People usually consider Silicon Valley the hub for all tech companies on the west coast of the United States. While it is true for the majority of tech companies, there is another city with an uncanny amount of tech companies headquartered there: Seattle.
Out of the top five largest companies in the world by market cap, two of them have their main headquarters in Seattle. With Amazon headquartered in downtown Seattle and Microsoft in neighboring Redmond, Seattle has attracted a lot of other tech companies to base themselves in the area as well.
In this article, we’ll look at some of the up-and-coming tech companies based in Seattle, as well as some big names like Amazon or Microsoft.
Contents
Boeing
The Boeing Company is another example of a large company that, until very recently, was headquartered in Seattle. Not quite as big as Microsoft or Amazon, Boeing is still a huge company with a market cap of $112 billion, the 114th largest in the world.
The aircraft manufacturer was founded in Seattle over 100 years ago, in 1916 by William Boeing. They have moved their headquarters multiple times, with the most recent move being in 2022 to Arlington, Virginia. They still have offices in Seattle of course, and have influenced the Seattle area a great deal.
More information about Boeing’s move to Arlington, Virginia, can be found here.
Pitchbook
Pitchbook is a great example of a midtier tech company based in Seattle, Washington. They are a subscription-based data company, and collect analytical information for their clients on companies, investors, mergers and acquisitions, and more. For an example of what you’ll likely find on this site, check out this investor profile on Pitchbook.
Zillow.com
Ever looked for a home before? The largest online real estate company, Zillow, is based in Seattle as well. Zillow is a popular online marketplace for real estate properties across the globe. With 68 million monthly visitors, they are easily the largest real estate marketplace online and have no doubt helped countless people find the perfect home.
The Zillow real estate marketplace was founded in 2006 by Rich Barton, a former Microsoft employee. Had Microsoft not been headquartered in Seattle, it’s safe to say Zillow would not have been either.
Today, the company is ranked #1710 in the world in market cap, with a value of $7.66 billion.
You can check out Zillow.com by following this link.
Alaska Airlines
Yep. Alaska Airlines is actually headquartered in Washington! Having been founded as McGee Airways in 1932 in Anchorage, Alaska, it would eventually move its headquarters to SeaTac, Washington. It is hard to say whether Boeing being based in Seattle played a part in Alaska Airlines headquartering nearby. It changed its name to Alaska Airlines from McGee Airways in 1944.
With a market cap of $5.36 billion, Alaska Airlines is the #2211th largest company in the world.
Wrapping It Up
We hope you found our list of four companies based in Seattle, Washington, interesting, and that you have a better idea of why so many tech companies are basing themselves in the area.