GeekWire 200 January update: New products, big deals and rapid growth propel startups up the list

Nat Levy | GeekWire | 17 January 2017

“Expect a lot of activity from the GeekWire 200 list of privately-held Pacific Northwest startups in 2017. This year, we could see IPOs from some of the top companies, as well as new products from others and continued expansion from many companies on the list.

These possibilities, as well as the results of key partnerships and settlements of difficult legal issues, helped 11 companies climb more than 10 spots on the GeekWire 200 list this month.

The top five remained static with DocuSign at the top, followed by Redfin, Avalara, Blue Origin and Puppet. Bellevue-based project management company Smartsheet found its way into the top 10 this month, pushing Moz back to number 11.”

Read more here.

 

GM, Walmart, Amazon Announce New Jobs Ahead of Trump’s Inauguration

Bob Adelmann | The New American | 17 January 2017

“First it was Amazon, announcing last week that it will be creating 100,000 new full-time jobs in the United States over the next 18 months. Said Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO, “These jobs are not just in our Seattle headquarters or in Silicon Valley, they’re in our customer service network, fulfillment centers and other facilities through the country.” When in place Amazon will be employing nearly 300,000 people in the United States.

President-elect Donald Trump was pleased to take some credit, following his meeting with top Silicon Valley executives two weeks ago. Said Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer: “This announcement was made after the president-elect met with heads of several other tech companies and urged them to keep their jobs and production inside the United States. The president-elect was pleased to have played a role in that decision by Amazon.”

Read more here.

 

Alaska telecom GCI buys Seahawks consulting firm, opens Seattle office

Casey Coombs | Puget Sound Business Journal | 13 January 2017

“Alaska telecom giant General Communication Inc. has acquired Tukwila-based Northpoint Consulting LLC and opened a new office in Seattle.

GCI will hire Northpoint’s staff of 23 as part of the deal, and Northpoint will remain in Tukwila.

GCI in August opened an office of about 50 employees in downtown Seattle that will serve as the company’s Pacific Northwest headquarters.”

Read more here.

View GCI job openings.

 

Amazon’s career guru shares playbook for tuition program

Casey Coombs | Puget Sound Business Journal | 12 January 2017

“Amazon’s continuing education tuition program has enrolled 9,000 employees since launching in 2012 and now the company is sharing its playbook.

“We’re taking it to businesses across America and saying, ‘there’s no catch, no twist, no charge,’” said Juan Garcia, Amazon’s global leader for career advancement. “We will show you our playbook and help set up Career Choice.”

The Career Choice Program entitles hourly employees who’ve worked for the company for at least one continuous year to 95 percent of pre-paid tuition for certificates or associate degrees related to well-paying and high-demand fields.

The most popular fields of study among Career Choice participants in King and Pierce counties are health care and tech degrees such as nursing and information technology. Those are also some of the most in-demand workers in the region.”

Read more here.

 

Seattle startup Pixvana makes it possible for anyone to create virtual reality videos

Rachel Lerman | The Seattle Times | 8 January 2017

“What: Pixvana, a Seattle developer of editing and publishing software for virtual-reality videos

Who: Forest Key, founder and CEO

Video software: Pixvana makes cloud-based software that allows people to edit videos for virtual-reality headsets. Videographers can shoot their own video, then upload files and edit, add titles, adjust sound, etc., using Pixvana’s Spin Studio.

Stitching it together: Spin Studio starts by “stitching” together a bunch of images to create the 360-degree spherical view required for virtual reality. After editing, Pixvana also helps publish videos so others can find them.”

Read more here.

View Pixvana job opening