For months the flow of news about Seattle-area technology company deals has felt like a trickle, and then all of the sudden this week we have deals coming out of our ears. It must be the fall weather, which has finally set in, quite a bit later than usual. Take a look at the highlights:
—One of the early executives at San Francisco-based social gaming company Zynga (the group behind Farmville), Andrew Trader, joined Seattle- and San Francisco-based venture capital firm Maveron. According to an announcement, Trader will be based out of the firm’s Bay Area office, and “will explore new web-enabled consumer service opportunities.”
—Seattle-based travel startup Off & Away raised $2 million in a financing round led by local Madrona Venture Group. The company, headed by former Madrona entrepreneur in residence Doug Aley, launched in May and offers high-end hotel rooms at cheaper prices through online auctions.
—This isn’t exactly a deal, but it certainly is interesting. Last week Irish mobile company NewBay, which has had a presence in Bellevue, WA since 2005, opened a new Seattle office that will also function as the company’s U.S. headquarters. Read our interview with senior vice president and general manager of the Americas, Timo Bauer, about what this means for the company and the Seattle-area mobile sector.
—Tukwila, WA-based digital-to-physical media company RPI raised $5 million more in a financing round led by Portland, OR-based Riverlake Partners. One of the few older mid-sized tech companies in the Seattle area still around, RPI, which was founded in 1979, says it will use the funding to “accelerate its strategic growth plan.” The company raised $5 million back in July from San Diego-based Huntington Capital, which also participated in this round.
—A number of smaller local and countrywide deals also popped up on our radar last week due their rather interesting ties to Seattle. We did a midweek roundup of these deals, which include news from Porland, OR-based social e-commerce company ShopIgniter, San Francisco-based Salesforce.com, local WhitePages, Troy, MI-based disaster restoration and reconstruction firm InStar, and Seattle-based Shiftboard.
—Seattle-based search engine optimization (SEO) and social media software company Optify raised $6.1 million in a round led by Triangle Peak Partners, with participation from Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group and a number of prominent angel investors. The two-year-old company rolled out of stealth in March on the heels of a $2.75 million investment from Madrona in July 2009. As part of the deal, Triangle Peak co-founder David Pesikoff is joining Optify’s board of directors.
—This isn’t a deal either, but it speaks to one. After months of stealth, and $5.25 million in financing, Seattle-based, Jeff Bezos-backed, startup Doxo has finally rolled out its actual service—a free online paperless bill management tool. Read our story on the company’s plan, the future of the paperless movement, and why Doxo’s business model allows it to offer its Web-based tool to consumers for free.
—Seattle-based TalentSpring was acquired by Richmond, B.C.-based recruitment and hiring software company Talent Technology for an undisclosed amount. TalentSpring is a semantic-search software developer that assists employment recruiters in finding candidates that better match open positions. The company, to date, has raised $2.7 million in financing from Second Avenue Partners and private investors.
—Seattle-based Recruiting.com (formerly known as Jobster) was acquired by Phoenix, AZ-based employment website Jobing for an undisclosed amount. To date the six-year-old company has raised more than $50 million in venture financing from Bellevue, WA-based Ignition Partners, alongside Trinity Ventures, Reed Elsevier Venture, and Mayfield Fund. Recruiting.com sold its Jobster business to Boston-based talent management company Zapoint in April.
