The beginning of summer this year feels unlike any other. After more than a year of lockdowns, states are reopening, travel is picking up, and employees are returning to the office.
Also unique: record-breaking investment and M&A activity across the country and in Seattle, as companies take advantage of pandemic-driven trends such as virtual experiences, at-home healthcare, remote education and more.
The latest GeekWire 200 rankings highlight these trends, especially among newer startups. Here’s a look at the latest update to our list of privately held tech companies based in the Pacific Northwest.
The top 10
Mobile remittance company Remitly remains one of the top-ranked startups at No. 3 on the GeekWire 200. However, news of a proposed IPO indicates that the fintech startup, last valued at $1.5 billion, will soon join other companies that have gone public or been acquired as a “graduate” of the list.- Hootsuite, the widely used social media management platform and a star of the Vancouver, B.C. startup scene, debuted this month at No. 6. The private company is a recent addition to the GeekWire 200 rankings, part of an ongoing project to update our comprehensive Startup List and community resources.
- Digital trucking platform Convoy moved up one spot to No. 7. With strong Amazon DNA and $668 million in funding, Convoy had a valuation of $2.75 billion as of November 2019. It recently hired longtime Amazon tech leader Dorothy Li as CTO.
- Moz, previously ranked at No. 10, “graduated” from our monthly ranking following its recent acquisition by iContact Marketing.
The biggest movers
These companies made major gains in the rankings this month:
- Fabric moved up 26 spots to No. 95. Part of a surge of “headless” or “modular commerce,” Fabric is an e-commerce startup that aims to help mid-market brands keep up with Amazon.
- Core Scientific moved up 21 spots to No. 111. The 100-person blockchain startup has raised $115 million to date, according to PitchBook. Core Scientific CEO Kevin Turner recently stepped down.
- First Mode moved up 30 spots to No. 131. — Founded by veterans of asteroid mining venture Planetary Resources, First Mode’s latest projects include a goniometer for Mars and a hydrogen fuel cell generator for a mining truck.
- ShelfEngine moved up 32 spots to No. 149. — Founded in 2016, ShelfEngine offers grocers a tech platform to reduce oversupplying and waste. The startup reported a 15x increase in revenue last year.
- Notable mentions: virtual events startup Brandlive (No. 82), commercial banking platform FISPAN (No. 133) and natural product testing marketplace Social Nature (No. 177) all moved up 17 spots this month.
Making headlines and the list
In addition to Hootsuite, these 10 companies made their debut on the GeekWire 200 this month:
- SirionLabs (No. 63) — The contract management software startup originally launched in India but recently added several executives based in the Seattle region and relocated its headquarters to Bellevue, Wash.
- Snapbar (No. 77) — An in-person and virtual video and photo booth platform that launched a new gift box venture in response to the pandemic.
- Marvelous (No. 170) — (formerly Namastream) A platform for online courses, classes and memberships for yoga instructors and the wellness industry.
- Syndio (No. 182) — Seattle-based pay equity startup that’s raised more than $30 million in funding since launching four years ago to develop its software that roots out discriminatory differences in pay.
- Tasso (No. 188) — An at-home blood collection platform that experienced increased demand during the pandemic.
Also making their debut this month are: Magnolia Medical (No. 190), Eclypsium (No. 191), OneEnergy Renewables (No. 197), Quantivate (No. 198) and iGMS (No. 199).
About the GeekWire 200
The GeekWire 200 is derived from our broader list of more than 1,300 Pacific Northwest tech startups, including Washington, Oregon and Idaho, and British Columbia. The rankings are generated from publicly available data, including social media followings, approximate employee counts (via LinkedIn) and inbound web links.
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Also, be sure to check out our list and map of out-of-town tech companies with Seattle engineering outposts as well as our list of startup incubators, co-working spaces and accelerators in the region, startup fundings, and our GeekWork job board.
