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.
Genba, a PSL–Fortive spinout, raises seed funding (amount undisclosed) for voice-first industrial maintenance app
Genba, a five-person spinout from Pioneer Square Labs and Fortive, emerged from stealth with a voice-first mobile app that helps industrial maintenance teams capture work and knowledge using company-trained voice recognition; Fortive invested in an undisclosed seed round and the startup already counts large customers like GE Power.
Amplitude acquires Seattle analytics startup Iteratively, founded 2019; Iteratively to operate as unit within Amplitude
San Francisco product intelligence firm Amplitude has acquired Seattle-based customer data analytics startup Iteratively, which was founded in 2019 and raised $5.4 million earlier this year; Iteratively will operate as a unit within Amplitude and already shares most of its customers with the acquirer.
Remitly buys IP from Seattle startup Jargon; co-founders Milkana Brace and Jonathan Burstein join Remitly
Remitly has acquired intellectual property from Seattle startup Jargon and will hire Jargon co-founders Milkana Brace and Jonathan Burstein plus three staffers, while Jargon winds down operations; Remitly plans to use the technology to improve customer experience.
Madrona Venture Labs raises $8M and turns investors like Spencer Rascoff into co‑founders of spinouts
Madrona Venture Labs has raised $8 million for its fourth fund and introduced a model that makes investors — including Spencer Rascoff, Julie Larson-Green and Elena Donio — co-founders, board members, and advisors of its spinouts to attract talent and accelerate startup formation. Founded in 2014, the Seattle-based studio has spun out more than a dozen companies, including recent spinouts Zeitworks, Simplata, and Stratify.
Remitly receives undisclosed equity investment from Visa as IPO preparations reported
Seattle remittance startup Remitly received an undisclosed equity investment from Visa while expanding a prior 2019 partnership, amid reports the company is preparing for an IPO; Remitly had raised nearly $400 million to date before this deal.
Seattle startup Plunk raises $6.5M seed from Unlock Ventures to recommend remodels that boost home value
Seattle startup Plunk raised a $6.5 million seed round led by Unlock Ventures to expand its app that uses image processing, AI and machine learning to recommend remodels that raise home value. The free app has analyzed over 1 million homes in Seattle, identifying about $400 billion in combined potential "Plunk Value," while the company focuses on establishing credible analytics before announcing monetization plans.
Remitly hires banks to prepare IPO at about $5B valuation, up from $1.5B in July
Seattle remittance startup Remitly has hired banks to prepare an IPO that Reuters says would value the company at about $5 billion, up from a $1.5 billion valuation in July; the company declined to comment.
Logixboard raises $13M Series A led by Redpoint to scale freight-forwarding visibility software
Seattle startup Logixboard, founded in 2017 by brothers Julian and Juan Alvarez, raised $13 million in a Series A to expand its freight-forwarding customer engagement and shipment-visibility software. Redpoint Ventures led the round, bringing the company’s total funding to $18.8 million as it capitalizes on pandemic-driven demand for shipping visibility.
Brendan Wales joins Seattle VC Fuse as third founding GP as firm raises more than $118M for Fund I
Brendan Wales, a longtime Bay Area startup investor, has joined Seattle-based VC firm Fuse as its third founding general partner, and Fuse has raised over $118 million (nearly $120M) for its first fund to invest in B2B software across the Pacific Northwest.
BitTitan to Acquire Perspectium, Adding 75 Employees and Expanding ServiceNow Data Management
BitTitan announced it will acquire Perspectium, a 75-person company that helps manage data on ServiceNow, in a deal that expands BitTitan’s IT service management offerings and raises headcount to over 250; financial terms were not disclosed. Perspectium CEO David Loo will join BitTitan as chief product officer.
FlavorCloud raises $6.3M Series A led by Mucker Capital as profitable international-shipping startup hits rapid growth
Seattle-based FlavorCloud, which simplifies cross-border e-commerce shipping by handling customs rules and product codes, raised $6.3 million in a Series A led by Mucker Capital. The profitable, four-year-old startup — founded by CEO Rathna Sharad and CTO Sherwyn Soff in 2017 — has grown rapidly during the pandemic and has deals including a partnership with Chinese payments firm LianLian Pay; total funding is $8.6 million.
Accolade to buy PlushCare for up to $450M, adding virtual primary care and expanding TAM to $200B+
Accolade will acquire virtual primary care startup PlushCare for up to $450 million, adding primary care to its benefits platform and expanding its addressable market to over $200 billion. PlushCare, founded in 2015, has served 400,000 patients, posted $35 million revenue last year, and will continue its direct-to-consumer business under Accolade.
Venture Out launches $1,499 Moonlighter Lab to help full-time workers validate startups while keeping day jobs
Seattle nonprofit Venture Out launched Moonlighter Lab, an 8-week program that charges $1,499 to help full-time workers validate startup ideas while keeping their day jobs; some participants from the January cohort later quit to pursue startups. Venture Out, co-founded by Sean Sternbach and Ken Horenstein, previously ran a 12-week Venture Lab exchanging 4% equity and raised $700,000 last year led by M12.
Boundless raises $25M to expand immigration software services; aims to triple staff after RapidVisa deal
Seattle-based immigration software startup Boundless raised $25 million to expand services that help people connect with lawyers and file spousal-visa and citizenship applications, having supported over 70,000 families since spinning out of Pioneer Square Labs in 2017. The company, led by CEO Xiao Wang, plans to grow headcount from 130 with hopes tied to a 'pro-immigrant' Biden administration after recent restructuring and the acquisition of RapidVisa.
Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter Joins Tanium Board as Startup Eyes Growth After $150M Round; Other C-Suite Moves Reported
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has joined the board of cybersecurity startup Tanium, which recently raised $150 million and reported over $430 million revenue in 2019; the article also reports executive moves at SheerID, Boeing and Teal Communications.
Teal Communications raises $9.1M to scale eSIM platform connecting IoT devices to 2,000+ networks in 195 countries
Seattle-area IoT startup Teal Communications raised $9.1 million to expand its eSIM platform that connects devices to over 2,000 networks in 195 countries and plans to grow headcount from 15 to 45 this year.
GeekWire Names Common Room, Ozette, SeekOut, Shelf Engine and Strike Graph as 2024 Startup of the Year Finalists; Voting Open
GeekWire has announced five finalists for Startup of the Year — Common Room, Ozette, SeekOut, Shelf Engine, and Strike Graph — highlighting Seattle and Pacific Northwest entrepreneurship; community voting runs through April 30 and winners will be revealed May 20 at the virtual GeekWire Awards.
Mastercard to Buy Seattle Identity Startup Ekata for $850M; Deal to Close Within Six Months
Mastercard will acquire Seattle identity-verification startup Ekata for $850 million; Ekata, spun out of Whitepages in 2019 with about 200 employees, serves over 2,000 customers and its tech will be integrated into Mastercard's real-time identity services. The deal is expected to close within six months amid rising demand for digital identity solutions.
Coinbase IPO Soars to $85 Billion, Nets Windfalls for Early Backers Including Version One Ventures
Coinbase’s IPO pushed its valuation to $85 billion and delivered major returns to early investors like Version One Ventures, which made a highly profitable bet years ago. The article examines how Seattle and Pacific Northwest investors view crypto and blockchain as the region seeks to grow its fintech presence amid emerging local startups and initiatives.
Doorstead raises $12.5M Series A led by Madrona to expand guaranteed-rent property management
Doorstead, a San Francisco property-management startup founded by former Uber employees Ryan Waliany and Jennifer Bronzo, raised a $12.5 million Series A led by Madrona Venture Group to scale its guaranteed-rent service. The two-year-old company manages 300+ Bay Area properties, recently expanded to Los Angeles and Orange County, and charges ~8% management plus placement fees while guaranteeing owners upfront rent.
Viome, backed by Marc Benioff, projects $100M revenue next year and hires ex-GSK exec Dr. Emmanuel Hanon
Viome, a Seattle-area microbiome testing and therapeutics startup backed by Marc Benioff, says it has more than 200,000 customers and expects $100 million in revenue next year while hiring Dr. Emmanuel Hanon as global head of R&D to push into vaccines and drugs.
2Morrow raises $1.5M led by WRF Capital, total funding now $2.9M to expand ACT-based digital therapeutics
Seattle-area digital therapeutics startup 2Morrow raised $1.5 million, bringing total funding to $2.9 million, to expand its smartphone-based coaching apps that use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for smoking cessation, weight loss, stress and grief. The 11-person company, led by CEO and co-founder Jo Masterson, saw increased demand in 2020 and has partnered with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center since 2013.
PlexTrac raises $10M Series A led by Madrona Venture Group and Noro-Moseley Partners; total funding $11M
Boise-based cybersecurity startup PlexTrac raised a $10 million Series A led by Madrona Venture Group and Noro-Moseley Partners, bringing total funding to $11 million. Its platform unifies red and blue teams to streamline penetration testing, reporting and remediation workflows for security teams.
Seattle-area startups raise record $1.64B in Q1 as U.S. VC funding jumps to $69B, PitchBook/NVCA say
PitchBook and NVCA report U.S. VC activity surged in Q1 2021 to $69 billion across 3,987 deals, while Seattle-area startups raised a Q1 record $1.64 billion across 88 deals, up from $616 million a year earlier. Mega-deals, fundraises, exits and SPAC activity all hit notable highs, and industry leaders say ample dry powder and economic recovery are driving larger investments.
Seeq raises $50M Series C to expand manufacturing analytics platform; total funding $115M
Seattle startup Seeq raised $50 million in a Series C to grow its manufacturing analytics software, which helps industrial manufacturers analyze sensor and instrument data both on-premise and in the cloud.
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
