Pacific Northwest National Lab plays role in federally funded AI research center, New partnership involving T-Mobile, UW, Bellevue and others could Turn region into a 5G Hub, and more in this week’s Seattle in the Spotlight.

Pacific Northwest National Lab Plays Role in Federally Funded AI Research Center

GeekWire | Alan Boyle | October 3

“Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is joining forces with two other research powerhouses to pioneer a new $5.5 million research center created by the U.S. Department of Energy to focus on the biggest challenges in artificial intelligence. The Center for Artificial Intelligence-Focused Architectures and Algorithms, or ARIAA, will promote collaborative projects for scientists at PNNL in Richland, Wash., at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, and at Georgia Tech. PNNL and Sandia are part of the Energy Department’s network of research labs. ARIAA will be headed by Roberto Gioiosa, a senior research scientist at PNNL.”

Washington State and B.C. Launch Joint Clean Grid Initiative to Align Renewable Energy Transition

GeekWire | Monica NIckelsburg | October 3

“Washington state and British Columbia are partnering to share resources and work together as each government pursues ambitious clean energy goals. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and British Columbia Premier John Horgan announced the new Joint Clean Grid Initiative on stage at the Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference in Seattle on Thursday. The initiative will establish a working group with representatives of the two governments that will study ways to align B.C. and Washington’s efforts to transition to an energy grid powered by 100 percent renewable sources. The Joint Clean Grid Initiative will hold a summit at a yet-to-be-determined location in the spring of 2020.”

Microsoft Donates $223K to Finish Seattle-Vancouver High-Speed Rail Feasibility Study by 2020

GeekWire | Monica Nickelsburg | October 3

“Microsoft is giving another $223,667 to study the possibility of building a high-speed rail line connecting Vancouver, B.C., Seattle, and Portland, adding to a previous donation. The company is providing a total of $573,667 to the project. Other funders include the Province of British Columbia; the Oregon Department of Transportation; and Washington Department of Transportation. Microsoft President Brad Smith announced the company’s latest commitment to high-speed rail study at the Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference in Seattle. “We found the fourth part of the funding needed to get this feasibility study done,” he said. “I actually found it at Microsoft. I didn’t have to look very far.”

New Partnership Involving T-Mobile, UW, Bellevue and Others Could Turn Region into a 5G Hub

Seattle Times | Keerthi Vedantam | October 1

“A new technology hub backed by big names like Intel and NASA will fund startups in health care, retail, transportation and energy — as long as they harness 5G networks. The 5G Open Innovation Lab, in partnership with Bellevue-based T-Mobile, the University of Washington and the City of Bellevue, will connect 5G startups with investors and technology labs to test their products. Applications for startups open this month, and the lab is slated to open in January. The list of financial partners has not been announced yet.”