University of Washington
Facts
- HQ
- University of Washington
- Sectors
- Higher Education, Research, Healthcare, Arts
- Founded
- 1861
- Registered name
- University of Washington Seattle business license
- Stage
- Public
Niantic Spatial names Microsoft AI exec Dave Citron CPO; Allen fund appoints Jane Dietze CIO starting Jan. 4, 2027
Niantic Spatial hired Microsoft AI product leader Dave Citron as chief product officer, the Paul Allen–funded Fund for Science and Technology named Brown's Jane Dietze its first chief investment officer starting Jan. 4, 2027, and Zillow AI product lead Nicholas Stevens joined Stripe, with additional moves at several companies and organizations.
Plug and Play Seattle selects 11 startups for 12-week Batch 4, including Tokyo’s Aeterlink; demo day Dec. 3
Plug and Play Seattle selected 11 startups for its fourth 12-week accelerator cohort—10 from Seattle and one from Tokyo—working on technologies from space robotics and data-center optical links to wireless power and antibody therapeutics, with the program running through mid-December and a demo day on Dec. 3 at the Boeing Future of Flight.
Nuance Labs raises $50M Series A to build real-time multimodal AI avatars, led by Lightspeed
Seattle startup Nuance Labs, founded by former Apple Vision Pro engineers, raised $50 million in a Series A led by Lightspeed to build a single end-to-end multimodal model that produces synchronized audio and visual AI avatar responses in real time. The firm aims to eliminate laggy, stuttering, and awkward nonverbal behavior in current avatars by ingesting audio and video together rather than chaining separate speech, language, and synthesis models.
Truveta CEO Terry Myerson to Retire in September; Co-founders Jay Nanduri and Ryan Ahern Named Interim Co-CEOs
Terry Myerson, co-founder and CEO of Truveta, will retire at the end of September and become an advisor, while co-founders Jay Nanduri and Ryan Ahern will serve as interim co-CEOs as the board searches for a permanent replacement; Truveta has grown to about 500 employees, a valuation above $1 billion, and aggregates de-identified records from 30 U.S. health systems for customers including drug makers and researchers.
Nuance Labs raises $50M Series A to build full‑duplex AI that processes and generates real‑time human cues
Seattle-based Nuance Labs, founded in early 2025 by former Apple PhD researchers Fangchang Ma, Edward Zhang, and Karren Yang, raised $50 million in Series A to build a single "full-duplex" foundation model that simultaneously processes and generates real-time conversational cues from live audiovisual signals. The startup aims to create AI avatars that respond with human-like facial expressions, tone, and timing to enable more natural, in-the-moment interactions.
Neuramill founders Nistha Mitra and Nick Khormaei build software to capture retiring machinists' know‑how; win six‑figure defense contract
Neuramill, founded last year by Seattle-born engineers Nistha Mitra and Nick Khormaei, is building software that captures veteran machinists' tacit knowledge to generate manufacturing plans for aerospace and defense shops. The startup has early traction including a six-figure contract with an unnamed prime defense contractor and pilot users such as Diamond Machine Works, VTN Manufacturing and Astranis.
Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty invests in Nukleus and becomes public face of athlete advisory platform
Nukleus, a startup creating a shared operating system for athletes and their advisors, has signed Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty as an investor and public spokesperson. The Issaquah-based company’s backers also include Microsoft finance EVP Mat McBride, WaFd Bank CEO Brent Beardall, former Vulcan Capital investor Skyler Nelson, and Dr. Brett Kindle, and it operates with a core team of 12 plus engineering support in India.
Apptio Co‑founder Sunny Gupta Joins Vinod Khosla Family’s Investor Group to Become Seattle Seahawks Co‑Owner
Sunny Gupta, co-founder and former CEO of Apptio and a nearly 20-year Seahawks season-ticket holder, has joined a newly revealed investor group that purchased the Seattle Seahawks alongside the family of billionaire Vinod Khosla. Gupta called the ownership stake a "dream come true" and said he wants to represent the team as the 12th man.
Washington Research Foundation names Ankit K. Azad to ninth Venture Analyst cohort to evaluate health-tech grants and startups
The Washington Research Foundation named Kolkata-born consultant Ankit K. Azad to its ninth cohort of Venture Analysts, bringing his life sciences and healthcare commercial strategy experience to evaluate grant applications and early-stage startups. Azad, a former ZS Associates consultant and current MBA candidate at the University of Washington Foster School of Business, will work part-time with the Seattle-based foundation to assess the commercial viability of scientific discoveries from Washington research institutions.
Juno Propulsion wins $1.2M NSF Phase II SBIR to advance non-toxic rotating detonation rocket engine to TRL 8
NSF awarded Tukwila-based Juno Propulsion a $1.2 million Phase II SBIR grant to develop a non-toxic rotating detonation rocket engine Product Development Unit with University of Washington partnership. The two-year project aims to advance the system to TRL 8 and support an on-orbit demonstration (Project Iris) slated to fly on Momentus’ Vigoride 8 in 2027.
Also (Rivian spinout) opens 17,459-sq-ft Seattle office and retail hub at 1300 N. Northlake Way led by REI vet Ben Steele
Also, a micromobility startup spun out of Rivian, has opened a 17,459-square-foot Seattle office and retail hub at 1300 N. Northlake Way near Lake Union to be at the center of the city's bike commuting activity. Ben Steele, a former nine-year REI executive and Also’s chief commercial officer, will lead business operations, marketing and customer functions from the new location, which currently houses 38 employees.
Levanta raises $22M Series B led by Volition Capital to scale creator-to-retailer sales across Amazon, Walmart and Shopify
Seattle startup Levanta raised $22 million in Series B funding led by Volition Capital to expand its creator-to-retailer platform that tracks and drives sales across Amazon, Walmart and Shopify; the company has 90,000 vetted creators, 80% YoY revenue growth in 2026, and has been profitable or near break-even since launch. Levanta automates product seeding, commission tracking and payments to connect creators with sellers and will use the funding to enter additional retail marketplaces.
Mark Zuckerberg ups Meta offer to roughly $250 million after Matt Deitke rejects $125 million to join Superintelligence Lab
AI researcher Matt Deitke, 24, initially turned down Meta’s reported $125 million four-year offer but accepted after CEO Mark Zuckerberg intervened and Meta increased the package to about $250 million, including up to $100 million in year one.
Levanta raises $22M led by Volition Capital to scale influencer-brand matchmaking across Amazon, Walmart and Shopify
Seattle startup Levanta raised $22 million led by Volition Capital to expand its platform that connects brands with influencers and manages affiliate partnerships across Amazon, Walmart and Shopify; the company says revenue is up 80% year-over-year in 2026 and it has more than 90,000 vetted creators. Founded in 2023 by Ian Brodie, Spencer McKenney and Rob Schab, Levanta provides tools to find creators, send products, set commissions, track sales and handle payments.
Transfyr launches physical AI platform for science with $25M seed round led by General Catalyst
Transfyr, founded by Anna Marie Wagner and Renee Wegrzyn, PhD, launched a physical AI platform for real-world science to create a lossless understanding of scientific execution and speed translation, workforce development, and physical AI applications. The company announced a $25 million seed round led by General Catalyst with participation from Lux Capital, Breakout Ventures, Factory, Neo, SV Angel, MVP Ventures, Underscore VC, Lyda Hill and other investors.
Judge Orders Guardant Health to Pay $245M to TwinStrand and University of Washington, Plus 6% Royalties Through March 2033
A federal judge ordered Guardant Health to pay more than $245 million to TwinStrand Biosciences and the University of Washington for willful infringement of Duplex Sequencing patents and imposed a 6% royalty on covered sales through March 2033. The judgment includes jury damages, supplemental damages, accrued royalties and interest, and recognizes UW-developed technology that greatly increases DNA sequencing accuracy.
GenBio AI unveils AIDO Cell virtual cell model to predict whole-cell responses to gene edits and drugs
GenBio AI unveiled AIDO Cell, a virtual cell model that predicts how an entire cell’s molecular machinery responds to changes like gene knockouts or drug additions, aiming to accelerate scientific discovery.
Endurance Energy to Deploy 100 kW 'Adélie' Generator to Oregon Undersea Volcano on Sept. 7
Seattle startup Endurance Energy is preparing to deploy Adélie, a 100-kilowatt underwater geothermal generator, to an undersea volcano off Oregon on Sept. 7, aiming to tap 750°F hydrothermal fluids and scale undersea geothermal power. Founded by ex-SpaceX engineer Andrew Redd in January 2025, the company operates from a newly expanded 25,000-square-foot Seattle facility and has completed four prior ocean-floor deployments.
AWS Public Sector VP Dave Levy exits July 31 for reported Google role; David Appel named acting VP as Funko, Coinme and others add C-suite hires
Dave Levy left his role as VP of AWS Worldwide Public Sector on July 31 after more than nine years to take a reported role at Google, with David Appel acting in his stead; several other companies — Funko, Coinme, DAT Freight and Membrion — announced senior C-suite hires including Funko’s incoming chief commercial officer Kristin Hamilton (starts Aug. 24) and Coinme’s compliance chief Laurent Reichert.
Lev names startup veteran Jay Bartot as CTO to build its ‘AI co-founder’ and productize PSL playbook
Lev, a Pioneer Square Labs spinout building an 'AI co-founder' for entrepreneurs, named veteran startup builder Jay Bartot as CTO to help productize the venture-studio playbook and launched Lev Learn, a free guide to startup terminology.
Overland AI opens Burlingame office to tap Bay Area AI talent, plans to double local staff
Seattle-based autonomous ground vehicle maker Overland AI is opening a Burlingame, Calif. office to access Bay Area AI and robotics talent, creating a command center for remote vehicle operations and planning to double its Bay Area staff in six months as it advances off-road navigation software.
GeekWire reports: Seattle Tech Week 2026 — AI dominates 250+ events as investors and job-seekers flock to Seattle
GeekWire's Todd Bishop reports from Seattle Tech Week 2026, where AI dominated conversations across more than 250 events and drew significant Bay Area investor interest and job-seeking attendees. Panels and speakers from OpenAI, Mistral AI, Ascend, Oumi and others highlighted debates about foundation models, enterprise data access, and the rush to build on third-party AI.
Accipiter Bio raises $10.5M more to speed AI-designed multi-target protein drugs, expanding clinical pipeline
Seattle biotech Accipiter Bio raised an additional $10.5 million from existing investors to accelerate development of AI-designed multi-target protein therapeutics and expand its team and clinical pipeline. The company, now 22 people strong and partnered with Pfizer and Kite/Gilead, will use the funds to advance three to four programs—focusing mainly on immunology alongside oncology—after emerging from stealth last year with $12.7 million.
WTIA’s 2026 ‘Tech Universe Map’ shows Microsoft (161) and UW (143) produced most founders of 625 mapped Washington tech firms
The Washington Technology Industry Association's 2026 "Tech Universe Map" visualizes founder lineage for 625 Washington tech companies and finds Microsoft (161 companies) and the University of Washington (143) are the largest founder hubs, followed by Amazon (58) and Google (20). WTIA says the map highlights regional connectivity, is broader than the 2015 Seattle-focused version, and signals emerging hubs are often out-of-state companies with local engineering centers.
AI House Co-founder Jacob Colker Delivers Rallying Cry for Seattle’s Tech Community at Showbox Market
AI House co-founder and managing director Jacob Colker delivered a passionate rallying speech at a Seattle Tech Week event, urging Seattle to reconnect around community and recognize its outsized impact on technology. He praised local institutions and companies like Boeing, Amazon, Microsoft and the University of Washington while warning that residents have grown numb to the city’s achievements.
People
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Oren Etzioni Executive, Former CEO, Founder and Emeritus Professor, Former Professor, Former Leader of TrueMedia
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Avi Geiger Lecturer, Affiliate Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
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Babak Parviz Professor
