Via Startup Savant
When it comes to thriving startup culture and entrepreneurial hubs that produce innovative and fast-growing tech companies, Seattle consistently ranks among the best cities to start a brand-new business from scratch. Home to tech giants such as Amazon and Microsoft, Seattle has a reputation for producing startup unicorns and being a place where invention and innovation reign supreme.
The rare startup ecosystem in Seattle makes this possible, where thriving incubators and accelerators, top-notch talent, and a growing number of angel investors and VCs converge. If a motivated entrepreneur has a vision for a product or service and wants to bring it to life by building a company from the ground up, taking advantage of the startup resources available in Seattle will allow them to acquire funding, build a team, and bring their idea to market in record time. Today we’re going to explore some of the top Seattle startups and how they are making waves in their respective industries.
Top Startups in Seattle to Follow
Every year, new startups pull to the forefront of their industry through exciting innovation, tech, and industry-disrupting business models. We’ve rounded up the best Seattle startups of 2024 that startup-lovers, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs should follow.
Disclaimer: With so many exciting tech startups in Seattle launching and growing, we aren’t able to cover them all. Furthermore, the startups that are listed below are not officially ranked and are listed in no particular order.
1. First Mode
- Industry: Aerospace, Cleantech, Environmental Engineering
- Founders: Joshua Weiss, Krunal Desai, Maggie Scholtz, Riley Chapin
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Grant, $8.8 Million
- Investors Include: Anglo American
More and more startups are focusing on enabling a sustainable future for people all over the world. First Mode is a startup that’s designing and delivering products and systems that can be used for zero-emission mobility, the distribution and production of green energy, and ensuring that heavy industry can be decarbonized. First Mode’s team of engineers helps its clients achieve all of their sustainability goals and create new solutions to create a greener planet.
2. Atomo Coffee
- Industry: Coffee, Coffee Technology
- Founders: Andy Kleitsch, Jarret Stopforth, Jarret Stopforth
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Series A, $51.6 Million
- Investors Include: AgFunder, Horizons Ventures, S2G Ventures
Atomo Coffee is developing new coffee technology dubbed “molecular coffee” in order to brew a perfect, smooth cup of coffee made of completely natural ingredients. With Atomo’s process and the work they put into reverse-engineering the regular coffee bean, they were able to create coffee that’s more sustainable than any commercial alternatives we have available today.
3. Downstream
- Industry: Adtech, Machine Learning, Martech
- Founders: Connor Folley, Greg Mercer, Salim Hamed
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Venture, $6.7 Million
- Investors Include: Alumni Ventures, MGV, Techstars Ventures
Downstream, also known as “Downstream Impact,” is an Amazon advertising software solution that allows brands to manage, measure, and optimize their Amazon presence. Connor Folley and Salim Hamed were former Amazon employees who went out on their own and designed a powerful AI-driven software platform that helps brands capitalize on Amazon’s ad business and exponentially grow their Amazon sales in the process.
4. Swiftly
- Industry: Ecommerce, Shopping
- Founders: Daniel Kim, Henry Kim, Karen Ho, Sean Turner
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Series C, $215.6 Million
- Investors Include: Wormhole Capital, Bramalea Partners, Liquid 2 Ventures
Swiftly is building a technology platform that provides turnkey solutions to retailers all over the nation, giving them the same digital tools ecommerce giants and large retail chains use to compete in the marketplace. Using these tools, retailers can increase their store visits, get more transactions per user, increase the annual spending of their customers, and much more.
5. OctoML
- Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Software, Machine Learning
- Founders: Jared Roesch, Jason Knight, Luis Ceze, Thierry Moreau, Tianqi Chen
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Series C, $131.9 Million
- Investors Include: Tiger Global Management, Addition, Amplify Partners
Deploying machine learning models is a tedious process that often involves developing custom code from scratch and working through various bugs and errors before deployment. OctoML is aiming to change that by giving engineering teams an acceleration platform that makes it quick and easy to deploy machine learning models across cloud providers, edge devices, or hardware.
6. Nori
- Industry: Agriculture, Renewable Energy, Marketplace
- Founders: Christophe Jospe, Paul Gambill, Ross Kenyon
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Venture, $18.7 Million
- Investors Include: M13, Placeholder, Toyota Ventures
Nori is a marketplace built for carbon dioxide removal, allowing anyone worldwide to pay for removing excess carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. In essence, Nori has built a voluntary marketplace where suppliers can connect with buyers and reduce costs while simultaneously improving efficiency.
7. Factal
- Industry: Business Information Systems, Information and Communications Tech (ICT)
- Founders: Ben Tesch, Charlie Tillinghast, Cory Bergman
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Series A, $4.5 Million
- Investors Include: Arthur Ventures, SeaChange
Factal is a startup company that allows individuals and businesses to rapidly react to global events by giving them the facts and trusted breaking news as soon as it’s available. When an event happens that has the potential to impact a particular business, Factal quickly relays the situation and information about appropriate responses.
8. Hyperproof
- Industry: Blockchain, Cloud Computing, Compliance
- Founders: Craig Unger
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Private Equity, $62.3 Million
- Investors Include: Toba Capital
Hyperproof is a compliance operations software system on the cloud that automatically collects evidence and manages compliance programs intelligently. Organizations that use Hyperproof can protect their suppliers, partners, customers, and shareholders in a simple, effective manner.
9. Viome
- Industry: Healthcare, Wellness
- Founders: John Pinelli, Naveen Jain
- Founded In: 2016
- Funding: Series C, $256 Million
- Investors Include: Khosla Ventures, WestRiver Group
Viome puts the power back into the hands of consumers with its innovative approach to health supplements. Consumers simply take an at-home test and digital questionnaire and, within weeks, receive personalized health products geared toward their unique health needs.
10. Aloft
- Industry: Real Estate, IT
- Founders: Travis Soukup, Yongxing Deng
- Founded In: 2021
- Funding: Series A, $25 Million
- Investors Include: Andreessen Horowitz, Fifth Wall
Aloft’s innovative platform streamlines the real estate valuation process, creating better transparency for everyone, from first-time home buyers to lenders to appraisers. Their services are data-backed from MLSs as well as nationwide cost data to offer a robust service for all real estate stakeholders.
11. Stoke Space
- Industry: Space
- Founders: Andy Lapsa, Thomas Feldman
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Series B, $176.2 Million
- Investors Include: In-Q-Tel, MaC Venture Capital
Stoke Space is a sustainable space travel startup based in Kent, Washington, developing 100% reusable rockets. Supported by NASA and the United States Space Force, Stoke Space is creating space travel with Earth’s well-being and longevity in mind.
12. SpiceAI
- Industry: AI, Blockchain, Software
- Founders: Lane Harris, Luke Kim, Phillip LeBlanc
- Founded In: 2021
- Funding: Seed, $14.6 Million
- Investors Include: Elysium Venture Capital, TA Ventures
Created to make developer’s work easier, SpiceAI is a ready-to-use data and AI infrastructure. With SpiceAI, enterprises receive the foundation for implementing AI, including pre-filled Web 3 data. Cutting costs and reducing labor hours typically used to build in-house infrastructure.
13. CalmWave
- Industry: AI, Healthcare
- Founder: Ophir Ronen
- Founded In: 2022
- Funding: Seed, $4 Million
- Investors Include: Bonfire Ventures, Tau Ventures
CalmWave is a health tech startup leveraging AI to improve nurse retention and eliminate needless alarms in medical work. Through CalmWave, vital signs equipment gets a revamp by recreating alarm thresholds and personalizing them to each patient’s unique needs.
14. Level
- Industry: Financial Services, Fintech
- Founders: Connor Adams, David Edelstein, Dylan Higgins, Dylan Higgins
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Seed, $11.7 Million
- Investors Include: NextView Ventures, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund
Level is a financial services startup developed by the self-employed and small business owners to conduct a myriad of financial tasks. From funding to business banking to tax assistance, Level provides an all-in-one financial management solution for entrepreneurs of every type.
15. bttn
- Industry: Supply Chain, Healthcare, B2B
- Founders: Jack Miller, JT Garwood
- Founded In: 2021
- Funding: Series A, $26.5 Million
- Investors Include: FUSE, Tiger Global Management
Partnered with major companies like McKesson and TopRx, bttn is a wholesale medical supply platform. Their marketplace makes placing large-scale medical orders in one place simple. From PPE to IV supplies, bttn has over 200,000 SKUs to shop from on their website as well as account management services to ensure every practice gets the supplies it needs.
16. DevZero
- Industry: Software, IT, Developer Tools
- Founders: Debosmit Ray, Rob Fletcher
- Founded In: 2021
- Funding: Series A, $26 Million
- Investors Include: Madrona, Foundation Capital
Used by engineers at Carta, Genemod, and Turing, DevZero helps businesses ship faster by making writing code more akin to production. Their platform allows engineers to directly code and test in a space similar to production, streamlining productivity and making the jobs of developers easier overall.
17. Yoodli
- Industry: Apps, AI, Software
- Founders: Esha Joshi, Varun Puri
- Founded In: 2021
- Funding: Seed, $7 Million
- Investors Include: David Rosenberg, Moai Capital
Yoodli helps to improve communication skills using AI. Users benefit from real-time speech coaching in online meetings to improve their public speaking efforts, engage in private live coaching, and track progress over time to see how they’ve improved.
18. Carbon Robotics
- Industry: Agtech, Robotics, AI
- Founders: Paul Mikesell
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Series C, $65.9 Million
- Investors Include: Liquid 2 Ventures, Sozo Ventures
Carbon Robotics boasts an autonomous vehicle called the Laserweeder that can identify weeds and zap them with lasers, all using AI. Their innovative technology is used by major agricultural brands such as Andy Boy, Cal-Organic, and Taylor Farms.
29. Common Room
- Industry: CRM, Social Media
- Founders: Francis Luu, Linda Lian, Tom Kleinpeter, Viraj Mody
- Founded In: 2020
- Funding: Series B, $52.9 Million
- Investors Include: Greylock, Madrona
Common Room provides a comprehensive overview across a litany of channels, including social media, community, product, and CRM for companies such as Asana, Airtable, and HubSpot. The platform provides a valuable look inside the customer journey, giving brands insights to improve and adapt services to better serve their customers and increase revenue.
20. Read AI
- Industry: Machine Learning, Software, Analytics
- Founders: David Shim, Elliott Waldron, Rob Williams
- Founded In: 2021
- Funding: Seed, $10 Million
- Investors Include: Madrona, Adrian McDole
Read AI produces AI-generated summaries, transcriptions, and more of meetings in order to improve their effectiveness and productivity. With Read’s product, businesses can compare meeting notes, improve their communication skills, and even review impactful moments throughout the meeting.
21. LifeAt
- Industry: Software
- Founders: Devin Ajimine, Marisa Chentakul, Pouya Rad
- Founded In: 2021
- Funding: Pre-Seed, $3 Million
- Investors Include: Pioneer Square Labs, SV Tech Ventures
LifeAt is a task management and productivity software built for freelancers, small to medium-sized businesses, designers, agencies, and founders. Their deep-focus videos and productivity tools promote a high level of focus for users, allowing them to get more done in a more meaningful way.
22. Umoja Biopharma
- Industry: Biotech, IT
- Founders: Andrew Scharenberg, Philip Low, Ryan Crisman
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Series B, $263 Million
- Investors Include: SVB Securities, SoftBank Vision Fund
Umoja Biopharma is dedicated to creating impactful therapies to fight cancer. The biotech startup works to reprogram the immune system to target cancer cells using their CAR T-cell gene therapy platform.
23. QA Wolf
- Industry: Software, IT Management
- Founders: Jon Perl, Laura Cressman, Scott Wilson
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Series Unknown, $10.1 Million
- Investors Include: Peter Thiel, Austen Allred
QA Wolf ensures apps are built bug-less in a matter of weeks – not years. Their services include testing groups, test cases, the creation of a test matrix, and finally, the identification of bugs with fast maintenance to get your product up and running the right way.
24. Lexion
- Industry: SaaS, AI
- Founders: Emad Elwany, Gaurav Oberoi, James Baird
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Series B, $35.2 Million
- Investors Include: Madrona, Khosla Ventures
Lexion utilizes AI technology to help operations teams work faster and smarter. From streamlining contract workflows to automating systems, Lexion is an award-winning powerhouse in operations team management solutions.
25. Humanly.io
- Industry: AI, SaaS
- Founders: Andrew Gardner, Prem Kumar
- Founded In: 2020
- Funding: Series A, $23.2 Million
- Investors Include: Chaos Ventures, Spark Growth Ventures
Powered by conversational AI, Humanly.io is built for hiring at high volumes, with features included for screening, scheduling, note-taking, and candidate follow-ups. Their platform saves valuable time for hiring managers and business owners to focus more of their energy on top talent and qualified candidates.
FAQs
How many startups are in Seattle?
There are currently over 600 different startup companies in the Seattle area, with many of them searching for funding, talent, and the opportunity to make an impact on their respective industries.
How many unicorns are in Seattle?
There are approximately 20+ unicorn startups in the Seattle area, with 14 Seattle-area companies worth at least $1 billion. The amount of unicorns Seattle produces is a testament to its thriving startup ecosystem.
What are popular startup industries in Seattle?
Seattle is home to startups in a wide range of industries, but technology and life sciences are particularly prominent in the area. If an entrepreneur wants to choose a city that has vast connections and resources for starting any company revolving around technology or science, Seattle is an excellent place to go.