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
GeekWire Names Helion, OCOChem, TerraPower, Ravel, and IUNU as 2026 Sustainable Innovation Award Finalists
The finalists for GeekWire's 2026 Sustainable Innovation Award are energy companies Helion, OCOChem, TerraPower; fashion recycler Ravel; and agtech startup IUNU, recognized for their work combating climate change and sustainability challenges. The award, sponsored by Amazon, highlights Pacific Northwest leaders and culminates in a May 7 celebration in Seattle, with public voting open until April 16.
AI Startup Oumi, Founded by Microsoft and Google Veterans, Launches Platform for Custom AI Models
Seattle-based AI startup Oumi, founded by veterans from Microsoft and Google, launched a commercial platform focused on building custom AI models. The company aims to outperform general-purpose AI from providers like OpenAI and Anthropic by specializing in smaller, tailored models.
Qumulo Opens AI-Focused R&D Hub in Cork, Ireland, Creating 50 Jobs Over Three Years
Seattle-based data management company Qumulo is opening a new R&D and customer success hub in Cork, Ireland, expected to create 50 jobs over three years as it focuses on AI-driven global data infrastructure. This expansion reflects Qumulo’s strategy to leverage AI demand and grow internationally under CEO Douglas Gourlay.
Amazon acquires Fauna Robotics, adding 3.5-foot, 50-pound humanoid Sprout to its robotics portfolio
Amazon has acquired New York startup Fauna Robotics, maker of the 3.5-foot, 50-pound humanoid robot Sprout, which was launched to R&D partners in January 2026; terms were not disclosed. Sprout is a $50,000 developer-focused platform for research, education and corporate labs, and Fauna raised $16.6 million before the acquisition.
OpenAI's $1.1B Statsig Acquisition and Other Billion-Dollar Deals Finalists for 2026 GeekWire Deal of the Year
The 2026 GeekWire Awards feature finalists including billion-dollar deals by OpenAI and others, a rare Seattle-area IPO, and a $5 billion mega-round, all recognized for their significant impact on Northwest tech. Voting for the Deal of the Year, which highlights key transactions in innovation, runs through April 16.
Vantari Relocates Headquarters to Seattle to Expand VR Medical Training Across North America with Harvard, Yale, and Others as Clients
Vantari, a VR startup founded in 2017, has moved its headquarters from Sydney to Seattle to expand its healthcare training software across North America. Its VR platform, used by top medical centers including Harvard and Yale, simulates medical procedures with AI guidance and realistic controls to improve clinician training.
Taylor Soper Named Director of Seattle’s AI House at AI2 Incubator After 13 Years at GeekWire
Taylor Soper is leaving GeekWire after more than 13 years as a reporter and editor to become director of AI House at AI2 Incubator, a key hub for AI founders and researchers in Seattle. His deep connections in the Seattle tech scene and editorial leadership will support his new role in the AI community.
UW Students Pitch AI Startup Ideas to Seattle Venture Capitalists After 10-Week Program at Pioneer Square Labs
University of Washington students from seven teams pitched AI-driven startup ideas to influential Seattle investors at Pioneer Square Labs, concluding a 10-week entrepreneurship program led by venture capitalist Greg Gottesman and UW professor Ed Lazowska. The event featured realistic pitch rounds, attracting prominent tech leaders as guests throughout the course.
From DoorBot to Ring: Jamie Siminoff on Grit and What's Next | 2026 Upfront Summit
Jamie Siminoff, founder of Ring, sits down with Hamet Watt (founder & CEO of Share Ventures) at the 2026 Upfront Summit to talk about selling Ring to Amazon for $1 billion, why he left, and why AI brought him back. Jamie opens up about Ring's multiple near-death experiences before it became a household name, how a personal experience with the LA wildfires led a new disaster response feature, and what it's like to build a startup culture inside one of the world's largest companies. Topics covered: - How Ring went from "DoorBot" to a $1B acquisition and 100 million cameras…
How Ring Changed Home Security Forever | Jamie Siminoff
Ring founder Jamie Siminoff shares how a garage invention, a failed Shark Tank pitch, and an obsession with making neighborhoods safer led to building one of the world’s largest home security companies and selling it to Amazon for over $1 billion. Chapters: 00:00 – Jeff Bezos Calls Jamie Siminoff a “Real Builder” 01:30 – Inside the $1 Billion Amazon Acquisition 04:25 – The Dangerous Reality of Hypergrowth 08:07 – Inventor vs Business Operator: Two Types of Entrepreneurs 09:52 – Jamie’s Hiring Philosophy: Passion Over Credentials 12:14 – “Hire Fast, Fire Faster”: The Reality of Building Teams 14:03 – The Moment…
Amperity Names Bridget Perry CMO; Gong Promotes Simon Frey; Elizabeth Scallon Joins Nvidia Healthcare AI
Amperity appointed Bridget Perry as CMO, Gong promoted Simon Frey to chief customer officer, and Elizabeth Scallon joined Nvidia as director of healthcare AI startups. These leadership changes highlight significant executive movements in Pacific Northwest tech companies.
Seattle Startup Radar Highlights AI-Driven Ventures Like The Carry’s $299 Fitness Vest and Color42’s Music Video AI with 1,000 Users
Several Seattle-area startups led by founders such as Esther Sedgwick of The Carry and Prince Bajracharya of Color42 are leveraging AI across diverse sectors including fitness, music marketing, and autonomous debugging. These companies are at early stages with products launching this year and are receiving feedback from a GPT-powered critic called 'Mean VC' to refine their market strategies.
How to Sell AI Into the Enterprise: Pilots, Pricing, and Closing 12-Month Deals
What does it really take to sell an AI-native product into the Fortune 500? In this episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Managing Director Matt McIlwain sits down with two founders deep in the trenches of enterprise AI adoption, Esha Joshi (Co-founder, Yoodli) and Anup Chamrajnagar (Co-founder, Gradial.) Their companies are selling into some of the world's most complex organizations, like Google, SAP, Snowflake, Databricks, and more. And they break down what founders often underestimate about enterprise AI sales. They dive into: Why most AI pilots fail and how to prevent it The "three-legged stool" of enterprise sales How AI…
Seattle-San Francisco Fund TheFounderVC Launches $5M Inaugural Vertical AI Early Stage Fund
TheFounderVC (TFVC), a new early stage fund based in Seattle and San Francisco, publicly launched its inaugural $5 million fund focused on vertical AI startups. TFVC plans to invest $100,000 to $250,000 in 25 to 30 pre-seed and seed companies, mostly with ties to Seattle, including startups in AI-powered knowledge storage, science automation, weather risk planning, and more.
Elizabeth Scallon Departs HP, Chris Blandy Retires from AWS, Milkana Brace Joins SageOx
Elizabeth Scallon left HP after nearly four years as director, Chris Blandy retired from AWS after 4 years, and Milkana Brace joined Seattle startup SageOx as co-founder and CPO. Each executive shared reflections on their career changes and future plans.
Aetherflux, Founded by Robinhood's Baiju Bhatt, Expands to Seattle for Solar-Powered Orbital Data Center Satellite Development
Aetherflux, a space startup founded in 2024 by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt, is expanding to Seattle to develop solar-powered orbital data center satellites aimed at supporting AI energy needs, with a commercial launch planned for 2027. The company joins a growing aerospace community in Seattle, focusing on leveraging space-based infrastructure to overcome limitations of ground-based AI computing resources.
Anthropic acquires Vercept, the AI job crisis scenario, and Microsoft's past Epstein connections
Anthropic acquired Seattle startup Vercept on Wednesday, raising familiar questions about the impact of early exits on the broader Seattle startup ecosystem, and the question of whether AI startups can compete long-term against the giants of the field. We dig into the deal, the public feud between two of the company's early investors on LinkedIn, and why one co-founder's prior departure to Meta may have been worth more than the entire acquisition. Plus, a new research paper envisions a 2028 "global intelligence crisis" driven by AI-fueled white collar job losses, and we're already seeing early signs in the news. Then…
Anthropic Acquires Seattle AI Startup Vercept to Boost Claude’s Desktop Automation Capabilities
Anthropic has acquired Seattle AI startup Vercept, integrating its desktop 'computer use' technology and team to enhance Claude's ability to perform multi-step tasks within live applications. As part of the deal, Vercept will shut down its Vy application and encourage users to switch to Claude.
Union.ai Raises $38.1M Series A Led by NEA to Advance AI Workflow Platform Flyte 2
Seattle-area startup Union.ai raised $38.1 million in a Series A round led by NEA to develop its AI development infrastructure platform, including Flyte 2 for orchestrating machine learning workflows. The company, serving clients like Spotify and Carfax, aims to help engineering teams build dynamic and durable AI workflows faster and more reliably.
Temporal Raises $300M Series D Led by Andreessen Horowitz, Valued at $5B Amid AI Infrastructure Surge
Temporal, led by CEO Samar Abbas, raised $300 million in a Series D round at a $5 billion valuation, driven by surging demand for its durable execution infrastructure supporting AI agents. The company’s revenue grew over 380% year-over-year as it positions itself as a core infrastructure provider for the emerging AI agent platform shift.
Matt Oppenheimer Steps Down as CEO of $7B Remitly After 15 Years, Moves to Chairman Role
Matt Oppenheimer led Remitly for nearly 15 years, growing it from a three-person startup to a $7 billion public fintech company with over 9 million users, before transitioning to chairman. Remitly reported $442.2 million revenue in Q4 with its first profitable year in 2025 under new CEO Sebastian Gunningham.
Remitly co-founder Matt Oppenheimer becomes executive chairman as ex-Amazon exec Sebastian Gunningham named CEO
Remitly co-founder Matt Oppenheimer is stepping down as CEO and becoming executive chairman while former Amazon executive Sebastian Gunningham will succeed him as CEO; Oppenly (sic) remains a major shareholder and will focus on long-term strategy.
Sana Biotechnology Appoints Brian Piper as CFO; Aptevo CEO Marvin White to Step Down in April; Violett Names Scott Kushino CEO
Brian Piper was appointed CFO and executive vice president at Sana Biotechnology, while Marvin White will step down as Aptevo CEO in April, succeeded by COO Jeff Lamothe. Additionally, Scott Kushino became CEO of Seattle startup Violett, and several other leadership changes occurred across Seattle and New York tech companies.
London’s Foundry Acquires Seattle AI Management Startup Griptape to Boost Creative Production Tools
Seattle startup Griptape, founded by former AWS executives and specializing in AI model management platforms, was acquired by London-based creative software company Foundry to enhance its AI-powered production tools. Griptape had raised $12.5 million in funding and had 13 employees at the time of acquisition.
Tech Veteran Joe Nguyen Named Seattle Metropolitan Chamber CEO to Drive Regional Economic Growth and Address Business-Political Divides
Joe Nguyen, former Washington State director of commerce and tech veteran, has become president and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce to focus on driving the economic engine of the Puget Sound region. He aims to bridge divides between business and politics and secure economic opportunities for future generations amid evolving challenges like AI.
People
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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
