Deep Tech
Why we invest
Great innovations are grounded in science and experimentation. These ambitious endeavors — from building new robotic operations to creating tools based on metamaterials — inspire us. Madrona collaborates with bold founders who apply these breakthroughs to develop new hardware, pioneering techniques, and entirely new approaches to age-old problems across industries.
Impinj’s
Chris Diorio
on pioneering an industry and perseverance 
TerraClear’s
Brent Frei
on the moment of insight that leads to building a product 
Echodyne’s
Eben Frankenburg
on commercializing high-performance radars Deep Tech
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Echodyne designs and builds advanced radar solutions that unlock new capabilities for intelligent systems and autonomous machines and shatter price-performance barriers for sensor arrays. Our combination of patented metamaterials electronically scanned array (MESA®) technology with powerful software ultimately means significantly greater situational awareness that increases safety and saves lives. Our first radar is the size of a paperback book, weighs less than a bowling pin, draws less power than a light bulb, and outperforms every comparable radar on the market. We are just getting started. Echodyne delivers commercial radar solutions for end users and integrators in Government and Defense, Critical Infrastructure Protection, Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS), and Autonomous Vehicle markets globally. The company is based in Kirkland, Washington, and is backed by Bill Gates, NEA, Madrona Venture Group, Baillie Gifford, Vulcan Capital, Vanedge Capital, and Irongrey, among others.Initial Investment2014Echodyne designs and builds advanced radar solutions that unlock new capabilities for intelligent systems and autonomous machines and shatter price-performance barriers for sensor arrays. Our combination of patented metamaterials electronically scanned array (MESA®) technology with powerful software ultimately means significantly greater situational awareness that increases safety and saves lives. Our first radar is the size of a paperback book, weighs less than a bowling pin, draws less power than a light bulb, and outperforms every comparable radar on the market. We are just getting started. Echodyne delivers commercial radar solutions for end users and integrators in Government and Defense, Critical Infrastructure Protection, Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS), and Autonomous Vehicle markets globally. The company is based in Kirkland, Washington, and is backed by Bill Gates, NEA, Madrona Venture Group, Baillie Gifford, Vulcan Capital, Vanedge Capital, and Irongrey, among others. -
Impinj is a leader in the RFID market, delivering item intelligence for a broad set of industries including retail and healthcare.Initial Investment2000Impinj is a leader in the RFID market, delivering item intelligence for a broad set of industries including retail and healthcare.FoundersCarver Mead
Chris DiorioInvestment JourneyPublic 2016
NASDAQ: PIInitial Investment2000 -
Isilon pioneered clustered storage systems and software for digital content and unstructured data.Initial Investment2001Isilon pioneered clustered storage systems and software for digital content and unstructured data.FoundersSujal Patel
Paul MikesellInvestment JourneyAcquired by EMC 2010Initial Investment2001 -
Lassen Peak is utilizing ultra high speed wireless and imaging technology to build a handheld device for concealed weapons detection for public safety officials.Initial Investment2023Lassen Peak is utilizing ultra high speed wireless and imaging technology to build a handheld device for concealed weapons detection for public safety officials. -
Rigado is a secure edge-as-a-service system for commercial Internet of Things applications, including an edge module, a connectivity gateway and a software platform integrated with leading cloud providers. The company’s products are used for next-generation retail, hospitality services, logistics/supply chain, and building management systems.Initial Investment2018Rigado is a secure edge-as-a-service system for commercial Internet of Things applications, including an edge module, a connectivity gateway and a software platform integrated with leading cloud providers. The company’s products are used for next-generation retail, hospitality services, logistics/supply chain, and building management systems. -
TerraClear frees farmers from the worst jobs on the farm. Founded in 2017, TerraClear integrates computer vision, artificial intelligence, and robotics to automate what many consider the most frustrating problem in agriculture—rock removal. Impacting hundreds of millions of acres around the world, TerraClear is transforming this manual and slow task into state of the art solutions that work for every farmer. TerraClear’s diverse team of farmers, engineers, and business leaders is passionate about solving the labor crisis in agriculture one painful job at atime.Initial Investment2018TerraClear frees farmers from the worst jobs on the farm. Founded in 2017, TerraClear integrates computer vision, artificial intelligence, and robotics to automate what many consider the most frustrating problem in agriculture—rock removal. Impacting hundreds of millions of acres around the world, TerraClear is transforming this manual and slow task into state of the art solutions that work for every farmer. TerraClear’s diverse team of farmers, engineers, and business leaders is passionate about solving the labor crisis in agriculture one painful job at atime.