Microsoft’s reset, a new era for Seattle startups, and how AI is changing everything for founders

Microsoft’s reset, a new era for Seattle startups, and how AI is changing everything for founders Todd Bishop

Scenes from this week’s founder open house on the deck at GeekWire HQ in Seattle, where we also recorded this week’s podcast. Thanks to Delta Airlines, Prime Team Partners, and ALLtech for sponsoring the event. (Photos by Kurt Schlosser and John Cook)

On this week’s show, we’re on the GeekWire deck for our annual founder open house, where we dig into Microsoft’s latest round of layoffs — including a major Xbox shakeup — and the surprising rise of hardware companies on the GeekWire 200.

Then we sit down with four guests to talk about how AI is reshaping how they build: 

• Jana Schuster of StackIQ, whose AI-native platform helps companies find redundancy in their software spending — like Rocket Money, but for business — with a small team.
• Blake Resnick and David Benowitz of Brinc Drones, whose mechanical engineers are now vibe coding their own prototypes;
• Boaz Ashkenazy of Shift AI, who’s setting up always-on agents and rethinking how we interact with AI tools.

Finally, this week’s GeekWire Trivia Challenge: how a longtime T-Mobile executive got his start in the wireless business, and the star-studded history of T-Mobile celebrity endorsers.

Stories mentioned:

• Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs, about 2% globally, revamps salesforce and launches massive Xbox overhaul
• GeekWire 200 update: New unicorns and a hardware surge remake our list of top Pacific NW startups
• Former GitHub CEO’s startup Entire unveils its answer to the crush of AI coding agents
• Chicago software company plants flag in Seattle area as new leadership team seeks AI talent
• T-Mobile exec Mike Katz exits after 28 years, as carrier reshuffles top ranks and taps ex-AT&T leader

Audio editing by Curt Milton.

https://ift.tt/B0pT3WN July 11, 2026 at 04:19PM GeekWire