Kieran Snyder
Kieran Snyder is VP of Product, AI at Microsoft, and serves as a board member at Atlas AI and Kit. She founded Nerd Processor and previously founded Textio, an AI startup in HR tech, where she is no longer involved. Her expertise includes applied AI, product and operational leadership, and workforce transformation.
Textio Lays Off 15 Employees Amid Restructuring to Invest in Sales and Product Marketing Roles
Textio, a Seattle-based augmented writing startup, laid off 15 employees in a restructuring effort to invest in roles supporting its growing Feedback product, following earlier layoffs in 2023 and March 2024. The company, founded in 2014 and known for its AI-driven workplace language tools, is shifting focus toward sales and product marketing to meet increased demand for coaching and performance management support.
Kieran Snyder Finds In-Person Tech Teams Show Higher Engagement and Growth Than Remote Ones in 2024
Kieran Snyder analyzes data comparing remote and in-office work, finding that in-person teams have more constructive disagreement, higher participation especially among women, and better growth signals in startups. Despite the popular benefits of remote work, her data suggests in-person collaboration may yield stronger business outcomes.
Textio Lays Off 14 Employees (16% of Staff) to Shift Focus to Bias-Reduction Product
Textio laid off 14 employees, 16% of its workforce, to restructure and focus on its Textio Lift product, which helps reduce bias in workplace language. The company, which has 71 employees and notable clients, has raised $42.5 million and recently underwent leadership changes.
Textio CEO Kieran Snyder Steps Down, Co-founder Jensen Harris Becomes CEO of Seattle AI Writing Startup
Kieran Snyder, co-founder and CEO of Seattle-based Textio, has stepped down to become chief scientist emeritus, with co-founder Jensen Harris taking over as CEO. Textio, founded in 2014, uses AI to reduce bias in workplace language and recently launched its fastest growing product, Textio Lift.
Ada Developers Academy Cuts 45% of Staff Amid Tech Hiring Slowdown, Slows Expansion Despite $10M Grant
Ada Developers Academy laid off 45% of its staff, about 34 employees, due to a tech industry hiring slowdown and fewer internship opportunities for students, impacting its mission to diversify tech. The Seattle-based nonprofit also plans to reduce student enrollment and halt expansion efforts initially funded by a $10 million grant from the Equality Can’t Wait challenge.
Textio Restructures with 15 Job Cuts to Support Growth and Emphasizes Growing Role of Generative AI
Textio, a Seattle-based augmented writing startup, restructured its team by eliminating 15 roles and realigning others to support growth in its two products following last year's launch of a performance management tool. CEO Kieran Snyder emphasized the increasing importance of generative AI in enhancing their writing platform as market expectations evolve.
GeekWire surveys Seattle-area VCs to name Pacific Northwest startups they predict will become unicorns in 2022
GeekWire surveyed more than a dozen Seattle-area venture capitalists for their picks of Pacific Northwest startups likely to reach unicorn status this year, compiling a list of candidate companies with reasons for each selection. The piece notes rising valuations nationwide and excludes VCs' own portfolio companies to reduce bias.
Sarah Bird departs Moz after 14 years and seven-plus years as CEO following June acquisition by iContact (J2 Global)
Sarah Bird is leaving Moz after 14 years at the Seattle SEO software startup, including more than seven years as CEO; Moz was acquired by iContact (a J2 Global subsidiary) this past June and Bird transitioned to EVP and chief revenue officer of the Moz Group before announcing her departure. She plans to take the winter off to rest and has no firm next steps yet.
Textio integrates inclusive-writing guidance into LinkedIn for enterprise customers, CEO Kieran Snyder says
Seattle startup Textio is integrating its augmented writing and inclusive-language guidance directly into LinkedIn, enabling enterprise customers and employees to get real-time suggestions while composing posts and comments on the platform. The move extends Textio’s post-2020 product expansion aimed at improving diversity, equity and inclusion across company communications and external social media.
Textio launches 'Textio for Employer Brand' to infuse DEI language across corporate messaging
Textio launched Textio for Employer Brand, an augmented-writing tool that guides companies to use more diverse, equitable and inclusive language across corporate messaging beyond job listings. The product, now exiting beta, aims to update guidance continuously and apply DEI-focused language suggestions to pages like 'About this company' and culture blog posts as firms rebuild and rehire after the pandemic.
Business Insider profiles 13 ex-Microsoft employees who founded billion-dollar companies including Xiaomi, Valve, Zappos, UIPath, Convoy, and Auth0
Business Insider lists 13 former Microsoft employees who went on to found billion- or multibillion-dollar companies such as Xiaomi, Valve, Zappos, UIPath, Convoy, and Auth0, noting the list is not comprehensive. The piece also highlights a lack of diversity among these founders and points out that women and people of color face disadvantages in reaching unicorn valuations.
Textio raises $12M as layoffs hit 20% of staff; Industry Ventures, Operator Collective join round
Seattle augmented-writing startup Textio raised $12 million from new investors including Industry Ventures and Operator Collective to expand beyond enterprise customers, after laying off 20% of staff amid COVID-19 uncertainty. CEO Kieran Snyder says the funding will help pivot the product to help candidates better express skills and values as remote written communication rises.
Seattle AI Startup Textio Lays Off 30 Employees Amid COVID-19, Shifts Focus to Aid Job Seekers
Seattle startup Textio laid off 30 employees, or 20% of its staff, due to COVID-19 uncertainty, leaving about 120 employees remaining. CEO Kieran Snyder emphasized shifting the company's AI writing technology focus to help job seekers better represent their skills amid a challenging labor market.
Textio adds 'age graph' and accommodation guidance to its AI writing tools to flag ageism and ableism in job listings
Textio expanded its AI-powered augmented writing tools to highlight ageist and ableist language, adding an "age graph" and reasonable-accommodation guidance to help make job postings more inclusive and speed hiring.
Textio raises new capital — SEC filing shows $7M infusion as company closes $12M round to expand writing platform
Seattle startup Textio closed a $12 million funding round and an SEC filing shows a $7 million cash infusion as it aims to expand its augmented-writing platform beyond enterprise hiring use cases.
Windows UX leader Jensen Harris leaves Microsoft to co‑found Textio, a language‑analysis startup
Jensen Harris, a 16-year Microsoft veteran who led Windows user experience, is leaving Microsoft to co‑found Textio, an early-stage Seattle startup that analyzes language to predict how well job listings or project descriptions will attract desired candidates or succeed. He and co‑founder Kieran Snyder (CEO) presented their plans after Harris announced his departure, saying his exit was personal and not driven by recent Windows 10 UI changes.
Organizations
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Microsoft VP of Product, AI 2026–present, VP, AI Transformation 2025–2026, Group Program Manager, Bing 2012–2014, Group Program Manager, Windows UX 2009–2012, Lead Program Manager, Windows International 2004–2009 · current
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Textio Board Member 2025–present, Executive Officer, Director 2017–present, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist Emeritus 2024–2025, Co-Founder and CEO 2014–2024 · current
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Nerd Processor Founder 2024–present · current
Education
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University of Pennsylvania Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Linguistics and Cognitive Science
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University of Pennsylvania Bachelor's degree, Linguistics and math
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Leaders In Tech Leaders in Tech Fellow
