Gradient
Facts
- HQ
- Seattle
- Sectors
- Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, E-commerce, Collectibles
- Stage
- startup
PitchBook: AI Megadeals Took 87.5% of U.S. VC Dollars in H1 2026, Series D+ AI Valuations Jump 6.6x
PitchBook's Q2 2026 U.S. VC valuations show that AI megadeals captured 87.5% of venture dollars in H1, driving much larger valuation step-ups (median 2.2x for AI vs 1.6x non-AI and 6.6x at Series D+). Liquidity is limited—IPOs are sparse and acquisitions are mixed—while top AI firms like Anthropic are inflating return expectations and skewing the market.
Ex-Spotify Engineers' Startup Malachyte Raises $10M to Deliver AI-Powered, Cookie- and Login-Free E‑Commerce Recommendations
Malachyte, founded by former Spotify engineers, raised $10 million to deploy AI-driven, cookie- and login-free personalized product recommendations for e-commerce.
Sapiom Raises $35M Series A Led by Dragonfly, Bringing Total Funding to $50M
Sapiom, a San Francisco startup that builds infrastructure for AI agents, raised $35 million in a Series A led by Dragonfly to scale its production-grade platform, bringing total funding to $50 million roughly 11 months after founding.
Credible Data raises $10M seed to scale Malloy-based enterprise AI context engine, led by Gradient and SignalFire
Credible Data, a Boulder-based provider of a trusted business context engine for enterprise AI, raised $10 million in a seed round to scale its platform and further develop its Malloy-based semantic modeling context engine. The funding, announced July 28, 2026, was led by investors including Gradient, SignalFire, K5 Global, Godard Abel, Wes McKinney, Alex Dean, and SV Angel.
Clarify Acquires Seam AI to Build 'Clarify Signals' Integrating Proprietary Buying Signals; Five Seam Employees Join
Seattle AI startup Clarify has acquired San Francisco-based Seam AI to integrate Seam’s web-based buying-signal monitoring into a new product, Clarify Signals, later this year; financial terms were not disclosed and five Seam employees will join Clarify.
Clarify acquires Seam AI to power Clarify Signals, adds five employees including Seam CEO Nicholas Scavone
Seattle AI startup Clarify, which has raised $22.5 million, acquired San Francisco-based Seam AI to integrate its proprietary web monitoring signals into a new product, Clarify Signals, launching later this year; five Seam employees including CEO Nicholas Scavone will join Clarify. Financial terms were not disclosed, though Clarify said it raised additional undisclosed funding as part of the deal.
Hostie Raises $12M Series A Led by Obvious Ventures to Advance AI Restaurant Concierge
San Francisco-based Hostie, an AI-powered virtual concierge for restaurants, secured $12 million in Series A funding led by Obvious Ventures, totaling $16 million in funding. The company plans to use the capital for product development and leadership team expansion.
Seattle Startup Clarify Raises $15M to Challenge Salesforce with AI-Native Autonomous CRM
Seattle startup Clarify raised $15 million to grow its AI-native CRM platform that automates sales data entry by integrating email, calendar, and calls to help sales teams spend more time closing deals. Clarify targets early-stage startups and investors, competing with Salesforce and other CRM providers by building AI features at its core.
DAT Freight & Analytics Acquires Seattle Fintech Startup Outgo to Expand Freight Carrier Finance Services
DAT Freight & Analytics acquired Seattle fintech startup Outgo, which provides banking services and finance software to freight carriers, allowing it to enhance cash flow solutions for trucking businesses. Outgo will continue to operate in Seattle and its CEO, Marcus Womack, will join DAT's executive team.
Seattle Startup Outgo Raises $15M and Secures $50M Credit Facility to Speed Cash Access for Trucking Carriers
Outgo, a Seattle-based startup providing banking services to trucking carriers, raised $15 million in a previously undisclosed funding round alongside a $50 million credit facility. The company offers finance software helping carriers access cash within hours and manages invoice processing with lower fees than traditional factoring companies.
Seattle-Based Workflow Labs Raises $1.3M Seed Round to Automate Amazon Seller Backend Tasks
Seattle startup Workflow Labs, led by former Amazon product manager Justin Leigh, raised $1.3 million to automate Amazon sellers' backend tasks. The platform, launched in October with about 50 customers, has grown revenue 300% year-over-year and plans to expand to additional e-commerce platforms.
Round, founded by ex-Microsoft leaders Ryan Fuller, Mani Gill and Brian Jansen, raises $12M seed to build vetted network for senior tech leaders
Round, a Seattle startup founded by former Microsoft leaders, raised a $12 million seed round to build a vetted network for senior tech leaders; other Pacific Northwest deals include PTO Exchange's $5.4 million raise and funding and licensing activity at PupPod.
DataRobot buys Seattle ML startup Algorithmia and raises $300M Series G at $6.3B valuation
Boston-based DataRobot acquired Seattle startup Algorithmia and announced a $300 million Series G at a $6.3 billion valuation; Algorithmia CEO Diego Oppenheimer will remain at DataRobot after the deal. Algorithmia, founded in 2013, had raised $37.9 million, served over 130,000 users, and employed 58 people.
Amplitude acquires Seattle analytics startup Iteratively, founded 2019; Iteratively to operate as unit within Amplitude
San Francisco product intelligence firm Amplitude has acquired Seattle-based customer data analytics startup Iteratively, which was founded in 2019 and raised $5.4 million earlier this year; Iteratively will operate as a unit within Amplitude and already shares most of its customers with the acquirer.
Jungle Scout raises $110M and acquires Seattle Amazon-ad startup Downstream, adding its 11-person team
Jungle Scout, an Austin-based company serving Amazon sellers, raised $110 million and announced the acquisition of Seattle startup Downstream, which provides Amazon advertising recommendations and will join Jungle Scout with its 11-person team; terms were not disclosed. Downstream, founded in late 2017, has 5,000 customers, >200% year-over-year revenue growth, and has raised $5 million from multiple investors.
Gradient Ventures leads $5.4M investment in Seattle analytics startup Iteratively to standardize customer data
Seattle analytics startup Iteratively raised $5.4 million in a round led by Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI-focused fund, to help companies standardize and improve customer analytics tracking. The 10-person company, founded in 2019 by Patrick Thompson and Ondrej Hrebicek, integrates with tools like Amplitude and Mixpanel and counts Box and thredUP among clients.
Pioneer Square Labs spins out 25 startups in five years; six launched during pandemic surge
Seattle startup studio Pioneer Square Labs (PSL) spun out 25 startups in five years — six during a six-month pandemic stretch — by rapidly testing ideas, though it has yet to produce a breakout unicorn and faces criticism over founder dilution.
