Microsoft
Facts
- HQ
- NASDAQ:MSFT
- Sectors
- Technology, Workplace tools, Cloud
- Founded
- 1975
- Employees
- 221000
- Stage
- Public
Seattle Startup Hedgehog, Led by Ex-Cisco CEO Marc Austin, Launches to Simplify SONiC Network OS Usage for Cloud-Native Firms
Hedgehog, a new Seattle startup led by Cisco veteran Marc Austin, aims to simplify the use of Microsoft's open-source SONiC network operating system for cloud-native companies moving workloads off public clouds. The company positions itself as the 'Red Hat for SONiC,' helping enterprises avoid vendor lock-in and reduce infrastructure costs through automation.
Technology Alliance Receives $674,874 Federal Grant to Boost Corporate Venture Capital in Washington State Startups
The Technology Alliance, led by CEO Laura Ruderman, secured a $674,874 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration to support its Enterprise Capital Alliance program, which aims to increase corporate venture capital investments in Washington state startups. Despite growth in corporate VC deals, Washington still trails leading states like California and New York in both volume and total venture capital funding.
GeekWire Summit 2022 to Feature Top Tech Leaders Including Magic Leap, Aurora, Microsoft, Amazon, and U.S. Senator Cantwell on October 6-7
The 11th annual GeekWire Summit takes place on October 6-7 in Seattle and online, featuring key technology and business leaders discussing innovations like augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, and robotics. Speakers include Magic Leap CTO Julie Larson-Green, Aurora CEO Chris Urmson, Microsoft EVP Charlie Bell, Amazon VP Ken Washington, and U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell.
Seattle Startup Xembly Raises $15M Series A to Enhance AI ‘Chief of Staff’ Automating Meeting and Workflow Tasks
Seattle startup Xembly raised $15 million in Series A funding to expand its AI-powered ‘chief of staff’ that automates meeting notes, scheduling, and to-do lists. The AI uses advanced natural language processing to reduce repetitive tasks and has customers like Twilio and Convoy.
Paresh Rajwat Appointed Meta's Pacific Northwest Office Head Amid Metaverse Expansion and Company-Wide Cutbacks
Paresh Rajwat has been named Meta's new head of office for the Pacific Northwest, overseeing more than 8,000 employees in the region as part of Meta's metaverse expansion. Despite company-wide layoffs and reduced growth projections amid economic challenges, Rajwat remains optimistic about the Pacific Northwest's critical role in Meta's future.
QorusDocs Raises $10M Led by WestRiver Group to Advance Sales Proposal Software
Bellevue-based startup QorusDocs raised $10 million in a funding round led by WestRiver Group to enhance its software for creating and managing sales proposals, which integrates with Salesforce and Microsoft. The company, founded in 2012 with 70 employees, has raised a total of $18 million and serves clients including Teladoc Health, Hitachi, CDW, and major global law firms.
#27 Geoff Harris: Managing Partner Flying Fish VC
In this episode of Startup Project we spoke to Geoff Harris, Managing Partner Flying Fish VC. Flying Fish is a thesis driven fund focused on Al/ML. Geoff Harris spent 15 years at Microsoft in engineering leadership and executive leadership positions. His career at Microsoft began in digital media where he ran the Windows Media Player team. Full conversation includes: Developing Natural language processing at Microsoft Angel investing to raising a fund Core insight behind Flying Fish AI Use cases for future Web3 & Venture ----- Past guests of Startup Project podcast include Ali Moiz (stonks.com), Kirby Winfield (Ascend.vc), Eric Bahn…
Amazon Web Services Licenses Batfish Network Testing Tool from Seattle Startup Intentionet, Retaining Open Source Status
Amazon Web Services signed a licensing deal with Seattle startup Intentionet, creators of the Batfish open source network testing tool, which AWS will now manage. Intentionet’s enterprise product predicts network change impacts to prevent outages, and fewer than 12 employees will join Amazon without it being an acquisition.
Former Microsoft Teams VP Bhrighu Sareen Named Highspot President of Product & Engineering As Startup Hits $3.5B Valuation
Bhrighu Sareen, former Microsoft Teams corporate VP, joined Highspot as president of product & engineering, a startup valued at $3.5 billion. Other leadership changes include DocuSign naming Google exec Allan Thygesen as CEO amid layoffs, and Edifecs and Acumatica hiring seasoned executives.
Seattle Startup Outbound AI Launches PayerVA Console to Automate Medical Insurance Claims Processing
Outbound AI, a Seattle startup spun out of Madrona Venture Labs with $7 million in seed funding, launched PayerVA Console, a software product that automates and expedites medical insurance claims processing by reducing time spent on payer communications. The tool transcribes calls, extracts key information, and assists human workers to alleviate burdensome tasks in the healthcare payment system.
Seattle Startup Tribute Loses $3M Seed Funding When Lead Investor Bails Out, Receives $250K from Engage
Sarah Haggard's Seattle startup Tribute lost a $3 million seed funding round when the lead investor backed out, causing major setbacks including key staff departures. However, partial investment from Engage and interest from its partners enabled Tribute to continue pursuing opportunities and pivot its business model.
Boltive Leaders Dan Frechtling and Scott Moore Drive Online Privacy Tech Motivated by Personal Cancer Losses
Boltive CEO Dan Frechtling and CFO Scott Moore share a deep personal connection through their experiences with their wives' cancer treatments, motivating their work in online privacy compliance technology. Boltive, formerly Ad Lightning, is expanding its automated solutions to help brands comply with privacy laws and honor user choices.
Augment AI, Led by Napster Co-Founder Jordan Ritter, Launches Private Beta of AI-Powered Productivity Tools After $3.5M Seed Round
Seattle startup Augment AI, spun out of AI2 and led by Napster co-founder Jordan Ritter, has launched a private beta of its AI-powered productivity sidekick designed to take meeting notes and organize research. The company raised $3.5 million in seed funding and offers two apps, Meeting Augment and Memory Augment, to enhance workflow integration with tools like Zoom.
Seattle Startup Taqtile Raises $5M to Expand AR Job Training Software Across Global Enterprise Sectors
Seattle-based AR startup Taqtile raised $5 million to expand hiring and marketing for its Manifest software, which provides mixed reality job training to enterprise clients globally across multiple sectors. The funding will support its partner ecosystem amid growing labor shortages and retirement trends increasing demand for employee training technology.
GeekWire Summit to Feature Microsoft, Magic Leap, and Senator Maria Cantwell Oct. 6-7 in Seattle on Tech Innovations and Policy
The GeekWire Summit, held October 6-7 in Seattle, features notable speakers from tech and politics including Microsoft’s Jaime Teevan and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell. The conference will cover topics such as augmented reality, AI, cybersecurity, and economic trends, with options to attend in person or online.
Seattle Startup Spice AI Raises $13.5M Seed Round to Build AI Infrastructure for Web3 Blockchain Applications
Seattle-based startup Spice AI raised a $13.5 million seed round to provide infrastructure for developers to build AI-driven applications on blockchain networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The platform indexes blockchain data for use in Web3 applications across sectors including financial services, fraud detection, and retail.
Seattle AI Startup Falkon Raises $16M to Enhance Sales and Marketing Analytics
Seattle-based startup Falkon, which uses AI to generate sales and marketing recommendations by integrating data from platforms like Salesforce and Google Analytics, has raised $16 million to expand its team and customer base. Founded in 2019 by tech veterans including CEO Mona Akmal, the company currently serves 15 customers with pricing up to $100,000.
Seattle Tech Veterans Dan Marx and Rob Einaudi Launch BikeList to Disrupt Online Bike and Parts Market
BikeList is a new peer-to-peer online marketplace for bicycles and parts launched by Seattle tech veterans Dan Marx and Rob Einaudi in May, aiming to compete with platforms like eBay and Craigslist. With extensive tech backgrounds including work at CarDomain, Amazon, and Expedia, the founders combine bike enthusiasm and engineering expertise to grow the platform.
ExtraHop Hires Four New Executives After $900M Bain Capital Acquisition; Madrona and USAFacts Also Name Key Leaders
Seattle-based cybersecurity company ExtraHop, recently acquired for $900 million by Bain Capital and Crosspoint Capital, appointed four new executives including CFO Matt Parson and CMO Christine Nurnberger. Other regional tech moves include Madrona Venture Group hiring a new managing director and USAFacts appointing Michelle Broderick as CMO.
Madrona Venture Group Opens Silicon Valley Office to Expand Investments Beyond Pacific Northwest
Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group is expanding beyond the Pacific Northwest by opening its first Silicon Valley office to increase investments outside its home region. Since 2019, the firm has raised over $261 million for an acceleration fund targeting more mature companies across North America, with about 15% of its portfolio now outside the Pacific Northwest.
Seattle Startup GetGreen Launches App to Help Users and Businesses Combat Climate Change via Carbon Tracking and Gamified Sustainable Actions
Seattle startup GetGreen, founded in 2020 by Brian Ringer and Jed Stafford, offers an app that encourages individuals and organizations to combat climate change through sustainable actions, tracking carbon emissions reductions via a gamified system. The platform also provides customized sustainability challenges for businesses, with fees based on size and customization.
#25 Todd Bishop: Co-Founder of Geekwire.com
In this week's episode of Startup Project we spoke to Todd Bishop, Co-Founder of Geekwire. He is a longtime business and technology journalist who reports on subjects including AI, cloud, startups, and health technology, plus Amazon and Microsoft, & hosts GeekWire's weekly podcast. Full conversation includes: Geekwire Story Business model of publishing Covering Big Tech Amazon's next big thing Doom Scrolling & a whole lot more. ----- Past guests of Startup Project podcast include Ali Moiz (stonks.com), Kirby Winfield (Ascend.vc), Eric Bahn (Hustle Fund), and many more. To stay up to date checkout thestartupproject.io & follow us on twitter: @natarajsindam
Ex-Amazon VP Andrew Hamel Joins Booster as CTO Amid Multiple Pacific Northwest Tech Executive Moves
Andrew Hamel, former Amazon VP, joined mobile energy startup Booster as CTO, bringing extensive tech leadership experience. Several other Pacific Northwest tech firms also made key executive hires, including 1Password, Peek, Pie Insurance, Paymentus, and Opendoor.
TerraPower, co-founded by Bill Gates, raises $750M to develop advanced nuclear reactors and medical tech
TerraPower, co-founded by Bill Gates, raised $750 million in one of Seattle's largest private funding rounds to develop safer nuclear reactors and medical applications. The company is partnering with GE-Hitachi and funded partly by the U.S. DOE for a 500 MW demonstration reactor planned for Wyoming by 2028.
Amarjit Kaur Sandhu joins Ozette as VP of Engineering; AWS marketing chief Rachel Thornton to depart after 10 years
Amarjit Kaur Sandhu joined Ozette Technologies as vice president of engineering, bringing experience from Nuance Communications and Saykara. Additionally, AWS executive Rachel Thornton is leaving, and various leadership moves across Pacific Northwest tech firms have been announced.
People
See all 8-
Ali Farhadi Executive, Former Allen Institute for AI CEO
-
Bill Gates Executive, Former CEO, Co-founder
-
Gaurav Sareen Executive, Chief Technology Officer - CAP
