INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Venture capital investment exploded across a number of geographies in 2019 despite the constant threat of an economic downturn.San
Francisco, of course, remains the startup epicenter of the world, shutting out all other geographies when it comes to capital invested
Still, other regions continue to grow, raking in more capital this year than ever.In Utah, a new hotbed for startups, companies like Weave,
Divvy and MX Technology raised a collective $370 million from private market investors
In the Northeast, New York City experienced record-breaking deal volume with median deal sizes climbing steadily
Boston is closing out the decade with at least 10 deals larger than $100 million announced this year alone
And in the lovely Pacific Northwest, home to tech heavyweights Amazon and Microsoft, Seattle is experiencing an uptick in VC interest in
what could be a sign the town is finally reaching its full potential.Seattle startups raised a total of $3.5 billion in VC funding across
roughly 375 deals this year, according to data collected by PitchBook
truckers with shippers, closed a $400 million round last month bringing its valuation to $2.75 billion
The deal was remarkable for a number of reasons
Firstly, it was the largest venture round for a Seattle-based company in a decade, PitchBook claims
And it pushed Convoy to the top of the list of the most valuable companies in the city, surpassing OfferUp, which raised a sizable Series D
Since it was founded in 2015, the business has raised a total of more than $668 million.Remitly, another Seattle-headquartered business,
The fintech company focused on international money transfer raised a $135 million Series E led by Generation Investment Management, and $85
Top-performing companies like Stripe, Airbnb and Dropbox have established engineering offices in Seattle, as has Uber, Twitter, Facebook,
This, of course, has attracted copious engineers, a key ingredient to building a successful tech hub
The issue has been a shortage of entrepreneurs, or those willing to exit a well-paying gig in favor of a risky venture
Fortunately for Seattle venture capitalists, new efforts have been made to entice corporate workers to the startup universe
Pioneer Square Labs, which I profiled earlier this year, is a prime example of this movement
companies headquartered in the Pacific Northwest.Boundless CEO Xiao Wang at TechCrunch Disrupt 2017Operating under the startup studio model,
incubate startup ideas, then recruit a founding CEO from their network of entrepreneurs to lead the business
Seattle is home to two of the most valuable businesses in the world, but it has not created as many founders as anticipated
PSL hopes that by removing some of the risk, it can encourage prospective founders, like Boundless CEO Xiao Wang, a former senior product
several successful PSL spin-outs
The business, which helps families navigate the convoluted green card process, raised a $7.8 million Series A led by Foundry Group earlier
Madrona raised a $100 million Acceleration Fund earlier this year, and although it plans to look beyond its backyard for its newest deals,
the firm continues to be one of the largest supporters of Pacific Northwest upstarts
raised another $100 million this year to invest in the PNW
Like the growing role of deep-pocketed angel investors in Seattle have in expanding the startup ecosystem, or the non-local investors, like
In short, Seattle deal activity is finally climbing thanks to top talent, new accelerator models and several refueled venture funds
Now we wait to see how the Seattle startup community leverages this growth period and what startups emerge on top.
