Bill Gates
Bill Gates is the Founder of Breakthrough Energy, Co-founder and Co-chair of the Gates Foundation, and Co-founder at Microsoft and TerraPower. He founded Breakthrough Energy, Gates Foundation, Microsoft (which went public), and TerraPower, and remains active in all. His expertise includes leadership in technology, philanthropy, and energy innovation.
Modern Electron files for $30M raise to scale heat-to-electricity converters, led by CEO Tony Pan and CTO Max Mankin
Modern Electron, an Intellectual Ventures spinoff, is raising $30 million per an SEC filing to commercialize its heat-to-electricity converters that capture wasted heat from furnaces, hot water tanks and industrial sources. The Bothell, Washington startup previously raised about $40 million including backing tied to Bill Gates, and is led by co-founders CEO Tony Pan and CTO Max Mankin.
Uplevel to Trial Permanent Four-Day Workweek, Giving All Employees Fridays Off to Combat Burnout
Seattle startup Uplevel, a 27-person remote spinout of Madrona Venture Labs, will trial a permanent four-day workweek (Fridays off) starting after the holidays to boost productivity, mental health and culture, with the experiment running through the first quarter and including monthly check-ins.
Breakthrough Energy Ventures (Bill Gates) leads $65M funding for Stoke Space’s fully reusable-rocket program
Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures is leading a $65 million investment in Stoke Space to support development of fully reusable rockets aimed at cutting launch costs and enabling faster, lower-cost access to satellites for climate-monitoring applications.
Amazon’s $2B Climate Pledge Fund Invests in Hippo Harvest and Amogy to Cut Grocery and Shipping Emissions
Amazon’s $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund has invested in two climate tech startups — Hippo Harvest, which develops closed-loop greenhouse systems using robotics and ML to cut water use and emissions, and Amogy, which converts ammonia into power for heavy transport — part of Amazon’s push to reach net zero by 2040. The moves aim to reduce emissions across Amazon’s grocery stores and shipping operations amid rising company emissions.
BattGenie selected for Shell GameChanger Accelerator Powered by NREL, awarded $250,000 non-dilutive funding
BattGenie, a University of Washington spinoff, won $250,000 in non-dilutive funding and access to R&D resources after being selected for the Shell GameChanger Accelerator Powered by NREL; the company develops software to improve fast charging and extend life of lithium batteries for EVs, consumer electronics and battery manufacturers.
General Fusion raises $130M with Bezos Expeditions participation, total funding reaches ~$300M as firm readies UK fusion demonstration plant
General Fusion raised $130 million, bringing its total funding to about $300 million, with participation from Jeff Bezos’s Bezos Expeditions; the company will use the funds to advance its fusion technology, build a Fusion Demonstration Plant near London, and expand research facilities in Vancouver and Tennessee.
Deal mania reshuffles GeekWire 200: M&A, IPOs and SPACs push top firms out while Blue Origin stays No. 1
A surge of M&A, IPO and SPAC activity — labeled 'deal mania' — reshuffled the GeekWire 200 rankings, removing several top-10 companies that went public or were acquired and creating openings for new entrants; Blue Origin remains No. 1 while more deal-making and rule changes about private equity-owned companies promise further shake-ups.
Jane Park on SPACs, the immigrant ethos, and brands in the Amazon era
Jane Park, the CEO of newly public Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp., hadn't imagined herself leading a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, before accepting the job. She decided to consider the pitch from venture capitalist Isabelle Freidheim for one reason. “It took some convincing, a little bit. I wasn’t sure if I had the right capabilities. I have always sat on the entrepreneur side. So to be on the acquiring/money side is a new perspective and vantage point for me,” she said. “I don’t think I would have taken the call if it wasn’t the fact that it was an…
Helion Raises $500M — Potential $1.7B More — to Build Polaris Fusion Generator, Aiming for 2024 Demonstration in Everett, Wash.
Helion Energy raised $500 million (with up to $1.7 billion more contingent on milestones) to build its Polaris fusion generator and finish a demonstration facility in Everett, Wash., aiming to operate in 2024 and move toward commercializing fusion power.
Echodyne wins $20M, five-year DHS CBP contract to expand EchoGuard radar deployment at U.S. borders
Echodyne won a $20 million, five-year contract from DHS Customs and Border Protection to expand deployment and explore new uses of its compact EchoGuard radars at U.S. borders and ports, after already delivering 30 systems under the IDIQ agreement.
Bellevue’s tech boom draws Amazon, Apptio and major firms as city positions itself as Seattle alternative
Bellevue has become a major tech hub attracting companies like Amazon, Apptio, T-Mobile, Smartsheet, OfferUp and Icertis thanks to its downtown, livability, low crime and business-friendly policies, with major expansions including Amazon’s plan to employ 25,000 there.
Former Kymeta CEO Nathan Kundtz raises $6M seed for Rendered.ai to build customizable synthetic datasets for AI
Nathan Kundtz, former Kymeta CEO, launched Seattle-area startup Rendered.ai to produce customizable synthetic datasets and infrastructure for training AI on visual and sensor data, and the company raised $6 million in a seed round. Rendered.ai focuses on treating dataset generation as an engineering platform to improve AI training efficiency and reduce bias and data-collection costs.
Archera raises $7M Series A to automate AWS and Azure cost optimization, bringing total funding to $10.3M
Seattle startup Archera (formerly Reserved.ai) raised $7 million in a Series A to help AWS, Azure and other cloud customers automate resource management and purchasing; the company reports 150% revenue growth this year and counts customers like Fortive and Guardant Health.
Chloe Harford Joins Roofstock Board as Kymeta Names Walter Berger and Doug Hutcheson Co-CEOs
Chloe Harford, a former Zillow and OfferUp executive, joined Roofstock's board as the fintech firm continues to expand after acquiring Great Jones and raising $133 million; Kymeta named Walter Berger and Doug Hutcheson co-CEOs and partnered with OneWeb to test mobile satellite broadband. Seattle startups Optimize Health and CityBldr announced leadership moves: Todd Haedrich became Optimize Health CEO, and Convoy CEO Dan Lewis joined CityBldr’s advisory board.
Kymeta and OneWeb Successfully Test u8 Antenna-Based Mobile Satellite Broadband at 200 Mbps Using OneWeb’s LEO Constellation
Kymeta Corp. partnered with OneWeb to test satellite broadband services using Kymeta's u8 flat-panel antenna, achieving promising results for mobile connectivity with OneWeb's LEO satellite network. The tests in Toulouse demonstrated about 200 Mbps reception, targeting first responders, government, military, and enterprise markets.
Investors Pour Billions into Climate Tech as E8 Expands and Sector Raises $14.2B by Midyear
A wide range of investors — from tech employees to former VCs and concerned parents — are increasingly funding climate-tech startups, driving a sharp rise in capital flows after years of stagnation. By midyear, climate tech companies raised $14.2 billion globally, supported by growing networks like Seattle’s E8 and large climate-focused funds from private equity and venture firms.
Convoy signs 123,000 sq ft sublease at Russell Investments Center in Seattle, expanding from 73,000 sq ft
Seattle freight-startup Convoy signed a sublease for 123,000 sq ft across three floors at downtown’s Russell Investments Center, expanding from its current 73,000 sq ft Century Square HQ as it outlines a return-to-office plan amid broader Seattle downtown uncertainties.
Blues Wireless Raises $22M Series A Led by Sequoia and Lachy Groom; Bill Gates Among Investors
Blues Wireless, founded by former Microsoft exec Ray Ozzie, raised $22 million in a Series A led by Sequoia Capital and Lachy Groom with investors including Bill Gates to grow its cellular IoT Notecard device and cloud services. The company sells a $49 cellular module that embeds in hardware to send data over AT&T’s network for remote monitoring and management.
Astra goes public via Holicity SPAC led by Craig McCaw, valued at $2+ billion with $500M cash
Astra completed its SPAC merger with Holicity and began trading on Nasdaq (tickers ASTR/ASTRW), a deal that values the company at over $2 billion and provides about $500 million in cash. The transaction was led by Holicity chairman Craig McCaw with financial backing for Holicity from Bill Gates’ Pendrell Corp., and adds McCaw and Michael Lehman to Astra’s board.
Amazon Veteran Dorothy Li Named CTO of Convoy; Will Lead Engineering for Digital Freight Network
Dorothy Li, a 23-year Amazon veteran who helped launch products from Prime to Kindle, has been named CTO of Seattle-based trucking startup Convoy and will lead engineering for its digital freight network. Convoy, valued at $2.7 billion after a $400 million raise in November 2019, reports triple-digit year-over-year revenue growth and a network of over 67,000 carriers and 300,000 trucks.
MetaVC Partners raises debut fund to back metamaterials startups with investments from Bill Gates and Nathan Myhrvold
MetaVC Partners, a San Francisco venture fund founded by physicists Chris Alliegro and Conrad Burke, is raising its first fund to back early-stage metamaterials startups, with investors including Bill Gates and Intellectual Ventures founder Nathan Myhrvold.
Melinda French Gates positions Pivotal Ventures to expand women- and family-focused VC and philanthropy after divorce
Melinda French Gates founded Pivotal Ventures in January 2015 as a vehicle to pursue initiatives outside the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and following her divorce from Bill Gates she is poised to expand Pivotal’s influence on empowering women and families. Observers say her resources and focus could shift venture capital dynamics for female founders and have “transformational potential.”
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.
Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures invests $24.3M in ZeroAvia, lifting private funding past $53M
Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures led a follow-up $24.3 million investment in ZeroAvia’s hybrid hydrogen-electric aircraft powertrains, joining prior investors and bringing the company’s total private funding to more than $53 million and nearly $74 million including grants. ZeroAvia plans a 19-seat hydrogen-electric demonstration by 2023, commercialization of a 600 kW powertrain in 2024, and a 2 MW program targeting 50+ seat aircraft by 2026.
Kymeta and Kepler demonstrate u8 flat-panel antenna achieving 100 Mbps and 2+ GB per pass in Arctic test
Kymeta and Kepler demonstrated that Kymeta's u8 flat-panel antenna can connect with Kepler’s LEO Global Data Service in Inuvik, Canada, achieving average uplink and downlink speeds of 100 Mbps and transferring over 2 GB per satellite pass in extreme cold.
Organizations
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Breakthrough Energy Ventures Founder 2015–present · current
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Gates Foundation Co-founder and Co-chair 2000–present · current
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Microsoft Co-founder 1975–present, Former CEO · current
Education
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Harvard University 1973–1975
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Lakeside School
