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
Impinj’s
Chris Diorio
on pioneering an industry and perseverance
TerraClear
TerraClear’s
Brent Frei
on the moment of insight that leads to building a product
Echodyne
Echodyne’s
Eben Frankenburg
on commercializing high-performance radars

Deep Tech

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Early
  • Echodyne
    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 Investment
    2014
    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.
    Founders
    Eben Frankenberg
    Tom Driscoll
    Initial Investment
    2014
  • Impinj
    Impinj is a leader in the RFID market, delivering item intelligence for a broad set of industries including retail and healthcare.
    Initial Investment
    2000
    Impinj is a leader in the RFID market, delivering item intelligence for a broad set of industries including retail and healthcare.
    Founders
    Carver Mead
    Chris Diorio
    Investment Journey
    Public 2016
    NASDAQ: PI
    Initial Investment
    2000
  • Isilon Systems
    Isilon pioneered clustered storage systems and software for digital content and unstructured data.
    Initial Investment
    2001
    Isilon pioneered clustered storage systems and software for digital content and unstructured data.
    Founders
    Sujal Patel
    Paul Mikesell
    Investment Journey
    Acquired by EMC 2010
    Initial Investment
    2001
  • Lassen Peak
    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 Investment
    2023
    Lassen Peak is utilizing ultra high speed wireless and imaging technology to build a handheld device for concealed weapons detection for public safety officials.
    Founders
    Hatch Graham and Dr. Ehsan Afhshari
    Initial Investment
    2023
  • Rigado
    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 Investment
    2018
    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.
    CEO
    Sean Riley
    Initial Investment
    2018