Seattle’s tech paradox: Amazon's layoffs and the AI boom — or is it a bubble?

Todd Bishop (0:01)

I worry about the tech market here, with thousands of people flooding onto the job market, experienced people. And this is where I worry that the startup community is not ready to turn that raw material of talent into new startups to fuel the innovation machine.

John Cook (0:20)

With the entrepreneurial DNA of Amazon, it's an interesting story for us to track and watch, to see if we do see a wave of startup activity as a result of this.

Todd Bishop (0:40)

Hi, and welcome to GeekWire. From geekwire.com in Seattle, I'm Todd Bishop.

John Cook (0:44)

And I'm John Cook.

Todd Bishop (0:45)

We are coming to you from Seattle, where we get to report each day on what's happening around us in business, technology, and innovation. What happens here matters everywhere, and every week on this show, we get to talk about some of the most interesting and important stories and trends in the news. John, it's great to have you back on the show.

John Cook (1:02)

Love being back. It's been a while. Great to see you, Todd.

Todd Bishop (1:05)

We are the co-founders of GeekWire and longtime tech journalist. John is more on the business side these days, but I am able to pull him in for his broader perspective. And when we get to talk like this, I love it. These are some of my favorite shows. And later on, John, I'm going to be asking you to turn on a bit of your inner tech crank, because we're going to be talking in the third segment.

John Cook (1:26)

I got a hot take. Stick around, folks.

Todd Bishop (1:28)

The third segment we're going to be talking about, high-speed rail and the Cascadia region and the efforts to connect Portland and Seattle and Vancouver. So that's coming up. Save it. Save it. I can tell you want to jump in right now.

I wanted to have you on, especially this week, because it's kind of a moment right now in Seattle tech. There is so much going on in different directions, and I was struck by the juxtaposition of the Amazon layoffs this week with the enthusiasm that we saw at some of the events that we went to. But before we get to that, I want to talk about a couple of things we got going on here at GeekWire, including a preview of some upcoming shows. First, the GeekWire Gala is coming up on December 11th in Seattle. You are immersed in this world, John. Tell folks about the Gala.

John Cook (2:19)

It is a fun party for the tech community, and so come on out and join us. Go to geekwire.com/gala and get your tickets.

Todd Bishop (2:28)

All right. And that is also done in conjunction with a really cool awards program that we have called Uncommon Thinkers. So be looking for those profiles coming out in November. That's a great partnership that we do with Greater Seattle Partners and just a lot of fun to profile some of the most unique minds in the region. So look for that. OK, coming up next week, John, I am interviewing. If he still keeps the interview, we haven't done it yet, but hopefully.

John Cook (2:55)

OK, what's the tease? I don't think I know about this.

Todd Bishop (2:57)

Jamie Simeonoff, the ring founder.

John Cook (3:01)

Bringing him back to the GeekWire fold because he was on the GeekWire Summit stage many years ago.

Todd Bishop (3:06)

I think he was maybe 2016 or 2017 That might have been.

John Cook (3:10)

It was a good interview. I thought he was.

Todd Bishop (3:13)

He's very unvarnished. I've actually had some recent conversations with him, so I know he's still very much the same hard charging entrepreneur even though he's just returned to Amazon. But I'm talking with him about his new book, Ding Dong.

John Cook (3:27)

That's a great title.

Todd Bishop (3:28)

There's a great subtitle that I don't have in front of me right now, but I'm a few chapters into the book already, and it's a great read, really just a deep dive entrepreneurial story about Ring and other things that I haven't gotten to yet.

John Cook (3:42)

So this will be an upcoming podcast?

Todd Bishop (3:43)

Yes.

John Cook (3:44)

Okay, wow.

Todd Bishop (3:45)

Also, John, you recently had a fantastic conversation with David Shim, the CEO of Read AI, who is really immersed in the world of AI models and assistants, and I've caught parts of this conversation. It was recorded at an Accenture dinner that we hosted. And let me tell you, it is so packed with great inside information, and we're going to be doing that as an upcoming podcast.