Convoy CEO: ‘We hoped this day would never come’ | Rec Room sues teenage hacker

Happy GeekWire Summit day! We’re looking forward to seeing more than 500 of you later today as we discuss the growing impact of AI on society. On the news front, we’re tracking new digs for UW’s CoMotion; a visit to Seattle from Instagram’s leader; and the latest on the collapse of Convoy.

“We hoped this day would never come.” That was part of a memo sent to employees this morning from Convoy CEO Dan Lewis, detailing the company’s sudden shutdown. The Seattle startup, which was valued at $3.8 billion after raising $260 million last year, couldn’t overcome a freight market recession and broader monetary tightening. Read our report.   

Seattle gaming startup Rec Room is targeting a teenage hacker in a new lawsuit, alleging that he has a long history of harassment and created multiple cheat tools to enable bad actors on the platform. Read more. 

CoMotion moves down the road: The University of Washington’s innovation center will soon be in the same building as Startup Hall, an entrepreneurial hub that is part of a growing neighborhood aiming to be a center for research, education, and company creation. Read more.

Instagram chief talks social media safeguards: Adam Mosseri (above, right) spoke on a panel in Seattle about what the Meta-owned app is doing to make its experience safe and age appropriate for all users. Read more.

Geeks on the street weigh in on AI: As the GeekWire Summit kicks off in Seattle today with a focus on artificial intelligence, we stopped by Pike Place Market to see what tourists and others had to say about the technology. Watch the video.

• Summit FAQ: Everything you need to know about attending our annual technology conference, starting today at 1 p.m. at SIFF Cinema. 

Tech Moves: Gates Foundation exec Allan Golston joins Icertis board; Costco CEO Craig Jelinek to step down; and more notable personnel changes.

Skytap lands $18 million: The Seattle startup helps companies move operations to the cloud. Funding was led by Vancouver, B.C.-based Vistara Growth. Read more. 

Hot Links:

• Seattle’s Allen Institute for AI is getting the national spotlight for its mission to democratize cutting-edge AI research. (New York Times)

• Amazon and Microsoft are partnering to tackle impersonation scams. (Amazon, Microsoft)

• A European antitrust regulator approved Pfizer’s $43 billion deal to buy Seattle-area biotech company Seagen. (Seeking Alpha)