Big cash — in fusion:
Helion
Energy, the Everett, Wash.-based startup racing to commercialize fusion power, announced $465 million in new funding — the largest venture capital investment in the Pacific Northwest so far this year — and a valuation of $15.5 billion.
- The company aims to be the first in the world to commercialize fusion, replicating the reactions that power the sun and stars to produce nearly limitless clean energy.
- Helion is operating under the sector’s most ambitious timeline, signing a deal with
Microsoft
to supply energy to a Central Washington data center by 2028. Read more.
Downtown data center:
Digital Realty
has filed permits to demolish a former Bed Bath & Beyond location in downtown Seattle to build a six-story data center, lab and retail building. It comes as the Seattle City Council moves toward a one-year ban on new data centers, citing concerns over the impact on the electrical grid. Read more.
More money for climate entrepreneurs: Fintech platform
Enduring Planet
has closed its second fund at over $12 million to expand its non-equity financing and lending options for early-stage climate tech startups navigating a tight venture capital market. Read more.
Find it, fix it:
Emphere
, a Seattle startup that emerged from the
AI2 Incubator
, raised $2.1 million in pre-seed funding to automatically fix vulnerabilities found in popular open-source distributions, catering to software companies that sell to regulated industries. Read more.
A Doodle worth Googling: Seattle-area teen Kameirah Johnson is the winner of the 2026 Doodle for
Google
contest, and her artwork is on the search giant’s homepage. She discussed the inspiration for “Hair Power: The Crown That Grows from Us” in an appearance on “TODAY.” Read more.
World Cup scores in the sky: Soccer fans who aren’t there in person or not glued to their phones or TVs during FIFA World Cup matches in Seattle will be able to look up for results thanks to a lighted display from drones flying near the Space Needle. Read more.
- Jeff Bezos is backing a new neuroscience startup called Flourish with $500 million to unlock the human brain’s “core algorithm” and build hyper-efficient, continuously learning AI models. (Wired)
Amazon
unveiled a new version of Proteus, its autonomous mobile warehouse robot, saying it can be “programmed” by warehouse associates simply by talking to it. (About Amazon)
T-Mobile
unveiled Dynamic CX, an AI-powered network optimization technology designed to automatically adapt bandwidth and prevent cell tower congestion in real time at crowded summer concerts, festivals, and sporting events. (T-Mobile)
Melinda French Gates
upped her global support for women’s health by an additional $215 million, bringing her total philanthropy in this area to over $600 million over the past two years. She also wrote about expanding her work to include significant new funding for midlife and menopause care. (AP, NYT)- Seattle startup
Yoodli AI Roleplays
co-founders
Varun Puri
and
Esha Joshi
got a little extra screen time in New York’s Times Square with a Nasdaq billboard recognizing their GTM10 awards. (LinkedIn)
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