UW and computer science student reach truce in ‘HuskySwap’ spat

Blue Origin prepares for New Glenn liftoff: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ 25-year-old space venture is counting down to the debut of its heavy lift rocket with tonight’s scheduled launch from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Space journalist Alan Boyle explains what to expect, and what it all means, in this preview. Above: Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket stands on its Florida launch pad. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota)

‘HuskySwap’ truce: The University of Washington resolved a disagreement with a computer science student who went viral on LinkedIn this week for challenging the UW’s reaction to his development of an app to help students trade coveted spots in full courses. Here’s our recap of the saga.

Delivery woes: The abrupt closure of Pandion, a heavily funded e-commerce delivery startup led by Amazon Air founder Scott Ruffin, underscores the ongoing challenges in the logistics industry amid the venture capital crunch and post-pandemic return to normalcy in online retail. Read more.

Seattle-based real estate company Zillow Group laid off employees as part of a reorganization of its agent software and advertising teams. Read more.

• Related: The move comes at the same time that Seattle-based real estate competitor Redfin made another round of cuts, laying off 46 employees. 

“The real value in this AI technology is when we allow it to connect to things on its own.” That’s one of the takeaways from Seattle-area AI entrepreneur Patrick Husting (above) on this week’s GeekWire Podcast. The Ghostwriter AI developer talks about the evolution of AI over the past two years, how people are using it today, and where things are headed next. 

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

T-Mobile is helping areas affected by this week’s catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles by opening up direct-to-cellular emergency texting over SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network on a temporary basis. Read more.

Cybersecurity M&A: Longtime Seattle-based cybersecurity firm WatchGuard scooped up ActZero, another security company. Read more.

• Track recent M&A activity here. 

Mike Maples Sr. was an outsider at Microsoft, joining in 1988 after two decades at IBM. Unlike many others, he cracked the code of Microsoft’s culture. Former colleagues paid tribute to the “adult in the room” upon his death this week at 82 years old. Read more.

Upcoming events: Tech and startup community gatherings on our radar next week in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.

• Jan. 14: 2025 Kickoff: Portland startup community

• Jan. 18: Fitness for Founders OneSixOne Ventures Hike

Check out the GeekWire Calendar for more.

Hot Links:

• Amazon is downplaying its DEI efforts, following other tech giants in a “new political era.” (The Information) 

• Amazon is shutting down its “Try Before You Buy” offering that competed with Stitch Fix. (CNBC)

• Anticipation is building for the Nintendo Switch 2, prior to its promised unveiling before the end of March. (The Verge)

• AI integration, sustainability, and ultra-lightweight hardware were some of the key trends in Windows devices unveiled at CES. (Windows Central)