Growth in the artificial intelligence space is speeding along at a consistent pace, and venture capitalists have been eager to get on the bandwagon. Find out what else is new with the Built In Seattle Weekly Refresh.
Ascend secured $25M. Having finished raising its second fund, venture capital firm Ascend plans to invest in pre-seed artificial intelligence and machine learning startups based primarily in the Pacific Northwest. The firm’s focus has been on AI tech for decades. The entirety of its latest fund came from individual investors, and $2.5 million of it came from the founders of its portfolio companies. [TechCrunch]
Modern Hydrogen pulled in $32.8M. Formerly known as Modern Electron, the clean energy company announced a new round of funding to change up its business. In addition to changing its name, Modern Hydrogen has shifted its focus to making hydrogen fuel, rather than continuing its work on heat-to-electricity tech. The Bothell-based company’s latest round was led by NextEra Energy. [GeekWire]
Seattle Tech Quote of the Week
“Our co-HQ location decision is a major component of our quantum-level growth strategy. Austin and Bellevue are thriving enterprise-class business and technology and infrastructure hubs. Both locations have thriving employment bases of the best engineering talent, locations of key business partners, tax and business-friendly environments and top quality of life.” — Michael Marcotte, Q5iD CEO
Q5iD opened a co-HQ in Bellevue. Q5iD provides enterprises with cybersecurity solutions focused on identity management. The software developer is gearing up for growth and announced the opening of its co-headquarters locations in Austin and Bellevue. It aims to capitalize on the two cities’ enterprise business tech economies. [PR Web]
The Allen Institute raised $30M. Spearheaded by Paul Allen, a member of Microsoft’s founding team, the Allen Institute is an AI-focused research institute and startup incubator. It pulled in a $30 million fund to invest in AI startups from firms like Sequoia Capital and Madrona Venture Group. The Allen Institute’s latest fund is thee times the size of its previous fund from 2020. [Crunchbase News]
