Search for missing Titanic sub widens as crew names come to light

The search for an OceanGate submersible that went out of contact during a weekend dive to the wreck of the Titanic has widened to an area of the North Atlantic Ocean that’s the size of the state of Massachusetts.

• The names of some members of the five-person crew have come to light, including veteran Titanic explorer PH Nargeolet; Pakistani-born business executive Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman; and Hamish Harding, a British aviation executive and adventurer.
• Stockton Rush, the CEO of Everett, Wash.-based OceanGate, has served as the pilot of the Titan submersible during previous dives over the past two years — and some reports listed him among the crew. Read more.

• Related: Rush spoke at the GeekWire Summit in 2022 about the future of deep sea frontiers and expeditions.

Veterans of Seattle’s music scene sounded off on AI and the future of their art form. GeekWire caught up with songwriters, musicians, a radio DJ, an AI startup CEO, a longtime producer, and a record label executive to gauge reaction in the community. We found a touch of curiosity, some enthusiasm, but mostly fear about what could change with the tech. Read more.

• Farhadi will be tasked with cementing and elevating AI2’s position, leveraging its role as an independent nonprofit at a pivotal moment for AI, at a time when Microsoft-backed OpenAI is grabbing the spotlight. 

• He succeeds Oren Etzioni, who was tapped by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen to launch AI2 nearly a decade ago.

• Farhadi previously founded and led AI2 spinout Xnor.ai as CEO, and sold the AI startup to Apple in 2020, marking one AI2’s biggest commercial successes to date. Read more.

• After three years of scattershot plans for getting workers back to the office, tech businesses are getting serious. Manny Medina, CEO of Seattle-based Outreach, is among those promoting the need to collaborate in person. (The New York Times)

• EV maker Rivian is adopting Tesla’s North American Charging Standard and will gain access to its Supercharger network. (Twitter)

• Emily Pesce, CEO of mental health teletherapy startup Joon, and a finalist for Startup CEO of the Year in the 2023 GeekWire Awards, is recognized in this feature story for giving back to LGBTQ+ youth. (Seattle Gay News)