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.
Acumatica buys IBS Imperium; APIMetrics acquires API Science; PDQ.com acquires SmartDeploy
Three Seattle-area tech deals: Acumatica bought IBS Imperium (a property-management app built on its platform), APIMetrics acquired API Science (an API monitoring tool), and PDQ.com purchased SmartDeploy (an endpoint-management startup).
Seattle VC Fuse announces $170 million inaugural fund, backing 17 Pacific Northwest B2B startups
Seattle-based early-stage VC firm Fuse disclosed its inaugural fund is $170 million, which has backed 17 Pacific Northwest B2B software startups and plans 25–30 total investments.
Bateau raises $4M led by CRV for business-intelligence software serving $69B U.S. senior living market
Seattle startup Bateau raised $4 million in a round led by CRV to expand its business-intelligence software for the $69 billion U.S. senior living market; the nine-person company was founded in June 2019 by CEO Paul Jarvis and co-founder Henry Hutcheson.
Zuper raises $13M Series A led by FUSE as ARR jumps 7x; serves HVAC, plumbing, cleaning and other field services
Seattle startup Zuper raised $13 million in a Series A to expand its field-service software for industries like HVAC, plumbing, and cleaning; the 55-person company, led by CEO Anand Subbaraj, grew ARR 7x last year.
Irreverent Labs, led by Rahul Sood and backed by Andreessen Horowitz, raises $5M and unveils MechaFightClub — a Solana-based AI + NFT fighting game
Irreverent Labs, a Seattle startup led by Microsoft veteran Rahul Sood that raised a $5 million seed round backed by a16z, unveiled MechaFightClub, a Solana-based, cruelty-free play-to-earn fighting game using AI, NFTs and an in-game currency called nuggets set to release this spring. The game features unique tradable ‘mechabots,’ genetics/breeding systems, and aims to attract traditional gamers by offering character ownership and monetization.
Move Inc., operator of Realtor.com, leads $12M Series A in Seattle–Austin marketing startup Evocalize
Evocalize, a Seattle and Austin startup that helps brands with paid digital marketing, raised $12 million in a Series A led by Move Inc., operator of Realtor.com, which has been a customer for over five years. The company was founded in 2013 by CEO Matthew Marx and co-founder Kumar Srinivasan; additional investors include Second Century Ventures, Habanero Ventures and Madrona Venture Group.
Seashell raises $6M seed; Khosla, Kindred, Mark Cuban, Vlad Tenev and Coinbase Ventures back Seattle fintech offering up to 10% yields
Seashell, a 15-person Seattle fintech founded by Daryl Hok, raised $6 million in a seed round led by Khosla Ventures and Kindred Ventures with investors including Mark Cuban, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev and Coinbase Ventures; the startup offers up to 10% interest by investing user cash in gold and dollar-pegged digital assets but is not FDIC-insured and carries loss risk.
Highspot raises $248M Series F at $3.5B valuation as remote-selling demand surges
Seattle-based sales enablement startup Highspot raised $248 million in a Series F at a $3.5 billion valuation, driven by increased demand for remote-selling tools as the pandemic shifted sales work online.
Doorstead launches Seattle service as SF-based property-management startup with $12.5M Series A expands nationally
Doorstead, a San Francisco property-management startup founded by former Uber employees, has launched service in the Seattle region as it expands nationally; the company raised $12.5 million in a 2022 Series A and manages just under $1 billion in assets.
Backstage Acquires ShareGrid, Bringing 150,000+ Members and Equipment-Rental Network into Its Freelancer Platform
New York-based freelancer marketplace Backstage has acquired ShareGrid, a Seattle film and photo equipment rental marketplace founded in 2015 with 150,000+ members and presence in over 100 cities; ShareGrid raised $1.4M, employs 15, and will keep its brand, team, and website.
SeekOut raises $115M, valuation tops $1B to expand recruiting and internal-employee products
Seattle startup SeekOut raised $115 million to push its valuation past $1 billion, becoming a unicorn, and will use the funds to expand recruiting and internal-employee products. Its recruiting platform, used by over 1,000 companies, aggregates data on 700+ million candidates, has built-in diversity filters, and reports ARR of $25–$50 million after tripling in nine months.
Ciara and Russell Wilson’s House of LR&C to raise up to $15M in Series A after revenue hits eight figures
The House of LR&C, a Seattle fashion house co-founded by Ciara and Russell Wilson, plans to raise up to $15 million in a Series A this year after reaching eight-figure revenue and roughly 70% growth; the company previously raised a $7 million convertible note led by Harlem Capital.
Napster Co‑founder Jordan Ritter’s Stealth Startup Augment AI Raises $3.45M Seed to ‘Supercharge’ Productivity
Augment AI Corp, a stealthy Seattle startup led by Napster co-founder Jordan Ritter and three other tech veterans, raised a $3.45 million seed round after spinning out of the Allen Institute for AI incubator to build software that aims to "supercharge" personal productivity by better integrating devices and apps.
Pictory raises $2.1M seed from FUSE to automate short-form video production for 5,000+ customers
Seattle startup Pictory raised a $2.1 million seed round to scale its AI software that converts long-form videos and text into short-form clips, serving over 5,000 customers. The company, founded in 2019 by Vikram Chalana, Abid Mohammed, and Vishal Chalana, is led by CEO Vikram Chalana and backed by FUSE, Voyager Capital and several Seattle angel investors.
Wind Creek Hospitality acquires Seattle social-games developer FlowPlay; terms undisclosed
Seattle social-games developer FlowPlay, maker of Vegas World and Casino World with more than 75 million registered users, has been acquired by Wind Creek Hospitality; terms were not disclosed. Wind Creek — which runs 10 casinos and WindCreekCasino.com for the Poarch Band of Creek Indians — plans to keep FlowPlay in Seattle under CEO Derrick Morton, retaining its brand and staff.
Madrona Venture Group raises $120M Fund VII Extension to support 10–12 portfolio companies from its 2018 $300M fund
Madrona Venture Group has raised a $120 million Fund VII Extension Fund from prior investors to provide follow-on capital for 10–12 companies from its 2018 $300 million Fund VII, responding to larger, faster rounds in today’s frothy venture market.
Gympass acquires Seattle online personal-training startup Trainiac; terms undisclosed
Gympass has acquired Seattle-based Trainiac, a startup that provides software for 1-on-1 online personal training, and will integrate Trainiac’s services into its corporate fitness offerings. Gympass, which raised $220 million in June and values at $2.2 billion, will keep a Seattle product team; financial terms were not disclosed.
T-Mobile equips University of Washington’s CoMotion Labs with 5G; becomes Pacific Northwest’s first 5G hardware incubator
T-Mobile installed a 5G network at the University of Washington’s CoMotion Labs, making it the Pacific Northwest’s first 5G-equipped hardware incubator and adding the 5G Open Innovation Lab as a member to give its startups campus access.
NetBase Quid acquires Seattle social analytics startup Rival IQ; Rival IQ to remain independent
Santa Clara-based NetBase Quid has acquired Seattle social media analytics startup Rival IQ, which serves nearly 700 customers and will continue operating independently.
Inspectify raises $8M Series A led by Nine Four Ventures; total funding $10M to digitize home inspections
Inspectify, a two-year-old Seattle proptech startup that provides a booking marketplace and inspection software, raised $8 million in a Series A led by Nine Four Ventures to digitize home inspection reporting and aggregate inspection data.
CoreStack raises $30M Series B led by Avatar Growth Capital, total funding $45M
Seattle-based cloud governance startup CoreStack raised $30 million in a Series B led by Avatar Growth Capital, bringing total funding to $45 million and serving over 100 enterprise customers while governing more than $1 billion in cloud consumption.
Seattle appraisal startup Aloft raises $20M Series A led by Fifth Wall, bringing total funding to $25M
Seattle startup Aloft raised $20 million in a Series A led by Fifth Wall to expand its appraisal software that delivers quotes in two minutes and facilitates inspections; the company has annualized revenue in the millions, works with dozens of national and regional lenders, and has raised $25 million total. Founded less than a year ago by CEO Travis Soukup and co‑founder Yongxing Deng, Aloft operates in Seattle and Portland and plans further expansion.
Andreessen Horowitz hires Seattle gaming vet James Gwertzman as first Seattle-based general partner
Andreessen Horowitz has hired Seattle gaming veteran James Gwertzman as its first general partner based in the Seattle region to join the firm’s consumer investing team focused on gaming. Gwertzman, who sold PlayFab to Microsoft in 2018 and will leave Microsoft later this month, joins a16z as it doubles down on gaming alongside hires like Riot’s Jon Lai and investments such as a $5 million round in Seattle-based Irreverent Labs.
Andreessen Horowitz leads $5M round for Rahul Sood’s Irreverent Labs to build NFT, blockchain and AI-powered metaverse game
Seattle startup Irreverent Labs, led by entrepreneur Rahul Sood, raised $5 million in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz to build an NFT- and blockchain-based metaverse game that uses AI-powered, ownable characters and will debut its first game next month.
HelloPrenup founders get $150,000 from Nextdoor founder Nirav Tolia on Shark Tank for 30% equity
HelloPrenup founders Sarabeth Jaffe and Julia Rodgers appeared on Shark Tank Season 13, Episode 6, and secured a $150,000 investment from guest Shark Nirav Tolia (Nextdoor founder) for 30% equity despite having only $20,000 in lifetime sales. The software platform offers a faster, cheaper way for couples to create prenuptial agreements and drew concerns from other Sharks about high customer acquisition costs and being too early.
Organizations
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AI House Director of Community and Programming 2026–present · current
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University of Washington, Board of Student Publications Board Member 2016–present · current
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AI House Director of Community and Programming · current
Education
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University of Washington Executive Development Program, Business Administration and Management, General · 2021–2022
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University of Washington Bachelor, Business, Journalism · 2008–2012
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Foster School of Business B.A., Business Administration · 2008–2012
