Facts
- HQ
- Madrona
- Sectors
- Financial Services
- Founded
- 1995
- Employees
- 135
- Stage
- Seed
- Last fund
- MADRONA VENTURE FUND X, L.P. · $489.6M · 2025 SEC Form D
- Funds raised
- 10 funds SEC Form D filings
- Total capital
- $1.7B SEC Form D filings
Insurtech Faye raises $50M led by Madrona, bringing total funding to $100M as it scales AI and international growth
Faye, a Richmond-based travel insurance app, raised $50 million led by Madrona, bringing its total funding to $100 million since 2022 to scale AI, expand internationally, and improve claims and UX; the company reported millions of customers and $100 million in annualized revenue last year. Co-founder and CEO Elad Schaffer called the raise a shift from startup to scale-up as Faye pursues growth toward a possible future IPO.
Elad Schaffer announces Faye closes $50M Series C, reaching $100M total to scale AI traveler care
Faye announced it closed a $50 million Series C, bringing its total funding to $100 million to accelerate AI-driven autonomous traveler care, expand globally, and scale real-time support.
Faye Raises $50M Series C on Aug 5, 2026 to Build Autonomous AI Traveler Care Platform, Total Funding Reaches $100M
Faye announced a $50 million Series C on Aug 5, 2026 to build an autonomous AI platform for traveler care, bringing total funding to $100 million and funding AI investments, partnerships, and global expansion.
Elizabeth Liu celebrates an electric SeattleTechWeek, spotlights Crowd Cow customer Randa Minkarah and event highlights
Elizabeth Liu celebrates SeattleTechWeek, praising the region's fast-moving startup ecosystem, sharing event highlights (Madrona/J.P. Morgan pickleball, AI House BBQ, rave) and a chance meeting with early Crowd Cow customer Randa Minkarah.
GeekWire reports: Seattle Tech Week 2026 — AI dominates 250+ events as investors and job-seekers flock to Seattle
GeekWire's Todd Bishop reports from Seattle Tech Week 2026, where AI dominated conversations across more than 250 events and drew significant Bay Area investor interest and job-seeking attendees. Panels and speakers from OpenAI, Mistral AI, Ascend, Oumi and others highlighted debates about foundation models, enterprise data access, and the rush to build on third-party AI.
Madrona Leads $5.7M Investment in Polar to Build Browser-Based AI Agents for End-to-End Knowledge Work
Madrona invested in Polar because its team is building a browser-based AI agent that can complete complex, multi-step knowledge work across apps — the firm believes every sector will have its own transformative “Claude Code” moment and Polar aims to deliver that for knowledge workers.
Seattle Tech Week Kickoff Spotlights Founders Building an AI WhatsApp Agent for Seattle Orcas Logistics and Other Startup Tools
At the Seattle Tech Week kickoff, founders and leaders described diverse projects including an AI agent that manages a professional cricket team's logistics via WhatsApp, and other startups building B2B tools and voice AI for bar inventory. The event drew over 29,000 registrations and included panels showcasing regional entrepreneurs and investors.
Phoebe Weiser announces she has joined Madrona as an investor in Seattle
Phoebe Weiser announced she has joined venture firm Madrona as an investor in Seattle, following roles in security at Microsoft and data engineering at Databricks. She said she's eager to partner with founders, thanked past mentors and teammates, and invited founders and investors to connect or meet her at Seattle Tech Week.
PitchBook and Madrona host live Founded & Funded podcast at Seattle Tech Week on July 23, 2026 to debate AI funding concentration
PitchBook will co-host a live recording of Madrona’s Founded & Funded podcast at Seattle Tech Week on July 23, 2026, featuring PitchBook EVP Nizar Tarhuni and Madrona Partner Sabrina Albert to discuss AI, funding concentration, and private-market trends.
Why AI Made Your Buyers Harder to Sell To
After leaving a long sales career, David Rubenstein spent a year meeting more than 300 founders across 41 countries and turned what he heard into a framework for how companies sell now. In this episode of Founded & Funded, David sits down with Madrona's Anna Baird and Eric Wong to dig into why AI left buyers with more information and less clarity, why deals stall out of fear rather than disinterest, and how founders can cut through. The conversation covers selling against build-it-yourself AI objections, the return of in-person selling, and why the founder's own brand is more important to…
Impinj CEO Chris Diorio rings Nasdaq bell as RFID chipmaker marks 10th IPO anniversary after growing to $4.2B market cap
Impinj, maker of tiny battery-free RFID chips embedded in over 160 billion items, celebrated the 10th anniversary of its IPO as CEO Chris Diorio rang the Nasdaq bell; the Seattle company commands about two-thirds of its market, grew from a $250 million IPO valuation to a $4.2 billion market cap, but has reported only one profitable year and carries a $400 million accumulated deficit.
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.
Seattle Sounders honor S. ‘Soma’ Somasegar, Madrona VC and former Microsoft exec, with pregame tribute after his May death at 59
The Seattle Sounders honored late Microsoft executive and Madrona venture capitalist S. “Soma” Somasegar, a minority owner who died in May at 59, with a pregame tribute and moment of silence recognizing his impact on Seattle’s tech and sports communities. Somasegar, who joined the Sounders ownership group in 2019, was remembered for his leadership at Microsoft, mentorship of startups, and efforts to bring people together through sports.
Whatnot buys Madrona-backed Shaped; Tullie Murrell to lead applied AI research for live-shopping recommendations
Live-shopping unicorn Whatnot has acquired Seattle AI startup Shaped, which builds real-time recommendation and search technology; Shaped CEO Tullie Murrell will join Whatnot to lead a new applied AI research team. The deal’s financial terms were not disclosed and follows Whatnot’s recent $225 million funding round and planned expansion of its Seattle engineering hub.
Thira Raises $21M Seed Round for AI Workflow Systems
Thira, a Bellevue, Washington developer of AI systems that improve complex workflows, raised $21 million in seed funding. The company’s funding will support its AI system solutions to enhance workflow efficiency.
Kevin Ryan’s AlleyCorp Raises $335 Million Second Early-Stage Fund to Back Psychedelics, Healthcare and Deep Tech
AlleyCorp founder Kevin Ryan raised a new $335 million early-stage fund after taking outside capital for the first time in 2024, continuing the firm’s strategy of making early bets in areas like psychedelics, healthcare, deep tech and general tech. The firm, which has produced multiple unicorns and reportedly a historical 60% IRR, aims to back companies before opportunities are obvious and help build them from early revenue stages.
Madrona Ventures Reports $300B Raised by 40 AI Companies, Averages $800M Each Excluding Top Three
Madrona Ventures reports that 40 AI companies have collectively raised over $300 billion, averaging around $800 million each excluding the top three, highlighting significant institutional investment in applied AI. The Seattle VC firm itself recently closed two new funds totaling $770 million dedicated to AI investments.
Apptio Co-founders Sunny Gupta and Kurt Shintaffer Launch Thira, Raise $21M Seed Led by Madrona to Build Autonomous IT Support Agents
Apptio co-founders Sunny Gupta and Kurt Shintaffer launched Bellevue-based enterprise AI startup Thira to build autonomous agents for IT support and back-office work, and raised $21 million in seed funding led by Madrona. Thira will integrate with tools like ServiceNow, Jira Service Management and identity/device-management systems, with plans to expand into finance and HR amid competition from companies such as ServiceNow (Moveworks), Aisera, Rezolve.ai, and Serval.
Thira Secures $21 Million Seed Funding to Automate Enterprise Back-Office Workflows with AI
Thira, founded by Apptio co-founders in 2026, has raised $21 million in a seed round led by Madrona to develop an AI-native platform that automates complex enterprise back-office workflows while ensuring security and compliance.
Thira Raises $21 Million Seed Round Led by Madrona to Build Self-Learning AI Back-Office Platform
Thira raised $21 million in seed funding led by Madrona to build a self-learning AI back-office platform, with participation from FUSE and several global advisors and CIOs.
Thira Secures $21 Million Seed Funding Led by Madrona to Develop Self-Learning AI Back-Office Platform
Thira raised $21 million in seed funding led by Madrona to develop a self-learning AI back-office platform, with additional support from FUSE and global advisors.
Thira Secures $21M Seed Funding Led by Madrona to Develop AI-Driven Self-Running Enterprise Back-Office
Thira, founded by Apptio co-founders Sunny Gupta and Kurt Shintaffer, raised $21 million in a seed round led by Madrona to develop a secure, self-learning AI system aimed at automating enterprise back-office IT processes. The funding round also includes participation from FUSE and prominent advisors, with key industry veterans joining the founding team.
Radar Company Echodyne Opens $40M Woodinville Plant to Produce 30,000 Drone-Detection Radars Annually
Echodyne, a radar platform company based near Seattle, opened a $40 million manufacturing plant in Woodinville to meet increasing demand for drone-detection radars. The facility, spanning over 86,000 square feet, will create up to 200 jobs and produce around 30,000 radars annually.
Echodyne Opens $40 Million, 86,350-Square-Foot Radar Manufacturing Plant in Woodinville
Radar company Echodyne opened an 86,350-square-foot manufacturing plant in Woodinville with a $40 million investment, aiming to employ 200 people within two years. The company plans to produce over 30,000 radars annually as it expands its position as a global leader in the industry.
Fund History
People
See all 16-
Bill Ruckelshaus Founder, Founder and Strategic Director
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Paul Goodrich Founder
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Steve Singh Founder, Co-founder of Concur and Managing Director
