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
Seattle startup Plunk raises $2M+ to power AI-driven home valuation and renovation recommendations
Seattle startup Plunk, founded by Brian Lent and David Bluhm, has developed an app that uses image processing, AI and machine learning to evaluate home condition, estimate renovation-driven value increases (a "Plunk Value") and recommend specific projects; the company has 15 employees and has raised over $2 million to date, including an initial $1M reported in 2019.
University of Washington taps Justin Dunnicliff as NSIN university program director; Meredith Han named VP of Product at FlyHomes
The University of Washington partnered with the Department of Defense’s National Security Innovation Network (NSIN) and named UW alumnus Justin Dunnicliff as university program director to run NSIN programs at UW, connecting students to DoD-related research and employment opportunities. The article also notes Meredith Han, an early Amazon employee and angel investor, has become VP of product at FlyHomes.
WestRiver Group CEO Erik Anderson and Riverstone launch Decarbonization Plus Acquisition SPAC, raising $200M to pursue global decarbonization targets
WestRiver Group CEO Erik Anderson and asset manager Riverstone launched Decarbonization Plus Acquisition, a SPAC that raised $200 million to target companies advancing global decarbonization across energy, agriculture, industrials, transportation and commercial/residential sectors.
Amazon names Anne Toth director of Alexa Trust; Zillow adds Claire Cormier Thielke to board; Lockstep exits stealth
Amazon hired Anne Toth as director of Alexa Trust to lead privacy, security, accessibility and ethics efforts for Alexa; Zillow added Claire Cormier Thielke to its board and Lockstep, a Seattle accounting-software startup founded in 2019, emerged from stealth with a founding team drawn from Avalara, Globys, e2b Teknologies and Winshuttle.
Fabric, led by ex-Amazon exec Faisal Masud, raises $9.5M seed from Redpoint to offer headless e-commerce for mid-market brands
Fabric, a Seattle-area startup led by former Amazon and Staples executive Faisal Masud, emerged from stealth and raised $9.5 million in seed funding led by Redpoint Ventures to provide a headless, API-first e-commerce platform for mid-market brands that have outgrown Shopify but aren’t ready for enterprise solutions.
Jonathan Sandals launches Sook Chrome extension to aggregate local Seattle boutique inventory and counter Amazon’s search advantage
Jonathan Sandals, who moved to Seattle in 2019, built Sook, a Chrome extension that aggregates product listings from many small local store websites so shoppers can browse and buy from multiple boutiques in one place. He designed Sook to require no extra work from store owners and to make buying local as easy as shopping on major corporate sites like Amazon.
Temporal raises $20M Series A led by Sequoia to commercialize open-source microservices orchestration
Temporal, a Seattle startup founded by former Uber engineers and cloud veterans, raised $20 million in a Series A led by Sequoia to commercialize its open-source microservices orchestration platform that improves developer productivity and reliability. Major customers include Snap, Box, Checkr, HashiCorp, and Coinbase, and investors include Madrona, Addition, Amplify and Snowflake ex-CEO Bob Muglia.
PNW Startups Raised $1.1B in Q3 2020 Across 65 Deals as Investors Keep Funding Amid Pandemic
Pacific Northwest startups raised $1.1 billion across 65 deals in Q3 2020, with funding in July and August exceeding last year’s levels as investors continue backing tech despite the pandemic.
Skilljar raises $33M Series B led by Insight Partners as pandemic boosts demand for its customer education platform
Seattle-based Skilljar, founded by Sandi Lin and Jason Stewart, raised $33 million in a Series B led by Insight Partners as demand for its customer education software surged during the pandemic; total funding exceeds $50 million and the platform has delivered over 10 million instructional hours to 300+ customers including Tableau and Cisco. The company provides cloud-based training, assessments, certifications, analytics and integrations to help companies build onboarding and customer education programs.
GeekWire Podcast: Seattle startup CEOs optimistic for 18 months; Amazon launches Amazon Explore; Spencer Rascoff launches Pacaso
GeekWire Podcast reports Seattle startup CEOs are optimistic about the economy for the next 18 months, Amazon launched a virtual tourism service called Amazon Explore, ex-Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff introduced Pacaso for shared second-home ownership, and the GeekWire Summit will be held virtually Oct. 13–29.
Uber Freight raises $500M led by Greenbriar, valuing the unit at $3.3B
Uber Freight raised $500 million in a funding round led by Greenbriar that values the trucking logistics unit at $3.3 billion, and the business reported $211 million in adjusted net revenue for Uber’s most recent quarter with a $49 million quarterly loss. The unit operates a digital freight marketplace with about 65,000 carriers and competes with startups like Convoy, which recently raised $400 million at a $2.7 billion valuation.
GeekWire 200 CEO Survey: Most Seattle-Area Startups Report Little or No Pandemic Impact and Plan Hiring
A GeekWire 200 CEO survey of nearly 50 Pacific Northwest startup leaders found most report little or no negative impact from the pandemic, many plan to hire, and significant optimism about the regional economy over the next 18 months.
Ex-Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff and dotloop Founder Austin Allison Launch Pacaso, Raise $17M Seed and $250M Debt to Fractionalize Second-Home Ownership
Former Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff and dotloop founder Austin Allison launched Pacaso, a startup that fractionalizes second-home ownership and manages co-owned properties. The company announced a $17 million seed round led by Maveron plus $250 million in debt to buy homes and partners with agents to form LLCs for shared ownership.
RealSelf promotes James Coyle to CEO as platform rebounds, adds execs and board member Lizette Williams
Seattle-based cosmetic review marketplace RealSelf promoted COO James Coyle to CEO as the company rebounds from pandemic layoffs, adds executives and a new board member, and launches new virtual services and products to capture rising demand.
Nori raises $4M seed from Placeholder-led round to scale crypto carbon-offset marketplace
Seattle startup Nori raised $4 million in a seed round led by Placeholder to expand its crypto-based carbon-offset marketplace that pays farmers for regenerative practices; the platform has sold nearly 13,000 metric tons of CO2 offsets and aims to sell 20,000 more by year-end.
WhyLabs, AI2 Spinout Led by Ex-Amazon Engineers, Raises $4M from Madrona, Bezos Expeditions and Others
WhyLabs, an AI monitoring startup spun out of the Allen Institute for AI, emerged from stealth after raising $4 million from investors including Madrona, Defy Partners, Bezos Expeditions and Ascend VC to commercialize a platform for monitoring ML data and models. The company is led by CEO Alessya Visnjic, joined by former Amazon ML engineers Andy Dang and Sam Gracie plus ex-Madrona principal Maria Karaivanova.
Pure Watercraft raises $23.4M Series A from L37 Ventures to commercialize electric outboard motors
Pure Watercraft, a nine-year-old Seattle startup led by CEO Andy Rebele, raised $23.4 million in a Series A led by L37 Ventures to scale production and move its electric outboard motor from beta to general availability amid rising U.S. boating demand. The company aims to capitalize on a boating boom driven by increased participation and pandemic-era interest from first-time and younger buyers.
Lighter Capital appoints Melissa Widner as CEO after layoffs; firm has invested $200M+ using revenue-based financing
Seattle alternative VC firm Lighter Capital named Melissa Widner as CEO; she succeeds Thor Culverhouse and joins a company that has deployed $200M+ via revenue-based financing and recently cut staff from ~80 to 23 before rising to 25 employees. Widner, a Sydney-based board member and former NAB venture managing partner, plans remote hiring as the firm seeks global growth.
Illumina to Acquire Bill Gates- and Jeff Bezos-Backed Grail for $8 Billion in Cash and Stock
Illumina will acquire cancer-detection startup Grail for $8 billion in cash and stock; Grail, backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos and planning a 2021 multi-cancer test rollout, had filed to go public earlier this month.
Seattle VC Flying Fish files to raise $75M 'Flying Fish Fund II' after $80M debut fund
Seattle venture capital firm Flying Fish, founded in 2018, is raising a second fund called Flying Fish Fund II with an SEC filing showing a $75 million offering; the firm previously raised an $80 million first fund and focuses on AI/ML startups in the Pacific Northwest.
Snowflake raises $3.4B in largest software IPO, opens at $245 and closes at $253.93 valuing company over $60B; Madrona an early investor
Snowflake raised $3.4 billion in the largest-ever software IPO, pricing at $120 and opening at $245 before closing at $253.93 to value the company above $60 billion; early investor Madrona Venture Group, which invested in 2017, benefited though it holds under 5% and did not disclose stake value.
Blue Origin Alumni Launch Startups: Relativity Prepares Terran Launch as Co-founder Jordan Noone Steps Back; Stoke Space Wins $225K NSF Grant
Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos 20 years ago, has spawned a wave of space startups led by its alumni, including Relativity Space and Stoke Space. Relativity is preparing a Terran rocket launch and undergoing leadership change as co-founder Jordan Noone steps back, while Stoke Space in Renton is developing reusable upper-stage propulsion with a $225,000 NSF SBIR grant.
Qumulo Adds Ex-Tableau CMO Elissa Fink to Board After $125M Raise; Maven COO Co-founder Bill Sornsin Steps Down
Seattle data-storage startup Qumulo added former Tableau CMO Elissa Fink to its board after raising $125 million and reaching a $1.2B+ valuation; separately, Maven COO and co-founder Bill Sornsin stepped down as part of a company realignment.
FindyPhone’s TalkSocket — a PopSockets-partnered Alexa-enabled grip — launches on Kickstarter for $49
Seattle startup FindyPhone Inc. launched TalkSocket, a PopSockets-partnered smartphone grip that adds hands-free Alexa via two microphones and Bluetooth, on Kickstarter for a $49 pledge. The device lacks its own speaker, uses Qi charging for up to five days per charge, and had raised over $12,000 of a $25,000 goal at publication.
Flexe sees surge in demand as pandemic-driven e-commerce growth pushes retailers to buy on-demand warehouse space
E-commerce share of U.S. retail surged during the pandemic, accelerating years of digital adoption in months and boosting demand for Flexe’s on-demand warehousing marketplace. Flexe matches retailers with excess warehouse capacity so companies can scale fulfillment regionally without owning fixed real estate, serving clients like Ralph Lauren, Staples, Ace Hardware and Walmart.
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
