Jimothy, the short-spined Seattle raccoon, has become a global sensation whose likeness has been immortalized in artwork, clothing, songs and tattoos — and now a video game created in the creature’s hometown.

Tech enthusiast and entrepreneur Chris Pirillo launched an 8-bit NES-style video game called “Jimothy” this weekend in which players can control the movements of the critter as he raids trash cans, crosses streets to the park, sneaks past the paparazzi, and climbs to the safety of a big tree.

Pirillo says the missions are pulled straight from Jimothy’s real life. No doubt the animal is busy these days trying to dodge curious onlookers who are hoping to capture the next photo or video that feeds the masses on social media.

The viral Jimothy sensation took off last week when Kiana Hall spotted the raccoon in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood and posted a video on Instagram — viewed by millions since — asking the question heard around the world: “What am I looking at?”

An earlier video of Jimothy, captured by a home security camera and posted on Reddit, ignited further curiosity and adoration, and now Reddit is flooded with sightings, memes, artwork, food, crafts, poetry and more. The Mariners put a Jimothy mascot in the Salmon Run. There’s even a Lego Jimothy.

Pirillo told GeekWire the game idea came to him on Saturday afternoon after seeing so many creatives flood his feeds with their own Jimothy fan art. He started to build a not-so-live tracker and realized it was a not-so-great idea. He hopes internet creativity is enough of a fix for the Jimothy-curious.

“This game is as close as any of us should ever get to him,” the game site states. “If you find yourself in his neighborhood: don’t go looking for him, don’t feed him, don’t try to touch him, and don’t crowd him for a photo.”

The game is easy enough to play, with challenges that are reminiscent of classic 1980s games “Frogger” and “Donkey Kong.”

Pirillo’s “Vibe Arcade” is loaded with other games he’s created. Earlier this year he vibe-coded a Resume Analyzer app and a pre-rejection letter generator called Dear Applicant to channel his frustrations with searching for a job.

Pirillo credits AI with changing the speed and ease with which a moment can go viral and be captured in new and creative ways.

“I remember when every big moment had a video game. But by the time a studio could create a video game around a meme pre-AI, the meme’s energy would have dissipated,” he said. “We are now at a day and age (certainly with AI as a tool) where almost literally anybody of any age or tech experience level can bring full-fledged experiences to life in just a few hours. We can simply talk our solutions into existence. It’s astounding.”

Pirillo built the game as a single HTML page, pitting OpenAI GPT 5.6 against Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5. One of the bigger challenges was getting the look of Jimothy right, as multiple AI models kept returning regular-looking raccoons.

Pirillo said he looks forward to sharing more about it all during a free vibe-coding community workshop in Seattle this Saturday.

His final takeaway for anyone looking to get in on the Jimothy hype — or whatever creature emerges next — is to not wait for the moment to pass.

“While it’s never been easier to make something, it’s also never been more challenging to get attention,” he said.

Seattle helped create the modern smartphone era. Now, nearly 40 people in the heart of one of the world’s biggest technology hubs are voluntarily putting theirs away.

The inaugural Month Offline Seattle cohort challenges participants to swap their smartphones for flip phones — or other “dumb phones” — for 35 days, gathering weekly for what organizers describe as part happy hour, part support group.

What started as a niche experiment in Washington, D.C. and Brooklyn has found an enthusiastic audience in Seattle, where organizers expected 10 to 20 participants but have already attracted the largest cohort outside those two cities.

Weekly programs are scheduled during the month-long detox from July 28 to Sept. 1, with activities on Tuesday evenings like bocce ball, bowling and mini golf slated to connect people in real time. There are also themed programs during the week, starting in week one with orientation and goal setting, and followed by topics such as “communication and relationships,” and “attention and boredom.” You can register here.

For a region like Seattle that’s home to Microsoft, Amazon, T-Mobile and a booming AI industry, the idea might sound almost rebellious. But organizers say the goal isn’t to reject technology — it’s to rethink how much of our lives should revolve around our smartphones.

James Wagar, a former investment banker and self-described techno-optimist who has carried a flip phone alongside his smartphone for years, teamed up with therapist and coach Maggie Hollinbeck, who describes herself as a techno-skeptic, to get the Seattle cohort launched. Together, they’re leading the gatherings, serving as the guides to those ready to take a break from their always-connected lifestyles.

“We (finally) seem to be at the beginning of a cultural moment with more people seriously evaluating their relationships with technology,” Wagar tells GeekWire. “Those using flip phones and simpler devices may be the canaries in the coal mine. While I remain a techno-optimist, the attention economy is not sustainable.”

Hollinbeck said she remembers when smartphones felt like a convenience — a way to replace multiple devices with one. But over time, she felt that same “rectangle of glass” had become harder to put down, prompting her to rethink her relationship with technology. She’s already ditched her Facebook and Instagram accounts, and was ready for the next step.

“I’m here to reclaim my time and attention, and I’m doing it in this way because I’ve found that it’s actually pretty hard to disentangle myself from this pocket-sized dementor,” said Hollinbeck. “It’s gonna take a village, so we’re building one.”

The concept has been spreading nationally through the Month Offline movement, but Seattle’s response has surprised the organizers. Most participants found the group not through social media, but through flyers, word of mouth, and conversations at neighborhood pubs during the FIFA World Cup.

Cohort members can use their own flip phone or purchase one at a discounted price of $10, and a commitment to subscribe for four months of discounted wireless service from dumb.co. That’s a total commitment of $42.

Denver, Austin, Los Angeles and Philadelphia also are jumping on the “Month Offline” bandwagon — which is kind of best described as a dry January for the tech obsessed. The organization says it is united by a common mission — “our commitment to attention liberation.”

Wagar and Hollinbeck are also encouraging a GeekWire reporter to join the movement.

So far, no takers.

Note: I actually tried a digital detox for one day back in 2013. Not sure I am ready for 35 days, 13 years later.

On this week’s show, we’re on the GeekWire deck for our annual founder open house, where we dig into Microsoft’s latest round of layoffs — including a major Xbox shakeup — and the surprising rise of hardware companies on the GeekWire 200.

Then we sit down with four guests to talk about how AI is reshaping how they build: 

• Jana Schuster of StackIQ, whose AI-native platform helps companies find redundancy in their software spending — like Rocket Money, but for business — with a small team.
• Blake Resnick and David Benowitz of Brinc Drones, whose mechanical engineers are now vibe coding their own prototypes;
• Boaz Ashkenazy of Shift AI, who’s setting up always-on agents and rethinking how we interact with AI tools.

Finally, this week’s GeekWire Trivia Challenge: how a longtime T-Mobile executive got his start in the wireless business, and the star-studded history of T-Mobile celebrity endorsers.

Stories mentioned:

• Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs, about 2% globally, revamps salesforce and launches massive Xbox overhaul
• GeekWire 200 update: New unicorns and a hardware surge remake our list of top Pacific NW startups
• Former GitHub CEO’s startup Entire unveils its answer to the crush of AI coding agents
• Chicago software company plants flag in Seattle area as new leadership team seeks AI talent
• T-Mobile exec Mike Katz exits after 28 years, as carrier reshuffles top ranks and taps ex-AT&T leader

Audio editing by Curt Milton.

Echodyne, the Seattle-area radar-platform company, cut the ribbon Wednesday on a new $40 million manufacturing facility designed to meet growing demand for its drone-detection and airspace-monitoring systems.

Headquartered in Kirkland, Wash., Echodyne is opening an 86,350-square-foot manufacturing and operations hub in nearby Woodinville, Wash., that it says will eventually be able to produce more than 2,500 radars each month — or roughly 30,000 radars annually.

Echodyne says the expansion is fueled by U.S. and global demand for safety and security radars that can detect and track drones, driven in part by their proliferation on the battlefield in the Russia-Ukraine War and the fast-growing “low altitude economy” of commercial drone operations that require airspace monitoring.

Echodyne currently employs 260 people, and the new facility will support more than 100 new jobs and up to 200 as the facility reaches full production capacity, according to the company.

“Our global customer base is demanding more radar to be delivered as fast as possible,” CEO Eben Frankenberg said in a news release, adding that the proliferation of drones requires reliable, at-scale production. “The only way to defend against mass is with mass.”

Echodyne was spun out of Bellevue-based Intellectual Ventures in 2014 and has drawn backing from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, along with NEA, Madrona Venture Group, Baillie Gifford and Northrop Grumman, among others. The company raised $135 million in a 2022 investment round and total funding is $200 million.

The company’s radar systems rely on patented “metamaterials” technology — a flat-panel antenna that can electronically steer its beam without any moving parts — which Echodyne says allows for smaller, cheaper radar than conventional designs.

Echodyne originally focused on using compact radar to help drones detect and avoid obstacles in flight, before pivoting toward counter-drone security as demand grew for systems that could track other drones — including cheap, mass-produced ones deployed on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Echodyne’s radar technology is integrated into systems from Anduril, Axon, Moog and Northrop Grumman, among other defense companies, the company said. Most recently, Echodyne was selected as the primary radar provider for Trust Automation’s drone-detection platform, which is being delivered to the U.S. Air Force under a $490 million contract.

Wednesday’s ribbon cutting was attended by Sen. Maria Cantwell, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, Woodinville Mayor Sarah Arndt, and Michael Robbins, president and CEO of AUVSI, the trade association for the uncrewed systems, autonomy, and robotics industry.

The new hub allocates approximately 74,350 square feet to manufacturing space and 12,000 square feet to warehousing.