The venture capital firm Evok Innovations this week announced that it raised $150 million of a $300 million fund to invest in clean-tech in North America. The Vancouver, B.C. firm launched in 2016 and previously raised an inaugural fund totaling $100 million Canadian dollars.
Seattle
Seattle Met: A Seattle Startup Helps Companies Measure Their Pay Gaps
WHEN MARIA COLACURCIO started as CEO at Syndio in 2018, class action suits spurred by the MeToo movement had highlighted a glaring need: a way to continuously measure gender pay gaps at large companies. Employers often hired pricey law firms to point out these chasms of inequity on a temporary basis. “You’re just playing Whack-a-Mole over and over again, and just crushing the same problems year after year,” says Colacurcio.
Built in Seattle: E-Learning Startup Sales Impact Academy Gets $22M, Plans to Hire in Seattle
Schools are great places to learn but they can’t teach you everything. That is especially true for professionals looking to learn new skills to advance their careers. Thankfully there is a slew of educational platforms that vary in disciplines, and because they only require an internet connection are easily accessible to millions. One company looking to make a splash in this industry is Sales Impact Academy (SIA), an online platform focused on creating educational content for sales and revenue employees.
Built in Seattle: Koidra Secures $4.5M to Create Autonomous Greenhouses, Farms
Seattle-based Koidra, an AIoT data and analytics company that helps farmers analyze growing patterns, recently announced that it secured $4.5 million in a seed round. The funding was led by Ospraie Ag Science, an investment firm focused on sustainable farming.
Built in Seattle: These 5 Seattle Tech Companies Raised March’s Largest Funding Rounds
From e-learning to fintech, these Seattle tech companies raised the most funding in March. The fresh funds will be used to further innovate the local tech scene, hire additional staff and expand.
Built in Seattle: IoT Company TEAL Pulled in $10.8M to Connect Devices Across Networks
In this vast world, time, distance and space pose very little issue when it comes to connecting with one another. The internet has brought people closer together than ever before, and the same goes for devices. This ecosystem of internet-connected objects is continually expanding— wearable health devices and smart home products are just the start. Seattle-based TEAL is aiming to outfit companies in the IoT industry with programmable networking services.
Geek Wire: In support of free press, this startup’s publishing tech helps get news into and out of Russia
A tiny startup in Redmond, Wash., is taking on the big task of trying to get the truth into and out of Russia as the country wages war against neighboring Ukraine — and the free press. Targetings is a social media automation platform that helps publishers get their content out on various channels. Since 2015, the startup has worked with news publishers all over the globe, including in Russia.
Geek Wire: Seattle startup Stack wins $100K top prize in Madrona Venture Labs’ Launchable Web3 event
Stack, a Seattle startup intent on making cryptocurrency and modern finance accessible for Gen Z, took the top prize at Madrona Venture Labs’ recent Launchable event aimed at Web3 startups. For its winning pitch, Stack will receive $100,000 in pre-seed funding from Madrona Venture Labs.
Geek Wire: Uber, Convoy vets raise $3.4M from Bezos and others for fintech startup that helps freight carriers
The news: Mike Bohlander, Ray Fortna, and Marcus Womack are getting the band back together for another startup run. The entrepreneurs are behind Outgo, a new Seattle startup that came out of stealth mode Thursday, announcing $3.4 million in funding from Jeff Bezos’ investment firm and others.
Built in Seattle: Amazon Acquired MGM for $8.5B, Pallet Gained $15M, and More Seattle Tech News
The Seattle tech scene had a lot of announcements last week, in addition to an $8.5 billion Amazon acquisition. Keep reading to find out which other tech companies made headlines. This is the Built In Seattle weekly refresh. Amazon acquired MGM.