It was one of the most tumultuous years the country and the world have ever seen. And yet, as we reported on GeekWire last week, venture capital investments in the United States broke another record in 2020, topping $150 billion for the first time, according to Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association. In Seattle and across the Pacific Northwest, funding totals came in at $4.4 billion, up 15% year-over-year, according to GeekWire’s tally, derived from our running list of startup investments. 

What in the heck is going on? My colleague, GeekWire co-founder John Cook, put that question to Mike Davidson, a Seattle-based tech and media veteran who was Twitter’s vice president of design from 2012 to 2016, during the recording of our most recent GeekWire podcast episode. This portion of the conversation didn't make the final cut, but we found the analysis illuminating, so we're presenting it here as a bonus episode.