Seattle Seahawks
Facts
- HQ
- Seattle, Washington
- Sectors
- Sports, Professional sports team
- Founded
- 1976
GeekWire Highlights: Amazon Protests, Tesla Cybertruck Test Drive, Veeam's $1.5B Revenue, OpenPipe's $6.7M Funding, and Washington's Fusion Power Support
GeekWire's most popular technology stories for the week of March 24, 2024, covered topics including Amazon protesters opposing fossil fuel use, Tesla Cybertruck test drives in Seattle, Veeam's headquarters move and revenue milestone, OpenPipe's $6.7M funding round, and Washington state's support for fusion power development.
Harshit Shah Named CTO of Kyruus Health; Ryan Asdourian Joins Lumen as CMO and EVP; Fred Hutch Announces 2024 Weintraub Awardees
Harshit Shah, former AWS engineering head, becomes CTO at healthcare software company Kyruus Health, while Ryan Asdourian, a longtime Microsoft manager, joins telecom firm Lumen as CMO and EVP. Additionally, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center announced 12 recipients of the 2024 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Award.
Tagboard CEO Nate Peterson led turnaround to $6M ARR and closed $14.2M Series A in 2021 to scale cloud live-production tools
Nate Peterson, CEO of Tagboard, described his path from corporate roles at Microsoft and T-Mobile through startups and Privateer Holdings to joining Tagboard, where he led a turnaround and helped grow the company to $6M ARR before raising a $14.2M Series A in 2021. Tagboard pivoted from social-aggregation displays to cloud-based live production tools (Tagboard Producer and Cloud Graphics), now serving 500+ media brands, powering major live events, and delivering hundreds of billions of impressions annually.
Seattle VC Firm Fuse Raises $250M Second Fund to Back 30-35 Pacific Northwest Startups
Seattle-based venture capital firm Fuse raised $250 million for its second fund to invest in early-stage enterprise software startups across the Pacific Northwest, aiming to back 30-35 companies despite a broader venture capital slowdown. Founded in 2020 with an initial $170 million fund, Fuse credits its growth to the strong local talent and entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Fuse closes $250M second fund to back 30–35 Pacific Northwest software and AI startups
Seattle-area VC firm Fuse has closed a $250 million second fund to invest in 30–35 Pacific Northwest software and AI-enabled startups, writing $1M–$10M checks and co-leading rounds. Backers include state-affiliated accounts, foundations, universities and prominent Seattle software executives, and Fuse aims to back companies that automate business processes or augment workers.
GeekWire Week in Review (May 14, 2023): Top stories include ex-CFO indicted over $35M crypto transfer, Bezos’ $500M yacht, and Amazon legal/personnel news
GeekWire's Week in Review for May 14, 2023 lists the site's most-read stories, including a Seattle startup ex-CFO indicted over an alleged $35M crypto transfer, Jeff Bezos' $500M yacht, and Amazon-related legal and personnel news.
Bobby Wagner, NASA Astronaut Kayla Barron, and 'Love is Blind' Star Share Teamwork Wisdom at 2023 GeekWire Awards
At the 2023 GeekWire Awards in Seattle, Seattle Seahawks linebacker and Fuse venture partner Bobby Wagner, NASA astronaut Kayla Barron, and a 'Love is Blind' star shared insights emphasizing teamwork, culture, and empowerment with the Pacific Northwest tech community.
Seattle’s Rec Room Partners with NFL to Launch Official Team Gear for Avatars Ahead of Playoffs
Rec Room, a Seattle-based social gaming startup, partnered with the NFL to offer official team merchandise for avatars in its app, just in time for the NFL playoffs. Fans can now buy licensed NFL hoodies and hats for their avatars, enhancing virtual fan experiences within the app’s community of over 80 million users.
Seattle Startup Cheq Raises $8M to Expand Stadium and Restaurant Mobile Ordering with Social Gifting Feature
Seattle-area startup Cheq raised $8 million to expand its mobile ordering and social gifting platform used in stadiums and restaurants, aiming to boost vendor sales and enhance customer experience. The platform supports vendors like the Miami Dolphins and University of Washington, with over 100,000 monthly users and an average 28% sales increase per order.
GeekWire returns in person for 2022 Awards at Showbox SoDo, honoring 60+ finalists across 15 categories with 16,000+ votes
GeekWire held its first in-person GeekWire Awards in three years at Showbox SoDo in Seattle, honoring 60+ finalists across 15 categories with over 16,000 community votes and appearances by local tech leaders and entertainers.
Seattle VC Fuse announces $170 million inaugural fund, backing 17 Pacific Northwest B2B startups
Seattle-based early-stage VC firm Fuse disclosed its inaugural fund is $170 million, which has backed 17 Pacific Northwest B2B software startups and plans 25–30 total investments.
Ciara and Russell Wilson’s House of LR&C to raise up to $15M in Series A after revenue hits eight figures
The House of LR&C, a Seattle fashion house co-founded by Ciara and Russell Wilson, plans to raise up to $15 million in a Series A this year after reaching eight-figure revenue and roughly 70% growth; the company previously raised a $7 million convertible note led by Harlem Capital.
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.
GeekWire names winners at 2021 Awards; SeekOut wins Startup of the Year after $65M raise
The 2021 GeekWire Awards returned as a virtual event honoring over 60 finalists across 14 categories from the Pacific Northwest tech community, featuring celebrity cameos and performances. Winners included SeekOut as Startup of the Year, and among 16 winners eight were women and five were people of color and/or immigrant entrepreneurs.
Brendan Wales joins Seattle VC Fuse as third founding GP as firm raises more than $118M for Fund I
Brendan Wales, a longtime Bay Area startup investor, has joined Seattle-based VC firm Fuse as its third founding general partner, and Fuse has raised over $118 million (nearly $120M) for its first fund to invest in B2B software across the Pacific Northwest.
Libsyn Acquires Seattle Podcast Monetization Startup Glow for $1.2M; Integrates Subscription Billing for 75,000+ Shows
Seattle startup Glow, spun out of Pioneer Square Labs and founded by Amira Valliani, built podcast subscription tools and has been acquired by podcast host Libsyn; Libsyn will integrate Glow’s private feed distribution and subscription billing for its 75,000+ podcasts. Glow had raised $2.3 million, and an SEC filing shows Libsyn agreed to pay $1.2 million ($800k upfront, up to $400k earnout); other deal terms were not disclosed.
Seahawks Linebacker Bobby Wagner Joins Fuse Venture Partners as Venture Partner, Investing in Early-Stage Seattle Startups
Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner is a venture partner at Fuse Venture Partners, investing in early-stage Seattle startups while applying negotiation and leadership lessons from his NFL career; he discussed these topics and his angel investments on GeekWire Studios' podcast 2025: Tomorrow, Today.
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.
Amperity Adds Ciara to Board to Lead Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Initiatives
Seattle-based customer data platform Amperity appointed Grammy-winning singer and entrepreneur Ciara to its board to lead corporate social responsibility efforts and advise on community initiatives.
Qumulo names ex-AWS Janine Corey cloud CTO; Elissa Fink joins Conversica board; Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson joins Amperity board
Seattle startup Qumulo hired Janine Corey as cloud CTO after five years at Amazon Web Services; the company is valued at $1.2 billion and raised $125 million earlier this year. Former Tableau CMO Elissa Fink joined Conversica’s board and Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson joined Amperity’s board, reflecting several executive moves among Seattle-area tech firms.
Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson Joins Board of Seattle Customer-Data Startup Amperity
Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson is joining the board of Seattle customer-data startup Amperity, which provides software to connect disparate customer data for targeted marketing and counts clients like Alaska Airlines, Patagonia and Kroger; Starbucks was an early adopter of Amperity.
Ignition Partners investors spin out Fuse Venture Partners led by Kellan Carter, Cameron Borumand and Seahawks star Bobby Wagner
A group of investors from Seattle VC firm Ignition Partners, including managing partner John Connors, have launched a spinoff called Fuse Venture Partners led by general partners Kellan Carter and Cameron Borumand and featuring Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner as a venture partner. Ignite will sunset its brand while Fuse focuses on doubling down in Seattle and managing new investments, with Wagner committing to active involvement.
University of Washington Football to Test Vicis' $1,500 ZERO1 Helmet for Enhanced Brain Protection in 2016
The University of Washington football team will test Vicis' new high-tech ZERO1 helmet, designed to better protect against concussions and brain injuries, retailing at $1,500 each. Vicis, a Seattle startup spun out of UW, has garnered interest from numerous NFL and NCAA teams for the 2016 season.
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