Facts
- HQ
- Silicon Valley
- Sectors
- Venture capital, Technology, Defense
- Founded
- 2009
- Founders
- Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz
Daniel Kihanya launches Founders Unfound podcast to spotlight underrepresented founders and counter racial bias
Seattle entrepreneur Daniel Kihanya hosts the Founders Unfound podcast to showcase personal stories of underrepresented founders—especially Black entrepreneurs—to counteract racial bias in startup funding and hiring. By highlighting founders’ backgrounds and character, the biweekly interviews aim to replace surface credibility shortcuts with richer evidence of track records and potential.
Nautilus Biotechnology raises $76M Series B led by Vulcan Capital; Bezos Expeditions among investors, total funding tops $100M
Nautilus Biotechnology, co-founded by Stanford scientist Parag Mallick and Isilon co-founder Sujal Patel, revealed a platform to study the human proteome and announced a $76 million Series B led by Vulcan Capital with participation from Bezos Expeditions, Perceptive Advisors and others. The round brings total funding above $100 million for the 50-person startup as it exits stealth to accelerate proteomics-driven therapeutics development.
Magic Leap to Close Seattle Office, Laying Off 39 Workers Starting June 21
Magic Leap has closed its Seattle satellite office and will lay off 39 workers beginning June 21, according to a Washington state WARN notice; the AR startup previously cut about half its workforce amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Seattle outpost, led by chief futurist Neal Stephenson and co-founder Brian Schowengerdt, housed R&D and developer-relations teams.
Usermind lays off 15 employees (25% of staff) amid COVID-19; CEO Michel Feaster calls it heartbreaking
Seattle marketing-software startup Usermind laid off 15 employees — about 25% of its staff — citing economic impact from the COVID-19 crisis, CEO and co-founder Michel Feaster said. The company, founded in 2013 and backed with over $45 million in funding, will help affected workers find new jobs while focusing on its customer-journey platform.
OfferUp Raises $120M, Acquires Letgo; OLX Group to Own 40% of Combined Entity
OfferUp raised $120 million and agreed to acquire rival app Letgo, creating a combined U.S. marketplace with over 20 million monthly active users; OLX Group led the round and will own 40% of the merged company. OfferUp CEO Nick Huzar will lead the combined business, while Letgo's non‑North American operations will remain with OLX.
Puppet Acquires Seattle Startup Distelli to Enhance Cloud Automation and Code Deployment
Puppet has acquired Seattle-based startup Distelli to enhance its cloud automation platform by integrating Distelli’s efficient code deployment tools. Distelli, founded in 2015 and backed by Andreessen Horowitz, will join Puppet’s Seattle office to help improve software development speed and visibility for Puppet’s 37,000 customers.
OfferUp Raises $119M Led by Warburg Pincus, Confirms Over $1B Valuation with Global Expansion Plans
OfferUp, a Bellevue-based mobile marketplace rival to Craigslist, raised $119 million led by Warburg Pincus, confirming a valuation over $1 billion. The company plans to expand its U.S. dominance and pursue global ambitions by enhancing its platform and hiring more staff.
