Ada Developers Academy

Ada Developers Academy is a Seattle-based tuition-free software development boot camp focused on women and underrepresented minorities...

Facts

HQ
Seattle
Sectors
Education, Bootcamp, Tech diversity

FoundHer House, San Francisco’s All-Female AI Hacker House Founded by Seattle Natives, Eyes Expansion to Seattle Amid $1.2B Funding Surge for Female-led Startups

FoundHer House, an all-female AI entrepreneur co-living space launched in San Francisco by Seattle natives Miki Safronov-Yamamoto and Anantika Mannby, is gaining attention as a model to support female founders amid the AI boom. With Seattle’s growing female-led startup funding surpassing $1.2 billion in 2024, the city is being considered for expansion of this initiative to help close the tech industry’s gender gap.

Ada Developers Academy Appoints Tina-Marie Gulley as CEO, Shifts to Virtual AI-Focused Programs Amid Tech Hiring Slowdown

Ada Developers Academy, a tuition-free tech boot camp for underrepresented groups, faced challenges due to the pandemic and tech hiring slowdowns, leading to staff reductions and paused admissions. Under new CEO Tina-Marie Gulley, the nonprofit shifted to virtual instruction, emphasized AI, and continued expanding its programming to serve more diverse students nationwide.

Ada Developers Academy Cuts 45% of Staff Amid Tech Hiring Slowdown, Slows Expansion Despite $10M Grant

Ada Developers Academy laid off 45% of its staff, about 34 employees, due to a tech industry hiring slowdown and fewer internship opportunities for students, impacting its mission to diversify tech. The Seattle-based nonprofit also plans to reduce student enrollment and halt expansion efforts initially funded by a $10 million grant from the Equality Can’t Wait challenge.

Melinda French Gates positions Pivotal Ventures to expand women- and family-focused VC and philanthropy after divorce

Melinda French Gates founded Pivotal Ventures in January 2015 as a vehicle to pursue initiatives outside the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and following her divorce from Bill Gates she is poised to expand Pivotal’s influence on empowering women and families. Observers say her resources and focus could shift venture capital dynamics for female founders and have “transformational potential.”

Advancing Women in Product partners with Madrona Venture Group to expand female founder training and access to capital

Advancing Women in Product (AWIP), a nonprofit with over 16,000 members, is partnering with Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group and Madrona Venture Labs to expand training, mentoring, networking and help women launch startups, join boards and secure VC. AWIP founder and CEO Nancy Wang and Madrona managing director Hope Cochran say the collaboration aims to increase female leadership and diversify Madrona's portfolio across its roughly 80 companies.

Seattle startup Weekdays connects families and instructors to form 2–8 child microschools as remote K–12 returns

As many K–12 districts return to remote learning, parents are turning to microschools or "pandemic pods"—small, pooled groups of children supervised by caregivers or teachers—to handle the hands-on demands of young students' online schooling. Seattle startup Weekdays builds a platform to connect families and instructors for microschools, offering options like outdoor education for groups of 2–8 children while states such as Washington urge remote learning.

People

Online