Applause, a software testing company that originally started in Boston under the name of uTest, has established a new office in Bellevue at 10900 NE 8th Street.
It marks the latest technology company to set up a branch in the Seattle area, following in the footsteps of companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Salesforce.com, GoDaddy, eBay and many others.
“Seattle houses our Applause Analytics team and our overall big data efforts,” said a company spokesperson. “As we go forward, big data is a major strategic focus for us and will drive hiring by leaps and bounds.”
The company raised $43 million in venture funding earlier this year in a deal led by Goldman Sachs, bringing total funding to $80 million. It changed its name to Applause in May, at the same time that it acquired Germany-based crowd-testing company Testhub in a multi-million dollar cash and stock deal.
That deal brought total employment at the company to more than 160. It also operates offices in Berlin, Silicon Valley, New York and Israel.
Applause, whose Seattle area customers include Concur, Expedia, Microsoft and Starbucks, employs 15 in the Bellevue office with plans to grow its footprint in the Pacific Northwest.
The company offers a range of testing products, including the ability to test usability, load and localization on web, desktop and mobile apps. It also offers a mobile software development kit to root out bugs in iOS, Android and Windows Phone apps
The company claims more than 140,000 testers in 200 countries, paying out millions in dollars to its tester community each year.
