Startup grows a fresh crop of data: Redmond, Wash.-based
Aigen
is training its autonomous, solar-powered weeding robots on AI-generated plants, cutting the time it takes them to learn a new crop from years to about a week. That speed, along with a steep rise in diesel prices, is helping the 6-year-old ag-tech company attract new customers and expand into crops such as asparagus, hops and lettuce. Aigen says it’s nearly sold out of robots for 2027.
A nose for ripeness: Seattle startup
Strella
raised $4.25 million to expand its technology that tracks how fruit is ripening as it moves from growers to grocery stores. The goal is to help businesses spot potential spoilage and waste less food.
- Washington apple growers are also turning to robotics, Axios reports. To combat labor shortages and rising costs, ag-tech venture
RESERVOIR
is planning a Yakima Valley testing operation next spring for robots designed to pick one of the hardest crops to automate.
Keeping it in the family:
HumanTronik
, an AI startup co-founded by
Icertis
co-founder
Monish Darda
, acquired CloudMoyo, the Bellevue tech consultancy Darda helped spin out of Icertis in 2015. CEO
Manish Kedia
will keep running CloudMoyo, whose 300-plus consultants will now sell and implement HumanTronik’s AI agents for Outlook and Teams alongside their existing work.
- Washington Senate Democrats are accusing a Republican-backed PAC of using an undisclosed AI-manipulated image in a campaign mailer, setting up an early test of a state law that allows candidates to sue over deceptive synthetic media in political ads. (Axios)
- A new analysis breaks down the growing debate around AI data centers and water usage, exploring how cooling technology, local utility agreements, and a lack of centralized federal data impact community water supplies. (USAFacts)
- Political columnist and cartoonist
David Horsey
takes aim at
Microsoft
,
Amazon
and
T-Mobile
for contributing to President Trump’s planned White House ballroom, arguing the tech giants are trading the region’s tradition of civic-minded philanthropy for political access and potential federal contracts. (The Seattle Times) - Xbox employees within 50 miles of Microsoft’s Redmond campus will need to work from the office at least four days a week starting Feb. 1, up from the company’s three-day standard, according to an internal memo. The change comes as Microsoft plans to cut about 20% of Xbox jobs by the end of its fiscal year next June. (The Verge)
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