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
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.
Boundless raises $7.5M to acquire RapidVisa, adds 45 employees and expands online immigration services
Seattle-based Boundless raised $7.5 million to fund the acquisition of rival RapidVisa and expand its online immigration tools, nearly doubling its team by adding 45 RapidVisa employees. CEO Xiao Wang says the funding and deal will strengthen the company’s infrastructure and market position ahead of an economic recovery.
Sensoria Health launches $69 Smart Band tracking SpO2, temperature and heart rate to spot COVID-19 warning signs
Sensoria Health launched a $69 Smart Band that measures body temperature, heart rate, blood oxygenation (SpO2), sleep quality and steps, aiming to help detect potential COVID-19 symptoms. The device will be available later this month in the U.S. and Europe, and CEO Davide Vigano highlighted monitoring SpO2 trends as important for early detection of COVID-19 pneumonia.
Former AWS, Dropbox, Facebook, Convoy Leaders — Linda Lian, Tom Kleinpeter, Francis Luu, Viraj Mody — Launch Stealth Seattle Startup to Build Digital Community Tools
Four former Seattle tech leaders — Linda Lian, Tom Kleinpeter, Francis Luu, and Viraj Mody — have quietly formed a new startup building tools to help users create digital communities, according to a recent tweet by Lian. The team brings experience from Amazon Web Services, Dropbox, Facebook, Convoy and Madrona Venture Group; Lian declined to provide further details.
Cloudshim, founded by ex-Microsoft and Amazon engineers Lokesh and Vishal Taneja, raises $120,000 from Black Lion Ventures
Seattle startup Cloudshim, founded by former Microsoft and Amazon engineers Lokesh and Vishal Taneja, raised $120,000 from Black Lion Ventures to grow its self‑serve cloud management platform that currently supports AWS and will add GCP and Azure.
Anu Sharma leaves AWS to join Madrona Venture Group as investor after eight years at Amazon
Anu Sharma left an eight-year product management role at Amazon/AWS to join Madrona Venture Group’s investment team, turning a long-standing personal interest in investing into a full-time career where she plans to apply engineering rigor to evaluating and growing startups.
Amazon's ambitious health band; 4-day work week; Convoy hires ex-Expedia CEO
Here’s what we’re talking about on the GeekWire Podcast this week. Amazon surprised everyone by unveiling a new health band, the Halo, this week. The device will not only track your steps but also measure your body fat and even analyze your voice to assess your degree of “energy and positivity." But will it protect your private health info from prying eyes? Seattle startup Volt has taken the pandemic-inspired work-from-home plan to a new level by going to a four-day work week. Are Volt employees as productive as they were when they worked five days a week? And what do…
Former Expedia CEO Mark Okerstrom named president and COO of Convoy as startup tops 1,000 employees
Former Expedia CEO Mark Okerstrom joins Seattle digital freight startup Convoy as president and COO to oversee finance, operations, marketing and marketplace growth as the company surpasses 1,000 employees and a $2.7B valuation.
Panda AI, spun out of AI2, raises $3.3M with AI2 as first investor from its new pre-seed fund
Panda AI, a stealth startup spun out of the Allen Institute for AI (AI2), raised $3.3 million in a round led by PSL Ventures with participation from AI2 and others; it is the first company to receive funding from AI2’s new pre-seed fund.
GeekWire: Pacific NW startups raise big rounds — Vacasa $108M, Remitly $85M, Auth0 $120M, OfferUp $120M, Outreach $50M; Qumulo hits $1B
Pacific Northwest privately-held tech startups raised large funding rounds and increased valuations during the 2020 economic crisis, with several firms hitting or exceeding $1 billion valuations and total H1 2020 investment of $2.3 billion across 135 deals.
Kymeta acquires Lepton Global Solutions to add 17-satellite service network, targets U.S. government and military contracts
Kymeta Corp., the Redmond-based satellite antenna company backed by Bill Gates, acquired Lepton Global Solutions to add satellite service capabilities and strengthen its position for U.S. government and military contracts. Lepton will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary in Tysons Corner with fewer than 15 employees, expanding Kymeta’s workforce to nearly 200; financial terms were not disclosed.
Former Intellectual Ventures EVP Maurizio Vecchione named CEO of Washington Global Health Alliance; Shujinko hires three executives after $7.5M raise
Maurizio Vecchione, former Intellectual Ventures EVP, was named president and CEO of Seattle-based Washington Global Health Alliance and K.R. Prabha named board chair; Seattle startup Shujinko added three senior hires after a $7.5M raise; Oracle appointed Clay Magouyrk EVP for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and UW named Dr. Ekin Yasin director of its Communication Leadership graduate program.
Atomo Coffee raises $9M to build 12,000 sq ft Seattle roastery for molecular coffee near Starbucks HQ
Seattle-based Atomo Coffee raised $9 million in a funding round led by Horizons Ventures and S2G Ventures to scale its molecular coffee made from upcycled plant materials and open a 12,000-square-foot roastery near Starbucks headquarters. The company plans regional product launches in 2021 for a molecular coffee concentrate and Atomo Grounds aimed at reducing coffee’s environmental impact and removing bitterness.
Xealth partners with Cerner as Cerner invests $6 million to scale digital health prescriptions amid COVID-19
Seattle startup Xealth announced a partnership with EHR vendor Cerner and received a $6 million investment from Cerner (with participation from LRVHealth) to help hospitals rapidly adopt digital health tools accelerated by COVID-19.
Adam Schoenfeld’s Seattle Startup Hiring Tracker: 67% of 348 Seattle tech firms have openings, 2,620 roles; 42% grew headcount
A new Seattle Startup Hiring Tracker from entrepreneur Adam Schoenfeld shows 67% of 348 tracked Seattle tech companies have open roles (2,620 total), with 42% growing headcount month-over-month, 35% stable and 23% shrinking despite the pandemic.
Zipwhip extends work-from-home through July 2021 after moving into 75,000 sq ft Seattle office in Oct 2019
Seattle startup Zipwhip, which moved into a 75,000-square-foot office in October 2019, is extending its coronavirus-induced work-from-home policy through July 2021 while nearly all of its 250+ employees work remotely. The company provided $500 per employee for home-office setups, keeps the office open for up to 25 people with special needs, and found 80% of employees prefer hybrid schedules.
Ignition Partners investors spin out Fuse Venture Partners led by Kellan Carter, Cameron Borumand and Seahawks star Bobby Wagner
A group of investors from Seattle VC firm Ignition Partners, including managing partner John Connors, have launched a spinoff called Fuse Venture Partners led by general partners Kellan Carter and Cameron Borumand and featuring Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner as a venture partner. Ignite will sunset its brand while Fuse focuses on doubling down in Seattle and managing new investments, with Wagner committing to active involvement.
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
