AI, startups, and Star Wars: Conversations from the 2023 GeekWire Awards

The theme at this week's GeekWire Awards was Star Wars, but we didn't need to go to a galaxy far, far away to find the force that promises to reshape the technology industry. The game-changing potential of AI was on the minds of many, and key to the business models of many companies featured on stage.

Our new episode of the GeekWire Podcast features conversations with finalists and attendees about the economy, artificial intelligence, and more.

Listen here, or subscribe to GeekWire in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

Pictured above, clockwise from upper left: Ophir Ronen, founder and CEO of CalmWave; Claudius Mbemba, co-founder and CTO of Spritz; Ivan Liachko, CEO and co-founder of Phase Genomics; Christie Lagally, CEO of Rebellyous Foods; and Xiao Wang, CEO of Boundless, speak with GeekWire's Todd Bishop.

More from the GeekWire Awards: 

• See the full list of winners.
• Check out all the photos from the big night.
• Read advice shared by a Seattle Seahawks legend, NASA astronaut, and “Love is Blind” star.  

A key insight on the podcast comes from Patrick Husting, who won Innovation of the Year for Ghostwriter, his Microsoft Office add-in that incorporates OpenAI’s ChatGPT. He has been running into OpenAI's usage limitations due to the broader scarcity of the processors needed for AI. 

Read more about Ghostwriter in this earlier GeekWire story.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed this scarcity of AI processing power in his Congressional testimony this week: “We don't have an ad-based business model. So we're not trying to build up these profiles of our users. … We're not trying to get them to use it more. Actually, we'd love it if they'd use it less because we don't have enough GPUs.”

The figurehead on Jeff Bezos’ huge sailing yacht is garnering attention for its resemblance to the Amazon founder’s girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez. Read more.

Thanks for subscribing to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great weekend. —  GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop, todd@geekwire.com; and managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com.