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.
Neiman Marcus Group to Acquire Seattle Merchandising SaaS Startup Stylyze; Founders and 12 Staff to Join
Neiman Marcus Group announced it will acquire Seattle startup Stylyze, which provides merchandising-as-a-service software to online home and fashion retailers; Stylyze's founders and 12 staff will join Neiman, and terms were not disclosed.
OfferUp hires Booking.com veteran Todd Dunlap as CEO; starts in July as co-founder Nick Huzar becomes CPO
OfferUp hired former Booking.com U.S. and Canada managing director Todd Dunlap as CEO starting in July while co-founder Nick Huzar moves to chief product officer and retains president and board chair roles; the Seattle-based marketplace has 56 million users, $380M total funding, and raised $120M last year.
Khosla Ventures leads $11M Series A for Seattle AI contract startup Lexion as revenue quadruples
Seattle startup Lexion, which uses AI to parse contracts and create searchable repositories, has quadrupled revenue and added 50 customers in four months. The 30-person company raised an $11 million Series A led by Khosla Ventures to expand from reporting into workflow features and accelerate growth.
Arrived Homes raises $10M equity and $27M debt as Bezos and Benioff VC arms back $100-share rental investing
Seattle startup Arrived Homes raised $10 million in equity and $27 million in debt to scale a platform that lets retail investors buy shares of single-family rental homes for as little as $100, with backers including Bezos Expeditions and Time Ventures. The company sources, manages and sells properties while charging commissions and management fees, has over 30 properties in three states and caps individual investments at $20,000 per house.
Super.AI raises $12M to expand AI-driven data process automation; total funding now $21.6M
Super.AI, a Berlin-based "data process automation" startup founded by MIT and Big Tech veterans, raised $12 million to expand its AI-driven platform that automates labeling and analysis of unstructured data for tasks like e-commerce quality control and video processing.
Candidate launches out of beta, raises $4M seed to pay $2,400–$6,000 for referral hires
Seattle startup Candidate launched out of beta and closed a $4 million seed round to pay $2,400–$6,000 to external referrers who submit hired candidates, keeping roughly 20% as revenue. The platform lists roles in major cities and remote positions, aims to diversify hiring beyond internal referrals, and has attracted investors including Voyager and Revolution’s Rise of the Rest.
Remitly confidentially files draft SEC registration for IPO as it eyes roughly $5 billion valuation
Remitly, a Seattle-based mobile remittance company founded in 2011, confidentially submitted a draft registration statement with the SEC for a proposed IPO while preparing for a potential $5 billion valuation; it previously raised $85 million in July at a $1.5 billion valuation and recently received an undisclosed equity investment from Visa.
Flyhomes raises $150 million to scale cash-offer homebuying and mortgage services nationwide
Seattle startup Flyhomes raised $150 million to expand its cash-offer homebuying model and integrated mortgage and selling services nationwide, positioning itself against iBuyers and Zillow. CEO Tushar Garg said the funding supports building an end-to-end home-buying experience that gives clients a competitive edge in a chaotic market.
Shipium raises $8M to help retailers optimize fulfillment and compete with Amazon
Seattle startup Shipium raised $8 million to provide API-driven fulfillment software that helps online retailers optimize shipping decisions and compete with Amazon amid a pandemic-driven e-commerce surge.
Version One Ventures Raises $100M Across Fund IV ($70M) and Opportunities Fund II ($30M), Will Target 25–30 Early-Stage Startups
Version One Ventures raised $100 million across two new funds — $70M for Fund IV (pre-seed and seed) and $30M for Opportunities Fund II — and plans to invest in 25–30 startups across sectors including SaaS, marketplaces, crypto, healthcare, and climate. The nine-year-old firm, led by Boris Wertz and Angela Tran Kingyens, continues to treat Seattle as a key geography while broadening its geographic focus.
YourBase raises $5M seed from Lightspeed to speed software testing with automated Code Dependency Graph
Seattle startup YourBase raised a $5 million seed round led by Lightspeed to sell tooling that shortens test times and release cycles by automating test selection using a Code Dependency Graph, claiming ~90 developer hours saved per month and more than a dozen private-beta customers.
Stackline raises $130M Series B from TA Associates after $50M raise last November; serves 2,000+ brands
Seattle-based e-commerce software company Stackline raised $130 million from TA Associates in a Series B, less than a year after a $50 million round; the firm serves over 2,000 brands, has been profitable since 2014, and grew headcount 75% this year.
Bain Capital and Crosspoint Capital to buy Seattle cybersecurity firm ExtraHop for $900 million; founders stay
Private equity firms Bain Capital and Crosspoint Capital will acquire Seattle cybersecurity startup ExtraHop for $900 million; the 14-year-old company, with about 1,000 customers and 500+ employees, reported $100 million ARR and expects 40% growth this year. Founders and current leaders will remain, the deal aims to accelerate growth and is expected to close this summer.
Zenoti raises $80M extension from TPG Capital, total funding $330M and valuation near $1.5B after December Series D
Zenoti raised an $80 million extension to its December Series D led by TPG Capital, bringing total funding to $330 million and valuing the company near $1.5 billion; the enterprise software serves over 12,000 spas, salons and wellness businesses across 50 countries. The company, founded by Sudheer and Dheeraj Koneru, charges per-store subscriptions, has a growing payments arm, saw revenue double in 2020, expects 120% growth in 2021, and plans expansion into pet grooming and fitness.
iContact (J2 Global subsidiary) acquires Seattle SEO firm Moz; terms undisclosed
Seattle SEO software startup Moz, founded in 2004 by Rand Fishkin and Gillian Muessig, was acquired by iContact (a J2 Global subsidiary); terms were not disclosed and Moz will keep its brand while joining J2’s email marketing portfolio. Moz, which employs 177 people, is profitable, serves clients like Alaska Airlines and Zillow, and will pair resources with iContact for combined search and email marketing solutions.
Frazier Healthcare Partners raises $1.4B tenth Healthcare Growth Buyout Fund, up from $780M
Seattle-based Frazier Healthcare Partners raised $1.4 billion for its tenth Healthcare Growth Buyout Fund, a significant increase from its prior $780 million fund and one of Washington state's largest institutional raises. The fund will invest $50–$150 million in 10–12 middle-market healthcare companies focused on pharmaceutical services, hospital outsourcing, and data analytics/AI, leveraging executive placements to drive consolidation.
Betacom raises $15M to launch Betacom 5G-as-a-service and manage enterprise private 5G networks
Betacom raised $15 million to launch Betacom 5G-as-a-service, a fully managed private 5G offering built on Microsoft Azure that it will design, deploy and operate for enterprises via a subscription model.
Eliem Therapeutics raises $60M to advance Phase 2a pain and depression drugs, two months after $80M round
Seattle neurology startup Eliem Therapeutics raised $60 million to advance two Phase 2a drug candidates for chronic pain and depression two months after an $80 million raise; the company is led by CEO Bob Azelby and backed by Intermediate Capital Group and others.
Phaidra raises $4M led by Flying Fish with Mark Cuban among investors to scale AI for industrial automation
Phaidra, a 15-person startup founded in 2019 that builds AI agents to analyze sensor data and optimize industrial facilities, raised $4 million led by Flying Fish with participation from Section 32, Character, Starshot Capital and Mark Cuban. The company — led by ex-DeepMind engineers Jim Gao and Vedavyas Panneershelvam and industry veteran Katherine Hoffman — will use the funding to expand in process heating/cooling, chemical manufacturing and paper and pulp.
Creative Destruction Lab to launch nine-month, equity-free Seattle accelerator with Microsoft and UW for 20–25 computational health startups this November
Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) is launching a Seattle hub this November at the University of Washington to run a nine-month, equity-free accelerator for 20–25 computational health startups in partnership with Microsoft and UW’s business, engineering, and computer science schools; UW students can shadow the program. The program is funded by founding members, enforces objective milestones with the possibility of booting nonperforming companies, and stems from UW’s Innovation Roundtable efforts led by Emer Dooley and others.
Esper raises $30M Series B led by Scale Venture Partners to expand DevOps platform for Android IoT fleets
Seattle-based Esper raised $30 million in a Series B led by Scale Venture Partners to expand its DevOps platform for managing fleets of company-owned Android IoT devices; the 100-person startup says revenue, customers and device installs surged in 2020. Total funding to date is $40.6 million and Esper targets industries using point-of-sale tablets, connected fitness gear and kiosks.
Zap Energy raises $27.5M Series B to develop magnet-free commercial fusion reactor
Seattle startup Zap Energy raised $27.5 million in a Series B to advance a magnet-free fusion reactor that stabilizes plasma with sheared flows, aiming to lower costs and speed deployment of low-carbon fusion. The company, founded in 2017 and rooted in University of Washington and Lawrence Livermore research, has now raised over $34 million total.
Educative raises $12M Series A to expand coding-learning platform, plans to grow headcount to 300 by end of 2021
Seattle-based coding education startup Educative raised a $12 million Series A to expand its interactive platform used by more than 550,000 developers and enterprise customers like LinkedIn, Samsung and Ford, bringing total funding to $14.6 million.
Absolute Software to acquire Seattle-based NetMotion for $340 million; deal expected to close in June
Absolute Software will acquire Seattle-based NetMotion for $340 million; NetMotion reported $60 million revenue and $18 million adjusted EBITDA for the 12 months ending March 31, and the combined company is expected to have about $176 million in annual revenue with the deal closing in June.
Healionics raises $4.7M led by Keiretsu Capital to commercialize STARgraft artificial blood vessel, aims for early‑next‑year launch
Seattle medical device company Healionics raised $4.7 million led by Keiretsu Capital to commercialize STARgraft, a synthetic vascular graft designed to resist occlusion for dialysis patients, and plans a commercial launch early next year. The funding will finance a second human study and FDA clearance efforts; the company also converted $5.2 million of notes and interest into equity.
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
