablet/notebook, the story is much bigger. Microsoft is trying to take the lead in a new category of computing, while expanding its focus beyond Windows to focus on apps and experiences across a range of devices. We share…
Why millennials love Amazon
Amazon ousted Apple this year as the most loved brand among millennials, people age 19 through 39, according to a new study. What does this say about the future of the world? OK, that might be taking it too far, but some of our resident millennials offer their take on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast. And in news for slightly older generations, the startup HopSkipRide made its debut in Seattle this week, promising to safely shuttle your kids around town. We explain how it works and try to decide if we and our kids will use it. Plus, in…
Headphones, AI and the future of humanity
New wireless Bluetooth headphones from Seattle startup Human are getting mixed reviews based on their appearance, and their initial starting price of $399 (which the company quickly dropped to a promotional price of $259). But their unique design, which completely envelops both ears, reflects a vision of the future in which technology will be melded to our bodies, and potentially to our minds. Plus: Jeff Bezos' first Amazon job ad, 25 years later; A new Netflix documentary will go inside the mind of Bill Gates, and Alexa makes a "Jeopardy!" cameo. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Satya Nadella and Seattle Tech Leaders Join Sounders FC Ownership; Cray Gets $600M DOE Supercomputer Contract Ahead of $1.3B HPE Acquisition
Seattle tech leaders, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, have joined a revamped Sounders FC ownership group. Cray is developing a $600 million exascale supercomputer for the U.S. Department of Energy and is being acquired by HPE for $1.3 billion.
Secret Startup Ingredient: Microsoft
Would you have guessed that nearly 25 percent of the Seattle region's top tech startups are led by CEOs with backgrounds at Microsoft? That was the surprising result of our analysis of the GeekWire 200, our index of the top privately held tech companies in the Pacific Northwest. And fundings for the region's startups bucked the national trend, as reflected in data from our new startup deal tracker. Nintendo unveiled a new iteration of its Switch game console; former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer pulled off what might be his greatest deal ever; and an Amazon employee showed the potential of…
Slack CTO Cal Henderson
Workplace chat and collaboration technology company Slack is going public on Thursday, with implications for a wide variety of companies in the Seattle region and beyond. Microsoft is Slack’s primary competitor with its Teams service, and Slack is a big Amazon Web Services customer. And many companies that sell technologies to businesses will be watching Slack’s stock market debut closely to assess their own potential in the public markets. So how does Slack work behind the scenes? On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, we’re featuring a conversation with a co-founder of Slack, Cal Henderson, the company’s chief technology officer…
GeekWire Awards Winners Revealed
The strength and success of the people and companies across the Pacific Northwest tech ecosystem was on full display Thursday night at the GeekWire Awards. GeekWire's Jonathan Sposato, John Cook and Todd Bishop share highlights and clips from the night on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast. More highlights here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
IPOs without profits
What do Pinterest, Lyft, Uber and Slack have in common? Yes, they're all newly public or about to make their initial public offerings. But they also share a common characteristic on the bottom line -- proceeding with their IPOs with lots of revenue and growth but, so far at least, without the consistent profits to show for it. And they're part of a trend. Eighty-three percent of IPOs in the first three quarters of 2018 were made by companies that hadn't posted profits in the prior 12 months. So what's the future of these companies? On this episode of the…
Why Arivale failed
Founded in 2015, Seattle startup Arivale aspired to pioneer a new sector called scientific wellness, combining genetic testing with personal coaching to improve the health of its members. Its founder, genomics legend Lee Hood, said the company "really stands a chance of being the Google or Microsoft of this whole arena." But four years later, Arivale abruptly closed its doors this week. We explain what happened with special guest, GeekWire chief business officer Daniel Rossi, an Arivale member whose experience in the program was chronicled in our 2017 series. Plus, Microsoft breaks the trillion-dollar mark, Bill Gates serves as a…
Organizations
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GeekWire Editor and Co-Founder 2011–present · current
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GeekWire Co-Founder · current
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Seattle Children’s Therapeutics current
Education
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California State University, Chico B.A., Business Admin, Journalism · 1991–1996
