The jaw-dropping $120 million Series A for Juno Therapeutics earlier this week will rank among the biggest Seattle stories of the year. In its shadow, a handful of other notable deals emerged this week, including funding for Clarity Health Services, Nurego, and Concurix, and the acquisition of MeritShare. Meanwhile, 3Tier is opening some of its … Continue reading “Roundup: Clarity Health Services, Nurego, Concurix Score Funds, & More”
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.
Roundup: Founder’s Co-op, Wire, Inside Social, Indow Windows, & More
Tired of turkey? Have some Thanksgiving leftovers from Seattle tech: Rudy Gadre is joining Founder’s Co-op as a partner; 2013 Techstars companies Wire and Inside Social got investors’ attention; Indow Windows also raised new capital; Point Inside launched an interesting new mobile app for Lowe’s; and Ed Lazowska argues for the value of computer science … Continue reading “Roundup: Founder’s Co-op, Wire, Inside Social, Indow Windows, & More”
Seattle Startup Hydrobee Would Bring USB Power Anywhere Water Flows
After studying innovative ways to make electricity from water for the last seven years, Burt Hamner’s latest venture aims to turn the typical hydroelectric model on its head. Instead of making lots of power in one place—say from a massive dam, an array of tidal energy devices at the bottom of Puget Sound, or even … Continue reading “Seattle Startup Hydrobee Would Bring USB Power Anywhere Water Flows”
Roundup: News from Everpath, Haiku Deck, Planetary Resources & More
No IPOs or blockbuster funding rounds so far this week, but check out some interesting tidbits from Techstars grads Everpath and Haiku Deck; Planetary Resources; Portland-based startup Househappy; and more. —Everpath, a 2013 Techstars Seattle company making an online education platform, raised $950,000 from angel investors in Seattle and the Bay Area. The startup is … Continue reading “Roundup: News from Everpath, Haiku Deck, Planetary Resources & More”
Slideshow: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle
There are a wide range of people and companies working on many aspects of the big data challenge in Seattle and we heard from many of them at a packed event Tuesday. Thanks to all of our speakers, attendees, and sponsors for helping make Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle a successful event. … Continue reading “Slideshow: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle”
City Council Maintains Planned Funding for Seattle Startup Initiative
The Seattle City Council is on its way to approving funds allocated for the Startup Seattle initiative, despite an effort to cut or delay the funding by three council members skeptical of the effort’s merit. The $151,000 line item for a staff position to run the initiative—unveiled in May by Mayor Mike McGinn—was the only … Continue reading “City Council Maintains Planned Funding for Seattle Startup Initiative”
See You There: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle
We’ve got a great group of innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers, and investors lined up to help us make sense of big data in Seattle tomorrow afternoon. The agenda for this Xconomy forum is full, and we expect the house will be too. Just a few tickets remain. They’re available at the door, beginning at 1 p.m. … Continue reading “See You There: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle”
SNUPI Technologies’ Home Sensor Network Monitors Water Leaks, Babies
SNUPI Technologies wants to help homeowners spot mold, leaks, and appliance failures before they become a big problem, but that’s just the beginning. This Seattle startup is building a platform at the intersection of low-cost, low-power sensor networks, cloud computing, and machine learning, that is showing potential beyond the initial product and service that SNUPI … Continue reading “SNUPI Technologies’ Home Sensor Network Monitors Water Leaks, Babies”
Seattle E-Commerce Startup Zulily Raises $253M in IPO, Soars 71%
[Updated throughout 11/15/13, 1:42 p.m. PT] Seattle is home to another multi-billion-dollar tech company with the initial public offering of Zulily, which sold 11.5 million shares for $22 each Thursday and watched its stock climb as much as 87.8 percent in trading on the NASDAQ Friday. Zulily shares, trading under the ticker symbol ZU, closed … Continue reading “Seattle E-Commerce Startup Zulily Raises $253M in IPO, Soars 71%”
Redfin Raises $50M From Tiger Global, T. Rowe Price, Others
Redfin just raised $50 million, more than double what the Seattle-based online real estate brokerage had raised from venture capitalists in its prior 11 years in business. The company brought on new investors Tiger Global Management and T. Rowe Price Associates’ portfolios for this “mezzanine investment.” Previous investors Greylock Partners, Globespan Capital Partners, Draper Fisher … Continue reading “Redfin Raises $50M From Tiger Global, T. Rowe Price, Others”
Former Decide CEO Fridgen to Advise Social Commerce Startup Yabbly
Yabbly proclaims on its Web site: “Product search powered by people, not an algorithm.” So it was interesting to learn that Mike Fridgen, who headed Decide.com—which offered very powerful product and pricing searches powered by algorithms, not people—has signed on as an adviser to Seattle-based Yabbly. I had a chance to talk with Fridgen to … Continue reading “Former Decide CEO Fridgen to Advise Social Commerce Startup Yabbly”
Discount Ends Today: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle
Seattle seems to be adding to its big data assets by the day. Today, it’s a $37.8 million grant to the University of Washington and two other elite institutions to strengthen data-driven science. This effort and others like it promise to help attract and train the sought-after data scientists driving the next generation of discovery … Continue reading “Discount Ends Today: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle”
Big Data Grant from Moore, Sloan Aims to Make Pi-Shaped Scientists
Scientists in nearly every field are confronting the blessing and the curse of big data. New scientific instruments and simulations such as the Large Hadron Collider and the cabled ocean observatory in the northeastern Pacific promise more and better observations of places and phenomena that were difficult or impossible to access before. Sociologists and economists … Continue reading “Big Data Grant from Moore, Sloan Aims to Make Pi-Shaped Scientists”
Agenda: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle on Nov. 19
From the latest on in-home sensors to next-generation big data platforms to Internet-scale data-centric applications to the future of artificial intelligence, we’ve got the data-to-insight pipeline covered at Xconomy’s Nov. 19 forum, Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle. The full agenda for this half-day event is locked in and now available here. You … Continue reading “Agenda: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle on Nov. 19”
2nd Watch Raises $23M to Expand AWS Cloud Migration Business
2nd Watch just scored $23 million to help large businesses, which are shifting their IT functions to the cloud in droves, move to Amazon Web Services. The company, headquartered in Liberty Lake, just east of Spokane, WA, brought on new investor Columbia Capital for the round. Madrona Venture Group, which invested $4.2 million late last … Continue reading “2nd Watch Raises $23M to Expand AWS Cloud Migration Business”
Big Insight from CEOs of Context Relevant, Seeq at Upcoming Forum
Two Seattle-based big data startups illustrate the range of opportunities for companies helping people extract valuable insight from their data. We’re happy to announce that Context Relevant CEO Stephen Purpura and Seeq CEO Steve Sliwa are joining our already packed lineup of speakers for the Nov. 19 Xconomy Forum: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data … Continue reading “Big Insight from CEOs of Context Relevant, Seeq at Upcoming Forum”
Seeq Raises $6M to Help Manufacturers With Big Data
Seeq, which is bringing big data analysis tools to manufacturers and industrial companies with lots of time-based process data, has filled out a $6 million Series A round led by Second Avenue Partners. Also participating in the round—which includes a $2 million close Xconomy reported on in May—are Madrona Venture Group, Clear Fir Partners, and … Continue reading “Seeq Raises $6M to Help Manufacturers With Big Data”
Accelerator 9Mile Labs Raises Fund to Back Next Class at $35k Each
9Mile Labs, the Seattle-area business-to-business startup accelerator, has raised a $900,000 fund from local angel investors to back companies in its upcoming second class and pay for professional resources in areas such as design, marketing and finance. The nine companies chosen for 9Mile’s second cohort, which begins January 15, will each receive a $35,000 investment … Continue reading “Accelerator 9Mile Labs Raises Fund to Back Next Class at $35k Each”
Seattle’s Next Billion-Dollar Tech Star: Zulily Aims for $16-$18 IPO
Zulily’s forthcoming initial public stock offering could raise as much as $238 million for the Seattle company and its insiders and investors. The daily deals site for moms and kids today said it estimates an IPO price of $16 to $18 per share. Investors will have a crack at 11.5 million shares when the Zulily … Continue reading “Seattle’s Next Billion-Dollar Tech Star: Zulily Aims for $16-$18 IPO”
NW Advanced Computing Partnership Looks to Tackle Big Challenges
The Northwest Institute for Advanced Computing (NIAC) is taking shape, with researchers and professors from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Washington brainstorming to identify a few large-scale strategic projects that could advance their budding partnership and the state of the art in computing. At a coming out event Wednesday at the UW, … Continue reading “NW Advanced Computing Partnership Looks to Tackle Big Challenges”
Tableau Software Continues Rapid Sales, Expenses Growth in Q3
Seattle big data visualization company Tableau Software increased third-quarter revenue 90 percent year-over-year to $61.1 million, and posted a $2.4 million profit. That performance hasn’t yet made up for losses earlier this year: Tableau (NYSE: [[ticker:DATA]]) is running nearly $4.2 million in the red for the first nine months of 2013. Tableau management are betting heavily … Continue reading “Tableau Software Continues Rapid Sales, Expenses Growth in Q3”
In New Regulatory World, Techstars Seattle is Cautious on Demo Day
Like other startup accelerators, Techstars Seattle is treading carefully around new SEC regulations on general solicitation with its 2013 Demo Day. Managing director Andy Sack notes that he usually implores the audience “to get your checkbooks out” at this annual culmination of the top-tier, three-month “entrepreneurship boot camp.” “Due to some recent regulatory changes, if … Continue reading “In New Regulatory World, Techstars Seattle is Cautious on Demo Day”
Slideshow: Nathan Myhrvold’s Food Photography Obsession on Display
If you enjoy snapping the occasional picture of what you’ve made for dinner, great! You have something in common with Seattle tech mogul and gastronaut Nathan Myhrvold. Your pictures probably aren’t in a museum, though. An exhibition of photography from Myhrvold’s landmark 2011 Modernist Cuisine cookbook and the follow-up Modernist Cuisine at Home opens this … Continue reading “Slideshow: Nathan Myhrvold’s Food Photography Obsession on Display”
Roundup: WhitePages, Contour, 9Mile Labs, Blue Rooster, Dwellable
It’s a busy week for startups in Seattle. Some of the news that has caught our attention lately: WhitePages’ buyout of its VC investors; the apparent revival of action-sports camera maker Contour; 9Mile Labs opening applications for its second cohort; Blue Rooster’s $3 million raise; and a strong coming out for vacation rentals startup Dwellable. … Continue reading “Roundup: WhitePages, Contour, 9Mile Labs, Blue Rooster, Dwellable”
INRIX CEO, Globys Data Science SVP Join Packed Nov. 19 Big Insight Event
INRIX, the Kirkland, WA-based traffic intelligence company, has a quintessential big-data-centric business and highlights the Northwest’s strengths in this field. That’s why we’re thrilled to have the company’s co-founder and CEO, Bryan Mistele, join our Nov. 19 Xconomy Forum: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle. He joins two other great new additions to … Continue reading “INRIX CEO, Globys Data Science SVP Join Packed Nov. 19 Big Insight Event”
Northwest Venture Investment Falls 19% in Third Quarter
Pacific Northwest companies raised $141.7 million from venture capitalists in the third quarter, a decrease of almost 19 percent from the year earlier period, while the number of deals remained essentially flat at 36. That contrasts to a 17 percent year-over-year increase in venture investment nationally to nearly $7.8 billion, according to the latest PwC/NVCA … Continue reading “Northwest Venture Investment Falls 19% in Third Quarter”
Big Name VCs Back Seattle Enterprise Software Startup usermind
The founders of usermind, a Seattle startup raising $7.6 million from three top venture firms, see a new de facto IT department emerging in companies that use multiple software-as-a-service (Saas) platforms to run customer-facing sales, marketing, and support functions. Co-founder and CEO Michel Feaster says usermind is making software that helps the operations professionals in … Continue reading “Big Name VCs Back Seattle Enterprise Software Startup usermind”
Seattle Serial Entrepreneurs: Advice They Wish They’d Heard Earlier
What does it take to make it as a startup entrepreneur? Persistence and a great team. Those themes came up repeatedly when we asked 26 serial entrepreneurs in the Seattle technology industry for the entrepreneurship advice they wish they’d heard earlier in their careers. We’ve collected their words of wisdom—as well as pictures of the … Continue reading “Seattle Serial Entrepreneurs: Advice They Wish They’d Heard Earlier”
Indix Brings Big Data, Analytics, & Visualizations to Product Managers
[Updated 10/17/13 11:31 am. See below.] Big data startup Indix does not lack ambition as it unveils the “product intelligence platform” it has been working on quietly for the last 18 months. “One of our goals is to organize everything on the Internet that is related to products,” says co-founder and CEO Sanjay Parthasarathy. The … Continue reading “Indix Brings Big Data, Analytics, & Visualizations to Product Managers”
Seattle Roundup: Nuance+Varolii, Amazon+TenMarks, Funding for Comr.se
It was a busy week in tech M&A locally. Nuance Communications is buying Seattle-based Varolii; Amazon.com steps up its education game with the acquisition of TenMarks; and Add3 has acquired Amplify Interactive to strengthen its search marketing business. Also, 9Mile Labs graduate Comr.se has raised $781,000. The details: —Nuance Communications is bolstering its outbound customer … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Nuance+Varolii, Amazon+TenMarks, Funding for Comr.se”
Amazon Aims to Attract More Startups to Its Cloud With AWS Activate
Already viewed as a top cloud computing platform for technology startups, Amazon Web Services is trying to bring more entrepreneurs into its fold with a program of promotional credits, training, and forums geared for nascent businesses. “Startups will forever be a very important customer segment of AWS,” says Amazon CTO Werner Vogels in a blog … Continue reading “Amazon Aims to Attract More Startups to Its Cloud With AWS Activate”
CEOs of Qumulo, Socrata to Speak at Big Insight Event Nov. 19
Big data has captured the attention and checkbooks of investors. In the last year, Seattle-area companies building big data platforms, tools, and applications have raised north of $100 million from venture capitalists. Add Tableau Software’s IPO, and the area’s companies in this space have landed investment of close to $300 million in the last 12 … Continue reading “CEOs of Qumulo, Socrata to Speak at Big Insight Event Nov. 19”
TV Ad Intelligence Startup iSpot.tv Raises $5M from Madrona, TL
Bellevue, WA-based iSpot.tv, which tracks television advertising in real time, has raised $5 million from Madrona Venture Group and TL Ventures, and is bringing new ad data to market. The company aims to fill what iSpot.tv founder and CEO Sean Muller calls “a gap between what information advertisers and TV networks need and what is … Continue reading “TV Ad Intelligence Startup iSpot.tv Raises $5M from Madrona, TL”
Jobaline Raises $2.8M for Expansion, Improved Hourly Job Matching
One of the first hires made through Seattle-area startup Jobaline was a Hispanic construction worker who applied for a job via text message from a feature phone, was called for an interview by a staffing agency 12 hours later, and was dispatched to install tile a few hours after that. Jobaline co-founder and CEO Luis … Continue reading “Jobaline Raises $2.8M for Expansion, Improved Hourly Job Matching”
Wave of Capital for Ed-Tech Startups Kairos, LearnBIG, Actively Learn
It looks like an opportune moment for education technology entrepreneurs in Seattle. A trio of local startups has raised a combined $6 million in recent weeks to work on various aspects of e-learning. Kairos 4, headed by Kristen Hamilton, most recently entrepreneur-in-residence at Seattle venture capital firm Maveron, has raised more than $4.3 million, according … Continue reading “Wave of Capital for Ed-Tech Startups Kairos, LearnBIG, Actively Learn”
Seattle Roundup: Amazon Hiring; AdReady Acquired; Paper + Moleskine & More
Seattle tech news this week includes Amazon’s seasonal hiring binge, the acquisition of AdReady, a Paper-Moleskine partnership, and funding for BuddyTV.com. Read on for more details. —If the government shutdown continues through the holidays, laid-off federal employees could apply for one of the 70,000-plus full-time seasonal openings Amazon.com plans to fill this year. The Seattle … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Amazon Hiring; AdReady Acquired; Paper + Moleskine & More”
Women-only Coding School Aims at Worker Shortage, Gender Imbalance
Technology companies are clamoring for more software developers, and the industry as a whole is struggling to recruit more women to its ranks. Enter the Ada Developers Academy, an immersive program to teach women with no prior programming experience the fundamentals of coding and place them in internships for hands-on training. The deadline to apply … Continue reading “Women-only Coding School Aims at Worker Shortage, Gender Imbalance”
Outdated IT Skills Slowing Enterprise Shift to Cloud Computing
What’s the biggest thing stopping big companies from using cloud computing for their business? People with outdated skills. So says Simon Crosby, co-founder and CTO of Bromium, a cloud security company, and a panelist at this week’s Washington Technology Industry Association TechNW: North to Innovation event on cloud computing and big data. Crosby, who previously … Continue reading “Outdated IT Skills Slowing Enterprise Shift to Cloud Computing”
Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle Nov. 19
It’s not about the data, it’s about the insight. While the accumulation of data shows no signs of slowing, some argue the term “big data” has passed peak marketing hype. This is a good thing, because it allows people to focus more on the real reason we’re generating, cleaning, storing, and analyzing every bit of … Continue reading “Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle Nov. 19”
Roundup: UW Tech Policy, Deals for F5, WaveDivison, Enclarity, & More
The new University of Washington Tech Policy Lab promises to be a great resource for lawmakers and others trying to keep up with the implications of fast-evolving technology on many aspects of society. Read on for details on that plus a new Staples.com development center in Seattle; acquisitions news from WaveDivision Holdings, F5 Networks, and … Continue reading “Roundup: UW Tech Policy, Deals for F5, WaveDivison, Enclarity, & More”
9Mile Labs: First Demo Day and Research on Accelerator Effectiveness
9Mile Labs, the new Seattle area startup accelerator for business-to-business companies, delivered nine new companies to potential investors Tuesday. Begun earlier this year on the premise that the high rejection rates of other startup accelerators such as Techstars indicated a need for more accelerators, 9Mile Labs set out “to build a world-class entrepreneurial community in … Continue reading “9Mile Labs: First Demo Day and Research on Accelerator Effectiveness”
Roundup: Raikes Leaving Gates Foundation; Front Desk, Versium Funding
Somewhere between the news of Steve Ballmer’s planned retirement from Microsoft and its blockbuster acquisition of Nokia’s mobile devices business, Seattle tech news took a very brief summer vacation. Did you notice? Now it’s back to school, back to work. In recent days, we’ve tracked financing news for area startups including Front Desk and Versium … Continue reading “Roundup: Raikes Leaving Gates Foundation; Front Desk, Versium Funding”
Paul Allen Hires Oren Etzioni for New Artificial Intelligence Push
Paul Allen has tapped one of Seattle’s foremost professor-entrepreneurs to lead an ambitious new institute tasked with expanding the frontiers of artificial intelligence research. Dr. Oren Etzioni, a professor in the University of Washington Computer Science Department for more than two decades with a half dozen successful startup companies to his credit, began this week … Continue reading “Paul Allen Hires Oren Etzioni for New Artificial Intelligence Push”
Dan Shapiro Builds a Board Game to Teach 3-Year-Olds Programming
In an era of ubiquitous digital devices, can an analog board game teach a preschooler to program? It can certainly get them started in the right direction, says Dan Shapiro, the Seattle serial entrepreneur and father of twin four-and-three-quarters-year-olds, who spent the summer making a game called Robot Turtles. He launched a Kickstarter campaign today … Continue reading “Dan Shapiro Builds a Board Game to Teach 3-Year-Olds Programming”
Roundup: News from Optimum, Tagboard, BoldIQ, Twitter, IV, and Donuts
It turns out Seattle’s Optimum Energy gained some significant strategic investors in its latest financing round. Read on for details on that, plus funding for Tagboard and BoldIQ; new Seattle offices for Twitter and a DC presence for Intellectual Ventures; and another dozen (gTLDs for) Donuts. —Optimum Energy‘s substantial June financing has even more to … Continue reading “Roundup: News from Optimum, Tagboard, BoldIQ, Twitter, IV, and Donuts”
MicroGREEN Raises $10M From Increasingly Active Tribal Investors
The cup that holds your morning coffee is a seemingly simple item to be used and discarded. It probably hasn’t changed much over the years. No big deal, except that Americans go through 137 billion disposable beverage cups each year, generating a tremendous amount of waste. That looks like a huge opportunity to MicroGREEN Polymers, … Continue reading “MicroGREEN Raises $10M From Increasingly Active Tribal Investors”
Help Wanted: Microsoft Seeks CEO as Ballmer Announces Retirement Plan
By this time next year, Microsoft will be led by someone other than Steve Ballmer. The longtime chief executive this morning announced his decision to retire after 33 years with the Redmond software giant. Ballmer, 57, has led the company since 2000, when he took over the CEO title from co-founder and chairman Bill Gates. … Continue reading “Help Wanted: Microsoft Seeks CEO as Ballmer Announces Retirement Plan”
Roundup: Funding for Gratafy; Inside Social; Sinofsky to a16z; UW Prof. on MIT TR35
[Updated 7:55 p.m.] The summer doldrums are upon us—so much so that the Nasdaq stock exchange flat-lined for a few hours today. (Because of an as-yet unexplained technical glitch.) In addition to news this week of a significant funding round for Portland’s Jama Software and the bad news at Big Fish Games, there are a … Continue reading “Roundup: Funding for Gratafy; Inside Social; Sinofsky to a16z; UW Prof. on MIT TR35”
Big Fish Cuts Bait on Cloud Service, Lays Off 49 in Seattle
Big Fish Games, despite being profitable and eyeing an 11th consecutive year of record revenue growth, is cutting up to 140 jobs—49 in its Seattle headquarters—and closing some of its international offices to focus the casual games maker and distributor on its best businesses. To continue the company’s momentum, “we need to realign our resources … Continue reading “Big Fish Cuts Bait on Cloud Service, Lays Off 49 in Seattle”
$13M for Jama From Trinity, Madrona Shows Strength of Portland Tech
Jama Software, which helps companies manage complex projects, is raising $13 million from Trinity Ventures and Madrona Venture Group in the latest sign that the Portland, OR technology industry is hitting its stride. Oregon startups—most of which are concentrated in the Rose City—are having one of their best years in terms of fundraising since before … Continue reading “$13M for Jama From Trinity, Madrona Shows Strength of Portland Tech”