Microsoft
Facts
- HQ
- NASDAQ:MSFT
- Sectors
- Technology, Workplace tools, Cloud
- Founded
- 1975
- Employees
- 221000
- Stage
- Public
Madrona leads $2.6M seed round for OthersideAI to build GPT-3–powered automated email composer
OthersideAI, founded months ago by Matt Shumer, Miles Feldstein and Jason Kuperberg, raised a $2.6M seed round led by Madrona to build a GPT-3–powered tool that automatically composes email drafts; the company is testing a Chrome extension with ~100 early users and a ~10,000-person waitlist.
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.
Foursquare CEO David Shim to Resign; Gary Little Named CEO in 2021; Other Tech Leadership Moves Reported
Foursquare CEO David Shim, founder of Placed, is resigning and will be succeeded by board member Gary Little in 2021 after a transition; Shim plans to return to entrepreneurship. Other moves: investor Karan Mehandru left Trinity Ventures to join Steadfast Financial while remaining on several boards, 343 Industries’ Chris Lee stepped down from Halo Infinite project direction, and WTIA hired Molly Jones as VP of government affairs.
Algorithmia CEO Diego Oppenheimer urges resilience amid COVID slump; startup has raised $37.9M including $25M Series B
Algorithmia CEO Diego Oppenheimer encourages professionals stuck in a COVID-19 rut to balance survival with seizing opportunities, citing family background and a focus on employee growth; Algorithmia is a 58-person startup that has raised $37.9 million, including a $25 million Series B last year.
Community Brands acquires Seattle virtual-events startup Pathable after 20x revenue surge and rapid expansion
Seattle event-app company Pathable pivoted from near-shutdown when in-person events collapsed, rapidly building a virtual events platform that grew revenue 20x and expanded staff from 20 to over 120. In late September Community Brands acquired Pathable, which will operate as a standalone business to help organizations reimagine events during and after the pandemic.
Textio launches 'Textio for Employer Brand' to infuse DEI language across corporate messaging
Textio launched Textio for Employer Brand, an augmented-writing tool that guides companies to use more diverse, equitable and inclusive language across corporate messaging beyond job listings. The product, now exiting beta, aims to update guidance continuously and apply DEI-focused language suggestions to pages like 'About this company' and culture blog posts as firms rebuild and rehire after the pandemic.
NEA leads $37.5M Series B in Seattle cloud startup Pulumi, bringing total funding to $57.5M
Seattle startup Pulumi raised $37.5 million in a Series B led by NEA, bringing its total funding to $57.5 million to expand R&D and sales/marketing. NEA partner Aaron Jacobson will join Pulumi’s board alongside existing investors Madrona Venture Group and Tola Capital.
University of Washington taps Justin Dunnicliff as NSIN university program director; Meredith Han named VP of Product at FlyHomes
The University of Washington partnered with the Department of Defense’s National Security Innovation Network (NSIN) and named UW alumnus Justin Dunnicliff as university program director to run NSIN programs at UW, connecting students to DoD-related research and employment opportunities. The article also notes Meredith Han, an early Amazon employee and angel investor, has become VP of product at FlyHomes.
Terry Myerson launches Seattle health-data startup Truveta to develop patient-care innovations, pledges strict privacy
Terry Myerson, former head of Microsoft's Windows and Devices Group, launched Seattle-area health-data startup Truveta to use patient data for developing treatments and improving care while emphasizing strong privacy protections. The company has hired nearly 20 people, plans to grow, declined to disclose funding or ownership details, and signals collaborations with health systems such as Providence Health & Services.
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.
Temporal raises $20M Series A led by Sequoia to commercialize open-source microservices orchestration
Temporal, a Seattle startup founded by former Uber engineers and cloud veterans, raised $20 million in a Series A led by Sequoia to commercialize its open-source microservices orchestration platform that improves developer productivity and reliability. Major customers include Snap, Box, Checkr, HashiCorp, and Coinbase, and investors include Madrona, Addition, Amplify and Snowflake ex-CEO Bob Muglia.
98point6 Raises $118M Series E Led by L Catterton and Activant After 274% Membership Surge
Seattle telemedicine startup 98point6 raised $118 million in a Series E led by L Catterton and Activant Capital after membership grew 274% this year; the company offers AI-supported virtual primary care to over 3 million patients and serves employers and health plans. The round follows a $43 million Series D in April and comes amid a surge in digital health funding during the pandemic.
PNW Startups Raised $1.1B in Q3 2020 Across 65 Deals as Investors Keep Funding Amid Pandemic
Pacific Northwest startups raised $1.1 billion across 65 deals in Q3 2020, with funding in July and August exceeding last year’s levels as investors continue backing tech despite the pandemic.
Skilljar raises $33M Series B led by Insight Partners as pandemic boosts demand for its customer education platform
Seattle-based Skilljar, founded by Sandi Lin and Jason Stewart, raised $33 million in a Series B led by Insight Partners as demand for its customer education software surged during the pandemic; total funding exceeds $50 million and the platform has delivered over 10 million instructional hours to 300+ customers including Tableau and Cisco. The company provides cloud-based training, assessments, certifications, analytics and integrations to help companies build onboarding and customer education programs.
Startup CEOs optimistic despite pandemic; Amazon moves into virtual travel
Here’s what we’re talking about on the GeekWire Podcast this week: The results are in from the first-ever GeekWire 200 CEO Insights survey and they may surprise you. Startup CEOs in Seattle are generally optimistic about the state of the economy for the next 18 months. And they have some thoughts on who should be president. Amazon's latest offering is virtual tourism through its new Amazon Explore service. GeekWire's Todd Bishop went for a walk around Quebec City with a local guide and took a cooking lesson in Buenos Aires, all without leaving the office. Ex-Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff jumps…
Uber Freight raises $500M led by Greenbriar, valuing the unit at $3.3B
Uber Freight raised $500 million in a funding round led by Greenbriar that values the trucking logistics unit at $3.3 billion, and the business reported $211 million in adjusted net revenue for Uber’s most recent quarter with a $49 million quarterly loss. The unit operates a digital freight marketplace with about 65,000 carriers and competes with startups like Convoy, which recently raised $400 million at a $2.7 billion valuation.
Boost Sport raises $1.3M seed led by TitletownTech to sell AI video-analysis to basketball teams
Seattle startup Boost Sport raised a $1.3 million seed round to expand its AI and video-analysis software for basketball teams, which extracts data insights from footage without in-venue cameras or wearables. TitletownTech led the round; Boost is led by CEO Mustafa Abdul-Hamid and co-founder Inga Nakhmanson, has run five pilots, signed Pepperdine, and is selling two-year contracts despite pandemic-related revenue impacts.
GeekWire 200 CEO Survey: Most Seattle-Area Startups Report Little or No Pandemic Impact and Plan Hiring
A GeekWire 200 CEO survey of nearly 50 Pacific Northwest startup leaders found most report little or no negative impact from the pandemic, many plan to hire, and significant optimism about the regional economy over the next 18 months.
Kymeta wins FCC blanket authorization for next-gen u8 antenna as beta moves toward commercial release
Kymeta, the Bill Gates-backed mobile connectivity venture, won FCC blanket authorization for its next-generation u8 flat-panel antenna, which is in beta and slated for commercial release later this year; the company also secured type approvals from several satellite operators and recently raised $85 million and acquired Lepton Global Solutions.
RealSelf promotes James Coyle to CEO as platform rebounds, adds execs and board member Lizette Williams
Seattle-based cosmetic review marketplace RealSelf promoted COO James Coyle to CEO as the company rebounds from pandemic layoffs, adds executives and a new board member, and launches new virtual services and products to capture rising demand.
Nori raises $4M seed from Placeholder-led round to scale crypto carbon-offset marketplace
Seattle startup Nori raised $4 million in a seed round led by Placeholder to expand its crypto-based carbon-offset marketplace that pays farmers for regenerative practices; the platform has sold nearly 13,000 metric tons of CO2 offsets and aims to sell 20,000 more by year-end.
Matt McIlwain (Madrona) on lessons from 20 years of VC investing, traits of top entrepreneurs, and building a bigger pie
20 years as a VC at Madrona. Headline IPOs like Accolade, Smartsheet, Apptio, Isilon. Invested in cloud before it was cool. 3x Midas list. 3x CB's top 100 VC list. Matt goes behind the scenes on his lessons (from the highs and lows), Madrona's philosophy, and how the best leaders work.
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.
Lighter Capital appoints Melissa Widner as CEO after layoffs; firm has invested $200M+ using revenue-based financing
Seattle alternative VC firm Lighter Capital named Melissa Widner as CEO; she succeeds Thor Culverhouse and joins a company that has deployed $200M+ via revenue-based financing and recently cut staff from ~80 to 23 before rising to 25 employees. Widner, a Sydney-based board member and former NAB venture managing partner, plans remote hiring as the firm seeks global growth.
Illumina to Acquire Bill Gates- and Jeff Bezos-Backed Grail for $8 Billion in Cash and Stock
Illumina will acquire cancer-detection startup Grail for $8 billion in cash and stock; Grail, backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos and planning a 2021 multi-cancer test rollout, had filed to go public earlier this month.
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
