Happy 2015! There’s lots to catch up on in Northwest tech news after a long holiday break, including the prospect of better U.S. weather forecasts powered by Cray supercomputers. Also, funding news for Blue Box, Glassdoor, Front Desk, TINYpulse, Elemental Technologies, and the sale of BigDoor Media. Read on for details. —Seattle supercomputer maker Cray … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Cray, Blue Box, BigDoor, Late ’14 Deals, & 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.
Dato, Formerly GraphLab, Raises $18.5M for Intelligent Apps
[Corrected 1/9/15, 2:43 pm. See below.] Seattle startup Dato, formerly known as GraphLab, has raised an $18.5 million Series B round to continue building tools that allow companies to make predictive applications that use machine learning to parse enormous databases. The funding comes from new investors Vulcan Capital, which led the round, and Opus Capital … Continue reading “Dato, Formerly GraphLab, Raises $18.5M for Intelligent Apps”
Knowing When to Hold ‘Em: The Story of Poachable
Tom Leung and Ian Shafer had already reinvented their Seattle startup once when they glimpsed the end of the runway last summer. Their take on a localized version of Reddit’s ask-me-anything interview format was interesting, and it was doing better than their original idea—a community question-and-answer service centered on shopping—but growth had already plateaued. “We … Continue reading “Knowing When to Hold ‘Em: The Story of Poachable”
Holiday Shopping Ride-Along: How Mobile Improves Large-Format Retail
Not everyone loves holiday shopping, but new mobile commerce services can make a trip to the big box retailer quicker and less painful. With nine shopping days left before Christmas, I met up with Josh Marti, the CEO of Point Inside, which makes indoor location technology, to see how he gets the job done. Point … Continue reading “Holiday Shopping Ride-Along: How Mobile Improves Large-Format Retail”
Seattle Roundup: Skytap, Mercent, AnswerDash, FlowVella, Impinj
Seattle deal makers got busy in the last full work-week of the year, with a major funding round announced for Skytap, an acquisition for Mercent, a technology integration for AnswerDash, and more. That’s on top of $70.9 million raised by Redfin; Juno Therapeutics’ $264 million IPO, less expenses; and a $15 million investment from Bill … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Skytap, Mercent, AnswerDash, FlowVella, Impinj”
Metamaterials Moguls: Gates, Allen Back New Radar Startup Echodyne
Microsoft’s co-founders are backing a Seattle-area startup that wants to apply proprietary metamaterials technology to radar. Bill Gates is co-leader with Madrona Venture Group of a $15 million Series A funding round for Echodyne, which will seek to commercialize the metamaterials technology portfolio of Intellectual Ventures “for a wide range of new radar applications,” Gates … Continue reading “Metamaterials Moguls: Gates, Allen Back New Radar Startup Echodyne”
Redfin Raises $70.9M to Accelerate National Expansion
Seattle-based online real estate broker Redfin has raised $70.9 million in one of the Northwest’s largest funding rounds this year. The investment was led by Wellington Management, at the head of a lengthy list of institutional investors. Additional investors in the round—which follows a $50 million funding in November 2013 and brings total capital raised … Continue reading “Redfin Raises $70.9M to Accelerate National Expansion”
Microsoft Plans More Startup Accelerators in Seattle, Elsewhere
Microsoft feted the first batch of startups to go through its Seattle accelerator Wednesday with a demo day in the heart of Amazon’s neighborhood. And despite their competition for workers and customers, Amazon employees were invited inside, a gesture that the accelerator’s leader called a sign of Microsoft’s new openness, particularly in support of entrepreneurship. … Continue reading “Microsoft Plans More Startup Accelerators in Seattle, Elsewhere”
As VCs Move Upstream, Madrona Venture Labs Builds Its Own Startups
In recent years, venture capitalists have been investing earlier in promising entrepreneurs and startups, nurturing their ideas in incubators, and creating programs to select the best teams and accelerate their growth. Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group is going one step further with an effort to directly form and develop high-potential software startups—based on the ideas of … Continue reading “As VCs Move Upstream, Madrona Venture Labs Builds Its Own Startups”
Seattle Roundup: Blab, Amptab, Icbrg.io, Dropbox, Alibaba, 9Mile, Fledge
Seattle’s cloud computing cred was bolstered by yet another big cloud player planning a local office. This time it’s Dropbox, which will be competing for local talent with just about everyone else, as a new survey of Seattle CIOs reveals. Meanwhile, startups Blab, Amptab, and Icebrg.io announced new funding rounds. And if you want to … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Blab, Amptab, Icbrg.io, Dropbox, Alibaba, 9Mile, Fledge”
Update: Paul Allen’s Artificial Intelligence Push, Research Grants
Researchers at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2), led by CEO Oren Etzioni, recently scored a D on a fourth-grade science test—a notable accomplishment in the field. OK, it was actually their flagship artificial intelligence effort, Project Aristo, which combines leading-edge technologies in machine reading, reasoning, and something approaching common sense to tackle progressively … Continue reading “Update: Paul Allen’s Artificial Intelligence Push, Research Grants”
Inslee, Jackson, and New Report on Washington’s STEM Skills Shortfall
Washington state has a well-known mismatch between the tech industry’s demand for workers and the state education system’s ability to provide them. A new report released Tuesday at the Washington STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Summit points to the causes and potential solutions to that mismatch, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said solving the … Continue reading “Inslee, Jackson, and New Report on Washington’s STEM Skills Shortfall”
Socrata Opening More Government Data with $30M from Sapphire Ventures, Others
Socrata, the Seattle company making a cloud-based software platform for accessing government data, has raised an additional $30 million in a Series C round led by new investor Sapphire Ventures. Earlier investors OpenView Venture Partners, Morganthaler Ventures, and Frazier Technology Ventures also participated. Socrata, founded in 2007, has now raised $55 million. Jai Das, managing … Continue reading “Socrata Opening More Government Data with $30M from Sapphire Ventures, Others”
Seattle Roundup: AWS to Clean Cloud, Pitch Winners, Techstars, & More
Amazon isn’t providing a lot of details—surprise, surprise—on its commitment to power its data centers with 100 percent renewable energy. Meanwhile, Northwest startups working on energy storage and water management won the Seattle Angel Conference and the Washington Technology Industry Association’s (WTIA) First Look Forum, respectively. Also, DocuSign named new investors; Placed released the top … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: AWS to Clean Cloud, Pitch Winners, Techstars, & More”
Leading Seattle Entrepreneurs to Share Stories at Xconomy Xchange Tuesday
How did Jane Park go from high-touch nail salons to an omni-channel social commerce brand? How did the local community convince Carlos Guestrin, a leader in machine learning, to move to Seattle where he’s built a company at the forefront of data intelligence? What are the valuable secrets—about business operations and security—hidden in the wire … Continue reading “Leading Seattle Entrepreneurs to Share Stories at Xconomy Xchange Tuesday”
Dissecting the “Dataware” Technology Stack with Madrona’s Matt McIlwain
Big data is a catchphrase that’s getting stale and almost too broad to be meaningful. But behind the buzzword are some very real technology trends—and they paint a good picture for Seattle. Matt McIlwain, managing director at Madrona Venture Group, the region’s foremost investor in information technology companies, gave me a quick tour through the … Continue reading “Dissecting the “Dataware” Technology Stack with Madrona’s Matt McIlwain”
Jane Says: Julep CEO on Leadership, Growing Pains, Community, Family
Jane Park, co-founder and CEO of Seattle beauty brand Julep, is trying to build “the most transparent and collaborative company” in any category, not just in the massive beauty products industry where Julep is differentiating itself by forming deep relationships with customers online and in person. Park, who leads 240 employees and has raised $56 … Continue reading “Jane Says: Julep CEO on Leadership, Growing Pains, Community, Family”
Highspot Lands $9.6M to Improve Sales, Marketing Content
Salespeople in large companies may have hundreds of thousands of individual pieces of marketing content to choose from when pitching a customer. Highspot, a Seattle startup announcing a $9.6 million Series A funding round, wants to help them pick the best one. The investment is being led by Madrona Venture Group and will help the … Continue reading “Highspot Lands $9.6M to Improve Sales, Marketing Content”
Techstars Seattle Demo Day: New Companies, Pitching Models, Leader
Techstars, the international network of startup accelerators, marks its fifth year in Seattle with some significant changes coming in how it presents its companies to investors, and in its local leadership. Another 10 promising startups completed the three-month, intensive business development and mentorship program Thursday, giving short, polished pitches to an audience of hundreds of … Continue reading “Techstars Seattle Demo Day: New Companies, Pitching Models, Leader”
Seattle Techstars Grad Shippable Gets $8M for Better Software Tests
A year ago, Avi Cavale, co-founder of Shippable, was on stage at Techstars Seattle Demo Day, pitching his company’s solution for software development and testing headaches. Thursday, as another crop of Techstars Seattle company founders prepare to go before investors, Shippable is announcing an $8 million Series A funding round, along with a fast-growing user … Continue reading “Seattle Techstars Grad Shippable Gets $8M for Better Software Tests”
Sujal Patel Reflects on Isilon Legacy, Seattle’s Storage Leadership
Four years ago this month, technology giant EMC announced the $2.25 billion acquisition of Isilon Systems, a homegrown Seattle company that helped bolster the region’s standing as a center of data storage innovation. Isilon Systems’ legacy today is in EMC’s continuing large presence in Seattle; two well-funded startup companies, Qumulo and Igneous Systems, working on … Continue reading “Sujal Patel Reflects on Isilon Legacy, Seattle’s Storage Leadership”
Led by Boeing Vet, Tempered Networks Securing the Internet of Things
Here’s a scary headline: “BlackEnergy crimeware coursing through US control systems.” That’s from a report on a security vulnerability discovered in the Internet-connected pieces of industrial infrastructure that control things like electricity generation and water systems. A Seattle startup says its technology, first developed to help secure robotic tooling on Boeing’s 777 assembly lines, can … Continue reading “Led by Boeing Vet, Tempered Networks Securing the Internet of Things”
Seattle Roundup: Commercial Space Setbacks, Cray’s Big Deal, & More
For the commercial space industry, this disastrous week began with a fiery setback and ended with a tragedy. The implications of two catastrophic vehicle anomalies will take time to play out, but Redmond, WA-based Planetary Resources pledges to press on. Meanwhile, supercomputer maker Cray signs a major deal with the U.K. Met Office, laying bare … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Commercial Space Setbacks, Cray’s Big Deal, & More”
We Learn Live Envisions New Model of Entrepreneurship Education
Yoli Chisholm, a Microsoft marketer, thinks there are lots of people like her: They’ve got good ideas, and aspire to be entrepreneurs, but may lack the resources or safety net to go out on their own. She’s recruiting for a new Seattle-area program to begin in January called We Learn Live (WELL) that aims to … Continue reading “We Learn Live Envisions New Model of Entrepreneurship Education”
Seattle Roundup: UW Startups, CSE Expansion; New Funding Flows
Northwest technology companies have racked up more than $67 million in fresh funding over the last two weeks, including investment rounds for Limeade, Acumatica, Urban Airship, Blue Box, and Lytics. Meanwhile, we’re following news of another wireless sensors company emerging from the University of Washington’s computer science department, which has already run out of space … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: UW Startups, CSE Expansion; New Funding Flows”
Q&A: WA Gov. Inslee on Education, Life Sciences, Climate, R&D
Before Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and state legislators can even think about renewing or expanding research and development incentives for innovation industries, they need to find a way to fill a hole in the state budget on the order of $5 billion over the next four years. But in an interview with Xconomy on Friday, … Continue reading “Q&A: WA Gov. Inslee on Education, Life Sciences, Climate, R&D”
Cambia Grove Aims to Spur Healthcare Innovation in Seattle
Cambia Health Solutions, which owns a portfolio of insurance and healthcare companies, wants Seattle to become a center of healthcare innovation. To help, Cambia is building a new 9,000-square-foot meeting and workspace in downtown Seattle, set to open early next year. (A rendering is at right.) The Cambia Grove will be in the 1800 Ninth … Continue reading “Cambia Grove Aims to Spur Healthcare Innovation in Seattle”
The Startup Hall Story—How it Could Transform Seattle’s U District
The second floor of what used to be known only as Condon Hall—and the University of Washington’s ugliest building—holds seeds of a re-invented neighborhood where students, researchers, and entrepreneurs learn, work, and live; where tech startups and established companies build businesses with the technology and talent flowing from the university; and where professionals zip to … Continue reading “The Startup Hall Story—How it Could Transform Seattle’s U District”
Seattle Roundup: Costco, Sworl, GraphLab, AnswerDash, Tack, & More
In addition to significant funding rounds this week for employee behavior measurement company VoloMetrix, Amazon Web Services partner 2nd Watch, and solar energy developer OneEnergy Renewables, we’re noting developments from Seattle-area companies large (Costco and Alibaba) and small (picture framing startup Industrial Generosity). Read on for news from GraphLab, AnswerDash, Tack (nee Snap Skout), Moxi … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Costco, Sworl, GraphLab, AnswerDash, Tack, & More”
Solar Roundup: OneEnergy Funding, SolarCity Bonds, Mariners, Natural Gas
The business of solar power continues to attract more money as innovative companies refine ways to finance and connect solar projects to the electrical grid. OneEnergy Renewables, a Seattle company developing mid-sized solar power projects, has raised $5 million in Series B funding, as residential solar giant SolarCity announced plans to sell solar-backed bonds to … Continue reading “Solar Roundup: OneEnergy Funding, SolarCity Bonds, Mariners, Natural Gas”
2nd Watch Lands $10M More As Enterprise Cloud Transition Accelerates
2nd Watch, a Washington state company that helps businesses move their IT infrastructure to Amazon’s cloud service, has raised another $10 million in less than a year. The company also has appointed a new chief executive as it grows to accommodate increasing demand. “Really what’s pushed us this year has been continued enterprise adoption,” says … Continue reading “2nd Watch Lands $10M More As Enterprise Cloud Transition Accelerates”
VoloMetrix Raises $12M to Market ‘People Analytics’ Software
Seattle startup VoloMetrix is helping large companies answer one of the most fundamental questions a business faces: How do the most effective employees spend their time? The company has raised $12 million from Split Rock Partners and prior investor Shasta Ventures to build a sales and marketing organization to get its “people analytics” software into … Continue reading “VoloMetrix Raises $12M to Market ‘People Analytics’ Software”
Learn From Leading Seattle Innovators at Xconomy Xchange Nov. 18
From the frontiers of modern multi-channel commerce to business intelligence deep inside networking infrastructure, another generation of Seattle innovators is pushing out boundaries to find new insights and opportunities. But what does it take to build an innovative company on those first key insights and ideas? That’s the central question we will answer through a … Continue reading “Learn From Leading Seattle Innovators at Xconomy Xchange Nov. 18”
Azuqua Raises $5M for Business Process Creation in the Cloud
With cloud services proliferating, Seattle startup Azuqua has raised $5 million from Ignition Partners to help businesses create processes that integrate multiple software-as-a-service applications. The company says its Web-based software allows integration among more than 40 cloud services, helping business users do things like track negative comments on Twitter and automatically send an alert to … Continue reading “Azuqua Raises $5M for Business Process Creation in the Cloud”
Companies Work to Make Virtual Reality Appealing Beyond Gamers
[Corrected 10/7/2014, 11:47 a.m. See below.] Virtual reality has enormous potential in gaming and beyond, but it has to be presented to wider audiences in an accessible way. I saw several examples of companies doing just that at a VR event in Seattle last week. The event at Paul Allen’s Living Computer Museum also highlighted … Continue reading “Companies Work to Make Virtual Reality Appealing Beyond Gamers”
Inside eBay, Decide.com Team Leads Seller Insights, Startup Outreach
I’m in the market for a new refrigerator. A little more than a year ago, I would have turned to Decide.com, the Seattle startup that crunched review and pricing data from the Web to help shoppers know what and when to buy. It was acquired by eBay in September of last year and this extremely … Continue reading “Inside eBay, Decide.com Team Leads Seller Insights, Startup Outreach”
Q3 In Review: Microsoft, Life Sciences Roller Coaster, UW Startups
Before the summer sun becomes a memory, here’s a look back at Xconomy Seattle’s top stories from the third quarter: Nathan Myhrvold’s May 1997 vision for expanding Microsoft Research helped set the foundation for “what has arguably become the world’s leading corporate research organization in software and computing—signaling its move from a one-off lab into … Continue reading “Q3 In Review: Microsoft, Life Sciences Roller Coaster, UW Startups”
Seattle Roundup: Pro.com, Array Health, Ghostruck, DocuSign, & More
Fall in Seattle began this week with a flurry of investment deals. In addition to new capital for Apptentive and Context Relevant, which we covered earlier this week, Pro.com, Array Health, Ghostruck, DocuSign, and POW announced new investments. Read on for details: —Pro.com, a new online service for estimating home remodeling costs and connecting with … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Pro.com, Array Health, Ghostruck, DocuSign, & More”
Goldman Sachs, BofA Back Context Relevant, Use Its Analytics Tools
Context Relevant CEO Stephen Purpura is spending so much time with financial services customers in New York City that he got a condo there. The attention is paying off: Purpura’s Seattle-based company is raising $13.5 million from some of the biggest names on Wall Street—Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, New York Life, Bloomberg … Continue reading “Goldman Sachs, BofA Back Context Relevant, Use Its Analytics Tools”
In-App Tools Maker Apptentive Raises $5.3M from SurveyMonkey, Others
Apptentive, which makes tools to help companies communicate with customers within mobile apps, has raised $5.3 million in a Series A funding round led by online surveys company SurveyMonkey and Origin Ventures. It marks another substantial investment attracted by a Techstars Seattle 2012 company, following the $8 million Series B round raised this summer by … Continue reading “In-App Tools Maker Apptentive Raises $5.3M from SurveyMonkey, Others”
Ada Developers Academy Offers Women a Way into Tech Boom
As technology companies like Google scramble to address the lack of gender diversity in their ranks, a Seattle nonprofit is demonstrating a sustainable model for training women in software development. The 15 students in the first class of the year-long Ada Developers Academy (ADA) are wrapping up their internships now, and two-thirds of the local … Continue reading “Ada Developers Academy Offers Women a Way into Tech Boom”
SAP to Buy Travel and Expense Software Maker Concur for $8.3B
Concur Technologies, the Bellevue, WA-based maker of software for managing corporate travel and expenses, will become part of German enterprise software giant SAP in a deal that values the 21-year-old company at about $8.3 billion, the companies said. SAP, through subsidiary SAP America, has agreed to buy Concur at a price of $129 per share, … Continue reading “SAP to Buy Travel and Expense Software Maker Concur for $8.3B”
New Seattle Angel Fund Forming to Back Northwest Startups
Seattle Angel, which over the last three years has focused on introducing more qualified people to angel investing, plans a Northwest-focused investment fund set to begin early next year. The investments will made through the Seattle Angel Fund, a separate legal entity managed by Susan Preston, who is also general partner of the CalCEF Clean … Continue reading “New Seattle Angel Fund Forming to Back Northwest Startups”
UW President Young Talks Commercialization, Startups, Criticism
University of Washington President Michael Young, beginning his fourth year as leader of one of the foremost public research universities in the country, talked with Xconomy about university startups, technology licensing, and other ways the university can transfer knowledge into society. The interview, conducted in August in Young’s Gerberding Hall office, informed Xconomy’s broader look … Continue reading “UW President Young Talks Commercialization, Startups, Criticism”
Startups, Jobs, Economic Impact: An Analysis of Commercialization at UW
Ever since a landmark law passed in 1980, universities have been able to reap financial rewards from federally funded technologies they develop by patenting them and selling licenses to companies large and small. Some universities have hit pay dirt, such as the University of Wisconsin with its anti-clotting drug warfarin and the University of Florida … Continue reading “Startups, Jobs, Economic Impact: An Analysis of Commercialization at UW”
Xconomy Q&A: Intellectual Ventures Co-founder and CTO Edward Jung
Edward Jung, co-founder and chief technology officer, of Intellectual Ventures, has been out talking about how his company—which was recently described as among Silicon Valley’s most hated—is playing a long game to attack the big problems confronting the world today. On the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia in Seattle last week, Jung sat … Continue reading “Xconomy Q&A: Intellectual Ventures Co-founder and CTO Edward Jung”
Seattle Roundup: Mixpo, Hootsuite, Concur, Zillow, Smartsheet, & More
Lots of acquisition news to catch up on this week, including in Northwest digital marketing with Mixpo’s buy of ShopIgniter and Hootsuite’s buy of BrightKit. There were also rumors that Concur is looking for a buyer, and more scrutiny paid to the proposed Zillow-Trulia combination. Meanwhile, executives at a Pacific Crest Securities called Microsoft the … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Mixpo, Hootsuite, Concur, Zillow, Smartsheet, & More”
Seattle Roundup: Bizible, Fledge, CleanTech Alliance, & More
On this end-of-summer week, we’re following fresh funding for Techstars Seattle company Bizible, seven startups selected for accelerator Fledge, a name change for the WCTA, a standout series on Amazon in Europe, and more: —Bizible, a Seattle startup helping companies better understand their marketing spending and its impact on sales, has raised an $8 million … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Bizible, Fledge, CleanTech Alliance, & More”
Seattle Roundup: Algorithmia, Array, Intellectual Ventures, & More
This week, we’re tracking investments in Algorithmia, which is building a marketplace for algorithms, and Array Health Solutions, which powers health insurance marketplaces. Also, staff reductions at Intellectual Ventures, new hires at University of Washington Computer Science and Engineering, an integration deal between Airbiquity and Inrix, and finally, a story illustrating why UW’s head football … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Algorithmia, Array, Intellectual Ventures, & More”
Seattle Roundup: Indow Windows, Helion, Startup Next, & More
This week’s roundup features high-tech window inserts at Alcatraz, funding for a fusion energy startup, and investment advice based on making a bunch of white guys uncomfortable. Also, expansion at Applause, contraction at RealNetworks, and new partnerships for Startup Next and Glympse: —Indow Windows, a Portland, OR, company backed by investors including Seattle-based cleantech angel group … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Indow Windows, Helion, Startup Next, & More”