Washington vs. Michigan: Which university takes the tech title? Plus: VC trash talk

Nothing like a little tech investor college football trash talk before the big game. As the Washington Huskies take on the Michigan Wolverines in the College Football Playoff championship on Monday, we reached out to Seattle-area venture capitalists James Newell (above, left) and Jason Stoffer (right), who have ties to each university.

• Here at GeekWire, we’ve got several UW alumni. As our temporary website logo suggests, this Seattle-based tech news website is rooting for the Huskies in Monday’s championship. Read more and check out the site.

AI “lowers the barrier to entry for people, especially underrepresented groups … to be able to create their own livelihoods and be entrepreneurs.” That’s one of the takeaways from investor Nancy Wang, venture partner at Felicis Ventures and founder of Advancing Women in Tech, on a new episode of the GeekWire Podcast. 

• Read more and listen here, and subscribe to GeekWire in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.

Alaska Airlines temporarily grounded its fleet of Boeing 737 MAX-9 aircraft after a panel of the fuselage reportedly blew out following takeoff on a Friday flight from Portland, Ore., forcing an emergency landing. No serious injuries were reported. The FAA on Saturday ordered temporary grounding of certain MAX-9 aircraft.