Seattle-based startups brought in a record $3.51 billion in venture capital funding in 374 deals as of mid-December, according to venture capital database PitchBook. While the Bay Area is unlikely to be knocked off its perch as the top tech hub in the world, early Amazon investor and cofounder of Seattle’s most prolific venture firm Madrona Venture Group Tom Alberg said, Seattle is a clear No. 2.

Icertis is the cloud-based software large companies including Microsoft use to manage their contracts. The startup’s valuation surpassed $1 billion this year when it raised $115 million as it takes on competitors such as DocuSign-owned SpringCM and made Forbes’ recent Cloud 100 list. Read More