Editor's note: Today's newsletter was delayed due to a technical issue with our email service provider. We apologize for any inconvenience. We’ll be back at our normal time tomorrow. Have a great evening.
Cap Hill Brands raises $150M: The new Seattle firm, led by former Zulily executives Jason LeeKeenan and Kevin Saliba (above), uniquely combines the investment capital of a private equity firm with deep operational experience of a startup accelerator. It is aiming to buy profitable e-commerce businesses, and is already doing so quickly, purchasing 10 companies since launching last summer. “We believe that the accelerated market shift to e-commerce from COVID presents this team the opportunity to build the next generation P&G/Unilever type consumer product business,” said Jason Stoffer, partner at Maveron, one of the investors backing Cap Hill Brands. Read more.
Microsoft, Amazon, other giants suspend political spending: Microsoft paused all contributions in order to “assess the implications” of last week’s violent uprising at the U.S. Capitol. Amazon said it would stop giving money to Congress members who voted to override the results of the presidential election.
AWS vs. Parler: After Amazon booted Parler from its cloud computing platform over the weekend, the social media site filed a lawsuit against the Seattle tech giant Monday. Parler has become popular in recent months with conservatives and extremists as an alternative to Facebook and Twitter.
Related: Domain and hosting services company Epik has not had contact with Parler following AWS boot
Mailchimp buys Seattle startup: The marketing giant acquired Chatitive, a spinout from Madrona Venture Labs that helps businesses communicate with customers via text messaging. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but a person familiar with acquisition called it a “good outcome.”
Cybersecurity concerns from U.S. Capitol riots: For four hours on Wednesday, every device, computer, server, network outlet, WiFi hotspot, router, and internet connection in the Capitol and Congressional office buildings wasn't controlled by the U.S. government — they were in the hands of the rioters. It may be one of the most serious cybersecurity events ever, potentially on par even with the ongoing SolarWinds hack. Here’s why.
Working Geek: Over his career, Doug Schneider has founded and led businesses, navigating them through some significant transitions. Like many, the 2nd Watch CEO has had to deal with a unique set of set of challenges during the pandemic, but his focus on building a strong company culture has helped. Read his profile.
Thanks for reading, and see all of our latest headlines below. — GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com, and Geek Life reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com.
