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About Washington Research Foundation
Washington Research Foundation is a venture capital firm founded in 1981. It is primarily based out of Seattle, United States. As of Dec 2019, Washington Research Foundation has invested in 46 companies. It primarily invests in Series A round in United States based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Life Sciences to Enterprise Applications and High Tech. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series D round of AbSci Overall, Washington Research Foundation portfolio has seen 6 IPOs and 19 acquisitions including key companies like nLIGHT, Juno Therapeutics and Athira Pharma. A lot of funds co-invest with Washington Research Foundation, with names like The W Fund sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Washington Research Foundation has team of 1 people including 1 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Count
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Series A, Seed & 4 more
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Acquisitions
Portfolio Soonicorns
Washington Research Foundation's List of Top Investments
Washington Research Foundation has a portfolio of 46 companies. Their most notable investments are in Teranode and Pathway Medical Technologies.Their portfolio spans across United States, Australia, India and 1 more locations. They have invested in Life Sciences, Enterprise Applications, High Tech and 18 other sectors, across stages such as Series A, Seed and 4 more. Here is the list of top investments by Washington Research Foundation:1. nLIGHT
Manufacturer of laser solutions. It develops fibre lasers that are based on semiconductor laser and optical fibre technology. These lasers are supplied to the materials manufacturing, defense, and medical industry. In addition, it provides components for lasers, optical lasers, fibre lasers, and marking lasers.
Key facts about nLIGHT
- Founded Year: 2000
- Location: Vancouver (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $100M - $500M as on Dec 31, 2025
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $204M
- Employee Count: 523 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Herald Investment Management, Menlo Ventures and 14 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, May 09, 2017, $*****
- Highlight: Public
Global biopharmaceutical company discovering, developing, and delivering innovative medicines. Focused on cutting-edge science and research, the company develops a multitude of treatment modalities. It offers resources for patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers, including medical information, clinical trials, and patient support programs. The company is committed to global inclusion and diversity, making a positive impact on communities worldwide. It fosters partnerships and collaborations to accelerate the development of new medicines. The company focuses on areas such as immunology, oncology, and other serious diseases. It is dedicated to improving patient outcomes and transforming lives through science. The company also provides resources for investors and media, including financial reporting, press releases, and corporate information.
Key facts about Juno Therapeutics
- Founded Year: 2013
- Location: Seattle (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $100M - $500M as on Dec 31, 2017
- Last Known Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $317M
- Employee Count: 93 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Foresite Capital, Venrock and 14 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Oct 05, 2017, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
Developer of drugs for neurodegenerative diseases. The company's product is Fosgonimeton for the treatment of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, various dementias, and others. Also, have two drug candidates ATH-1020 for neuropsychiatric indications and ATH-1019 for peripheral indications.
Key facts about Athira Pharma
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: Seattle (United States)
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $121M
- Employee Count: 51 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: RTW Investments, Venrock and 22 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Grant (prize money), Dec 08, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Public
4. Omeros
Omeros is a biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing both small-molecule and protein therapeutics for large-market as well as orphan indications targeting inflammation, coagulopathies, and disorders of the central nervous system. Derived from its proprietary PharmacoSurgery platform, the company’s first drug product, Omidria (phenylephrine and ketorolac injection) has been approved by the FDA for use during cataract surgery or intraocular lens (IOL) replacement to maintain pupil size by preventing intraoperative miosis (pupil constriction) and to reduce postoperative ocular pain. In the European Union, the European Commission (EC) has approved Omidria for use in cataract surgery and lens replacement procedures to maintain mydriasis (pupil dilation), prevent miosis (pupil constriction), and to reduce postoperative eye pain. Omeros has five clinical-stage development programs focused on: complement-related thrombotic microangiopathies; Huntington’s disease, schizophrenia, and cognitive impairment; addictive and compulsive disorders; and preventing problems associated with urologic surgical procedures. In addition, Omeros has a proprietary GPCR platform, which is making available an unprecedented number of new GPCR drug targets and corresponding compounds to the pharmaceutical industry for drug development.
Key facts about Omeros
- Founded Year: 1994
- Location: Seattle (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $50M - $100M as on Dec 31, 2020
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $63.3M
- Employee Count: 222 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Athyrium Capital Management, MidCap Financial and 19 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Grant (prize money), Apr 11, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Public
5. Skytap
Cloud based continuous application delivery management solution. It provides on demand environments that streamlines the software delivery process. It provides self-service access to environments for learning, developing, testing, training, and running enterprise applications. It also enables users to migrate and modernize the business applications.
Key facts about Skytap
- Founded Year: 2006
- Location: Seattle (United States)
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $128M
- Employee Count: 103 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: OpenView, Insight Partners and 8 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Oct 19, 2023, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
Washington Research Foundation's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Washington Research Foundation has invested in 46 companies over the last 22 years, with an average of 1 new investment annually in the last 10 years. Its most recent first time investment was in A-Alpha Bio and most recent follow-on round was in AbSci.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2019 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
2018 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2017 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Washington Research Foundation's Investments by Stage
Washington Research Foundation is primarily an Early Stage Investor investor majorly investing in Series A (14) rounds where average round size is $68.9M, Seed (5) rounds where average round size is $10.8M and Series B (2) rounds where average round size is $41.5M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Series A | 14 |
Seed | 5 |
Series B | 2 |
Series C | 2 |
Series D | 1 |
Others | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Washington Research Foundation's Investments by Sector
Washington Research Foundation has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Life Sciences, Enterprise Applications, High Tech, HealthTech and Sustainability Tech. Notably, it has invested in 38 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 37 Tech companies, 11 Software companies and at least 11 companies focusing on Tech hardware.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Life Sciences | 17 |
Enterprise Applications | 5 |
High Tech | 5 |
HealthTech | 4 |
Sustainability Tech | 3 |
Others | 14 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Washington Research Foundation's Investments by Geography
Washington Research Foundation has made most investments in United States (25).Washington Research Foundation's recent investments
Washington Research Foundation has not made any investment in 2026 so far.Here are the most recent investments by Washington Research Foundation:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dec 18, 2019 | United States | Series D | 8277 | [+4] | |
Sep 24, 2019 | United States | Seed | 4480 | [+4] | |
May 29, 2018 | United States | Series C | 3281 | ||
Nov 22, 2017 | United States | Seed | 7254 | ||
Aug 02, 2017 | United States | Series A | 2169 | [+7] |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Washington Research Foundation's Portfolio
6 of Washington Research Foundation's portfolio companies have become public. AbSci got listed on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ), in Jul 2021 at marketcap of $1.45B and Athira Pharma got listed on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) at marketcap of $204M.Here are Washington Research Foundation's portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jul 22, 2021 | May 29, 2018 | Series C | 9085 | |
Sep 18, 2020 | Feb 11, 2016 | Series A | 2737 | |
Apr 26, 2018 | - | - | 3281 | |
Jul 02, 2014 | Sep 26, 2007 | Series C | 6792 | |
Oct 18, 2010 | - | - | 6582 |
Acquired companies in Washington Research Foundation's Portfolio
19 companies from Washington Research Foundation's portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Juno Therapeutics in May 2025 by TQ Therapeutics for $*****.Here are Washington Research Foundation's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
May 28, 2025 | - | - | 5544 | |
May 13, 2024 | Aug 10, 2007 | Series A | 8800 | |
Mar 30, 2021 | Aug 02, 2017 | Series A | 4264 | |
Jun 23, 2020 | Dec 16, 2013 | Series A | 5020 | |
Sep 16, 2019 | Aug 09, 2005 | Series A | 8070 |
Team profile of Washington Research Foundation
Washington Research Foundation has a team of 1 member located in United States. Washington Research Foundation's team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Co-investors of Washington Research Foundation
Over the past 22 years, 170 investors have co-invested in Washington Research Foundation's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Washington Research Foundation: HHS, National Science Foundation and 23 others have invested in rounds before Washington Research Foundation. There are 3 companies where HHS has invested before Washington Research Foundation and 2 companies where National Science Foundation has invested before Washington Research Foundation.
- Top Co-investors of Washington Research Foundation: 61 investors entered a company along with Washington Research Foundation. These include investors like The W Fund (5 companies).
- Invested after Washington Research Foundation: A total of 84 investors have invested in Washington Research Foundation's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Perceptive Advisors (2 companies), HHS (2 companies) and NIH (2 companies).
Recent News related to Washington Research Foundation
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Somalytics Closes Seed Funding Round, Attracts Additional InvestorsBusiness Wire•Aug 30, 2022•Somalytics, IP Group, IP Group, Washington Research Foundation and 1 other
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Johnson & Johnson acquires C-SATS, a University of Washington spinout that grades surgeonsGeekWire•Apr 05, 2018•Johnson & Johnson, C-SATS, The W Fund, Washington Research Foundation and 5 others
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This University of Washington spin-out just raised $2.5M to evaluate surgeons’ skills – GeekWireGeekWire•Jun 01, 2015•C-SATS, The W Fund, Washington Research Foundation, Founders' Co-op and 4 others
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C-SATS raises $2.5M to make surgery safer. - Point B CapitalPoint B Capital•May 29, 2015•C-SATS, The W Fund, Washington Research Foundation, Founders' Co-op and 4 others
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Farecast Takes $12 Million More – TechCrunchTechCrunch+•Jan 25, 2007•Farecast, Sutter Hill Ventures, PAR Capital Management, Greylock Partners and 7 others
