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.
Bizible founder Aaron Bird raises $5.1M to launch Seattle B2B startup studio Pienza
Aaron Bird, founder of Bizible, launched Seattle startup studio Pienza and raised $5.1 million from MHS Capital, Version One Ventures, Vulcan Capital and angels to build a small portfolio of B2B software companies. Pienza will focus on fewer, highly concentrated bets, put most of the funding into portfolio companies, keep a lean internal team, and Bird will forgo a salary.
iUNU raises $7M to scale LUNA AI greenhouse computer-vision system; total funding $25M
Seattle-based agriculture tech startup iUNU raised $7 million to expand its LUNA AI and computer-vision platform for greenhouse crop monitoring, using autonomous rail-mounted cameras and canopy sensors. The seven-year-old, 30-person company — backed by S2G Ventures, Ceres Partners and Serra Ventures — has $25 million total funding and aims to surpass 100 customers next year.
Battery Ventures Makes Majority Investment in DomainTools; Deal Adds Two Battery Partners to Board
Battery Ventures has made a majority investment in Seattle-based enterprise security firm DomainTools, which provides domain and DNS threat intelligence and counts over 500 customers including nearly half the Fortune 500; financial terms were not disclosed. DomainTools, led by CEO Tim Chen, has 100+ employees, previously bootstrapped, repaid a $2.2M PPP loan, and will add Battery partners Jordan Welu and Dave Tabors to its board.
CoreStack raises $4M from Iron Pillar, total funding $15.5M, as ARR jumps 200% and enterprise clients top 100
Seattle-based CoreStack raised $4M, bringing total funding to $15.5M, as demand for its cloud governance software grows; ARR rose 200% YoY and the company now serves 100+ enterprise clients.
SBA Reveals Seattle Tech Startups Received Millions in PPP Loans Including ExtraHop’s $10M and Rover’s $8.1M
The Small Business Administration released detailed data on Paycheck Protection Program loans, revealing Seattle-area tech startups like ExtraHop and Rover received between $5.4 million and $10 million to support payroll during the COVID-19 crisis. The PPP distributed $525 billion across over 5 million loans before ending in August amid issues with loan forgiveness and fraud.
Wyze launches $19.99 Wyze Watch with 9-day battery and blood oxygen monitor; pre-orders start today, ships February
Seattle startup Wyze launched a $19.99 Wyze Watch with a 9-day battery, blood oxygen monitoring, activity and sleep tracking, Google Fit/Apple Health integration, waterproofing to 2 meters, smart-home control, pre-orders starting today and shipping in February.
Flexe raises $70M Series C led by T. Rowe Price as e-commerce surge drives on-demand warehousing growth
Seattle-based Flexe raised a $70 million Series C led by T. Rowe Price as pandemic-driven e-commerce growth accelerates demand for its on-demand warehousing marketplace, bringing total funding to $134 million.
WestRiver Group Sells Debt Investment Business to SVB Financial Group; Erik Anderson Named Executive Chairman of New SVB Capital Credit Platform
Seattle-based WestRiver Group agreed to sell its debt investment business to SVB Financial Group to form the SVB Capital Credit Platform, with WestRiver CEO Erik Anderson joining SVB as executive chairman; terms were not disclosed. WestRiver manages about $2 billion AUM and holds investments including Singularity University and several Seattle startups.
Mukilteo IoT Startup Elevāt Raises $9.5M to Expand Machine-Monitoring Software
Mukilteo-based IoT startup Elevāt raised $9.5 million to expand its hardware-agnostic software for monitoring and maintaining industrial machinery across industries like oil & gas and forestry.
Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson Joins Board of Seattle Customer-Data Startup Amperity
Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson is joining the board of Seattle customer-data startup Amperity, which provides software to connect disparate customer data for targeted marketing and counts clients like Alaska Airlines, Patagonia and Kroger; Starbucks was an early adopter of Amperity.
Secure, a Pioneer Square Labs spinout, launches employer software for emergency savings accounts, CEO Devin Miller says
Seattle startup Secure, spun out of Pioneer Square Labs and led by CEO Devin Miller, is launching software that lets employers offer employee emergency savings accounts (ESAs) via automatic post-tax payroll deferrals and employer matches. The product targets small businesses without 401(k)s and larger employers seeking additional savings benefits, positioning ESAs as a high-ROI, low-cost financial wellness benefit amid pandemic-driven financial strain.
Former Z2 Executives Raise $3.2M to Launch Lightfox Games and Mobile Title Super Battle League
Former Z2 employees founded Lightfox Games, a Seattle-based mobile game studio, raising $3.2 million to develop their first title, Super Battle League, a real-time 3-on-3 battle game currently in early alpha. The seed funding round was led by March Gaming with participation from Hiro Capital and 1Up Ventures.
Seattle's Stackline Raises $50M from Goldman Sachs to Expand E-Commerce Intelligence Platform Amid Pandemic Boom
Stackline, a Seattle-based e-commerce intelligence platform serving clients like Sony and Starbucks, raised $50 million from Goldman Sachs Growth Equity in its first outside funding round to expand amid rapid online retail growth during the pandemic.
Umoja Biopharma raises $53M Series A to develop in vivo CAR T-cell immunotherapies for adult and pediatric tumors
Seattle-based Umoja Biopharma raised $53 million in a Series A to advance its preclinical in vivo CAR T-cell immunotherapy platform for blood and organ tumors in adult and pediatric patients, aiming to generate cancer-fighting cells inside the body. The company was founded last year by CEO Andy Scharenberg and collaborators from Seattle Children’s Research Institute and Purdue University, with MPM Capital and Qiming Venture Partners USA leading the round.
Pandemic Accelerates Adoption of Enterprise Software in Seattle, Boosting Cloud and Cybersecurity Startups
The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating adoption of enterprise software in the Seattle and Pacific Northwest tech scene, highlighting startups in cloud computing and cybersecurity that dominate the GeekWire 200. Analysts say enterprise cloud firms appear relatively resilient to recessionary pressures compared with consumer-facing startups, though risks remain if businesses cut spending.
Pike Street Capital Partners closes oversubscribed $237 million debut fund, exceeds $200M target
Seattle-based Pike Street Capital Partners, launched in 2018 by veterans of Evergreen Pacific Partners, closed its inaugural, oversubscribed fund at $237 million—above an original $200 million target—and has already invested in three companies. The firm targets buyouts of profitable industrial technology businesses with $10 million–$100 million in annual revenue.
Joon Care raises $3.5M to expand remote therapy for teens and young adults
Seattle startup Joon Care raised $3.5 million to expand its remote therapy service for teens and young adults, connecting clients with licensed youth-focused therapists through 16-week subscription plans. The year-old company, led by CEO Josh Herst and chief psychologist Amy Mezulis, launched from PSL’s studio and has expanded service to Washington, California, and Oregon.
Vimly Benefit Solutions raises $6.7M Series A-1 to scale benefits administration platform, total funding $12.7M
Vimly Benefit Solutions raised $6.7 million in a Series A-1 round to scale its benefits administration software, bringing total funding to $12.7 million as the Seattle-area company grows its staff and cloud-based offerings.
Igneous lays off staff amid ‘difficult economic environment’; CEO role held by Dean Darwin
Seattle-based unstructured data management startup Igneous has conducted a reduction in force amid a difficult economic environment; the company declined to disclose the number of layoffs and lists 69 employees on LinkedIn. Founded in 2013, Igneous raised $25 million in a 2019 Series C (bringing total funding to $70M) and recently replaced co-founder Kiran Bhageshpur with Dean Darwin as CEO.
Rebellion Defense, led by ex-DDS head Chris Lynch and backed by Eric Schmidt, opens Seattle engineering hub
Rebellion Defense, a year-old Washington D.C. startup led by CEO Chris Lynch and backed by investors including ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt, opened a Seattle engineering hub led by Matt Shobe to build AI and ML software for government clients using an agile, SaaS pricing model.
Trovares, led by ex-Cray CEO Jim Rottsolk, raises $1.35M as part of $1.5M round to grow graph-analytics business
Seattle graph-analytics startup Trovares, led by former Cray CEO Jim Rottsolk, raised $1.35 million as part of a $1.5 million round from existing investors to expand its business; the nine-person company launched in 2015 and counts the Department of Defense among its customers.
Rover partners with Walmart as Seattle pet-care startup recovers from COVID layoffs, eyes profitability
Seattle pet-care startup Rover, which laid off about 41% of staff in March as pandemic demand collapsed, has regained momentum with rising pet ownership and a new partnership with Walmart that promotes Rover services on Walmart.com. The company expects roughly $250M in gross bookings this year after trimming expenses, received over $5M in PPP loans, and says it may reach profitability sooner than pre-COVID plans.
Madrona leads $2.6M seed round for OthersideAI to build GPT-3–powered automated email composer
OthersideAI, founded months ago by Matt Shumer, Miles Feldstein and Jason Kuperberg, raised a $2.6M seed round led by Madrona to build a GPT-3–powered tool that automatically composes email drafts; the company is testing a Chrome extension with ~100 early users and a ~10,000-person waitlist.
Brandlive co-founder Fritz Brumder launches Zipcan to embed video chat in websites and apps; raises $100,000
Zipcan, founded by Brandlive co-founder Fritz Brumder and colleague Spenser Lea, launched a tool that embeds video chat directly into websites and apps and has two paying customers and $100,000 raised toward a seed round.
2048 Ventures Hires Seattle Investor Minda Brusse to Lead Pre-Seed Sourcing in Seattle and Portland
NYC-based 2048 Ventures has hired Seattle investor Minda Brusse as a venture partner to source pre-seed investments in Seattle and Portland while she remains at First Row Partners; 2048 launched last year with a $27 million fund and has backed 29 companies.
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
