Seattle ranks No. 3 in software startup funding list

A new ranking of top U.S. ecosystems based on early stage funding data reflects Seattle’s continued strength in software-related innovation amid the AI boom. Read more.

Seattle-area AI experts Oren Etzioni and Christof Koch talk about whether large language models will ever achieve the status of personhood — or even consciousness. Read more.

It’s Election Day, and two ballot initiatives in Washington state have implications for the tech industry. Initiative 2109 would repeal a new capital gains tax, and Initiative 2117 would impact the state’s climate tech sector.?

A former Gates Foundation leader raised $1.8 million for Ocean —?formerly known as Eco-Shelter —?a Tacoma, Wash.-based startup that makes high-performing, low-cost bamboo building materials. Read more.?

Resist the extreme narratives about AI: Artificial intelligence is not all doom and gloom, nor is it the silver bullet some are selling, writes Dave Siegfried , CEO of Seattle startup Official AI , in a new guest column.

Ocean data startup Astraeus Ocean Systems , which plans to field a fleet of autonomous boats to gather and analyze information on environmental conditions, won the Bellingham Angel Investors’ Startup Pitch Competition. Read about all the finalists and winners.

Hot Links:

• 亚马逊 began making drone deliveries near Phoenix, promising delivery of items under 5 pounds in less than an hour using new MK30 drones. (Amazon)
• T-Mobile is reportedly paying OpenAI around $100 million over the next three years to use its technology. (The Information)
• 苹果 is reportedly moving into a South Lake Union office building in Seattle previously occupied by Meta . (Puget Sound Business Journal)
• The campaign is over, and Seattle recycling startup Ridwell says it will pick up plastic yard signs for free to keep them out of landfills. (Ridwell)

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