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
Investors Pour Billions into Climate Tech as E8 Expands and Sector Raises $14.2B by Midyear
A wide range of investors — from tech employees to former VCs and concerned parents — are increasingly funding climate-tech startups, driving a sharp rise in capital flows after years of stagnation. By midyear, climate tech companies raised $14.2 billion globally, supported by growing networks like Seattle’s E8 and large climate-focused funds from private equity and venture firms.
Aseem Datar leaves Microsoft to join Madrona Venture Group as partner; Madrona promotes Chris Picardo and hires Birkan Uzun; Jaime Teevan promoted to Microsoft CVP
Microsoft Azure GM and COO Aseem Datar is leaving Microsoft to join Madrona Venture Group as a partner later this month, while Madrona also promoted Chris Picardo to partner and hired Birkan Uzun as an investor; separately, Microsoft promoted Chief Scientist Jaime Teevan to corporate vice president. The article notes Datar’s 17+ years at Microsoft and prior roles, Picardo’s and Uzun’s backgrounds, and Teevan’s reaction to her promotion.
David Wolf
David Wolf is the founder and CTO of JetClosing, a tech startup in the Real Estate space working to make all-digital home closings the new normal. A UW and Stanford CS graduate, he has worked in the Seattle area tech scene for over 20 years. Prior to JetClosing, he worked At Amazon, where he ran the team who built the Amazon retail shopping iPhone app, used by millions worldwide. He also led teams at other local tech companies like Xome, Motricity, and Infospace. David also happened to be one of Redfin’s first customers in 2006, and is passionate about transforming…
Convoy signs 123,000 sq ft sublease at Russell Investments Center in Seattle, expanding from 73,000 sq ft
Seattle freight-startup Convoy signed a sublease for 123,000 sq ft across three floors at downtown’s Russell Investments Center, expanding from its current 73,000 sq ft Century Square HQ as it outlines a return-to-office plan amid broader Seattle downtown uncertainties.
Starform, founded by ex-Z2 vets, raises $5M seed led by BITKRAFT to grow Seattle studio and fund 5v5 arena game
Seattle game studio Starform raised $5 million in a seed round led by BITKRAFT Ventures to advance its closed-beta 5v5 arena PC/mobile game and build a second internal team; the studio was founded in 2018 by former Z2 employees and now has 11 staff. Starform will hire more developers and focus on social-play experiences, with the second team's project to be chosen later if it can support a 5–10 year lifecycle and global appeal.
Former Amazon VP D. Sangeeta launches Gotara mentoring platform to retain women in STEM
Gotara, founded by former Amazon VP D. Sangeeta, launched a mentoring software in February that offers anonymous one-off and programmatic mentorship to help retain women in STEM. The platform is free for individuals and also sells employee retention programs to 12 employers, including Cisco.
Chronus raises $78M from Level Equity to expand mentoring platform as hybrid work and DEI demand rises
Chronus, a Bellevue-based mentoring software maker, raised $78 million from Level Equity to expand its platform, sales and marketing as hybrid work and DEI demand grow; the company has about 85 employees and counts Amazon and Hearst among customers.
Outreach names Melton Littlepage CMO and adds Stefan Schulz to board; ShelfEngine hires Kane McCord; Kaskada promotes Charna Parkey
Seattle sales enablement company Outreach (valued at $4.4B) named Melton Littlepage as CMO and added Stefan Schulz to its board; ShelfEngine hired Kane McCord as president and CRO after a $41M Series B; Kaskada promoted Charna Parkey to VP of product. The article lists several executive moves across Seattle-area startups and tech companies.
Wyze Labs raises $110M Series B led by Marcy Venture Partners to build AI into <$36 Wyze Cam
Wyze Labs raised $110 million in a Series B led by Marcy Venture Partners to expand its product line, invest heavily in AI features for its <$36 Wyze Cam, and improve customer service and shipping.
Big Sky Labs raises $1M to build PillPez dispenser that auto-reminds patients and alerts caregivers
Seattle-area startup Big Sky Labs raised $1 million in seed funding to develop PillPez, a home health hub that dispenses medications from pre-loaded pharmacy strips and provides escalating reminders and caregiver alerts. Founders with telehealth experience designed the device to improve medication adherence for people with chronic conditions, Alzheimer’s, or developmental disabilities.
Ridwell CEO Ryan Metzger grows Seattle recycling startup to 35,000 members across 40+ cities, adds Denver and hires 100+ employees
Seattle startup Ridwell, founded by CEO Ryan Metzger, has grown to over 35,000 members across 40+ Pacific Northwest cities, collecting hard-to-recycle household items for up to $14/month and employing more than 100 people. The company is expanding (recently entering Denver), hiring aggressively, and aiming for about 300 employees within a year while its founder says he’d prefer the need for the service disappear if climate change were solved.
Fabric raises $100M Series B at $850M valuation as revenue jumps 800% and headcount hits 161
Seattle e-commerce startup Fabric raised $100 million in a Series B that values the four-year-old company at $850 million after reporting revenue growth of more than 800% year-over-year and expanding headcount to 161.
Simon Yu, ex-Bomba Fusion owner, leads crypto startup StormX and lands Portland Trail Blazers sponsorship
Seattle entrepreneur Simon Yu closed his Korean-Mexican food truck Bomba Fusion and pivoted to cofound StormX, a fast-growing crypto startup he launched in 2015; recently StormX secured a sponsorship deal with the Portland Trail Blazers as Yu reflects on his journey from financial hardship to startup success.
AI2 spinout MajorBoost raises $350,000 pre-seed to automate insurance calls for medical providers
MajorBoost, an AI2 spinout founded by Lekshmi Venu, Ben Hesketh and Andrew Palmer, uses AI to automate insurance phone calls for medical providers to reduce time lost to eligibility and claim inquiries; it received $350,000 in pre-seed funding from AI2 and is preparing a seed round while running private beta customers.
Seattle startups raise record $3.1B in H1 2021, producing 12 local unicorns as Auth0 exits for $6.5B
Seattle-area startups raised a record $3.1 billion across 205 deals in H1 2021, driven by mega-rounds that produced at least 12 local unicorns and broader Pacific Northwest tech funding topping $5 billion. National VC activity and IPO/M&A dollar volumes are also surpassing prior records, with major exits like Auth0’s $6.5 billion acquisition by Okta highlighting regional maturation.
Updater acquires Seattle on-demand moving startup Dolly; terms undisclosed
New York moving services company Updater has acquired Seattle on-demand moving startup Dolly; terms were not disclosed and Dolly will operate as an Updater subsidiary with its Seattle team retained.
TaxBit opens second headquarters in Seattle, plans to expand local team to 40 after $100M Series A
Utah-based crypto tax and accounting firm TaxBit is opening a second headquarters in Seattle’s South Lake Union to tap local tech talent and grow its team. Founded in 2018, TaxBit recently raised $100 million in a Series A (bringing total funding to $105 million), has a partnership with the IRS, and expects to grow its Seattle headcount from six to about 40 by year-end.
WellSaid Labs raises $10M Series A led by Fuse to expand AI text-to-speech platform
Seattle-based WellSaid Labs raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Fuse to expand its AI-driven text-to-speech platform, building on a $2 million 2019 seed and backing from investors including Voyager Capital, Qualcomm Ventures and Good Friends. The funding will support research, product hires and sales expansion to scale the startup’s natural-sounding synthetic voice offerings.
Brian Lent
Brian Lent is a data science pioneer who has been at the forefront of data mining, machine learning, forward-thinking analytics, and leading-edge AI technology for over three decades. As the Co-Founder and CEO of Plunk—the first mobile app helping homeowners grow their largest financial asset—Brian is working with a world-class team to bring advanced data mining, AI & ML algorithms to residential real estate. Prior to Plunk, Brian founded the mobile analytics company Medio Systems, supporting 440+ million users in over 100+ countries. Brian also started one of the first data analytics teams at Amazon in the late 1990’s when…
GeekWire 200 update: Remitly No. 3 as proposed IPO looms; Hootsuite debuts No. 6, Convoy rises to No. 7
GeekWire updated its GeekWire 200 list highlighting Pacific Northwest private tech startups amid record investment and M&A activity, with trends toward virtual experiences, at-home healthcare, remote education, and e-commerce. Notable rankings: Remitly at No. 3 (last valued $1.5B, proposed IPO), Hootsuite debuted at No. 6, Convoy rose to No. 7 (valued $2.75B in 2019), and Fabric jumped 26 spots to No. 95.
Shirish Nadkarni explains how to judge startup ideas and why incumbents are hard to beat
Veteran entrepreneur Shirish Nadkarni excerpts lessons on evaluating startup ideas, arguing founders must assess ideas against incumbents, market dynamics and strategic perspectives rather than early positive feedback. He emphasizes incumbents’ advantages and the difficulty of displacing established players without exploiting major industry transformations.
Ben Gilbert of PSL and 'Acquired' on the red-hot market for IPOs, VC and acquisitions
Another day, another deal. Keeping up with the flurry of acquisitions, IPOs, SPACs and venture capital these days is no easy task. In fact, IPO dollar volume for 2021 has already reached $171 billion, surpassing the record totals of last year. Same goes for mergers and acquisitions, with record levels of deal activity tracked for 2021. The money is certainly flowing. Washington state now boasts 11 "unicorns" — privately held companies boasting valuations of $1 billion or more. Many of them — such as Highspot, Zenoti and Outreach — have raised venture capital rounds of $150 million or more in…
Amazon Web Services acquires encrypted messaging startup Wickr; financial terms undisclosed
Amazon Web Services announced it has acquired Wickr, an end-to-end encrypted messaging platform used by government entities and security-conscious users; financial terms were not disclosed and AWS is offering Wickr immediately.
Sendle raises $35M Series C to expand U.S. operations, using unused delivery-truck space to cut costs
Australian e-commerce shipping startup Sendle raised $35 million in a Series C to expand in the U.S., using unused space on existing delivery trucks to offer lower-cost, faster shipping for small merchants. The company, which integrates with Etsy, eBay and Shopify, touts carbon-neutral operations, compostable packaging and plans to invest the funds in logistics, delivery and tech partnerships.
Providence spinout Tegria acquires Seattle AI health startup KenSci; founders depart, Sudarshan Chitre named CEO
Tegria, a Providence spinout, has acquired Seattle-based healthcare AI startup KenSci, which uses machine learning to predict patient risk and reduce costs; terms were not disclosed and KenSci’s founders will depart while about 50 staff will be retained. KenSci has raised $30 million to date and Sudarshan Chitre becomes CEO following the acquisition.
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
