A mobile advertisement offering 10 percent off of lunch at a fast food restaurant is more likely to drive customers to the store than a banner ad for a burger displayed on the Web. That’s the promise of mobile advertising—an $8.9 billion global business last year, growing at a rapid clip—and the behavior Seattle startup … Continue reading “Placed Service Would Prove Mobile Ads Get Customers in the Door”
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.
Redmond Rocket Scientists Propel Innovation as Space Cluster Grows
Rocket engines designed, built, and tested by a company tucked away at the edge of the Seattle suburbs have travelled to the edge of the solar system, visiting every planet including Mars, where the Curiosity Rover made a successful landing a year ago last week, using rockets from Redmond, WA, for the long interplanetary journey … Continue reading “Redmond Rocket Scientists Propel Innovation as Space Cluster Grows”
Roundup: WTIA, Lytics, SwopBoard, Contour, Obama at Zillow & More
You may have heard earlier this week that a local technology entrepreneur purchased an old media company. In other news around the Northwest this week, the Washington Technology Industry Association named a new CEO; Portland big-data-for-marketers startup Lytics attracted funding, as did SwopBoard, a Seattle company building a sales platform for school communities; Contour appears … Continue reading “Roundup: WTIA, Lytics, SwopBoard, Contour, Obama at Zillow & More”
Tableau Software Sales Up 71 Percent With Lots of Room to Grow
In its first quarterly financial report as a public company, Tableau Software posted sales of $49.9 million, up 71 percent from a year ago, and a net loss of $2.6 million, sending its shares to a new high in after-hours trading. The Seattle data visualization software maker raised a net $177 million in a public … Continue reading “Tableau Software Sales Up 71 Percent With Lots of Room to Grow”
Techstars Picks 11 Startups for 2013 Class in Seattle
Techstars Seattle has picked 11 startup companies to participate in its 2013 class, which begins today. The fourth edition of the top-tier startup accelerator in Seattle includes three companies working on some aspect of online education; a social media metrics play; a collaborative news reader for businesses; mobile customer service tools; a service for continuous … Continue reading “Techstars Picks 11 Startups for 2013 Class in Seattle”
Roundup: HootSuite’s $165M, Plus News on Chirpify, Exo Labs, Blucora
This is the “put a bird on it” edition of the Northwest tech news roundup. HootSuite, the Twitter dashboard maker, hauls in $165 million, the most venture capital in one go for a Canadian software company. Meanwhile, Chirpify, which enables commerce in Twitter and other social media, grabbed a more modest sum. There are some … Continue reading “Roundup: HootSuite’s $165M, Plus News on Chirpify, Exo Labs, Blucora”
Roundup: Funding for Rover, Union Bay, Conductiv, Powerit, & More
A handful of Seattle-area tech companies have landed small financings in the last week, including dog-sitter site Rover.com, a quiet new effort of F5 Veterans called Union Bay Networks, retail software maker Conductiv, and industrial energy efficiency technology company Powerit Solutions. Meanwhile, Amazon is adding fulfillment center jobs and INRIX measures an uptick in U.S. … Continue reading “Roundup: Funding for Rover, Union Bay, Conductiv, Powerit, & More”
Concur Pushes Business Travel Technology with Venture Investments
Since Concur busted out a $150 million corporate venture capital fund last November, the travel expense management company has backed nine startups—including three investments announced this week—in a bid to accelerate technology development in the business travel industry. The Redmond, WA-based company is backing StayNTouch, which raised $1.6 million from Concur and Acceleprise, to build a … Continue reading “Concur Pushes Business Travel Technology with Venture Investments”
Roundup: Funding for Minetta Brook, Yapta, Viableware, Sparq
Another week, another Seattle-area big data startup collects funding. This week it’s Minetta Brook, which is coming out of stealth with a fintech play. Airfare tracker Yapta; restaurant payments technology company Viableware; and mobile marketer Sparq also recently closed funding rounds. And the City of Seattle is trying to make paying for street parking more … Continue reading “Roundup: Funding for Minetta Brook, Yapta, Viableware, Sparq”
Northwest Venture Investment Steady in Second Quarter; Apptio Leads the Way
Venture capital investment in Pacific Northwest companies through the first half of 2013 was down compared to last year, but the second quarter itself marked a modest uptick. Investors plunged some $222.9 million into companies during the second quarter, a 39.5 percent increase on the first quarter of the year, and up 13.6 percent from … Continue reading “Northwest Venture Investment Steady in Second Quarter; Apptio Leads the Way”
Tableau Says Cloud Software Push Provides Flexibility
Tableau Software, the Seattle data visualization company that successfully debuted as a public company in May, is rolling out a software-as-a-service version of its main product. Tableau Online has the same functions as Tableau Server, allowing non-experts to analyze large datasets and create charts, maps, and other visualizations, says Ellie Fields, the company’s director of … Continue reading “Tableau Says Cloud Software Push Provides Flexibility”
Roundup: UW Spinouts; Funding for Illumagear, Alpental Tech & More
[Corrected 7/17/13, 8:24 pm. See below.] The University of Washington is apparently exceeding the goals set by President Michael Young for accelerating commercialization of research and innovations from its labs. Also, a safety equipment clothing company and a startup by former Clearwire technology leaders got funding; Concur made more acquisitions; and Donuts landed the domain … Continue reading “Roundup: UW Spinouts; Funding for Illumagear, Alpental Tech & More”
Context Relevant, Ayasdi Score Funds to Automate Big Data Analysis
[Clarified 7/18/13, 4:27 pm. See below.] Context Relevant and Ayasdi, two competitors trying to automate big data analysis, separately announced venture capital investments totaling more than $37 million Tuesday showing continued investor interest in the business of turning data into insight. In Seattle, Context Relevant raised $7 million in a Series A round from Madrona … Continue reading “Context Relevant, Ayasdi Score Funds to Automate Big Data Analysis”
Seattle, Microsoft Target Energy Savings for Buildings in Pilot Project
The operators of four Seattle buildings hope new data-gathering and analysis software, based on Microsoft’s cloud computing platform and being tested in a city pilot project, will help identify significant energy savings opportunities. The city is running the High-Performance Buildings Pilot Project as part of a long-term effort to advance the cleantech industry locally. A … Continue reading “Seattle, Microsoft Target Energy Savings for Buildings in Pilot Project”
Rep. DelBene Talks Immigration Reform, Electronic Privacy, Sales Tax
Congresswoman Suzan DelBene represents what has been described as one of the most evenly divided districts in the country. The redrawn First Congressional District of Washington state also contains several geographical and economic elements—from agricultural and high-tech businesses to a lengthy stretch of Canadian border—that have a major stake in the outcome of the immigration … Continue reading “Rep. DelBene Talks Immigration Reform, Electronic Privacy, Sales Tax”
Kymeta Raises $50M To Upend Satellite Antenna Business
Satellite antenna maker Kymeta may be only a year old, but with a $50 million financing round and the technology backing of Intellectual Ventures, the company can hardly be called a startup. The Redmond, WA, company—which uses patented metamaterials to make antennae that it says will beat existing technologies on size, weight, power requirements, and … Continue reading “Kymeta Raises $50M To Upend Satellite Antenna Business”
Cleantech Angel Group NWEA On Pace to Break 2012 Investing Record
Let’s hold off on the wake for early-stage cleantech investing in the Northwest. With more than $1.8 million invested so far in 2013, Northwest Energy Angels (NWEA) is on pace to surpass its record 2012. The longest-tenured cleantech angel investing group in the country has bet on 10 companies through the first half of this … Continue reading “Cleantech Angel Group NWEA On Pace to Break 2012 Investing Record”
Happy Summer: Notable Second Quarter Stories from Xconomy Seattle
Summer arrives in earnest this week with warm weather and Independence Day. Before we get lost in a haze of barbecue and fireworks smoke, let’s take a look back at notable Seattle-area Xconomy stories from the second quarter. —Tableau Software’s successful May IPO underscored continued investor interest in big data companies, and Seattle’s leadership in … Continue reading “Happy Summer: Notable Second Quarter Stories from Xconomy Seattle”
Seattle Roundup: NanoString IPOs, Socrata Scores $18M, and More
The second quarter is wrapping up with a less-than-stellar IPO for NanoString Technologies, a major raise by government data company Socrata, a DARPA grant for a UW team making a portable diagnostic device, good news/bad news about traffic congestion, and a first Startup Weekend event in Bellevue, WA. —NanoString Technologies, the Seattle gene expression diagnostics … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: NanoString IPOs, Socrata Scores $18M, and More”
Planetary Resources Inks 3D Systems Deal, Plans Test Launch From ISS
Planetary Resources is adding a new investor and collaborator to help manufacture its planned asteroid-mining spacecraft, a test version of which could be launched into low-Earth orbit from the International Space Station in less than a year. The Bellevue, WA, company is taking an undisclosed investment from 3D Systems (NYSE: [[ticker:DDD]]) and will make use … Continue reading “Planetary Resources Inks 3D Systems Deal, Plans Test Launch From ISS”
NASA’s ‘Coolest Person’ Says It Takes All Kinds to Push Boundaries
Nearly a year later, it still sends tingles up your spine: The sounds and images of the spacecraft slamming into the Martian atmosphere, precisely depositing its payload—the car-sized Curiosity rover—on the surface using an untested “sky crane” maneuver, and then the cheers of rapt space fans from around the world. “I actually still get nervous … Continue reading “NASA’s ‘Coolest Person’ Says It Takes All Kinds to Push Boundaries”
Study: Advanced Sensors Promise Major Energy Savings in Buildings
The cafeteria is freezing as a solitary worker finishes a late lunch in the cavernous space. The problem of overly air-conditioned rooms in office buildings is not just one of comfort. It’s a huge waste of energy in commercial buildings, which consume about 36 percent of U.S. electricity. And it’s often caused by heating, ventilating, … Continue reading “Study: Advanced Sensors Promise Major Energy Savings in Buildings”
With $10M, SpaceCurve Readies ‘Third Generation’ Big Data Platform
SpaceCurve says its big data platform removes the barriers to real-time analysis of enormous, multi-dimensional datasets inherent in current technologies. The Seattle startup has raised $10 million to begin marketing its platform, as investors continue to bet on locally based big data companies. Triage Ventures led the Series B funding, with earlier SpaceCurve investors Reed … Continue reading “With $10M, SpaceCurve Readies ‘Third Generation’ Big Data Platform”
Tred Brings Cars To Test Drive, But Dealers Still Close the Deal
Buying a new car is a high-value transaction, one that is often time-consuming and stressful. Tred, a Seattle startup, is trying to ease at least part of the process by delivering cars for consumers to test drive from their homes. Unlike electric car maker Tesla, which is fighting car dealer associations in several states to … Continue reading “Tred Brings Cars To Test Drive, But Dealers Still Close the Deal”
FiftyThree, Maker of Paper App, Raises $15M To Build New Tools
FiftyThree, the Seattle- and New York-based company behind one of the most successful iPad apps of the last year, has raised $15 million to expand its minimalist approach to mobile digital creativity tools. The Series A funding round is being led by Andreessen Horowitz with new investors Thrive Capital and Twitter and Square co-founder Jack … Continue reading “FiftyThree, Maker of Paper App, Raises $15M To Build New Tools”
Roundup: Mirabilis Medica, Exo Labs, Yabbly, Ninu Attract Investment
Investors are betting on Seattle-area companies working on everything from uterine fibroids (Mirabilis Medica) to video storage and licensing (Ninu). Those companies, along with microscope camera maker Exo Labs and social decision-making platform Yabbly, raised capital recently. Meanwhile, car-sharing services are getting closer scrutiny from the city. The details: —Mirabilis Medica has raised $4 million … Continue reading “Roundup: Mirabilis Medica, Exo Labs, Yabbly, Ninu Attract Investment”
Roundup: Funding for Optimum, Visualant, Planets, Payments and More
[Corrected 6/18/13, 9:32 a.m. See below.] Optimum Energy and Visualant collected significant funding in the last week, while Planetary Resources announced a stretch goal for its Kickstarter campaign, Chirpify expanded beyond PayPal, and Amazon delivered groceries to L.A. Read on for details: —Optimum Energy, a Seattle company that helps building managers run heating and cooling … Continue reading “Roundup: Funding for Optimum, Visualant, Planets, Payments and More”
Seattle Trying Innovative Financing Model for Building Efficiency
Seattle’s municipal utility and the people behind one of the world’s most-efficient commercial buildings are trying to reinvent the business model for financing so-called deep energy efficiency improvements, which could generate hundreds of billions of dollars of construction activity and energy savings, and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Seattle City Light and the Bullitt Foundation … Continue reading “Seattle Trying Innovative Financing Model for Building Efficiency”
UW Tech Turns Home WiFi Network Into Gesture Control System
If they weren’t outdated already, 1980s innovations like the Clapper and the medical alert pendants of “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” fame may have met their 21st century match in a new gesture sensing technology developed by University of Washington researchers. The WiSee parses and interprets small disruptions in a WiFi signal caused … Continue reading “UW Tech Turns Home WiFi Network Into Gesture Control System”
Socrata Powers—and Benefits From—Open Data Movement in Government
Drawing on an unprecedented amount of government data that is easier to access than ever before, more than 11,000 software developers, entrepreneurs, students, and others across the country devoted part of last weekend to building technologies designed to help local, state, and federal governments solve problems and improve their communities. The first National Day of … Continue reading “Socrata Powers—and Benefits From—Open Data Movement in Government”
Roundup: Funding for Apex, Seeq, Highline, and More Seattle News
A pair of Seattle startups aren’t saying much publicly, but SEC filings show that Seeq and Highline have the ears and wallets of some investors. Apex Learning also raised new capital. In other news, WhitePages acquires Mr. Number, Seattle’s presentation software makers forge ahead, and the White House is coming down on patent trolls. —Seeq … Continue reading “Roundup: Funding for Apex, Seeq, Highline, and More Seattle News”
Jobs for Non-Natives: Washington Tech Economy Fueled by “Imports”
[Updated 6/6/13, 3:05 p.m. See below.] Despite chronic underinvestment in education, Washington state’s innovation sector has held its own or even gained ground over the last decade—something business leaders did not predict. “When we started benchmarking in 2003, we felt sure that our state would not be able to sustain and grow our innovation economy … Continue reading “Jobs for Non-Natives: Washington Tech Economy Fueled by “Imports””
Nuance Bolsters Automotive Offering with $80M Tweddle Acquisition
Nuance Communications, the voice recognition technology company, is making its second major Seattle-area acquisition, spending $80 million in cash for Tweddle Connect, an in-car content delivery system developed by a unit of Detroit-based Tweddle Group. Burlington, MA-based Nuance—whose Dragon Drive software already powers most voice control systems in 20 million new cars a year—would bolster … Continue reading “Nuance Bolsters Automotive Offering with $80M Tweddle Acquisition”
Planetary Resources Launches Campaign to Launch Private Space Telescope
In its bid to reinvent the model for space exploration, Planetary Resources is running a Kickstarter campaign to fund the world’s first private space telescope, which they say will underscore public support for going where no one has gone before. Since unveiling itself to the public at the Museum of Flight a little more than … Continue reading “Planetary Resources Launches Campaign to Launch Private Space Telescope”
Meeting the Wizard of Moz: Culture Breeds Community
You can pay lip-service to corporate culture, or you can build a culture so deep that employees think about it when disciplining their kids. SEOmoz, the Seattle Internet marketing software company, is today changing its name to just Moz. While the company is shortening its name, it’s broadening its offerings in a competitive and closely-watched … Continue reading “Meeting the Wizard of Moz: Culture Breeds Community”
Roundup: HasOffers Raises $9.4M, UW Bothell Chancellor, & More
This week’s Seattle tech news roundup features a hefty venture round for mobile ad tracking startup HasOffers, the new STEM-focused chancellor of University of Washington Bothell, an Avanade study of social collaboration tools use in the enterprise, and a Seattle AWS Direct Connect service from Equinix: —HasOffers, a Seattle startup tracking and managing mobile advertising … Continue reading “Roundup: HasOffers Raises $9.4M, UW Bothell Chancellor, & More”
Tableau on the Run: IPO Underscores Seattle Big Data Leadership
Tableau Software continued producing visually stunning stock charts during its second day of trading, shining a favorable light on both the Seattle tech industry, and on big data companies. Shares of the company (NYSE: [[ticker:DATA]]) were nearing $60 at one point in Monday afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, up more than 90 … Continue reading “Tableau on the Run: IPO Underscores Seattle Big Data Leadership”
In Pursuit of Big Opportunity, Software Maker Apptio Raises $45M More
Apptio, which makes software to help corporate CIO’s manage IT operations, has filled up its coffers for a push into what it sees as a major untapped market. The Bellevue, WA, company has raised $45 million in a Series E round led by new investors including Janus Capital and The Hillman Company, and returning backers … Continue reading “In Pursuit of Big Opportunity, Software Maker Apptio Raises $45M More”
With IPO Pending, Tableau Ups Targeted Share Price Again to Max of $30
Tableau Software has again increased the price range of shares in its impending initial public offering, putting the top range at $30 in a sign of strong interest among investors in the Seattle data visualization software maker. Tableau is expected to begin trading later this week on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker … Continue reading “With IPO Pending, Tableau Ups Targeted Share Price Again to Max of $30”
Real Estate Move: DocuSign Buys Cartavi, Strengthens Ties with zipLogix
Electronic signatures company DocuSign is beefing up its real estate line with the acquisition of Cartavi and a tighter partnership with zipLogix, meant to enable transactions using any device. DocuSign—founded in Seattle in 2004, but with its headquarters now in San Francisco—has had a partnership with Cartavi, based in Naperville, IL, for the last year … Continue reading “Real Estate Move: DocuSign Buys Cartavi, Strengthens Ties with zipLogix”
Madrona, NEA Bet $6.75M on Seattle Big Data Analysis Startup GraphLab
When Seattle’s tech community pulled together last year to help recruit Carlos Guestrin, a standout machine-learning expert and data scientist, to the University of Washington, some people were hoping a hot startup would wind up here as well. They weren’t disappointed. Guestrin is launching GraphLab Inc. with a $6.75 million investment led by Madrona Venture … Continue reading “Madrona, NEA Bet $6.75M on Seattle Big Data Analysis Startup GraphLab”
Salesforce Collects Flake and His Seattle Startup Clipboard
Clipboard, the Gary Flake-led startup that aimed to give people a way to privately organize their online lives, is being acquired by Salesforce.com and will shutter its service at the end of June. The “bittersweet news” is disclosed on Clipboard’s website. The acquisition “allow[s] us to pursue our mission of saving and sharing the Web … Continue reading “Salesforce Collects Flake and His Seattle Startup Clipboard”
Seattle Seeks to Stir Up More Startups With New McGinn Initiative
Seattle is the latest big city government to throw its weight behind the technology startup community, as mayors and economic development officials across the country grasp at an elusive formula for fostering more new companies with potential to create jobs. From New York City to San Francisco to state and national capitals, governments are trying … Continue reading “Seattle Seeks to Stir Up More Startups With New McGinn Initiative”
Zillow Takes Questions via Twitter in Real-Time During Earnings Call
Seattle online real estate company Zillow took a new, more open approach to its first quarter earnings conference call Tuesday, accepting and answering questions via social media side-by-side with those of professional analysts on the phone. Michael Graham, managing director and senior equity analyst at Canaccord Genuity, who was covering Internet stocks in the late … Continue reading “Zillow Takes Questions via Twitter in Real-Time During Earnings Call”
Trulia Buying Market Leader for $355M, Upping Zillow Competition
Home shopping website Trulia is bolstering its offerings for real estate professionals with a $355 million cash and stock purchase of Kirkland, WA-based Market Leader. San Francisco-based Trulia’s acquisition of a company right under the nose of top online real estate rival Zillow underscores the fierce competition—and unclaimed opportunity—in the online real estate market. Trulia … Continue reading “Trulia Buying Market Leader for $355M, Upping Zillow Competition”
Roundup: Dell Cloud Buy, Obama in Austin, Houston Hackathon, TechRanch Partner
Notable Texas technology news in recent days includes Dell’s acquisition of Enstratius, a tech-centric visit to Austin by President Obama, a Houston government initiative to spur “civic hackers,” and an international partnership for Austin’s TechRanch. Details follow: —Dell aims to bolster its cloud management software offering with the acquisition of Minnesota-based Enstratius. Terms of the … Continue reading “Roundup: Dell Cloud Buy, Obama in Austin, Houston Hackathon, TechRanch Partner”
Targeted Tableau Software IPO Price Would Value Company at up to $1.5B
Tableau Software, the Seattle data visualization company, is aiming to offer 7.2 million shares of stock for sale to the public at between $23 and $26 a share, valuing the company at nearly $1.5 billion on the high end. Tableau would raise about $111.4 million at a midpoint offering price of $24.50, net of discounts, … Continue reading “Targeted Tableau Software IPO Price Would Value Company at up to $1.5B”
Solar Needs Market Changes To Bring Benefits To ‘Untapped’ Texas
Solar power advocates hope this will be the summer that drought-stricken Texas sees the potential of this abundant natural energy source, and changes electricity market structures to take advantage of it. “Texas is one of the largest untapped solar markets in the U.S.,” says Maura Yates of SunEdison, an integrated supplier of solar equipment and … Continue reading “Solar Needs Market Changes To Bring Benefits To ‘Untapped’ Texas”
Roundup: Tango Card, VoloMetrix, Glider, Chirpify Score Funds, & More
Call this the “torrid springtime heatwave” edition of the Seattle tech news roundup, because that’s what’s in the forecast from now through the weekend. Meanwhile, a handful of tech companies in the region have made it rain. Details: —Tango Card, which allows people to redeem gift cards for other gift cards, charitable donations, or cash, … Continue reading “Roundup: Tango Card, VoloMetrix, Glider, Chirpify Score Funds, & More”
Jobaline Brings Technology to Overlooked Hourly Job-Seekers, Employers
Seattle-area startup Jobaline is out to solve some big problems for workers and employers in the huge, underserved world of hourly labor. The company’s technology platform is meant to match job applicants—many of whom lack regular Internet access—with employers struggling with constant turnover, high ratios of applicants to openings, and inefficient hiring processes. After a … Continue reading “Jobaline Brings Technology to Overlooked Hourly Job-Seekers, Employers”