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
2048 Ventures Hires Seattle Investor Minda Brusse to Lead Pre-Seed Sourcing in Seattle and Portland
NYC-based 2048 Ventures has hired Seattle investor Minda Brusse as a venture partner to source pre-seed investments in Seattle and Portland while she remains at First Row Partners; 2048 launched last year with a $27 million fund and has backed 29 companies.
WestRiver Group CEO Erik Anderson and Riverstone launch Decarbonization Plus Acquisition SPAC, raising $200M to pursue global decarbonization targets
WestRiver Group CEO Erik Anderson and asset manager Riverstone launched Decarbonization Plus Acquisition, a SPAC that raised $200 million to target companies advancing global decarbonization across energy, agriculture, industrials, transportation and commercial/residential sectors.
Amazon names Anne Toth director of Alexa Trust; Zillow adds Claire Cormier Thielke to board; Lockstep exits stealth
Amazon hired Anne Toth as director of Alexa Trust to lead privacy, security, accessibility and ethics efforts for Alexa; Zillow added Claire Cormier Thielke to its board and Lockstep, a Seattle accounting-software startup founded in 2019, emerged from stealth with a founding team drawn from Avalara, Globys, e2b Teknologies and Winshuttle.
Madrona leads $3.9M seed for Strike Graph to automate SOC 2 compliance, promises 45-day certification
Seattle startup Strike Graph, spun out of Madrona Venture Labs, raised $3.9 million in a seed round led by Madrona Venture Group to help B2B companies automate and accelerate SOC 2 compliance. The five-person team, led by CEO Justin Beals and co-founder Brian Bero, says its platform can deliver SOC 2 Type 1 certification in 45 days and save customers roughly $50,000 in consultant fees.
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.
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.
Seattle startup Weekdays connects families and instructors to form 2–8 child microschools as remote K–12 returns
As many K–12 districts return to remote learning, parents are turning to microschools or "pandemic pods"—small, pooled groups of children supervised by caregivers or teachers—to handle the hands-on demands of young students' online schooling. Seattle startup Weekdays builds a platform to connect families and instructors for microschools, offering options like outdoor education for groups of 2–8 children while states such as Washington urge remote learning.
Ignition Partners investors spin out Fuse Venture Partners led by Kellan Carter, Cameron Borumand and Seahawks star Bobby Wagner
A group of investors from Seattle VC firm Ignition Partners, including managing partner John Connors, have launched a spinoff called Fuse Venture Partners led by general partners Kellan Carter and Cameron Borumand and featuring Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner as a venture partner. Ignite will sunset its brand while Fuse focuses on doubling down in Seattle and managing new investments, with Wagner committing to active involvement.
Madrona-led $4.5M seed funds Zeitworks, a Seattle ML startup co-founded by Ben Elowitz and CEO Ryan Windham
Seattle startup Zeitworks raised a $4.5 million seed round led by Madrona Venture Group with participation from JAZZ Venture Partners and Zillow co-founder Spencer Rascoff; the company uses machine learning to analyze and recommend improvements to repetitive business processes without back-end integrations. Zeitworks spun out of Madrona Venture Labs, is led by CEO Ryan Windham with co-founder Ben Elowitz, and plans to hire for several roles.
Uplevel launches remote-work analytics to track engineers' 'always on' hours, isolation, and throughput
Seattle startup Uplevel, which emerged from stealth earlier this year, added new analytics features to measure developer productivity and wellbeing in remote work settings, tracking metrics like messaging hours, meeting attendance, and engineering throughput. The tools aim to help managers detect overwork, isolation, and workflow bottlenecks caused by increased digital interruptions and home distractions.
Hiya names Hillery Nye GC and John Novak SVP of Marketing; Unity hires Scott Pitasky; Bellevue College appoints Gary Locke interim president
Seattle caller-ID startup Hiya hired Hillery Nye as general counsel and John Novak as SVP of marketing; Unity Technologies named Scott Pitasky chief people officer. Bellevue College appointed former Washington governor Gary Locke as interim president starting June 15.
Madrona Venture Labs spinout Weekdays and other startups build tech to help parents manage childcare gaps during COVID-19
Seattle startup studio Madrona Venture Labs and spinout Weekdays are among tech entrepreneurs building services to help working parents handle childcare challenges compounded by COVID-19 — from closed schools and canceled camps to safety worries and financial strain. Single parents like Maria Hess report daily struggles juggling work and parenting, driving increased demand for tech-enabled in-home caregiver matching and other solutions.
Madrona Venture Labs spinout StrikeGraph launches to automate SOC 2 compliance, led by Justin Beals and Brian Bero
Madrona Venture Labs has launched StrikeGraph, a Seattle startup led by Justin Beals and Brian Bero that automates and simplifies the SOC 2 cybersecurity compliance process to reduce time and cost for companies seeking certification.
Ex-Docker CFO Brian Camposano launches stealth Seattle fintech Stratify; Concur founder Steve Singh named chairman
Former Docker CFO Brian Camposano launched a stealth Seattle fintech called Stratify after spinning out from Madrona Venture Labs, with Concur co-founder Steve Singh serving as chairman. The early-stage company — currently one employee and no public website — aims to use machine learning and AI to modernize corporate finance and deliver real-time insights for CFOs and finance teams.
Pioneer Square Labs and Fortive launch joint innovation studio to build spinout companies, starting with a COVID-19 workplace-safety concept
Seattle startup studio Pioneer Square Labs (PSL) has partnered with publicly traded industrial company Fortive to form a joint innovation studio that will build and spin out new companies and products, starting with a confidential workplace-safety concept prompted by COVID-19. PSL will apply its in-house startup studio model to create standalone venture-backed businesses or concepts Fortive may acquire, while Fortive aims to accelerate innovation and cultural change.
Madrona Venture Labs spinout Simplata launches targeted encryption for sensitive cloud app data, plans seed raise
Madrona Venture Labs spinout Simplata, led by CEO Steve Banfield and CTO Bruce Roberts, is building a targeted encryption solution to protect sensitive data in cloud applications and plans to hire and raise a seed round later this year.
Ben Elowitz launches stealth Seattle startup Zeitworks, spun out of Madrona Venture Labs to optimize people and time
Veteran Seattle entrepreneur Ben Elowitz has launched a stealth startup called Zeitworks, spun out of Madrona Venture Labs, aiming to help organizations maximize people and time using data science and AI. The company is hiring, Elowitz is supporting the team, and further details remain confidential.
Docugami doubles to 20 after $10M funding and keeps hiring amid widespread tech layoffs
Docugami, a Kirkland, Washington document-engineering startup, doubled its staff to 20 after a $10 million funding round in early February and continues hiring despite widespread tech layoffs. CEO Jean Paoli and new head of operations Hartley Riedner have onboarded remotely, reflecting a flipped labor market where some startups can recruit while larger firms cut jobs.
Madrona Venture Labs launches Founders Unite to connect startup founders with veteran execs through AMAs during pandemic
Seattle-based Madrona Venture Labs launched Founders Unite, a community and AMA series connecting startup founders with veteran tech leaders for advice and peer support during the pandemic. MVL — which raised $11 million for its third fund last year and has launched around ten companies — organized the initiative after polling 100+ founders about what they value most.
Seattle Startup Crowd Cow Raises $15.1 Million to Expand Direct-to-Consumer Meat Marketplace
Seattle startup Crowd Cow raised $15.1 million to expand its meat marketplace, which allows customers to crowdfund meat from independent farms. Despite competition from alternative meat companies, Crowd Cow has grown by adding new products, partnerships like Shake Shack, and investment from notable backers including Madrona Venture Group and Ashton Kutcher’s Sound Ventures.
Greg Gottesman
Greg Gottesman, a major influencer in the Seattle startup community, sits down and shares his knowledge about entrepreneurship, his passion for the early stage of building companies, and the story behind what sparked the idea for Rover, where Greg is a co-founder. Greg serves as a Managing Director and co-founder of Pioneer Square Labs, both its studio and fund. He was a partner of Madrona Venture Group for 20 years and founder of Madrona Venture Labs. In this episode, he also discusses the entrepreneurship class he teaches at the University of Washington, what he looks for in entrepreneurs’ pitches, and…
Seattle's Portal VR Founder Compares Current VR/AR Hype to 1990s Internet Video Struggles
Virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) technology is currently experiencing hype similar to the early days of internet video, with startups and companies investing heavily despite limited consumer adoption. Industry insiders, like Tim Harader who runs Portal VR in Seattle, see parallels but remain uncertain if VR/AR will eventually achieve mass market penetration akin to digital video.
Pioneer Square Labs Raises $12.5M from Foundry Group, Bezos Expeditions and 50 Angels to Build Start-Ups
Pioneer Square Labs, a Seattle "start-up studio," raised $12.5 million from over a dozen VC firms and 50 angel investors to build companies from in-house ideas. Backers include Bezos Expeditions, Rich Barton, and lead investor Foundry Group among others.
People
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Anthony Bontrager Investor / Advisor (MVL Fund III)
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S. "Soma" Somasegar Managing Director
