Facts
- HQ
- United States
- Sectors
- Professional networking, Social networking, Technology
- Founded
- 2002
- Stage
- Public
Textio integrates inclusive-writing guidance into LinkedIn for enterprise customers, CEO Kieran Snyder says
Seattle startup Textio is integrating its augmented writing and inclusive-language guidance directly into LinkedIn, enabling enterprise customers and employees to get real-time suggestions while composing posts and comments on the platform. The move extends Textio’s post-2020 product expansion aimed at improving diversity, equity and inclusion across company communications and external social media.
Entain acquires Seattle esports betting startup Unikrn; terms undisclosed, Unikrn pauses services
Entain has agreed to acquire Seattle-based esports betting startup Unikrn, which temporarily halted services during the deal; terms were not disclosed. Unikrns roughly 40 employees will join Entain, which hired ex-Twitch exec Justin Dellario to lead esports operations as it targets a projected $20 billion addressable esports and social casino market by 2025.
AuthenticID announces $100M minority investment from Long Ridge Equity Partners
Seattle-based identity authentication firm AuthenticID received a $100 million minority investment from Long Ridge Equity Partners; the 2001-founded company provides identity-proofing software to carriers, banks, credit bureaus and other enterprises.
Qualtrics acquires Seattle journey-orchestration startup Usermind to bolster XM Directory
Qualtrics has acquired Seattle-based marketing startup Usermind, a 2013-founded leader in journey orchestration with about 40 employees, to strengthen its Qualtrics XM Directory and customer interaction tracking. Usermind, led by CEO Michel Feaster, raised $14 million in January, weathered pandemic layoffs, and saw increased demand as companies accelerated digital adoption.
Blues Wireless Raises $22M Series A Led by Sequoia and Lachy Groom; Bill Gates Among Investors
Blues Wireless, founded by former Microsoft exec Ray Ozzie, raised $22 million in a Series A led by Sequoia Capital and Lachy Groom with investors including Bill Gates to grow its cellular IoT Notecard device and cloud services. The company sells a $49 cellular module that embeds in hardware to send data over AT&T’s network for remote monitoring and management.
Marchex co-founder Pete Christothoulou launches Xembly, an AI meeting-productivity startup entering beta
Pete Christothoulou, former Marchex CEO, launched Xembly, an AI startup that automates meeting tasks and provides data-driven insights to improve meeting productivity; the Madrona Venture Labs company is entering beta this week. Xembly cites a survey of 1,000 workers showing many meetings are unnecessary or too long and says its software works for both in-person and online meetings.
Robert Wahbe (Highspot CEO & Co-Founder) on category definition, listening harder, and thinking from first principles
Highspot has reached a $2.3B valuation, 500+ employees, and $397M raised just 9 years since founding. What's made that possible? Robert Wahbe (Co-Founder & CEO) is a strategic thinker who has found many non-obvious strategies and frameworks to scale his business. He went behind the scenes on his story and shared the principles and lessons driving Highspot's growth.
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.
Remitly partners with Included as DEI tech market triples to $313M, helping scale diversity work with ML-driven analytics
Companies like Remitly are adopting DEI technology platforms (such as Included) that automate demographic data collection, analytics, and program tracking to scale diversity, equity, and inclusion work amid pandemic-driven remote work and heightened public scrutiny.
SeekOut raises $65M Series B led by Tiger Global at nearly $500M valuation after 10x ARR growth
Seattle recruiting startup SeekOut raised $65 million in a Series B led by Tiger Global at a near-$500M valuation to expand its Talent 360 recruiting software, after growing ARR 10x in 21 months and remaining profitable.
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.
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.
Pandemic Accelerates Adoption of Enterprise Software in Seattle, Boosting Cloud and Cybersecurity Startups
The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating adoption of enterprise software in the Seattle and Pacific Northwest tech scene, highlighting startups in cloud computing and cybersecurity that dominate the GeekWire 200. Analysts say enterprise cloud firms appear relatively resilient to recessionary pressures compared with consumer-facing startups, though risks remain if businesses cut spending.
Sensoria Health launches $69 Smart Band tracking SpO2, temperature and heart rate to spot COVID-19 warning signs
Sensoria Health launched a $69 Smart Band that measures body temperature, heart rate, blood oxygenation (SpO2), sleep quality and steps, aiming to help detect potential COVID-19 symptoms. The device will be available later this month in the U.S. and Europe, and CEO Davide Vigano highlighted monitoring SpO2 trends as important for early detection of COVID-19 pneumonia.
Panda AI, spun out of AI2, raises $3.3M with AI2 as first investor from its new pre-seed fund
Panda AI, a stealth startup spun out of the Allen Institute for AI (AI2), raised $3.3 million in a round led by PSL Ventures with participation from AI2 and others; it is the first company to receive funding from AI2’s new pre-seed fund.
Panda AI launches inside AI2 in Seattle, led by CEO Aaron Goldfeder and CTO Yue Ning in stealth mode
Panda AI is a stealth B2B startup launched inside the Allen Institute for AI (AI2) in Seattle, led by CEO Aaron Goldfeder and CTO Yue Ning, both former AI2 entrepreneurs-in-residence. The company — currently two employees with early access interest and Smartsheet co-founder Eric Browne as product advisor — aims to build next-generation tools for knowledge workers using recent AI breakthroughs.
Pro.com lays off 52 employees as COVID-19 halts construction; CEO Matt Williams confirms WARN filing
Seattle-based Pro.com laid off 52 employees after COVID-19 halted its construction work, and the company is resuming jobs with new safety and contact-tracing measures. CEO Matt Williams said the cuts were disclosed in a Washington WARN filing and affect a company that employs about 150 people on LinkedIn.
Roche acquires Seattle startup Stratos Genomics, home of Sequencing By Expansion, to form Roche Diagnostics Seattle
Roche has acquired Seattle DNA sequencing startup Stratos Genomics, maker of Sequencing By Expansion (SBX) technology; Stratos will operate as Roche Diagnostics Seattle with its 60 employees joining Roche. Financial terms were not disclosed; Stratos had raised over $60 million previously and Roche was an early investor.
Constellation Software Acquires Seattle Marketing Startup Tune; Terms Undisclosed
Toronto-based Constellation Software announced it has acquired Seattle marketing-software startup Tune, which builds tools to manage marketing partnerships and will operate under Constellation’s Perseus unit. Terms were not disclosed; Tune CEO Peter Hamilton will move to a strategic role, some team restructuring is expected, and the company has more than 150 employees and $36.4 million raised to date.
Textio adds 'age graph' and accommodation guidance to its AI writing tools to flag ageism and ableism in job listings
Textio expanded its AI-powered augmented writing tools to highlight ageist and ableist language, adding an "age graph" and reasonable-accommodation guidance to help make job postings more inclusive and speed hiring.
OfferUp Raises $120M, Acquires Letgo; OLX Group to Own 40% of Combined Entity
OfferUp raised $120 million and agreed to acquire rival app Letgo, creating a combined U.S. marketplace with over 20 million monthly active users; OLX Group led the round and will own 40% of the merged company. OfferUp CEO Nick Huzar will lead the combined business, while Letgo's non‑North American operations will remain with OLX.
Concure Oncology raises $2.5M from ~25 investors to expand Breast Microseed radioactive-seed therapy
Concure Oncology raised $2.5 million from nearly 25 investors to expand adoption of its Breast Microseed Treatment, a brachytherapy that implants rice-grain-sized radioactive palladium seeds after tumor removal to kill remaining cancer cells. The Mercer Island startup has now secured over $12 million total and will use the round to double its field sales team and train clinicians nationwide.
Dan Rosen of Alliance of Angels advises startups to cut burn and prepare for COVID-19 impact, expects treatments and vaccine in 12–18 months
Dan Rosen, chairman of Alliance of Angels, outlines how COVID-19's exponential spread will stress healthcare and startups, urging mitigation, cash-preservation, and preparedness while expecting treatments and vaccines within 12–18 months.
TalentWorks raises $2.4M from Lowercase, Founder’s Co-op and Felicis to guarantee job interviews for $10/week
TalentWorks, co-founded by Kushal Chakrabarti and Ajit Banerjee, emerged from stealth with $2.4M from investors including Lowercase Capital, Founder’s Co-op and Felicis to offer a $10/week AI-driven job-interview matching service that guarantees interviews or refunds fees after 60 days.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman shares startup secrets
It’s been 15 years since Reid Hoffman co-founded LinkedIn. The company was acquired by Microsoft last year for $2.6 billion and Hoffman now sits on Microsoft’s board, but he’s still very much an entrepreneur. On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, we share Hoffman’s full talk at the recent Technology Alliance Luncheon in downtown Seattle, where he shares thoughts on how to drive entrepreneurship, the success of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and, of course, Settlers of Catan. Follow all our coverage, including more on Hoffman's talk, at GeekWire.com. Thank you to this week’s sponsors: Wealthsimple — GeekWire listeners pay no management…
