Two former Amazon employees, Shariq Siddiqui and Umer Sadiq, recently teamed up with former Google computer vision scientist Faisal Shifayat to introduce Veeve, a new tech-driven grocery cart technology system that could change the face of brick-and-mortar grocery stores. As GeekWire outlines, the entrepreneurs saw the power of the technology Amazon implemented in its “Go” stores and wanted to find a way to implement the technology in larger format stores.
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Over the past few years, Bellevue has emerged in the tech spotlight, with long-time giants such as Microsoft and the recent announcement by Amazon of a relocation to the Eastside. A new effort to build the Performing Arts Center Eastside (PACE) could add to the innovation with an immersive, cutting-edge approach to the concept of the performing arts center. The project has been in planning for decades but new CEO Ray Cullom is breathing new life into it - they have now raised $123 million of the estimated $200 million it will take to fund the project.
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U.S. News recently completed their ranking of the Best States in the nation and our very own Evergreen State topped this year’s list! Washington’s impressive performance may be attributed to the State’s strong economy, coming in at third, second-ranked infrastructure, and health care and education, which both came in at fourth on the list.
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In February 2019, Onni Group made their first real estate purchase on the Eastside, with the acquisition of a four-acre site in downtown Bellevue—currently home to a church and Barnes & Noble store—for $116 million. On Thursday, March 14th, the company provided the first set of publicly available images for a large-scale mixed-use project it plans for the area, which, according to Puget Sound Business Journal, will comprise “three 600-foot-tall towers totaling 1,289 residences, 896,000 square feet of office space, 317 hotel suites and 2,318 underground parking stalls.”
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As a recent Puget Sound Business Journal article put it, “The Eastside office market has FANGs.” However fitting, they aren’t referencing the region’s sharp teeth; they are talking about a group of tech titans: Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google.
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Amazon left the tech community reeling in mid-February when they announced that they were pulling out of their plans to add a headquarter location in the Long Island City section of New York. Many have been asking, where will the 25,000 planned jobs for Long Island City go? The short answer seems to be a little bit of everywhere.
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Despite his recent bout of personal problems, Jeff Bezos is a highly successful businessman, who has amassed a personal fortune of over $150 billion and stands at the helm of one of the most successful companies in the U.S. When asked about the number one sign of intelligence he looks for in a person, it seems a bit counter-intuitive. Do you have an idea of what it is?
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In January of 2018, I covered the opening of the first Amazon Go grocery store in Seattle, which drew a large crowd of people that were eager to try their hand at shopping in the cashierless grocery store. At the time, it was unclear what role Amazon Go would play in the brick-and-mortal consumer grocery store industry. Now that it’s been a year, let’s take a look at what’s changed.
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CES is the world’s largest gathering place for those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. Earlier this month, attendees convened in Las Vegas for a week of innovation and breakthrough technologies.
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I was recently holding an open house when a curious neighbor came into the home to check out the new improvements and ask about current market conditions. After showing her the home and added value/improvements made by the seller—and asking her to tell everyone she knew—I briefly explained that we are going through a market correction, which began in mid-May (like a light switch on May 10th), and touched on the probable causes. I went on to say that current market conditions seem to have stabilized: generally, sales have increased and inventory began decreasing around mid-October (I saw it October 18th). I summed it up quickly with, “I believe it’s a great time to buy.” She looked at me and said “yeah, but what would you say to your friend or a family member. How would you advise them?” I shrugged and smiled as I replied, “I just did.”
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