Microsoft
Facts
- HQ
- NASDAQ:MSFT
- Sectors
- Technology, Workplace tools, Cloud
- Founded
- 1975
- Employees
- 221000
- Stage
- Public
Russell Wilson and Spencer Rascoff back MOJO app to give parent coaches pro-grade youth-sports drills
MOJO is a new Los Angeles-based mobile app, backed by Russell Wilson and Spencer Rascoff, offering professionally produced coaching guidance for parent coaches and families in youth sports starting with soccer and expanding to basketball, baseball and softball. Founded by Ben Sherwood and Reed Shaffner, the app aims to simplify youth-sports instruction, make practices more fun, and reduce dropout rates among children ages roughly 4–13.
Nautilus Biotechnology to go public via Arya Sciences Acquisition Corp III SPAC, raising $350M at $900M valuation
Nautilus Biotechnology, a Seattle proteomics startup led by Sujal Patel and Parag Mallick, will go public via a SPAC merger with Arya Sciences Acquisition Corp III, raising about $350 million and valuing the company at $900 million. The deal includes a $150 million SPAC component and a $200 million PIPE, expects to close in Q2, and the combined company will trade on Nasdaq as NAUT.
Cascadia leaders push Seattle–Vancouver life-sciences collaboration as B.C. Cancer Agency and Fred Hutch co-develop cancer diagnostics
Leaders from British Columbia and Washington are encouraging deeper collaboration between Seattle and Vancouver life-science organizations, citing examples like B.C. Cancer Agency’s partnership with Fred Hutch and Gates-funded projects with Vancouver’s AbCellera to build a Cascadia life-sciences cluster.
Madrona’s Elisa La Cava interviews Madrona Venture Labs’ Mike Fridgen and FFA’s Leslie Feinzaig on studios vs. accelerators
This Founded and Funded episode compares two paths to venture funding—startup studios (Madrona Venture Labs) and accelerators (Female Founders Alliance’s Ready Set Raise)—with Madrona investor Elisa La Cava interviewing Mike Fridgen and Leslie Feinzaig about how each model supports different types of companies.
Gradient Ventures leads $5.4M investment in Seattle analytics startup Iteratively to standardize customer data
Seattle analytics startup Iteratively raised $5.4 million in a round led by Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI-focused fund, to help companies standardize and improve customer analytics tracking. The 10-person company, founded in 2019 by Patrick Thompson and Ondrej Hrebicek, integrates with tools like Amplitude and Mixpanel and counts Box and thredUP among clients.
Craig McCaw’s Holicity to Merge with Astra in $2.1 Billion SPAC Deal That Could Raise $500 Million
Craig McCaw’s Holicity SPAC is merging with launch startup Astra in a deal that values Astra at $2.1 billion and would yield up to $500 million in cash proceeds, aiming to fund daily low-Earth-orbit access despite Astra not yet having achieved routine orbit success.
Qualtrics raises $1.55B in Nasdaq IPO, priced at $30 valuing firm near $15B (shares closed >$27B)
Qualtrics completed a $1.55 billion IPO on the Nasdaq, pricing shares at $30 and valuing the company around $15 billion (shares later closed at $45.50 valuing it over $27 billion). The company — spun out from SAP after a 2018 $8 billion acquisition — plans to keep Seattle as a second headquarters with about 800 employees and will move into the renamed Qualtrics Tower when offices reopen.
i2 Holdings acquires Ambassador from Intrado, adds 11 employees and folds product into ContextLink
Seattle-based i2 Holdings acquired Ambassador, a refer-a-friend platform from Intrado, and will operate it within its ContextLink platform while retaining all 11 Ambassador employees; this is i2's third acquisition in 18 months.
Fusebit, founded by Microsoft, Apple and Auth0 veterans, raises $3.3M seed to provide integration APIs
Seattle startup Fusebit, founded in 2019 by veterans of Microsoft, Apple and Auth0, raised a $3.3 million seed round to offer hosted and private-cloud APIs that help SaaS vendors add and monitor integrations at scale. The three-person company — led by CEO Tomasz Janczuk — plans to hire remotely and lists customers including Factory Four, Hyperproof and Leasera.
WTIA launches eight-week Canadian XR Startup Market Accelerator to ready 10 AR/VR/voice startups for U.S. expansion
WTIA launched an eight-week Canadian XR Startup Market Accelerator to prepare 10 Canadian AR, VR and voice startups for U.S. market expansion with curriculum, mentorship and U.S. go-to-market support. The nonprofit is partnering with Global Affairs Canada and Trade and Invest British Columbia to provide workshops on sales, fundraising, localization and market validation.
Gates-led Breakthrough Energy Ventures raises second $1B fund to back 40–50 hard-to-abate climate tech startups
Breakthrough Energy Ventures, led by Bill Gates, has raised a second $1 billion fund to invest in 40–50 startups developing hard-to-abate climate technologies like low-emission steel and cement, carbon capture, and long-haul transportation, using a 20-year "patient capital" approach focused on large CO₂ reductions.
Shuffl founders Matthew Lee and Chris Watts launch Slack and Teams app to match coworkers; ~1,000 teams installed
Shuffl is a startup launched in 2019 by CEO Matthew Lee and CTO Chris Watts that creates randomized or intentional introductions for coworkers through Slack and Microsoft Teams to encourage workplace connection. The app automatically creates channels, schedules one-on-one or group meetups, provides video links and icebreakers, and has been installed by about 1,000 teams.
Integris co-founder Raghu Gollamudi launches Included to use employee data for scalable DEI, after Integris’ $16M raise and OneTrust acquisition
Raghu Gollamudi, co-founder of Integris, left OneTrust to start Included, a platform that integrates with employee data systems to help companies scale DEI efforts, retention, and belonging. The move follows his prior success with Integris (which raised $16 million and was acquired by OneTrust) and reflects growing demand for data-driven DEI tools amid increased corporate focus since 2020.
Armoire raises $3.5M from Satya Nadella, Aman Bhutani after pivoting to casual inventory and community tools
Seattle clothing subscription service Armoire adapted to pandemic-driven demand shifts by cutting costs, adding casual items, and building community-driven discovery tools, helping long-tenured members stay. The four-year-old startup raised $3.5 million from investors including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani as it regains growth momentum.
U.S. Startups Raised Record $156.2B in 2020; Pacific Northwest Logged $946M in Q4 Across 54 Deals
U.S. startups set a new annual VC funding record in 2020 with $156.2 billion raised, driven by digital acceleration during the pandemic and a surge in mega-deals; Q4 saw $946 million invested across 54 Pacific Northwest deals. VC fundraises also hit records and IPO activity boosted exit values, suggesting continued momentum into 2021 as investors hold dry powder.
Maria Colacurcio (Syndio CEO, Smartsheet Co-Founder) on category creation, leadership lessons from parenting, skills over experience, and the power of focus
Syndio just raised a $17M series B to help companies fix gender and racial pay equity problems. It's a big, complex, and new category. They already have 100+ customers like Nordstrom, Salesforce, and Adobe. Maria was previously co-founder at Smartsheet and a tech veteran. She is all about focus and precision. And she explains how parenting 6 kids, working with veterans, startup marketing, and big companies have all helped her find focus in her mission at Syndio.
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.
Sway Ventures leads $2.7M seed into Omnivor as Seattle startup scales 3D holographic media used by Nike and T-Mobile
Seattle startup Omnivor raised $2.7 million in a seed round led by Sway Ventures to expand its 3D holographic media platform, which is being used by clients including Nike and in partnership with T-Mobile for live holographic telepresence.
Nautilus Biotechnology hires ex-Smartsheet, Isilon and GenapSys leaders as it scales proteome platform after $76M Series B
Nautilus Biotechnology, a stealthy startup co-founded by Sujal Patel and Parag Mallick, has hired three senior executives — Chris Blessington, Anna Mowry, and Subra Sankar — to expand its team and accelerate development of a platform to quantify the human proteome after a $76 million Series B.
2021: What to expect in tech, with Peter Lee of Microsoft
When (and how) will we all return to the office? How can startups position themselves to succeed in 2021? Which innovations will define the coming year? And which technologies will be overhyped? Last week, we recapped the top stories of 2020. This week, we look ahead to anticipate the coming year in technology and innovation. Our guest commentator is computer scientist Peter Lee, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for research and incubations, one of several tech and business leaders based in the Seattle region who responded to a GeekWire survey about what to expect in the year ahead. See omnystudio.com/listener for…
Two Screens for Teachers raises support as founders seek $23M to supply 250,000 pandemic-strained educators; teen Avi Schiffmann built a widely used COVID-19 tracker
A roundup of positive tech, science, and education stories from 2020 highlights initiatives that helped during the pandemic, including Two Screens for Teachers providing monitors to school districts and a high school student, Avi Schiffmann, building a widely used COVID-19 tracker.
Madrona Venture Group Raises $345M for 8th Fund and $161M for 2nd Later-Stage Fund in Largest Ever $500M Capital Raise
Madrona Venture Group raised over $500 million for its largest fundraise ever, including $345 million for an eighth early-stage fund targeting 35-40 Pacific Northwest startups and $161 million for a second later-stage Acceleration Fund. The firm continues to focus on supporting the Pacific Northwest tech ecosystem while also backing later-stage companies across North America.
Hanwha Systems to invest $30M in Gates-backed Kymeta to pursue LEO-compatible satellite antennas
Hanwha Systems will invest $30 million in Kymeta Corp., backing the company's metamaterial flat-panel u8 antenna and Kymeta Connect hybrid cellular-satellite service as demand grows for LEO-compatible satellite connectivity.
Crowd Cow hires ex‑Amazon leaders Ian McAllister, Julie Pruitt, Jeremy Sievert and adds Flexe CTO David Glick to board; Snap! Raise names Stuart Silberg as CTO
Seattle meat and seafood marketplace Crowd Cow hired Ian McAllister as chief product officer, Julie Pruitt as chief merchant, and Jeremy Sievert as VP of operations, and added Flexe CTO David Glick to its board; Crowd Cow says revenue grew over 400% this year. Digital fundraising platform Snap! Raise hired former Expedia CTO Stuart Silberg as its new chief technology officer.
LinkedIn data: Seattle added 2.2 tech workers per one lost from March–October as Bay Area outflows rise
LinkedIn migration data shows Seattle gained 2.2 tech workers for every one who left from March to October, nearly matching last year’s 2.5 ratio, and attracted a 28% increase in movers from the Bay Area. While the Bay Area and New York saw notable declines in their inflow-outflow ratios, observers and local advocates say Seattle’s similar amenities and lower cost of living help explain the trend.
People
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Ali Farhadi Executive, Former Allen Institute for AI CEO
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Bill Gates Executive, Former CEO, Co-founder
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Gaurav Sareen Executive, Chief Technology Officer - CAP
