Many newly minted billion-dollar companies, often dubbed "unicorns," have emerged in the Seattle-area tech community this year.
Companies like e-commerce startup Fabric and logistics company Flexe crossed the billion-dollar threshold after multiple funding rounds. For young companies, achieving unicorn status is a sought-after goal.
But in a year when VC activity has somewhat cooled, several fastest-growing tech companies still secured large funding rounds. Freight network company Convoy and the sales software company Highspot both raised major rounds this year, boosting their already sky-high values.
So, which unicorns landed on Seattle Inno's watchlist? These billion-dollar companies will be on our radar over the next year
Unicorns to watch 2022
Swiftly, founded in 2018 and based in Seattle, raised two separate $100 million rounds this year and reached a value of more than $1 billion in September. The company offers brick-and-mortar grocers tools like loyalty programs and digital coupons to help drive more consumers into the store.
Seattle-based logistics company Flexe raised a $119 million Series D round in July, pushing its value to more than $1 billion. Flexe, founded in 2013, provides on-demand warehousing and fulfillment with the aim of turning warehouse space into a variable cost instead of a fixed cost for clients.
Seattle-based e-commerce startup Fabric, led by CEO Faisal Masud, raised a $140 million Series C round in February and reached a value of about $1.5 billion. Fabric has raised over $280 million since February last year.
App development company Temporal raised a $103 million Series B round in February and hit a value of about $1.5 billion. Maxim Fateev, CEO of Temporal, co-founded the company in 2019. Temporal specializes in technology that manages the various components involved in cloud app development.
Bellevue-based recruiting startup SeekOut raised a $115 million Series C round in January, hitting a value of more than $1.2 billion. The startup helps clients find job candidates by searching public profiles, the open web, published papers and conferences.
Convoy, the Seattle-based freight network startup, raised $260 million between equity funding and venture debt in April, pushing the company's value to $3.8 billion. Convoy, founded in 2015, connects shippers with a large network of carriers, or trucking companies. Convoy aims to reduce the number of empty miles truckers spend on the road.
Highspot, which already had a value of $2.3 billion, pushed its value to $3.5 billion after raising a $248 million Series F round in January. Highspot co-founder and CEO Robert Wahbe said at the time of the massive raise the Seattle-based sales software company will use the money to hire staff and open international offices, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as the Asia-Pacific region.
Bellevue-based contract management software company Icertis secured an investment for an undisclosed amount from the German software giant SAP SE in January. The news followed an investment from SoftBank in October 2021 that valued Icertis at $5 billion. CEO Samir Bodas co-founded the company in 2009.
Seattle-based interviewing startup Karat in April partnered with tennis superstar Serena Williams to grow the company's Brilliant Black Minds program, which offers free job interview training and feedback to current and aspiring Black software engineers in the U.S. The company reached a value of $1.1 billion after a $110 million Series C round in October 2021.
Throughout the Seattle area, tech companies continue to land funding. According to recent data from the Seattle-based financial data firm PitchBook Data and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), Seattle-area companies landed $4.4 billion across 250 deals during the first half of 2022. Those numbers compare to $9.2 billion across 494 deals in all of 2021, a red-hot year for venture capital both in Seattle and across the U.S.
"Several themes are playing out that VC investors and startup founders are closely monitoring to better navigate the length and impact of the industry correction as it trickles down from the public market slowdown, inflation concerns and the tightening monetary environment," the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor second quarter report read.
