E-commerce vets raise $50M to reimagine online shopping | Amazon scraps plastic air pillows

Can you spot deepfakes? | Anthropic releases latest model ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: Washington state’s second-largest city is the hub of an ambitious regional tech community seeking to leverage new realities to achieve its longstanding goals: [Read more.]( TODAY'S TOP STORIES Will AI change the way we shop for clothes online? A new startup called Daydream is betting on it, and has $50 million in seed funding to build out its platform that aims to supercharge the shopping search experience. The company is led by five co-founders who have deep e-commerce experience, including two that are based in the Seattle region. [Read more](. Amazon is ditching those inflated plastic pillows — used to cushion goods shipped to customers — as part of its effort to reduce packaging. [Read more](. Seattle-based Aurion Biotech received special designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that should speed up the development of its treatment for a common disease that damages the cornea and can result in vision loss. [Read more](. Can you spot deepfakes? A new quiz from Seattle-based AI nonprofit TrueMedia tests how easily people can be duped by online images and videos. The quiz is part of the nonpartisan organization’s efforts to shine a light on misinformation ahead of the 2024 elections. [Read more](. - Before AI and deepfakes, Bigfoot may have been the pioneer of videos and images of questionable origin. Now Seattle’s Bumbershoot Arts + Music Festival is challenging people to create new deepfake videos featuring the legendary beast for a shot at a $5,000 prize. [Read more.]( The Women’s PGA Championship is in full swing at Sahalee Country Club near Seattle starting today. Bellevue, Wash.-based wireless giant T-Mobile helped launch a new player-tracking app for the major tournament. [Read more](. Deal activity in the climate tech industry is down from recent years, but startups seeking funding shouldn’t panic, [according to a new report](. How is artificial intelligence making marketers more productive? That’s one of the topics addressed on the latest episode of the Shift AI podcast. [Read more and listen here](. Hot Links: - Anthropic, the AI startup backed by Amazon, released the latest version of its Claude model. ([CNBC]( - Amazon CEO Andy Jassy met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to discuss the company’s business in Germany, where it’s investing $11 billion. ([Amazon]( - Sim Sin City: Microsoft Flight Simulator’s latest update adds a new level of detail to a virtual Las Vegas. ([Flight Simulator]( - Smartphone ban: Two schools in Seattle are the latest to keep smartphones out of the classroom in a growing trend. ([Seattle Times]( Thanks for subscribing to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great day. — GeekWire editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com; and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com. SPONSOR MESSAGE [A Husky’s Clean Energy Journey]( At the University of Washington, Miguel González-Montijo found the freedom to explore clean-energy innovation. Inspired by surviving hurricanes in Puerto Rico, he pursued a graduate degree in civil and environmental engineering and conducted research with the UW Clean Energy Institute. Now he has the skills to make power grids more resilient for his home — and the world. [Read more.]( LATEST HEADLINES [Can you spot deepfakes? New quiz tests how well people can identify manipulated images and videos]( [Amazon scraps 95% of the plastic air pillows used in delivery packaging in North America]( [Climate tech funding dip poses threat for capital-intensive startups — but it’s not time to panic]( [E-commerce vets raise $50M seed round for new startup that aims to reimagine online shopping]( [Shift AI Podcast: How AI is shaking up the worlds of media, marketing, and startups]( [Aurion Biotech gets FDA approval to speed development of vision restoring treatment]( [Climate projects land $75M to boost environmental justice, job training in Washington state]( [The search for Bigfoot deepfakes: Bumbershoot offers $5,000 bounty in legendary new AI contest]( [Butterflies takes flight with $4.8M, launches social media platform combining AI and human content]( [KPMG and T-Mobile roll out new player-tracking app for Women’s PGA Championship]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [INRIX: Account Executive, Public Sector]( - [INRIX: Senior Accountant]( - [BRINC: Territory Account Executive, PacNW]( - [Pioneer Square Labs: Principal]( - [INRIX: Senior Frontend Engineer]( - [BRINC: Senior/Principal Backend & Platform Software Engineer]( - [BRINC: Senior Accounting/Financial Analyst]( - [INRIX: Corporate Controller]( - [BRINC: Principal / Senior Software Test Engineer]( [FIND MORE JOBS ON GEEKWORK]( [HIRING? 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