The Seattle Investor Summit+Showcase, hosted by the Technology Alliance, is a unique opportunity for corporate venture investors and venture capitalists from around the world to learn about the groundbreaking innovations across all sectors emerging from the Pacific Northwest.

Join us June 2nd and 3rd for Seattle's premier investor event! This event is convening the brightest minds in venture capital, corporate innovation, and cutting-edge research with the Pacific Northwest's top startups, to showcase Seattle's electric entrepreneurial ecosystem. This two-day summit is designed to foster collaboration, spark innovation, and drive investment in the most promising startups across various sectors.

What to expect:

  • Strategically Relevant Startups: Discover groundbreaking startups in AI, Industry 4.0, Defense, CleanTech, FinTech, HealthTech, Life Sciences, and more. These innovative companies are ready to showcase their solutions and connect with potential investors and partners.

  • Top VCs: Network with leading venture capitalists from the Pacific Northwest who are actively seeking investment opportunities and strategic partnerships.

  • Leading Enterprises: Engage with top enterprises in the region that are driving corporate innovation and looking to collaborate with startups and researchers.

  • Renowned Researchers: Gain insights from prominent researchers who are at the forefront of technological advancements and industry trends, and who have journeyed from research to commercialization.

Event Highlights:

  • Networking Opportunities: Connect with fellow investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders during dedicated networking sessions, VIP events, and informal gatherings.

  • Keynote Speakers: Hear from industry leaders and visionaries who will share their insights on the future of innovation and investment.

  • Panel Discussions: Participate in thought-provoking discussions on the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in venture capital and corporate innovation.

  • Startup Showcases: Watch live presentations from startups as they pitch their groundbreaking ideas and solutions to a panel of investors and industry experts.

  • Exclusive Meetings: Take advantage of private meeting spaces to have one-on-one discussions with startups, investors, and potential partners.

June 2nd

2:00pm: Registration opens, Networking begins

2:30pm: Welcoming Remarks - Laura Ruderman

2:45pm: A Glimpse into the Life Cycle of Innovation: From Research to Commercialization - Luis Ceze, Matt McCluskey, Nick Reder, moderated by Cassie Binford

3:20pm: From Seed to Scale: Perspectives on Early-Stage Investment - Evan Poncelet, Jack Callahan, Minda Brusse, Peter Mueller, moderated by Blake Ilstrup

4:00pm: Startup Showcase: Four dynamic tracks led by Seattle’s top VC firms, each track features a curated selection of the Pacific Northwest’s most promising startups

Madrona: Hyperparam, Edgerunnerai, Tektonic.ai, Clarify, Plus Docs

PSL: Enzzo.ai, Picco, Atreion, Zucca, Certivo, Gumshoe

Flying Fish: Apera, Armoire, Nectar, Nomad, Perpetua

Creative Destruction Lab: Acumino Robotics, Calmwave, Integrate, ModernVivo, Sygnomics Talus Bio

5:45pm: Cocktail Reception sponsored by Orrick - Mingle with peers and the Seattle venture community

June 3rd

8:00am: Registration & Breakfast Networking Reception

9:00am: Welcome to Day 2 Remarks

9:15am: The Future of Innovation: Insights from a Global Tech Leader - Mark Russinovich, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Microsoft Azure

10:00am: Morning Networking Break

10:20am: Washington Industry Spotlight: HealthTech - Chris Picardo, Jeff Leek, moderated by Frank Farach

10:45am: Startup Showcase: Four dynamic tracks led by Seattle’s top VC firms, each track features a curated selection of the Pacific Northwest’s most promising startups

Madrona: Codified, Gradial.ai, Uplevelteam, Spice ai, NewDays

PSL: Enzzo.ai, Picco, Atreion, Zucca, Certivo, Gumshoe

Flying Fish: Apera, Armoire, Nectar, Nomad, Perpetua

Voyager: Ambassador, Averlon, Pictory, Sofy, WellSaid

12:15pm: Networking Lunch

1:30pm: Washington Industry Spotlight: Fusion Energy - Anthony Pancotti, Ben Levitt, and Brian Riordan, moderated by Lisa Stiffler

1:50pm: Backing Bold Ideas: VC and CVC Insights on Regional Investment- Geoff Harris, Phoebe Wang, Sophia Lu, and Tim Porter, moderated by Joaquin Gallardo

2:35pm: Changing the Narrative: Myths and Realities of Working with CVCs - Charles Ruppert, Jacob Colker, Rich Grant, Taylor Black, moderated by Dave Cotter

3:10pm: Washington Industry Spotlight: Artificial Intelligence - Ed Nightingale and Sabrina Wu

3:35pm: Afternoon Networking Break

3:40pm: Seattle’s Strategic Four: Scaling the Future of Enterprise, Health, Space, and Energy - Highspot, Group 14, Truveta, moderated by Yifan Zhang

4:45pm: Startup Speed Networking - a unique opportunity for founders and investors to connect in an exhibition-style, high-value format: 2nd Chair · Abacus BioScience · Altrusion · BOVI · Captus.ai · Cielara AI · Corumat · Decycle Bio · DigitSec · Dodda.ai · Dopl Technologies · Ecellix · Ecosided · Enabled Health · Flex Axion · Grace & Able · Health Elements AI · Intersight · Kayothera INC · LiveGrowBio · MarineSitu · MedServ Marketplace · Mentem Lab · ModernVivo · Moon · Neurophys · Niftmint · Novuson Surgical · OCOchem · OoNee · Quark Constructs · Propio · Rebellyous Foods · Rising Wines Collective · Seasalt.ai ·Selffull.io · SoundGTM · Sygnomics · Talus Bio · Taqtile, Inc · The AI Maker · Thera-T · Triplemeter · WaveWorks · Yonder · Zalpha Mobile· ZILA BioWorks

6:00pm: Conclusion

The Agenda

The Panelists

Anthony Pancotti is a Co-Founder at Helion, where he focuses on technology risk reduction, strategic planning, and business development to drive the commercial deployment of fusion energy. With more than 15 years of experience in advanced plasma systems, he plays a key role in shaping Helion’s long-term technology and market strategy. Beyond Helion, Anthony is an entrepreneur and cleantech investor, supporting early-stage startups in energy and industrial technology. He holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California. 

Austin Guyette joined Voyager in 2018 after working on enterprise technology investments at M12, Microsoft’s venture fund. At Voyager, Austin plays a key role in identifying new investments and supporting the growth of Voyager’s portfolio across the Pacific Northwest.  Prior to Voyager, Austin was in M12’s Seattle office focused on early-stage investments across artificial intelligence, application software, and security.

Blake Ilstrup leads Orrick’s Technology Companies Group in the PNW, advising high-growth tech and life sciences companies and their investors. He brings a unique mix of in-house, entrepreneurial, and law firm experience, having served as General Counsel and senior executive at a software company and two biotech firms (co-founding one), as well as corporate counsel at top global law firms. Blake has advised companies across a variety of industries—guiding hundreds of venture financings, M&A transactions, and IPOs, while serving as a trusted advisor to leadership teams and boards.

Cassie Binford co-leads the Technology and Life Sciences practice at Clark Nuber, advising SaaS, biotech, ed-tech, and gaming companies on building strong financial, tax, and operational foundations. She helps startups and growth-stage firms prepare to raise capital, scale, and grow, with expertise in revenue recognition, equity, R&D credits, and other complex reporting and tax matters. Cassie has guided many companies through their first audits post-funding and is a trusted advisor throughout their growth journey.

Charles Ruppert leads T-Mobile’s M&A and investments team.  As part of T-Mobile Ventures, Charles invests in mid- and growth-stage companies aligned with T-Mobile’s strategic objectives.  

This includes recent investments in AI, mobile applications, enterprise software, and networking.  Prior to T-Mobile, Charles was a senior investment banker at William Blair focused on the technology sector.

Chris Picardo has been a Partner at Madrona since 2017. Chris helps lead Madrona’s investments in companies innovating around the intersection of life and computer science through combining novel wet lab science with cutting-edge machine learning. He also helps lead investing activities in consumer technology and commerce, marketplaces, and Web3, focusing on how new technological innovations can create new consumer experiences and interactions with the digital world. Before joining Madrona, Chris led finance, business intelligence, and strategy for Rockets of Awesome.

Chris Larson, Chief Financial Officer at HighspotChris oversees accounting, financial planning and analysis, and other business operations. Prior to Highspot, Chris held a variety of roles at Amazon including accounting lead for AWS, coordinator of Amazon’s worldwide accounting close, and as a leader within the SEC reporting and policy team. Most recently, Chris built the accounting team and operations infrastructure at Porch.com.

Ed Nightingale is currently a Vice President at Microsoft Research Redmond running the Systems and Foundations Organization. He has a wide range of previous experience as an individual contributor, manager, director and vice president. Ed has authored papers in top systems conferences such as OSDI and SOSP. He has co-authored 20 conference and journal publications, has won 7 best paper awards, and even helped to set the world record in disk-to-disk sorting. He was Program Co-Chair for OSDI 2023. Finally, he is a Distinguished Member of the ACM.

Evan Poncelet is a founding Managing Partner of Dreamward Ventures and ED of Venture Black, a nonprofit supporting Black and ally founders and investors pursuing high-growth, venture-scale opportunities. He is an alumnus of the Seattle Angel Conference, VC Lab Venture Institute, and BLCK VC Black Venture Institute. Evan brings over 12 years of experience in the software industry as a developer and program manager in Seattle and Silicon Valley. Evan is inspired by his grandfather, who co-founded Liberty Bank in 1968 to combat redlining in Seattle’s Central District.

Fabien Mousseau is the CFO of Truveta with over 20 years of finance leadership experience in high-growth tech companies. He previously served as SVP of FP&A at Core Scientific, where he led budgeting, AI platform pricing, and supported 20x revenue growth. At Microsoft, he led the Customer Lifetime Value program and was CFO for the $15B+ Windows Business Group, guiding its transition to an enterprise SaaS model.

Geoff Harris is Managing Partner at Flying Fish Ventures, investing in early-stage AI and machine learning startups. Before venture, he spent 15 years at Microsoft in engineering and executive leadership, leading teams in digital media, mobile services, and speech recognition. An active angel investor before joining Flying Fish, Geoff has backed over 40 startups and is dedicated to strengthening Seattle’s startup ecosystem.

Jacob Colker is an early-stage AI investor dedicated to helping entrepreneurs harness AI's potential. As Co-Founder and Managing Director of the AI2 Incubator, he has guided founders in launching dozens of AI startups that are reshaping a variety of industries. Born out of the Allen Institute for AI and now a separate entity, the AI2 Incubator transforms cutting-edge research into impactful startups, providing founders with access to the latest technology, expert mentorship, funding, AI compute resources, technical talent, and a collaborative environment that accelerates growth.

Dr. Jeff Leek is Chief Data Officer, Vice President, and J Orin Edson Foundation Chair of Biostatistics at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, where he leads efforts to build an integrated, field-leading data science ecosystem. His work focuses on developing statistical methods, software, and data tools to interpret large-scale genomic and biomedical data. Previously a professor at Johns Hopkins and co-director of its Data Science Lab, he partnered with nonprofits to advance public health and economic development through data science education.

Joaquín Gallardo, is a Senior Vice President at Silicon Valley Bank’s Seattle office, working with companies in the PNW for the past five years. Joaquin studied Economics at George Mason University and started his career in banking in Washington, DC, before moving to San Francisco where he went to UC Berkley and earned a certificate in full stack development and epically failed at his first startup. He’s since relocated to Seattle, started a family, and continues to help every startup he can to increase their probability of success.

Laura Ruderman is CEO at Technology Alliance. Prior to joining the Technology Alliance in 2019, Laura served as the Interim PAC Director for the Children’s Campaign Fund. Prior to that, she represented the 45th district in the State House of Representatives, where she served as the Vice Chair of the Technology, Telecommunications, and Energy Committee and was elected as the Vice Chair of her party’s caucus. She also held a variety of positions at Microsoft and has been a fundraising professional for a wide range of non-profit organizations.

Lisa Stiffler covers climate innovation, life sciences and other tech ventures for Seattle's GeekWire. Lisa is from the Northwest and is a University of Washington alumna twice over, with a background in cell biology that was jettisoned for the excitement and nearly instant gratification of journalism. Her decades of award-winning reporting include work for The Seattle Times, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Weather Channel, Smithsonian Magazine, NPR and many others.

Luis Ceze is the Lazowska Professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington and VP of AI Systems Software at NVIDIA. He co-directs the Systems and Architectures for Machine Learning Lab, which co-authored Apache TVM, a leading open-source ML stack. He also co-directs the Molecular Information Systems Lab, known for groundbreaking work in DNA data storage. A Fellow of the ACM, Ceze’s research has been featured in the New York Times, MIT Technology Review, and other major media outlets.

Mark Russinovich is CTO, Deputy CISO, and Technical Fellow for Microsoft Azure. A widely recognized expert in distributed systems, operating systems and cybersecurity, Mark earned a Ph.D. in computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He later co-founded Winternals Software, joining Microsoft in 2006 when the company was acquired. He has authored several nonfiction and fiction books, including the Microsoft Press Windows Internals book series and fictional cyber security thrillers Zero Day, Trojan Horse and Rogue Code.

Dr. Matt McCluskey is the Westinghouse Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Washington State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Physics from UC Berkeley in 1997, focusing on hydrogen in semiconductors, and completed postdoc research at Xerox PARC on semiconductors for blue lasers. He joined the WSU faculty in 1998. In 2016, he co-founded Klar Scientific to commercialize innovations from his lab, producing confocal spectroscopic microscopes for industry, academia, and national labs.

Minda Brusse is a Founding Partner at First Row Partners. She has been in the startup ecosystem for over 25 years. In her early career, she was a lynchpin employee at a $39M venture-backed company acquired by Accenture. She continued to find her way into co-founder and leadership roles during early applications of new technology in SaaS software distribution, user generated content, consumer payments, and blockchain. Minda also teaches hands-on investing and entrepreneurship courses in the Foster School MBA program.

Jack Callahan is the Director of Plug and Play Seattle, the local hub of a global venture capital firm, startup accelerator, and corporate innovation platform. He began his career in management consulting, leading go-to-market strategies for clients like Microsoft, VMware, and UiPath. In 2019, he became SVP at Enterprise Ireland—the largest seed-stage investor in Europe—where he opened their Seattle office and led U.S. expansion efforts for B2B SaaS and cybersecurity startups. Jack is focused on connecting startups with corporations and investors to drive innovation across the PNW.

Dr. Nicholas Reder, is a board-certified pathologist and CEO of Alpenglow Biosciences, Inc., a 3D spatial biology company. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Emory University, and Loyola University Chicago and completed his pathology training at the University of Washington, where he received the Castleman Award, the highest honor for pathologists under 40. He holds five patents. Under his leadership, Alpenglow Biosciences has developed advanced 3D imaging, processing, and AI analysis to accelerate drug development and improve clinical diagnostics.

Peter Mueller is Founding Partner of Breakwater Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital fund based in Seattle. With a focus on software-centric, B2B startups, Peter is passionate about partnering with founders at the earliest stages of their journey, guiding them through the critical challenges of building impactful companies. Before founding Breakwater Ventures, Peter previously served as a partner at SeaChange Fund, was an early product manager at Carta, worked as an equity research analyst at Merrill Lynch, and held an associate role at Concert Golf Partners.

Phoebe Wang is a cleantech venture capitalist who serves as an Investment Partner at the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund. Previously, she was an Investment Director at Shell Ventures where she led investments in early- and late-stage startups working on technologies to accelerate the energy transition, including in the areas of hydrogen, carbon management, energy storage, mobility, and power. During her 10-year tenure as a venture capital investor, Wang has invested more than $150 million in frontier technology startups.

Rich Grant is a Partner at Cerity Partners, where he co-leads the Ventures practice, helping corporations establish and manage their venture capital programs. He joined Cerity Partners in 2024 through its merger with Touchdown Ventures, a firm he co-founded in 2014. With over 20 years in corporate growth and innovation, Rich was a pioneer of the "venture capital as a service" model at Touchdown. Previously, he spent seven years at Comcast Ventures and held strategic development roles at Comcast Interactive Media and Sony Pictures.

Rick Constantino

Rick Constantino is CTO and Co-Founder of Group14 Technologies, the world’s leading commercial manufacturer and supplier of advanced silicon battery technology for consumer electronics, electric vehicles and more. Rick has more than 30 years of experience developing stable, high-performance products at the molecular level, spanning chemical and biopharmaceutical industries for companies such as Genentech, Alkermes, and Nastech. Prior to founding Group14, he served as the VP of research and development at EnerG2.

Sabrina Wu, joined Madrona’s investment team in 2021 and focuses on sourcing and evaluating new investment opportunities from Seed through Series C across Madrona’s core investment themes. She also supports the growth and strategy of current portfolio companies. Sabrina is particularly interested in intelligent applications, enterprise software, and data/AI products. Before joining Madrona, Sabrina was an Associate at Vector Capital, a technology-focused private equity firm in San Francisco.

Sophia Lu, Vice President at Tola Capital, has deep expertise in AI as both an investor and operator. Before Tola, she played a critical role in driving the strategy and direction of Microsoft’s Cloud and AI businesses, across product strategy, market analysis, M&A due diligence, and customer strategy. Prior to Microsoft, she led digital transformation initiatives at McKinsey for major US financial institutions. Sophia holds a Master’s in Financial Mathematics from Princeton University and a Bachelor’s in Mathematics & Economics from the London School of Economics.

T. A. McCann is Managing Director at Pioneer Square Labs (PSL), a startup studio and venture firm that has launched over 30 companies and raised $200M+ since 2015. Previously, he was Co-founder and CEO of Senosis (acquired by Google) and Co-founder of Rival IQ (acquired by Netbase), providing competitive intelligence for digital marketers. He also founded Gist (acquired by Blackberry), where he later served as VP of Product Strategy, overseeing BBM and social applications. McCann is an active angel investor, serves on multiple boards.

Taylor Black directs AI & Venture Ecosystems in Microsoft's Office of the CTO, bridging early-stage startup thinking and the mighty scale of the enterprise. He co-leads Microsoft's internal AI/ML community and peer-reviewed conference motion, fostering deeper technical practice, structured experimentation, and cross-org collaboration. He also teaches Tech Commercialization at UW’s Foster School of Business, is a strategic advisor to venture builders and startups, and trends philosophical gadfly. Taylor's approach? Think deeply, innovate boldly, and never forget the human behind the machine.

Tim Porter is Managing Director at Madrona. He joined Madrona in 2006 and invests in B2B software companies in the Pacific Northwest. He is currently focuses on intelligent applications and SaaS, cloud-native software infrastructure, the modern data stack, machine learning, DevOps, and cybersecurity. He is also a board member of numerous Madrona portfolio companies.

Brian Riordan, is Co-Founder and COO of Avalanche Energy, a compact fusion company. With a background in engineering and experience across energy, aerospace, and consumer products, he brings a first-principles, economics-first approach to solving tough technical challenges. Brian has led multidisciplinary teams from concept to launch and holds multiple patents. He co-founded Avalanche with the belief that energy security is key to global security and that fusion progress will come through rapid iteration and early, sustainable revenue.

Dave Cotter, CEO of Greenwood

Dr. Frank Farach is a Principal in Slalom’s Healthcare & Life Sciences practice, where he helps organizations innovate, accelerate, and scale their R&D. An informatics expert, data strategist, and executive advisor, he has guided digital transformation initiatives for biotechs, health systems, biopharma, trade associations, academic medical centers, and research consortia. Frank has also helped small businesses and universities secure millions in innovation and research funding. Previously, he was a research scientist at the University of Washington.

Yifan Zhang is Managing Director at the AI2 Incubator, founded by the Allen Institute for AI, and the founder of AI House. A two-time founder and CEO, her startups, Loftium (acquired by Flyhomes) and GymPact, have been featured in The New York Times. She was recognized by Entrepreneur as one of the “50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs” and by Forbes in its “30 Under 30” list. Yifan serves on Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s One Seattle Civic Partnership.

Ben Levitt is VP of Research and Development at Zap Energy where he leads the team driving fusion performance in a flowing Z pinch plasma towards commercialization. Levitt has spent two decades studying devices at the confluence of plasma and accelerator physics and has led Zap’s R&D team since 2021. He earned his PhD in experimental plasma physics from Columbia University, studied physics at Harvard and CERN, then worked for a decade at Schlumberger-Doll-Research where his focus was developing a novel neutron generator based on a microwave plasma source. 

Speed Networking Exhibition

Startup Speed Networking: A Direct Path to Investor Connections

At the Seattle Investor Summit+Showcase, we know that the right conversations can change everything. That’s why we’re offering Startup Speed Networking, a structured but dynamic opportunity designed to help startups and investors connect efficiently and effectively.

How It Works:

  • 30-40 startups (separate from the Startup Showcase) will host tables in an open-format networking session.

  • Investors move freely between conversations, allowing for high-value, targeted discussions.

  • Startups have the chance to pitch, build relationships, and explore investment opportunities in a fast-paced, high-impact setting.

  • This is a separate opportunity from the Startup Showcase, allowing more startups to gain exposure.

Spots are limited to 40 startups—apply today and position yourself at the center of investor deal flow. Meet active VCs and CVCs who are looking for promising startups in AI, health tech, fusion, and beyond.

The Venue

We’re thrilled to announce the Seattle Investor Summit+Showcase will take place at a venue that embodies innovation and global impact: the Microsoft Visitor Center in Redmond, WA. As one of the world’s leading technology hubs, Microsoft’s Visitor Center is the perfect setting for this year’s summit. It’s where ideas come to life, partnerships form, and the future of innovation unfolds.

Why This Venue?

Set in the heart of one of the Pacific Northwest’s most innovative campuses, the Microsoft Visitor Center offers an inspiring backdrop for:

  • Immersive discussions with top investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders.

  • Cutting-edge panels and presentations on the next wave of innovation.

  • A dynamic showcase featuring the region’s most promising startups.

Thank you to our Sponsors!

If your company or organization is interested in sponsorship please email: ECA@technology-alliance.com