Here are the Seattle-area tech companies that received a PPP loan from the federal government

Here are the Seattle-area tech companies that received a PPP loan from the federal government 2
Inside Rover’s HQ in Seattle. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)

A number of Seattle-area tech startups received millions of dollars from the federal government to help get through the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

The Small Business Administration on Monday revealed data from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a CARES Act initiative “designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll,” according to the SBA.

The loans are forgivable for qualifying small businesses with 500 employees or less that retain their workforce or use the money to rehire laid-off employees. Businesses can apply for up to 250% of their monthly payroll.

Seattle-based firms that landed between $5-to-$10 million in PPP loans include:

See the full list of all Washington state companies that received a loan below.

The PPP process has been clouded by confusion since its inception due to shifting guidance on loan forgiveness and on what types of companies should receive loans.

After the first round of loan approvals went quickly, many giant companies ended up with PPP checks, while other small restaurants and local mom-and-pop shops were left empty-handed.

Related: Why these tech startups turned down millions of dollars in PPP loans from the federal government

Some startups decided to turn down their PPP loan as they questioned the ethics of venture-backed companies taking government loans when other small businesses have little to no access to additional funding sources.

Outreach co-founder Manny Medina, whose Seattle company has raised $289 million — including a recent $50 million round — decided not to apply for the PPP despite what he told The New York Times was “real pressure” to do so from his bank and board.

Ethics aside, it is difficult for any company to turn down money as most struggle to find revenue amid the economic and health crisis. More than 500 tech startups have slashed nearly 70,000 jobs since March.

“I don’t know any startups that aren’t legitimately worried about the impact of the pandemic on their business, either on their business model, the loss of a few key employees, their customer base or their ability to raise capital next time they need it,” Lewis Horowitz, chair of Lane Powell’s taxation team, told GeekWire in May. “Very few are so flush cash that they feel they have sufficient capital to forego (or return) the PPP.”

There were also questions about which tech startups qualify for a loan. Company leaders criticized an ambiguous application process due to complex SBA “affiliation” rules related to their investors. A company may be deemed an affiliate of a larger entity, such as an investment firm, which could disqualify a PPP application.

Four Seattle-area public companies received PPP money: RealNetworks, Microvision, Marchex, and BSQUARE.

Some firms are listed in SBA’s data but say they never actually received loans. Spokespeople for Rover and Porch confirmed with GeekWire that the companies did receive a loan.

There is still about $130 billion in available PPP loans of the $670 billion set aside for the program. Congress extended the deadline for applications to Aug. 8. Nearly 5 million loans have been issued, with the average loan size at around $100,000.

Here are the Seattle-area tech companies that received between $2-to-$5 million in PPP loans:

  • Amperity
  • Bardy Diagnostics
  • Blink Interactive
  • Core Scientific
  • DomainTools
  • Endogastric Solutions
  • Etailz
  • Flyhomes
  • Gravity Payments
  • INRIX
  • iSoftStone
  • Marchex
  • Medstreaming
  • New Engen
  • RealNetworks
  • Realwear
  • Sightlife
  • SkyKick

And those that received between $1-to-$2 million:

  • Airbiquity
  • Akvelon
  • Algorithmia
  • Bittrex
  • BSQUARE
  • Code.org
  • Coding Dojo
  • Hardsuit Labs
  • Hiya
  • iClick
  • JetClosing
  • Lighter Capital
  • MicroVision
  • Ossia
  • Redapt
  • Rhapsody
  • Shiftboard
  • Sporcle
  • TableSafe
  • Tempered Networks
  • The Riveter
  • Unify Square
  • Vix Technology
  • Wrench
  • Xealth

Here’s the full list of Washington state companies that received loans of $150,000 or more:

Editor’s noteGeekWire applied for and received a PPP loan. More here. 

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