Program Summary: Todd Bishop, Geekwire, “What’s Next for Seattle Tech?” March 18, 2021

Todd Bishop is co-founder and editor of GeekWire, the largest technology news site in the Pacific Northwest and the hub of the Seattle region’s tech community.  A veteran technology journalist, Todd covers topics including AI, cloud computing, startups, and tech giants including Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Apple. He has interviewed many of the pioneers of the tech industry, including Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, and Jeff Bezos. Todd hosts the weekly GeekWire podcast and is a regular guest on local and national television and radio shows. Before starting GeekWire with his longtime colleague, John Cook, Todd worked for newspapers including the Philadelphia Inquirer, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and Puget Sound Business Journal.  He graduated from California State University, Chico, with a double-major in journalism and business. He grew up in Orland, Calif., and lives in Seattle with his wife and daughter.

Todd stressed the importance of the super-power tech companies in our region. Amazon had been the most recent icon for impact in the tech industry. Amazon is now expanding into rural areas throughout the country and  its creating a culture clash throughout those communities. Their revenue this past year was 40 billion dollars.  Microsoft’s  presence with lasting tech implications and  is now rebounding with increased services in the cloud. Google’s new engineering center in our community on the waterfront and Apple’s commitment to new engineering growth in our area as well.  These companies are very instrumental for the spin-off of other diverse tech companies that have popped up in the past few years. Todd believes we will see increased growth in our region due to the tech revolution in the Life Science area because of our notable research institutions here in Seattle.   His prediction is we will not have enough engineers trained  for all the jobs that will be created in the Life Sciences to meet the demand in the coming years.