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
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.
Bellevue’s tech boom draws Amazon, Apptio and major firms as city positions itself as Seattle alternative
Bellevue has become a major tech hub attracting companies like Amazon, Apptio, T-Mobile, Smartsheet, OfferUp and Icertis thanks to its downtown, livability, low crime and business-friendly policies, with major expansions including Amazon’s plan to employ 25,000 there.
Amazon’s $2B Climate Pledge Fund backs 11 climate tech firms as company works to cut emissions by 2040
Amazon launched a $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund in June 2020 and has invested hundreds of millions in 11 climate tech companies to accelerate technologies that help it and other corporations reach carbon neutrality by 2040; the fund pairs capital with Amazon's operational support to scale solutions. Matt Peterson, director of the fund, says Amazon leverages its footprint and internal adoption (e.g., Rivian vehicles) to help portfolio companies cross the "valley of death" as the company confronts rising emissions.
Assembly acquires bootstrapped Seattle ad-tech startup Pacvue in reported nine-figure deal
Pacvue, a four-year-old Seattle e-commerce software startup that was bootstrapped without VC funding, was acquired by Los Angeles-based Assembly in a deal reported at nine figures; Pacvue provided advertising and sales tools for marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart and had tripled revenue yearly with about 150 employees.
GeekWire Podcast: Qumulo CEO Bill Richter on Remote Work, Seattle Tech Pay Rise to $158K, and Qumulo’s $1.2B Valuation
GeekWire’s podcast interviews Qumulo CEO Bill Richter about post-pandemic remote work, trends in tech salaries (Seattle up 4.6% to $158,000; U.S. average down 1.1% to $152,000), and implications for hiring, cloud storage, and self-driving cars. Richter discusses Qumulo’s remote-work approach, decentralized decision-making by functional leaders, and the company’s $1.2 billion valuation from its latest funding round.
Convoy appoints John Morrow as general counsel effective Nov. 1; ex-AWS VP Steven Shure joins Neeva as chief business officer
Convoy named John Morrow as general counsel effective Nov. 1, following multiple legal leadership departures in 2021; Morrow previously served at Apptio and Paymentus. Separately, former AWS VP Steven Shure joined ad-free search startup Neeva as chief business officer and will remain based in Seattle.
Seattle Average Tech Salary Rises 4.6% to $158,000, Second-Highest U.S. Behind Bay Area
Hired data shows average Seattle tech salaries rose 4.6% year-over-year to $158,000, the second-highest U.S. average behind the Bay Area. The report notes continued strong hiring from Amazon, Microsoft and other firms, high open roles at startups, remote-work-driven shifts in pay, and broad worker interest in new opportunities.
Dance Church raises $4.7M seed to scale Dance Church Go subscription platform, led by MaC Ventures
Seattle-based Dance Church raised $4.7 million in seed funding to expand its Dance Church Go online subscription platform, which offers on-demand classes for $19/month or $199/year and a pay-as-you-go live option. The company, founded by Kate Wallich and recently hiring CEO Clara Siegel, plans to scale after growing to 144,000 online streamers with backing led by MaC Ventures and participation from several Pacific Northwest investors.
Karat raises $110M Series C at $1.1B valuation to scale remote technical interviewing
Karat, a Seattle startup that runs technical interviews through a vetted network of interviewers, raised $110 million in a Series C at a $1.1 billion valuation while more than doubling revenue and customers year-over-year.
Gopuff adds Sanjay Shah, Dan Beranek and Komal Kashiramka to Seattle leadership as company valued at $15B after $1B funding
Gopuff expanded its Seattle leadership team by hiring three executives — Sanjay Shah (SVP North America fulfillment), Dan Beranek (VP product for fresh food) and Komal Kashiramka (director of engineering for Gopuff Kitchen) — after a $1 billion funding round that valued the company at $15 billion. Other regional moves include Vinayak Hegde promoted to president of Wheels Up and FlavorCloud hiring Telved Devlet as VP of customer success and operations.
Game Jolt co-founders Yaprak and David DeCarmine raise $2.6M seed round led by Acequia Capital
Seattle-based Game Jolt, founded by husband-and-wife Yaprak and David DeCarmine, raised a $2.6 million seed round led by Acequia Capital to grow its social platform for Gen Z and Gen Alpha gamers. The platform hosts over 40,000 communities—some with more than 500,000 active members—where users share fan art, gameplay recordings, guides, and reviews.
Esper raises $60M Series C from Insight Partners to scale DevOps platform for company-owned Android device fleets
Seattle-area DevOps startup Esper raised a $60 million Series C led by Insight Partners to grow its platform for managing fleets of company-owned Android devices across retail, healthcare, education and other industries; the company has 200+ customers, raised $30M in May, expects 2021 revenue to quadruple and is not yet profitable.
Ex-Amazon designers Herman Chan and Thomas Duester launch Juno and sell $148 cardboard pop-up bassinet
Two former Amazon industrial designers, Herman Chan and Thomas Duester, launched Juno, a Seattle startup selling a $148 sustainable, cardboard pop-up bassinet for newborns aimed at parents seeking affordable, eco-friendly sleep solutions.
Archera raises $7M Series A to automate AWS and Azure cost optimization, bringing total funding to $10.3M
Seattle startup Archera (formerly Reserved.ai) raised $7 million in a Series A to help AWS, Azure and other cloud customers automate resource management and purchasing; the company reports 150% revenue growth this year and counts customers like Fortive and Guardant Health.
Remitly IPO Marks End of 10-Year Journey for Seed Investor Who Led Early Round and Served on Board
Investor and VC recounts Remitly’s IPO, celebrating the Seattle fintech’s public debut after a decade since he led its Seed round and served on the board, praising the founders’ methodical approach and noting the milestone’s importance to his investing career.
Mystery pivots from surprise dates to ‘morale as a service,’ selling virtual team events to Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks and more
Mystery, a Seattle startup that began by organizing surprise date nights, pivoted during the COVID-19 pandemic to virtual events and now markets a B2B employee-engagement product it calls “morale as a service,” attracting clients like Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks, Apple and Zillow. The company offers six categories of virtual experiences tailored to team types and says it has codified its event design into a tech-centric platform to deliver surprise-driven morale-boosting events.
Former Maveron Investor Jason Stoffer Says He Was Wrong to Pass on Remitly as Company Nears $6.5B IPO
Maveron investor Jason Stoffer passed on investing in Seattle remittance startup Remitly in 2012 due to regulatory and market concerns but now says the company proved him wrong as it prepares a $6.5 billion IPO. Stoffer discusses his analysis of Remitly’s S-1, investing lessons, and related topics on the GeekWire Podcast.
Four High School Interns Analyze GeekWire 200 Rankings with UW Bothell Dean via SparkSIP
Four high school students worked with UW Bothell Business Dean Sandeep Krishnamurthy through the SparkSIP program to analyze the GeekWire 200 startup rankings over a summer, using the April update, past lists and public data. They aimed to apply data analysis to understand factors behind successful Pacific Northwest startups and gain entrepreneurial and regional startup insights.
Remitly Global files for IPO to raise up to $294 million by selling 7 million shares at $42, ticker RELY
Seattle-based Remitly Global filed to go public aiming to raise up to $294 million by selling 7 million shares at up to $42 each, with its board and management planning to sell an additional 5,162,777 shares; the fintech serves predominantly immigrant customers sending money from several developed countries to over 115 destinations.
People
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Jamie Siminoff Executive, Vice President
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Steve Rabuchin Executive, Vice President of Project Kuiper (Amazon Leo)
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Ben Wild Co-founder of Hubble Network, Former Amazon Product Lead
