New funding: Seattle startup Boundless landed $25 million to help support people through the immigration process.
The software: The company’s technology streamlines how immigrants get in touch with lawyers and file applications for spousal visas and U.S. citizenship. It has helped more than 70,000 families through the immigration process. Boundless spun out of Pioneer Square Labs in 2017.
Roller coaster: The past four years have been tumultuous for Boundless in between the Trump administration’s immigration policies and the pandemic both shutting down travel and slowing processing at embassies and consulates.
Boundless CEO Xiao Wang is excited about the opportunities for Boundless ahead given President Biden’s recent action on immigration.
“This latest round of funding will dramatically increase the number of families we can support,” he said in a statement. “And now with a pro-immigrant administration implementing new legal immigration proposals and policies, families can trust that they have an established partner that will educate and guide them through their journey.”
Speed bump: Boundless also dealt with recent workforce changes after it laid off four employees and asked 27 workers to relocate to Las Vegas earlier this year as part of what Wang described as a restructuring. The changes followed a $7.5 million investment round raised in September and the acquisition of its rival RapidVisa, which had a customer operations center at its headquarters in Las Vegas.
Boundless now employs 130 full-time employees across offices in Seattle, Las Vegas, Manila, and Cebu City, Philippines. It expects to triple headcount over the next two years.
Leadership: When he was 3 years old, Wang came to the U.S. from Nanjing, China and went on to earn advanced degrees from Stanford and Harvard Business School before jumping into leadership roles in tech. The former Amazon product manager co-founded Boundless with Doug Rand and Serdar Sutay to ensure immigrants like himself have access to the same opportunities he had.
Investors: Foundry Group led the Series B round, which included Emerson Collective, Jerry Yang from AME Cloud Ventures, Forefront Venture Partners, Industry Ventures, Pioneer Square Labs, Trilogy Equity Partners, and Two Sigma Ventures. Total funding to date is $45.3 million.
GeekWire Awards: Boundless is a finalist for the UX Design of the Year category at this year’s GeekWire Awards.
