Startup companies pitching to the Spokane Angel Alliance raised significantly more capital in 2025 than they did the prior year, says Tom Simpson, president of the alliance and CEO of business accelerator Ignite Northwest.

Of the 20 startups that presented to the investor group in 2025, 10 of them raised a combined total of $26.4 million, receiving a mix of Spokane Angel Alliance members' investments, outside venture capital, and other private capital sources, Simpson says.

In 2024, 10 startups raised $15.8 million, compared to $30.6 million raised by 15 companies in 2023, he says.

Because Spokane is a small market, however, Simpson says year-to-year comparisons can be difficult to discern, as often one company’s raised capital can account for a large portion of the whole. In 2023, for example, Spokane-based fintech company Treasury4 Inc. raised $20 million. Without that large transaction, 2023 would have been a smaller fundraising year compared to 2024, he notes.

“When you’re looking year to year, you’re looking not only at different cycles of the economy, hot and cold markets, but then it can also be skewed by a large transaction,” Simpson says.

Given that nuance, Simpson says the total capital raised each year is reflective of a postpandemic landscape in which there were necessary corrections in the market environment after the market was flush with cash and excessive investments were made into unworthy or unproven companies.

“2021 was super hot,” Simpson says. “That’s when we had drive-by financing. And then the market kind of corrected itself and we’ve been in somewhat of a recovery since.”

Looking to the fundraising landscape in 2026, Simpson says things are looking positive for the startup ecosystem.

“I’m always bullish in this area,” he says. “There’s a lot of fascinating emerging companies and I think the markets will continue to be favorable in 2026.”