Facts
- HQ
- December
- Sectors
- Software, Creative tools, Document management, AI
- Founded
- 1982
- Employees
- 25000
- Stage
- Public
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Highspot raises $248M Series F at $3.5B valuation as remote-selling demand surges
Seattle-based sales enablement startup Highspot raised $248 million in a Series F at a $3.5 billion valuation, driven by increased demand for remote-selling tools as the pandemic shifted sales work online.
Outreach acquires Indianapolis revenue-intelligence startup Canopy to launch Outreach Commit; Canopy’s nine employees join
Seattle sales automation company Outreach acquired Indianapolis revenue-intelligence startup Canopy and will use the team and technology to launch a new forecasting product called Outreach Commit; terms were not disclosed and Canopy’s nine employees will join Outreach.
Shutterstock buys PicMonkey for $110M, adds 200,000 subscribers and ~3% of annual revenue
Shutterstock acquired Seattle-based PicMonkey for $110 million in cash, adding about 200,000 subscribers and an estimated 3% boost to annual revenue. PicMonkey, founded in 2012 with roughly 50 employees and $41 million raised previously, will continue its product while integrating Shutterstock stock photography.
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.
Videon raises $7.3M Series A led by Voyager Capital, hires Rob Green as Seattle-based CEO and opens co-HQ
Videon raised $7.3 million in a Series A led by Seattle-based Voyager Capital, hired Seattle-based tech veteran Rob Green as CEO, and will shift part of its operations from State College, Pennsylvania to open a co-headquarters in Seattle. The 44-employee company provides edge video compute hardware and ultra-low-latency live-streaming solutions used across 19+ countries and plans to expand leadership, engineering, marketing, and sales with the new funding.
Dave Rigotti (Inflection CEO & Co-Founder) on the path from marketer to founder, managing energy, and asking the right questions
After starting his career at Microsoft, Dave was the first marketer at Bizible. As the company grew, Dave scaled to VP and then took on marketing leadership roles at Marketo and Adobe via acquisitions. He's now founder and CEO at Inflection - a new stealth marketing tech startup. Dave operates with a small-town Ohio style and says he cares more about the process than the destination. He talked about managing energy, growing from contributor to manager to executive, and learning through customer development.
Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter Joins Tanium Board as Startup Eyes Growth After $150M Round; Other C-Suite Moves Reported
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has joined the board of cybersecurity startup Tanium, which recently raised $150 million and reported over $430 million revenue in 2019; the article also reports executive moves at SheerID, Boeing and Teal Communications.
Former Microsoft Azure distinguished engineer Kushagra Vaid joins Eclipse Ventures as partner; Mary Shea named Outreach’s first evangelist
Multiple Pacific Northwest tech moves: former Microsoft Azure distinguished engineer Kushagra Vaid joined Eclipse Ventures as a partner and is advising Cyemptive Technologies; Athira Pharma appointed Barbara Kosacz to its board; Outreach hired former Forrester analyst Mary Shea as its first evangelist; and Microsoft Vancouver GM Edoardo De Martin left to become CTO at CubicFarm Systems.
Ralph de la Vega, ex‑AT&T vice chairman, joins Outreach board as startup hits $1.33B valuation; Flyhomes names two VPs
Former AT&T vice chairman Ralph de la Vega joined Seattle sales engagement startup Outreach's board after meeting CEO Manny Medina; Outreach is a $1.33B-valued unicorn that raised $50M in June and employs about 700. Seattle real-estate startup Flyhomes also appointed two VPs: Adam Hopson (growth and strategy) and Rehan Mohammad (finance and business operations).
Zillow VP Racquel Russell joins Bird’s board; Rebecca Lovell named CEO of Denali Financial Consulting
Zillow VP of Partner Success Racquel Russell joined Bird’s board, bringing public policy experience and city transportation insight, while Rebecca Lovell was named CEO of Denali Financial Consulting after leaving Create33. The piece also notes Nagraj Kashyap left Microsoft’s M12 to join SoftBank’s Vision Fund and Sen. Maria Cantwell became chair of the Senate Commerce Committee.
Seattle Startup Brightloom Raises $15M Led by Ex-Starbucks Digital Chief Adam Brotman to Personalize Customer Marketing
Seattle startup Brightloom, led by ex-Starbucks digital chief Adam Brotman, raised $15 million to help companies use customer data for personalized marketing campaigns. The company evolved from restaurant automation startup Eatsa and targets smaller brands lacking advanced marketing resources.
Usermind raises $14M led by WestRiver Group as pandemic-driven digital demand boosts Seattle startup
Seattle marketing startup Usermind raised $14 million in a funding round led by WestRiver Group as demand for digital customer-experience software surged during the pandemic; total funding is $60 million and headcount has recovered to just over 50 employees.
Brightly founders Laura Alexander Wittig and Liza Moiseeva raise $1M to scale eco-focused content, community and e-commerce
Seattle startup Brightly, founded by Laura Alexander Wittig and Liza Moiseeva, raised $1 million to expand its eco-focused content, community and upcoming e-commerce platform after growing from a popular 2019 podcast into a social-media-driven brand reaching over 250,000 women daily. The founders leveraged accelerators (Snapchat Yellow, Female Founders Alliance), a 10,000+ ambassador program, and brand partnerships to monetize recommendations and will expand the five-person team later this year.
Syndio raises $17.1M led by Bessemer to expand PayEQ pay‑equity analytics after surge in 2020 demand
Seattle-based Syndio raised $17.1 million in a new funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners to accelerate development of its PayEQ pay‑equity analytics software amid rising demand in 2020. The company says PayEQ is used by more than 100 firms across 2.3 million employees and that ARR nearly tripled during 2020.
Outreach CMO Margaret Arakawa departs; FlyHomes CMO Ryan Steingard joins Persona; Brian Goldfarb named Amperity CMO
Several Seattle-area marketing executives have changed roles: Margaret Arakawa left Outreach as CMO to pursue a new venture, FlyHomes CMO Ryan Steingard moved to chief growth officer at Persona, and Brian Goldfarb joined Amperity as CMO. Outreach recently raised $50 million in a Series F at a $1.33 billion valuation and serves over 4,000 companies.
Voodle raises $6M from Madrona and Vulcan to sell TikTok-style workplace video for remote teams
Seattle startup Voodle raised $6 million in a round led by Madrona Venture Group and Vulcan Capital to offer a TikTok-like, bite-sized video communication app for workplaces aimed at reducing Zoom fatigue and Slack overload. The app — launched earlier in 2020 by former Pixvana execs and available on iOS, Android and web — includes searchable clips with transcriptions and integrations with workplace tools.
GeekWire Podcast: Salesforce to buy Slack for $27.7B; AWS surprises at re:Invent; Tanium (valued $9B, $430M revenue) moves HQ to Seattle
GeekWire Podcast discusses Salesforce’s $27.7 billion acquisition of Slack, surprising announcements from AWS at re:Invent, and cybersecurity firm Tanium relocating its headquarters to the Seattle region with $9 billion valuation and $430M revenue, with commentary from Madrona’s Matt McIlwain on regional and cloud/enterprise implications.
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.
Amazon names Anne Toth director of Alexa Trust; Zillow adds Claire Cormier Thielke to board; Lockstep exits stealth
Amazon hired Anne Toth as director of Alexa Trust to lead privacy, security, accessibility and ethics efforts for Alexa; Zillow added Claire Cormier Thielke to its board and Lockstep, a Seattle accounting-software startup founded in 2019, emerged from stealth with a founding team drawn from Avalara, Globys, e2b Teknologies and Winshuttle.
Voodle launches short-form workplace video app after Pixvana shutdown; Pixvana had raised $20M
Seattle startup Voodle launched a short-form, selfie-style workplace video app—spun out of Pixvana after that company closed—to replace lengthy calls and text updates with searchable, transcribed clips that integrate with apps like Salesforce and HubSpot. Pixvana had raised $20 million before shuttering in late 2019 when CEO Forest Key concluded AR/VR wasn’t yet ready for mainstream business scale.
Aaron Bird (Bizible CEO) inside the acquisition - how Bizible sold to Marketo
Bizible had 8 years of grinding, $20M in funding, and 1000s of customers. Then a successful acquisition by Marketo. 6 months later Marketo gets acquired by Adobe for $4.7B. Aaron Bird, the former Bizible CEO, goes inside the deal process that unfolded over 2 years - the tactics, the big breaks, and the emotions.
Outreach raises $50M Series F led by Sands Capital, valuing Seattle startup at $1.33B
Seattle sales-engagement startup Outreach raised a $50 million Series F led by Sands Capital, bringing its valuation to $1.33 billion and total funding to $289 million while holding more than $100 million in cash. The company says the funding bolsters its position amid COVID-19 as remote selling increases and over 4,000 customers use its platform.
Michael “Luni” Libes launches Fledge in 2012 to fund mission-driven startups; program now in 10 locations with $3M+ invested
Michael “Luni” Libes founded Fledge in 2012 to accelerate mission-driven, for-profit startups with $15,000–$20,000 revenue-based investments and a two-month program; Fledge now operates in 10 locations and has raised and invested over $3 million while Libes also runs nonprofit Realize Impact and helped launch Decarbon8 and Investorflow.org.
Syndio raises $7.5M to expand pay-equity software as CEO warns COVID-19 could widen gaps for women and minorities
Seattle HR-tech startup Syndio raised $7.5 million to expand software that analyzes and corrects pay disparities tied to gender, race, ethnicity, or age; CEO Maria Colacurcio warns COVID-19 risks widening pay gaps for women and minorities. Syndio serves 60+ customers including Nordstrom, Slack, Adobe and plans to grow despite the economic downturn, backed by investors including Emerson Collective and Voyager Capital.
S!NG raises $265,000 debt round to build blockchain audit-trail tool for musicians and photographers
Seattle startup S!NG raised $265,000 in debt to develop blockchain-based software that creates audit trails for sharing song files and photos, aiming to simplify copyright collaboration for musicians and photographers. The founders say the tool provides a middle ground between NDAs and trust and will launch as a consumer SaaS, funded by angel investors in Seattle, Canada and elsewhere.
People
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Anil Chakravarthy Executive, Incoming Chief Executive Officer
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Cindy Stoddard Executive, Senior Vice President and CIO
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Shantanu Narayen Executive, Chair and Chief Executive Officer
