PhotoRocket Opens Financing Round, Alliance of Angels Has Record 2009, Picnik Gets Bought by Google, & More Seattle-Area Deals News

The big news of the week (and year) is Picnik’s acquisition by Google. But read on for some other notable deals from the Northwest as well.

—Seattle-based Picnik, the popular photo-editing software startup, was bought by Google in a deal of undisclosed size. The folks at Picnik seem pretty happy, and it sounds like a good cultural fit, as well as a good sign for the local Web startup community and M&A market, according to Picnik CEO Jonathan Sposato.

—Erin reported on some under-the-radar financing deals from the Seattle area and beyond, from January. Some notable investments you might not have heard about: UW startup Impel NeuroPharma raising $300,000, Seattle-based ValueAppeal raising $400,000, and Portand, OR-based NVoicePay raising $90,000 for e-payment software.

—Seattle-based 3Tier raised $3 million in new equity financing, as Luke reported. The investors weren’t disclosed, but back in December 2008, the company raised $10 million in a deal led by Good Energies. 3Tier recently completed its global map of wind and solar energy hotspots, in an effort to use high-performance computers and satellite data to provide crucial information to energy companies looking for the best sites to build renewable power plants.

—Seattle-based PhotoRocket, the stealthy photo-sharing startup from founder Scott Lipsky, opened a new round of financing that it expects will close on March 31. Investors and a target amount were not disclosed. Lipsky, the co-founder of aQuantive and GalleryPlayer (and former Amazon.com exec), said he has hired Michael Cockrill, formerly of Atlas Accelerator, Mixxer, and Qpass, and Gary Roshak, formerly with Marchex and Yahoo, for senior roles in PhotoRocket.

—Seattle-based Alliance of Angels said it invested a record $9.1 million in 29 companies in 2009. The investments by the angel investor organization were made in software, cleantech, retail and consumer products, and other sectors including Internet, mobile, and medical devices. Alliance of Angels has been investing in tech and high-growth companies since 1997.

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.