Seattle tech’s extraordinary year: These are the stories we’ll remember in the business of innovation – GeekWire

Stories

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, with Amazon Devices chief David Limp, left, and SVP of corporate affairs Jay Carney, right, speaking with reporters at the Amazon Spheres in Seattle in September, during one of the most eventful years in the company’s history. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop)

From Amazon to Zillow, big successes to surprising failures, it was an extraordinary year for technology and innovation emerging from and impacting Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. That’s our consensus after we independently compiled our own lists of the biggest stories of the year, then compared notes.

Many common themes emerged, including companies looking to reinvent themselves, the sudden failure of several high-profile tech startups, surprising acquisitions, a successful IPO, world-changing innovations, and alarming tech problems that imperiled privacy and put lives at risk. Microsoft continued its resurgence, Amazon survived one of the most tumultuous years in its history, and tech giants reshaped communities across the region and the country.

Of course, that’s just the start. Listen above, or subscribe to GeekWire in your favorite podcast app, and continue reading for the stories on our collective list.

— GeekWire co-founders John Cook and Todd Bishop

Big deals

Failures and flame-outs

Amazon’s eventful year

Tech giants expand

Honorable mention

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Check GeekWire next week for year-end analysis of areas including startups, space and science, plus the year in pictures.