‘Amazon Market’ filing at Seattle site may signal new store format for tech giant

A new filing for a long-shuttered former New Seasons grocery store in Seattle names “Amazon Market” as the financially responsible party for the project, offering a potential insight into the tech giant’s retail strategy.

• Permit filings have connected Amazon to the project for more than two years, although the company has never confirmed its plans. 

• However, the “Certificate of Boiler or Pressure Vessel Inspection” from the City of Seattle, dated Jan. 25, 2023, is the first time filings have used the “Amazon Market” name specifically for the location. 

• None of Amazon’s existing physical stores uses the Amazon Market name. The breadcrumb comes as Amazon reconsiders its grocery strategy. Read more. 

RealWear, a Vancouver, Wash.-based company that sells industrial hands-free wearable “assisted reality” headsets, is going public via a SPAC deal with Seattle-based Cascadia Capital.

• The deal, announced Monday, will value the new combined company at $375.5 million. Also known as blank check companies, SPACs re-emerged in a big way during the pandemic but have fallen sharply in number of deals and post-merger performance amid the broader tech downturn. Read more. 

Former Microsoft program manager Kevin Wang is the founder of Mentors in Tech (MinT), a Seattle-area program launched three years ago to help college students — particularly those at community colleges — connect with tech mentoring, internships and recruiting opportunities.

• "MinT gave me the edge that I needed," said Jessica Sestak, who studied software engineering and landed a full-time job at Costco as a developer. "It changed my life." Read more. 

Kingsley Ndoh is on a mission to improve cancer care — in Africa and beyond. 

• The Nigeria-born entrepreneur and University of Washington clinical assistant professor is the founder of health tech startup Hurone AI. The company aims to support cancer treatment with remote patient monitoring and tele-oncology designed for resource-poor settings. Read more. 

The video games industry is starting to pick up speed in 2023. 

• We rounded up 23 new games with ties to the Pacific Northwest that you can play this year. Read the list. 

Is your company hosting an in-person retreat this year? 

• Respond to this email or let us know via our tip line. We’re writing a story about companies investing in retreats in the new world of hybrid work.

Thanks for reading, and have a great week. — GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com.