Bessemer Venture Partners
Clarify Acquires Seam AI to Build 'Clarify Signals' Integrating Proprietary Buying Signals; Five Seam Employees Join
Seattle AI startup Clarify has acquired San Francisco-based Seam AI to integrate Seam’s web-based buying-signal monitoring into a new product, Clarify Signals, later this year; financial terms were not disclosed and five Seam employees will join Clarify.
Clarify acquires Seam AI to power Clarify Signals, adds five employees including Seam CEO Nicholas Scavone
Seattle AI startup Clarify, which has raised $22.5 million, acquired San Francisco-based Seam AI to integrate its proprietary web monitoring signals into a new product, Clarify Signals, launching later this year; five Seam employees including CEO Nicholas Scavone will join Clarify. Financial terms were not disclosed, though Clarify said it raised additional undisclosed funding as part of the deal.
Melinda Lewison, Bezos family office representative, leaves Slate Auto board as $1.4B EV startup readies first truck in late 2026
Melinda Lewison, who represented Jeff Bezos’s family office on Slate Auto’s board, has resigned months before the EV startup— which has raised $1.4 billion citing Bezos’s association— is due to begin producing an affordable electric truck in late 2026 in Warsaw, Indiana. Her departure follows a March CEO change and raises questions about Bezos’s ongoing, largely implicit involvement.
GoodShip Raises $25 Million and Opens First Bellevue Office Following 10x Revenue Growth in 2024
GoodShip, a logistics software startup founded in 2022, raised $25 million to open its first office in Bellevue, Washington, after growing its annual recurring revenue tenfold in 2024. The company serves notable clients like Kellanova and Tropicana and is backed by investors including Greenfield Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners.
Aigen Secures $12 Million to Scale Solar-Powered AI Weed-Thumping Robot for Farms
Aigen, a Kirkland-based ag-tech startup co-founded by Rich Wurden and Kenny Lee, raised $12 million to advance its solar-powered robotic weed-thumper, the Aigen Element, which uses AI and computer vision to aid sustainable, labor-saving farming. The startup aims to help farmers reduce carbon emissions and costs through continuous, renewable-powered operations and real-time crop data delivered to mobile apps.
Seattle Venture Firm Essence VC Raises $27M to Fund Early-Stage Tech Infrastructure Startups
Seattle-based venture capital firm Essence VC, led by managing partner Timothy Chen, has raised $27 million for its third fund to invest in early-stage startups focused on software development tools, data infrastructure, and AI. The firm targets pre-product startups and has made seven investments since December, including in Jasper AI and MotherDuck.
Syndio raises $50M Series C led by Emerson Collective and Bessemer to expand pay-equity platform
Seattle-based pay-equity startup Syndio raised $50 million in a Series C led by Emerson Collective and Bessemer Venture Partners, bringing total funding to $83 million as it expands customers and product use to analyze gender and race pay gaps.
Stephen Curry-backed Penny Jar Capital leads $1M investment in Seattle pay-equity startup Syndio
Seattle pay-equity startup Syndio raised a $1 million investment led by Penny Jar Capital that is anchored by NBA star Stephen Curry, adding to the company’s more than $30 million raised over four years and bringing Curry active involvement and public support for pay equity.
Ganaz raises $7M Series A led by Trilogy Equity to expand ag workforce software and launch Mastercard Payroll Card
Seattle-based Ganaz raised $7 million in a Series A led by Trilogy Equity to expand its workforce-management and emerging financial tools for the agricultural sector, serving over 175,000 workers and 75 employers across the U.S. and Mexico. The company plans to roll out a Mastercard Payroll Card to digitize pay and paperwork, expand into eight Latin American countries this year, and grow headcount by 30+.
Founders’ Co-op’s Chris DeVore skips Auth0 seed due to competing investment, joins 2015 Series A and profits from Okta’s $6.5B acquisition
Seattle VC Chris DeVore of Founders’ Co-op missed Auth0’s 2014 seed because the firm already backed competitor Meldium, which was acquired in 2014 for $15 million; after that exit he joined Auth0’s $6.9M Series A in 2015 and saw the company acquired by Okta for $6.5B. DeVore says avoiding portfolio overlap is key and expresses gratitude to Auth0’s founders for allowing Founders’ Co-op to participate.
Former Amazon executive Jeff Blackburn joins Bessemer Venture Partners as partner, staying in Seattle
Longtime Amazon executive Jeff Blackburn left Amazon and has joined Bessemer Venture Partners as one of five new partners; he will focus on early- and late-stage customer-focused companies and remain based in Seattle. Bessemer also announced it raised $3.3 billion across two new funds and has a history of backing major startups.
Syndio raises $17.1M led by Bessemer to expand PayEQ pay‑equity analytics after surge in 2020 demand
Seattle-based Syndio raised $17.1 million in a new funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners to accelerate development of its PayEQ pay‑equity analytics software amid rising demand in 2020. The company says PayEQ is used by more than 100 firms across 2.3 million employees and that ARR nearly tripled during 2020.
Founders’ Co-op publishes customer experience promise to founders outlining five commitments after 200+ early-stage investments
Founders’ Co-op outlines a written customer experience promise to founders, committing to five principles—Tell the Truth, Be Fast, Give First, It’s Your Company, Be Human—based on the partners’ founder-to-VC experience and more than 200 early-stage investments.
