Databricks
Facts
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- San Francisco
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Thira Secures $21M Seed Funding Led by Madrona to Develop AI-Driven Self-Running Enterprise Back-Office
Thira, founded by Apptio co-founders Sunny Gupta and Kurt Shintaffer, raised $21 million in a seed round led by Madrona to develop a secure, self-learning AI system aimed at automating enterprise back-office IT processes. The funding round also includes participation from FUSE and prominent advisors, with key industry veterans joining the founding team.
Trump’s Sons Invest in Defense Tech Startups Amid $3.2 Billion Pentagon Contracts During Father’s Administration
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have heavily invested in defense technology companies, benefiting from their father President Donald Trump’s renewed administration priorities and Pentagon spending since his reelection. These firms have secured over $3.2 billion in government contracts and stand to compete for up to $200 billion in future defense work.
Cerebral Valley AI Summit Spurs $1.3B Deal as Hopin's $7.75B Virtual Events Dream Collapses to $50M Sale
The conference industry has shifted focus from selling big ideas to providing access, exemplified by the Cerebral Valley AI Summit's success in fostering major deals like a $1.3 billion acquisition. Meanwhile, virtual event platform Hopin, once valued at $7.75 billion, declined sharply post-pandemic, selling its business for about $50 million in 2023 as in-person meetings resumed.
Dallas-Fort Worth Rises to No. 27 in 2026 Global Startup Ecosystem Report with $51 Billion Valuation
Dallas-Fort Worth climbed 11 spots to No. 27 in the 2026 Global Startup Ecosystem Report, with a $51 billion startup ecosystem valued at twice the global average. The region saw strong early-stage funding, significant exits, and was recognized for its R&D market strength.
Gradial Raises $65M Series C Led by Insight Partners to Scale AI Marketing Platform with $675M Valuation
Seattle-based startup Gradial raised $65 million in a Series C funding round led by Insight Partners, bringing total funds raised to over $110 million in 16 months. The company builds an AI orchestration platform for enterprise marketing that integrates with tools like Adobe and Salesforce, and plans to use the funds to scale engineering, sales, and cloud infrastructure.
Databricks Eyes $165-$175B Valuation with $5.4B Revenue, Surging Data Warehousing Growth Ahead of 2026 IPO
Databricks has surpassed $5.4 billion in annualized revenue growing at 65% year-over-year, with its data warehousing product revenue more than doubling to over $1 billion. It is targeting a $165 to $175 billion valuation in its next funding round, positioning itself as a strong competitor to Snowflake ahead of a potential 2026 IPO.
US Venture Capital Market Faces Critical 2026 Reset Amid SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic Mega IPOs
The US venture capital market is concentrating heavily on a few large AI companies like SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI, with major IPOs expected in 2026 potentially reshaping market liquidity and valuations. While there is enthusiasm for AI's growth and retail investor access is expanding, significant risks remain due to high costs, inflated valuations, and legal challenges in secondary trading platforms.
Golden Analytics Raises $14 Million Seed Extension; Insight Partners Joins NEA and Madrona as Company Launches Public Beta
Golden Analytics announced a $14 million seed extension on June 9, 2026, led by Insight Partners joining NEA and Madrona as the company launches a public beta after strong early demand.
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…
OpenAI Expands Bellevue Office to 296,000 Sq Ft, Strengthening Seattle-Area Presence Near Microsoft and Amazon
OpenAI has signed a large lease to expand its Bellevue office to nearly 300,000 square feet, allowing space for over 1,000 employees as it strengthens ties with Microsoft and Amazon in the Seattle region. The expansion follows recent investments and partnerships, including a $38 billion cloud deal with Amazon and a $1 billion acquisition of Seattle startup Statsig.
Crunchbase: Over 40% of 2026 Seed and Series A Rounds Exceed $100M as AI Startups Attract Mega-Funding
Crunchbase data shows that in 2026 over 40% of seed and Series A rounds are $100 million or larger, driven largely by AI startups. Recent examples include Humans& ($480M seed), Ricursive Intelligence ($300M Series A) and Merge Labs ($252M seed), while mega-investments from SoftBank and cross-investments among Musk-led companies highlight escalating capital flows and concentration.
Microsoft Acquires Seattle Data Analytics Startup Osmos to Integrate Autonomous Data Engineering into Microsoft Fabric
Microsoft has acquired Seattle-based startup Osmos to integrate its autonomous data engineering technology into Microsoft Fabric, enhancing data ingestion and preparation. Osmos will sunset its standalone products by January 2026 as its team joins Microsoft's Azure Data Analytics efforts.
Tim Chen Raises $41 Million for Fourth Fund at Essence VC, Emerging as a Leading Solo Investor Backing Infrastructure Startups
Tim Chen, initially rejected by Seattle venture capital firms for being 'too nerdy,' launched his own firm, Essence VC, which has grown to raise $41 million for its fourth fund and gained a strong reputation backing infrastructure startups. His technical background and experience as a software engineer have made him a sought-after solo investor, with notable portfolio successes including the $2.2 billion acquisition of Tabular by Databricks.
Seattle Startup Alkemi Launches AI Platform DataLab for Secure, Non-Technical Company Data Query, Raises $1.65M Pre-Seed
Seattle startup Alkemi, founded by brothers Connor and Maxwell Folley, launched the AI platform DataLab to enable non-technical employees to query company data in plain English without compromising privacy. The company recently raised $1.65 million in pre-seed funding led by Tuesday Capital.
Yoodli Raises $13.7M to Expand AI Roleplay Software Helping Enterprises Enhance Employee Communication Skills
Yoodli, founded by CEO Varun Puri, has raised $13.7 million to grow its AI roleplay software that helps employees improve communication skills through interactive speech analysis and feedback. The startup, spun out of AI2 in 2021, is shifting focus to enterprise clients and has increased revenue fivefold in eight months.
Neotribe-led $13.7M Series A in Yoodli to Expand AI Roleplay Enterprise Platform Serving Google, Databricks and More
Neotribe Ventures led a $13.7 million Series A in Yoodli, an AI roleplay enterprise platform that helps users rehearse high-stakes conversations with real-time feedback; existing investors including Madrona, Cercano, AI2 and Neotribe (who previously invested) highlighted Yoodli’s enterprise traction with customers like Google, Databricks, RingCentral, Snowflake and BDO. The funding will expand sales, customer success, and engineering while improving personalization and realism in roleplays to address communication training gaps at scale.
Seattle AI Startup Yoodli Raises $13.7M to Enhance Sales Pitch Training with Generative AI
Seattle-based AI startup Yoodli raised $13.7 million to advance its generative AI platform that helps sales teams practice pitches by simulating conversations and providing communication feedback. Founded in 2021 by Varun Puri and Esha Joshi, Yoodli serves companies like Databricks and RingCentral and partners with Toastmasters and Korn Ferry.
Seattle Startup Gable Raises $20M Series A Led by Crane Venture Partners to Coordinate Data Changes Across Teams
Seattle startup Gable raised $20 million in a Series A round led by Crane Venture Partners to help companies coordinate data changes and ensure data quality across teams. Founded by ex-Convoy data leaders, Gable serves clients like Glassdoor and Grab and has raised $27 million total.
Databricks Raises $10B at $62B Valuation and Expands Seattle Area Workforce to Nearly 400 Employees
Databricks is raising $10 billion at a $62 billion valuation to accelerate its AI efforts and plans to expand its Seattle-area offices, which have grown from 52 employees in 2021 to nearly 400 today. The company is actively hiring across engineering, product, and security roles to compete for AI talent alongside companies like OpenAI and Anthropic.
Seattle’s Revefi Raises $20M Series A Led by Icon Ventures to Launch AI Data Engineer Product Raden
Seattle startup Revefi raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Icon Ventures to develop its new AI-powered product, Raden, which optimizes data warehouse usage. The company has seen 800% revenue growth and plans to expand its AI data engineering platform.
Vivek Ladsariya Joins Pioneer Square Labs as Managing Director, Moves from Bay Area to Seattle
Vivek Ladsariya, a veteran Bay Area investor with experience in enterprise technology startups, has moved to Seattle to become managing director at Pioneer Square Labs, playing a key role in their Ventures arm and Studio. He aims to focus on technically driven enterprise software infrastructure startups, especially those delivering real automation, enhancing Seattle's venture capital ecosystem.
2024 Annual Investment Outlook
Send us Fan Mail Listen to our 2024 Annual Investment Outlook Panel with four top VCs based in Seattle and the Bay area. Get their perspective on the investment climate in 2024 and their plans to invest specifically in AI/ML based startups. Tim Porter, Managing Director, Madrona Ventures Tim joined Madrona in 2006 and invests in B2B software companies in the Pacific Northwest. He is currently interested in intelligent applications and SaaS, cloud-native software infrastructure, the modern data stack, machine learning, DevOps, and cybersecurity. He is also a board member of numerous Madrona portfolio companies. Sudip Chakrabarti, Partner, Decibel VC…
Statsig Releases Warehouse Native Platform and AI Experimentation Tools Under CEO Vijaye Raji
Statsig, founded by Vijaye Raji in 2021, has released Statsig Warehouse Native, enabling privacy-conscious companies to run A/B testing via their own data warehouses. The Seattle startup also launched generative AI experimentation tools and now serves hundreds of paying customers including Microsoft and Notion.
Ex-Apple Engineers Launch Seattle's XetHub with $7.5M Seed to Accelerate AI Application Development
Seattle-based startup XetHub, founded by three former Apple engineers, raised $7.5 million in seed funding to develop a data storage platform for AI and machine learning application developers. The company aims to streamline code writing and deployment for intelligent applications, targeting businesses adopting AI beyond major tech players.
IA40 Spotlight: dbt Labs Founder Tristan Handy on the modern data stack, partnerships, and creating community
In this week's IA40 Spotlight episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona partner Jon Turow talks with dbt Labs Founder and CEO Tristan Handy. Here at Madrona, we just announced our 2022 IA40, and dbt Labs is one of our two-time winners. The company has positioned itself as the industry standard for data transformation in the cloud, and it raised $222 million at the beginning of the year, which was led by Altimeter, but Databricks and Snowflakes both participated in the round, further solidifying dbt's place and the modern data stack. Jon and Tristan dive into the concept of epistemic truth…
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