Bird bikes land in Seattle | City budget report cites impact of tech slowdown

Robotics startup lands cash | AI on the farm | Tech Moves ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: BOT or NOT? This special series explores the evolving relationship between humans and machines, examining the ways that robots, AI and automation are impacting our work and lives: [Read more.]( TODAY'S TOP STORIES There’s a new blue Bird on the streets of Seattle. The scooter sharing company is adding its electric bikes to the fleet of micromobility devices already in the city from Lime, LINK and Veo. Bird’s bikes feature electric pedal assist, a front basket and adjustable seat. [GeekWire hopped on one for a test ride.]( Tech’s outsized impact on Seattle: The city faces stronger economic headwinds compared to the rest of the country due in part to its reliance on the technology industry, [according to a revenue report released]( by the city’s budget office. Amazon sent messages to employees, based on individual badge swipes to gain access to buildings, letting them know that they aren’t complying with a return-to-office mandate. Some Amazon employees, already opposed to the policy, criticized the messages this week. [Read more](. AI is a growing presence on farms. The Pacific Northwest is home to a number of up-and-coming startups using artificial intelligence and machine learning to zap weeds, monitor plant health, and identify rocks in fields. [Read more.]( IBM completes Apptio acquisition. The all-cash $4.6 billion deal comes seven years after the Bellevue, Wash.-based cloud and IT management company went public. [Read more.]( As phone fraud spikes around the world, Seattle startup Hiya reports that there were more than 70 million suspected instances of spam and fraud calls every day globally in Q2. One reader let us know just how close he came to giving in to a law enforcement-style scam targeting Seattle-area residents. [Read more.]( Tech Moves: Graham & Walker exec joins Seattle Storm; Union Bay founder has a new gig; [and more key personnel changes](. Thanks for [subscribing]( to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great weekend. — GeekWire Managing Editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com; and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com. SPONSOR MESSAGE [Putting AI-driven insights, productivity tools,and security in the hands of businesses]( We’re all experiencing a real-time revolution with the rise of generative AI. The opportunity is huge—but it requires a new approach to cloud computing. Organizations are already leveraging Google Cloud’s AI capabilities to unlock data, lower costs, embrace hybrid work, and protect against threats. Learn how they’re succeeding at [Transform with Google Cloud](. LATEST HEADLINES [Bird watching: Scooter-share company adding bikes to the last-mile mix in Seattle]( [City report: Seattle faces stronger economic headwinds due to cooling tech sector, remote work]( [Olis Robotics raises $4M to take systems for remote robot management to next level]( [AI on the farm: Ag-tech startups help zap weeds, fertilize crops — but still face challenges with data]( [IBM completes $4.6B acquisition of Apptio]( [Tech Moves: Graham & Walker exec joins Seattle Storm; Union Bay founder lands new role]( [As phone scams spike around the world, one would-be victim shares a cautionary tale]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [City of Newport: Systems Administrator I or II]( - [University of Washington Information School: Assistant Professor, Teaching Track – Information Management / Information System]( - [Submittable: Staff Front End Software Engineer – Employee Engagement]( - [Submittable: Senior Software Engineering Manager]( - [Submittable: Senior Machine Learning Scientist]( - [NTTA- North Texas Tollway Authority: Sr ETL & Data Modeling Developer]( - [University of Washington Information School: IT Support Manager]( - [Submittable: Senior Software Engineer (Backend) – Employee Engagement]( - [Submittable: Senior Site Reliability Engineer]( - [Submittable: Senior Product Pricing Strategist]( [FIND MORE JOBS ON GEEKWORK]( [HIRING? BUY A FEATURED LISTING TO APPEAR HERE]( [About GeekWire]( [Contact Us]( [Advertise]( Copyright © 2023 GeekWire LLC, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted to receive emails from GeekWire LLC.  Our mailing address is: GeekWire LLC 123 NW 36th St, Suite 203 Seattle, WA 98107  [change email frequency or address]( | [unsubscribe](