It was a relatively busy week for deals in the Northwest, with plenty of action in software, biotech, and alternative energy.
—Seattle and San Francisco-based Twilio, a startup that provides cloud-based tools for building voice applications over the phone, raised its first institutional round of funding from Founders Fund and computing pioneer Mitchell Kapor. The amount was not disclosed. Twilio co-founder Jeff Lawson talked with me about the deal and how it will help the company expand its services.
—Seattle’s Principle Power, a wind energy startup, is in the process of raising $20 million to develop the world’s first floating wind farm in the deep waters off the coasts of Oregon and Portugal. Principle Power’s CEO, Alla Weinstein, wouldn’t say who the company’s strategic investors are, but she did say that no VC firms or Seattle investors are involved. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.
—Luke broke the exclusive story of Merck’s Stephen Friend raising $5 million in anonymous donations to pursue the vision of open-source drug development at a new Seattle nonprofit called Sage. The idea is to provide an open database of patients’ genomic profiles that researchers, doctors, and drug companies can access in order to make better drugs.
—Bellevue, WA-based Ignition Partners led a $10 million investment in Zenprise, a mobile-management software startup in Fremont, CA. Existing investors Bay Partners, Mayfield, and Shasta Ventures also participated in the round. Zenprise makes automated software to help businesses fix IT problems with smartphones.
—Seattle-based Arzeda, a University of Washington startup that designs custom-built enzymes, has secured commitments from OVP Venture Partners and WRF Capital to anchor its $12 million
