Microsoft
Facts
- HQ
- NASDAQ:MSFT
- Sectors
- Technology, Workplace tools, Cloud
- Founded
- 1975
- Employees
- 221000
- Stage
- Public
Kirt Debique
Kirt Debique is the CEO & CTO of SyncFloor, a B2B platform providing licensed access to high-quality commercial music for use by businesses and creators. Built around the concept of natural language music search, SyncFloor has created an intuitive and innovative engine for music discovery, and the patented SyncFloor platform connects customer websites, services, and applications to music from the world's best labels and publishers. The company is also the maker of SongsForPodcasters, a modern podcast-specific music licensing experience made for consumers, small businesses, and creative professionals. A twenty year Microsoft veteran with experience as an engineer, architect, technology strategist…
Clearbrief Raises $3.5M Seed Round Led by Reign Ventures with Court Lorenzini, Jack Newton and Others
Clearbrief, a product that strengthens legal writing, has raised a total of $3.5 million in seed funding led by Reign Ventures and announced on August 30, 2021; new investors include Court Lorenzini, Jack Newton, Amy Weaver, Hadi Partovi and Lata Setty. The company previously attracted early backers such as Mark Britton, Bryan Garner and Bill Neukom.
RapL Raises $2.2M to Scale Mobile AI Microlearning Used by Toyota, Casio and Shell
Seattle startup RapL raised $2.2 million to grow its mobile-focused, AI-driven microlearning platform used by companies including Toyota, Casio and Shell to upskill employees with bite-sized, gamified training.
Xinova, spun out of Intellectual Ventures in 2016, shutters after failed fundraising and restructuring
Xinova, a Seattle-based invention-network company spun out of Intellectual Ventures in 2016, is winding down after failing to raise additional capital and unable to restructure legacy liabilities. The firm raised $48 million in Series A funding, grew a 12,000-inventor network, employed 100+ people at its peak, and has cut staff to two employees assisting the shutdown.
Mason founders Jim and Nancy Xiao swap CEO and President roles as startup, backed by $25M Series A, tops 50 employees; Microsoft CVP Gavriella Schuster departs to focus on DEI
Seattle IoT startup Mason is swapping CEO Jim Xiao and President Nancy Xiao, with Nancy becoming CEO after the company raised $25M in Series A and grew to 50+ employees; longtime Microsoft CVP Gavriella Schuster has left Microsoft to focus on DEI work.
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.
Microsoft acquires Peer5 to add WebRTC mesh eCDN for improved large-scale video streaming in Teams
Microsoft has acquired Bay Area startup Peer5 to integrate its WebRTC-based mesh eCDN technology into Microsoft Teams to improve large-scale in-browser video streaming and optimize bandwidth amid increased remote work demand.
Former Facebook Seattle Head Vijaye Raji Raises $10.4M Series A for Statsig to Speed Feature Rollouts
Vijaye Raji, a former Facebook and Microsoft engineering leader, raised $10.4 million in Series A funding for Statsig, a Kirkland startup that helps developers quickly roll out and measure product features. Sequoia Capital, Madrona Venture Group and angel investors participated, and the company aims to bring Facebook-style experimentation tools to broader developer teams.
Chronus raises $78M from Level Equity to expand mentoring platform as hybrid work and DEI demand rises
Chronus, a Bellevue-based mentoring software maker, raised $78 million from Level Equity to expand its platform, sales and marketing as hybrid work and DEI demand grow; the company has about 85 employees and counts Amazon and Hearst among customers.
Microsoft acquires Seattle AI spend-analysis startup Suplari, to integrate with Dynamics 365
Microsoft has acquired Seattle startup Suplari, which uses AI to analyze procurement and spending data and manages over $180 billion in spend; Suplari’s Spend Intelligence Cloud will remain available to existing customers and will be paired with Microsoft Dynamics 365. Terms were not disclosed; Suplari — a 40-person company founded in 2016 that raised $18 million — provides AI-driven cost-savings and risk insights across enterprise systems.
DataRobot buys Seattle ML startup Algorithmia and raises $300M Series G at $6.3B valuation
Boston-based DataRobot acquired Seattle startup Algorithmia and announced a $300 million Series G at a $6.3 billion valuation; Algorithmia CEO Diego Oppenheimer will remain at DataRobot after the deal. Algorithmia, founded in 2013, had raised $37.9 million, served over 130,000 users, and employed 58 people.
StormX raises $9M from Optimista Capital to expand rewards app, plans debit card after Portland Trail Blazers jersey deal
Seattle crypto startup StormX raised $9 million from Optimista Capital to expand its rewards platform and launch a debit card, after a prior $6 million round and an NBA jersey sponsorship with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Ridwell CEO Ryan Metzger grows Seattle recycling startup to 35,000 members across 40+ cities, adds Denver and hires 100+ employees
Seattle startup Ridwell, founded by CEO Ryan Metzger, has grown to over 35,000 members across 40+ Pacific Northwest cities, collecting hard-to-recycle household items for up to $14/month and employing more than 100 people. The company is expanding (recently entering Denver), hiring aggressively, and aiming for about 300 employees within a year while its founder says he’d prefer the need for the service disappear if climate change were solved.
Simon Yu, ex-Bomba Fusion owner, leads crypto startup StormX and lands Portland Trail Blazers sponsorship
Seattle entrepreneur Simon Yu closed his Korean-Mexican food truck Bomba Fusion and pivoted to cofound StormX, a fast-growing crypto startup he launched in 2015; recently StormX secured a sponsorship deal with the Portland Trail Blazers as Yu reflects on his journey from financial hardship to startup success.
AI2 spinout MajorBoost raises $350,000 pre-seed to automate insurance calls for medical providers
MajorBoost, an AI2 spinout founded by Lekshmi Venu, Ben Hesketh and Andrew Palmer, uses AI to automate insurance phone calls for medical providers to reduce time lost to eligibility and claim inquiries; it received $350,000 in pre-seed funding from AI2 and is preparing a seed round while running private beta customers.
Seattle startups raise record $3.1B in H1 2021, producing 12 local unicorns as Auth0 exits for $6.5B
Seattle-area startups raised a record $3.1 billion across 205 deals in H1 2021, driven by mega-rounds that produced at least 12 local unicorns and broader Pacific Northwest tech funding topping $5 billion. National VC activity and IPO/M&A dollar volumes are also surpassing prior records, with major exits like Auth0’s $6.5 billion acquisition by Okta highlighting regional maturation.
Truveta raises $95M from 17 partner systems, gains access to >15% of U.S. patient records across 40 states
Seattle health-data startup Truveta raised $95 million in Series A funding from its 17 partner healthcare systems and added three new partners, giving it access to records covering more than 15% of U.S. patient care across 40 states. CEO Terry Myerson says the pooled data and insurance claims will let researchers and life sciences companies link treatments to outcomes to improve patient care and safety research.
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.
Microsoft confirms acquisition of RiskIQ for more than $500 million in cash
Microsoft confirmed it will acquire cybersecurity startup RiskIQ, which Bloomberg reported was purchased for more than $500 million in cash; RiskIQ provides attack surface management tools and raised a $15 million Series D in June 2020.
TaxBit opens second headquarters in Seattle, plans to expand local team to 40 after $100M Series A
Utah-based crypto tax and accounting firm TaxBit is opening a second headquarters in Seattle’s South Lake Union to tap local tech talent and grow its team. Founded in 2018, TaxBit recently raised $100 million in a Series A (bringing total funding to $105 million), has a partnership with the IRS, and expects to grow its Seattle headcount from six to about 40 by year-end.
WellSaid Labs raises $10M Series A led by Fuse to expand AI text-to-speech platform
Seattle-based WellSaid Labs raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Fuse to expand its AI-driven text-to-speech platform, building on a $2 million 2019 seed and backing from investors including Voyager Capital, Qualcomm Ventures and Good Friends. The funding will support research, product hires and sales expansion to scale the startup’s natural-sounding synthetic voice offerings.
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.
Pioneer Square Labs alum Boundless hires Ohio tech veteran Alan Gilbert as VP of Engineering after recommendation from PSL co-founder Ben Gilbert
Seattle VC Ben Gilbert helped his father Alan Gilbert land a remote VP of engineering role at Boundless, a Pioneer Square Labs spinoff, highlighting how COVID-19 has broadened companies' acceptance of remote hires and kept tech ties strong across distance.
Astra goes public via Holicity SPAC led by Craig McCaw, valued at $2+ billion with $500M cash
Astra completed its SPAC merger with Holicity and began trading on Nasdaq (tickers ASTR/ASTRW), a deal that values the company at over $2 billion and provides about $500 million in cash. The transaction was led by Holicity chairman Craig McCaw with financial backing for Holicity from Bill Gates’ Pendrell Corp., and adds McCaw and Michael Lehman to Astra’s board.
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.
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