A potential ‘slam the brakes’ moment for climate tech | Shein popping up in Seattle

An initiative on the ballot this November in Washington could undermine the state’s burgeoning climate technology sector and slow decarbonization efforts across the regional economy, according to opponents — a group that includes tech giants such as Amazon and Microsoft. The initiative would strike down a recently passed cap-and-invest market that requires most of the state’s largest greenhouse gas emitters to pay for their pollution. Supporters say the program amounts to a “hidden gas tax” that is harming Washington residents by raising prices at the pump and jacking up electric bills. Read more.

• Related: Amazon, Microsoft back campaign against initiative that would defund climate efforts in Washington

Seattle biotech company NanoString announced that it will be acquired by life sciences research and diagnostic giant Bruker for $392.6 million, ending the company’s restructuring process. Read more.

Wizards of the Coast President Cynthia Williams is stepping down from the Seattle-area gaming company, two years after the tech vet took the job. Williams, a former leader at Xbox, oversaw a period in which Wizards’ flagship games, Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, were both extraordinarily successful and frequently controversial. Read more. 

Shein continues to plant flags in the Seattle area, right in Amazon’s backyard. The Chinese e-commerce retailer, which recently announced plans to open a corporate office in Bellevue, is hosting a pop-up experience next week in downtown Seattle. Read more.

Hot Links:

• A secret Amazon operation posing as a third-party seller on Walmart, eBay and other marketplaces is designed to gather intel on pricing, logistics and other business practices of the tech giant’s rivals. (The Wall Street Journal)

• Microsoft’s AI Copilot is changing the working lives of software engineers as it becomes responsible for a larger percentage of code being written. (Bloomberg)

• Amazon Web Services is shutting down Snowmobile, which used semi trucks to help transfer data. (CNBC)

• The Allen Institute for AI released an update to OLMo, its open source large language model. (AI2)

Thanks for subscribing to the GeekWire newsletter, and have a great day. — GeekWire editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com; and GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com.