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
Unlock Venture Partners Raises $60 Million for Second Fund Focused on LA and Seattle Startups
Unlock Venture Partners, founded by Sanjay Reddy, Andy Liu, and Raazi Imam, has raised $60 million for its second fund targeting early-stage startups in Los Angeles and Seattle, bringing its total capital to $85 million. The fund focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage investments to support entrepreneurial talent in these cities, which lack sufficient early-stage venture capital despite their strong startup communities.
GeekWire surveys Seattle-area VCs to name Pacific Northwest startups they predict will become unicorns in 2022
GeekWire surveyed more than a dozen Seattle-area venture capitalists for their picks of Pacific Northwest startups likely to reach unicorn status this year, compiling a list of candidate companies with reasons for each selection. The piece notes rising valuations nationwide and excludes VCs' own portfolio companies to reduce bias.
Pebblebee names Sourcenext executive Doug Bieter CEO after $5M Sourcenext investment and partnership
Seattle-based tracking-device maker Pebblebee secured a $5 million investment and partnership from Japanese distributor Sourcenext and named Sourcenext partner-development head Doug Bieter as its new CEO to help scale the eight-year-old startup, while co-founder Daniel Daoura transitions to CTO.
Seattle tech — including Amazon, Microsoft and startups like Convoy — poised to profit as pandemic-driven supply chain chaos accelerates digital logistics transformation
Persistent COVID-19–related supply chain disruptions have created demand for digital tools, presenting an opportunity for Seattle-area tech firms and startups—alongside Amazon and Microsoft—to provide IoT, cloud, and machine-learning solutions for trucking and logistics. Industry leaders say the pandemic accelerated digital transformation in trucking and may push broader adoption of sensors, edge devices and analytics to reduce delays and visibility gaps.
Move Inc., operator of Realtor.com, leads $12M Series A in Seattle–Austin marketing startup Evocalize
Evocalize, a Seattle and Austin startup that helps brands with paid digital marketing, raised $12 million in a Series A led by Move Inc., operator of Realtor.com, which has been a customer for over five years. The company was founded in 2013 by CEO Matthew Marx and co-founder Kumar Srinivasan; additional investors include Second Century Ventures, Habanero Ventures and Madrona Venture Group.
Founders Co-op General Partner Aviel Ginzburg Discusses NFTs, Web3, Metaverse and Startup Investing on GeekWire Podcast
GeekWire Podcast interviews Aviel Ginzburg, general partner at Seattle seed fund Founders Co-op, about pandemic-era networking, NFTs, crypto, Web3, the Metaverse, and how his firm differentiates in a crowded funding market.
GeekWire updates Seattle list as Highspot raises $248M at $3.5B; SeekOut and Icertis added to 16 local unicorns
GeekWire updated its list of Seattle-area 'unicorn' startups (privately held companies valued at $1B+) after additions and a valuation change for Icertis, noting recent entrants like SeekOut and Highspot, which raised $248 million at a $3.5 billion valuation. The article highlights that the Seattle cohort includes 16 unicorns, none led by a female or Black CEO, and that many CEOs have Microsoft backgrounds amid a global surge in unicorns and venture funding.
Ethos acquires Seattle digital-wills startup Tomorrow; 600,000 users and 20 employees join insurer
Seattle startup Tomorrow, which offers iOS and web apps for creating legal wills, trusts, and other estate documents and has helped over 600,000 users, has been acquired by life insurer Ethos. Tomorrow’s 20 employees will join Ethos’s 250-person team, and the Tomorrow apps will continue operating under the Tomorrow brand for now.
Doorstead launches Seattle service as SF-based property-management startup with $12.5M Series A expands nationally
Doorstead, a San Francisco property-management startup founded by former Uber employees, has launched service in the Seattle region as it expands nationally; the company raised $12.5 million in a 2022 Series A and manages just under $1 billion in assets.
ZeroAvia opens R&D center at Everett’s Paine Field; $5.5M refit and $350K Washington grant support hydrogen-electric powertrain work
ZeroAvia is opening an R&D center at Everett’s Paine Field near Seattle to develop hydrogen-electric aircraft powertrains, with plans to begin customer rollouts in 2024 and potentially build a North American manufacturing hub there. The Paine Field site converts warehouse space into offices and labs, received a $350,000 Washington grant, and will employ 20–30 people initially while ZeroAvia pursues larger-scale manufacturing and powertrains for bigger aircraft.
Thingy AQ to test Amazon’s Sidewalk Bridge Pro to connect remote wildfire air-quality sensors
Bellevue startup Thingy AQ builds environmental sensor systems to monitor air quality for farmers and first responders and won $25,000 in the EPA Wildland Fire Sensors Challenge in 2018. Thingy will test Amazon’s new Sidewalk Bridge Pro to extend connectivity to remote sensors for wildfire prediction and data sharing with first responders.
Ciara and Russell Wilson’s House of LR&C to raise up to $15M in Series A after revenue hits eight figures
The House of LR&C, a Seattle fashion house co-founded by Ciara and Russell Wilson, plans to raise up to $15 million in a Series A this year after reaching eight-figure revenue and roughly 70% growth; the company previously raised a $7 million convertible note led by Harlem Capital.
GeekWire revises GeekWire 200: firms >15 years old and majority PE-owned ineligible, rankings shift to quarterly in 2022
GeekWire is changing the criteria for its GeekWire 200 startup rankings: beginning in 2022, majority private-equity-owned companies and companies 15 years or older will be ineligible, and the index will move from monthly to quarterly updates, which will reshape the top ranks including removing Blue Origin.
Brian Goldfarb named Tenable CMO; Elizabeth Hamren becomes Discord COO; Kurt DelBene confirmed as VA CIO; Madrona adds three strategic directors
Several tech industry hires and appointments: Brian Goldfarb is CMO at Tenable; Elizabeth Hamren is COO at Discord; Kurt DelBene confirmed as VA CIO; Madrona Venture Group added three strategic directors; Christina Mautz joined Panopto.
Amazon’s $2B Climate Pledge Fund Invests in Hippo Harvest and Amogy to Cut Grocery and Shipping Emissions
Amazon’s $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund has invested in two climate tech startups — Hippo Harvest, which develops closed-loop greenhouse systems using robotics and ML to cut water use and emissions, and Amogy, which converts ammonia into power for heavy transport — part of Amazon’s push to reach net zero by 2040. The moves aim to reduce emissions across Amazon’s grocery stores and shipping operations amid rising company emissions.
Flexe hires Amazon biometrics lead Lara Rogers as SVP/GM; Magnify names ex‑Amazon Sajo Jacob CTO; Schuster joins Open Systems board
Several Seattle-area tech companies announced senior hires and board moves: Flexe hired former Amazon biometrics leader Lara Rogers as SVP and GM; Magnify named Sajo Jacob as CTO and co‑founder after a $6M launch; Open Systems added ex‑Microsoft exec Gavriella Schuster to its board; Fabric and Scener also announced senior appointments.
General Fusion raises $130M with Bezos Expeditions participation, total funding reaches ~$300M as firm readies UK fusion demonstration plant
General Fusion raised $130 million, bringing its total funding to about $300 million, with participation from Jeff Bezos’s Bezos Expeditions; the company will use the funds to advance its fusion technology, build a Fusion Demonstration Plant near London, and expand research facilities in Vancouver and Tennessee.
Inspectify raises $8M Series A led by Nine Four Ventures; total funding $10M to digitize home inspections
Inspectify, a two-year-old Seattle proptech startup that provides a booking marketplace and inspection software, raised $8 million in a Series A led by Nine Four Ventures to digitize home inspection reporting and aggregate inspection data.
Madrona and Goldman Sachs Publish Inaugural IA40 of Top 40 Private AI Business-App Startups; Four Seattle Firms Included
Madrona Venture Group and Goldman Sachs released the inaugural Intelligent Applications Top 40 (IA40) list of private companies building business AI applications, based on votes from 40 venture firms plus Amazon and Microsoft and narrowed by 50 judges from over 220 nominees. Four Seattle-area companies — Amperity, OctoML, SeekOut, and one unnamed here — made the list; Amperity recently raised $100 million to reach unicorn status and OctoML raised $85 million.
Deloitte’s 2021 Fast 500 Includes 26 Washington Firms; Coinme Tops Seattle Growth at 2,198% (Rank 78)
Deloitte’s 2021 North American Technology Fast 500 ranks the fastest-growing tech companies by revenue growth from 2017–2020; 26 Washington-based firms made the list, with 24 from the greater Seattle area and strong representation from Bellevue and software/SaaS companies. Coinme led local growth with 2,198% growth (ranked 78th), and Washington firms comprised about 5% of the full Fast 500.
Washington Dept. of Commerce and Find Ventures launch Equitable Innovations Accelerator offering up to $100,000 grants to 10 Washington startups
The Washington State Department of Commerce and Find Ventures are launching the Equitable Innovations Accelerator to provide up to $100,000 in philanthropic, non-dilutive grants, programming, and mentorship to ten Washington tech startups led by Black, women, refugee, or other historically marginalized founders. The program, supported by private donors and the Washington Technology Industry Association, aims to address disparities in early-stage funding highlighted by low VC investment rates for underrepresented founders.
OfferUp appoints Melinda Starbird as first chief people and diversity officer; Steve Hobbs named Washington secretary of state; Convoy engineering VP Tim Prouty moves to Headway
OfferUp named Melinda Starbird as its first chief people and diversity officer; she previously held senior HR roles at Auth0, Avanade, Whitepages and Hiya. The brief also reports Washington Gov. Inslee appointed State Senator Steve Hobbs as secretary of state effective Nov. 22, and Convoy VP of engineering Tim Prouty left to become VP of engineering at mental-health platform Headway.
Jane Park’s Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp. Raises $230M in IPO; All-Female SPAC Begins Consumer M&A Search
Jane Park, CEO of newly public Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp., led the all-female SPAC that raised $230 million in an IPO and rang the NYSE opening bell as the team begins searching for a consumer company to acquire. A former Starbucks executive and founder of Julep Beauty and Tokki, Park — believed to be the first Korean-American woman to take a company public on the NYSE — discusses SPAC strategy, consumer brands in the Amazon era, and her immigrant family background on the GeekWire Podcast.
Helion Raises $500M — Potential $1.7B More — to Build Polaris Fusion Generator, Aiming for 2024 Demonstration in Everett, Wash.
Helion Energy raised $500 million (with up to $1.7 billion more contingent on milestones) to build its Polaris fusion generator and finish a demonstration facility in Everett, Wash., aiming to operate in 2024 and move toward commercializing fusion power.
WhyLabs, an AI2 spinout led by CEO Alessya Visnjic, raises $10M and launches AI Observatory to monitor live ML models
WhyLabs, a Seattle startup spun out of AI2 and led by CEO Alessya Visnjic, raised $10 million and launched AI Observatory, a tool to monitor and diagnose live machine-learning models for anomalies and "model meltdowns." The platform offers an open-source library and real-time alerts, positioning WhyLabs as a Datadog-like monitoring service focused on backend ML/AI, and saw adoption by over a dozen organizations in its first week.
People
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Jamie Siminoff Executive, Vice President
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Lian Neeman Executive, Vice President (Tech), Global Benefits
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Steve Rabuchin Executive, Vice President of Project Kuiper (Amazon Leo)
