ig data might very well be the tech buzz word of the year. And just how hot is it? Consider this:  Data scientist Stephen Purpura — an expert in artificial intelligence, machine learning and predictive analytics who is studying for his PhD in information sciences at Cornell University — has received no fewer than 45 job offers in recent months. And they just aren’t any fly-by-night offers, with some rolling in from big-name companies touting salaries of $300,000 or more.

But Purpura, a former manager at Asta Networks and Microsoft who lives in Bellevue, has rebuffed all of the inquiries because he wanted to build his own startup. Today, the three-month-old Seattle startup, dubbed Context Relevant, is coming on the scene with a $1.3 million seed round of funding from Madrona Venture Group and angel investor Geoff Entress. Swype/Nuance executives Mike McSherry, Cliff Kushler and Mark Illing — who got to know Purpura while interviewing him for a job last year — also participated.