Bellevue-based software testing company Sofy has raised a $7.75 million seed round.
With the funding, announced Thursday, Sofy plans to more than double its roughly 35-person team in the next six months, founder and CEO Syed Hamid said. He added that one-third of the employees are based in the Seattle area, and the company will likely keep that ratio.
Hamid said layoffs at other companies can be an opportunity for a startup that is hiring.
"While the big companies are shutting down, we believe that engineering productivity is one of the key pillars for the next growth, and we want to invest and hire more people," Hamid said.
Sofy currently has office space at Overlake WorkSpace at 2265 116th Ave NE in Bellevue. Hamid said the startup is currently looking to expand its physical footprint in Bellevue and will likely do so this year.
Sofy, founded in 2016, allows software developers to test new product releases. The company allows for testing on different devices to see if an app's performance varies. According to Hamid, the testing platform can reduce the time it takes to get software to market by almost tenfold. Sofy says it has more than 2,500 clients, including Microsoft and Coinme.
Voyager Capital led the seed round, while PSL Ventures, GTMFund, Revolution and others participated. Voyager Capital has offices in Seattle and Portland, and the firm has invested in companies like Hiya and Zipwhip.
Hamid said although hiring talent in the Seattle area is challenging, having a strong vision and mission helps startups compete.
"There are always early employees who take the risk on the vision, and the goals are bigger than themselves," Hamid said. "That's what makes a company great. We have been very fortunate to attract some of the great talent in Seattle, even though we are competing with such big companies."
