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
Olive raises $1M seed from Active Capital to accelerate IT procurement platform, aims to cut buying to under eight weeks
Vancouver startup Olive raised a $1 million seed round led by Active Capital to expand its IT procurement platform that shortens enterprise software buying from months or years to under eight weeks. The Techstars Seattle graduate, founded by CEO Chris Heard and CTO Dan Harrison, has five employees and saw accelerated demand as companies seek cost-effective procurement solutions amid the pandemic.
Silverback Therapeutics raises $85M Series C — six months after $78.5M — to fund SBT6050 Phase 1 work; total VC $210M
Seattle biotech Silverback Therapeutics raised an $85 million Series C just six months after a $78.5 million round to advance its ImmunoTAC platform and lead candidate SBT6050 in a Phase 1 study; total VC funding is $210 million. The company named Valerie Odegard president and chief scientific officer, Naomi Hunder chief medical officer, and appointed Laura Shawver as CEO in April.
Nori raises $4M seed from Placeholder-led round to scale crypto carbon-offset marketplace
Seattle startup Nori raised $4 million in a seed round led by Placeholder to expand its crypto-based carbon-offset marketplace that pays farmers for regenerative practices; the platform has sold nearly 13,000 metric tons of CO2 offsets and aims to sell 20,000 more by year-end.
Outreach co-founders Wes Hather and Gordon Hempton launch Seattle stealth startup Spot to recreate office culture digitally
Outreach co-founders Wes Hather and Gordon Hempton have launched Spot, a stealthy Seattle startup building a remote-work “home base” UI to complement tools like Teams, Zoom, and Slack and recreate office culture digitally.
Porch names five new board directors ahead of $523M SPAC merger, will trade as PRCH with Ehrlichman as CEO
Seattle-based Porch named five new directors who will join its board when the company goes public later this year via a SPAC merger valuing Porch at $523 million; the combined company will trade as PRCH with Matt Ehrlichman remaining CEO and chairman.
WhyLabs, AI2 Spinout Led by Ex-Amazon Engineers, Raises $4M from Madrona, Bezos Expeditions and Others
WhyLabs, an AI monitoring startup spun out of the Allen Institute for AI, emerged from stealth after raising $4 million from investors including Madrona, Defy Partners, Bezos Expeditions and Ascend VC to commercialize a platform for monitoring ML data and models. The company is led by CEO Alessya Visnjic, joined by former Amazon ML engineers Andy Dang and Sam Gracie plus ex-Madrona principal Maria Karaivanova.
Resonance AI raises $2.28M to expand AI platform analyzing dialogue, music, mood and pacing in video
Seattle startup Resonance AI raised $2.28 million as part of a larger round to grow its AI-driven video analysis platform that measures dialogue, music, mood, lighting, pacing and more to help broadcasters and studios optimize content. Founded six years ago by CEO Tom Chiarella and president Randa Minkarah, the 15-person company has about $5 million raised to date and counts The Weather Channel and News-Press & Gazette among customers.
IAC-owned Dotdash buys Serious Eats and Simply Recipes from Seattle startup Fexy Media in all-cash deal
Seattle-area startup Fexy Media sold food sites Serious Eats and Simply Recipes to IAC-owned Dotdash in an all-cash deal; the sites reach a combined 16 million monthly users. The transaction moves 27 Fexy employees to Dotdash, lets Fexy focus on its Relish product, and pairs the companies to grow Relish while Dotdash expands its food publishing reach.
Pure Watercraft raises $23.4M Series A from L37 Ventures to commercialize electric outboard motors
Pure Watercraft, a nine-year-old Seattle startup led by CEO Andy Rebele, raised $23.4 million in a Series A led by L37 Ventures to scale production and move its electric outboard motor from beta to general availability amid rising U.S. boating demand. The company aims to capitalize on a boating boom driven by increased participation and pandemic-era interest from first-time and younger buyers.
Cloud Paper raises $3M seed led by Greycroft with Mark Cuban, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary investing
Seattle startup Cloud Paper, which makes tree-free bamboo toilet paper shipped direct to consumers, raised $3 million in a seed round led by Greycroft and backed by investors including Mark Cuban, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary. The year-and-a-half-old company says signups jumped 800% amid the pandemic and highlights sustainability claims such as plastic-free packaging and over 1 million pounds of carbon saved or offset.
Sam’s Club partners with Seattle startup 98point6 to offer members discounted telehealth — $20 for first three months, $33.50/month after
Sam’s Club is partnering with Seattle telehealth startup 98point6 to offer virtual primary care to members, with a $20 introductory fee for the first three months (normally $30) and $33.50/month thereafter, plus quarterly and annual plans. 98point6 serves about 3 million patients across all 50 states, diagnoses 400+ common conditions via an AI-powered chatbot and raised $43 million in April.
Lighter Capital appoints Melissa Widner as CEO after layoffs; firm has invested $200M+ using revenue-based financing
Seattle alternative VC firm Lighter Capital named Melissa Widner as CEO; she succeeds Thor Culverhouse and joins a company that has deployed $200M+ via revenue-based financing and recently cut staff from ~80 to 23 before rising to 25 employees. Widner, a Sydney-based board member and former NAB venture managing partner, plans remote hiring as the firm seeks global growth.
Illumina to Acquire Bill Gates- and Jeff Bezos-Backed Grail for $8 Billion in Cash and Stock
Illumina will acquire cancer-detection startup Grail for $8 billion in cash and stock; Grail, backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos and planning a 2021 multi-cancer test rollout, had filed to go public earlier this month.
Seattle VC Flying Fish files to raise $75M 'Flying Fish Fund II' after $80M debut fund
Seattle venture capital firm Flying Fish, founded in 2018, is raising a second fund called Flying Fish Fund II with an SEC filing showing a $75 million offering; the firm previously raised an $80 million first fund and focuses on AI/ML startups in the Pacific Northwest.
Athira Pharma raises $204M in IPO at $17/share, values company at ~$670M to advance Alzheimer’s drug NDX-1017
Seattle biotech Athira Pharma raised $204 million by selling 12 million shares in a Nasdaq IPO at $17 per share, valuing the company at about $670 million as it advances its lead Alzheimer’s therapeutic NDX-1017 into late-stage development.
Athira Pharma prices IPO at $17, sells 12M shares to raise $204M; will trade as ATHA on Nasdaq
Seattle biotech Athira Pharma priced its IPO at $17 per share, selling 12 million shares to raise at least $204 million and will begin trading on Nasdaq under ticker ATHA; the company is developing NDX-1017 for neurodegenerative diseases and has no commercial products yet. Founded in 2011 and led by CEO Dr. Leen Kawas, Athira reported net losses in 2019 and H1 2020 and has raised over $100 million privately, including an $85 million Series B.
Zuper raises $1.1M seed, names ex-Microsoft product head Anand Subbaraj as CEO to scale field workforce software
Seattle-based workforce collaboration startup Zuper raised a $1.1 million seed round and appointed former Microsoft manager Anand Subbaraj as CEO; the 4-year-old company serves 100+ clients including IKEA India with field workforce management software. Zuper’s platform offers scheduling, routing, identity management, video conferencing, chatbots and integrations with supply chain and POS systems, and the company has 30 employees across Seattle and Chennai.
Snowflake raises $3.4B in largest software IPO, opens at $245 and closes at $253.93 valuing company over $60B; Madrona an early investor
Snowflake raised $3.4 billion in the largest-ever software IPO, pricing at $120 and opening at $245 before closing at $253.93 to value the company above $60 billion; early investor Madrona Venture Group, which invested in 2017, benefited though it holds under 5% and did not disclose stake value.
Sironix Renewables Raises $1.8M to Scale Plant-Based Cleaning Chemical Production Using Eosix Technology
Seattle-based clean-tech startup Sironix Renewables raised $1.795 million, including $645,000 in seed funding and $1.15 million from the U.S. Department of Energy, to scale production of its plant-based Eosix technology that replaces hazardous petroleum-derived chemicals in cleaning products. Founded in 2016 and spun out from the University of Minnesota, Sironix's technology meets consumer demands for sustainable, safe, and high-performance products.
Polyverse raises $16M to expand sales of Polymorphing for Linux; total funding $21M
Bellevue cybersecurity startup Polyverse raised $16 million, bringing total funding to $21 million, to expand sales of its Polymorphing for Linux and other security software used by government, defense and enterprise customers.
5G Open Innovation Lab, backed by T-Mobile, Intel and NASA, unveils 16 startups in second cohort
The 5G Open Innovation Lab, funded by T-Mobile, Intel, and NASA, announced its second cohort of 16 startups after completing its inaugural 12-week program, aiming to help entrepreneurs exploit 5G technology without taking equity. The Bellevue-based lab connects startups with corporate and public partners and participates in Washington states 5G Open Innovation Zone alongside institutions like WSU and the University of Washington.
MagniX and Universal Hydrogen to Retrofit Dash 8s with 2 MW Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Electric Propulsion, Cutting Capacity to 40 Seats
MagniX is partnering with Universal Hydrogen to retrofit de Havilland Canada DHC8-Q300 (Dash 8) regional aircraft with hydrogen fuel-cell–powered, 2-megawatt-class electric propulsion systems, reducing capacity from 50 to 40 seats. The program could extend to ATR 42 family retrofits and complements MagniX’s existing work on smaller all-electric aircraft.
Unikrn to pay $6.1M and disable UnikoinGold after SEC says its $31M ICO was unregistered
Seattle eSports betting startup Unikrn agreed to a $6.1 million SEC settlement and will disable its UnikoinGold (UKG) cryptocurrency after the agency charged the company with conducting an unregistered initial coin offering that raised $31 million; the company neither admitted nor denied the charges and said it will discontinue UKG to focus on its platform.
Walk Score Cofounders Matt Lerner and Mike Mathieu Launch Two Screens for Teachers to Deliver 250,000 Monitors to K-12 Educators
Seattle startup veterans Matt Lerner and Mike Mathieu launched Two Screens for Teachers to provide K-12 public school instructors with secondary monitors to ease remote teaching strain. The volunteer team built an automated donor-teacher matching site, addresses cable compatibility, and seeks donors to reach a goal of delivering 250,000 monitors.
Wrench acquires Lemon Squad, adds 2,800 inspectors and names Andy Dabbs GM of inspections
Seattle-based mobile car-repair startup Wrench has acquired Minnesota-based vehicle inspection company Lemon Squad, integrating its 2,800 inspectors and bringing Lemon Squad CEO Andy Dabbs on as Wrench’s general manager of inspections. The deal lets Wrench offer on-site, pre-purchase inspections scheduled through its mobile app, expanding services as demand for contactless auto care grows during the pandemic.
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
