This week: A study commissioned by the City of Seattle warns that the city is not in decline but is in danger, finding that 10 companies, nine of them in tech, pay three-quarters of the payroll tax on large employers, and that the tax structure uniquely penalizes the hiring of senior, high-compensation workers.

The report says Seattle should be most concerned about AI but most active in cleantech, the one industry the city can actually shape, since it owns the electric utility and controls permitting, building codes and land use.

Meanwhile, the Seattle Times and Newsday sue Microsoft and OpenAI, accusing them of copying hundreds of thousands of articles to train their AI models, putting Microsoft's hometown paper against a company that helps fund some of its journalism.

And Apple's first foldable arrives as the iPhone Duo, reviving the name of the dual-screen phone Microsoft gave up on in 2023, with Surface fans arguing Apple took more than the name.

Which leads us to a new GeekWire Trivia Challenge on the Microsoft products that Apple later turned into categories.

Upcoming Event: GeekWire, in partnership with Real Estate at Work, is recording the GeekWire Podcast live at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, with Toby Roberts, SVP of Engineering at Zillow. Grab a ticket. 

With John Cook and Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton. Music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell. 

 

This week:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/seattle-economic-study-finds-strong-tech-assets-a-risky-concentration-and-a-tax-that-penalizes-hiring/">A study commissioned by the City of Seattle</a> warns that the city is not in decline but is in danger, finding that 10 companies, nine of them in tech, pay three-quarters of the payroll tax on large employers, and that the tax structure uniquely penalizes the hiring of senior, high-compensation workers.
<a href="https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/economicDevelopment/SeawallBuildingaResilientSeattleEconomy2026.pdf">The report</a> says Seattle should be most concerned about AI but most active in cleantech, the one industry the city can actually shape, since it owns the electric utility and controls permitting, building codes and land use.
Meanwhile, the Seattle Times and Newsday <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2026/seattle-times-sues-microsoft-and-openai-alleging-they-trained-their-ai-on-its-journalism/">sue Microsoft and OpenAI</a>, accusing them of copying hundreds of thousands of articles to train their AI models, putting Microsoft's hometown paper against a company that helps fund some of its journalism.
And Apple's first foldable <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/09/apple-unveils-its-first-foldable-the-iphone-duo/">arrives as the iPhone Duo</a>, reviving the name of the dual-screen phone Microsoft gave up on in 2023, with Surface fans arguing Apple <a href="https://www.windowscentral.com/hardware/surface/its-more-than-just-the-name-turns-out-iphone-duo-stole-surface-duos-biggest-selling-point-and-apple-is-right-to-copy-it">took more than the name</a>.
Which leads us to a new GeekWire Trivia Challenge on the Microsoft products that Apple later turned into categories.
Upcoming Event: GeekWire, in partnership with Real Estate at Work, is recording the GeekWire Podcast live at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, with Toby Roberts, SVP of Engineering at Zillow. <a href="https://luma.com/45xf4ukv">Grab a ticket</a>.&nbsp;
With John Cook and Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton. Music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.&nbsp;
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GeekWire brings you the week's latest technology news, trends and insights, covering the world of technology from our home base in Seattle. Our regular news podcast features commentary and analysis from our editors and reporters, plus interviews with special guests.

GeekWire reporters John Cook, Todd Bishop and guests talk about the latest tech news and trends.