Funding news: Microsoft vets land cash for new sales data sharing startup, and more PNW deals

Here’s our latest rundown on recent startup investment news in the Pacific Northwest.

— Seattle startup Groopit landed $2 million to help frontline sales employees share data with their extended teams and leaders.

The gist: Groopit gives business leaders a way to get data from employees in the field who use the software to collect and share info about sales, products, customers, competitors, and strategic corporate initiatives. The company says it is part of a new product category called crowdsolving, which is “when people are solving a problem by collecting and sharing data in real-time.”

The take: Groopit is yet another tool to collect data, but it aims to differentiate by being a more efficient alternative to sharing info in meetings, emails, phone calls, channels, shared spreadsheets, surveys, and more.

The leaders: The company is led by CEO Tammy Savage, who spent more than two decades at Microsoft in various management roles. Her co-founder is John Vert, another longtime Microsoft leader who also spent five years at gaming giant Valve.

The backers: Ascend.vc, which we recently profiled, led the pre-seed round. Voyager Capital and Vulcan Capital also participated. Total funding to date is $3.1 million.

More deals

— Seattle e-bike startup Rad Power Bikes landed $154 million. The round comes after a separate $150 million cash infusion raised in February. Read more.

— A year and a few months since its founding, Mozart Therapeutics secured $55 million to develop therapies for celiac disease and other immune-related conditions. Read more.

— Boise, Idaho-based subscription toy company Lovevery raised $100 million at a $800 million valuation.

— Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures invested $1.5 million in Seattle startup NextStep, which uses its technology platform to retrain displaced workers for roles in the healthcare industry.

— Seattle VC firm Madrona Venture Group invested in a $17 million Series A deal for Anomaly, a healthtech startup that uses AI to detect unnecessary medical expenses from claims.

— Seattle-based Vulcan Capital co-led a $78 million round for Teachmint, which provides tools to teachers in India to launch digital classrooms.

— Portland, Ore.-based startup Rally Commerce landed $6 million in seed funding. The company helps online retailers implement one-click checkouts.

— Resilient Power, Infinium, and CMC Machinery are the latest recipients from Amazon’s $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund.