Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Anthropic acquired Seattle startup Vercept (geekwire.com/2026/anthropic-acquires-vercept-in-early-exit-for-one-of-seattles-standout-ai-startups/) on Wednesday, raising familiar questions about the impact of early exits on the broader Seattle startup ecosystem, and the question of whether AI startups can compete long-term against the giants of the field.
We dig into the deal, the public feud between two of the company's early investors on LinkedIn, and why one co-founder's prior departure to Meta may have been worth more than the entire acquisition.
Plus, a new research paper (citriniresearch.com/p/2028gic) envisions a 2028 "global intelligence crisis" driven by AI-fueled white collar job losses, and we're already seeing early signs in the news (geekwire.com/2026/in-seattle-protest-workers-call-on-uber-and-lyft-to-stop-adding-new-drivers-to-flooded-market/) .
Then, the New York Times reported this week (nytimes.com/2026/02/24/technology/jeffrey-epstein-microsoft-executives.html) that Jeffrey Epstein built deeper connections inside Microsoft than any other major tech company. We break down the key revelations (geekwire.com/2026/bill-gates-addresses-epstein-fallout-at-foundation-as-new-microsoft-revelations-emerge/) , including what we found when we searched the Epstein files for "GeekWire."
WSJ: Bill Gates Apologizes to Foundation Staff Over Epstein Ties (wsj.com/articles/bill-gates-apologizes-to-foundation-staff-over-epstein-ties-67f39ef5?st=DZvEc3&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink)
And stick around for GeekWire Trivia: With Xbox entering a new era under Asha Sharma (geekwire.com/2026/who-is-asha-sharma-a-closer-look-at-microsofts-surprise-pick-to-lead-the-xbox-business/) , we look back at the celebrity who appeared on stage for the original Xbox unveiling 25 years ago.
With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. Edited by Curt Milton.
See omnystudio.com/listener (omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
Anthropic acquired Seattle startup Vercept (geekwire.com/2026/anthropic-acquires-vercept-in-early-exit-for-one-of-seattles-standout-ai-startups/) on Wednesday, raising familiar questions about the impact of early exits on the broader Seattle startup ecosystem, and the question of whether AI startups can compete long-term against the giants of the field.
We dig into the deal, the public feud between two of the company's early investors on LinkedIn, and why one co-founder's prior departure to Meta may have been worth more than the entire acquisition.
Plus, a new research paper (citriniresearch.com/p/2028gic) envisions a 2028 "global intelligence crisis" driven by AI-fueled white collar job losses, and we're already seeing early signs in the news (geekwire.com/2026/in-seattle-protest-workers-call-on-uber-and-lyft-to-stop-adding-new-drivers-to-flooded-market/) .
Then, the New York Times reported this week (nytimes.com/2026/02/24/technology/jeffrey-epstein-microsoft-executives.html) that Jeffrey Epstein built deeper connections inside Microsoft than any other major tech company. We break down the key revelations (geekwire.com/2026/bill-gates-addresses-epstein-fallout-at-foundation-as-new-microsoft-revelations-emerge/) , including what we found when we searched the Epstein files for "GeekWire."
WSJ: Bill Gates Apologizes to Foundation Staff Over Epstein Ties (wsj.com/articles/bill-gates-apologizes-to-foundation-staff-over-epstein-ties-67f39ef5?st=DZvEc3&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink)
And stick around for GeekWire Trivia: With Xbox entering a new era under Asha Sharma (geekwire.com/2026/who-is-asha-sharma-a-closer-look-at-microsofts-surprise-pick-to-lead-the-xbox-business/) , we look back at the celebrity who appeared on stage for the original Xbox unveiling 25 years ago.
With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. Edited by Curt Milton.
See omnystudio.com/listener (omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
