Expedia has hired former Snap CFO Derek Andersen to run finance, effective May 11. The SEC filing details a multimillion‑dollar equity grant, signing bonus and relocation support as Andersen moves to Seattle.

Microsoft is offering voluntary retirement buyouts to roughly 7% of its U.S. workforce — a move that could affect thousands of Seattle‑area employees. Details land May 7.

Slowed federal grants and policy uncertainty are rattling UW labs, Fred Hutch and the startups that power Seattle’s innovation economy. The region could feel the effects in jobs and trials.

Tukwila‑based Avalanche Energy won a roughly $5.2M DARPA award to build micro "nuclear batteries," a near‑term step toward its goal of compact fusion power. The work pairs government money with recent VC funding and test‑facility expansion.

General Motors is leasing space at West8 in downtown Seattle to set up a software engineering outpost and tap local cloud and infrastructure talent.

The IAB filed an amicus brief backing Seattle Children’s in a Washington Supreme Court case that asks whether routine website tracking can be treated as illegal wiretapping.

Andy Jassy says Amazon’s roughly $200B push into AI is backed by customer commitments, not a gamble. He argues the spending is a long‑term play for AWS and chips.

Creators including h3h3 and MrShortGame say Amazon scraped millions of YouTube videos to train Nova Reel and are seeking damages and an injunction.

A UW randomized trial found six weeks of tele‑delivered hypnotic cognitive therapy lowered pain scores in adults with spinal cord injuries and also improved sleep and mood.

Seattle’s Rec Room will shutter on June 1, 2026 after saying costs outpaced revenue. Snap reportedly bought select assets while creators rush to export data.

Redmond's Starcloud reached a roughly $1B valuation and says it will expand staff and move into a larger Woodinville facility.

A bright green fireball streaked over Portland and parts of the Pacific Northwest on March 23, 2026, sending a rush of video and eyewitness reports. OMSI and scientists say the color likely came from burning magnesium as the object hit the atmosphere.

Meta will lay off roughly 331 Washington employees on March 20, concentrated in Redmond, Bellevue and Seattle as Reality Labs is pared back.