Rec Room
Facts
- HQ
- Seattle
- Sectors
- Gaming, Social gaming, Virtual worlds, User-generated content, Cross-platform
- Founded
- 2016
- Employees
- 141
- Stage
- startup
Rec Room raises $145M led by Coatue, valuing the Seattle VR startup at $3.5B
Seattle-based Rec Room raised $145 million in a funding round led by Coatue Management, bringing its valuation to $3.5 billion after a prior $100 million raise in March 2021; the cross-platform social VR app saw rapid user growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fast Company Honors 24 Innovations Including Adobe's Super Resolution and AWS Nimble Studio in Next Big Things in Tech Awards
Fast Company's inaugural Next Big Things in Tech awards highlight 24 innovative technologies transforming virtual experiences across homes, workplaces, cars, and the metaverse. Winners include Adobe's Super Resolution for image enhancement, Amazon Web Services' Nimble Studio for virtual production, and Arcturus's HoloSuite for volumetric video editing.
Karat raises $110M Series C at $1.1B valuation to scale remote technical interviewing
Karat, a Seattle startup that runs technical interviews through a vetted network of interviewers, raised $110 million in a Series C at a $1.1 billion valuation while more than doubling revenue and customers year-over-year.
Game Jolt co-founders Yaprak and David DeCarmine raise $2.6M seed round led by Acequia Capital
Seattle-based Game Jolt, founded by husband-and-wife Yaprak and David DeCarmine, raised a $2.6 million seed round led by Acequia Capital to grow its social platform for Gen Z and Gen Alpha gamers. The platform hosts over 40,000 communities—some with more than 500,000 active members—where users share fan art, gameplay recordings, guides, and reviews.
Fabric raises $100M Series B at $850M valuation as revenue jumps 800% and headcount hits 161
Seattle e-commerce startup Fabric raised $100 million in a Series B that values the four-year-old company at $850 million after reporting revenue growth of more than 800% year-over-year and expanding headcount to 161.
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.
Flyhomes raises $150 million to scale cash-offer homebuying and mortgage services nationwide
Seattle startup Flyhomes raised $150 million to expand its cash-offer homebuying model and integrated mortgage and selling services nationwide, positioning itself against iBuyers and Zillow. CEO Tushar Garg said the funding supports building an end-to-end home-buying experience that gives clients a competitive edge in a chaotic market.
Stackline raises $130M Series B from TA Associates after $50M raise last November; serves 2,000+ brands
Seattle-based e-commerce software company Stackline raised $130 million from TA Associates in a Series B, less than a year after a $50 million round; the firm serves over 2,000 brands, has been profitable since 2014, and grew headcount 75% this year.
Outreach raises $200M, valuation climbs to $4.4B as Seattle sales-software firm expands AI products
Sales software startup Outreach raised $200 million in venture capital, pushing its valuation to $4.4 billion as the 10-year-old Seattle company expands AI-driven sales products and serves over 4,600 customers. The company reported $100 million in annual recurring revenue in fall 2020 and has now raised a total of $489 million.
GeekWire Opens Voting for 13th Annual Awards; Deal of the Year Finalists Include $6.5B Auth0 Acquisition and Multi‑Hundred‑Million Funding Rounds
GeekWire has opened community voting for its 13th annual GeekWire Awards, highlighting Deal of the Year finalists across Fundings and IPOs/Acquisitions from Pacific Northwest tech companies. Voting runs through April 30, winners announced May 20 at the virtual awards presented by Wave Business.
Seattle-area startups raise record $1.64B in Q1 as U.S. VC funding jumps to $69B, PitchBook/NVCA say
PitchBook and NVCA report U.S. VC activity surged in Q1 2021 to $69 billion across 3,987 deals, while Seattle-area startups raised a Q1 record $1.64 billion across 88 deals, up from $616 million a year earlier. Mega-deals, fundraises, exits and SPAC activity all hit notable highs, and industry leaders say ample dry powder and economic recovery are driving larger investments.
GeekWire 200: Auth0, Rover Among Top 10 but Set to ‘Graduate’ as Tanium and Outreach Climb
GeekWire’s monthly GeekWire 200 ranking shows established Pacific Northwest startups like Auth0 and Rover among the top 10 but poised to “graduate” after Okta’s acquisition and Rover’s SPAC IPO, while companies such as OfferUp, Moz, PayScale, Puppet and Clio are positioned to move up. The list highlights movers like Tanium and Outreach and notes recent major funding and leadership news across the region’s startups.
Madrona partner Daniel Li leaves to co-found Plus with Chloe Qi; Plus raises $5.5M seed led by Madrona
Daniel Li is leaving Madrona Venture Group to co-found Plus with Chloe Qi; the startup raised a $5.5 million seed round led by Madrona to build a no-code/low-code, multiplayer productivity product for sharing live data.
Rec Room raises $100M, becomes $1.25B Seattle unicorn after pandemic-fueled 566% revenue surge
Seattle-based social gaming startup Rec Room raised $100 million at a $1.25 billion valuation after explosive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by 15 million lifetime users and a 566% year-over-year revenue increase. The five-year-old company offers cross-platform tools for creating virtual rooms and games, has over 2 million creators, isn’t yet profitable, and plans an Android launch later this year.
Madrona’s Dan Li: Niche, Creator-Driven Communities Like Roblox ($30B) and Clubhouse (~$1B) Are Rising
Madrona partner Dan Li says niche, user-populated online communities — exemplified by Roblox (valued at $30B) and Clubhouse (about $1B) — are growing more important as creators produce sticky, original content, a trend accelerated by the pandemic. He discussed these themes on GeekWire Studios’ podcast 2025: Tomorrow, Today, hosted by John Cook and Jordon Voss.
Rec Room raises $20M Series C led by Madrona as pandemic drives surge to 3M+ user-created rooms
Seattle-based Rec Room raised $20 million in a Series C led by Madrona Venture Group, bringing total funding to nearly $50 million. The four-year-old virtual hangout and game-creation platform saw explosive growth during the pandemic, tripling its community and surpassing 3 million user-created rooms by September.
Madrona Ventures Announces Investment in Rec Room, Citing 10M Players and 1M Creators
Madrona announced its investment in Rec Room, an online social gaming universe with over 10 million players and 1 million creators that offers easy cross-platform play and low-code content creation tools. The firm praised Rec Room’s founders, community-first approach, and alignment with trends in online communities and maker-focused development.
GeekWire: eXp Holdings founder Glenn Sanford uses VirBELA virtual world to run distributed teams as COVID-19 makes avatars practical
GeekWire explores how virtual-world platforms like VirBELA, acquired by eXp Holdings, let people meet, work and socialize with avatars—an option gaining relevance during COVID-19 social distancing. Founder Glenn Sanford uses VirBELA to run large distributed teams and demonstrates virtual rituals that replace in-person office interactions.
People
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Cameron Brown Founder, Co-founder, Co-founder and CCO
