From marketing software to cooking robots, Seattle tech companies are hard at work developing new ideas. Learn about the city’s latest funding rounds and other action. This is the Built In Seattle weekly refresh.
Esper pulled in $30M. Bellevue-based DevOps company Esper is planning to invest in continued growth following its Scale Venture Partners-led Series B. It is furthering its product portfolio and expanding its platform that enables companies to keep track of all their IoT-connected Android devices. Esper is also hiring across teams like engineering, sales and product. [Built In Seattle]
Picnic got $16.3M. Innovating the food robotics space, this company developed a tablet-operated machine that can make hundreds of pizzas in an hour. The startup is planning to launch commercial partnerships and is hiring more talent to help grow its tech and team. It currently lists eight open roles for engineering and more. Its Series A round was led by Thursday Ventures. [Built In Seattle]
Seattle Tech Quote of the Week
Educative raised $12M. This company’s software teaches users how to code through interactive lessons, allowing them to write code directly into the platform. Educative raised a Series A funding round led by Matrix Partners and has seen huge growth recently. Looking ahead, it plans to add 200 people to its team across engineering, sales, content and more. [Built In Seattle]
Zipwhip to be acquired by Twilio. With its tech that enables businesses to send text messages to their customers from their existing numbers, Zipwhip is getting acquired by communications software company Twilio for $850 million. As they join forces, the companies will continue working to expand the way businesses communicate with their customers. [GeekWire]
Zap Energy secured $27.5M. Having developed a fusion reactor that requires no magnetic fields or auxiliary heating, the startup is advancing its tech following its latest round of funding. Zap Energy closed on an oversubscribed Series C round led by Addition. It’s working to produce inexpensive, carbon-free energy. [Business Wire]
