Taylor Soper
Taylor Soper is Director of Community and Programming at AI House and serves as a board member at the University of Washington, Board of Student Publications. He previously held editorial and reporting roles at GeekWire and Major League Baseball, with expertise in technology startups, programming, and community building.
Seattle VC Chris DeVore: Enterprise Software Startups in Pacific Northwest Poised for Resilience Amid Economic Downturn
Seattle's startup scene, centered on enterprise software and cloud infrastructure, may be more resilient during economic downturns according to VC Chris DeVore of Founders' Co-op. The region's focus on solving essential business problems positions its startups to endure better than those in more glamorous sectors.
Flying Fish Launches Alberta Office with Tiffany Linke-Boyko, Secures $7.5M from Alberta Enterprise; Panopto Names Tobias Hartmann CEO
Flying Fish appointed Tiffany Linke-Boyko as principal to lead its new Alberta office, its first outside Seattle, backed by a $7.5 million investment from Alberta Enterprise Corporation within a $70 million fund. Additionally, Panopto hired Tobias Hartmann as CEO to lead its enterprise video platform company based in Seattle.
Seattle Startup Lockstep, Backed by American Express, Launches Free Shared Accounting Inbox Amid Rapid Growth
Seattle startup Lockstep, backed by American Express and led by CEO Peter Horadan, is growing rapidly with 20,000 customers and a rising demand for its accounting automation software. The company just launched Lockstep Inbox, a free shared accounting inbox, aiming to become the 'LinkedIn of accounting' by automating manual financial workflows.
SirionLabs Raises $85M Series D Led by Partners Group to Expand Contract Management Software
SirionLabs, a contract lifecycle management startup headquartered in Seattle, secured $85 million in Series D funding led by Partners Group to accelerate growth. The company, founded in India and serving over 250 customers, competes with firms like Icertis and aims to expand its employee base from 600 to 800.
Seattle-Area Startups Raise $1.5 Billion in Q1 2022 Amid U.S. VC Funding Slowdown from $95.4B Q4 2021
Seattle-area startups raised $1.5 billion in Q1 2022 across 112 deals, down from $2.7 billion in Q4 2021 but still higher than Q1 2021, amid a broader U.S. venture capital slowdown driven by inflation, interest rates, and geopolitical uncertainty. Despite lower funding levels, the venture capital market is experiencing a healthy recalibration with strong business models and significant dry powder available to support startups.
Tomo, Founded by Ex-Zillow Execs, Raises $40M Series A at $640M Valuation to Speed Mortgage Approvals
Tomo, a fintech startup founded by former Zillow executives Carey Armstrong and Greg Schwartz, raised $40 million at a $640 million valuation to accelerate mortgage approvals with its digital platform. The company now covers nearly a third of the U.S. market and focuses solely on purchase mortgages to help buyers compete in a hot real estate market.
BearTax raises $3.2M seed round led by Seattle VC Ascend; Tela Andrews leads company after acquisition
Seattle-based BearTax, which helps cryptocurrency investors prepare taxes, raised a $3.2 million seed round led by Ascend and is led by Tela Andrews after he acquired the business and brought on former Avalara colleagues.
Tola Capital Files to Raise $400M Third Fund; Seattle-Area VC Led by Sheila Gulati and Stacey Giard Manages $440M
Seattle-area venture firm Tola Capital is raising $400 million for its third fund, according to an SEC filing; the firm, led by former Microsoft managers Sheila Gulati and Stacey Giard, currently manages $440 million and has invested in over 20 companies.
Round, founded by ex-Microsoft leaders Ryan Fuller, Mani Gill and Brian Jansen, raises $12M seed to build vetted network for senior tech leaders
Round, a Seattle startup founded by former Microsoft leaders, raised a $12 million seed round to build a vetted network for senior tech leaders; other Pacific Northwest deals include PTO Exchange's $5.4 million raise and funding and licensing activity at PupPod.
Seattle startup MoxiWorks acquires Australia-based ActivePipe, adding email-marketing tools used by 40,000+ agents
Seattle real estate platform startup MoxiWorks has acquired Australia-based ActivePipe, which serves over 40,000 agents at about 2,500 brokerages with email marketing tools.
Seattle startups push into crypto, blockchain and Web3 amid investor caution and regulatory shifts
The article lists Seattle startups building products and services around crypto, blockchain, and Web3, noting the region’s talent but limited local investor interest and regulatory uncertainty. Industry leaders cite Seattle’s potential as a cloud-computing hub while warning entrepreneurs face funding disadvantages compared with other jurisdictions.
Nori raises $7M Series A led by M13 with investment from Toyota Ventures to scale blockchain carbon-removal credits
Seattle carbon-removal startup Nori raised $7 million in a Series A led by M13 with participation from Toyota Ventures; Nori pays farmers for verifiable practices that store CO2 using a blockchain-based carbon-credit marketplace.
Tagboard raises $8M to expand cloud live-production platform as Nathan Peterson becomes CEO
Seattle-area startup Tagboard raised $8 million to expand its cloud-based live production and graphics platform used by sports teams, broadcasters and media companies. The 40-person firm, which counts more than 600 clients including CNN, FOX and Telemundo, aims to replace legacy hardware and enable remote production after promoting Nathan Peterson to CEO.
Seattle-based Fuse leads $12M Series A for Vancouver hospitality software startup Operto
Vancouver hospitality-software startup Operto raised a $12 million Series A led by Seattle-based Fuse to fund growth; the 50-person company, led by CEO Steve Davis, reported 400% revenue growth in 2021.
MontyCloud raises $3M from Raptor Group, Lytical Ventures and Madrona; total funding hits $6M
Seattle-based MontyCloud, a 22-person startup founded in 2018 that automates cloud operations and governance, raised $3 million from investors including Raptor Group, Lytical Ventures, and Madrona Venture Group, bringing total funding to $6 million.
Temporal raises $103M Series B at $1.5B valuation as 55-person startup reaches unicorn status
Temporal, a 55-person Seattle startup that provides an open-source microservices orchestration platform, raised $103 million at a $1.5 billion valuation, becoming a unicorn three years after launch with total funding over $120 million. The company—founded by former Uber engineers Maxim Fateev (CEO) and Samar Abbas (CTO)—says adoption is growing 25–50% month-over-month and counts customers like Snap, Netflix, Instacart, and Qualtrics.
Betterment to acquire Seattle crypto robo-advisor Makara, joining crypto investing to its $32B platform
Betterment agreed to acquire Seattle crypto robo-advisor Makara, which launched in May 2021 and offers thematic crypto baskets; Betterment manages $32 billion for nearly 700,000 clients. Makara spun out of Strix Leviathan, was founded by Jesse Proudman and others, and raised about $3 million in seed funding while pursuing a Series A.
Former Intellectual Ventures Leaders Back Tim Londergan’s Tangibly; Seattle Startup Raises $700,000 to Manage Trade Secrets
Tangibly, a Seattle startup led by former Intellectual Ventures exec Tim Londergan, launched to help companies manage enterprise trade secrets and raised $700,000 in a pre-seed round from several former Intellectual Ventures leaders and other tech executives.
Brightcove acquires Seattle video-audience startup Wicket Labs; all 13 employees join
Brightcove has acquired Seattle-based Wicket Labs, a 13-person startup founded in 2016 that provides audience insights and a 'Wicket Scorecard' for streaming video; terms were not disclosed and Wicket raised about $7 million from investors including WestRiver, Madrona, and Divergent.
Lost Lake Games, led by StarCraft and ArenaNet veteran James Phinney, raises $5M from Bitkraft-led round
Lost Lake Games, a new Seattle studio founded by veteran game developers including James Phinney, raised $5 million in a round led by Bitkraft Ventures with Lightspeed, Moon Holdings, and 1Up Ventures; the studio says it will build cross-platform games but has disclosed few details.
Videon raises $9M from Seattle investors Voyager Capital, Cercano Management and Forston VC after $7.3M July round
Videon, a live-streaming video infrastructure startup led by CEO Tricia Iboshi, raised $9 million in new funding from Seattle investors including Voyager Capital, Cercano Management, and Forston VC, following a separate $7.3 million round in July; the company serves customers in 19 countries from its State College, Pa. base.
Unlock Venture Partners raises $60M second fund to back Seattle and L.A. startups, bringing total raised to $85M
Unlock Venture Partners, a seed-stage firm focused on Seattle and Los Angeles startups, raised a $60 million second fund and has now raised more than $85 million total to back early-stage companies including gaming, Web3 and metaverse plays.
Logixboard raises $32M to expand freight-forwarding software as supply-chain chaos boosts demand
Seattle freight-forwarding software startup Logixboard raised $32 million (after a $13M round in April) to help traditional forwarders digitize document management, communications and visibility amid ongoing supply-chain disruption.
Graham & Walker names six startups for fourth Ready Set Raise cohort; each gets $50,000 and Demo Night on March 3
Seattle-based Graham & Walker (formerly Female Founders Alliance) announced six companies selected for its fourth Ready Set Raise accelerator; each will receive $50,000, six weeks of training and present at Demo Night on March 3. The cohort includes Bilin Academy, Blink Date Inc., LocalAway, Obánj, OpenField and Sayso.ai led by their named CEOs.
SAP makes undisclosed investment in Icertis amid expanded partnership after SoftBank valued startup at $5 billion
Icertis, a Bellevue-based contract management startup, received an undisclosed investment from SAP as part of an expanded partnership; the move follows an October SoftBank investment that valued Icertis at $5 billion. The company previously raised $80 million in March and was valued at $2.8 billion then; total funding and exact SAP stake were not disclosed.
Organizations
See all 15-
AI House Director of Community and Programming 2026–present · current
-
University of Washington, Board of Student Publications Board Member 2016–present · current
-
AI House Director of Community and Programming · current
Education
-
University of Washington Executive Development Program, Business Administration and Management, General · 2021–2022
-
University of Washington Bachelor, Business, Journalism · 2008–2012
-
Foster School of Business B.A., Business Administration · 2008–2012
