[Updated 12:20pm, 4/14/10] Seattle-based Lucid Commerce, a provider of business intelligence software and data for direct marketers, has closed a Series B funding round, according to a report in VentureWire this morning. New York-based Greycroft Partners, a new investor, co-led the round together with OVP Venture Partners in Kirkland, WA, which has confirmed that the … Continue reading “Lucid Commerce Closes $5M Series B”
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
NWEN “First Look” Forum Tells Story of Software Vs. Medical Startups: Online Travel Is the Winner
Variety was the theme of the Northwest Entrepreneur Network’s First Look Forum yesterday at the Arctic Club Hotel, a venerable establishment in downtown Seattle. There were a dozen startup companies with a wide array of ideas, each giving a five-minute pitch to an eclectic audience that included investors, entrepreneurship coaches, media, and sponsors. The startups … Continue reading “NWEN “First Look” Forum Tells Story of Software Vs. Medical Startups: Online Travel Is the Winner”
Beaming Power to UAVs, Space Elevators, and Someday, Earth: The LaserMotive Plan
Think it’s possible to shoot down a swarm of buzzing mosquitoes in mid-air? Or maybe you want to power up a remote flying vehicle? Tom Nugent is your man. The Seattle-area entrepreneur just might be the most versatile guy with a laser you’ve ever met. Yes, a laser. Until recently, Nugent worked in the laboratory … Continue reading “Beaming Power to UAVs, Space Elevators, and Someday, Earth: The LaserMotive Plan”
From Apptio to Zillow: Seattle 2.0 Announces Finalists for Startup Awards Bash
The Seattle area’s hippest celebration for local software and technology startups is gearing up for its big night. After receiving nearly 7,000 nominations for 11 “best of” categories in Seattle tech, media company Seattle 2.0 is announcing today the finalists for its annual awards show. (Disclosure: I am one of the 36 judges who helped … Continue reading “From Apptio to Zillow: Seattle 2.0 Announces Finalists for Startup Awards Bash”
More Funding for Liberty Dialysis
Mercer Island, WA-based Liberty Dialysis, which operates more than 100 dialysis clinics around the U.S., has received a new investment from KRG Capital Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, and Ignition Partners, according to a press release on Friday. The funding amount was not disclosed. Liberty Dialysis was founded in 2002 and is led by CEO and … Continue reading “More Funding for Liberty Dialysis”
How a Business Can Span the Globe and Stay Close-Knit: Microsoft’s “Telepresence” Project
Stop me if this sounds familiar. You work in a tight-knit team that has one or two colleagues who are located in a different office—across the street, across the state, or across the country. You’d like to communicate with them more regularly, but phone calls, e-mails, and video conferences have to do. Inevitably, you feel … Continue reading “How a Business Can Span the Globe and Stay Close-Knit: Microsoft’s “Telepresence” Project”
Washington Companies Raised $21M in March, Down from $53M in Previous Month
This is not good. Less than a month after proclaiming that venture funding may have stabilized at a lower but more sustainable level, I have to report that funding for Washington-based companies in March plunged to $21.3 million in just three deals. That’s significantly down from $53.5 million in 10 deals in February, and $57 … Continue reading “Washington Companies Raised $21M in March, Down from $53M in Previous Month”
Concur Raises $287.5M in Debt Financing
Redmond, WA-based Concur Technologies (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CNQR]]) announced this week it has raised $287.5 million in convertible note debt financing, payable at an annual interest rate of 2.5 percent. The notes will mature on April 15, 2015, and will convert into equity if the stock price is above $52.35 per share, which represents a 25 percent increase … Continue reading “Concur Raises $287.5M in Debt Financing”
Who Should Microsoft Acquire in Health IT? Who Is InnovateHealth? A Blog Sampler
With this week’s opening of our national Health IT news channel, we’ve been ramping up our coverage of all things healthcare, medical computing, and electronic health records. So a couple of Seattle-related items caught my eye this week. —First, the Texas-based online resource site Software Advice, which profiles electronic health record software (among other things), … Continue reading “Who Should Microsoft Acquire in Health IT? Who Is InnovateHealth? A Blog Sampler”
Big Ideas Need Work, Amazon Isn’t Too Late in Mobile Apps, and More from VC Tom Huseby
Breakthrough ideas and management “dream teams” by themselves are overblown. What really counts is hard work and the ability to adapt. That’s one of my main takeaways after chatting with Seattle-area venture capitalist and mobile guru Tom Huseby. He also shed new light on the dynamics between Apple, Google, and Amazon in the mobile sector—and … Continue reading “Big Ideas Need Work, Amazon Isn’t Too Late in Mobile Apps, and More from VC Tom Huseby”
Galgon, Ex-aQuantive, Joins Market Leader
Kirkland, WA-based Market Leader (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LEDR]]) announced today that Mike Galgon has joined its board of directors. Galgon is the co-founder of online advertising technology firm aQuantive (along with Nick Hanauer and Scott Lipsky) and the former chief advertising strategist for Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]). Hanauer is also a board member and investor in Market Leader, … Continue reading “Galgon, Ex-aQuantive, Joins Market Leader”
Jobster Gets New Owner, MDRNA Merges with Cequent and Teams Up with Pfizer, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
Today has been a most interesting day in the Seattle tech and media community. There was some prominent TV and radio coverage of TechStars (see Andy Sack and Andy Liu interviewed on KING 5 here), the North American Eagle “jet car” (interview with team leader Ed Shadle on KUOW, following Thea’s story here), and the … Continue reading “Jobster Gets New Owner, MDRNA Merges with Cequent and Teams Up with Pfizer, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Tune In Now to Hear “Turbojet Car” Driver Ed Shadle on KUOW
For those of you interested in Thea’s story yesterday on the effort to bring the land speed record to Washington state, we have another treat for you. KUOW 94.9 FM is doing an interview with the North American Eagle “turbojet car” co-leader and driver, Ed Shadle, in just a few minutes, starting at 12:00 pm … Continue reading “Tune In Now to Hear “Turbojet Car” Driver Ed Shadle on KUOW”
Sack, Entress, Liu, Patel, and Other Angel Investors Lure Twiistup to Seattle
Tired of Seattle-area tech startup events? Well, get ready for a whole new one. It’s coming April 26, and it has been a closely guarded secret until now. The event is called Twiistup, and it was started in Los Angeles by AOL executive Mike Macadaan in 2007. Think of it as a tech conference with … Continue reading “Sack, Entress, Liu, Patel, and Other Angel Investors Lure Twiistup to Seattle”
Elemental Technologies Looks to Hit Home Run with Streaming Video for TV and Web Content
If you watched last night’s NCAA men’s basketball championship game on the Web, or followed any of Major League Baseball’s opening day action via video on your mobile phone, then you have an idea of the market that Elemental Technologies is trying to tap. Elemental, a Portland, OR-based video processing startup, is announcing today its … Continue reading “Elemental Technologies Looks to Hit Home Run with Streaming Video for TV and Web Content”
Recruiting.com Sells Jobster Business to Zapoint
[Updated 4/6/10, 7:05 pm. See below.] Seattle-based Recruiting.com has sold its Jobster business to Boston-area-based talent management firm Zapoint for an undisclosed sum. I confirmed the acquisition this afternoon with Kate Gerber, director of sales and marketing for Recruiting.com, formerly called Jobster, which makes online software for recruiters and search tools for job seekers. The … Continue reading “Recruiting.com Sells Jobster Business to Zapoint”
Our Top 20 Stories of the First Quarter: Amazon, Cell Therapeutics, Dendreon, Microsoft, and More
At the pace of today’s news, it can be hard to maintain perspective on what all the important stories are. Sure, the iPad is dominating headlines today, but remember when Google bought Picnik just a month ago? That deal is still resonating in the startup community. What’s more, headlines fly off the page so fast … Continue reading “Our Top 20 Stories of the First Quarter: Amazon, Cell Therapeutics, Dendreon, Microsoft, and More”
Cray Lands $45M Contract from NNSA
Seattle-based Cray (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CRAY]]), the supercomputing firm, announced today it has been awarded a $45 million, multi-year contract to provide the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) with a next-generation Cray supercomputer. The new computing platform, called Cielo, will support all three NNSA laboratories—Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The … Continue reading “Cray Lands $45M Contract from NNSA”
Maveron Invests in Latimer Education
Seattle-based venture firm Maveron announced today it has invested in a $1.25 million financing round for Latimer Education, a company based in Washington, DC, that is developing an online university focused on African-American students. Angel investors and the company’s founders also participated in the round. Jason Stoffer and Amy Errett from Maveron are joining Latimer’s … Continue reading “Maveron Invests in Latimer Education”
Don’t Listen To Your Critics, VCs Are Not Enough, and Other Lessons from Breakthrough Idea Forum
This week, I’ve learned a lot about game-changing ideas and how to think about making them work. Like anything meaningful, some of the lessons will take more time and effort to sink in. But here are five lessons to take away from our Xconomy Forum (“What’s Your Breakthrough Idea”) held at the University of Washington … Continue reading “Don’t Listen To Your Critics, VCs Are Not Enough, and Other Lessons from Breakthrough Idea Forum”
PV Powered Bought for $90M, Adaptive TCR Raises $4.5M, Microsoft and Ford Join Forces, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
It was a fairly quiet week for deals in the Northwest, as the event season is kicking into high gear. But there was a huge cleantech acquisition, and some notable deals in biotech, software, and mobile. —Microsoft and Ford Motor Co. are teaming up to implement online energy management software on electric vehicles. Ford is … Continue reading “PV Powered Bought for $90M, Adaptive TCR Raises $4.5M, Microsoft and Ford Join Forces, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Microsoft, Ford Team Up on Energy
Microsoft and Ford announced today they have formed a partnership to deliver Web-based energy management software to electric vehicles. Ford says it will use Microsoft Hohm to help car owners decide when it is most efficient and affordable to charge their electric and hybrid vehicles, starting with the Focus Electric next year. Financial terms of … Continue reading “Microsoft, Ford Team Up on Energy”
TechStars Seattle Seeks Applicants
TechStars, the mentoring program and seed-stage investment fund for technology startups, is now taking applications for its new Seattle program. The application form is here, and the deadline is June 1; finalists will be notified on June 16, and the Seattle program will go from August 16 to November 12, 2010. TechStars Seattle executive director … Continue reading “TechStars Seattle Seeks Applicants”
A Who’s Who of Breakthrough Ideas: Photos from the Xconomy Forum
More than 200 people gathered yesterday at the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington to talk about changing the world. We had a stunning lineup of speakers across different disciplines—including Nick Hanauer of Second Avenue Partners, Nathan Myhrvold of Intellectual Ventures, and Lee Hood from the Institute … Continue reading “A Who’s Who of Breakthrough Ideas: Photos from the Xconomy Forum”
Breakthrough Slideshow
NEXT IMAGE >> What’s Your Breakthrough Idea? — Xconomy Forum at the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, March 29, 2010 photo by Tracy Cutchlow
Nick Hanauer, a “High-Functioning Contrarian,” on How to Think About Breakthroughs in Business and Society (Part 2)
Yesterday, we ran the first part of a sit-down interview with Nick Hanauer, a noted entrepreneur, investor, and co-founder of Seattle-based Second Avenue Partners. Hanauer, who has been involved in the early stages of such prominent companies as Amazon, aQuantive, and Insitu, spoke about the importance of new metaphors in recognizing and understanding breakthrough ideas; … Continue reading “Nick Hanauer, a “High-Functioning Contrarian,” on How to Think About Breakthroughs in Business and Society (Part 2)”
Cowboys Like Us: Investor Nick Hanauer on How to Think About Breakthroughs in Business and Society (Part 1)
Last week was a pretty good one for Nick Hanauer. When I visited his office, he was basking in the glow of the mid-afternoon sun—and the afterglow of President Obama’s signing of the much-ballyhooed healthcare reform bill. (Yes, he’s a staunch Democrat.) But I wasn’t there to talk politics. Hanauer is one of the Seattle … Continue reading “Cowboys Like Us: Investor Nick Hanauer on How to Think About Breakthroughs in Business and Society (Part 1)”
$90M Acquisition of PV Powered Signals Uptick in Cleantech M&A Market
[Updated 4:00 pm, 3/25/10. See below.] Bend, OR-based PV Powered, a maker of solar energy components, announced yesterday it is being acquired by Advanced Energy Industries of Fort Collins, CO. The deal will be worth as much as $90 million—$50 million upfront ($35 million in cash and $15 million in Advanced Energy’s common stock), and … Continue reading “$90M Acquisition of PV Powered Signals Uptick in Cleantech M&A Market”
Optify, Emerging from Stealth, Shows Off Software to Measure Sales and Marketing on the Web
Lead generation. B2B marketing. SEO. Fuh fuh fuh. Forget all these buzzwords. You want more customers? Talk to Optify. This Seattle startup, which came out of stealth mode yesterday, doesn’t have all the answers, but it does have what looks to be a pretty useful software product for marketers who want to track, organize, and … Continue reading “Optify, Emerging from Stealth, Shows Off Software to Measure Sales and Marketing on the Web”
Voyager Adds Funding for Placecast
Seattle-based venture firm Voyager Capital has participated in a $3 million follow-on financing for Placecast, a San Francisco-based mobile marketing startup. Existing investors Quatrex Capital and Onset Ventures also participated in the funding, which is an add-on to the $5 million Series B round the company announced last November. Placecast, also known as 1020, is … Continue reading “Voyager Adds Funding for Placecast”
Future of Online Advertising Looks Like Video, Mobile…and Microsoft
Last night, we heard from a distinguished panel of executives on the opportunities in online advertising, at a TechFlash event in Seattle. The panel comprised some of the top names in the online ad world: —Aaron Finn, founder and chairman of AdReady —Brian McAndrews, former CEO of aQuantive, managing director at Madrona Venture Group —Jeff … Continue reading “Future of Online Advertising Looks Like Video, Mobile…and Microsoft”
Avvo Follows Amazon and Expedia, Ignition and General Catalyst Back Travel Startup, Gist Goes Networking, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
This was a busy week in the Northwest, with lots of action in consumer software, Internet, mobile, and biotech. The biggest startup deals involved former Expedia executives (see below). —A stealthy Seattle online-travel startup, co-founded by former Expedia execs Rich Barton, Greg Slyngstad, Sunil Shah, and Simon Breakwell, has raised $9.8 million in equity financing. … Continue reading “Avvo Follows Amazon and Expedia, Ignition and General Catalyst Back Travel Startup, Gist Goes Networking, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Limeade Gains Customers, Cash
Bellevue, WA-based Limeade, a Web startup focused on improving corporate health and productivity, announced it had closed a $3 million funding round at the end of January. The investors were not disclosed. Limeade also said its employee subscriber base has grown by a factor of 30 compared to the previous year, and that it has … Continue reading “Limeade Gains Customers, Cash”
Bill Gates’s Nuclear Miracle? John Gilleland Says TerraPower Needs Discipline, Not Divine Intervention
John Gilleland’s first day on the job was a little different from most people’s. The nuclear physicist showed up at Intellectual Ventures in Bellevue, WA, and sat down at the conference table with his new boss, CEO Nathan Myhrvold, and another, shall we say prominent, techie. “The guy on my left looked familiar,” Gilleland says. … Continue reading “Bill Gates’s Nuclear Miracle? John Gilleland Says TerraPower Needs Discipline, Not Divine Intervention”
Calling All Carriers: Mobile Software Startups Question Relevance of CTIA Wireless Expo
The mobile technology extravaganza known as the International CTIA Wireless Conference starts today in Las Vegas. Many thousands will attend. Keynotes will be given by such luminaries as Dan Hesse, the CEO of Sprint Nextel; John Stanton of Western Wireless and McCaw Cellular fame (also former CEO of T-Mobile USA); Randall Stephenson, the CEO of … Continue reading “Calling All Carriers: Mobile Software Startups Question Relevance of CTIA Wireless Expo”
Rich Barton Travel Startup Funded
New Travelco, a stealthy Seattle startup co-founded by Rich Barton and Greg Slyngstad, has raised $9.8 million in equity financing, according to a regulatory filing. The investors were not disclosed, but Brad Silverberg of Ignition Partners and Joel Cutler of General Catalyst Partners are also listed on the form as directors of the company. Barton … Continue reading “Rich Barton Travel Startup Funded”
DigitalScirocco Rolls Out of Stealth, Creates New Marketplace for Web Content
Bruce D’Ambrosio wants to change the way content and services are distributed on the Web—and how people make money from them. His new startup, Seattle-based DigitalScirocco, is emerging from pseudo-stealth mode today at the semi-annual DEMO conference in Palm Desert, CA. The company’s service has been live for a couple of months, but has been … Continue reading “DigitalScirocco Rolls Out of Stealth, Creates New Marketplace for Web Content”
Avvo, New $10M in Hand, Tears a Page from Expedia, Amazon Playbooks
Anytime a consumer Internet startup raises $10 million, it’s big news, especially around Seattle these days. So you’d think Avvo would want to tell the world about what it’s doing with all that money, which it just raised in a Series C investment round from DAG Ventures, Benchmark Capital, and Ignition Partners. But founder and … Continue reading “Avvo, New $10M in Hand, Tears a Page from Expedia, Amazon Playbooks”
Amazon Rents More Space from Vulcan
Seattle-based Amazon.com has leased 180,000 square feet of office space at Vulcan Real Estate’s 2201 Westlake building in the South Lake Union neighborhood, as first reported by the Seattle Times. That space is in addition to the 1.7 million square feet that Vulcan is constructing for Amazon’s new headquarters a few blocks north. Amazon employees … Continue reading “Amazon Rents More Space from Vulcan”
How the Gist Acquisition of Learn That Name Came About—Old-Fashioned Networking
Between social media, company blogs, and TechCrunch, there is less room for traditional journalism these days. By the time you hear a company’s announcement and actually think about it, talk to the people involved, and have time to write something with any depth, it’s on to the next thing. But I want to take a … Continue reading “How the Gist Acquisition of Learn That Name Came About—Old-Fashioned Networking”
Avvo Raises $10M from New Investor, Looks to Expand Online Legal Services
Seattle-based Avvo, the online legal directory, said today it has raised $10 million in Series C financing, led by new investor DAG Ventures of Palo Alto, CA. Existing investors Benchmark Capital and Ignition Partners also participated in the round. The money will be used to help Avvo expand and enhance its online products. The company … Continue reading “Avvo Raises $10M from New Investor, Looks to Expand Online Legal Services”
Second Porch Raises $1M
Portland, OR-based Second Porch, an Internet startup that lets people rent and trade vacation homes through social networks, announced today it has closed $1 million in Series A financing, led by the Oregon Angel Fund. The company has a Facebook application that lets consumers discover their friends’ vacation rental homes and helps homeowners find trusted … Continue reading “Second Porch Raises $1M”
Cozi, Climbing Ranks of Consumer Software, Looks to Deliver on Family-Focused Vision in Mobile Market
As Don Corleone said in The Godfather, “A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.” If that’s true, then a Seattle company called Cozi should help quite a few people become real men. Cozi is a tech startup focused on family-related software for the home. That includes things … Continue reading “Cozi, Climbing Ranks of Consumer Software, Looks to Deliver on Family-Focused Vision in Mobile Market”
Amazon, Bing Team Up with Twitter
Twitter, the San Francisco-based micro-messaging company, announced it has developed a new set of frameworks to let consumers tweet, and follow others’ tweets, from within other websites outside of Twitter.com. Initial launch partners for the service, called “@anywhere,” include Seattle-area sites Amazon.com, Microsoft’s Bing, and MSNBC.com. Financial details of the partnerships weren’t given. Other big … Continue reading “Amazon, Bing Team Up with Twitter”
A Chat with Susan Sigl, Incoming CEO of Washington Technology Industry Association
By now, you may have heard that Susan Sigl has been named as the successor to Ken Myer as head of the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA). This is one of the largest trade associations in the U.S., representing 1,000 members and some 125,000 employees in the technology sector. This morning, I had a chat … Continue reading “A Chat with Susan Sigl, Incoming CEO of Washington Technology Industry Association”
Susan Sigl Is New WTIA CEO
The Washington Technology Industry Association announced today that it has named Susan Sigl its new CEO. Sigl is a former venture capitalist and an expert in mobile technology, financial services, and real estate. She is a founding partner of SeaPoint Ventures and helped found, fund, or manage many Northwest companies, including Ground Truth, SnapIn Software, … Continue reading “Susan Sigl Is New WTIA CEO”
Google Apps Teams Up with Local Firms, Evri and Twine Merge, WildTangent Goes Social, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
New deals are in bloom as we await the arrival of spring in the Northwest. In the past week, we’ve seen a modest amount of activity in business software, Internet, gaming, health IT, and biotech. —Seattle-based Presage Biosciences has raised $3.1 million from unnamed individual investors, as Luke reported today. Presage, a spinoff from the … Continue reading “Google Apps Teams Up with Local Firms, Evri and Twine Merge, WildTangent Goes Social, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
The Hold Steady: Washington Companies Raised $53.5M in 10 Deals in February
Maybe the world of venture capital has stabilized—albeit at a lower but more sustainable level. Last month, companies in Washington state raised about $53.5 million in 10 venture deals. The stats are almost identical to the $57 million invested in eight deals back in January—and still up from the anemic $22 million invested in just … Continue reading “The Hold Steady: Washington Companies Raised $53.5M in 10 Deals in February”
PopCap, Photobucket on Windows Phones
Microsoft announced today a new development platform and marketplace for Windows Phone 7 Series applications. Mobile software developers will be able to make use of Windows Phone accelerometers, location-based services, and push notification services, as well as video, camera, and microphone capabilities, to create games and other visually-based applications. A number of companies with Seattle-area … Continue reading “PopCap, Photobucket on Windows Phones”
How Semantic and Social Search Are Evolving: Lessons From the Evri-Twine Merger
What’s really happening in the emerging fields of semantic and social Web search? I’ve been thinking about this since last week’s merger of Seattle-based Evri and San Francisco-based Radar Networks, the developer of Twine.com. The real story is not that one Paul Allen-backed company has acquired another, or that any investors got hosed in the … Continue reading “How Semantic and Social Search Are Evolving: Lessons From the Evri-Twine Merger”