Ai2
Facts
- HQ
- Seattle, Washington, USA
- Sectors
- Non-profit Organizations
- Founded
- 2014
- Employees
- 318
Ascend series: Seattle’s ‘Third Act’ — physical AI startups on Lake Union signal a shift toward software-enabled hardware
The piece reports from Lake Union to argue Seattle is entering a third industrial era—'physical AI'—where hardware-enabled intelligent machines mix with legacy maritime and aerospace industries, exemplified by startups like Overland, Anduril, Brinc, and Endurance Energy. The authors say Seattle has the talent, infrastructure, and institutions to lead but needs more risk-taking, investor capital for hardware, and pro-innovation policy to fully capitalize on this shift.
Redefining Communication: Yoodli Founders on AI Roleplays, Confidence & Building in Seattle
In this episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Venture Partner Patrick Ennis sits down with Varun Puri and Esha Joshi, co-founders of Yoodli, an AI-powered communications coach helping people become more confident speakers. Varun and Esha share their leap from Big Tech into startup life, eating noodles on secondhand couches while chasing a bold mission: making effective communication accessible to everyone. They dive into: The origin story behind Yoodli, (and where the name came from!) How AI roleplays bring "exposure therapy" to speaking practice. Use cases ranging from sales training to doctors having end-of-life conversations. The decision to build in…
Neotribe-led $13.7M Series A in Yoodli to Expand AI Roleplay Enterprise Platform Serving Google, Databricks and More
Neotribe Ventures led a $13.7 million Series A in Yoodli, an AI roleplay enterprise platform that helps users rehearse high-stakes conversations with real-time feedback; existing investors including Madrona, Cercano, AI2 and Neotribe (who previously invested) highlighted Yoodli’s enterprise traction with customers like Google, Databricks, RingCentral, Snowflake and BDO. The funding will expand sales, customer success, and engineering while improving personalization and realism in roleplays to address communication training gaps at scale.
