Amazon
Facts
- HQ
- SEATTLE
- Sectors
- E-commerce, Cloud computing, Aerospace/Satellites, Media/Streaming, Advertising, Consumer devices
- Founded
- 1994
- Type
- Corporation Seattle business license
- Employees
- 1600000
- Registered name
- Amazon.Com Inc Seattle business license
- Stage
- Public
From Microsoft Exit to Building the NFL Draft for AI Talent
Send us Fan Mail Serial entrepreneur Nikesh (Niki) Parekh joins us to share lessons from building Suplari, an AI-powered procurement intelligence company acquired by Microsoft in 2021, and his newest venture, Provn. Niki takes us behind the scenes of Suplari—from validating the idea with customers and finding product-market fit to scaling enterprise sales, navigating setbacks, and ultimately selling the company to Microsoft. He also shares what he would do differently and offers practical lessons for founders building enterprise software. We then explore Provn, which Niki describes as the “NFL Draft for AI talent.” Instead of relying on resumes, prestigious universities…
Kanu AI raises $11.7M led by Trilogy Equity to convert employee workflows into production software
Kanu AI, founded by Karan Grover, raised $11.7 million to scale a platform that converts employee workflows into production-grade software running in customers' clouds, aiming to capture institutional knowledge and reduce costs and turnaround times.
Jacob Colker reflects on Hubble Network raised $200M at a $1.6B valuation in LinkedIn roundup of Seattle wins
A LinkedIn article by Jacob Colker (published Sep 29, 2026) highlights recent Seattle achievements, including Hubble Network raising $200 million at a $1.6 billion valuation to connect ordinary Bluetooth devices. The piece frames these stories as reminders that the Seattle region is more influential than commonly perceived.
Live show: Amazon, Meta and the fight over the future of AI; Plus, is Seattle still the place to build?
This week: Amazon is blocking Meta's new Muse AI assistant from shopping on Amazon.com, saying the agent doesn't identify itself and violates the site's conditions of use. We explain why the standoff is an early sign of a much bigger fight over whether AI agents can use websites and apps on people's behalf, and why Amazon has so much riding on the answer. For the definitive word on the issue, we ask Muse what it has to say for itself, and get an impressively sophisticated and evenhanded answer. We recorded this week's show live at Daniel's Broiler in downtown Seattle…
Hubble Network raises $200M Series C at $1.6B valuation to publicize Bluetooth-to-satellite network
Hubble Network raised $200 million in a Series C led by Smith Point Capital, valuing the five-year-old startup at $1.6 billion as it expands its Bluetooth-to-satellite service to the public. The company now has over 500,000 devices reporting from orbit, has grown headcount to 70+, and brings total funding to $300 million.
Databricks acquires Row Zero to embed high-performance enterprise spreadsheet into its platform
Databricks has acquired Seattle startup Row Zero, which built a high-performance cloud spreadsheet for millions of rows, and plans to embed the technology into its platform and Genie AI assistant while keeping the standalone product available to existing users. Row Zero, founded in 2021 by former AWS engineers Breck Fresen and Nick End, raised a $10 million Series A and will leverage Databricks’ customer base to scale distribution.
Hubble Network Raises $200M Series C at $1.6B Valuation to Enable Bluetooth Devices to Connect Directly to LEO Satellites
Hubble Network raised $200 million in a Series C at a $1.6 billion valuation and launched general availability of its satellite service that enables standard Bluetooth chips to connect directly to low Earth orbit satellites, lowering connectivity hardware costs below $0.50 from $10–$50.
Hubble Network raises $200M Series C to hit $1.6B valuation, plans 60-satellite Bluetooth IoT constellation
Seattle-based Hubble Network raised $200 million in a Series C led by Smith Point Capital to reach a $1.6 billion valuation and bring total funding to $300 million, aiming to connect off-the-shelf Bluetooth devices directly to space. The startup operates six low-Earth orbit satellites, plans a 60-satellite constellation with Muon Space by 2030, and already serves pilot customers like Samsara.
Augmeta, founded by former Opendoor and Amazon leaders, raises $3M seed to deploy AI agents for each KPI
Augmeta, founded in 2025 by former Opendoor and Amazon leaders Salman Jamali, Nitin Bhaskaran and Arslan Jamali, assigns AI "operator" agents to monitor and investigate individual business metrics around the clock. The Redmond startup raised $3 million in seed funding led by Depth Ventures to accelerate customer deployments and expand agent capabilities, with Tractor Supply as an anchor customer.
Temporal raises $550M Series E at $12.55B valuation; will open Atlanta and Bay Area offices while keeping Bellevue coworking HQ
Temporal raised $550 million in a Series E that valued the 3-year-old app development startup at $12.55 billion; it will open permanent offices in Atlanta and the Bay Area while keeping a coworking headquarters in Bellevue as it scales R&D and hiring.
Buywander raises $21M Series A from Madrona Venture Group and Inspired Capital, total funding $28M
Buywander, an auction marketplace for returned and overstock retail inventory, raised $21 million in a Series A led by Madrona Venture Group and Inspired Capital, bringing total funding to $28 million. The Seattle-based startup—launched in 2023 by Jordan Allen and Brock Kowalchuk—will use the capital to expand nationally, invest in technology, and grow its leadership team.
Madrona Leads Buywander’s Series A to Turn $900B in U.S. Retail Returns into Discounted Deals for Value-Shopping Consumers
Madrona led Buywander’s Series A because the company repackages retail returns into discounted discoveries for value-focused shoppers, addressing a growing structural market driven by rising returns and affordability-driven consumer behavior.
Temporal Raises $550M Series E at $12.55B Valuation as Durable Execution Platform Gains Traction
Temporal raised $550 million in a Series E at a $12.55 billion valuation to expand its Durable Execution orchestration platform, citing rapid customer growth and major users like OpenAI, Snap, NVIDIA, and JPMorgan Chase.
Bellevue’s Temporal raises $550M Series E at $12.55B valuation, doubling since February
Bellevue app-development startup Temporal raised $550 million in a Series E at a $12.55 billion valuation, roughly doubling its worth since a February round and signaling investor focus on leading AI-related companies. Founded in 2019, Temporal employs about 375 people, counts more than 4,300 clients including OpenAI and Netflix, and offers tools to help developers build more reliable back-end and AI applications.
Temporal raises $550M Series E at $12.55B valuation as agentic AI demand lifts revenue past $250M ARR
Temporal raised $550 million in a Series E at a $12.55 billion valuation as demand for agentic AI systems drives rapid growth; its annualized revenue run rate recently surpassed $250 million, up over 200% year-over-year. The Bellevue-based open-source platform, co-founded by Samar Abbas and Maxim Fateev, doubled headcount to 570 to support major customers like OpenAI, NVIDIA, Netflix and JPMorgan Chase using its durable execution engine for multi-step AI workflows.
Brookings-Affiliated Report Says Seattle Must Diversify Beyond Big Tech; Only 33 of 303 Startups Grew Past 50 Employees
A 127-page Brookings-affiliated report led by Ryan Donahue urges Seattle to diversify its tax base away from a few large tech firms by cultivating startups in AI, green energy and maritime industries and helping them scale into midsize companies that remain local. The report warns Seattle currently struggles to grow and attract midsize firms—only 33 of 303 local tech startups (2015–2019) exceeded 50 employees and the city added just 16 net new midsize tech companies (2017–2023)—leaving its economy vulnerable and heavily reliant on a handful of firms that fund most JumpStart tax revenue.
Independent report: Seattle’s JumpStart payroll tax penalizes senior hires and concentrates revenue in 10 largely tech firms, risking $50M loss if one large employer shifts 10,000 workers
An independent 127-page City of Seattle-commissioned study finds the city’s tax structure, notably the JumpStart payroll tax, disproportionately penalizes hiring senior high‑pay workers and concentrates revenue risk in a few large tech employers. Researchers warn that reliance on a small number of firms—10 companies account for three-quarters of the payroll tax on large employers—exposes Seattle to significant fiscal vulnerability if large employers relocate or stock‑based compensation fluctuates.
Cowboy Space signs 291,035-sq-ft Kent lease to build orbital AI data centers, adding ~300 jobs
Cowboy Space signed a 291,035-square-foot lease in Kent to build hardware for orbital AI data centers, marking the Puget Sound area's largest industrial lease of 2026 and expected to create about 300 jobs. The 2023-founded aerospace firm plans its first Nova Pathfinder rocket launch in early 2027 and has offices in San Carlos and Seattle.
Microsoft names Aneesh Raman chief economic opportunity officer and promotes Jenny Lay‑Flurrie; DAT CPO Brian Gill resigns
Microsoft promoted Jenny Lay‑Flurrie to corporate vice president of its Trusted Technology Group and named Aneesh Raman chief economic opportunity officer; Zillow appointed a new policy lead while departures occurred at Oracle, Hiya and DAT Freight & Analytics, including DAT’s CPO Brian Gill resigning.
Wyze launches AI-powered 'Wyze Stories' to stitch multi-camera clips into single events, included in $19.99/month Cam Unlimited Pro
Wyze launched 'Wyze Stories,' an AI feature that stitches clips from multiple cameras into a single chronological highlight reel with written summaries to reduce notification fatigue. The feature is available on the Cam Unlimited Pro subscription ($19.99/month) and excludes several older Wyze models.
OnTrade launches AI layer for wealth managers to connect CRM, accounting and trading systems — founded 2024 by Subramanian, Williams and Harl
OnTrade, founded in 2024 by Raji Subramanian, Matt Williams and Zachary Harl, is a Seattle AI startup that integrates with existing wealth management software to enable AI agents to scan portfolios, identify tax-loss harvesting and drift, and prepare reports while leaving humans to approve work. The company has raised an undisclosed amount from General Catalyst, Madrona and angel investors and aims to be an operating AI layer rather than a replacement for systems like Envestnet, Orion or Addepar.
Hearvana AI Raises $6M Oversubscribed Pre-seed Led by Point72 Ventures and SCB 10X
Hearvana AI, a Seattle startup building auditory intelligence to improve sound perception for humans and machines, raised $6 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed round led by Point72 Ventures and SCB 10X. The company will expand engineering and go-to-market teams and launch commercial pilots with consumer electronics and AI partners.
Marc Whitten, ex-Microsoft Xbox exec, named president and CEO of Dolby Laboratories as Kevin Yeaman retires
Marc Whitten, a veteran of Microsoft, Sonos, Amazon, Unity, Cruise and Meta, was named president and CEO of Dolby Laboratories, succeeding longtime leader Kevin Yeaman. Fred Hutch announced leadership changes naming Dr. Lawrence Fong as senior VP and director of Translational Science and Dr. Andrew Hsieh as the inaugural endowed chair, and Microsoft AI saw executive departures including CMO Andréa Mallard.
Pro.com co-founders Subramanian, Williams and ex-BofA CIO Zachary Harl launch OnTrade, an AI startup for wealth managers backed by General Catalyst and Madrona
Pro.com co-founders Rajalakshmi “Raji” Subramanian and Matt Williams, with Zachary Harl, launched OnTrade, an AI startup for wealth management that has been building in stealth since 2024 and is backed by General Catalyst, Madrona and angels to deploy AI agents that automate advisors' analytical tasks while keeping human approval.
Levanta Raises $22M Series B Led by Volition Capital to Expand Creator Affiliate Platform
Seattle-based Levanta raised $22 million in a Series B led by Volition Capital to expand its creator affiliate platform, grow creator commerce technology and integrate additional retail marketplaces.
People
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Jamie Siminoff Executive, Vice President
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Ben Wild Co-founder of Hubble Network, Former Amazon Product Lead
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Manish Srivastava Director, Product & Technology, A to Z Platform & PXT AI
