Startups have long viewed the Seattle area as a prime setting to flourish. Within that space, a new hotspot is emerging — in Kirkland.
According to the Fastest-Growing Startup Cities report from investment and research firm York IE, Kirkland startups raised $298.6 million during the second quarter.
"Seattle is an established tech, aerospace and startup hub, and Redmond is famously the home of Microsoft. Between the two cities is Kirkland, which is now making its own mark," the report stated.
To determine growth, York IE looked at cities' total funding amount during the second quarter and measured that against cities' average quarterly funding amounts over the previous year. According to the firm, Kirkland's second-quarter funding represents a 1,724% growth over its average quarterly funding during the previous year.
Multiple Kirkland startups have landed major funding rounds from well-established investors in recent months.
In June, radar company Echodyne raised $135 million led by Bill Gates and investment firm Baillie Gifford. cybersecurity company Chainguard raised a $50 million Series A round in June. Sequoia Capital, which has invested in worldwide brands such as Apple and Airbnb, led Chainguard's Series A round.
Stanford, California, was the second fastest-growing startup city with 1,033% growth, while Madison, Wisconsin, came in third with 793% growth. Birmingham, Alabama (480%) and Wilmington, Delaware (257%) rounded out the top five.
"Berkeley, Oakland and San Jose have all made this list in past quarters, and now it’s Stanford’s turn to represent Silicon Valley. This unincorporated area saw huge growth thanks to AI language software provider Lilt, which accounted for nearly half of its Q2 funding," the report stated.
The report also looked at total startup funding in major startup hubs. San Francisco startups landed the most funding in the second quarter, with 278 rounds totaling $9.8 billion, according to the report. Seattle came in eighth, with 42 rounds totaling $1.1 billion. New York, Boston, Palo Alto and Cambridge, Massachusetts, came in second through fifth, respectively.
