Accolade
Facts
- HQ
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Sectors
- Health benefits, Healthcare delivery, Healthcare navigation, Advocacy services, Health tech
- Stage
- Public
Asic Demberel leaves Amazon for CTO role at Scala; Flyhomes hires Moynihan, Nirmal, Tieu; Heinz Marketing names Jenn Steele COO
Several Pacific Northwest companies announced leadership moves: Asic Demberel left Amazon after 15 years to become CTO of Scala, Flyhomes added three senior hires (Tyler Moynihan, Nihit Nirmal, Wendy Tieu), and Heinz Marketing appointed Jenn Steele as COO and president.
Steve Thompson launches StickyHealth on Sept. 1, 2026 to boost GLP-1 patient retention using LTV+ and Miri AI
Steve Thompson launched StickyHealth, a retention-focused support and intervention platform for GLP-1 and wellness companies that combines LTV+ analytics with Miri AI to support patients after prescription and identify churn risk earlier. The platform aims to improve patient retention and lifetime value by capturing behavioral signals and enabling timely interventions during the post-prescription period.
Ardie Sameti - Co-Founder and CEO of Scala
Ardie Sameti is the Co-Founder and CEO of Scala. Ardie is part of a new generation of Northwest leaders rethinking how AI can solve one of the biggest challenges in enterprise operations—the ability to act on customer data in real time. Scala is building an AI platform that unifies enterprise data and turns it into actionable intelligence, helping leaders see what's happening across their operations, respond faster, and empower their teams to perform at their best. Before co-founding Scala, Ardie spent nearly a decade at Accolade leading AI and Platform initiatives inside high-volume healthcare operations. Ardie and his wife Ali…
Seattle Startups Like Aspir and Decipher Healthcare Use AI to Transform Education and Healthcare in 2025
Seattle startups are deploying AI across diverse fields including education, healthcare, and cloud operations, with ventures like Aspir helping students launch startups and Decipher Healthcare assisting employees in navigating health insurance. These early-stage companies aim to enhance efficiency and data management through intelligent systems.
Raj Singh, Concur Co-Founder, Named CEO of Smartsheet to Drive Growth with AI in Enterprise Software
Rajeev 'Raj' Singh, co-founder of Concur and former CEO of Accolade, has been named CEO of Smartsheet as the company looks to leverage its strong foundation and $1 billion revenue base to grow with AI innovations. Singh aims to capitalize on Smartsheet's established enterprise presence and significant opportunity to reshape work management software amid evolving industry dynamics.
Concur Co-Founders Back SCALA.AI to Revolutionize Customer Experience with AI Across Healthcare, Finance, and Retail
Seattle startup SCALA.AI, backed by Concur co-founders Raj Singh and Mike Hilton, is developing AI-driven customer experience solutions for sectors like healthcare, finance, and retail. Led by CEO Ardie Sameti, SCALA.AI aims to offer advanced, vertically tailored AI platforms beyond basic automation.
Generative AI Poised to Boost Healthcare Efficiency but Slow Adoption and Sales Cycles Challenge Startups, Says Frazier’s Nader Naini
Generative AI and automation offer efficiency opportunities in the $4.5 trillion healthcare sector, but startups face challenges due to slow technology adoption and lengthy sales cycles. Venture funding in digital health exceeded $10 billion last year, with strong activity in Seattle-area startups and increased M&A.
Former Salesforce Exec Tony Alika Owens Named CEO of $1B-Valued Customer Data Startup Amperity
Tony Alika Owens, a former Salesforce executive, was appointed CEO of Seattle-based customer data platform startup Amperity, which reached a $1 billion valuation in 2021. Owens plans to expand Amperity's AI-driven product offerings and target more technical users and smaller customers.
Former Amazon Exec Dave Clark Launches $100M Startup Auger; UW’s David Baker Wins Nobel, Microsoft Rebrands 343 Industries to Halo Studios
The week of Oct. 6, 2024, featured top stories including former Amazon exec Dave Clark launching a $100M supply-chain startup Auger, AWS VP of AI Matt Wood departing after 15 years, and University of Washington’s David Baker winning a Nobel Prize for protein design. Microsoft also announced rebranding of 343 Industries to Halo Studios with a new direction for the Halo franchise.
Amperity cuts 13 roles (3% of staff) amid reorganization while planning continued hires and investments
Seattle customer-intelligence startup Amperity laid off 13 employees (about 3% of its 375-person workforce), primarily from its talent acquisition team, while saying it will continue hiring and invest in growth. CEO Barry Padgett attributed the cuts to organizational alignment with strategic growth plans; the company became a unicorn in July 2021 after a $100 million raise and values at $1 billion.
Britt Provost leaves Accolade to become Siteimprove’s first CHRO; Membrion adds Joe Zuback to advisory board
Seattle HR executive Britt Provost left Accolade to become Siteimprove's first chief human resources officer, remaining based in Seattle; Membrion added Joe Zuback to its advisory board and Seattle search firm Herd Freed Hartz promoted three partners.
Former Amperity CEO Kabir Shahani Resigned From CEO Role and Board Last Week, Says He Left Voluntarily
Kabir Shahani unexpectedly resigned as CEO of Seattle marketing tech startup Amperity last week and has also left the company’s board; he told GeekWire he left voluntarily for personal reasons while Amperity executives have not publicly commented.
Amperity CEO and co-founder Kabir Shahani steps down; Barry Padgett named CEO as company scales after $100M round
Amperity CEO and co-founder Kabir Shahani has relinquished the CEO title seven months after the company raised $100 million and reached unicorn status; president and COO Barry Padgett becomes CEO and Monica Pool Knox is named chief people officer. The company called 2021 a record year, offered no explanation for Shahani's departure, and said it will focus on scaling its customer-data software business.
Madrona Venture Group raises $120M Fund VII Extension to support 10–12 portfolio companies from its 2018 $300M fund
Madrona Venture Group has raised a $120 million Fund VII Extension Fund from prior investors to provide follow-on capital for 10–12 companies from its 2018 $300 million Fund VII, responding to larger, faster rounds in today’s frothy venture market.
Rajeev Singh
Rajeev Singh is CEO of Accolade, the Seattle-based company providing millions of people and their families with an exceptional healthcare experience that is personal, data driven and value-based, so that they can live their healthiest lives. Last month was Rajeev’s sixth anniversary at Accolade – congratulations! Prior to joining Accolade, he co-founded Concur, the global leader in travel and expense management, in 1993. Concur went public (Nasdaq: CNQR) in 1998, and grew to more than $800mm in revenue, over 4,000 employees, and more than 25,000 customers before being acquired by SAP AG for $8.3 billion in 2014. Rajeev’s desire to…
Xealth, a Providence Spinout, Raises $24M to Expand Digital Health Platform and Workforce
Seattle-based Xealth, a Providence spinout that helps more than 20 hospital systems prescribe and monitor digital health tools, raised $24 million in new funding to expand its platform and double its 55-person workforce. The company integrates with major electronic health records, licenses its platform to hospital systems, and has onboarded services from over 50 digital health vendors.
Amperity raises $100M Series D, becomes Seattle’s newest unicorn with $187M total funding
Seattle-based marketing startup Amperity raised $100 million in a Series D round, valuing it above $1 billion and bringing its total funding to $187 million. The company’s customer data platform helps brands like Alaska Airlines, Kroger and Starbucks unify fragmented first-party customer data to improve targeted marketing amid cookie restrictions and rising digital adoption.
Creative Destruction Lab to launch nine-month, equity-free Seattle accelerator with Microsoft and UW for 20–25 computational health startups this November
Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) is launching a Seattle hub this November at the University of Washington to run a nine-month, equity-free accelerator for 20–25 computational health startups in partnership with Microsoft and UW’s business, engineering, and computer science schools; UW students can shadow the program. The program is funded by founding members, enforces objective milestones with the possibility of booting nonperforming companies, and stems from UW’s Innovation Roundtable efforts led by Emer Dooley and others.
GeekWire Awards finalists highlighted as voting closes; virtual winners announced May 20
GeekWire's annual Awards event will be held virtually on May 20 after nearly 200 community nominations and over 6,000 reader votes; finalists are being highlighted for their rising positions on the GeekWire 200 ranking of Pacific Northwest private tech companies. Several finalists have 'exited' the ranking through IPOs or acquisitions, including Auth0, Accolade, Rover, and Sana Biotechnology, while others are not yet ranked.
Accolade to buy PlushCare for up to $450M, adding virtual primary care and expanding TAM to $200B+
Accolade will acquire virtual primary care startup PlushCare for up to $450 million, adding primary care to its benefits platform and expanding its addressable market to over $200 billion. PlushCare, founded in 2015, has served 400,000 patients, posted $35 million revenue last year, and will continue its direct-to-consumer business under Accolade.
GeekWire Opens Voting for 13th Annual Awards; Deal of the Year Finalists Include $6.5B Auth0 Acquisition and Multi‑Hundred‑Million Funding Rounds
GeekWire has opened community voting for its 13th annual GeekWire Awards, highlighting Deal of the Year finalists across Fundings and IPOs/Acquisitions from Pacific Northwest tech companies. Voting runs through April 30, winners announced May 20 at the virtual awards presented by Wave Business.
Sana Biotechnology Raises $587.5M in IPO, Debuts on Nasdaq as SANA with $6B Market Value
Sana Biotechnology raised $587.5 million by pricing 23.5 million shares at $25 in its IPO and began trading on Nasdaq under ticker SANA, with shares jumping about 40% on debut to close at $35.10. The 3-year-old Seattle gene-editing company, pre-revenue and led by former Juno executives, aims to use the proceeds to advance gene and cell therapies—including cancer treatments—and may file drug applications as early as 2022.
Amperity Adds Ciara to Board to Lead Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Initiatives
Seattle-based customer data platform Amperity appointed Grammy-winning singer and entrepreneur Ciara to its board to lead corporate social responsibility efforts and advise on community initiatives.
Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson Joins Board of Seattle Customer-Data Startup Amperity
Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson is joining the board of Seattle customer-data startup Amperity, which provides software to connect disparate customer data for targeted marketing and counts clients like Alaska Airlines, Patagonia and Kroger; Starbucks was an early adopter of Amperity.
GeekWire 200 CEO Survey: Most Seattle-Area Startups Report Little or No Pandemic Impact and Plan Hiring
A GeekWire 200 CEO survey of nearly 50 Pacific Northwest startup leaders found most report little or no negative impact from the pandemic, many plan to hire, and significant optimism about the regional economy over the next 18 months.
