Madrona Venture Labs
Facts
- HQ
- Seattle
- Sectors
- Startup studio, Venture
- Founded
- 2015 Seattle business license
- Type
- Corporation Seattle business license
- Registered name
- Madrona Venture Labs Inc Seattle business license
#20 Mike Fridgen: Seattle based Startup Incubator Madrona Venture Labs
In this Episode of Startup Project, Nataraj talked to Mike Fridgen, Managing Director at Madrona Venture Labs a Seattle based tech startup incubator. Some of the companies incubated include Style Genome (Acq by Wayfair), Chatitive (Acq by MailChimp), Message Yes (Acq by Nordstrom) & more. Before joining Madrona Venture Labs Mike was part of founding teams at Farecast (Acq by Microsoft) & Decide (Acq by Ebay) where he led product and growth strategies. Full Conversation includes: Farecast.com (Predicting prices) - Acquired by Microsoft Decide.com (next gen consumer reports) - Acquired by Ebay Through line across being part of multiple acquisitions…
Madrona investors say ETHDenver shows surging Web3 momentum, talent exodus from Web2, and new startup opportunities
Madrona Venture Group investors Maria Gilfoyle and Chris Picardo report strong momentum for Web3 after attending ETHDenver, noting growing consumer behavior shifts, new app categories, and a large talent migration from Web2 to Web3. They highlight the Pacific Northwest's relevance to Web3 and identify talent movement, future Ethereum work, and startup opportunities as key takeaways.
Vulcan Capital renamed Cercano Management and spun off as independent firm managing Allen-era assets
Vulcan Capital, the investment arm created to manage late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s holdings, has been spun off and renamed Cercano Management, a privately held firm working with multiple investors and family foundations. Cercano, based in Bellevue, will remain connected to Allen’s estate, continues Vulcan’s low-profile approach, and was recently disclosed as an investor in a $5.9 million round for Seattle startup Pendulum.
Pack Ventures launches Seattle syndicate to back UW-linked startups, pledges 10% of future profits to University of Washington
Pack Ventures, a new early-stage Seattle VC, will invest $100K–$200K checks in startups tied to the University of Washington and has already backed five companies including Jeeva Wireless, Talus.bio and Monod Bio; the firm will return 10% of individual future profits to UW. The syndicate includes more than 35 founding investors from the Seattle VC and entrepreneur community and will target AI, robotics, computational biology, enterprise software and other high-growth areas.
Napster Co‑founder Jordan Ritter’s Stealth Startup Augment AI Raises $3.45M Seed to ‘Supercharge’ Productivity
Augment AI Corp, a stealthy Seattle startup led by Napster co-founder Jordan Ritter and three other tech veterans, raised a $3.45 million seed round after spinning out of the Allen Institute for AI incubator to build software that aims to "supercharge" personal productivity by better integrating devices and apps.
Uplevel to Trial Permanent Four-Day Workweek, Giving All Employees Fridays Off to Combat Burnout
Seattle startup Uplevel, a 27-person remote spinout of Madrona Venture Labs, will trial a permanent four-day workweek (Fridays off) starting after the holidays to boost productivity, mental health and culture, with the experiment running through the first quarter and including monthly check-ins.
Convoy appoints John Morrow as general counsel effective Nov. 1; ex-AWS VP Steven Shure joins Neeva as chief business officer
Convoy named John Morrow as general counsel effective Nov. 1, following multiple legal leadership departures in 2021; Morrow previously served at Apptio and Paymentus. Separately, former AWS VP Steven Shure joined ad-free search startup Neeva as chief business officer and will remain based in Seattle.
Strike Graph raises $8M Series A to expand AI-driven SOC 2 and privacy compliance services
Seattle startup Strike Graph raised $8 million in a Series A to expand its compliance automation platform that simplifies SOC 2 and other security/privacy certifications using AI; the company says it has 4x customer growth since October 2020 and a 100% clean audit rate among customers.
Startup secrets; Windows 11 launch; In defense of the Blue Yeti
A global pandemic might seem like the wrong time to pursue a new startup idea, given all the uncertainties, but in many ways, the timing couldn't be better. That's one of the insights from our GeekWire Podcast conversation this week with Seattle-area entrepreneur and investor Shirish Nadkarni, author of the book From Startup to Exit: An Insider’s Guide to Launching and Scaling your Tech Business. The changes in user behavior and tech platform shifts caused by the pandemic dovetail with one of the lessons Nadkarni is hoping to get across to entrepreneurs. "Look for opportunities where there is either some…
Zulily co-founders Darrell Cavens and Mark Vadon back Seattle ID-verification startup Vouched with $4.5M investment
Seattle startup Vouched raised $4.5 million in a round led by Zulily co-founder Darrell Cavens and investor Mark Vadon to expand its AI-based identity verification software used by over 150 companies for real-time fraud detection across industries.
Zeitworks Raises $2M, Jazz Ventures and Madrona Back ML Startup as Jay Bartot Becomes CEO
Seattle startup Zeitworks raised $2 million in new funding from Jazz Ventures and Madrona Venture Group and appointed Seattle tech veteran Jay Bartot as CEO, succeeding Ryan Windham. The company uses machine learning to analyze user interactions and recommend automation or augmentation to improve repetitive business processes and plans to expand pilot customers.
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.
GeekWire names winners at 2021 Awards; SeekOut wins Startup of the Year after $65M raise
The 2021 GeekWire Awards returned as a virtual event honoring over 60 finalists across 14 categories from the Pacific Northwest tech community, featuring celebrity cameos and performances. Winners included SeekOut as Startup of the Year, and among 16 winners eight were women and five were people of color and/or immigrant entrepreneurs.
Madrona Venture Labs raises $8M and turns investors like Spencer Rascoff into co‑founders of spinouts
Madrona Venture Labs has raised $8 million for its fourth fund and introduced a model that makes investors — including Spencer Rascoff, Julie Larson-Green and Elena Donio — co-founders, board members, and advisors of its spinouts to attract talent and accelerate startup formation. Founded in 2014, the Seattle-based studio has spun out more than a dozen companies, including recent spinouts Zeitworks, Simplata, and Stratify.
Madrona Venture Labs Raises $8M Led by Madrona, Adds Former CEOs and Operators as Investors
Madrona Venture Labs (MVL), the incubation arm of Madrona Venture Group, has raised $8M with Madrona leading the round and brought on a roster of experienced operators and former CEOs as investors to help build spun-out companies. MVL will continue partnering closely with Madrona’s investment professionals on startups like Stratify and Strike Graph as it expands its incubation efforts.
GeekWire Names Common Room, Ozette, SeekOut, Shelf Engine and Strike Graph as 2024 Startup of the Year Finalists; Voting Open
GeekWire has announced five finalists for Startup of the Year — Common Room, Ozette, SeekOut, Shelf Engine, and Strike Graph — highlighting Seattle and Pacific Northwest entrepreneurship; community voting runs through April 30 and winners will be revealed May 20 at the virtual GeekWire Awards.
Startup Haven launches Startup Haven Ventures, adds Westerdal, Yu and Mbemba; PSL promotes three; Adam Selipsky named AWS CEO
Startup Haven, founded by Bob Crimmins, launched Startup Haven Ventures and expanded its team to include Jay Westerdal, Arry Yu and Claudius Mbemba; the fund targets pre-seed, capital-efficient companies with a Pacific Northwest focus and made its first investment in Verdi. Seattle’s Pioneer Square Labs promoted Palvi Mehta, David Zager and Ben Gilbert; separately, Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky will become AWS CEO, replacing Andy Jassy.
Pioneer Square Labs raises $100M Fund II to back 30+ Pacific Northwest startups with $1–3M initial checks
Seattle-based Pioneer Square Labs raised $100 million for its second venture fund, exceeding its $80 million target due to strong institutional demand, and will invest across more than 30 early-stage Pacific Northwest companies with initial checks of $1–3 million. The firm operates a startup studio (raised $29 million) and a venture fund model that splits capital roughly half to studio spinouts and half to external startups.
Madrona Venture Labs’ Pendulum, led by Sam Clark and Mark Ledwich, launches tech to identify QAnon videos across YouTube, BitChute and Rumble
Pendulum, a Madrona Venture Labs startup led by Sam Clark and Mark Ledwich, builds technology to classify publicly available video content and identify harmful narratives like QAnon across platforms including YouTube, BitChute, and Rumble. The company released a report on QAnon videos, has interest from advertisers and government groups, and analyzes audio and image content though its business model remains undisclosed.
Advancing Women in Product partners with Madrona Venture Group to expand female founder training and access to capital
Advancing Women in Product (AWIP), a nonprofit with over 16,000 members, is partnering with Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group and Madrona Venture Labs to expand training, mentoring, networking and help women launch startups, join boards and secure VC. AWIP founder and CEO Nancy Wang and Madrona managing director Hope Cochran say the collaboration aims to increase female leadership and diversify Madrona's portfolio across its roughly 80 companies.
Mailchimp acquires Chatitive; CEO Andy Hollenbeck to lead conversational SMS at Mailchimp
Mailchimp has acquired Seattle SMS-marketing startup Chatitive, a Madrona Venture Labs spinout, integrating its team (fewer than 10 employees) and naming CEO Andy Hollenbeck head of conversational SMS; terms were not disclosed.
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.
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.
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.
WestRiver Group Sells Debt Investment Business to SVB Financial Group; Erik Anderson Named Executive Chairman of New SVB Capital Credit Platform
Seattle-based WestRiver Group agreed to sell its debt investment business to SVB Financial Group to form the SVB Capital Credit Platform, with WestRiver CEO Erik Anderson joining SVB as executive chairman; terms were not disclosed. WestRiver manages about $2 billion AUM and holds investments including Singularity University and several Seattle startups.
People
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Anthony Bontrager Investor / Advisor (MVL Fund III)
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S. "Soma" Somasegar Managing Director
