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GeekWire Awards 2020 Goes Virtual; Ally Wins Startup of the Year as Bill Gates and Celebrities Celebrate
GeekWire held a virtual GeekWire Awards livestream honoring top Pacific Northwest tech companies and leaders across 12 categories, with winners accepting via Zoom and special video messages from figures like Bill Gates. Seattle startup Ally won Startup of the Year, and the event included entertainment such as The Drunken Tenorperforming an "Opera di Zoom."
Pioneer Square Labs and Fortive launch TeamSense, a COVID-19 symptom‑tracking SaaS that reached paying customers in six weeks
Pioneer Square Labs and Fortive launched their first spinout, TeamSense, a SaaS platform that lets employers screen and communicate with hourly workers about COVID-19 symptoms via quick daily texts or emails. TeamSense moved from initial funding to paying customers in six weeks and provides dashboards, rosters, and 1-on-1 chat to support workplace health, planning and compliance.
Seattle rises three spots to crack Startup Genome’s global top 10, backed by $3.59B in 2019 VC funding
Seattle climbed three places into Startup Genome’s global top 10 startup ecosystems, driven by strengths in AI, big data, analytics, life sciences and a strong startup genealogy from Microsoft, Amazon and the University of Washington. Venture funding reached a Seattle-area record of $3.59 billion in 2019, and the city ranks highly on performance, funding, market reach, talent, connectedness, knowledge and infrastructure.
Seattle technologists and restaurateur launch Off Their Plate and FoodPair to route meals from struggling restaurants to healthcare workers and vulnerable residents
During the COVID-19 pandemic Seattle technologists and restaurant owners launched donation-driven projects to connect struggling restaurants with people in need, including healthcare workers, low-income children, seniors and people experiencing homelessness. Initiatives include Off Their Plate, which provided over 8,600 meals to local healthcare workers, and FoodPair, a new startup from Expedia Group's Katherine Cheng and co-founder Marie Gill to match donors, restaurants and recipients.
Microsoft’s M12 Leads $700,000 Round for Venture Out, Seattle 12-Week Program Helping Corporate Tech Workers Launch Startups
Venture Out is a Seattle-based 12-week program that helps corporate tech workers launch startups by providing mentorship, requiring 10–20 hours/week commitment, and taking 4% equity. The organization raised $700,000 in a round led by Microsoft’s M12 and is accepting applications for a second cohort starting July 13.
Pioneer Square Labs and Fortive launch joint innovation studio to build spinout companies, starting with a COVID-19 workplace-safety concept
Seattle startup studio Pioneer Square Labs (PSL) has partnered with publicly traded industrial company Fortive to form a joint innovation studio that will build and spin out new companies and products, starting with a confidential workplace-safety concept prompted by COVID-19. PSL will apply its in-house startup studio model to create standalone venture-backed businesses or concepts Fortive may acquire, while Fortive aims to accelerate innovation and cultural change.
Imperative raises $3M led by Voyager Capital to expand virtual peer-coaching; Nikhil Singhal joins as CTO
Seattle startup Imperative raised $3 million led by Voyager Capital to accelerate its virtual peer-coaching platform that connects managers for structured one-on-one video coaching; the company has 120,000 users and 40 corporate clients and added former Microsoft/Expedia/AT&T engineer Nikhil Singhal as CTO.
Foursquare and Factual merge under Foursquare brand with David Shim named CEO; Sue Desmond-Hellmann joins Pfizer board
Foursquare and Factual are merging under the Foursquare brand with Placed founder David Shim as CEO; Sue Desmond-Hellmann joined Pfizer’s board after leaving the Gates Foundation, and other executive moves include Microsoft hiring Rubén Caballero and leadership change at Egencia.
