Microsoft and American Family Insurance today named the 10 startups selected for their joint accelerator focused on home automation. The companies announced the accelerator partnership in June. The selected startups will work from Microsoft’s Redmond, WA headquarters campus through December and will have access to expertise and connections from Madison, WI-based American Family Insurance. American Family … Continue reading “Home Automation Startups Begin Microsoft, American Family Accelerator”
Author: Benjamin Romano
Benjamin is the former Editor of Xconomy Seattle. He has covered the intersections of business, technology and the environment in the Pacific Northwest and beyond for more than a decade. At The Seattle Times he was the lead beat reporter covering Microsoft during Bill Gates’ transition from business to philanthropy. He also covered Seattle venture capital and biotech. Most recently, Benjamin followed the technology, finance and policies driving renewable energy development in the Western US for Recharge, a global trade publication. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication.
Techstars Seattle Picks 10 Startups for 3-Month Accelerator
It’s becoming a late-summer tradition in Seattle tech: The naming of the new startup companies selected for Techstars. The 10 selected for the 2014 class—which is the startup accelerator’s fifth in Seattle, and its first in new University District digs—have a broad range of target markets, from air conditioner controls to fashion to video for … Continue reading “Techstars Seattle Picks 10 Startups for 3-Month Accelerator”
Seattle Roundup: Rover, Tune, Rhapsody, Rightside, Zillow, Ada
This week’s Seattle tech news roundup features an acquisitions by Rover, Tune, and Rhapsody; the emergence of Rightside Group as a publicly-traded player in Internet domain names; a new mobile mortgage pre-approval feature from Zillow; and a new class of students at the Ada Developers Academy. Details: —Seattle-based Rover.com, fresh off of a $12 million … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Rover, Tune, Rhapsody, Rightside, Zillow, Ada”
Proof of the Seattle Freeze? People Take Fewer In-Person Meetings via App
Here’s some possible evidence of the Seattle Freeze, that social ill that gives Seattleites a reputation for being superficially friendly but non-committal to newcomers: People in Seattle using a new app for business networking agreed to take half as many in-person meetings with other users, compared to people in San Francisco. The app is called … Continue reading “Proof of the Seattle Freeze? People Take Fewer In-Person Meetings via App”
Audit Finds Business, Government Fails at E-mail Authentication
As e-mail users, we’ve gone from being spammed to phished to precision-targeting spear phished, and the biggest companies on the Internet aren’t doing enough about it. That’s the takeaway from a report out today by the Online Trust Alliance (OTA), a member-funded nonprofit group that has worked for the last decade on cleaning up the … Continue reading “Audit Finds Business, Government Fails at E-mail Authentication”
GraphLab Off to Fast Start with System for Building Predictive Apps
In the course of a mere 14 months, Seattle startup GraphLab Inc. has gone from a computer science professor and a few colleagues creating open source software to analyze graph datasets to a 25-person company with a new, full-fledged system for building predictive applications that draw on a range of data types. Their customers include … Continue reading “GraphLab Off to Fast Start with System for Building Predictive Apps”
Seattle Roundup: Zillow+Trulia, Pacific Crest, Anomo, Comr.se, & More
Zillow could be pursuing its biggest online real estate rival, Trulia, if a report from Bloomberg is to be believed. Another Northwest M&A deal is also going down: KeyCorp has an agreement to acquire Pacific Crest Securities. Meanwhile, big companies including Oracle and Alibaba are setting up shop in Seattle and a few smaller ones … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Zillow+Trulia, Pacific Crest, Anomo, Comr.se, & More”
Oracle to Hire 100 for Cloud Development Center in Seattle
Oracle is the latest technology giant to set up shop in Cloud City, WA—also known as Seattle—in search of talented engineers. The Redwood Shores, CA, enterprise IT giant is planning to hire 100 engineers to staff a new Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Development Center in downtown Seattle. It will be led by Craig Kelly and Don … Continue reading “Oracle to Hire 100 for Cloud Development Center in Seattle”
Socrata on a Tear With Open Data Network and European Project
The last year has been a good one for Seattle-based Socrata, which provides technology to help governments open access to data. The company finished 2013 on a rapid growth pace—more than doubling revenue and employees—and continued that momentum into this year, adding 22 new customers in the first quarter, compared to 44 in all of … Continue reading “Socrata on a Tear With Open Data Network and European Project”
Valant Medical Raises $11M for Behavioral Health-Focused Software
Seattle-based Valant Medical Solutions, which makes billing and health records management software for mental health professionals, has raised $11 million to support expansion into new markets and hiring. The nine-year-old company makes cloud-based electronic health records, billing systems, and other communication and practice management tools used by some 5,000 psychiatrists, therapists, and other behavioral health … Continue reading “Valant Medical Raises $11M for Behavioral Health-Focused Software”
Seattle Roundup: Big Numbers, UW Incubator, Trupanion, Cray, & More
This week we’re reviewing reports on Northwest funding activity and Seattle building activity, both indicators—leading or trailing?—of the tech economy’s strength. We’ve also got details on an accolade for the University of Washington’s commercialization efforts, Trupanion’s IPO plans, deals for Cray and Concur, and Flowboard’s next move: —Here are a couple of very big numbers … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Big Numbers, UW Incubator, Trupanion, Cray, & More”
State Grants Position Washington as Energy Storage Player
Washington state is staking a claim in the growing utility energy storage industry, tapping state and federal research, public and private funding, and entrepreneurship to develop and test new batteries that could help transition the electricity system away from polluting power sources. Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat who has made combating climate change a signature … Continue reading “State Grants Position Washington as Energy Storage Player”
UniEnergy Technologies Goes from Molecules to Megawatts
Vanadium, in the eyes of energy storage innovators, is a lovely, generous element, even though it’s often found in some dirty places. It is named for a Norse goddess of beauty. Its color, when dissolved in an electrolyte solution, changes from lilac to green to blue to yellow as it easily gives and takes electrons, … Continue reading “UniEnergy Technologies Goes from Molecules to Megawatts”
Q2 In Review: Fire, Fundings, Floating Wind, Biotech Ups and Downs
Happy Fourth of July, everyone. Here’s a review of some notable Xconomy Seattle stories from the second quarter. Enjoy the holiday weekend! Ahead of Amazon’s smartphone announcement, Curt Woodward looked at why the company wanted to build one in the first place. And here’s Woodward’s take on the Fire phone as another way the e-commerce … Continue reading “Q2 In Review: Fire, Fundings, Floating Wind, Biotech Ups and Downs”
UW Breaks Last Year’s Record With 18 New Companies Formed
[Updated 7/2/14, 4:10 pm. See below.] The University of Washington spun out 18 startup companies in the fiscal year just ended, a record level that serves as a powerful counterpoint to recent criticism that its commercialization practices have over-emphasized revenue generation at the expense of other priorities. This year’s class of startups follows 17 spun … Continue reading “UW Breaks Last Year’s Record With 18 New Companies Formed”
Seattle Roundup: UW Commercialization, WISErg, Element 8, & More
Big news for the state’s innovation economy this week was the change of leadership in the University of Washington’s commercialization efforts. We also saw funding for WISErg, which takes grocery food scraps and makes organic fertilizer, and heard that cleantech-focused angel investor group Element 8 is on pace for a record year. Meanwhile, Smartsheet and … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: UW Commercialization, WISErg, Element 8, & More”
Q&A: Vikram Jandhyala Wants Entrepreneurship to Be Part of UW’s DNA
Vikram Jandhyala, newly charged with driving technology commercialization and a broader innovation strategy at the University of Washington, wears lots of hats already. His Twitter profile lists many of them succinctly: “Professor. Administrator. Entrepreneur. Researcher. Educator. Husband. Dad. Cat Parent. Sports and Health Enthusiast. Bookworm. Generalist.” Jandhyala, 42, will wear them all and more when … Continue reading “Q&A: Vikram Jandhyala Wants Entrepreneurship to Be Part of UW’s DNA”
In Time of Change, Jandhyala to Replace Rhoads in UW Tech Transfer
The University of Washington has significantly improved its processes for transferring technology to startups and established companies, but an advisory group says changes are still needed—including to the basic structure of the commercialization effort—to achieve the “entrepreneurial ecosystem” that university and technology business leaders want. On Tuesday, the university started at the top, naming Vikram … Continue reading “In Time of Change, Jandhyala to Replace Rhoads in UW Tech Transfer”
What Can the Northwest Do Best in Clean Energy?
The Pacific Northwest has a burgeoning clean energy industry, underpinned by strong public research institutions, active angel investors, and an environmental ethos that’s part of the culture. But leaders in the field argue that the region could do more if it united behind a few key areas where it could be the best in the … Continue reading “What Can the Northwest Do Best in Clean Energy?”
Seattle Roundup: Puppet Labs, Trupanion, GatheredTable, & More
The Amazon phone grabbed the tech headlines this week, with the e-commerce giant unveiling its new 3D instant shopping device here in Seattle on Wednesday. In other news, Portland, OR-based Puppet Labs pulled down a large Series E funding round; Trupanion, the Seattle pet insurance provider, filed for an initial public offering; and GatheredTable raised … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Puppet Labs, Trupanion, GatheredTable, & More”
Seattle (Location) Roundup: Dwellable, Buuteeq, Medio Systems
It’s all about location this week. Two Seattle-based companies doing interesting things with location, Placed and Glympse, raised eight-digit venture rounds this week. Meanwhile, we saw a couple of Seattle-based travel companies, Dwellable and Buuteeq, raising capital and being acquired, respectively. Also getting its M&A on was Medio Systems, which is being acquired by HERE, … Continue reading “Seattle (Location) Roundup: Dwellable, Buuteeq, Medio Systems”
Glympse Raises $12M to Forge More Location-Sharing Partnerships
[Updated, 8:45 am. See below.] Seattle-based Glympse, which allows people to temporarily share their location from mobile phones and a growing array of other devices, has raised $12 million from UMC Capital, Verizon Ventures, and other investors. The company is finding its greatest success through partnerships that have seen Glympse integrated directly into mobile handsets, … Continue reading “Glympse Raises $12M to Forge More Location-Sharing Partnerships”
OTA: Most Top Websites Don’t Follow Best Security, Privacy Practices
Craig Spiezle, executive director of the Online Trust Alliance, sees online data breeches and privacy fumbles in much the same way an environmentalist might view chemical leaks or oil spills. There are the headline-grabbing catastrophes: last year’s theft of credit and debit card information from Target; this year’s Heartbleed vulnerability, for example. Then there are … Continue reading “OTA: Most Top Websites Don’t Follow Best Security, Privacy Practices”
Seattle’s Placed Raises $10M to Measure Mobile Ad Effectiveness
If you’re a retailer trying to drive consumers into your stores with mobile ads, the number of clicks your ad gets doesn’t matter. What matters is how many people come into your stores after seeing the ads. Seattle startup Placed is raising $10 million to continue its bid to measure the real-world effects of mobile … Continue reading “Seattle’s Placed Raises $10M to Measure Mobile Ad Effectiveness”
Roundup: InDemand Interpreting, Cozi, Ada Developers, Accelerators & More
This week, we’re catching up on a funding round for medical interpreting service provider InDemand Interpreting, the acquisition by Time of Cozi, expansion at the Ada Developers Academy, upcoming deadlines to apply for two Seattle-area startup accelerators, Smartsheet’s new app gallery, and a key licensing deal for Airbiquity. The details: —InDemand Interpreting, which uses PC-based … Continue reading “Roundup: InDemand Interpreting, Cozi, Ada Developers, Accelerators & More”
West Coast Floating Wind Turbine Plan Gains Momentum, Funding
Seafarers and beachgoers know ocean winds blow strong and often. Wind energy developers know it, too. Hundreds of massive wind turbines already dot the seas around the U.K., Denmark, Germany and other countries—and developers are preparing to install the first U.S. offshore turbines in New England waters. That’s bringing a growing source of carbon-free—though still … Continue reading “West Coast Floating Wind Turbine Plan Gains Momentum, Funding”
Seattle Roundup: Farmstr, Koru, Indow Windows, & More
ExtraHop’s big $41 million Series C round from Technology Crossover Ventures was the big news of the week. But a handful of other developments caught our attention: —Today, we reported on SignalSense, the new startup company that former Microsoft Technical Fellow and Splunk engineering leader Brad Lovering is working on. —Jobaline raised a $7 million … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Farmstr, Koru, Indow Windows, & More”
Brad Lovering Leaves Splunk for Seattle-Area Startup SignalSense
Brad Lovering, the former Microsoft Technical Fellow who opened Splunk’s Seattle office and most recently served as its chief development architect, is at a new startup, SignalSense, which just raised $1.3 million, according to a securities filing and Lovering’s LinkedIn profile. Lovering was so sought after by Splunk, the high-flying San Francisco company focused on … Continue reading “Brad Lovering Leaves Splunk for Seattle-Area Startup SignalSense”
ExtraHop Raises $41M from TCV to Untangle Corporate Networks
ExtraHop, a Seattle company that taps the low-level data coursing through IT systems to better manage them and the businesses they support, has raised a $41 million Series C round led by Technology Crossover Ventures. Earlier investors Madrona Venture Group, Meritech Capital, Isilon Systems founder Sujal Patel, and other angel investors joined the round. It … Continue reading “ExtraHop Raises $41M from TCV to Untangle Corporate Networks”
Jobaline Raises $7M to Take Hourly Labor Recruiting Market National
In a testament to its success in a large corner of the employment market that has been underserved by technology providers, Jobaline is raising a substantial round of fresh capital. The Kirkland, WA, company has raised $7 million in Series B funding for a nationwide expansion of its mobile, bi-lingual marketplace for recruiting hourly workers. … Continue reading “Jobaline Raises $7M to Take Hourly Labor Recruiting Market National”
Roundup: Tech Economy, Startup Competitions, Code Fellows, Solar Storage
Usually, long before a company gets that eight-figure Series B investment—as Seattle’s Context Relevant did this week—it has to scrape together experience, validation, and more modest sums through investment competitions, such as Seattle Angel Conference and the University of Washington Business Plan Competition, both of which took place this week. They play a key role … Continue reading “Roundup: Tech Economy, Startup Competitions, Code Fellows, Solar Storage”
Stuck on Website ‘Help Island’? First UW iSchool Spinout Has the Answer
[Corrected 5/23/14, 10:53 am. See below.] The University of Washington Information School has more than a century of history, and now, it’s first startup company, AnswerDash, which aims to improve self-service online help for e-commerce, government, and other Websites. While startup companies and technologies with commercial potential regularly emerge from the larger UW Computer Science … Continue reading “Stuck on Website ‘Help Island’? First UW iSchool Spinout Has the Answer”
Engaged Learning, Backed by Gates Foundation, Adapts to Each Student
When University of Washington computer science professor Zoran Popović describes his effort to dramatically change the way kids learn math, you can pick up echoes of personalized medicine, targeted online advertisements, and even choose-your-own adventure books. As in virtually every other sphere of business and life, the technology-driven transformation of education from a data-poor to a … Continue reading “Engaged Learning, Backed by Gates Foundation, Adapts to Each Student”
With Banks, Insurers Knocking, Context Relevant Lands $21M to Answer
Context Relevant has focused its big data analysis software on deep-pocketed financial services firms that are looking for an edge, demand tight security, and are willing to pay for it. The strategy appears to be winning as the Seattle-based startup has raised $21 million in new capital to hire 100 people over the next 18 … Continue reading “With Banks, Insurers Knocking, Context Relevant Lands $21M to Answer”
Roundup: StratoScientific, Pro.com, Seattle Steam, Bitcoin Miners, & More
It was a very good week for a new father-and-son medical devices company, StratoScientific. Another home improvement startup, Pro.com, is revving up in Seattle. Seattle Steam is being acquired by Brookfield Asset Management. Bitcoin miners are opening up shop in Eastern Washington because of the low cost of electricity. And Code Fellows has a new … Continue reading “Roundup: StratoScientific, Pro.com, Seattle Steam, Bitcoin Miners, & More”
Foundation Gives $31.2M to Support UW Entrepreneurial Researchers
The University of Washington today announced a $31.2 million gift from the Washington Research Foundation to support interdisciplinary, entrepreneurial researchers working on protein design, data science, clean energy, and neuroengineering. Xconomy first reported on the funding, which represents a new giving strategy for the foundation, in March. A few details were announced today that were … Continue reading “Foundation Gives $31.2M to Support UW Entrepreneurial Researchers”
Seattle Roundup: CPA Fund, Minetta Brook, Appetas, Ada, & More
Lots to catch up on this week: Columbia Pacific Advisors shared more about its tech investment strategy; Minetta Brook released an interesting big data offering; Google ate Appetas; Smore raised cash; the Ada Developers Academy partnered with Bellevue College; and WallyHome partnered with HomeAdvisor. That’s all in addition to our coverage this week of funding … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: CPA Fund, Minetta Brook, Appetas, Ada, & More”
LiquidPlanner Raises $8M In Hot Market for Project Management Tools
LiquidPlanner has spent five years, and a relatively modest amount of capital, developing a sophisticated scheduling engine that is at the heart of its project management software. Now, the company is raising $8 million from San Diego’s TVC Capital and Seattle-area angel investors including Geoff Entress and Bill Bryant to sell its offering to a … Continue reading “LiquidPlanner Raises $8M In Hot Market for Project Management Tools”
With $23.6M, Igneous Systems Targets Next-Gen Datacenters
Igneous Systems is quietly working on something to do with modern datacenter infrastructure—something that attracted a $23.6 million Series A funding round, announced by the Seattle startup today. New Enterprise Associates led the round, which was joined by Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group (which incubated the company’s founders over the last nine months and led a … Continue reading “With $23.6M, Igneous Systems Targets Next-Gen Datacenters”
“Fledgling” Startups Provide Power, Light, and Food in East Africa
Three of the startup companies graduating from Seattle incubator Fledge on Wednesday are focused on doing well by doing good in one particular East African country: Tanzania. These entrepreneurs—hailing from outside Toronto, the Bay Area, and the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro—found and applied for Fledge in the typical ways. But over the course of the … Continue reading ““Fledgling” Startups Provide Power, Light, and Food in East Africa”
Smartsheet Wins Big Customers, $35M From Sutter Hill Ventures
An important aspect of the consumerization of corporate IT is the way new products are initially adopted and ultimately deployed by a large business. For many business software makers, the idea now is to get an easy-to-use tool in the hands of a few people or a small team, and let them spread it throughout … Continue reading “Smartsheet Wins Big Customers, $35M From Sutter Hill Ventures”
Cleantech Roundup: Inslee Points Toward Cap and Trade; EnergySavvy Funding
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who has made combating climate change his signature issue, directed a taskforce to research a state cap-and-trade policy this week. Meanwhile, EnergySavvy collected fresh funding for its energy efficiency software, while early-stage funding for cleantech startups all but dried up in the first quarter. More details: —Washington Gov. Jay Inslee spent … Continue reading “Cleantech Roundup: Inslee Points Toward Cap and Trade; EnergySavvy Funding”
Seattle Roundup: PayScale, LSDF, Blucora, Glider, Utrip, VirtualQube
PayScale is getting up to $100 million from Warburg Pincus; Blucora bought HowStuffWorks; the Washington Life Sciences Discovery Fund is making more grants; Glider is acquired by FPX; and Utrip and VirtualQube raised capital. More details: —PayScale, the Seattle compensation data company, will cash out existing investors and fund continued growth with an investment of … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: PayScale, LSDF, Blucora, Glider, Utrip, VirtualQube”
Life Sciences Research in Washington Delivers Economic Punch
In addition to novel therapies, improved crops, and cleaner fuels, life sciences research at University of Washington and Washington State University delivers a multibillion-dollar economic boost to the state. Research and development spending by Washington state universities exceeded $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2010, with more than half of that spent in life sciences fields … Continue reading “Life Sciences Research in Washington Delivers Economic Punch”
New Ignition Partners Happy Betting on Business Computing Renaissance
A little more than a year after raising its fifth fund and tightening its investing focus to enterprise and business-to-business startups, Ignition Partners sees the past as precedent for its bets on a broad reinvention happening in business computing. The venture capital firm, based in Bellevue, WA, and with a new office in Palo Alto, … Continue reading “New Ignition Partners Happy Betting on Business Computing Renaissance”
Pacific Northwest Venture Activity ‘Healthy’ in First Quarter
While venture capital investment in the first quarter nationally hit levels not seen since spring 2001, the Pacific Northwest started the year with a fairly typical level of funding and deals. Investors backed 30 companies in Washington and Oregon with more than $186 million in the first quarter, according to the newest MoneyTree Report. That’s … Continue reading “Pacific Northwest Venture Activity ‘Healthy’ in First Quarter”
Roundup: Inrix, EnerG2, Front Desk, Gates Patent, Boeing Engineers
It’s already been a busy week, with four major venture financing rounds for Pacific Northwest companies. Meanwhile, Inrix, the traffic information company, appears to be in the midst of a large financing itself. We’re also following interesting partnerships for EnerG2 and Front Desk; a patent filing from a group of inventors including Bill Gates that … Continue reading “Roundup: Inrix, EnerG2, Front Desk, Gates Patent, Boeing Engineers”
Rain in Seattle: Major Funding for Julep, Avvo, Cardiac Dimensions
Three Seattle-area companies—Julep Beauty, Avvo, and Cardiac Dimensions—have announced significant new later-stage investments this week, totaling $87.5 million. Add that to the $42 million funding round Beaverton, OR-based Act-On Software announced on Monday, and it’s been a pretty active run here in early spring, particularly compared to a typically slow start to the year for … Continue reading “Rain in Seattle: Major Funding for Julep, Avvo, Cardiac Dimensions”
Marketing Automation Provider Act-On Software Raises $42M, Eyes IPO
More cash is flowing into the online marketing business with Act-On Software hauling in a $42 million investment led by Technology Crossover Ventures and eying an initial public offering perhaps next year. Based in Beaverton, OR, Act-On, a maker of marketing automation tools, is following what is becoming a well-worn path towards the public markets … Continue reading “Marketing Automation Provider Act-On Software Raises $42M, Eyes IPO”
Investing in Dreams: Northwest Programs Educate New Angels
Desney Tan is a decorated computer scientist and principal researcher at Microsoft Research where he works on mobile and wearable devices. He’s done well enough to have “a couple extra dollars to toss around,” he says, and he wanted to take his passion for technology up another notch by investing some of those dollars in … Continue reading “Investing in Dreams: Northwest Programs Educate New Angels”