Identifying high-net-worth individuals in need of financial guidance is central to growth in the wealth management industry.
While advisors and sales teams use many signals to guide outreach, one of the strongest and most time-sensitive is often overlooked: the sale of a private business. A liquidity event instantly transforms business owners into high-net-worth individuals, creating a narrow window where the need for financial planning is at its peak.
We track more than 2,000 private company transactions each month in Dakota Marketplace and map those deals directly to key executives. This allows firms to gain a clear, actionable view into who has recently gone through a buyout and is likely navigating newfound liquidity, all in one place where you can view and act on every transaction.
Book a demo of Dakota Marketplace to source key executives and CEOs!
Top 10 CEOs in Seattle
1. Mark Bolz – Worldscape
Recent Transaction: Seed Venture | 3/3/2026 | $6M
Worldscape.ai, an AI-native geospatial intelligence software developer serving defense, government, and enterprise markets, completed a seed funding round led by Scout Ventures, with participation from Radius and Washington Harbour Partners. Proceeds will be used to expand engineering and go-to-market teams, advance platform capabilities, and deepen partnerships across the Department of Defense, allied governments, and enterprise customers.
Mark Bolz is the Chief Executive and Product Officer of Worldscape.ai, where he leads a multidisciplinary team building scalable cloud- and edge-based solutions for advanced modeling, simulation, and serious gaming. With over 20 years of experience spanning product management, platform engineering, and big data, he holds a postgraduate degree from Regis University and is fluent in English and German.
View the full profile in Dakota Marketplace.
2. Kiana Ehsani – Vercept
Recent Transaction: Strategic Acquisition | 2/25/2026 | Undisclosed
Anthropic has acquired Vercept, an AI perception and interaction startup co-founded by Kiana Ehsani, Luca Weihs, and Ross Girshick, to bolster Claude's computer use capabilities; financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition follows the launch of Claude Sonnet 4.6, which achieved a 72.5% score on OSWorld — up from under 15% in late 2024 — and Vercept will wind down its external product to focus exclusively on advancing Anthropic's computer use research.
Kiana Ehsani is the CEO and Co-Founder of Vercept, an AI startup focused on enabling artificial intelligence to perceive and interact with software the way humans do, with deep expertise in computer vision and deep learning. Most recently, she led Vercept through its acquisition by Anthropic, where her team will continue advancing Claude's computer use capabilities following a landmark improvement in AI performance on real-world computing tasks.
View the full profile in Dakota Marketplace.
3. Ketan U – Union.ai
Recent Transaction: Series A Venture | 2/25/2026 | $38.1M
Union.ai completed a $38.1 million Series A funding round led by existing investor NEA, with participation from Nava Ventures and new investor Mozilla Ventures, to support the commercial launch of Union 2.0 and accelerate product development and team expansion. The Bellevue-based AI development infrastructure company, which powers orchestration, model training, inference, and observability for over 3,500 companies, will use the capital to deepen its open-source commitments, including the release of Flyte 2, its widely adopted AI orchestration tool with over 80 million downloads.
Ketan Umare is the CEO and Co-Founder of Union.ai, a Bellevue-based AI development infrastructure platform he built around Flyte, the open-source AI orchestrator now used by over 3,500 companies and downloaded more than 80 million times. Most recently, he led the company's $38.1 million Series A funding round backed by NEA, Nava Ventures, and Mozilla Ventures, supporting the commercial launch of Union 2.0 and the next generation of Flyte.
View the full profile in Dakota Marketplace.
4. Edward Rothschild – Adronite
Recent Transaction: Series A Venture | 2/19/2026 | $5M
Adronite, a Seattle-based AI-powered codebase intelligence company, completed a $5 million Series A funding round led by Gatemore Capital Management, with Gatemore's Managing Partner Liad Meidar appointed as Chair of the Board. Proceeds will support product development and commercial expansion as the company scales its full-system code analysis platform — which supports over 20 programming languages and operates across on-premises, private cloud, and air-gapped environments — into regulated and complex enterprise markets.
Edward Rothschild's leadership at Adronite showcases his strategic vision and expertise in AI technology, positioning the company as a leader in codebase analysis solutions. His prior experience at Facebook and Nayya underscores his capability in driving technological innovation and leading engineering teams. Rothschild's commitment to advancing enterprise software understanding through AI reflects his dedication to solving complex industry challenges.
View the full profile in Dakota Marketplace.
5. Kyle Roche – Griptape
Recent Transaction: Strategic Acquisition | 2/18/2026 | Undisclosed
Foundry, a leading creative software developer for the media and entertainment industry, has acquired Griptape, an enterprise-grade AI orchestration platform, to accelerate its AI strategy and expand orchestration capabilities across VFX and animation pipelines; financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition will integrate Griptape's Python-based, security-focused AI agent framework into Foundry's existing creative toolsets, including its industry-standard compositing software Nuke, enabling studios to orchestrate multiple AI models within professional production workflows.
Kyle Roche's extensive experience in technology entrepreneurship, particularly in the fields of IoT and AI, has been instrumental in the growth and success of Griptape. His leadership in securing significant funding and his strategic vision for AI-powered applications underscore his value to the company. Roche's background in cloud computing and immersive technologies further enhances his ability to drive innovation and maintain a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving AI industry.
View the full profile in Dakota Marketplace.
6. Maxim Fateev – Temporal
Recent Transaction: Series D Growth Equity | 2/17/2026 | $300M
Temporal, an open-source durable execution platform for agentic AI applications, raised $300 million in a Series D at a $5 billion valuation, led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sapphire Ventures, and several existing investors. The San Francisco-based company will use the proceeds to expand its cloud platform and deepen open-source investment, having already reported over 380% year-over-year revenue growth and 20 million monthly installs.
Maxim Fateev is the CEO and Co-Founder of Temporal Technologies, a San Francisco-based open-source durable execution platform he built on his experience developing Cadence at Uber, giving him deep expertise in distributed systems and workflow orchestration. Most recently, he led Temporal's $300 million Series D fundraise at a $5 billion valuation, backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Sapphire Ventures, as the company reported over 380% year-over-year revenue growth.
View the full profile in Dakota Marketplace.
7. Nancy Janzen – StaffReady
Recent Transaction: Strategic Acquisition | 2/16/2026 | Undisclosed
Exa Capital, a buy-and-hold enterprise software acquirer, has acquired StaffReady, a Dallas-based SaaS platform for clinical workforce management serving hospital ancillary departments, standalone labs, and pharmaceutical organizations; financial terms were not disclosed. StaffReady will continue to operate independently under its existing leadership team, leveraging Exa Capital's operational resources to scale its compliance, scheduling, and inspection readiness platform across the healthcare industry.
Nancy Janzen is the CEO of StaffReady, a cloud-based clinical workforce management platform she has led through nearly three decades of growth serving hospital ancillary departments, laboratories, and pharmaceutical organizations. Most recently, she guided the company through its acquisition by Exa Capital, which will support StaffReady's continued independent operation and long-term scaling of its compliance, scheduling, and inspection readiness solutions across the healthcare industry.
View the full profile in Dakota Marketplace.
8. Jim Figel – WordRake, LLC
Recent Transaction: Strategic Acquisition | 2/12/2026 | Undisclosed
BriefCatch, a legal-writing platform used by law firms and courts nationwide, has acquired the core product and technology assets of WordRake — including a portfolio of twelve U.S. patents and its patented editing algorithms — in an asset purchase; financial terms were not disclosed. The deal unites BriefCatch's document-level legal analysis with WordRake's sentence-level clarity and concision technology, with both products continuing to operate separately in the near term ahead of a planned integration.
Jim Figel is the CEO of WordRake Holdings, the company behind WordRake's patented editing software — a sentence-level clarity and concision tool embedded in Microsoft Word and Outlook and widely adopted across law firms, government agencies, and corporations since its 2012 launch. Most recently, he oversaw the sale of WordRake's core product and technology assets, including twelve U.S. patents, to legal-writing platform BriefCatch in an asset purchase that unites two leading standards in professional legal writing.
View the full profile in Dakota Marketplace.
9. Robert Wahbe – Highspot
Recent Transaction: Merger | 2/12/2026 | Undisclosed
Highspot and Seismic have signed a definitive agreement to merge, combining two leading revenue enablement platforms with a shared focus on AI-powered sales, content, learning, coaching, and analytics capabilities for go-to-market teams; financial terms were not disclosed. The combined company will operate under the Seismic brand and be led by Seismic CEO Rob Tarkoff, with Highspot Founder and CEO Robert Wahbe joining the Board of Directors, pending customary regulatory approvals.
Robert Wahbe's leadership at Highspot has been instrumental in transforming sales enablement, leading to significant growth and industry recognition. His extensive experience at Microsoft and entrepreneurial background with Colusa have equipped him with a deep understanding of technology and business strategy. Wahbe's focus on innovation and company culture has positioned Highspot as a leader in its field.
View the full profile in Dakota Marketplace.
10. John Conafay – Integrate
Recent Transaction: Series A Venture | 2/11/2026 | $17M
Integrate, a Seattle-based developer of ultra-secure project management software for classified government programs, raised $17 million in a Series A round led by FPV Ventures, with participation from Fuse VC, Rsquared VC, and returning investors New Vista, Hyperplane, and Riot Ventures. The company, which holds a $25 million contract with the U.S. Space Force and is the first collaborative project management platform deployed to the classified JWICS environment, will use the proceeds to accelerate product development and expand its go-to-market strategy across defense, maritime, aviation, and automotive sectors.
John Conafay's extensive experience in the aerospace industry, combined with his leadership at Integrate, positions him as a key figure in advancing program management solutions for hardware companies. His background in business development and operations, coupled with his military discipline, equips him to navigate complex environments and drive innovation. John's strategic vision and hands-on approach have been instrumental in Integrate's growth and its mission to enhance operational efficiency in hardware development.
View the full profile in Dakota Marketplace.
Where Liquidity Events Become Prospecting Signals
Finding prospects may not be the challenge; it’s knowing when to reach them.
Private company transactions are one of the clearest signals of imminent need. They turn operating executives into newly liquid decision-makers almost overnight. Firms that align outreach to these moments gain a real advantage in timing, relevance, and conversion.
Dakota Marketplace delivers that edge.
Our combination of real-time private company transaction data and “likely to transact” signals allows RIAs and advisors to engage in timely, highly relevant outreach to individuals with newly acquired or soon-to-be-acquired wealth.
You’ll see all private company transactions in one place, updated continuously, so your team can prioritize outreach, engage with confidence, and convert at the right moment.
Book a demo of Dakota Marketplace to source key executives and CEOs!
