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Seattle Tech Week Kickoff Spotlights Founders Building an AI WhatsApp Agent for Seattle Orcas Logistics and Other Startup Tools
At the Seattle Tech Week kickoff, founders and leaders described diverse projects including an AI agent that manages a professional cricket team's logistics via WhatsApp, and other startups building B2B tools and voice AI for bar inventory. The event drew over 29,000 registrations and included panels showcasing regional entrepreneurs and investors.
Rad Power Bikes Appoints Angelina Smith as CEO Amid Chapter 11 Bankruptcy with $73M Liabilities
Rad Power Bikes named Angelina Smith as CEO amid Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, marking the company's fourth CEO change in three years. The Seattle-based e-bike maker filed for bankruptcy due to declining revenues and economic challenges following a pandemic-era sales boom.
Picnic Raises $5M Led by Cercano Management with Investor Andy Liu Joining Board to Scale Pizza-Making Robot
Picnic, a food automation startup known for its pizza-making robots, raised $5 million in a new funding round led by Cercano Management, with investor Andy Liu joining the board. The funds will support scaling operations and meeting growing demand for Picnic's pizza-making technology used in high-volume venues.
Ascend Launches Seattle-Focused Co-Founder Matching Program at Annual Founders Bash
Ascend, an early stage venture firm, launched a Seattle-focused co-founder matching program at its annual Founders Bash, emphasizing the importance of selecting co-founders with complementary skills and past working experience. Entrepreneurs highlight trust and proven partnerships as key factors for startup success.
Seattle Logistics Unicorn Flexe Lays Off 131 Employees, Cutting 33% Amid Freight Market Slowdown
Seattle-based logistics startup Flexe, valued at $1 billion, laid off 33% of its workforce (131 employees) due to a freight industry slowdown. This follows a challenging market environment affecting several logistics startups despite previous pandemic-driven growth.
Seattle Startup JetClosing to Shut Down on June 15 After Six Years Digitizing Home Closing Process
JetClosing, a Seattle startup founded in 2016 to digitize the home closing process using technology, is shutting down on June 15, 2022. The company struggled amid a cooling housing market and strong competition despite offering faster, cheaper, and more transparent services.
GeekWire surveys Seattle-area VCs to name Pacific Northwest startups they predict will become unicorns in 2022
GeekWire surveyed more than a dozen Seattle-area venture capitalists for their picks of Pacific Northwest startups likely to reach unicorn status this year, compiling a list of candidate companies with reasons for each selection. The piece notes rising valuations nationwide and excludes VCs' own portfolio companies to reduce bias.
JetClosing raises $11M Series B, names former Amazon and Bulletproof exec Anna Collins as CEO
Seattle digital home-closing startup JetClosing raised an $11 million Series B led by funds advised by T. Rowe Price, Pioneer Square Labs and Trilogy Equity, bringing total funding to $44 million. The company also named former Amazon and Bulletproof executive Anna Collins as its new CEO, replacing founder Daniel Greenshields.
Pioneer Square Labs raises $100M Fund II to back 30+ Pacific Northwest startups with $1–3M initial checks
Seattle-based Pioneer Square Labs raised $100 million for its second venture fund, exceeding its $80 million target due to strong institutional demand, and will invest across more than 30 early-stage Pacific Northwest companies with initial checks of $1–3 million. The firm operates a startup studio (raised $29 million) and a venture fund model that splits capital roughly half to studio spinouts and half to external startups.
Flexe raises $70M Series C led by T. Rowe Price as e-commerce surge drives on-demand warehousing growth
Seattle-based Flexe raised a $70 million Series C led by T. Rowe Price as pandemic-driven e-commerce growth accelerates demand for its on-demand warehousing marketplace, bringing total funding to $134 million.
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.
Amplero Appoints Former Pandora CEO Brian McAndrews and Ex-Salesforce Marketing Cloud CEO Scott McCorkle to Board
Amplero announced the addition of Brian McAndrews, former Pandora CEO, and Scott McCorkle, former Salesforce Marketing Cloud CEO, to its Board of Directors to help guide its AI marketing growth.
