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Rover

The hidden link between Seattle and Spokane: Tech companies find success on both sides of the state

by Todd Bishop on June 12, 2024June 12, 2024 at 8:37 am

Back in 1999, when F5 recruited Jeff Stockdale to build its hardware business, expanding beyond its core expertise in software, the engineering leader had one condition for the Seattle-based technology… Read More

Podcast

Who will be the Next Tech Titan? A preview of the upcoming GeekWire Awards

by Todd Bishop & John Cook on April 20, 2024April 20, 2024 at 7:23 am

This week on the show, we offer a sneak preview of the GeekWire Awards, at the Showbox SoDo in Seattle on Thursday, May 9. See more GeekWire Awards coverage, and… Read More

Rover CEO on company’s next chapter as pet-sitting giant completes $2.3B deal with Blackstone

by Taylor Soper on February 27, 2024February 27, 2024 at 9:02 pm

It’s the start of another new era at Rover. The Seattle-based pet-sitting business completed its $2.3 billion deal with Blackstone on Tuesday, marking the latest chapter in a 13-year journey… Read More

News Brief

Blackstone’s $2.3B acquisition of Rover clears regulatory hurdle

by Taylor Soper on January 16, 2024January 16, 2024 at 8:32 am

Seattle-based publicly traded pet sitting giant Rover announced that its $2.3 billion acquisition to Blackstone took a key step toward completion as the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements… Read More

Rover to be acquired by asset manager Blackstone in $2.3B deal

by Lisa Stiffler on November 29, 2023November 29, 2023 at 11:20 am

Seattle pet-sitting marketplace Rover announced Wednesday that it has agreed to be acquired by asset manager Blackstone in a deal worth approximately $2.3 billion. Company stockholders will receive $11 per… Read More

Tech Moves: Flexport execs depart; Rover adds board member; longtime T-Mobile leader to retire

by Nate Bek on September 8, 2023September 8, 2023 at 11:47 am

— Dave Clark isn’t the only former Amazon exec out at Flexport. Five other ex-Amazonians who joined Flexport over the past few years also left the company this week, The… Read More

Pet care startup emerges in Seattle to modernize veterinary care, with help from Rover

by Nate Bek on March 23, 2023March 23, 2023 at 3:45 pm

A new Seattle startup backed by Rover wants to take a bite of the growing pet care industry and address a reported veterinary shortage. Seattle startup Felix&Fido emerged from stealth… Read More

Rover unleashes new pet gear — including a patent-pending dog poop carrier

by Nate Bek on March 3, 2023March 3, 2023 at 12:04 pm

Seattle-based company Rover is expanding beyond its pet sitting marketplace with a new line of consumer products. The initial Rover Gear products include a no-pull dog harness ($32.99), a padded… Read More

IRS delays implementation of tax policy change being fought by marketplace companies

by Kurt Schlosser on December 23, 2022December 23, 2022 at 3:47 pm

The Internal Revenue Service is delaying by one year the implementation of a tax policy change that was being fought by online marketplace companies and payment platforms. The change was… Read More

A year after going public via SPAC, Rover rings the Nasdaq bell and aims for international expansion

by Nate Bek on August 31, 2022September 1, 2022 at 10:25 am

A group of managers, investors, employees — and of course, dogs — from Seattle-based pet care giant Rover descended on Times Square earlier this month to ring the opening bell at… Read More

Tech Moves: Rover appoints CFO; Smartsheet adds board member; Nautilus Biotechnology hires execs

by Charlotte Schubert on August 8, 2022August 12, 2022 at 11:26 am

— Pet sitting marketplace Rover appointed Charlie Wickers to chief financial officer. Wickers joined Rover in 2017 and most recently served as vice president of finance. He replaces Tracy Knox,… Read More

Seattle SPAC suffering: Shares of companies that went public via SPAC fall more than 50%

by Nate Bek on June 28, 2022June 28, 2022 at 2:23 pm

The four Seattle businesses that went public during the SPAC boom have sputtered amid the broader economic downturn.  Porch, Nautilus Biotechnology, Rover, and Leafly have all gone public via a… Read More

Seattle lawmakers pass policy setting minimum wage and other protections for gig workers

by Lisa Stiffler on May 31, 2022March 27, 2023 at 9:08 am

Seattle City Council on Tuesday unanimously passed what is being called a “first-in-the-nation” policy to create protections for gig workers who deliver meals, groceries and packages, and some on-demand service… Read More

Rover stock dips 17% after Q4 earnings report; CFO Tracy Knox to retire

by Taylor Soper on March 7, 2022March 7, 2022 at 3:31 pm

Rover shares were down more than 15% in after-hours trading after the company reported its fourth quarter earnings, which beat estimates with $38 million in revenue and net income of… Read More

Video

Rover pulls in-home dog grooming services from its marketplace, citing tight labor market

by Todd Bishop on November 22, 2021November 22, 2021 at 6:20 pm

Dog-grooming services are getting clipped from Rover’s marketplace, at least for now. Citing the challenges of the labor market, the Seattle-based company confirmed Monday that it will no longer offer… Read More

Podcast

Wall Street goes to pot, and to the dogs — and that’s a good thing for Seattle’s startup scene

by Todd Bishop on August 14, 2021August 15, 2021 at 8:13 am

An online marketplace that helps to facilitate trade between marijuana sellers and buyers will soon see its own stock traded on the Nasdaq. Another that connects pet owners with walkers,… Read More

Rover’s business continues to bounce back in first earnings report as public company

by Todd Bishop on August 9, 2021August 9, 2021 at 1:59 pm

Issuing its first earnings report as a public company, Rover reported gross bookings of $134 million in the second quarter, the highest quarterly total in its history, reflecting increased usage… Read More

Newly public, Rover pays off $8M PPP loan that helped pet-sitting company survive pandemic

by Todd Bishop on August 6, 2021August 9, 2021 at 10:00 am

Updated on Monday Aug. 9 with additional details. Not that long ago, Rover was on a very short leash. In March 2020, as the realities of the pandemic became clear,… Read More

From hackathon to IPO: Pet sitting marketplace Rover is Seattle’s newest public company

by Taylor Soper on August 2, 2021August 2, 2021 at 4:21 pm

It started as a simple pitch at a Seattle hackathon for a marketplace to facilitate matches between pet owners and sitters. Now, a decade later, Rover is a publicly traded… Read More

‘Pandemic puppies’ help fuel Rover’s comeback as pet-sitting startup preps to go public via SPAC

by Taylor Soper on May 14, 2021May 17, 2021 at 2:49 pm

Pet adoption rates have surged amid the pandemic, and pet spending accelerated last year. Those are a few of the tailwinds driving optimism at Rover as the Seattle startup prepares… Read More

Former Rover board member and pet-tech veteran Aaron Hirschhorn dies in Miami boating accident

by Kurt Schlosser on March 31, 2021March 31, 2021 at 9:56 am

Aaron Hirschhorn, a tech veteran and former board member at Seattle-based Rover, died Sunday in a boating accident near Miami Beach, Fla. He was 42. Hirschhorn was a longtime entrepreneur… Read More

Pet sitting marketplace Rover grabs a bone, valued at $1.3 billion in latest SPAC deal

by Taylor Soper on February 11, 2021February 11, 2021 at 1:28 pm

Another day, another SPAC. Today, we’ve learned that Seattle online pet sitting marketplace Rover plans to join the public ranks via a merger with True Wind Capital’s SPAC that values… Read More

Video

Rover inks deal with Walmart as Seattle pet care startup bounces back after layoffs

by Taylor Soper on November 12, 2020February 11, 2021 at 8:25 am

As the pandemic hit earlier this year, Rover’s business evaporated. The shift to remote work and limited travel reduced demand for its services. The Seattle pet care startup laid off… Read More

Caution ahead: Startup report predicts venture capital drought, layoffs as COVID-19 crisis mounts

by John Cook on April 27, 2020April 28, 2020 at 8:00 am

Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. That’s how the National Venture Capital Association kicks off a new report detailing how the coronavirus will impact startups in… Read More

Pet care startup Rover lays off 41% of workforce due to COVID-19 impact

by Taylor Soper on March 31, 2020March 31, 2020 at 11:18 am

Seattle-based startup Rover laid off 41% of its workforce today due to the economic impact and uncertainty from the COVID-19 outbreak. Rover put an additional 9% of staff on standby.… Read More

Inside Rover’s pet friendly Seattle HQ: People and dogs stretch out as company aims for more growth

by Kurt Schlosser & Taylor Soper on March 2, 2020March 3, 2020 at 6:52 am

Rover’s new headquarters has already gone to the dogs — and about 375 people, as the pet-sitting startup has just taken over five floors of the 8th + Olive building… Read More

Dogs, views, snacks and more: Vote for Geekiest Office Space ahead of 2020 GeekWire Awards

by Kurt Schlosser on February 21, 2020July 15, 2020 at 4:57 pm

Editor’s note: The GeekWire Awards are now virtual on July 23. It takes more than a ping-pong table to attract the next talented tech professional. Office spaces across the Seattle region… Read More

Pacific Northwest startups well-represented in new Andreessen Horowitz top 100 marketplace list

by Nat Levy on February 21, 2020February 21, 2020 at 9:23 am

Six Pacific Northwest startups made Silicon Valley venture capital titan Andreessen Horowitz’s new ranking of the 100 top consumer marketplaces.  The highest ranked Pacific Northwest startup on the new Marketplace… Read More

GeekWire 200 update reveals trending startups in edtech, consumer tech, B.C. and more

by Taylor Soper on January 31, 2020January 31, 2020 at 4:09 pm

There’s a growing cohort of education tech companies across the Pacific Northwest. A flurry of up-and-coming startups are sprouting up in British Columbia. And while Seattle is an enterprise software… Read More

A new world for unicorns: What the WeWork flop means for Seattle’s top startups and IPO prospects

by James Thorne on October 31, 2019October 31, 2019 at 9:10 am

WeWork’s dramatic fall from grace, which saw its valuation fall from $47 billion to a reported $8 billion amid an IPO fiasco, was just one example of a larger reckoning… Read More

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