Puget Sound Business Journal
Publication
- Last published Oct 8
Authors & Editors
Stories
Founders' Co-op raises $50M to back ~30 Pacific Northwest early-stage tech startups with up to $1.5M each
Seattle venture capital firm Founders' Co-op raised a $50 million fund to invest up to $1.5 million each in about 30 early-stage Pacific Northwest tech startups, with a focus on enterprise software. The firm aims to shore up local founders amid uneven regional investment compared with San Francisco while local startup funding showed volatility in 2025.
Chainguard raises $280M from General Catalyst, bringing total funding to $892M and keeping $3.5B valuation
Kirkland cybersecurity startup Chainguard raised $280 million from General Catalyst, bringing its total capital to $892 million since 2021 and maintaining a $3.5 billion valuation; the company plans to expand its workforce (now >500) while remaining fully remote and serving clients such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Snap.
K&L Gates partner John Bender highlights surge in PE/VC litigation after leading iCap and WaterStation probes tied to ~$500M losses
John Bender, a partner at K&L Gates’ Seattle office, discusses rising private equity and venture capital litigation after leading high‑profile insolvency and fraud cases such as iCap Equity and WaterStation Technology, which together involved roughly $500 million in alleged investor losses. He shares common themes from these cases and offers lessons for founders, advisors and investors operating with other people’s capital in high‑growth industries.
Outreach Co‑founder Manny Medina’s London Startup Paid Raises $21M Seed to Rework SaaS Pricing for AI Era
Outreach co-founder Manny Medina has launched Paid, a London-headquartered startup that helps software companies shift pricing for the AI era, and announced a $21 million seed round as the company has raised over $33 million total.
Flying Fish VC has raised $49.3M toward $100M third fund, per SEC filing
Seattle venture capital firm Flying Fish has raised $49.3 million toward a planned $100 million third fund, per an SEC filing, and previously raised $70 million for its second fund in 2022; the firm focuses on pre-seed and seed investments in AI/ML startups.
Former Microsoft engineers Koukoumidis and Elachqar launch Bellevue AI lab Oumi with $10M seed round
Bellevue-based AI lab Oumi, founded by former Microsoft engineers Manos Koukoumidis and Oussama Elachqar, launched with $10 million in seed funding to build a collaboration platform for AI researchers and developers and has partnered with academics from Caltech, MIT, UW and Stanford. The startup has 10 employees, one research fellow, dozens of founding scholars, and space in UW's Global Innovation Exchange in Bellevue.
Pioneer Square Labs’ Julie Sandler to become venture partner next year, stepping down as managing director
Julie Sandler will move from managing director to venture partner at Seattle startup studio Pioneer Square Labs next year, continuing to help founders, seek investments and serve on boards. The change will occur before PSL Ventures raises its next fund, and Sandler will also chair the Washington Roundtable in the coming year.
Fortive expands four-year partnership with Pioneer Square Labs to run recurring weeklong "sprint weeks" incubating startups from employee ideas
Everett-based Fortive has partnered with Seattle startup studio Pioneer Square Labs for about four years to spin new ventures from employee ideas and expanded the program last year to run frequent weeklong "sprint weeks" that incubate concepts from its 17 subsidiaries. During sprint weeks teams perform discovery, validate economics, pitch to PSL, iterate, and pursue further development or pilot opportunities within Fortive.
Vivek Ladsariya joins Pioneer Square Labs as managing director, citing "massive opportunity" in Seattle VC market
Venture investor Vivek Ladsariya left SineWave Ventures to join Pioneer Square Labs as a managing director, citing a "massive opportunity" in Seattle’s underdeveloped venture capital market. The article includes an edited interview touching on his reasons for joining PSL, views on the Seattle tech landscape, investment interests and local favorites.
Amperity CEO Barry Padgett to step down June 1; Chris Jones named interim CEO, Padgett to become adviser
Amperity CEO Barry Padgett is stepping down effective June 1 to spend more time with family and will become an adviser, with chief customer and product officer Chris Jones named interim CEO; the company has no timeline for a permanent replacement. Padgett became CEO in 2022 after co-founder Kabir Shahani left and previously served as Amperity COO and Stripe CRO, while Shahani has since co-founded Avante.
Tola Capital co-founder Sheila Gulati raises $230 million third fund, firm totals $688 million in capital
Seattle venture capital firm Tola Capital, co-founded by Sheila Gulati, raised a $230 million third fund in November and has already made multiple investments, bringing the firm's total capital raised to $688 million. Gulati, whose early exposure to tech influenced her career, runs the AI-focused firm that has backed companies like Simpplr and B12.
Bellevue AI startup OpenPipe raises $6.7M seed round, plans hiring push to reach 20–30 employees
Bellevue AI startup OpenPipe raised $6.7 million in seed funding and plans to expand from under 10 employees to about 20–30 within a year while offering fine-tuned large language models for customers such as Volvo and Rakuten.
Bellevue VC Fuse Raises $250M Second Fund, Reaching $420M Total Since 2020
Bellevue-based venture capital firm Fuse raised $250 million for its second fund, bringing its total raised to $420 million across two funds since launching in 2020. The firm will continue investing in Pacific Northwest and western Canada B2B tech startups, leading seed and Series A rounds with $1 million–$10 million checks.
Flying Fish Partners' Co‑founder Heather Redman Raises $70M Fund, Seeks Additional $7.5M to Back B2B and Industrial AI Startups
Heather Redman, co-founder and managing partner of Seattle-based Flying Fish Partners, is building her firm's long-term credibility after raising a $70 million fund last year and is now seeking an additional $7.5 million. The firm focuses on B2B and industrial AI-related startups amid a favorable local tech landscape.
Seattle startup Protect AI launches out of stealth with $13.5M seed to secure AI/ML systems
Seattle cybersecurity startup Protect AI launched out of stealth with a $13.5 million seed round, plans rapid hiring to grow from 15 to about 50 employees and focuses on protecting machine learning and AI systems.
Amperity co-founder Kabir Shahani exits as CEO; COO Barry Padgett named successor
Amperity co-founder and CEO Kabir Shahani stepped down and was replaced by COO Barry Padgett, as the Seattle customer-data startup — valued at over $1 billion last year — also named Monica Pool Knox as its first chief people officer.
SVB Financial Group's SVB Capital to acquire WestRiver Group's debt fund business; Erik Anderson to join as executive chairman
SVB Financial Group's SVB Capital has agreed to acquire WestRiver Group's debt fund business, bringing WestRiver founder Erik Anderson to SVB as executive chairman of the SVB Capital Credit Platform; the deal, terms undisclosed, is expected to close by year-end and aims to expand SVB's institutional investment and lending solutions.
WestRiver Group mandates one-woman, one-man co-leadership for each VC fund as it eyes $150M Pacific Northwest raise
Seattle-based WestRiver Group will require each of its venture capital funds to be co-led by one man and one woman, a strategy it says drives bigger returns; the firm manages about $2 billion and is considering raising its Pacific Northwest fund to $150 million. Notable leaders include founder Erik Anderson, Lisa Stone, Richelle Parham, Scott Maw, Anthony Bontrager, Laurel Buckner, George Montgomery and Deepa Prasad.
