Top funding deals for Pacific Northwest startups | Costco raises membership fees — is Amazon next?

Funding to Pacific Northwest startups was down nearly 50% year-over-year in the second quarter, reflecting a much less frothy venture capital environment for tech companies as the growth-at-all-costs mindset subsides and profitability is prioritized. Many startups are still reeling in cash — check out the top rounds from the past quarter, pulled from GeekWire’s funding tracker.

The price of a Costco membership is going up for the first time in seven years, which begs the question for another Seattle-based retailer — could Amazon be next? The price of a Prime membership last jumped in February 2022, from $119 to $139 per year. Read more.

Eric Elfman, the new CEO at Seattle real estate startup Moxiworks, is bringing an entrepreneurial mindset to the platform that aims to help agents win deals. Read more.

Hot Links:

• An increasingly digital world and the data centers that power it could push the Pacific Northwest’s power grid beyond its limits in five years. (The Seattle Times)

• More states — including Washington — could adopt fees on retail deliveries made by Amazon and others to help pay to maintain roads and bridges. (Washington State Standard)

• Vancouver, B.C.-based biotech company Aspect Biosystems received $72.7 million from the governments of Canada and British Columbia to fuel its development of bioprinted tissue therapeutics. (Aspect Biosystems)