Amazon Web Services
Facts
- Sectors
- Cloud computing, Artificial intelligence, Infrastructure, Marketplace
- Founded
- 2006
- Stage
- Public
Ex-Amazon and Airbnb Engineers Raise $1.25M for Seattle Startup Cimba.ai to Develop Enterprise AI Agents
Seattle startup Cimba.ai, founded by ex-Amazon and Airbnb engineers, raised $1.25 million in pre-seed funding to develop AI agents that help businesses generate actionable insights from internal data. The company integrates large language models with business-specific content to optimize operations such as ad campaigns and customer management.
Can AI level the playing field? Nancy Wang of Advancing Women in Tech
This week's guest, Nancy Wang, is a technology product and engineering executive, advisor, and investor. A former Amazon Web Services general manager and former Google lead product manager, she is a venture partner at Felicis Ventures, where she invests in early-stage startups in cybersecurity, enterprise infrastructure, and business-to-business software as a service. She is also founder and board chair of Advancing Women in Tech, and a contributor to Forbes. With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Seattle Startup MotherDuck Hires Former Google Leaders Frances Perry and Margaret Lawrence Rosas; Humanly Adds VP of Growth Pallavi Sinha
Seattle startup MotherDuck hired Frances Perry, a former Google engineering director, as engineering manager, and Margaret Lawrence Rosas, former Looker and Google executive, as head of customer success. Additionally, Pallavi Sinha joined Seattle startup Humanly as vice president of growth.
AWS Community Head Emily Freeman Departs; UW Medicine Names Dr. Timothy Dellit CEO; Pfizer Exec Joins Truveta Board
Emily Freeman, head of community at AWS, is leaving after several years, coinciding with another AWS leader's departure. Meanwhile, Dr. Timothy Dellit became UW Medicine CEO, William Johnson stepped down from Vancouver Tech Journal, and Pfizer exec Dr. Patrick Caubel joined Truveta's board.
Techstars Seattle's 15th Cohort of 24 Startups Embraces AI Across Industries Including Advertising and Gaming
The 15th cohort of Techstars Seattle includes 24 startups across diverse industries using AI to enhance products and productivity, with companies like AdsGency leveraging AI in advertising. Founders shared insights on AI's impact, challenges, and their plans while in Seattle.
Pulumi Raises $41M Led by Madrona to Expand Infrastructure as Code Platform and AI Innovations
Seattle-based cloud startup Pulumi raised $41 million in a Series C round led by Madrona Venture Group to expand its infrastructure as code platform and develop new AI-powered products. Pulumi serves over 2,000 customers including half of the Fortune 50, with revenues doubling in the past year.
Ex-Tableau Execs Damon Fletcher and Michael Arvold Launch Seattle Startup Millworks Analytics to Manage Rising AI-Driven Cloud Costs
Former Tableau CFO Damon Fletcher and ex-Tableau senior director Michael Arvold launched Seattle-based Millworks Analytics to help tech companies manage rising cloud costs fueled by AI. Their flagship platform Caliper enables finance leaders to analyze and reduce cloud spending, initially supporting AWS.
WTIA Names 33 Washington Startups for Free 10th Founder Cohort Program with $10K AWS Credits
The Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) announced 33 Washington-based startups for its free, six-month 10th Founder Cohort Program, designed for seed-stage companies with under $1 million in revenue. The program offers mentorship, $10,000 in AWS credits, and leadership training, with one-third of participants led by female CEOs.
Amazon Alumni Raise $12.5M for Griptape, a Seattle Startup Building Secure AI App Frameworks for Enterprises
Amazon veterans Kyle Roche and Vasily Vasinov raised $12.5 million for Griptape, a Seattle startup creating a secure AI application framework for enterprises. Griptape offers an open-source Python toolkit and cloud platform to help companies safely build and manage large language models, with a commercial launch planned for October 2023.
Madrona’s Matt McIlwain Highlights Seattle as a Leading AI Hub on Shift AI Podcast
Matt McIlwain of Madrona Venture Group discusses Seattle's emergence as a top AI hub, attributing its success to a strong ecosystem of ideas, talent, and experimentation. He shares insights on AI's future and Seattle's role in tech innovation on the Shift AI Podcast hosted by Boaz Ashkenazy.
Integrate Raises $3.4M Led by Hyperplane and Wins $1.25M U.S. Space Force Contract for Program Management Software
Integrate, a Seattle-based startup, raised $3.4 million led by Hyperplane and secured a $1.25 million contract with the U.S. Space Force to enhance its program management software. The funding will support team expansion and development to better serve hardware development programs, with Firefly Aerospace as a new customer.
Amazon's AI strategy, how AI startups can stand out, and hope for AI and humanity
This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we look at how Amazon is positioning itself in the emerging era of generative artificial intelligence. We play and assess clips of Amazon CEO Andy Jassy explaining the company's AI strategy on its earnings call this week. We also discuss the history of AI usage by startups, and consider advice from investors and startup leaders at Seattle Tech Week for emerging tech companies looking to stand out with their own AI applications and solutions. And finally, we reconsider our approach to interacting with machines and contemplate the possibility of artificial intelligence reflecting not just…
Madrona Venture Labs Raises $11M for Fifth Fund to Accelerate AI Startups, Including Generative AI
Madrona Venture Labs raised $11 million for its fifth fund to support AI startups, planning to back 12 new companies with a focus on intelligent applications and generative AI. Since its 2014 founding, the Seattle-based studio has raised $40 million, backed 32 companies, and offers funding and advisory services to early-stage startups.
Tagboard Raises $4 Million to Advance Cloud Production Studio with NBA and ESPN Partnerships
Seattle-based Tagboard raised $4 million to enhance its cloud production software used by over 600 clients, including the NBA and ESPN, enabling easier integration of graphics and interactive tools in broadcasts. The company, which raised $8 million last year and has total funding of $17 million, is also exploring generative AI for media production graphics.
Investor Spotlight with Jon Turow
Get to know Madrona Partner Jon Turow. Learn why he got into VC, what he looks for in founders, where the opportunities lay for founders when it comes to generative AI, and what he enjoys doing outside the office. (00:00:00) Introduction (00:00:39) Jon Turow's background (00:01:19) Why venture capital (00:02:27) Why Madrona (00:03:20) Opportunities in generative AI (00:05:35) What Jon looks for in founders (00:07:02) Jon's book recommendations (00:08:58) What Jon does for fun
Seattle’s Pioneer Square Labs Raises $20M Third Fund to Accelerate Generative AI Startup Studio
Seattle startup studio Pioneer Square Labs raised $20 million for its third fund to invest in generative AI, building multiple AI-driven apps in finance and healthcare. Founded in 2015, PSL has 33 startups with most securing follow-on investments but no unicorn exits yet.
Panther Labs Founder Jack Naglieri on Cloud-Native SIEM and Self-Growth
This week on Founded & Funded, Madrona Partner Vivek Ramaswami talks to Jack Naglieri, Founder and CEO of 2022 IA40 winner Panther Labs. Jack founded Panther, a leading cloud-native security information and event management platform, because he had experienced first-hand the threat detection challenges companies have at cloud scale. Growing frustrated with the compromises required by traditional SIEM platforms, Jack took his experiences from Yahoo and Airbnb and set out to build a solution that detects and responds to suspicious activity in real time. In this IA40 spotlight episode, Jack shares where the inspiration to launch his own company came…
Magnify Hires Apptentive Co-Founder Mike Saffitz as VP of Engineering; Amazon Names Eric Rimling Technical Advisor
Enterprise software startup Magnify appointed Mike Saffitz, co-founder of Apptentive, as its new VP of engineering following the departure of former CTO Jacob Sajo. Additionally, Eric Rimling was named technical advisor to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, replacing Sara Duffer, while Seattle-based Almas Insights added William Tincup as an advisor.
Seattle Startup Groundlight Raises $10M Seed to Revolutionize Warehouse Monitoring with AI and Natural Language Computer Vision
Seattle startup Groundlight, co-founded by former Amazon and Picobrew execs Leo Dirac and Avi Geiger, emerged from stealth with a $10 million seed fund to simplify warehouse monitoring using AI-powered computer vision. Their platform enables businesses to query real-time video feeds through natural language prompts for instant, customizable insights.
Seattle AI Startup CareerFlow Helps Over 20,000 Job Seekers Refine Resumes Amid Tech Layoffs Using GPT Technology
Seattle startup CareerFlow uses AI, including OpenAI's GPT, to help job seekers optimize resumes and organize job searches amid tech layoffs, serving over 20,000 users. Co-founded by Nikita Gupta, the company has raised $100,000 in pre-seed funding and plans to monetize through universities and career services.
Common Room's Viraj Mody on Building Community, Foundation Models and Being Relentless
Madrona Managing Director Soma dives into the world of intelligent applications and generative AI with Common Room Co-founder and CTO Viraj Mody. Madrona first invested in Common Room in 2020 — and we had the pleasure of having the founders join us on Founded & Funded the following year. Common Room is an intelligent community growth platform that combines engagement data from platforms like LinkedIn, Slack, Twitter, Reddit, GitHub, and others with product usage and CRM data to surface insights from across an organization's entire user community. Customers like Figma, OpenAI, and Grafana Labs use Common Room to better understand…
Investor Spotlight with Matt McIlwain
Get to know Madrona Managing Partner Matt McIlwain. Learn where he gets his spark to work with entrepreneurs, what he looks for in founders, where the opportunities lay for founders when it comes to generative AI, and what he enjoys doing outside the office.
Ex-Apple Engineers Launch Seattle's XetHub with $7.5M Seed to Accelerate AI Application Development
Seattle-based startup XetHub, founded by three former Apple engineers, raised $7.5 million in seed funding to develop a data storage platform for AI and machine learning application developers. The company aims to streamline code writing and deployment for intelligent applications, targeting businesses adopting AI beyond major tech players.
Maureen Ezekwugo Named CEO of Oggvo; Chad Cohen Joins Capella Space as CFO and COO; GitHub Appoints Inbal Shani as Chief Product Officer
Maureen Ezekwugo became CEO of Seattle-based Oggvo, specializing in customer review software, while Chad Cohen joined Capella Space as CFO and COO. Microsoft-owned GitHub hired Inbal Shani as its new chief product officer, and Falkon added two executives after raising $16 million.
Seattle Startup MotherDuck Launches Serverless Analytics Platform With $47.5M Funding Led by Andreessen Horowitz
Seattle-based startup MotherDuck, founded by Jordan Tigani, unveiled its serverless data analytics platform built on DuckDB and announced $47.5 million in funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. The company aims to enable analysts to query data across multiple sources and plans a public beta release in March 2023.
