CEOs, presidents, founders, venture capitalists, scientists, inventors, professors, researchers, and an attorney general — Day 1 at the 2017 GeekWire Summit had it all.
More than 900 of you joined us on Tuesday at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel for our annual event, which brings together innovators, entrepreneurs, business executives and tech leaders to explore the future of the innovation economy.
Here’s a quick rundown of Day 1 — the Summit continues Wednesday with speakers like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella; Stripe co-founder John Collison; Zillow Group CEO Spencer Rascoff; and others — for those that missed the event, or want to re-live the action. See all our coverage here. You can check out social media activity on Twitter and Instagram; also see some of the day’s top quotes at our Heard & Overheard post.
Baidu president calls AI the ‘single most transformative force of our time’
The GeekWire Summit kicked off on Monday evening with a Welcome Party hosted by Vulcan, Inc. at the unique and geeky Living Computers Museum + Labs.
VIP guests also attended a pre-party hosted by Baidu, featuring a fireside chat with Baidu President Ya-Qin Zhang. Baidu, which just opened an office in the Seattle area, is putting its full weight behind artificial intelligence and its ability to change countless industries.
Starbucks CEO explains how company ties together a physical store experience with digital innovation
Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson, a long-time tech industry executive, touched on a number of topics related to the Seattle-based coffee giant, from artificial intelligence to store design to digital innovation.
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Immigrant’s Journey with Venture Kits CEO Leslie Feinzaig
Leslie Feinzaig, CEO of Venture Kits, kicked off this first-of-its-kind GeekWire Summit series that highlights the inspiring stories of immigrant entrepreneurs, innovators and trailblazers.
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In the race to get driverless cars on the road, expert warns of the need to pump the brakes — for now
Missy Cummings, a professor from Duke and one of the first U.S. Navy female fighter pilots, gave a Power Talk about how artificial intelligence is changing transportation systems, from driverless cars to cargo drones to flying cars.
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3rd annual Geeks Give Back campaign aims to raise $1M for the next generation of STEM leaders
We announced details about the annual Geeks Give Back campaign, presented by Bank of America. GeekWire helps run the program with the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, opening doors to a brighter future for today’s youth.
Future battles against cancer will expand tech frontiers, Fred Hutch’s chief says
Fred Hutch president Dr. Gary Gilliland discussed the latest innovations in the fight against cancer, and provided an update on his bold prediction that “we will have cures and therapies for most, if not all, human cancers” in the next eight years.
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How Amazon’s $13.7B purchase of Whole Foods is a ‘blessing in disguise’ for Instacart
The grocery market is rapidly changing, and Instacart founder and CEO Apoorva Mehta — a former supply chain engineer at Amazon — shared insights on the changing face of grocery shopping and a few entrepreneurial lessons that he’s learned along the way.
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How do you succeed in tech? ExtraHop CEO Arif Kareem thinks you must invest in people
In this sponsored talk, ExtraHop CEO Arif Kareem talked about how new market opportunities, customer influence, people, and community contribute to a company’s ultimate success.
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‘I cannot stand losing’: Washington AG Bob Ferguson on never underestimating Donald Trump
Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson provided an update on the battle against President Donald Trump’s immigration ban, and discussed the intersection of public policy and tech.
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Brain scientist Christof Koch maps out a path to merge humans and machines
Integrating artificial intelligence chips into our own neural wiring may be the best way to address concerns about the rapid rise of AI, and the potential that the machines could outpace humans, said neuroscientist Christof Koch, chief scientific officer at Seattle’s Allen Institute for Brain Science.
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How Amazon’s Alexa overcame doubters — even within the project team — to conquer the voice speaker market
Longtime Amazon exec Toni Reid, who leads the company’s Alexa and Echo Devices group, talked about the origins and future of Amazon’s popular voice technology platform.
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Brad Smith, Microsoft president and Washington State Opportunity Scholarship board chairman, and Citlaly Ramirez, a WSOS scholar
Brad Smith, Microsoft president and Washington State Opportunity Scholarship board chairman, introduced Citlaly Ramirez, a WSOS scholar who spoke about her journey as an immigrant in this first-of-its-kind GeekWire Summit series.
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3 investors discuss the most (and least) exciting emerging technologies on their radar
Cryptocurrency. Virtual Reality. Artificial Intelligence. We found out what’s hot in the startup world from three leading venture capitalist: Rebecca Lynn of Canvas Ventures, Julie Sandler of Pioneer Square Labs and Sarah Tavel of Benchmark.
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Amazon says it will make Prime membership ‘really valuable’ for Whole Foods shoppers
If you’ve purchased anything on Amazon lately, you’ve likely got Jeff Wilke to thank, at least indirectly. As head of Amazon’s consumer business, Wilke oversees a diverse range of businesses in the consumer arena, everything from third party marketplaces to new entertainment offerings to Amazon’s historical roots in book sales. Wilke talked about Amazon’s expansion into brick-and-mortar retail; how the company uses artificial intelligence and robotics in its operations; and Amazon’s plans for HQ2.
See also: Sorry, HQ2 suitors: Wacky stunts aren’t likely to get Amazon’s attention, says top exec Jeff Wilke
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Inventions We Love: Pillsy, JikoPower and SafKan pitch geeky gadgets to voters at GeekWire Summit
Inventions We Love, presented by Sirqul, is a fun geek show-and-tell featuring some of the coolest gadgets and hardware devices we’ve seen. Day 1 included presentations by Pillsy, JikoPower, and SafKan.
Capital One Rooftop Party at Frolik
Geek Choir
Day 1 also included some geeky entertainment from the talented folks at Seattle Peace Chorus who sang techie remakes of classic songs as part of the newly-formed “Geek Choir.”
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