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
Techstars Seattle's demise leaves a gap in startup market
Techstars Seattle helped launch more than 160 startups over the past decade, partnered with the likes of Microsoft and Amazon to spark even more startups, and led to the creation of three companies currently valued at more than $1 billion — making it one of the most successful programs in the Techstars network. Founded in 2006 in Boulder, Colo., Techstars provides fledgling startups with early capital, coaching, mentorship, a chance to pitch to investors, and an opportunity to work for three months in a shared space with other entrepreneurs. Techstars expanded to Seattle in 2010, and for more than a…
Investor Spotlight: A Conversation with Madrona's Soma Somasegar
Hear from Madrona Managing Director Soma Somasegar as he discusses his path to venture capital by way of 27 years at Microsoft. He shares invaluable insights about what he looks for in a founder, the importance of passion in founders, the state of cloud technology, and the future of AI and Startups. Tim also shares Madrona's core principles, his favorite books for entrepreneurs, and his personal interests outside of work, including his passion for outdoor sports and the nonprofit Global Partnerships. This chat is a must-watch for aspiring entrepreneurs looking for insights into the venture capital world or strategies to…
OpenAI's Sora, a new Amazon book, and 5 days a week in the office
This week on the GeekWire Podcast, stick around to the end for a late-breaking addition to the show — a bonus segment about OpenAI's new AI video generation technology Sora. Joining the show is Rahul Sood, CEO and co-founder of Irreverent Labs, a Seattle-area startup that is working on AI to turn images and text into video. We also discuss the Seattle-area startups that are bringing employees into the office five days a week; look ahead to the upcoming release of what appears to be a juicy Amazon book, due out in April; and preview the GeekWire Awards in advance…
Can AI level the playing field? Nancy Wang of Advancing Women in Tech
This week's guest, Nancy Wang, is a technology product and engineering executive, advisor, and investor. A former Amazon Web Services general manager and former Google lead product manager, she is a venture partner at Felicis Ventures, where she invests in early-stage startups in cybersecurity, enterprise infrastructure, and business-to-business software as a service. She is also founder and board chair of Advancing Women in Tech, and a contributor to Forbes. With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What's next for Microsoft and OpenAI; Amazon car sales; disappearing unicorns
This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we assess the outcome of the drama at OpenAI, considering what the removal and ultimate return of its CEO Sam Altman, and everything that happened in between, means for Microsoft. While Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella earned kudos for masterfully navigating the mess, the situation also showed how the company was vulnerable to being blindsided due to OpenAI's convoluted structure. And while for-profit interests are likely to get more influence on OpenAI's reformulated board, it's not yet clear if Microsoft will end up with a seat on that board, leaving the ultimate outcome for Microsoft…
Jeff Bezos' big move, Convoy's final stop, AI meets VC
What should we make of Jeff Bezos' decision to move his primary residence from Seattle to Miami? That's our first topic on this week's episode. Plus, Convoy's final destination; a new AI feature from Seattle startup Yoodli that helps startup founders hone their pitches; and Amazon tests Bluetooth earplugs for warehouse workers. Related stories and links ‘Seattle, you will always have a piece of my heart’: Jeff Bezos leaving Amazon’s hometown for Miami Jeff Bezos’ move out of Washington state sparks questions about wealth taxes Swimming from Seattle? Jeff Bezos’ big move brings us full circle from the mid-1990s Flexport…
What the heck happened at Convoy?
This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we examine the market forces, debt, and other dynamics that put the digital freight marketplace Convoy out of business, bringing one of the Seattle region's top startups to the end of the road. Related coverage: ‘The markets crushed us’: In tearful farewell to employees, Convoy execs reflect on shutdown Convoy collapse: Read CEO’s memo detailing sudden shutdown of Seattle trucking startup Convoy raised $260 million just 18 months ago, at a valuation of $3.8 billion. Its investor list was a who's who of tech moguls and celebrities, including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Marc Benioff…
Statsig Founder Vijaye Raji on Product Building, Launching a Startup, and AI
Today, Madrona Managing Director S. Somasegar talks with Statsig founder and CEO Vijaye Raji, who spent 20 years at Microsoft and Facebook before launching Statsig as a way to bring the powerful tools he was used to using inside Facebook to all builders. Statsig experimentation platform and automated AB testing helps companies make product decisions in a data-driven way at scale, which means shipping the right products faster. Vijaye and Soma go way back and take a little trip down memory lane, talking about Microsoft's Small Basic. But then they dive into what it's like transitioning from big tech to…
Gaurav Oberoi
Gaurav Oberoi is the CEO and co-founder of Lexion. He started his career as an engineer at Amazon, before moving on to found and sell two startups (BillMonk, and Precision Polling), and build a $20M+ ARR business from $0 as a VP of Product at SurveyMonkey. Gaurav co-founded Lexion as the first EIR at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence. He thrives on building products that customers love, with diverse teams that enjoy working together. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Shift AI Podcast: Seattle's place at the center of the AI universe, with Madrona's Matt McIlwain
On this week’s GeekWire Podcast, we're featuring an episode of Shift AI, a podcast hosted by Boaz Ashkenazy, CEO of AI solutions provider Simply Augmented, with guest Matt McIlwain of Seattle-based venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group. A thriving tech hub requires access to ideas, people, and experiments that produce collective lessons sooner and with greater fidelity than anywhere else. This is what made the Seattle area the cloud capital of the world. It also positions the region as one of the world’s top centers of excellence for artificial intelligence. That’s one of the insights from Matt McIlwain, managing director…
Amazon's AI strategy, how AI startups can stand out, and hope for AI and humanity
This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we look at how Amazon is positioning itself in the emerging era of generative artificial intelligence. We play and assess clips of Amazon CEO Andy Jassy explaining the company's AI strategy on its earnings call this week. We also discuss the history of AI usage by startups, and consider advice from investors and startup leaders at Seattle Tech Week for emerging tech companies looking to stand out with their own AI applications and solutions. And finally, we reconsider our approach to interacting with machines and contemplate the possibility of artificial intelligence reflecting not just…
Drones and the future of public safety, with Brinc CEO Blake Resnick
Blake Resnick built a fusion reactor in his garage at age 14, and interned at McLaren Automotive, Tesla, and DJI, before dropping out of Northwestern University in 2017 to launch drone startup Brinc. Now, at age 23, he oversees a team of nearly 100 people making drones and other technology for public safety agencies, serving more than 400 customers. On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, recorded on-location at the company's headquarters in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood, Resnick talks about Brinc’s origins, its move from Las Vegas to Seattle, the upcoming release of its Lemur 2 drone, his recent White House…
Kris Engskov
Kris Engskov is the Co-Founder & CEO of Rippl, a venture-backed start-up redefining the next generation of mental health for seniors. Leveraging a value-based approach, disruptive technology, and a relentless focus on empowering its clinicians, Rippl is pioneering a new care model to dramatically expand access to high-quality, wrap-around mental and behavioral healthcare for seniors, their families, and caregivers. Most recently, Kris served as President of Aegis Living, one of the nation’s leading innovators in providing assisted living, memory care, and wellness services to seniors. Prior to jumping into senior health, Kris spent over 16 years at Starbucks Coffee Company…
Investor Spotlight with Jon Turow
Get to know Madrona Partner Jon Turow. Learn why he got into VC, what he looks for in founders, where the opportunities lay for founders when it comes to generative AI, and what he enjoys doing outside the office. (00:00:00) Introduction (00:00:39) Jon Turow's background (00:01:19) Why venture capital (00:02:27) Why Madrona (00:03:20) Opportunities in generative AI (00:05:35) What Jon looks for in founders (00:07:02) Jon's book recommendations (00:08:58) What Jon does for fun
Acquired Hosts Ben and David on Getting Started at Madrona and Tom Alberg's Legacy
This week, we're excited to release a special live episode recorded during the community event portion of the Madrona 2023 annual meeting. Managing Director Matt McIlwain talks with Madrona Alumni and Acquired Podcast Hosts Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal. The three reflect on Acquired episode No. 28, which dove into the Amazon IPO with the late Madrona Co-founder and original Amazon Board Member Tom Alberg, and the early days getting the show off the ground from the Madrona offices.
SVB aftermath; remote work 'affliction'; and Microsoft puts AI to work
This week on the GeekWire Podcast ... We catch up on the latest on the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, and consider the long-term implications of the meltdown on the startup ecosystem and the U.S. financial system. Then, a point-counterpoint on the issue of the return to office, as Downtown Seattle Association President Jon Scholes laments the "affliction" of remote work, and Zillow Group CEO Rich Barton says the ways we work (and the places we work) have changed forever. And finally, we catch up on the latest in the world of generative artificial intelligence, listening to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's…
Incubating the Next Big Ideas | with Elizabeth Scallon (Co-Founder Find Ventures, Director HP, WeWork)
In this episode of Shift AI we feature Elizabeth Scallon, a prominent figure in the Seattle startup scene who discusses her experiences and insights on co-working, mentorship, and the future of work. Elizabeth highlights the potential of AI and co-creation in scaling and accelerating work processes. and shares her expertise on funding structures for underrepresented small businesses. In this episode of Shift AI, we cover: Elizabeth discusses her first experience working and her family’s relationship to work growing up in Bellevue Washington. Elizabeth’s background as a leader in the Seattle startup accelerator scene, as a mentor and champion for small…
Lexion's Gaurav Oberoi on Applying AI to Change an Industry
In this week's IA40 Spotlight Episode of Founded & Funded, Investor Elisa La Cava talks to Lexion Co-founder and CEO Gaurav Oberoi. Lexion was one of the first spinouts from AI2, and Madrona invested in the first round the company raised in 2019. Like many companies that come from AI2 – Lexion is focused on applying AI to change an industry. Specifically, Lexion helps legal teams at enterprises manage contracts – and they are one of the companies that have added features using OpenAI's GPT technology.
When Mark Zuckerberg met Seattle
The year was 2011, Facebook was serving a mere 600 million users, and Mark Zuckerberg was making his pitch to a crowd of prospective hires inside the company's office near Pike Place Market — explaining why the social network had chosen Seattle for its first remote engineering hub. "We were like, alright, at some point, we should probably think about opening up offices in other places," he said. "And we figured that Seattle would be a good starting place, because it's culturally pretty similar to the Bay Area, pretty close by. ... It's the same time zone. So it's easier…
#25 Todd Bishop: Co-Founder of Geekwire.com
In this week's episode of Startup Project we spoke to Todd Bishop, Co-Founder of Geekwire. He is a longtime business and technology journalist who reports on subjects including AI, cloud, startups, and health technology, plus Amazon and Microsoft, & hosts GeekWire's weekly podcast. Full conversation includes: Geekwire Story Business model of publishing Covering Big Tech Amazon's next big thing Doom Scrolling & a whole lot more. ----- Past guests of Startup Project podcast include Ali Moiz (stonks.com), Kirby Winfield (Ascend.vc), Eric Bahn (Hustle Fund), and many more. To stay up to date checkout thestartupproject.io & follow us on twitter: @natarajsindam
Insights from the life of early Amazon investor and Seattle business leader Tom Alberg
Seattle investor and business leader Tom Alberg, who died last week at the age of 82, was a key figure in the e-commerce and wireless industries, and in the Seattle startup community, through his roles as an early Amazon investor and longtime board member, executive at McCaw Cellular, and co-founder of Madrona Venture group. On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, Todd Bishop and John Cook share their own insights from Alberg's life. See our earlier coverage for more on Alberg’s legacy; read tributes from his friends and colleagues; and see Madrona’s LinkedIn post for more remembrances from those who…
IA40 Spotlight: Cresta Co-founder and CEO Zayd Enam on Using AI to Empower People to be More Productive
We've all struggled with call center experiences. Madrona's Ishani Ummat talks with Cresta Co-founder and CEO Zayd Enam about the unique angle Cresta takes to leverage AI to drive a better customer experience in real time. The two dive into the important topic of how AI can be used to help empower people to be more productive. we hear the story of why Zayd dropped out of his Ph.D. program to pursue launching his own company based on what he explains as the "schlep blindness" of contact centers. He also discusses the unique way he landed his first customer, which…
CommerceIQ's Guru Hariharan on Pivoting When You're in the Wrong Market
In this episode of Founded and Funded, Managing Director Scott Jacobson is talking with CommerceIQ CEO Guru Hariharan. CommerceIQ is a retail e-commerce management platform that automates and unifies category analytics, retail media management, and sales and operations all under one roof. The company secured $115 million in funding in March and just made its first acquisition — e-fundamentals — to expand into digital shelf analytics. The acquisition actually brings the company around full circle in a sense. CommerceIQ was originally Boomerang Commerce, which was a dynamic pricing software for multi-brand retail companies to better compete with the likes of…
Robotics Expert Sidd Srinivasa on Trends and What's Ripe for Innovation
In this episode of Founded and Funded Madrona Investors Aseem Datar and Sabrina Wu sit down with robotics expert and University of Washington Professor Sidd Srinivasa to talk about the technology and sociological trends that are leading to innovation in the robotics space, where Sidd sees opportunities for founders, and why now it is a time to pay attention to what's happening in the space. Sidd also shares why he is what he calls an "accidental roboticist" and some of the hard-learned lessons from throughout his extensive career.
Tony Hsieh, Zappos, and Amazon
Tony Hsieh was a legendary entrepreneur who built Zappos and sold the online shoe retailer to Amazon for $1.2 billion in 2009. He was known for unusual experiments in management and business structure, and for pursuing long-term passions over short-term profits, as described in his 2010 book, Delivering Happiness. A new book, Happy at Any Cost: The Revolutionary Vision and Fatal Quest of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, tells the rest of the story of Hsieh's life, leading up to his tragic death from injuries sustained in a fire in New London, Conn., in November 2020. The book also goes behind-the-scenes…
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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
