Todd Bishop
Todd Bishop is Editor and Co-Founder at GeekWire, a media company he co-founded in 2009 and where he remains active. He is a business and technology journalist with expertise in in-depth reporting, podcast hosting, and live event moderation.
Intelus, led by ex-Microsoft engineer Patrice Simard, launches Duet open beta — a no-code 'machine teaching' platform
Seattle startup Intelus, founded in November 2020 by former Microsoft engineer Patrice Simard and colleagues, launched an open beta of Duet, a no-code 'machine teaching' platform that lets users build AI models from unstructured text via a graphical interface. Intelus aims to expand beyond text to images and signals, is initially targeting developers, has about 15 people (seven full-time), and is currently self-funded by Simard.
GeekWire Podcast: Boundless CEO Xiao Wang on how pandemic, politics and remote work reshape U.S. tech immigration
GeekWire Podcast hosts discuss how the pandemic, politics, labor shortages, and remote work are reshaping U.S. tech immigration, featuring Xiao Wang, CEO and co-founder of Boundless, on continuing systemic challenges and risks to the country's future.
Place raises $100M Series A led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management at $1B+ valuation
Place, a real estate technology and services company founded in 2019, raised a $100 million Series A led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management at a valuation above $1 billion; the Bellingham-based firm reported $85M revenue and $11.3M profit in 2020 and projects $150M revenue this year. Place provides an end-to-end suite of software and business services to agents and brokers while allowing them to remain with their existing brokerages.
Jane Park’s Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp. Raises $230M in IPO; All-Female SPAC Begins Consumer M&A Search
Jane Park, CEO of newly public Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp., led the all-female SPAC that raised $230 million in an IPO and rang the NYSE opening bell as the team begins searching for a consumer company to acquire. A former Starbucks executive and founder of Julep Beauty and Tokki, Park — believed to be the first Korean-American woman to take a company public on the NYSE — discusses SPAC strategy, consumer brands in the Amazon era, and her immigrant family background on the GeekWire Podcast.
Jane Park on SPACs, the immigrant ethos, and brands in the Amazon era
Jane Park, the CEO of newly public Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp., hadn't imagined herself leading a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, before accepting the job. She decided to consider the pitch from venture capitalist Isabelle Freidheim for one reason. “It took some convincing, a little bit. I wasn’t sure if I had the right capabilities. I have always sat on the entrepreneur side. So to be on the acquiring/money side is a new perspective and vantage point for me,” she said. “I don’t think I would have taken the call if it wasn’t the fact that it was an…
GeekWire: Pacific Northwest records 55 exits and 282 VC deals this year, including Rad Power Bikes’ $154M round
GeekWire reports a surge in deal activity across the Pacific Northwest this year, tracking 55 acquisitions, SPACs, IPOs and private equity buyouts and 282 venture financings (nearly one per day). Notable transactions include Nintendo’s Jan. 5 acquisition of Next Level Games, BitTitan’s sale to Idera, and Rad Power Bikes’ $154 million funding round.
GeekWire Podcast: Qumulo CEO Bill Richter on Remote Work, Seattle Tech Pay Rise to $158K, and Qumulo’s $1.2B Valuation
GeekWire’s podcast interviews Qumulo CEO Bill Richter about post-pandemic remote work, trends in tech salaries (Seattle up 4.6% to $158,000; U.S. average down 1.1% to $152,000), and implications for hiring, cloud storage, and self-driving cars. Richter discusses Qumulo’s remote-work approach, decentralized decision-making by functional leaders, and the company’s $1.2 billion valuation from its latest funding round.
Tech pay, cloud trends, Kraken, and self-driving cars with Qumulo CEO Bill Richter
Everyone is closely monitoring the implications of remote work as we emerge from the pandemic, so it's no surprise that one of the most widely read stories on GeekWire this week — right behind the Titanic's disappearing bathtub and Facebook's potential name change — was a story on trends in tech salaries. Two big trends stood out in the report from jobs site Hired: Average tech salaries in Seattle are up 4.6% from last year, to $158,000, second only to the Bay Area, which saw its average dip slightly to $165,000. Nationwide, the average U.S. tech salary fell 1.1% to…
Former Maveron Investor Jason Stoffer Says He Was Wrong to Pass on Remitly as Company Nears $6.5B IPO
Maveron investor Jason Stoffer passed on investing in Seattle remittance startup Remitly in 2012 due to regulatory and market concerns but now says the company proved him wrong as it prepares a $6.5 billion IPO. Stoffer discusses his analysis of Remitly’s S-1, investing lessons, and related topics on the GeekWire Podcast.
'They proved me wrong.' Investor who passed on Seattle startup analyzes its IPO
Jason Stoffer was still early in his career at venture capital firm Maveron in 2012 when he declined an opportunity to invest in Remitly, then a fledgling Seattle startup with ambitions to challenge Western Union by bringing a tech mindset to the business of international money transfers. He was impressed by Remitly co-founders Matt Oppenheimer and Josh Hug but knew they faced a huge challenge in getting the state-by-state regulatory approval required to make monetary remittances to what was then their initial international market, the Philippines. "It felt like the end vision was powerful — if they can get there,"…
Startup secrets; Windows 11 launch; In defense of the Blue Yeti
A global pandemic might seem like the wrong time to pursue a new startup idea, given all the uncertainties, but in many ways, the timing couldn't be better. That's one of the insights from our GeekWire Podcast conversation this week with Seattle-area entrepreneur and investor Shirish Nadkarni, author of the book From Startup to Exit: An Insider’s Guide to Launching and Scaling your Tech Business. The changes in user behavior and tech platform shifts caused by the pandemic dovetail with one of the lessons Nadkarni is hoping to get across to entrepreneurs. "Look for opportunities where there is either some…
GeekWire Podcast: SPACs propel Seattle startups public — Leafly-like cannabis marketplace, pet-care firm posts first public earnings, Redmond biotech raises $80M
The GeekWire Podcast explores how SPACs are rapidly taking Seattle startups public, highlighting a soon-to-be Nasdaq-listed cannabis marketplace, a pet-care company reporting its first public earnings, and a 3-year-old Redmond biotech that raised $80 million. The episode features intern and guest editor Laurel Deppen discussing local reporting, her Seattle impressions, and lighter cultural segments.
How SPACs are shaking up Seattle's startup scene
An online marketplace that helps to facilitate trade between marijuana sellers and buyers will soon see its own stock traded on the Nasdaq. Another that connects pet owners with walkers, boarders and other caregivers just posted its first earnings as a publicly traded company. And a 3-year-old Redmond-based biotech company with a mere 25 employees just raised $80 million its stock market debut. SPACs are shaking up Seattle's startup scene. On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, we examine how special purpose acquisition companies are turning startups into publicly traded stocks at a rapid clip. The SPAC phenomenon is giving…
Eliem Therapeutics raises $80M in IPO, prices 6.4M shares at $12.50 and lists on Nasdaq as ELYM
Eliem Therapeutics priced 6.4 million shares at $12.50 in an IPO that raised $80 million and will trade on Nasdaq as ELYM, with shares closing at $15.90 (up 27%). The Redmond biotech, founded ~3 years ago and led by Bob Azelby, is early-stage with no product revenue, a $46.7M deficit, 25 employees, and is developing CNS-focused therapies for pain, psychiatry and epilepsy.
Former Facebook Seattle Head Vijaye Raji Raises $10.4M Series A for Statsig to Speed Feature Rollouts
Vijaye Raji, a former Facebook and Microsoft engineering leader, raised $10.4 million in Series A funding for Statsig, a Kirkland startup that helps developers quickly roll out and measure product features. Sequoia Capital, Madrona Venture Group and angel investors participated, and the company aims to bring Facebook-style experimentation tools to broader developer teams.
AdaptX (formerly MDMetrix) raises $6M Series A led by Vulcan Capital to expand AI-driven healthcare data platform
AdaptX, formerly MDMetrix, raised $6 million in a Series A led by Vulcan Capital to expand its AI-driven platform that extracts insights from electronic medical records to improve clinical, financial and equity outcomes. The Seattle startup, founded by anesthesiologist Dr. Dan Low, has raised over $11 million total, employs about 20 people, and will use proceeds for hiring and product development.
Lumen Bioscience to convert former Wallingford bakery into algae plant, quintupling spirulina output after $16M Series B
Seattle biotech Lumen Bioscience will convert a former Wallingford bakery into an algae-based manufacturing facility to roughly quintuple spirulina production from about 3 kg per week, following a $16M Series B and several new partnerships and grants.
Outreach raises $200M, valuation climbs to $4.4B as Seattle sales-software firm expands AI products
Sales software startup Outreach raised $200 million in venture capital, pushing its valuation to $4.4 billion as the 10-year-old Seattle company expands AI-driven sales products and serves over 4,600 customers. The company reported $100 million in annual recurring revenue in fall 2020 and has now raised a total of $489 million.
Madrona Venture Group’s Steve Singh Details Six Post-COVID Tech Trends and Reasons for Hope on GeekWire Podcast
Steve Singh, managing director of Madrona Venture Group and former CEO of Docker and Concur, joined GeekWire to discuss reasons for hope and six technology trends to watch as the Pacific Northwest emerges from the pandemic, in a special episode tied to the 2021 virtual GeekWire Awards.
Madrona's Steve Singh on 6 tech trends to watch post-COVID
The 2021 virtual GeekWire Awards were held this week, recognizing the top companies, innovators, entrepreneurs and technologies in the Pacific Northwest, as nominated and chosen by the GeekWire community — along with celebrity cameos. On this special episode of the GeekWire Podcast, we’re featuring highlights from a behind-the-scenes conversation with former Docker and Concur CEO Steve Singh, managing director of Madrona Venture Group, which was hosted for finalists in advance of the awards by GeekWire co-founder John Cook. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
RipeLocker raises $5M to commercialize patented low‑atmosphere containers as USDA begins trials
RipeLocker, a Bainbridge Island ag‑tech startup, raised $5 million to sell patented low‑atmosphere containers that extend storage life for recently harvested flowers and produce, and the USDA has begun trials to see if the tech can reduce storage chemicals. The company is building 500 units—half for commercial customers in flowers, hops and berries and half for trials—with first sales starting this summer and total funding now at $12 million.
GeekWire Opens Voting for 13th Annual Awards; Deal of the Year Finalists Include $6.5B Auth0 Acquisition and Multi‑Hundred‑Million Funding Rounds
GeekWire has opened community voting for its 13th annual GeekWire Awards, highlighting Deal of the Year finalists across Fundings and IPOs/Acquisitions from Pacific Northwest tech companies. Voting runs through April 30, winners announced May 20 at the virtual awards presented by Wave Business.
Porch Group completes $100M acquisition of Homeowners of America to expand national home-insurance footprint
Porch Group completed its $100 million acquisition of Homeowners of America Inc., aiming to expand aggressively into the national home insurance market while it continues working toward profitability. The deal is Porch's largest since its 2020 IPO as the company raised 2021 revenue guidance and reported narrower net losses for 2020.
Throne and CityBldr roll out app-controlled mobile restrooms for delivery drivers after Amazon apology
Startups Throne (D.C.) and CityBldr (Seattle) are rolling out app-controlled mobile restrooms aimed at delivery drivers after reports of drivers urinating in bottles prompted an Amazon apology; Throne’s app lets drivers reserve and unlock nearby units. The service is in early rollout/stealth mode, targeting cities near Amazon’s HQs.
Ad Lightning CEO Scott Moore says he pulled company from downtown Seattle over safety, homelessness and transit, won’t return
Ad Lightning CEO Scott Moore says he pulled his company out of downtown Seattle because employees don’t feel safe amid crime and homelessness and poor transit, and he doesn’t plan to return until durable solutions are in place; he warns Seattle is losing competitiveness to Eastside cities like Bellevue and Redmond.
Organizations
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GeekWire Editor and Co-Founder 2011–present · current
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GeekWire Co-Founder · current
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Seattle Children’s Therapeutics current
Education
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California State University, Chico B.A., Business Admin, Journalism · 1991–1996
