Madrona

Working with founders like Chris Diorio from Impinj for our Founded & Funded podcast is such a pleasure! In the latest episode - hosted by both Tim Porter and Patrick J. Ennis - was so fun! These three have known each other for decades and have been through it all to create the category we all know know as the Internet of Things / RFID. It took more than 15 years to IPO - and I loved learning how Madrona was right there with the Impinj team every step of the way, guiding them! Chris’s journey in building a category-defining company offers so many lessons for entrepreneurs — here are just five of them: 1) Patience is essential when creating something new – Building a truly transformative technology takes time, and the "fail fast" mindset doesn’t apply when you're inventing a new category. 2) Persevere through market uncertainty – Pivoting when the original plan doesn’t work and sticking to the vision can be the difference between success and failure. 3) Focus on building trust with customers – Strong relationships and understanding customer problems deeply are key to long-term success, especially when working with large enterprises. 4)Hire a great team – Surround yourself with people who are better than you and share your vision to drive the company forward. 5)Maintain balance between work and life – Loving what you do while making time for family and personal interests keeps you energized for the long term. Chris’ journey and lessons are invaluable for founders working on breakthrough technology. Check out the episode wherever you get your podcasts for so much more: YouTube: https://bit.ly/4dHg8iS Apple: https://apple.co/4gZ6NFR Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4dHg8zo Amazon: https://amzn.to/4eH68Y7 Full Transcript: https://bit.ly/3XR8WdS #entrepreneurship #startups #categorycreation #leadership #RFID #Impinj #VC

In our latest episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Managing Director Tim Porter and Venture Partner Patrick J. Ennis host Chris Diorio, co-founder and CEO of ‪Impinj. Patrick and Chris have known each other for more than 24 years — since Madrona and ARCH Venture Partners co-led Impinj's first round of financing in the summer of 2000. In this episode, these three reminisce about old times and share some fun stories while diving into what it takes to truly launch a new category — and the patience required by both entrepreneurs and investors when doing so. They also discuss developing new speculative technology, navigating channel partner relationships, making it through an IPO during uncertain times, and how Impinj became the least known $4.6 billion public company in Seattle. This is a must-listen for any entrepreneurs out there. YouTube: https://bit.ly/4dHg8iS Apple: https://apple.co/4gZ6NFR Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4dHg8zo Amazon: https://amzn.to/4eH68Y7 Full Transcript: https://bit.ly/3XR8WdS

Reflecting on an incredible #IASummit 2024!! With a stellar lineup of over 30 speakers and more than 300 founders, builders, investors, and thought leaders across the AI community, our third annual IA Summit exceeded all expectations. We enjoy bringing together this community every year in person in Seattle and couldn't have done it without our amazing partners: Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), NYSE, Delta Air Lines, Morgan Stanley, & McKinsey & Company Missed out on the action? Sessions are being rolled out on our YouTube channel — be sure to subscribe so you don't miss any! https://lnkd.in/gHpDBsDS #technology #innovation #capital #investing #investors #entrepreneurs #founders #AI #generativeAI #cloud #software #appliedAI #Agents #AIagents

What a blast to sit down with Chris Diorio and Patrick J. Ennis and reflect on the incredible story of Impinj. Impinj truly is the most ubiquitous technology company you never heard of. There were so many learnings from the company's nearly 25 year journey from initial $15M funding round Madrona co-led out of University of Washington Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, to years of perseverance in a slow developing market, to working with Madrona's beloved co-founder Tom Alberg and technology legend Carver Mead, to an improbable IPO in 2016, to the company now accelerating through a $6B market cap, with so much innovation and opportunities still to come! Chris Diorio is a brilliant technologist, empathetic and inspirational leader, and disciplined public-company operator. I hope you have a fraction as much fun listening as I had recording the conversation. Thanks again to Chris and Patrick, and very excited about where Impinj will continue to lead the Internet of Things into the next decade and beyond. You can watch here: https://bit.ly/4dGJm1k

We’re excited to start releasing the recordings from the 2024 #IASummit! Don’t miss S. Somasegar ‘s conversation with Mustafa Suleyman. You can watch the full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/gMy38_sN The recording and transcript is here: https://lnkd.in/gFYEtKaG

Congratulations to David Baker and the other protein researchers who were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry today. Proteins have revolutionized the work to discover new treatments for disease, and we are honored to have worked with David and his lab at the Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, since its inception. Four Madrona portfolio companies – A-Alpha Bio, Vilya, and two yet to be announced, have emerged from the IPD, and several others are working in this area of chemistry. The combination of the breakthrough work on proteins and AI is uncovering new frontiers, and we are excited to be at the edge of this new world, backing founders and teams who are bringing these two disciplines together. Read More from the University of Washington & GeekWire: UW: https://lnkd.in/dbXNwZwk GeekWire: https://lnkd.in/gsyTF4Nz David and his team are an incredible asset to the Seattle startup ecosystem. One stand-out quote from David’s talk at our 2022 Annual Meeting was that students used to come to him seeking tenured research positions; now, they all want to start companies! There is so much opportunity ahead!

It’s not every day you get to sit down with old friends and reminisce about the early days of building something truly groundbreaking. Recently I had the pleasure of co-hosting Chris Diorio, co-founder and CEO of Impinj, on the latest Madrona episode of Founded & Funded with Tim Porter.   Chris and his team at Impinj have been true innovators for 25 years, pioneering RFID technology that’s now embedded around the world in our daily lives; such as tracking airline luggage, measuring runner’s times in races, locating equipment in hospitals and streamlining retail operations. In short: Impinj’s technology and products make the Internet of Things possible.   Impinj, based in Seattle, is the global leader in those markets, and sports a $6.3 Billion value in the public markets.   The three of us had a blast walking down memory lane — from raising the first $15 million round in 2000, navigating the ups and downs of the dot-com bubble and the 2008 financial crisis and taking the company public in 2016 after years of perseverance – and then experiencing significant revenue growth and share price appreciation in the ensuing 8 years.   For any entrepreneur working on breakthrough technology, Chris’ advice is gold: don’t give up, even when the path isn’t clear, and remember that category-defining innovation takes time – do not fail fast!   We hope you enjoy the stories, lessons, and insights that Chris shared with us. Whether you're an entrepreneur, investor, or just curious about how transformative companies are built — this one is for you: Watch here: https://bit.ly/4dGJm1k Full Transcript: https://lnkd.in/gzJz-cCv

It might not come as a surprise, but this week's update is heavy on IA Summit highlights. Madrona Partner Vivek Ramaswami and Investor Sabrina Wu shared their top 5 takeaways in the Aspiring for Intelligence newsletter. We have also curated photos and stories from the event for you — and have released our first session recording. In other news, Partner Chris Picardo shared his top fintech company with Business Insider and his take on how VC could change over the next decade at an AWS GenAI Accelerator Panel. From the portfolio: Fauna Inc. launched its pay-as-you-go plan on the AWS marketplace, Statsig launched AP Prompt Experiments, PlexTrac announced enhanced capabilities for prioritizing remediation, and so much more.

With the importance of safety and security top of mind as #AI systems evolve, during our #IASummit last week, Tom Standage of The Economist and Oren Etzioni of @TrueMedia.org dove into the increasing risks posed by deepfakes, particularly in political contexts. Oren explained how his experience in a high-level meeting on AI and disinformation with President Biden sparked the creation of TrueMedia.org, a nonprofit aiming to provide tools to detect deepfakes for the public. The conversation highlighted the potential harm of deepfakes in elections, the limitations of current detection technologies, and the need for real-time solutions to combat disinformation. You can now watch the full recording on YouTube - https://lnkd.in/gWjgHmGz. Three takeaways from the discussion are: Deepfakes Pose a Significant Risk to Elections: Oren emphasized that deepfakes have already influenced election outcomes, such as in Slovakia, and could play a pivotal role in future elections, especially in swing states or during critical moments like the time between election and inauguration. Tools Are Available but Not Perfect: While TrueMedia.org offers a free tool with state-of-the-art capabilities for detecting deepfakes, no detection system is 100% accurate. TrueMedia.org uses an ensemble model from major commercial sources and academia and follows up with human analysts to improve results. Preparedness is Crucial for Future Attacks: Although widespread disinformation through deepfakes hasn’t fully materialized, Oren warned that organizations and governments need to be ready for increasingly sophisticated and targeted attacks as AI technology advances. Recording & Full Transcript: https://lnkd.in/geanJfYY