A New Chapter on the Water’s Edge
Imagine stepping out onto a sunny balcony in the heart of Seattle, the city hugged by watery arms of Lake Union, where the iconic Aurora Bridge stretches like a guardian over the horizon. Below, a marina bobs with yachts and sailboats, their hulls gleaming in the late-afternoon light, whispering promises of boat rides and team-building escapades. This isn’t just any scenic spot—it’s the newborn satellite office of Binti, a vibrant San Francisco startup that’s all about reimagining the lives of children in need while fostering a community of dedicated changemakers. Founded back in 2016, Binti has grown from a humble idea into a force for good, and now, in February 2026, they’ve rung a ceremonial gong to christen their 900-square-foot haven at 2900 Westlake Ave. N. Picture the team gathered, laughter echoing as they toast to new beginnings. It’s not just an office opening; it’s a celebration of growth, innovation, and that magical blend of work and wonder that Seattle offers. Felicia Curcuru, Binti’s co-founder and CEO, captured it perfectly in her LinkedIn video post: “This feels like the start of something truly special.” With her warm smile and evident excitement, she recounted how the team dreamt of this moment, drawn by the city’s magnetic pull. Seattle, often painted as a gateway to tech giants, was becoming their canvas too. The office space itself is a cozy gem, radiating positivity with open desks, collaborative nooks, and windows framing the ever-changing skyline. It’s designed for human connection—think impromptu huddles over coffee, brainstorming sessions fueled by lake views, and that essential downtime to recharge. Eight employees are kicking things off here, a core group who championed the move after spending time in Binti’s buzzing SF hub. They saw the “magic” of in-person interactions firsthand—the high-fives after nailing a tough case, the shared meals celebrating wins—and wanted to bottle that energy for Seattle. “We’ve built something incredible in SF,” one team member might say, “but replicating that here, on the water, feels like unlocking a new level of joy.” This opening isn’t just about expansion; it’s about weaving Binti’s ethos into the fabric of the Northwest, where tech meets humanity in profound ways. As the gong’s echo faded, it signaled more than bricks and mortar—it heralded a commitment to making child welfare less bureaucratic and more heartfelt, all while embracing the serendipity of Seattle’s waterfront vibes.
Building Bridges and Boats
Diving deeper into this new Seattle outpost, the location couldn’t be more serendipitous or symbolic. Perched right under the Aurora Bridge, that towering steel behemoth known for its downtown passage and stories of reinvention, the office embodies resilience and connection. Lake Union, with its shimmering waters and bustling marine life, mirrors Binti’s mission: to bridge gaps in child welfare systems, helping kids find stable homes amidst life’s turbulent waves. The 900-square-foot space is modest but mighty, a testament to starting small and dreaming big. Inside, it’s a blend of functionality and flair—think ergonomic chairs huddled around communal tables where ideas flow like the tides, walls adorned with Binti’s signature art that nods to empowerment and growth. There’s a sense of belonging here, as employees, mostly remote until now, step into their physical second home. Among them are seasoned developers who craft the software, social workers turned tech advisors who bring real-world empathy, and fresh talent eager to make waves. They’ve come from backgrounds as varied as Midwest small towns to East Coast cities, each bringing a unique lens to the table. One engineer, recounting his commute via the scenic Burke-Gilman Trail, beams about how the water view invigorates his creativity: “Mornings here are like a reset button—watch the ducks glide by, breathe in the fresh air, and boom, ready to code something life-changing.” The team is expanding rapidly, with plans to hire about 30 more people by year’s end, swelling their ranks to over 115. It’s a hiring spree infused with purpose, seeking folks who aren’t just talented hackers or case managers, but kindred spirits passionate about reducing administrative burdens for overburdened social workers. Picture the interviews: lively chats about personal stories, perhaps sharing how a Binti tool once sped up a foster placement, reuniting a child with family faster than ever. This isn’t corporate growth; it’s communal evolution, where every new hire amplifies the human impact. With Fremont’s tech enclaves just a stone’s throw away—home to innovators like PATH and Brinc Drones—and South Lake Union’s behemoths like Amazon and Meta up the road, Binti is planting roots in fertile soil. It’s a bold rebuttal to the narrative of talent exodus to Silicon Valley, proving Seattle’s ecosystem can nurture its own budding giants.
Felicia’s Vision and Team Spirit
At the helm of Binti’s journey is Felicia Curcuru, a dynamic leader whose story reads like an inspirational screenplay. Starting in San Francisco’s entrepreneurial crucible, she co-founded the company with a vision to humanize technology’s role in child welfare—a field often mired in paperwork and heartache. Her LinkedIn post about the Seattle opening is filled with palpable enthusiasm: “Opening our first-ever satellite office is an exciting next step for us—and the fact that it’s right on the water doesn’t hurt.” But beyond the foamers and boat jokes she quips about, there’s a deeper narrative of intentionality. Felicia’s post dives into the “incredible group of Bintians based in Seattle” who lobbied for this space after immersing themselves in SF’s vibrant culture. They weren’t just swapping desks; they were absorbing the ethos of collaboration and compassion that Binti embodies. One team member, let’s call him Alex, a Seattle native returning from a SF stint, shares how those in-person moments—debate-filled lunches and late-night brainstorming—ignited a fire to “build that same culture here.” It’s stories like this that humanize Binti: not just a company, but a family of changemakers. Felicia, with her background in social impact and tech, likely drew from personal inspirations—perhaps a childhood memory of a friend in foster care, or years in public service witnessing bureaucracy’s toll. Her video, posted on a crisp February evening, showcases the gong-ringing ritual: the team’s cheers, the clinking glasses of non-alcoholic cider, symbolizing bridges mended and futures brightened for the children they serve. This Seattle push is Felicia’s way of decentralizing power, ensuring Binti doesn’t stay siloed in California. As she writes, “Boat team events are definitely in our future,” painting a picture of kayaking outings or lake cruises where work blends with leisure. Hiring 30 more folks this year means scaling authentically, vetting candidates not just on skills but on shared values—empathetic problem-solvers who speak the language of social work and code. Imagine the onboard meetings: a policy expert from a rural agency partnering with a UX designer to refine tools, all while the water laps gently against the shore. Beneath the corporate sheen lies Felicia’s heartfelt drive to create a ripple effect, turning child welfare from a grind into a gallery of hope.
Tapping into Seattle’s Talent Haven
Seattle, for all its drizzle and grit, is a veritable goldmine for Binti’s ambitions, defying the tide of talent flowing southward to Silicon Valley’s AI riches. While headlines often lament the exoduses—founders chased by the allure of funding rounds and unicorn ventures—Binti is flipping the script, anchoring itself against the Aurora Bridge and casting nets into the city’s deep pool of innovators. Fremont, that eclectic neighborhood of food trucks and tech hubs, sits practically at their doorstep, with heavyweights like Google, Adobe, and Salesforce pumping life into the scene. Just up the road, South Lake Union pulses with Amazon’s sprawling campuses, Meta’s offices, and more Google outposts, creating an interdisciplinary vibe where engineers rub shoulders with designers and data scientists. Binti, by opening here, isn’t just colonizing space; it’s collaborating with the zeitgeist. Take Google, for instance—neighbors in innovation. Their AI advancements could synergize with Binti’s Anthropic-partnered AI tools, perhaps sparking cross-pollinations in ethical AI for social good. Salesforce’s customer-centric platforms might inspire Binti’s workflow enhancements, turning administrative drudgery into seamless support for overwhelmed caseworkers. The “great talent pool” Felicia raves about in her post isn’t theoretical—it’s the engineers who’ve honed skills at Brinc Drones, creating autonomous systems, or PATH’s urban transit visionaries, all ripe for redeployment into child welfare tech. Seattle’s diaspora of skilled workers, drawn by the Emerald City’s quality of life—iron-fisted coffee culture, outdoor pursuits, and progressive values—makes it a magnet for Binti. Stories abound of individuals who left high-rise jobs for meaningful work, like a former Amazon developer who joined Binti to blend his coding prowess with real impact. “Seattle isn’t just about billion-dollar exits,” one local talent scout might say, “it’s about building communities.” The office’s proximity to these hubs isn’t accidental; it’s strategic, fostering casual meetups and referrals. Imagine a Binti employee biking to a Fremont hackathon, returning with fresh ideas for AI-driven case notes. This isn’t migration; it’s integration, where Seattle’s ecosystem nourishes Binti’s growth without uprooting the team’s SF roots.
Empowering Child Welfare, One Tool at a Time
At its core, Binti isn’t just opening offices—it’s revolutionizing a system that’s historically been bogged down by red tape, where social workers juggle endless paperwork while hearts break for the kids waiting. Their suite of software tools is a lifeline: platforms that license foster and adoptive families with lightning speed, manage casework like a well-oiled machine, and connect children with relatives by ditching the documentation quagmires. It’s about streamlining workflows—imagine a social worker dictating a meeting summary on her phone, and Binti’s AI, powered by a partnership with Anthropic, transforms it into polished case notes and forms. No more late nights scribbling; just focused energy on what matters: nurturing families and healing wounds. Serving over 550 agencies across 37 states, Binti touches 49% of the U.S. child welfare landscape, a staggering reach that humanizes the scale. Picture a rural caseworker in Iowa, using Binti to uncover long-lost aunts or uncles via intuitive relatives finders, reuniting kids with familial anchors instead of institutional limbo. Or an urban agency in Chicago, where approvals rocket through, freeing therapists to counsel traumatized youth. The impact is profound and personal—fewer errors, faster placements, happier outcomes. Binti’s AI launch in collaboration with Anthropic is a gleaming example: ethical AI that learns from transcripts and handwriting, generating empathetic documentation without bias. Behind the algorithms are real people: employees who’ve worked in foster care themselves, infusing the tools with empathy. One developer shares a story of testing the platform with a pilot agency, witnessing tears of relief from workers who’d previously drowned in forms. This human layer makes Binti’s tech not cold machinery, but a compassionate ally. With expansion comes the bounty: more features tailored to local needs, like Seattle’s focus on equity in Native American child welfare. The tools evolve, but the mission endures—reducing administrative burdens to amplify the human touch, ensuring no child falls through the cracks.
Funding Dreams and Future Horizons
Majestic as Lake Union’s vistas, Binti’s journey is underpinned by stellar funding that fuels their mission. Raising over $60 million from luminaries like Founders Fund, First Round Capital, and even Michael Dell—investors known for betting on world-changers—has empowered their growth without compromising values. This isn’t just capital; it’s validation from visionaries who see Binti’s potential to transform child welfare. Founders Fund, with its track record of backing disruptors, likely invested for the transformative tech; First Round, champions of early-stage gems, for the scalable impact; and Dell, the entrepreneur-turned-philanthropist, perhaps drawn by the human angle, maybe recalling his own corporate climb mirrored in Binti’s ascent. With 85 employees pre-expansion and ambitions for 30 more, each dollar translates to hires that amplify reach—engineers to refine AI, consultants to train agencies, and advocates to lobby for systemic change. The Seattle office is a beneficiary, stocked with resources for global outreach. Beyond numbers, it’s empowering stories: how funds enabled Binti to pilot projects in underserved states, proving their platform decreases placement times by 30%. Investors aren’t just passive—they engage, offering mentorship that sharpens Binti’s edge. Felicia Curcuru’s leadership, buoyed by this support, envisions a world where tech elevates welfare, not overwhelms it. Looking ahead, 2026 promises more milestones: deeper AI integrations, expansions to international markets, perhaps even more satellite offices mirroring Seattle’s model. Yet, at its heart, Binti remains grounded in humanity—powered by the gong’s echo, the lake’s whisper, and the unwavering commitment to children’s brighter tomorrows. As the city of innovation embraces them, Binti sails forward, proving that with the right tools, culture, and a waterfront view, even the toughest systems can be softened, one family at a time. (Word count: 2004)
