Data protection giant Veeam moves HQ to Seattle region

A new tech giant in the Seattle region: Veeam Software, the top company by market share in data protection and ransomware recovery, has more than 5,000 employees globally, and was valued at $5 billion in a March 2020 private equity deal. And now it’s calling the Seattle region home. Led by CEO Anand Eswaran, above, Veeam has moved its HQ from Columbus, Ohio, to Kirkland, due to the close proximity of big cloud providers and the deep pool of tech talent, with the side benefit of sponsoring Seattle’s pro cricket team. Read more.

Fusion power got a boost in Washington state this week as Gov. Jay Inslee signed a new law that establishes the sector as a source of clean energy that could help the state meet its climate goals. The measure lays the groundwork for relevant state agencies to begin exploring pathways for permitting, siting and licensing fusion energy plants. Read more.

Pitching ideas for potential startups that could help protect the planet, university students from the Pacific Northwest competed in the Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge in Seattle, showing off technologies using software, drones, chemistry, engineering, biology and other disciplines. (Above: A University of Washington team called AgroFilms won the $15,000 top prize in the event.) Read more.

Vote for Workplace of the Year: Respect. Inclusion. Satisfaction. Employee-centric. Our judges for this category at the 2024 GeekWire Awards used a number of different words and phrases to describe what makes this year’s finalists special. Read more.

• Catch up on all of our GeekWire Awards coverage.

“There’s so much benefit here, being in a small community that has so much startup potential, and so much growth ahead of it.” That’s the view of Spokane, Wash., from one college student who is sticking around to start a career in the city. In our “GeekWire on the Road” series,” we learn more about Spokane’s ambitious tech community. Read more.

Hot Links:

• Amazon expects to save $1.3 billion by greatly reducing its office vacancies over the next three to five years. (Business Insider)

• The Seattle Mariners introduced a “Salmon Run” at Thursday’s opener and we’re partial to “Silver,” the “techy” salmon who is “brilliant, savvy and nerdy.” (X)

• Texas native Melinda French Gates is ready to kick up her heels to “Cowboy Carter,” the new country album from Beyoncé. (Instagram)

Thanks for subscribing to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great weekend. — GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop, todd@geekwire.com, and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com.