Thira
Facts
- HQ
- Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
- Sectors
- Enterprise software, Artificial intelligence, Automation
- Stage
- Seed
- Total raised
- $18.5M SEC Form D filings Total of this company's SEC Form D filings
- Last round
- $18.5M · Jun 2026 SEC Form D
Temporal rises to No. 1 on GeekWire 200 after $550M raise at $12.55B valuation as AI and hardware firms climb
Temporal is now the No. 1 company on the GeekWire 200 after a $550 million raise valuing it at $12.55 billion and surpassing $250 million in annualized revenue; the Fall 2026 ranking highlights growth in AI software and advanced machinery for space, energy and defense across the Pacific Northwest.
Thira Raises $21M Seed Round for AI Workflow Systems
Thira, a Bellevue, Washington developer of AI systems that improve complex workflows, raised $21 million in seed funding. The company’s funding will support its AI system solutions to enhance workflow efficiency.
Kevin Ryan’s AlleyCorp Raises $335 Million Second Early-Stage Fund to Back Psychedelics, Healthcare and Deep Tech
AlleyCorp founder Kevin Ryan raised a new $335 million early-stage fund after taking outside capital for the first time in 2024, continuing the firm’s strategy of making early bets in areas like psychedelics, healthcare, deep tech and general tech. The firm, which has produced multiple unicorns and reportedly a historical 60% IRR, aims to back companies before opportunities are obvious and help build them from early revenue stages.
Apptio Co-founders Sunny Gupta and Kurt Shintaffer Launch Thira, Raise $21M Seed Led by Madrona to Build Autonomous IT Support Agents
Apptio co-founders Sunny Gupta and Kurt Shintaffer launched Bellevue-based enterprise AI startup Thira to build autonomous agents for IT support and back-office work, and raised $21 million in seed funding led by Madrona. Thira will integrate with tools like ServiceNow, Jira Service Management and identity/device-management systems, with plans to expand into finance and HR amid competition from companies such as ServiceNow (Moveworks), Aisera, Rezolve.ai, and Serval.
Thira Secures $21 Million Seed Funding to Automate Enterprise Back-Office Workflows with AI
Thira, founded by Apptio co-founders in 2026, has raised $21 million in a seed round led by Madrona to develop an AI-native platform that automates complex enterprise back-office workflows while ensuring security and compliance.
Thira Raises $21 Million Seed Round Led by Madrona to Build Self-Learning AI Back-Office Platform
Thira raised $21 million in seed funding led by Madrona to build a self-learning AI back-office platform, with participation from FUSE and several global advisors and CIOs.
Thira Secures $21 Million Seed Funding Led by Madrona to Develop Self-Learning AI Back-Office Platform
Thira raised $21 million in seed funding led by Madrona to develop a self-learning AI back-office platform, with additional support from FUSE and global advisors.
Madrona Ventures Invests in Thira, Reuniting Founders Sunny Gupta and Kurt Shintaffer to Build AI-Native Systems for CIOs
Madrona announced a new investment in Thira, led by founders Sunny Gupta and Kurt Shintaffer, reuniting experienced enterprise builders to tackle CIO-focused AI-native systems. The firm argues Thira’s team and product strategy will help CIOs deploy AI-driven systems of execution and drive measurable returns on technology and AI investments.
Thira Secures $21M Seed Funding Led by Madrona to Develop AI-Driven Self-Running Enterprise Back-Office
Thira, founded by Apptio co-founders Sunny Gupta and Kurt Shintaffer, raised $21 million in a seed round led by Madrona to develop a secure, self-learning AI system aimed at automating enterprise back-office IT processes. The funding round also includes participation from FUSE and prominent advisors, with key industry veterans joining the founding team.
Speaker Series with Kellan Carter of Fuse Finding a CEO Coach
Being a CEO is a journey filled with noble challenges and moments of loneliness. Finding someone you can trust to share your deepest struggles with is crucial. It's about identifying those individuals who have your best interests at heart.
Speaker Series Featuring Kellan Carter of FUSE
The August edition of the Scaling Montana Speaker Series features Kellen Carter, a founding partner at FUSE, a Montana native. Carter shared his journey from Great Falls, Montana, to becoming a leading voice in early-stage venture capital, emphasizing the importance of founder qualities such as resilience and the ability to attract talented people. He also discussed the evolving landscape of venture capital, highlighting the impact of AI and the reduced barriers to entry for startups. The session concluded with a Q&A, where Carter offered advice to Montana entrepreneurs on leveraging their unique backgrounds and the power of networking to succeed…
Kellan Carter of FUSE VC on Gallabox's $3.5M seed funding
Kellan Carter, Founder Partner of FUSE VC, shares his thoughts on Gallabox's seed investment round of $3.5M. Watch as he narrates the story of a chance encounter that led to him learning about Gallabox and how we're transforming business communication with WhatsApp Business API. Check out our story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidprosser/2025/01/29/why-gallabox-thinks-whatsapp-is-the-future-of-sales-and-marketing/
Seattle Venture Day 2024 - Highlight Video
Seattle Venture Day is OneSixOne Ventures' flagship Seattle tech event. The 2nd annual event brought together 250+ tech leaders, investors and founders at the Queen Anne Beerhall for networking and some insightful dialogues about build and investing in startups. The event featured a fireside chat with Matt McIlwain, Managing Partner at Madrona (3x Forbes Midas list) in addition to panel discussions featuring other notable speakers such as Geoff Entress (Pioneer Square Labs), Bill McAleer (Voyager Capital), Aviel Ginzburg (Founders Co-op), Kristen Hamilton (Enjoy The Work), Maria Colacurcio (Syndio), Laura Ruderman (Technology Alliance), Kirby Winfield (Ascend VC), Julie Sandler (PSL Ventures)…
Kellan Carter - Founding Partner at FUSE
Kellan Carter is a founding partner of Bellevue-based FUSE where he focuses on early-stage investments in intelligent software in both horizontal and vertical categories. He currently sits on several Boards, including Zuper and Pictory. Previously, Kellan spent seven years at Ignition Partners, a leading early-stage venture capital firm, and two years in investment banking at Mooreland Partners in San Francisco. Kellan also currently sits on the Board of the Bellevue Boys and Girls Club. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2024 Annual Investment Outlook
Send us Fan Mail Listen to our 2024 Annual Investment Outlook Panel with four top VCs based in Seattle and the Bay area. Get their perspective on the investment climate in 2024 and their plans to invest specifically in AI/ML based startups. Tim Porter, Managing Director, Madrona Ventures Tim joined Madrona in 2006 and invests in B2B software companies in the Pacific Northwest. He is currently interested in intelligent applications and SaaS, cloud-native software infrastructure, the modern data stack, machine learning, DevOps, and cybersecurity. He is also a board member of numerous Madrona portfolio companies. Sudip Chakrabarti, Partner, Decibel VC…
#64 Matt McIlwain – MD Madrona Venture Group on all Things Venture Capital
Nataraj interviewed veteran VC Matt McIlwain of Madrona Venture Group on Startup Project podcast. Matt shared his insights into the state of venture capital and the impacts of AI, drawn from his 20+ years of experience. Some key takeaways: 1. Venture is a "tale of two cities" now - later stage startups are struggling, earlier stage companies embracing AI are thriving 2. Seattle has unmatched talent but lacks local capital - still over-reliant on Silicon Valley VCs 3. Incumbents have the edge currently in leveraging AI due to data, customers, ability to integrate via APIs - but long term, AI-native…
Shift AI Podcast: Seattle's place at the center of the AI universe, with Madrona's Matt McIlwain
On this week’s GeekWire Podcast, we're featuring an episode of Shift AI, a podcast hosted by Boaz Ashkenazy, CEO of AI solutions provider Simply Augmented, with guest Matt McIlwain of Seattle-based venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group. A thriving tech hub requires access to ideas, people, and experiments that produce collective lessons sooner and with greater fidelity than anywhere else. This is what made the Seattle area the cloud capital of the world. It also positions the region as one of the world’s top centers of excellence for artificial intelligence. That’s one of the insights from Matt McIlwain, managing director…
Investor Spotlight with Matt McIlwain
Get to know Madrona Managing Partner Matt McIlwain. Learn where he gets his spark to work with entrepreneurs, what he looks for in founders, where the opportunities lay for founders when it comes to generative AI, and what he enjoys doing outside the office.
'Slackforce,' AWS re:Invent, and Seattle's new $9B tech company
This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Salesforce strikes a deal to acquire Slack for $27.7 billion; Amazon Web Services makes some surprising news at its annual re:Invent cloud conference; and a new tech giant arrives in our backyard. Joining us on this episode is Matt McIlwain, managing director at Seattle-based venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group, offering his commentary on the implications of these developments in the world of cloud and enterprise technology. Special bonus: Listen to the end of the show for a new installment of our GeekWire Podcast trivia contest, with a chance to win a GeekWire mask…
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.
Meet the VC: Kellan Carter of Fuse Venture Partners, Webinar
Meet the VC is a monthly panel event hosted by Early Growth and its partners. This month’s speaker is Kellan Carter of Fuse Venture Partners – an early-stage, venture capital fund investing in Seattle-based Seed and Series A companies that are reinventing the modern economy with software. We discussed fundraising, investment thesis, mental health, minority founders, the current investment climate and more. Learn more at www.earlygrowth.com.
The INDUStry Show with Kellan Carter
Kellan Carter is a Partner at Ignition Partners, a dedicated early-stage enterprise software VC firm. Kellan is also a board member and investor at several leading tech startups such as botkeeper, Icertis, and Symend. He led Symend's $7.5mn Series A earlier this month. Kellan is an alum of University of Montana. The INDUStry Show is a one-of-its-kind platform sharing journeys of global entrepreneurs from different walks of life. Witty, sharp, and insightful, we get to know the person behind the persona. Today, The INDUStry Show is a widely broadcast, global publication. Now in Season 5, we have garnered over a…
Special COVID-19 Episode: Matt McIlwain
Matt McIlwain, one of the Managing Directors at Madrona Venture Group, explains the most important quality he looks for in a CEO before investing, Madrona’s new accelerator fund, how he spends his time as an investor and his passion for public policy on the What Fuels You podcast. On COVID-19, Matt brings up some interesting points about the “natural tension between freedom and boundaries” and how “barriers have been broken down to find sustainable preventions, cures and tests.” Listen to hear what he believes will be the business opportunities that come out of this pandemic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
GeekWire Cloud Tech Summit: Sunny Gupta, co-founder and CEO of Apptio
The Enterprise Cloud Wars: The race for leadership in the public cloud market has been closely tracked and AWS has long been touted as the leader in cloud infrastructure. But, with slowing growth, its main competitor Azure has gained precious ground in the enterprise. Among the largest and most strategic organizations in the world, Apptio has found that IT leaders are adopting Azure at near-equal rates as AWS. During this session, Apptio’s CEO will explore why this distribution is occurring and how many of these organizations are adopting a hybrid IT mindset to make the most of the cloud and…
People
See all 5-
Kurt Shintaffer Founder, Co-Founder and Board Director, Executive Officer, Director
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Sunny Gupta Founder, Co-founder, Co-founder and Executive Chairman
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Kellan Carter Board Observer
