Seattle startup Avante has launched publicly, aiming to transform employee benefits management. The company, which emerged from stealth in early 2024, now has 25 employees and clients like Datavant and Zscaler. Avante's software reduces HR workload and costs, featuring an AI benefits assistant. Led by CEO Rohan D'Souza and Carly Eckert, Avante raised $10 million in a seed round led by Fuse. Competitors include Workday and ADP. Revenue metrics were not disclosed.

Avante Health Solutions has successfully exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy, emerging with a debt-free balance sheet after being recapitalized by Staple Street Capital. Jim Leitl steps down as CEO, with David Anbari taking over on February 10, 2025. Anbari brings extensive industry experience, aiming to enhance Avante's service and parts capabilities. Staple Street Capital, managing $900 million, supports Avante's strategic growth and operational improvements.

“I want to create, and I want to create in a way that makes the most sense for where I am in my life and for my family,” Kabir Shahani said. (Photo courtesy of Kabir Shahani). It’s been nearly three years since Kabir Shahani stepped aside as the CEO of Amperity, the Seattle-based customer-intelligence startup he co-founded.The longtime founder and entrepreneur admits he’s a little “out of the business” of posting on social media about his latest startup endeavors.But that changes a little bit with the release of a new episode of the “Shift AI Podcast,” where Shahani discusses his backstory and what’s ahead, including what led to success at Amperity, why he left, and what he’s building now.Shahani got his entrepreneurial start with Appature, a health marketing startup which sold to IMS health in 2013. He co-founded Amperity in 2016 alongside CTO Derek Slager — his co-founder at Appature — to help companies fine-tune targeted marketing campaigns by connecting fragmented data sources about individual customer habits via emails, purchase history, mobile app usage, website traffic, physical store visits, and more. The enterprise software startup earned “unicorn” status in July 2021, reaching a $1 billion valuation after raising $100 million. Shahani abruptly stepped down as CEO and a board member in 2022.Amperity, which has gone through multiple rounds of layoffs in the past few years, just hired Salesforce and Oracle vet Tony Alika Owens as its new CEO.And Shahani is now helping build new companies, as founder of Amp It Up Ventures, which supports high-growth software businesses.“Learning and relationships are the two currencies of life, in my opinion,” Shahani said in conversation with “Shift AI” host Boaz Ashkenazy