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.
Lumen Bioscience and Google use machine learning to double spirulina protein yields; research backed by $2M DOE grant
Seattle biotech Lumen Bioscience and Google collaborated on machine-learning research that doubled spirulina-based protein production, supported by a $2 million DOE grant and backing from the Gates Foundation.
Microsoft acquires Peer5 to add WebRTC mesh eCDN for improved large-scale video streaming in Teams
Microsoft has acquired Bay Area startup Peer5 to integrate its WebRTC-based mesh eCDN technology into Microsoft Teams to improve large-scale in-browser video streaming and optimize bandwidth amid increased remote work demand.
Seattle agtech startup iUNU acquires pest-management firm CropWalk, adds six employees; terms undisclosed
Seattle agtech startup iUNU has acquired pest management company CropWalk, adding six employees and integrating CropWalk into iUNU's LUNA greenhouse monitoring system; terms were not disclosed.
Icosavax IPO: Seattle biotech raises $180M, stock jumps 200% on first trading day (ICVX)
Seattle biotech Icosavax surged more than 200% on its NASDAQ debut after raising over $180 million by pricing shares at $15; the company develops virus-like particle vaccines and recently began phase 1/2 trials for a COVID-19 vaccine supported by a $10 million Gates Foundation grant.
Microsoft acquires Seattle AI spend-analysis startup Suplari, to integrate with Dynamics 365
Microsoft has acquired Seattle startup Suplari, which uses AI to analyze procurement and spending data and manages over $180 billion in spend; Suplari’s Spend Intelligence Cloud will remain available to existing customers and will be paired with Microsoft Dynamics 365. Terms were not disclosed; Suplari — a 40-person company founded in 2016 that raised $18 million — provides AI-driven cost-savings and risk insights across enterprise systems.
DataRobot buys Seattle ML startup Algorithmia and raises $300M Series G at $6.3B valuation
Boston-based DataRobot acquired Seattle startup Algorithmia and announced a $300 million Series G at a $6.3 billion valuation; Algorithmia CEO Diego Oppenheimer will remain at DataRobot after the deal. Algorithmia, founded in 2013, had raised $37.9 million, served over 130,000 users, and employed 58 people.
StormX raises $9M from Optimista Capital to expand rewards app, plans debit card after Portland Trail Blazers jersey deal
Seattle crypto startup StormX raised $9 million from Optimista Capital to expand its rewards platform and launch a debit card, after a prior $6 million round and an NBA jersey sponsorship with the Portland Trail Blazers.
AuthenticID announces $100M minority investment from Long Ridge Equity Partners
Seattle-based identity authentication firm AuthenticID received a $100 million minority investment from Long Ridge Equity Partners; the 2001-founded company provides identity-proofing software to carriers, banks, credit bureaus and other enterprises.
Lighter Capital raises more than $100M (mostly debt) to expand revenue-based financing for startups
Lighter Capital has raised over $100 million (mostly debt) to expand its revenue-based financing program that lets startups get $50,000–$3 million without giving up equity. The Seattle firm, which has invested $200M in 400+ companies, is now profitable with 36 employees after prior layoffs and recently named Melissa Widner CEO.
Qualtrics acquires Seattle journey-orchestration startup Usermind to bolster XM Directory
Qualtrics has acquired Seattle-based marketing startup Usermind, a 2013-founded leader in journey orchestration with about 40 employees, to strengthen its Qualtrics XM Directory and customer interaction tracking. Usermind, led by CEO Michel Feaster, raised $14 million in January, weathered pandemic layoffs, and saw increased demand as companies accelerated digital adoption.
Fabric raises $100M Series B at $850M valuation as revenue jumps 800% and headcount hits 161
Seattle e-commerce startup Fabric raised $100 million in a Series B that values the four-year-old company at $850 million after reporting revenue growth of more than 800% year-over-year and expanding headcount to 161.
HaptX raises $12M from existing investors, bringing total to $31M, and relocates HQ back to Seattle
HaptX raised $12 million from existing investors to meet demand for its DK2 haptic gloves, bringing total funding to $31 million, and is moving its headquarters back to the Seattle area into a new 15,000 sq ft space while maintaining offices in Redmond and San Luis Obispo.
DreamBox Learning acquires Reading Plus to expand from K–8 math into ELA; Reading Plus used by nearly 8,000 schools
Bellevue-based DreamBox Learning is expanding beyond K–8 math by acquiring Reading Plus, an online grades 3–12 reading program used by nearly 8,000 schools, after recently buying Squiggle Park.
Maveron, co-founded by Dan Levitan and Howard Schultz, becomes Certified B Corporation after rigorous assessment
Maveron, the venture capital firm co-founded by Dan Levitan and Howard Schultz, became a Certified B Corporation to formalize its commitment to balancing profit with social and environmental goals. The firm pursued the certification after working with B Corp portfolio companies like Allbirds and completed a rigorous assessment covering governance, demographics, and environmental impact.
Seattle startups raise record $3.1B in H1 2021, producing 12 local unicorns as Auth0 exits for $6.5B
Seattle-area startups raised a record $3.1 billion across 205 deals in H1 2021, driven by mega-rounds that produced at least 12 local unicorns and broader Pacific Northwest tech funding topping $5 billion. National VC activity and IPO/M&A dollar volumes are also surpassing prior records, with major exits like Auth0’s $6.5 billion acquisition by Okta highlighting regional maturation.
Updater acquires Seattle on-demand moving startup Dolly; terms undisclosed
New York moving services company Updater has acquired Seattle on-demand moving startup Dolly; terms were not disclosed and Dolly will operate as an Updater subsidiary with its Seattle team retained.
Amperity raises $100M Series D, becomes Seattle’s newest unicorn with $187M total funding
Seattle-based marketing startup Amperity raised $100 million in a Series D round, valuing it above $1 billion and bringing its total funding to $187 million. The company’s customer data platform helps brands like Alaska Airlines, Kroger and Starbucks unify fragmented first-party customer data to improve targeted marketing amid cookie restrictions and rising digital adoption.
CoderPad acquires Seattle startup AdaptiLab’s technical interviewing platform as founders James Wu and Allen Lu launch a new developer-focused company
Seattle startup AdaptiLab has sold its technical interviewing platform to CoderPad; terms were not disclosed. Founders James Wu and Allen Lu, who raised $1.8M in a 2019 seed and $2.2M total, are launching a new developer-focused company later this year with existing and new investors.
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.
Microsoft confirms acquisition of RiskIQ for more than $500 million in cash
Microsoft confirmed it will acquire cybersecurity startup RiskIQ, which Bloomberg reported was purchased for more than $500 million in cash; RiskIQ provides attack surface management tools and raised a $15 million Series D in June 2020.
Zeitworks Raises $2M, Jazz Ventures and Madrona Back ML Startup as Jay Bartot Becomes CEO
Seattle startup Zeitworks raised $2 million in new funding from Jazz Ventures and Madrona Venture Group and appointed Seattle tech veteran Jay Bartot as CEO, succeeding Ryan Windham. The company uses machine learning to analyze user interactions and recommend automation or augmentation to improve repetitive business processes and plans to expand pilot customers.
StormX signs five-year, eight-figure jersey patch deal with Portland Trail Blazers starting 2021-22
Seattle crypto startup StormX signed a five-year, eight-figure jersey patch deal with the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers starting in the 2021-22 season, becoming the first cryptocurrency company to sponsor an NBA jersey. The agreement includes in-arena branding, exclusive blockchain partner rights, international marketing/distribution rights, and highlights StormX’s growth (3M+ app downloads, $209M token market value).
WXR Fund Raises $5M to Back Seed-Stage Women-Led AR/VR and AI Startups
The WXR Fund raised $5 million for its first seed-stage fund to invest in women-led AR/VR and AI startups, led by founders Martina Welkhoff and Amy LaMeyer. The Seattle-rooted firm, launched in 2019, previously ran an accelerator and highlights underrepresentation amid declining VC funding for female-led teams.
Tomo, led by ex‑Zillow chiefs Greg Schwartz and Carey Armstrong, raises $70M seed to digitize mortgages
Tomo, a fintech real estate startup founded by former Zillow executives Greg Schwartz and Carey Armstrong, launched in Seattle, Dallas and Houston with a $70 million seed round to digitize and speed up mortgage approvals online.
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.
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
