GeekWire HQ2 in Pittsburgh – GeekWire Special Coverage

Autonomous robots will crawl inside pipes at former U.S. nuclear sites to detect radiation, speed up process of dismantling

Robotics pioneers from Carnegie Mellon University, who made their mark in the aftermath of the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl… Read More

Drone deliveries are ‘going to happen’ despite regulatory hurdles, says drone mapping startup CEO

Drone deliveries are coming. While some autonomous transportation technologies like self-driving cars are still years or even decades away from… Read More

Diamond Kinetics uses embedded sensors to help MLB batters and pitchers improve performance

From inside a lab at the University of Pittsburgh to a local Dunkin Donuts shop and finally to Major League… Read More

Researchers are figuring out how to pack a supercomputer into a nanosatellite

Putting a supercomputer in a package that’s roughly the size of a loaf of bread is one thing. Making sure… Read More

Meet the Girls of Steel: This badass robotics team at Carnegie Mellon University preps young women for STEM careers

PITTSBURGH — It’s not just the graduate students and PhD researchers inside Carnegie Mellon University’s top-ranked computer science school that… Read More

Pittsburgh Profile: Veteran entrepreneur Ron Bianchini sells third startup, this time to Microsoft

PITTSBURGH — Ron Bianchini was creating and selling tech startups long before it was the cool thing to do in… Read More

Pittsburgh Postscript: Surprises, gripes, memorable characters and epic experiences from GeekWire’s month in the Steel City

PITTSBURGH — What an incredible experience. A rotating cast of GeekWire reporters and editors spent the month of February 2018… Read More

The future of Pittsburgh and the world: CMU’s Andrew Moore brings GeekWire’s HQ2 project home

PITTSBURGH — Last fall, after we solicited proposals to establish our own temporary “GeekWire HQ2” somewhere in North America, we… Read More

Can a city facing a tech boom keep its soul? What Pittsburgh’s mayor learned from GeekWire HQ2

Cities with booming tech economies around the country face an existential crisis. How can they maintain their cultural identity and… Read More

Self-driving car startup Aurora speeds forward with $90M, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman joins board

Aurora, a newcomer in the race to develop self-driving vehicles, put a little fuel in the tank today as the… Read More

Pittsburgh Profile: Seattle theater vet Marya Sea Kaminski brings a fresh act to a new tech city

PITTSBURGH — Marya Sea Kaminski loved her first date with Pittsburgh. The associate artistic director at Seattle Repertory Theater had… Read More

Researchers win $10M grant for ‘super-cameras’ to see through human skin and diagnose disease

You’ve no doubt covered a flashlight with your hand in a dark room. Light from the flashlight’s beam makes your… Read More

Ready or not: Tech boom brings complex changes to Pittsburgh’s real estate market

PITTSBURGH — It’s Sunday morning and the Strip District sizzles with tourists hitting up President Obama’s favorite breakfast spot. Others… Read More

‘Keep Pittsburgh Dope’ photographer has his eye on street style, Amazon and whether city will stay ‘cool’

PITTSBURGH — With his photographic eye on Pittsburgh from the inside, Chancelor Humphrey can see why people are becoming more… Read More

Saving a seat for tech: Historic theater strives to set the stage for inclusion in booming neighborhood

PITTSBURGH — Janera Solomon was raised in Pittsburgh from the age of 10, and left after college to pursue a… Read More

‘Feeding the spirit, soul and stomach’: Inside Pittsburgh’s famous fish fries and the online map that fuels them

PITTSBURGH — At 5:24 p.m. on the first Friday of Lent, the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church runs out of… Read More

Pittsburgh goes to court to keep Amazon HQ2 proposal secret

Pittsburgh officials are pushing back on a ruling demanding the city release its proposal for Amazon’s second headquarters. Late Friday… Read More

What happened to Yahoo’s $10M alliance with CMU, and how it could help AI restore our humanity

You know Siri and Alexa. Maybe even Cortana. But have you met Sara? She’s pretty amazing. Sure, she can do… Read More

Pittsburgh Profile: Seattle native Cathy Wissink leads Microsoft’s civic engagement in the Steel City

Cathy Wissink moved to Pittsburgh only four months ago but she’s already experienced the collaborative nature of the Steel City.… Read More

The Wizard of Arts: Karla Boos and the Quantum Theatre Company use tech to stage plays anywhere

PITTSBURGH — Karla Boos describes herself as a high-level, outside-the-box wizard. For the past 27 years, as the founder and… Read More

Inside the mind of Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn as $700M language learning startup eyes IPO in 2020

PITTSBURGH — At times, it’s hard to keep up with Luis von Ahn. The Duolingo CEO and co-founder speaks quickly,… Read More

HQ2 clue? Pittsburgh leaders optimistic as Amazon announces plans to expand engineering outpost

PITTSBURGH — Local politicians weren’t coy about their desire for Amazon’s second headquarters during a media event Thursday to announce… Read More

From Campbell’s to Commodore: How the Warhol Museum uses tech to illuminate the iconic artist

PITTSBURGH — Andy Warhol made his mark as a pop artist throughout the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, but his pioneering spirit… Read More

Inside PPG’s secretive R&D lab, where paint giant creates high-tech coatings to aid self-driving cars

PITTSBURGH — After pulling off Route 8 and rounding the corner up a steep hill lined with leafless trees, it… Read More

Robotics pioneer Red Whittaker wants to put a robot on the moon, and land Amazon in his backyard

PITTSBURGH — Asked if he will eventually land a robot on the moon, William “Red” Whittaker doesn’t hold back. “Oh,… Read More

Our robot neighbors: Hanging out with the mechanical inhabitants of ‘Robotics Row’

PITTSBURGH — I’m sitting on the floor of a small office in the Lawrenceville neighborhood surrounded by machines that would… Read More

Pittsburgh Profile: BEST Robotics Director Rosemary Mendel works to get kids into STEM

PITTSBURGH — Rosemary Mendel’s job is getting kids excited about robotics, a technology at the heart of her city’s innovation… Read More

Amazon plans to more than double its Pittsburgh engineering center with 125 additional jobs

PITTSBURGH — Amazon will add 125 new jobs to its engineering center here, more than doubling its footprint and escalating… Read More

The price is right: What if I left Seattle and had Amazon money to shop for a home in Pittsburgh?

I bought my house in Seattle way back when people who didn’t build software for a living were still able… Read More

A walk through Pittsburgh’s East Liberty: Scenes from a neighborhood in transition

PITTSBURGH — Neighborhoods across this city have been through lots of change over the past several decades, but perhaps none… Read More

Is this really a tech ‘tahn’? Pittsburghers talk Seattle, Amazon HQ2, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos

PITTSBURGH — Longtime residents of this city like the idea of Amazon HQ2 in their city, have strong impressions of… Read More

Peter S. Beagle Photo by Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Seattle and Pittsburgh’s fantastic connection: a new ‘grand master’ of science fiction and fantasy

Looking for a literary tie between Seattle and Pittsburgh? It may seem as hard to find as a unicorn. But… Read More

Art, affordability, Amazon and more: Pittsburgh’s Vanessa German makes a vital human connection

PITTSBURGH — In a room full of people at Concept Art Gallery in this city’s Regent Square neighborhood, Vanessa German… Read More

Photos: New vs. old Pittsburgh quickly comes into focus — and tells a story that’s familiar in Seattle

PITTSBURGH — My favorite thing to do when I get to any new city is to wake up relatively early… Read More

Pittsburgh Profile: Beauty Shoppe co-founder Rabih Helou is bringing hospitality to coworking

PITTSBURGH — Rabih Helou’s company is called Beauty Shoppe, but it’s actually an operator of coworking spaces, and it has become… Read More

Over-the-air wireless charging inches toward consumer market, starting with small devices

PITTSBURGH — The idea of ubiquitous over-the-air wireless charging is a dream for people living in a tangled web of… Read More

Pittsburgh Profile: Katrina Flora is a boomeranger, UW grad, and urban planner for Hazelwood Green

A year and a half ago, Katrina Flora returned to Pittsburgh after a decade away from her hometown. She first… Read More

I went one-on-one with Carnegie Mellon’s champion poker bot and did NOT get crushed

PITTSBURGH — In preparing for this story, I was all set to describe in detail how I had been soundly… Read More

Slice of Pittsburgh life: Pizza, politics, and renewal on the menu with activist chef Sonja Finn

PITTSBURGH — Sonja Finn doesn’t think we should be fighting over one slice of the pie. That maxim dictates just… Read More

Inside AlphaLab: Pittsburgh’s tech accelerator aims to solve the city’s startup challenge

PITTSBURGH — Inside this city’s startup launchpad, Adhithi Aji shows off a smart flexible label that captures consumer product usage data… Read More

Could Pittsburgh’s resurgent airport be the key to landing Amazon’s HQ2?

PITTSBURGH — Deep within Amazon’s request for proposals for its second North American headquarters, in a section about logistics, is… Read More

Pittsburgh poised to build thriving health innovation industry — if it can escape ‘valley of death’

More than 125,000 people receive an organ transplant every year. The procedure could replace a failing heart, lungs or kidneys, or… Read More

These 8 Pittsburgh-area startups make up the third class of the city-backed PGH Lab incubator

PITTSBURGH — PGH Lab, a startup incubator led by the city of Pittsburgh, today announced its third class of companies.… Read More

Pittsburgh leaders open CoLab18 community space, aim to provide equal access to technology

PITTSBURGH — As the technology industry fuels economic growth in this city, community leaders want to make sure all residents… Read More

Is a startup ‘funding gap’ holding Pittsburgh back? Tech leaders disagree over popular theory

PITTSBURGH — This city’s tech clout has grown immensely in recent years, yet it is often said that Pittsburgh still… Read More

Q&A: The inside story of ‘Ledger,’ the academic journal for blockchain and cryptocurrency research

PITTSBURGH — Christopher Wilmer is a chemical engineer at the University of Pittsburgh, an assistant professor in the Swanson School… Read More

Pittsburgh research giants unveil landmark $200M immunotherapy center to combat cancer and aging

PITTSBURGH — Far before humans understood the basics of modern medicine, our immune systems protected our bodies from microscopic invaders… Read More

County exec on Pittsburgh’s Amazon HQ2 secrecy: ‘You can’t have 1.3M people negotiating a deal’

PITTSBURGH — Rich Fitzgerald is confident he can forge a mutually beneficial partnership between Amazon and Pittsburgh if the region… Read More

How Carnegie Mellon researchers are preparing for the rise of edge computing, with a $27.5M grant

Edge computing will change many of the underlying assumptions that applications make in the era of cloud and mobile computing,… Read More

Former Microsoft Research chief Rick Rashid on the rise of ‘invisible’ tech, robotics, AI, and Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — So much has changed, in this city and in the technology world, since Rick Rashid arrived in 1979… Read More

‘Whose City? Our City!’: Pittsburgh citizens worry about consequences of Amazon HQ2

PITTSBURGH — Economic development officials around the country are competing for Amazon’s $5 billion second headquarters, which promises 50,000 jobs… Read More

The ethics of AI: Robots will rise, but will they rule us all?

PITTSBURGH — David Danks thinks a lot about the implications of artificial intelligence. In fact, the Carnegie Mellon University philosophy and… Read More

At community forum on Amazon HQ2, Pittsburgh looks to avoid becoming the next Seattle

PITTSBURGH — Seattleites like to point to the San Francisco Bay Area as a case study in problems to avoid:… Read More

How Andrew Carnegie set the stage for Bill Gates to give away his fortune, altering philanthropy forever

Bill Gates made his money in software, Andrew Carnegie in steel. And while roughly a century separates these two hard-charging… Read More

Pittsburgh Profiles: Black Tech Nation CEO Kelauni Cook is on a mission to make tech more inclusive

PITTSBURGH — Two years ago, Kelauni Cook moved from North Dakota to Pittsburgh chasing an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.… Read More

Automated power-tool maker victorious at AlphaLab ‘Hardware Cup’ in display of Pittsburgh’s robotics clout

PITTSBURGH — AlphaLab Gear’s Hardware Cup event on Tuesday evening served as a reminder of this city’s robotics chops and… Read More

University of Pittsburgh chancellor on Amazon, growth and the tension over the city’s nonprofits

PITTSBURGH — The education and healthcare giants of this city represent some of Pittsburgh’s biggest advantages in the new economy.… Read More

‘Smoketown’ author Mark Whitaker on Pittsburgh’s tech revival, and its impact on the black community

PITTSBURGH — Mark Whitaker chronicles one of this city’s most fascinating eras in his new book, “Smoketown: The Untold Story… Read More

‘InnovatePGH’ initiative launches in effort to make Pittsburgh a world-class tech hub, with a new innovation district

PITTSBURGH — This city punches above its weight in the innovation economy, but Pittsburgh is still working to compete on… Read More

Inside Uber’s self-driving tech center in Pittsburgh, a glimpse of the possible future of transportation

PITTSBURGH — Walking through Uber’s self-driving center feels like something out of a movie, or a step into the future. As… Read More

Why is GeekWire in Pittsburgh? Here’s the story behind all these stories you’ve been seeing lately

PITTSBURGH — What the heck is with all the coverage from this place all of a sudden? We know that… Read More

Meet the TrashBot: CleanRobotics is using machine learning to keep recycling from going to waste

PITTSBURGH — At a mall in Sydney, Australia, “the world’s first smart trash can” is fastidiously photographing, weighing, and sorting… Read More

When Big Tech comes to town: Pittsburgh tries to repair Uber deal and apply lessons to Amazon bid

PITTSBURGH — When Uber started eyeing this city as a testing ground for self-driving cars back in 2016, Mayor Bill… Read More

We rode in Uber’s self-driving car, and now we’re less confident in the future of autonomous vehicles

PITTSBURGH — Our first self-driving car experience was going great. And then we hit a pothole. We were riding in… Read More

This church has faith in Amazon: Tech giant’s HQ2 could help ‘make Pittsburgh alive again’

PITTSBURGH — The stunning 14-foot cross suspended above the altar at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral was constructed of steel, glass and… Read More

Seattle freeze, meet Pittsburgh nice: A love letter and a warning to the Steel City

PITTSBURGH — With bone-chilling temperatures dipping into the teens and a light dusting of snow on the ground, Pittsburgh’s bitter… Read More

What makes Pittsburgh’s tech scene special, and how it needs to improve

Pittsburghers love to party. We learned that on Thursday night as more than 200 people gathered at the second floor… Read More

After raising $93M, Pittsburgh’s Petuum aims to hire 120 people this year in quest to be the ‘VMware of AI’

PITTSBURGH — Petuum moved into its new office 10 months ago. Now, the early-stage startup is already planning to expand into… Read More

Behind the scenes: Pittsburgh’s mayor talks with GeekWire about Amazon HQ2 and more

PITTSBURGH — One of the highlights of our first week here was the chance to sit down with Pittsburgh Mayor… Read More

Pittsburgh Profile: Matt Kowalczyk’s love of football and computers attracted recruiters from Carnegie Mellon and Microsoft

Matt Kowalczyk grew up about an hour outside of Pittsburgh in Youngstown, where residents “basically did one of four things:… Read More

From Steel City to Seattle: Founded in Pittsburgh, this video company moved west but kept its roots

PITTSBURGH — The team at Panopto might be more excited than anyone else about the upcoming aerial connection from Seattle… Read More

Watch: GeekWire talks Amazon HQ2, Steel City tech and more on ‘Pittsburgh Today Live’

PITTSBURGH — Everywhere we go in Steel City, curious Pittsburghers have asked us some variety of the question: What do… Read More

Bones of the past, capacity for the future: Pittsburgh has room to grow, but is it ready?

PITTSBURGH — This is a city of steel bridges, mighty rivers, steep hills and classic architecture. It’s a place where… Read More

Zipcar, Uber and 13 other transportation tech companies establish vision for future cities with Pittsburgh and Paris

Back in June, Pittsburgh and Paris were unwittingly connected by a comment from President Donald Trump defending his decision to… Read More

Pittsburgh’s mayor says Amazon HQ2 could boost his city more than any other contender — if tech giant can learn from Seattle’s problems

PITTSBURGH — In his 53 years on this planet and in this city, Bill Peduto has never seen a real… Read More