Top PNW funding rounds of 2023 | Economics of AI at stake in NYT v. GPT

Top funding rounds of 2023: Tech startup investments continued to retreat in 2023 as total funding to Pacific Northwest startups fell nearly 60% year-over-year in 2023, according to GeekWire’s funding list. But there were still a handful of startups across the region that raised sizable rounds to fuel growth in the months and years ahead. 

A company that built a technology empire on intellectual property rights now faces allegations that it’s flouting them in pursuit of its next phase of innovation and growth. That irony is one of a few thoughts that came to mind to GeekWire co-founder and longtime Microsoft reporter Todd Bishop, reading through the 69-page complaint filed by The New York Times Co. against Microsoft and OpenAI in federal court in New York City on Wednesday. Read his analysis. 

Same-day delivery service Shipt said it will pause operations in Seattle due to newly passed labor laws in the city aimed at protecting gig workers. The Target-owned company operates like Instacart and other app-based platforms, delivering groceries and other items from a variety of retailers. Read more.

Thanks for subscribing to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great rest of your year. We'll see you in 2024. — GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com; and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com.