It’s mid-August and tech companies are hitting their strides by closing funding rounds, expanding or starting new initiatives. Catch up on the latest Amazon and Starbucks news, along with Risc Zero’s latest fundraise, with the Built In Seattle Weekly Refresh.
Amazon acquired iRobot. E-commerce giants Amazon recently acquired iRobot, makers of the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner and other maintenance products. Amazon acquired the company for $61 a share, making the deal worth $1.7 billion. The acquisition adds to Amazon’s lineup of home tech products that already includes Ring doorbells, Amazon Alexa, smart thermostats and other products. [Built In Seattle]
RISC Zero raised $12M. Risc Zero developed a transaction verification platform that is open source and reveals no personal information. With the $12 million in new funding, the company is looking to release a developer preview of its platform that has uses for crypto and other blockchain applications. [Built In Seattle]
Seattle Tech Quote of the week
Starbucks announced a new EV charging initiative. Starbucks recently announced that it was partnering with Volvo and Charge Point to install 60 fast EV charging stations at multiple locations on a 1,350-mile route from its headquarters in Seattle to Denver. Chargers will be spaced out every 100 miles and can be used for free by Volvo owners. Both companies hope that their efforts will lead to better access to fast chargers. [Built In Seattle]
Hiya expanded to Spain. Hiya provides protection against spam and fraud calls through an analytic engine. The company recently partnered with Pepephone, a Spanish telecommunications company, and will now offer its services to Pepephone customers. According to Hiya, Spain has the highest number of fraud calls in all of Europe. [Hiya]
Spaceflight Inc. prepared for a space mission. Last week Spaceflight Inc., a Seattle-based aerospace company, announced that it was preparing to launch cargo into space aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 shuttle, which is scheduled to launch next month. The cargo will detach from the SpaceX shuttle and use a green propulsion subsystem to reach its destination. [Business Wire]
