LEGO geeks have been building for this moment

Happy Saturday! This week we covered a growing startup mafia, a new venture capital fund in Seattle, and tech industry layoffs. More on those below. But first, LEGOs and robots.

Serious LEGO geeks have been building for this moment. At BrickCon 2023 in Bellevue, Wash., the timeless toy is taken beyond the limits of imagination in models big and small.

The annual convention has attracted hundreds of exhibitors and a record crowd is expected to check out roller coasters, spaceships, castles, coral reefs, battle scenes and much more. GeekWire got an inside look and talked to expert builders. Read more and see the photos. 

"It's not humans against machines, it's humans and machines working together to do that task. And we're pioneering that movement." 

Tye Brady, chief technologist for Amazon Robotics, joins us on the GeekWire Podcast to talk about the company's latest warehouse robots, explaining how they represent the emergence of the larger vision that prompted him to join Amazon more than eight years ago. Our conversation at Amazon HQ in Seattle followed a trip by GeekWire to Austin and San Marcos, Texas, to see many of Amazon's newest autonomous robots first-hand. Read more and listen here.

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• Related: New robots are making Amazon’s warehouses more efficient — can they also make them safer?

Other top news from this week: 

• Former leaders at trucking marketplace company Convoy are taking the wheel of their own startups in Seattle. Read our story about the “Convoy Mafia.”

• Breaking into VC: A new Seattle-based fund called Breakers is looking to back “outlier” founders. Read more. 

• More tech layoffs: Job cuts hit Jeff Bezos’ space venture Blue Origin, global tech consulting firm Slalom Consulting, and publicly traded biotech company Absci. 

Hot Links: 

• Microsoft is axing the automated Windows 11 “troubleshooters” that identify and resolve common Windows problems, and shifting to a new system called “Get Help.” (TechRadar)

• Nintendo is evolving into a broader entertainment company, beyond its games business, says Doug Bowser, president of Redmond-based Nintendo of America. (Washington Post)
• Some users of webcams sold by Seattle-based Wyze were temporarily able to see inside other users’ homes on Friday. The company says the issue has been resolved. (The Verge)