GeekWire
GeekWire provides technology news, analysis, and resources for tech professionals, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts. It covers developments in the technology industry, produces events and podcasts, and offers tools such as job boards and startup rankings to support the tech community. Its mission is to inform and connect people interested in technology and startups.
Facts
- HQ
- Seattle
- Sectors
- Online Audio and Video Media
- Founded
- 2011
- Type
- LLC Seattle business license
- Employees
- 26
- Registered name
- GeekWire LLC Seattle business license
- Founders
- John Cook, Todd Bishop
Is this your organization? Claim it
Publication
- Last published Oct 15
Authors & Editors
2Morrow raises $1.5M led by WRF Capital, total funding now $2.9M to expand ACT-based digital therapeutics
Seattle-area digital therapeutics startup 2Morrow raised $1.5 million, bringing total funding to $2.9 million, to expand its smartphone-based coaching apps that use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for smoking cessation, weight loss, stress and grief. The 11-person company, led by CEO and co-founder Jo Masterson, saw increased demand in 2020 and has partnered with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center since 2013.
PlexTrac raises $10M Series A led by Madrona Venture Group and Noro-Moseley Partners; total funding $11M
Boise-based cybersecurity startup PlexTrac raised a $10 million Series A led by Madrona Venture Group and Noro-Moseley Partners, bringing total funding to $11 million. Its platform unifies red and blue teams to streamline penetration testing, reporting and remediation workflows for security teams.
GeekWire Opens Voting for 13th Annual Awards; Deal of the Year Finalists Include $6.5B Auth0 Acquisition and Multi‑Hundred‑Million Funding Rounds
GeekWire has opened community voting for its 13th annual GeekWire Awards, highlighting Deal of the Year finalists across Fundings and IPOs/Acquisitions from Pacific Northwest tech companies. Voting runs through April 30, winners announced May 20 at the virtual awards presented by Wave Business.
Seattle-area startups raise record $1.64B in Q1 as U.S. VC funding jumps to $69B, PitchBook/NVCA say
PitchBook and NVCA report U.S. VC activity surged in Q1 2021 to $69 billion across 3,987 deals, while Seattle-area startups raised a Q1 record $1.64 billion across 88 deals, up from $616 million a year earlier. Mega-deals, fundraises, exits and SPAC activity all hit notable highs, and industry leaders say ample dry powder and economic recovery are driving larger investments.
Seeq raises $50M Series C to expand manufacturing analytics platform; total funding $115M
Seattle startup Seeq raised $50 million in a Series C to grow its manufacturing analytics software, which helps industrial manufacturers analyze sensor and instrument data both on-premise and in the cloud.
Wyze Labs starts preorders for $29.99 AI-enabled Wyze Floor Lamp as startup reveals rapid product growth
Seattle-based Wyze Labs began preorders for a $29.99 Wyze Floor Lamp with an AI-learning Bluetooth remote and has launched 17 products in the past year as part of 30 total products. The four-year-old startup employs about 160 people, has over 5 million community users, and has raised $36 million to date including a $15 million round in July 2020 with investment from Marcy Venture Partners.
Isilon co-founder Paul Mikesell’s Carbon Robotics unveils Autonomous Weeder that zaps 100,000 weeds/hour with AI-guided lasers
Carbon Robotics, founded by Isilon co‑founder Paul Mikesell, unveiled a self-driving Autonomous Weeder that uses AI vision and laser thermal bursts to identify and kill weeds in vegetable fields. The tractor-sized robot can cover up to 16 acres per day and zap as many as 100,000 weeds per hour, aiming to lower the cost of growing organic produce.
Libsyn Acquires Seattle Podcast Monetization Startup Glow for $1.2M; Integrates Subscription Billing for 75,000+ Shows
Seattle startup Glow, spun out of Pioneer Square Labs and founded by Amira Valliani, built podcast subscription tools and has been acquired by podcast host Libsyn; Libsyn will integrate Glow’s private feed distribution and subscription billing for its 75,000+ podcasts. Glow had raised $2.3 million, and an SEC filing shows Libsyn agreed to pay $1.2 million ($800k upfront, up to $400k earnout); other deal terms were not disclosed.
Rad Power Bikes co-founder Ty Collins steps down to advisory role; WRF CEO Ron Howell to retire end of April
Rad Power Bikes co-founder and former CMO Ty Collins has stepped down and moved into an advisory role while remaining involved; the company is profitable and raised $150 million earlier this year. Washington Research Foundation CEO Ron Howell will retire at the end of April after 29 years, with CFO Jeff Eby serving as acting CEO.
Dendron raises $2M seed to scale IDE-style open-source note tool, founded by ex-AWS engineers Kevin Lin and Kiran Pathakota
Seattle-based open-source note-taking startup Dendron raised $2 million in seed funding to scale a tool that applies IDE-style structure to managing large personal and institutional information, founded by ex-AWS engineer Kevin Lin and former Amazon TPM Kiran Pathakota.
Spot, founded by former Outreach executives Gordon Hempton and Wes Hather, raises $1.7M to build ‘Sims for the enterprise’ virtual offices
Spot, a year-old Seattle startup founded by former Outreach co-founders Gordon Hempton and Wes Hather, has raised $1.7 million to build virtual office software described as “The Sims for the Enterprise.” The seven-person company, currently in closed beta, has created hundreds of virtual worlds for events and HQs and competes with platforms like Gather, Teamflow, Virbela and Branch amid continued remote and hybrid work tailwinds.
Icosavax, UW IPD Spinout, Raises $100M Series B to Advance Computer-Designed Virus‑Like Particle Vaccines
Seattle biotech Icosavax, a University of Washington Institute for Protein Design spinout, raised $100 million in a Series B to develop computer-designed, virus-like particle vaccines including programs for COVID-19, RSV, and hMPV. The company, backed by investors led by RA Capital and supported by a $10 million Gates Foundation grant, has 17 employees and cites strong preclinical immune responses.
Former Facebook Seattle Chief Vijaye Raji launches Statsig to bring feature-testing tools to developers
Vijaye Raji, a former Facebook engineering leader, founded Seattle-area startup Statsig to provide feature-testing and analytics tools (like feature gates and metric maps) to developers, with usage-based pricing and a free tier. The company hopes to democratize internal tools Facebook used, has competitors, disclosed no funding but attracted endorsement from investor S. 'Soma' Somasegar.
Porch Group completes $100M acquisition of Homeowners of America to expand national home-insurance footprint
Porch Group completed its $100 million acquisition of Homeowners of America Inc., aiming to expand aggressively into the national home insurance market while it continues working toward profitability. The deal is Porch's largest since its 2020 IPO as the company raised 2021 revenue guidance and reported narrower net losses for 2020.
Throne and CityBldr roll out app-controlled mobile restrooms for delivery drivers after Amazon apology
Startups Throne (D.C.) and CityBldr (Seattle) are rolling out app-controlled mobile restrooms aimed at delivery drivers after reports of drivers urinating in bottles prompted an Amazon apology; Throne’s app lets drivers reserve and unlock nearby units. The service is in early rollout/stealth mode, targeting cities near Amazon’s HQs.
Ad Lightning CEO Scott Moore says he pulled company from downtown Seattle over safety, homelessness and transit, won’t return
Ad Lightning CEO Scott Moore says he pulled his company out of downtown Seattle because employees don’t feel safe amid crime and homelessness and poor transit, and he doesn’t plan to return until durable solutions are in place; he warns Seattle is losing competitiveness to Eastside cities like Bellevue and Redmond.
Seattle AI startup Darklight raises $5.1M to commercialize AI that automates vulnerability prioritization
Seattle-area startup Darklight raised $5.1 million, bringing total funding to about $10 million, to commercialize its knowledge-driven AI for automating cybersecurity workflows and vulnerability prioritization while partnering with the U.S. Army.
Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures invests $24.3M in ZeroAvia, lifting private funding past $53M
Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures led a follow-up $24.3 million investment in ZeroAvia’s hybrid hydrogen-electric aircraft powertrains, joining prior investors and bringing the company’s total private funding to more than $53 million and nearly $74 million including grants. ZeroAvia plans a 19-seat hydrogen-electric demonstration by 2023, commercialization of a 600 kW powertrain in 2024, and a 2 MW program targeting 50+ seat aircraft by 2026.
Common Room exits stealth with $52M in funding to monetize community engagement for enterprises
Seattle startup Common Room exited stealth after one year, announcing $52 million in total funding and enterprise customers testing its community-management software. The company integrates signals from platforms like Slack, Twitter and Discord to help companies grow user engagement and advocacy.
Seattle Biotech OncoResponse Raises $40.6M Series C to Develop Antibody-Based Cancer Treatments
Seattle biotech OncoResponse raised $40.6 million in a Series C round to develop antibody-based cancer immunotherapies, leveraging antibodies from patients with strong immunotherapy responses. Led by CEO Clifford Stocks, the company has now raised nearly $110 million since its 2015 launch.
Amgen to buy Seattle startup Rodeo Therapeutics for $55M upfront, up to $666M more in milestones
Amgen agreed to acquire Seattle biotech Rodeo Therapeutics, which develops small-molecule therapies to repair and regrow tissues, for $55 million upfront plus up to $666 million in contingent payments. Rodeo, led by CEO Thong Le and founded by Sanford Markowitz, Stanton Gerson and Joseph Ready, has backing from investors including AbbVie, Lilly, Arch Venture Partners and Johnson & Johnson and had raised over $14 million.
GeekWire 200: Auth0, Rover Among Top 10 but Set to ‘Graduate’ as Tanium and Outreach Climb
GeekWire’s monthly GeekWire 200 ranking shows established Pacific Northwest startups like Auth0 and Rover among the top 10 but poised to “graduate” after Okta’s acquisition and Rover’s SPAC IPO, while companies such as OfferUp, Moz, PayScale, Puppet and Clio are positioned to move up. The list highlights movers like Tanium and Outreach and notes recent major funding and leadership news across the region’s startups.
Strix Leviathan founders launch Makara robo-advisor; SEC-registered, raised $2M and launched mobile app
Seattle crypto startup Strix Leviathan spun out Makara, a robo-advisor that builds thematic baskets to simplify investing in digital assets; Makara is an SEC-registered investment adviser, raised $2 million, and launched a mobile app.
Madrona partner Daniel Li leaves to co-found Plus with Chloe Qi; Plus raises $5.5M seed led by Madrona
Daniel Li is leaving Madrona Venture Group to co-found Plus with Chloe Qi; the startup raised a $5.5 million seed round led by Madrona to build a no-code/low-code, multiplayer productivity product for sharing live data.
Seahawks Linebacker Bobby Wagner Joins Fuse Venture Partners as Venture Partner, Investing in Early-Stage Seattle Startups
Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner is a venture partner at Fuse Venture Partners, investing in early-stage Seattle startups while applying negotiation and leadership lessons from his NFL career; he discussed these topics and his angel investments on GeekWire Studios' podcast 2025: Tomorrow, Today.
People
See all 5-
John Cook Founder, Co-founder and Publisher, GeekWire
-
Jonathan Sposato Founder, Chairman & co-founder
-
Todd Bishop Founder, Co-Founder
