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
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Publication
- Last published Oct 15
Authors & Editors
Crowd Cow hires ex‑Amazon leaders Ian McAllister, Julie Pruitt, Jeremy Sievert and adds Flexe CTO David Glick to board; Snap! Raise names Stuart Silberg as CTO
Seattle meat and seafood marketplace Crowd Cow hired Ian McAllister as chief product officer, Julie Pruitt as chief merchant, and Jeremy Sievert as VP of operations, and added Flexe CTO David Glick to its board; Crowd Cow says revenue grew over 400% this year. Digital fundraising platform Snap! Raise hired former Expedia CTO Stuart Silberg as its new chief technology officer.
LinkedIn data: Seattle added 2.2 tech workers per one lost from March–October as Bay Area outflows rise
LinkedIn migration data shows Seattle gained 2.2 tech workers for every one who left from March to October, nearly matching last year’s 2.5 ratio, and attracted a 28% increase in movers from the Bay Area. While the Bay Area and New York saw notable declines in their inflow-outflow ratios, observers and local advocates say Seattle’s similar amenities and lower cost of living help explain the trend.
Porch Group (PRCH) Raises $322M, Debuts on Nasdaq with $1B+ Valuation After SPAC Merger
Seattle-based home services technology company Porch (now Porch Group) went public via a SPAC merger and private investment, raising more than $322 million and debuting with a market value above $1 billion at $15 per share. Founder and CEO Matt Ehrlichman marked the Nasdaq opening bell on Dec. 24, 2020, and the company will trade under ticker PRCH.
Seattle-based Bloccelerate VC raises $12M first fund to invest $500K–$2M in enterprise blockchain startups
Seattle-based Bloccelerate VC raised $12 million for its first fund to back 10–15 early-stage blockchain startups selling to enterprise customers, with typical investments of $500,000–$2 million; the three-year-old firm has already invested in five companies including BlockApps, Symbiont, and MakerDAO. CEO Kate Mitselmakher and GP Sam Yilmaz say the pandemic and rising cryptocurrency adoption are accelerating enterprise blockchain use cases across supply chain, capital markets, healthcare, and record-keeping.
GeekWire Podcast: Seattle now home to 10 unicorns — most are enterprise/cloud firms, six have immigrant founders, none have female co-founders or CEOs
Seattle’s tech scene now includes 10 privately held unicorns, with most focused on enterprise software/cloud, six having immigrant founders and six having active co-founders with Microsoft ties; none have female co-founders or CEOs. The GeekWire Podcast discusses these patterns, the region’s tech-community challenges (including tensions with city leadership), and features guest commentator Heather Redman of Flying Fish Partners.
Rec Room raises $20M Series C led by Madrona as pandemic drives surge to 3M+ user-created rooms
Seattle-based Rec Room raised $20 million in a Series C led by Madrona Venture Group, bringing total funding to nearly $50 million. The four-year-old virtual hangout and game-creation platform saw explosive growth during the pandemic, tripling its community and surpassing 3 million user-created rooms by September.
Pure Watercraft raises an extra $14M, Series A reaches $37.5M to scale electric outboard motors
Seattle-based Pure Watercraft raised an additional $14 million, bringing its Series A to $37.5 million to scale production of its electric outboard motor and lithium-ion battery system targeting general availability in early 2021.
Rubrik acquires technology and IP assets from Seattle startup Igneous after layoffs
Rubrik, a Palo Alto cloud data management company valued at about $3.3 billion, has acquired technology and IP assets from Seattle startup Igneous after Igneous cut staff and fell below 40 employees; Rubrik said the acquisition enhances its unstructured data management capabilities.
OfferUp names Niti Bashambu CPO after $120M raise and $1.4B valuation; Flyhomes appoints Amy Sellers VP of Marketing
OfferUp hired Niti Bashambu as chief product officer after raising $120 million and reaching a $1.4B valuation; Flyhomes named Amy Sellers VP of marketing as it expands across five markets. Promethean also hired Chris Hand as chief revenue officer.
Symbl raises $4.7M led by Crosscut Ventures with Amazon Alexa Fund to expand conversational AI for enterprise
Seattle startup Symbl raised $4.7 million in a round led by Crosscut Ventures with participation from Amazon’s Alexa Fund and several other investors to expand its conversational AI API that transcribes real-time conversations and extracts insights for meetings, customer care, and sales. Founded in 2018 by Surbhi Rathore and Toshish Jawale, the 30-person company says pandemic-driven digital communication growth has increased demand for its services.
FriendlyFace launches selfie-printed masks in Seattle, sells $29 custom masks and $49 gaiters, donates $1 per order to NRDC
Seattle design studio FriendlyFace prints photographic mouth-and-nose images on face masks so people’s expressions show during the pandemic, using computer-vision to scale and crop selfies and add decorative borders. Launched from prototypes in May, the company began taking orders in November, sells masks for $29 (gaiters $49), and donates $1 per order to the NRDC.
Madrona leads $21.5M round for Ovation.io as Boston lab-software startup reports rapid revenue and patient growth
Boston startup Ovation.io, which builds cloud software for medical testing labs, raised $21.5 million in new funding led by Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group; the company says it more than doubled revenue and grew patient volume 75-fold in the past year.
ZeroAvia raises $21.4M from Breakthrough Energy and Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund to scale hydrogen-electric aircraft
ZeroAvia raised $21.4 million in a Series A round led by Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund to accelerate development of hydrogen-electric powertrains for zero-emission propeller aircraft, with commercial flights of 10–20 seat planes up to 500 miles targeted by 2023. The company also secured a £16.3 million UK government grant and partnerships including British Airways, and plans larger hydrogen jets by 2030.
Seattle Reaches 10 Unicorns Worth $1B+, Mostly Enterprise Software Firms with Microsoft Links
Seattle now has 10 unicorn startups valued at $1 billion or more, many concentrated in enterprise software/cloud computing and driven by rapid digital transformation and strong revenue run rates. Most have immigrant founders and Microsoft ties, but none have female co-founders or CEOs.
Outreach CMO Margaret Arakawa departs; FlyHomes CMO Ryan Steingard joins Persona; Brian Goldfarb named Amperity CMO
Several Seattle-area marketing executives have changed roles: Margaret Arakawa left Outreach as CMO to pursue a new venture, FlyHomes CMO Ryan Steingard moved to chief growth officer at Persona, and Brian Goldfarb joined Amperity as CMO. Outreach recently raised $50 million in a Series F at a $1.33 billion valuation and serves over 4,000 companies.
Zenoti raises $160M Series D, reaches $1B valuation to expand enterprise software for 12,000+ salons, spas and wellness businesses
Bellevue-based Zenoti raised $160 million in a Series D that values the company at $1 billion; its enterprise software serves over 12,000 spas, salons and wellness businesses and has doubled revenue this year.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s First Term Tried to Reconcile Tech Firms and Critics but Left Her Politically Isolated
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan tried to bridge tech companies and their critics during her first term by courting firms like Amazon, Expedia, and Apple, but her efforts pleased neither business leaders nor progressive activists, leaving her politically isolated and prompting her decision not to seek a second term.
Cloud City Venture Capital, founded by Jim Brisimitzis and Kevin Ober, raises fund to back 5G, edge and AI startups
Cloud City Venture Capital, founded earlier this year in Seattle by Jim Brisimitzis and Kevin Ober, is raising a new fund to invest in startups at the intersection of 5G, edge networks and artificial intelligence. Both founders have deep Seattle tech and VC ties—Brisimitzis with Microsoft and the 5G Open Innovation Lab, Ober from Divergent Ventures and Vulcan Ventures.
Beta Hatch raises $9.3M to complete 42,000 sq ft mealworm facility in Cashmere, Wash., aiming to be North America’s largest
Beta Hatch, an insect-farming startup led by founder and CEO Virginia Emery, raised $9.3 million to finish a 42,000-square-foot mealworm production and hatchery facility in Cashmere, Washington, which the company says will be the largest in North America and supply protein for animal feed.
Vouched raises $3M to expand AI ID-verification as COVID-19 drives demand; will expand to Europe
Seattle startup Vouched raised $3 million to expand AI-powered ID verification services as COVID-19 boosts demand for remote identity checks; the company has 80+ customers and has verified over 850,000 people across 50 countries.
University of Washington launches Husky FAST Start to standardize licensing for spinouts after 35-startup pilot
The University of Washington launched Husky FAST Start, a standardized licensing process with template term sheets and agreements to speed and cut costs for startup license negotiations, after piloting it with 35 startups. The move, timed with the Bayh-Dole Act’s 40th anniversary, aims to help UW founders commercialize innovations from a university that has spun out 73 startups in five years and signed over 5,000 commercial licenses.
Voodle raises $6M from Madrona and Vulcan to sell TikTok-style workplace video for remote teams
Seattle startup Voodle raised $6 million in a round led by Madrona Venture Group and Vulcan Capital to offer a TikTok-like, bite-sized video communication app for workplaces aimed at reducing Zoom fatigue and Slack overload. The app — launched earlier in 2020 by former Pixvana execs and available on iOS, Android and web — includes searchable clips with transcriptions and integrations with workplace tools.
Freespira raises $10M led by Lightspeed to scale FDA-approved CO2-based treatment for panic disorder and PTSD
Seattle-area startup Freespira raised $10 million to advance a CO2-measurement and breathing-coaching platform that treats panic disorder and PTSD and has FDA approval; the 30-person company has generated revenue for two years and counts Highmark, Comcast and the VA among customers. Founded by Beth Siegelman from Stanford research, Freespira says users typically see benefits within 28 days and the round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Bizible founder Aaron Bird raises $5.1M to launch Seattle B2B startup studio Pienza
Aaron Bird, founder of Bizible, launched Seattle startup studio Pienza and raised $5.1 million from MHS Capital, Version One Ventures, Vulcan Capital and angels to build a small portfolio of B2B software companies. Pienza will focus on fewer, highly concentrated bets, put most of the funding into portfolio companies, keep a lean internal team, and Bird will forgo a salary.
Recurrent raises $3.5M seed round led by Wireframe Ventures to scale battery data science for used EV reports
Recurrent, a Seattle startup that issues independent battery-condition reports for used electric vehicles, raised $3.5 million in a seed round led by Wireframe Ventures to expand the data science behind its reports. The company launched in September, has over 2,500 EV owners providing data and 10 dealer partners, and has collected more than 1 million data points to train its machine-learning models.
People
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John Cook Founder, Co-founder and Publisher, GeekWire
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Jonathan Sposato Founder, Chairman & co-founder
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Todd Bishop Founder, Co-Founder
