Vibecoding Is Here and Making 5M Security Analysts With AI

The security industry is facing a critical shortage of talent, but what if AI could bridge that gap? This week, we're spotlighting Dropzone and the 'aha moment' that led Edward Wu to create an AI that acts as a true security analyst, not just a notification system.

Plus, we dive into 'vibecoding' – the dawn of building software with just your voice – and how it's democratizing development for everyone. And, with 11 Madrona portfolio companies in the running for GeekWire Awards, we're rallying the community to celebrate the PNW's tech stars by voting. We also highlight upcoming events and the latest from the portfolio.

Let's get into it.

Founded & Funded

IA40 Spotlight: Dropzone’s Edward Wu on Solving Security’s Biggest Bottleneck

The security industry has a math problem: 12 million job postings, only 7 million qualified professionals. The solution? AI.

Edward Wu spent nearly a decade at ExtraHop, pioneering AI-driven security detection. But instead of just alerting security teams about potential threats, he saw a bigger opportunity — what if AI could act as an actual security analyst? That question led to Dropzone AI, a company that’s not just throwing AI at security but strategically using it to solve one of the most overwhelming problems in the industry — alert fatigue.

In this episode of Founded & Funded, Edward and Partner Vivek Ramaswami dive into:

• The "aha moment" that led Edward to leave a successful career to start Dropzone

• Why most AI security startups will fail, and what it takes to stand out

• How Dropzone landed UiPath as a customer—without a single cold email

• The future of security in an AI-first world

Listen on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon | Watch on YouTube | Transcript at Madrona

Newsletter

Vibecoding: When Everyone Can Build

A generation ago, cloud computing shattered barriers for developers, making infrastructure instant and experimentation limitless. Now, vibecoding — building functional software through conversational prompts — is doing the same for everyone else.

No-code wasn’t the endgame — it was the precursor to a world where anyone can create disposable, purpose-built apps in minutes. From quick financial models to AI-generated workflow tools, vibecoding is reshaping who builds, how fast, and why.

Read more from Partner Jon Turow on Substack to see how this shift is turning spreadsheets into software, domain experts into developers, and inefficiencies into opportunities. Read & Subscribe here.

Be sure to catch the vibecoding piece in a recent edition of Aspiring for Intelligence and the recent New York Times article on vibecoding that featured Madrona portfolio company Stackblitz.

Madrona News

Gradial Raises $13M for AI Marketing Tech That Automates Content Operations

Many startups are building AI solutions for the enterprise. Few are seeing real adoption. The true test of a B2B startup is traction. It’s not just about having an innovative product — it’s about solving a critical pain point, integrating into existing workflows, and delivering measurable ROI. That’s what makes Gradial stand out.

In 2024, Gradial secured multiple enterprise customers with six-figure ARRs and is on track for 200%+ growth in Q1 2025. They are already working with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Adobe, Slalom, Merkle, EPAM, and Infogain, a testament to the urgent need for AI-powered workflow automation in marketing operations.

Their agentic platform doesn’t just generate content — it streamlines the entire content supply chain, automating CMS workflows, compliance checks, and campaign execution. The result? Faster, more efficient marketing operations with fewer errors and greater scale.

That’s why Madrona is leading Gradial’s $13M Series A, building on our early conviction in this team and technology. Doug Tallmadge, Deip Kumar, Anup Chamrajnagar, and Anish Chadalavada have built a solution that is already making a tangible impact in large enterprises, and they’re just getting started. We are excited to continue partnering with them on this next phase of growth. Read more about why we’re investing from Matt McIlwain.

In the News

GeekWire Awards: Key Acquisitions & Big Rounds Lead Deal of the Year Category

Three major acquisitions and two significant funding rounds make up the transactions featured in the Deal of the Year category at the 2025 GeekWire Awards, and we are proud that most of them are Madrona Portfolio Companies.

This award is aimed at recognizing deals that had a significant impact on emerging Pacific Northwest companies. The finalists include Jama Software, Lexion, Smartsheet, Stoke Space, and Truveta.

11 Madrona portfolio companies + 2 portfolio CEOs are finalists for the 2025 GeekWire Awards! Voting is open until March 23, and winners will be revealed live on April 30 at Showbox SoDo. Read more & vote here.

GeekWire also reports that Seattle VCs, including Madrona’s Tim Porter, emphasized at a recent event that startups should ignore the AGI hype and focus on building AI products that deliver real value today — especially in vertical applications and AI agents that drive tangible outcomes.

Events

Venture Boldly: Navigating Innovation, Investment, and the Future of Tech

Madrona Managing Director Matt McIlwain is speaking at the eMerge America's conference and expo in Miami on March 27. His panel, "Venture Boldly: Navigating Innovation, Investment, and The Future of Tech," is at 1 p.m. on the main stage. Register Here.

Portfolio Roundup

Amperity named Dawn Lepore, former Drugstore.com CEO and Charles Schwab Vice Chair/CIO, as its board chair, which was covered in GeekWire. 

Read AI launches a search copilot, which was covered in GeekWire and LinkedIn News.

Typeface announced the AI-native Content Lifecycle.

Mother Duck and DuckDB introduced the DuckDB Local UI.

Indochino President and CEO Drew Green was awarded the King Charles III’s Coronation Medal by the Government of Canada in recognition to his contributions to business across the country.  

Nosis Bio announced collaborations with Daiichi Sankyo and Johnson & Johnson aimed at advancing the development of cell-targeted RNA therapeutics beyond the liver.

Envisagenics CEO Maria Luisa Pineda was named a 2025 Inc. Female Founders 500 honoree.

Observe launched Frontend Observability to help customers better understand exactly what their users experience when they interact with their applications.

PlexTrac Founder and CTO Daniel DeCloss wrote a column in Forbes Technology Council, sharing why proactive cybersecurity gives companies an edge.

Unstructured introduced a full-featured Unstructured API.

Numbers Station introduced Suggest Fixes to enable users to embed business context directly into your knowledge layer.  

Crowd Cow brought on Andrew Nilsen as Chief Marketing Officer.

Tesorio announced new AI-driven capabilities and integrations designed to eliminate financial silos, structure cash flow data, and accelerate the order-to-cash process.