We started these updates in early March to help tech workers stay informed about COVID-19 and ensure social distancing strategies didn’t upend community connections. Our goal was to highlight stories about how the innovation economy in our region was leading in uncertain times. As the pandemic and its economic fallout intersect with the renewed momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement, we have hope this is a true turning point in history. To capture a more holistic view of what’s happening in our region, we are broadening the scope of our updates to include meaningful racial equity work both in tech and in the community.
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For more regular news, check out The Seattle Times, Geekwire and Crosscut.
Local News
- Gov. Inslee clarified the rules for in-person learning, encouraging districts where new COVID-19 cases average less than 350 per 100,000 people to start reopening elementary schools.
- A federal judge is considering whether to stop a sweep of people experiencing homelessness at Cal Anderson Park.
- Mayor Durkan issued an executive order to extend City of Seattle COVID-19 closures and relief policies.
How Tech Companies Are Supporting Our Communities
- Seattle-area tech companies, including sea.citi members Amperity and Zillow are joining The Board Challenge.
- 👁👄👁.fm — A diverse group of young entrepreneurs and technologists raised more than $200,000 for three charities supporting people of color and the LGBTQ community.
- Aerial lets you track and offset your carbon footprint
- Alice’s COVID-19 Business Resource Center now includes emergency grants.
- All In Seattle is a coalition of tech, business, and sports leaders from across our region who collectively raised over $30 million to help people affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
- Amazon is donating an additional $2.5M to aid underserved Seattle-area students.
- Amazon is launching a program called Climate Pledge Friendly that will label certain products that meet one of 19 certifications for sustainability.
- Amazon teamed up with City University to help military veteran employees upskill.
- Amazon updated its positions page to include support for the equitable treatment of Black people.
- Amazon has extended their work from home policy even as it cautiously reopens offices.
- Amazon is planning 20 healthcare clinics for warehouse workers and their families.
- Amazon will pay $500 million in bonuses to frontline workers and delivery partners confronting risks and high demand during the pandemic.
- Amazon, Twitter and Square are just a few of the companies that have publicly committed to observing Juneteenth.
- Amazon announced a one-year moratorium on police use of facial recognition technology.
- Amazon is manufacturing hundreds of thousands of face shields to sell at cost.
- Amazon is redirecting resources to build their own COVID-19 testing lab.
- Amazon donated 8,200 laptops to Seattle Public Schools to support distance learning.
- Amazon Web Services partnered with the Consumer Technology Association and the American Telemedicine Association to launch TechHealthDirectory.com, an online resource that lists dozens of digital health products, tools and services.
- Amazon contributed an additional $100,000 to the Alliance for Education’s Right Now Needs Fund to help Seattle students and families. They have also contributed $50,000 in Amazon gift cards to Bellevue LifeSpring to provide groceries, health products, and personal care items to Bellevue students and families in need. Learn about all of Amazon’s relief efforts here.
- Amazon launched the AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative to accelerate , research and testing in the fight against COVID-19.
- Amazon is donating $5m in devices
- Amazon has announced a $5M fund to support small businesses in SLU, established the Amazon Relief Fund focused on supporting contract workers, and contributed $1M to the Seattle Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund.
- Amazon’s Future Engineer Program has contributed to a local rental assistance fund, administered by United Way of King County.
- Amazon is continuing to pay hourly support staff even as on-campus needs are significantly decreased.
- Amazon is paying one of their caterers to deliver meals to seniors and people with disabilities in public housing.
- Amazon gives away a free year of live and on-demand cooking classes on Food Network Kitchen app.
- Amazon is testing a UV-emitting robot to disinfect surfaces.
- Amazon Web Services, Zillow, Madrona and Uber are a few of the companies participating in CareerConnect@Home — a program of Career Connect Washington where each day in May, employers, labor organizations, and non-profits will host a live, online discussion about their industry and their work for students in grades 7 through 12 statewide.
- Amperity lent their talents to building a website for The Plate Fund — a new effort to support out-of-work restaurant workers in King County.
- Apple
- Apple and the UW plan to figure out if your watch can tell if you have COVID19.
- Apple and Google are launching a new auto-generated software framework to help states deploy their own contact tracing apps.
- committed $100M to its racial equity and justice initiative.
- Apple commited to be 100% carbon neutral for its supply chain and products by 2030.
- Apple allocated its first $400M to address California’s housing crisis.
- Apple awarded $10M to support COVID-19 sample collection kit production.
- Airbnb launched a nonprofit to provide lodging to essential workers and coronavirus refugees.
- Astra Labs, a nonprofit software company, has created a website to help people cope with the impact of COVID-19.
- AT&T
- AT&T, Comcast and Verizon extend no late fee, termination policies through June 30.
- Audible offers free children’s audiobooks while schools are closed.
- Bamboo Learning launched an English learning voice app for Alexa.
- Bezos Academy, funded by Jeff Bezos’ $2B ‘Day One Fund,’ launched its first free school in Des Moines.
- Bezos Earth Fund announced its first grants recipients
- Black Founders Matter made its first investment.
- Black Innovation Alliance launched this week with aims to serve as a unifying force for the many organizations focused on supporting Black innovators.
- BLCK VC announced the Black Venture Institute, an educational initiative dedicated to helping Black operators become angel investors.
- Choco Market let’s you order produce from Frank’s Produce in Pike Place Market and 100% of the proceeds go to local hospitality relief efforts.
- Comcast donated $50,000 to help to improve technology access for job seekers.
- Create33, in partnership with Microsoft is launching a startup success program for technology entrepreneurs of color — please apply and/or share!
- CVKey Project, a new tech nonprofit, is on a mission to help communities reopen responsibly without compromising personal privacy.
- Diversity Window launched to help companies take action on diversity and inclusion.
- DoorDash is reducing commissions for local restaurant partners.
- DreamBox is offering free access to their digital learning platform.
- Dropbox shared their sustainability goals for 2030.
- Envoy is launching a new suite of products to help workers get back into the office safely
- Expedia partnered with the King County Medical Society to seed a personal protective equipment (PPE) manufacturing fundraising effort.
- F5 and NGINX help websites to scale and cope with surges in web traffic — they are providing one free year of NGINX Plus for those in the education, public, and nonprofit sectors and opening up their core training at no cost.
- Facebook invested $150M in affordable housing in the Bay area.
- Facebook added COVID-19 misinformation notifications.
- Facebook is stepping up moderation against anti-Black hate speech
- Facebook and Twitter have banned posts that deny the Holocaust.
- Facebook is removing all QAnon accounts from Facebook Pages, Groups and Instagram accounts.
- Facebook will launch a poll worker recruitment drive.
- Facebook announced new measures to attempt to keep its platform from being manipulated to influence how people vote.
- Facebook announced that applications are now open for more than $40 million in grants for Black-owned businesses.
- Facebook joined several other companies extending WFH until July 2021.
- Facebook added warning notifications to posts sharing COVID-19 information.
- Facebook will study whether its algorithms are racially biased.
- Facebook banned a network of far-right boogaloo accounts.
- Facebook will allow users to turn off political ads and has launched a voting info hub.
- Facebook added a gift-cards and donation tool to its COVID-19 Community Help Hub.
- Facebook partnered with Carnegie Mellon University to track COVID-19 symptoms.
- Facebook launched a misinformation warning.
- Facebook launches a small business grant program.
- Facebook launched a COVID-19 Information Center — find it at the top of your news feed.
- Facebook has given the World Health Organization unlimited free ads to help spread sound information on the platform.
- pledged support to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization.
- Facebook upgraded its AI to better tackle COVID-19 misinformation.
- Female Founders Alliance is offering office hours for Black founders.
- Female Founders Alliance announced their Champion Awards, including some sea.citi faves Technology Access Foundation and The Intentionalist.
- Fitbit launched a COVID-19 early detection study.
- Founders Unfound is a podcast that aims to circumvent racial bias in tech using personal stories.
- Geekwire convened local leaders to share ways tech can make lasting systemic change to end racism in the industry.
- Geekwire brought together Black Designers from Microsoft to help others explore what it means to be an ally.
- Github and Facebook are among the companies supporting the MLH Fellowship — a 12 week internship alternative for students interested in becoming software engineers.
- Google announced a flexible work week, even after employees return to the office.
- Google is adding a COVID-19 vaccine information panel to search.
- Google is piloting a new tool to help cities keep their residents cool by mapping out where trees are needed most.
- Google’s racial equity initiative will provide cash awards to 76 startups.
- Google announced an update to Google Maps that will bring a new COVID-19 layer to the service to help users better understand the number of cases in a given area.
- Google announced that it will only use carbon free energy by 20
- Google is expanding the capabilities of its Assistant to accommodate “schooling from home.”
- Google is launching professional certificate training.
- Google Maps now includes COVID-19 information.
- Google has partnered with a variety of companies and institutions to provide free face shields to clinicians who do not have access to FDA cleared PPE.
- Google is also extending paid parental leave.
- Google pledged $800+ million to support small businesses and crisis response, including seeding the Kirkland Small Business Relief Fund.
- Google is making it easier for businesses and schools to stay connected by offering free access to advanced Hangouts Meet video-conferencing capabilities to all G Suite and G Suite for Education customers globally.
- Google has also set up a fund to offer paid sick leave to contractors and temp workers and committed to scrubbing misinformation from search and YouTube.
- Google and Apple have partnered on COVID-19 contact tracing technology.
- Pledged support to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization.
- Google is offering financial support to local newsrooms hit by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Google has made it free for merchants to sell on Google.
- Greenlist is a tool that empowers companies to start a sustainable office lifestyle.
- Headspace is offering free, one-year subscriptions to people who are unemployed.
- Holler’s CEO, Travis Montaque, outlines how to rewire your corporate culture to promote diversity.
- Instacart will support SNAP and EBT payments
- Instagram now allows users to fundraise for nonprofits while live streaming.
- Instagram is building a product equity team and hiring a director of diversity and inclusion.
- InVision’s Freehand lets you collaborate with a free virtual whiteboard.
- JetBrains launches free learn-to-code academy.
- Kauffman Fellows is diversifying its board.
- Madrona Venture Group has partnered across tech and other industries to develop a toolkit for reopening the office and getting back to work.
- Membrion is creating a spray coating to improve face mask effectiveness
- Microsoft is selling ugly Windows sweaters, and part of the proceeds benefit Girls Who Code
- Microsoft (and others) joined Amazon’s Climate Pledge.
- Microsoft is letting more of its employees to work from home permanently.
- Microsoft shared its latest sustainability initiative.
- Microsoft and Giving Tech Labs launched x4impact, a market intelligence platform for social innovation.
- Microsoft shared details about its strategies for waste reduction.
- Microsoft outlined new steps on their path to be carbon negative by 2030.
- Microsoft plans to provide digital skills training for 25 million people affected by the pandemic.
- Microsoft announced commitments to address racial equity internally.
- Microsoft stopped selling facial recognition software to police.
- Microsoft updated its WFH policy.
- Microsoft launched the CoVIg-19 Plasma Bot, a self-screening tool that anyone can use to see if they qualify to donate their plasma.
- Microsoft is giving workers paid parental leave because of school disruptions.
- Microsoft dedicated $20M of their AI health program to COVID-19 data analysis.
- Microsoft is partnering with Swedish Health Services to build an app that helps hospital staff monitor resources for COVID-19-related care.
- Microsoft and Adaptive Biotechnologies are partnering to map the immune response to COVID-19.
- Microsoft has also mobilized its global supply to chain to secure and distribute medical supplies to healthcare workers.
- Store employees are helping people remotely. The company is also committing $35 million in tech and cloud support to its ongoing aid of nonprofits on the front lines of the COVID-19 fight.
- has contributed to a local rental assistance fund, administered by United Way of King County.
- Funded hundreds of wifi hotspots throughout Washington.
- Milkrun, a farm-to-doorstep delivery startup, is expanding to Seattle.
- Moz Academy is offering free SEO training through May 31.
- Mystery has adapted to social distancing by developing Mystery Night In — a personalized evening from the comfort of home that supports small businesses affected by COVID-19.
- Netflix pledged up to $100 million toward ‘economic opportunity for Black communities’.
- New Tech Northwest compiled a racial justice resource guide.
- Nomad Go is helping physical retailers detect face coverings and social distancing.
- The Pacific Science Center’s in-person summer camps were a huge success!
- Paladin has launched a portal for lawyers to provide pro bono support to people impacted by COVID-19.
- Pinterest shared a preliminary action plan in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.
- Pinterest is upgrading their skin tone search feature to be more inclusive.
- Protocol interviewed Twitter’s Chief Design Officer, Dantley Davis, about building the most diverse team in tech.
- QuakeLab is offering a DIY Inclusion Strategy online self-guided course that starts September 28.
- RealNetworks released a free mask check app.
- Reddit moved to work-from-anywhere
- Ridwell is using its infrastructure to collect and distribute supplies to vulnerable populations.
- Salesforce
- Salesforce launched a $100M impact fund.
- Salesforce is giving employees Election Day off to vote.
- Salesforce will be offering small business grants of $10,000.
- Salesforce is offering a series of new free solutions to help companies stay connected.
- Salesforce has shared a series of videos about injustice and race.
- Silver Lining is a free two-way marketplace purpose-built for individuals who’ve been laid off to be discovered by technology companies that are hiring.
- Slack announced initiatives to increase the number of historically underrepresented individuals in the technology industry.
- Smartsheet created free templates that can be used by other organizations to build their own coronavirus preparedness dashboard.
- SoGal launched a Black founder startup grant.
- Solius is investigating whether there is a link between vitamin D deficiency and the ability to fight of COVID-19 infection.
- Spotify’s Creative Director, Oriel Davis-Lyons, launched ONE School — an intensive portfolio program designed for Black creatives.
- The SnapBar launched Keep Your City Smiling — gift boxes that support local businesses while spreading joy.
- Starbucks has contributed to a local rental assistance fund, administered by United Way of King County.
- sea.citi, Tableau, Google, Amazon, and other tech companies joined forces to support digital equity in Seattle Public Schools.
- Tableau has launched a free resource page that includes relevant data visualizations about the spread of COVID-19 and the public health response.
- Tableau announced nearly $2M in grants aimed at providing educational opportunities for students of color across Seattle and King County. Including support for sea.citi’s very own Family Tech Support Center — Thank you, Tableau!
- Tableau will spend $10 million over the next three years to help nonprofits and governments address racial inequity using data.
- Seattle’s Human Services Department used Tableau’s software to build an online map of available food resources for people in need.
- TechCrunch has rolling updates on the situation in Beirut, including ways to help and how the burgeoning startup scene is faring.
- TechCrunch published A Beginner’s Guide to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
- TechCrunch released its 2019 Include Report.
- The Recovery Village is offering teletherapy for addiction and mental health.
- TikTok launched Donation Stickers, allowing creators to fundraise for coronavirus relief efforts.
- Till raised $8M to try to prevent evictions.
- T-Mobile
- T-Mobile launched a $10.7 billion initiative to help connect millions of underserved student households to the internet at no cost.
- T-Mobile will provide free wireless service to first responder agencies for 10 years.
- T-Mobile launched its lowest-priced smartphone plan to help people stay connected.
- T-Mobile will give up to $500,000 to Feeding America and $100,000 to the Seattle Foundation’s COVID-19 Respond Fund. They will also match employee donations to these efforts 2:1.
- Twilio is offering a 6-month software engineering apprenticeship program for underrepresented persons.
- Twitch suspended President Trump’s channel, citing ‘hateful conduct.’
- Twitter is adding warnings to misleading COVID-19 information. The company also announced employees may work from home forever.
- Pacific Science Center is providing free, online educational resources
- PhishCloud is offering a year of free service to prevent phishing scams.
- Uber community support:
- Uber and Lyft will offer discounted rides to polling places on Election Day.
- Uber will require selfie verification of masks to protect drivers.
- Uber announced corporate employees can WFH until June 2021.
- Work Hub to help drivers find work in other areas.
- Uber’s JUMP Bikes is offering free rides to essential workers.
- Uber is providing 10 million free rides and food deliveries to healthcare workers, seniors, and people in need.
- Uber has updated their list of responses to the crisis.
- Uber is rolling out a series of changes to its ride-hailing and on-demand food delivery apps.
- Unity Learn is offering three months of complimentary access to Unity Learn Premium.
- Verizon launched Seattle Tech Future
- Verizon has expanded its relief efforts by:
- made a $100K grant to Solid Ground’s Technology Access & Digital Literacy programming.
- expanded their education initiatives to provide distance learning resources.
- Donating up to $5 million to support businesses impacted by COVID-19;
- Donating $9 million to various relief organizations, including the American Red Cross, and matching employee donations 2:1;
- Donating $5 million to No Kid Hungry;
- Offering enhanced pay for essential on-site employees;
- Implementing a variety of utility relief programs; and
- Making premium education programming available over its wireless and wireline services.
- Partnering with The New York Times Company are giving 14 Million high school students and teachers free access to NYTimes.com.
- Pledged support to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization.
- VidaNyx offers grants to child advocacy centers to implement its software that facilitates secure collaboration and digital workflows.
- Vulcan pledged $100,000 to the COVID-19 Response Fund for the Chinatown-International District, where they have their HQ, and $25,000 to match employee gifts to the Seattle Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund.
- Women Who Tech launched the COVID-19 Tech Grant, it’s designed to fund women-led ventures focused on solutions related to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
- WTIA launched an Anti-racism in Tech Pact
- YouTeam has assembled a team of volunteer developers to help businesses fighting coronavirus.
- Zillow makes a big WFH shift.
- Zillow earned the Puget Sound Business Journal’s 2020 Corporate Champion Award.
- Zillow launched a nationwide voter registration resource for renters and will offer employees up to eight hours off from work with pay to cast a ballot and/or serve as a poll worker.
- Zoom is making it easier to keep a sign language interpreter on-screen.
- Local women leaders of color in tech are filling a gap in the fight against food insecurity during the pandemic.
- Several venture firms are outlining concrete ways to support Black founders and investors.
- Local tech volunteers launch database for COVID-19 test centers across U.S.
- Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon and Twitter — will likely be among the last large employers to reopen their offices.
- A number of innovative companies are working on alternatives to single-use plastic, despite the pandemic’s temporary roll back of policies intended to shift away from plastic.
- Entrepreneurs and corporate leaders unite in support of Black-owned businesses.