No new unicorns in Seattle | Amazon gets into car sales and aces orbital tests

Hello GeekWire readers! Artists are getting a boost from Amazon and the Paul Allen Foundation; messaging between iPhone and Android users may become easier; and we take a look at the unicorn slowdown in Seattle. 

The unicorn stampede has screeched to a halt. Nine Seattle-area startups reached a $1 billion valuation in 2021. But with venture capitalists tightening their belts and an overall funding slowdown, not a single Seattle startup this year became a unicorn  — and some existing billion-dollar companies may no longer have that moniker. Read more. 

Amazon aces orbital tests: A month after launch, Amazon says its prototype Project Kuiper satellites have registered a "100% success rate" during testing, opening the way for mass production to start next month in Kirkland, Wash. One test involved streaming a movie on Amazon Prime Video. Read more. 

Paul Allen Foundation giving another $10 million to Washington state arts: In partnership with Seattle’s ArtsFund, the gift to the Community Accelerator Grant program follows the same move made last year, which benefitted 671 organizations across the state. Read more.

Longtime Seattle art school moving into Amazon building: Gage Academy of Art will vacate its Capitol Hill space for a modern facility at the base of the 37-story re:Invent tower, with financial assistance from Amazon. Both players hope the move helps in efforts to reinvigorate the downtown core, creating a district where tech and art coexist. Read more. 

A new website from Seattle nonprofit Sage Bionetworks corrals and promotes biomedical contests, with the aim to connect scientists working on health issues, and the AI-engineers who build algorithms. Read more. 

Hot Links

• Amazon is getting into car sales, announcing a deal with Hyundai to sell vehicles on its marketplace. (CNBC)

• Perkins Coie is moving into a new Seattle office designed for hybrid work that will reduce the law firm’s real estate footprint by just under 50%. (Perkins Coie)

• Apple will adopt the messaging standard Rich Communication Services, bringing iMessage-style features to cross-platform messaging between iPhone and Android. (MacRumors)