Angels have been in the air lately—especially around the Northwest. Last month, Atlas Accelerator hosted what might have been the largest-ever gathering of active angel investors in Seattle, at its first investor open house. Wings, a new angel group to invest in medical devices and software, has gotten started. Last week, there were prominent angel … Continue reading “Alliance of Angels Director: 2010 Is “A Great Time To Be Starting Something””
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.
ActiveTrak Funded by ProtectCell
Portland, OR-based ActiveTrak, a maker of software that helps consumers recover lost or stolen laptops and mobile phones, announced this week it has raised its first round of funding, led by strategic investor ProtectCell, a mobile security and insurance firm based in Michigan. The investment is $500,000, as reported by TechFlash. ActiveTrak (formerly known as … Continue reading “ActiveTrak Funded by ProtectCell”
Tom Daschle, Former Senate Majority Leader, Talks Healthcare Reform (but Not Health IT)
On Wednesday morning, I stopped by the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Seattle to hear Tom Daschle, the former U.S. Senate Majority Leader from South Dakota, give the keynote talk at the 10th annual “Breakfast with Champions” fundraiser, organized by the King County Bar Foundation. His main focus: healthcare reform. I don’t usually report on policy … Continue reading “Tom Daschle, Former Senate Majority Leader, Talks Healthcare Reform (but Not Health IT)”
WildTangent Teams Up with Playdom to Deliver Ads in Social Games
This week has been surprisingly quiet for Seattle-area gaming companies, even though the annual Game Developers Conference is going on in San Francisco. Well, OK, Kelly Ripa plugged PopCap’s flagship game, Bejeweled, on “Live with Regis and Kelly”—but does that really count? Here’s some more substantial news. Redmond, WA-based WildTangent, one of the elder statesmen … Continue reading “WildTangent Teams Up with Playdom to Deliver Ads in Social Games”
How Seattle Companies and Innovators Can Change the World: Come Find Out on March 29
There’s no crying in baseball—or in innovation. Yet I’ve been hearing a fair bit of lamenting around town about how Seattle startups or venture capitalists are not making the top-whatever lists (Wall Street Journal, Technology Review, you name it) of most innovative companies or investors around the country. Who cares? The city that brought the … Continue reading “How Seattle Companies and Innovators Can Change the World: Come Find Out on March 29”
Evri Acquires Radar Networks, Redesigns Semantic Search Website
Seattle-based Evri, a Web startup focused on semantic search and discovery, announced today it has acquired San Francisco-based Radar Networks, the maker of Twine.com. Financial terms weren’t given, but both companies are backed by Paul Allen’s Vulcan Capital. Radar Networks is also backed by Fuse Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and angel investors. This is big … Continue reading “Evri Acquires Radar Networks, Redesigns Semantic Search Website”
Regence BlueShield Buys Kinetix
Seattle venture capital firm Maveron announced today that Kinetix Living Corp., one of its portfolio companies, has been acquired by Regence BlueShield of Washington state. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Kinetix, which was founded in 2000 and based in Seattle, provides customized health and nutrition programs to corporate customers and individuals. Regence is the … Continue reading “Regence BlueShield Buys Kinetix”
How Google’s New App Store Impacts Microsoft, Amazon, and Startups
Google announced last night that it has officially opened an online store for outside developers to sell their business software applications. The Google Apps Marketplace offers cloud-based software that is integrated with Google Apps—things like Google Calendar, Google Docs, and Gmail for businesses. (That might be a record for the number of Googles in one … Continue reading “How Google’s New App Store Impacts Microsoft, Amazon, and Startups”
NW Energy Angels Names Director
Seattle-based Northwest Energy Angels announced today it has hired Margo Shiroyama as its new executive director. Shiroyama is a veteran of the Washington Technology Industry Association, Northwest Entrepreneur Network, enterpriseSeattle, and the Washington Biomedical Device Innovation Zone. Martin Tobias and Jeff Morris founded Northwest Energy Angels in 2006. The angel group provides early-stage capital to … Continue reading “NW Energy Angels Names Director”
Chuck Thacker of Microsoft Research Wins Turing Award, Talks Future of Mobile Interfaces
One of the founding fathers of the personal computing era, Microsoft Research technical fellow Chuck Thacker, has won the Association for Computing Machinery’s A.M. Turing Award, which is often called the “Nobel Prize of computer science.” The award, which was announced today, comes with a $250,000 prize, sponsored by Intel and Google. Thacker, 67, was … Continue reading “Chuck Thacker of Microsoft Research Wins Turing Award, Talks Future of Mobile Interfaces”
Z2Live Rolls Out Voice Chat for iPhone Games, Announces New Mobile Game Community
This week is nuts for videogame companies: the annual Game Developers Conference starts today in San Francisco. Z2Live, a Seattle-based social mobile gaming startup, kicked off what is sure to be a busy news week for local companies by making a couple of notable announcements. First, it unveiled a “voice chat” feature for games on … Continue reading “Z2Live Rolls Out Voice Chat for iPhone Games, Announces New Mobile Game Community”
Google Buys DocVerse, Madrona Backs ShopIgniter, ISB Gets Mystery Gift, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
In the week since Google’s acquisition of Picnik, the Northwest deals scene came back to earth a little bit. But there was a decent amount of activity in software, Internet, mobile, and cleantech, much of it from Oregon-based companies. —Seattle’s Institute for Systems Biology received a five-year, $6 million gift from a venture capitalist in … Continue reading “Google Buys DocVerse, Madrona Backs ShopIgniter, ISB Gets Mystery Gift, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
BuddyTV’s Andy Liu on the One That Got Away, and What He’d Ask the God of Business
Andy Liu knew something most people didn’t. When I asked him to name his favorite Seattle-area company that he’s not involved with, he said “Picnik” without hesitation. “That’s the one I’d want to be in,” he said. “I’m a big fan.” That was on February 26, three days before Picnik, the photo-editing site, announced it … Continue reading “BuddyTV’s Andy Liu on the One That Got Away, and What He’d Ask the God of Business”
How to Build a Profitable IT Company: Three Questions with Laplink CEO Thomas Koll
It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it. I’m talking about migrating people’s files and programs from their old computer to their new computer. Sure, IT guys do this for employees all the time, but who knew you could build a profitable and sustainable business around it? Meet Laplink, a Bellevue, WA-based company … Continue reading “How to Build a Profitable IT Company: Three Questions with Laplink CEO Thomas Koll”
DeltaPoint Wins OEN Angel Investment
Portland, OR-based DeltaPoint has won $170,000 in the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network’s angel investment competition today. DeltaPoint is developing diagnostic software that performs “virtual biopsies” on suspected cancers, starting with breast cancer. The company was a finalist in the OEN event’s “launch stage” category. Portland-based Enjoy Life, which says it is the producer of the first … Continue reading “DeltaPoint Wins OEN Angel Investment”
Seattle’s Loss: DocVerse Bought by Google (Maybe as a Bridge to Microsoft)
It’s the second notable Google acquisition in these parts, coming on the heels of Seattle-based Picnik getting bought by the search giant earlier this week. DocVerse, a collaborative-document software startup founded in the Seattle area in 2007 by former Microsofties and MIT alums Shan Sinha and Alex DeNeui, has been acquired by Google, according to … Continue reading “Seattle’s Loss: DocVerse Bought by Google (Maybe as a Bridge to Microsoft)”
UpWind Solutions Raises Cash
Medford, OR-based UpWind Solutions, a provider of operations and maintenance services for utility-scale wind projects, has raised $10 million out of a $29 million round of Series B preferred stock, according to a regulatory filing. The investors weren’t disclosed, but the SEC form lists Michael Linse of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Mark Lewis … Continue reading “UpWind Solutions Raises Cash”
Amazon, Cozi, Pathway, Talyst, and VholdR Among Winners at WTIA Awards Bash
Pardon me if I’m still a little hung over, but last night was a blast. Eight hundred techies packed into the Showbox SoDo in Seattle for the 15th annual Industry Achievement Awards organized by the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA). The awards recognize excellence in local tech companies, and the winners were selected by a … Continue reading “Amazon, Cozi, Pathway, Talyst, and VholdR Among Winners at WTIA Awards Bash”
Summit, Ignition Back Cloudmark
Cloudmark, a mobile-messaging security firm based in San Francisco, has raised $23 million in growth equity led by Boston-based Summit Partners and joined by Nokia Growth Partners, Ignition Partners, and Industry Ventures. Bellevue, WA-based Ignition was an existing investor, along with Industry Ventures, while Summit and Nokia are new investors. The deal is Cloudmark’s first … Continue reading “Summit, Ignition Back Cloudmark”
Seattle 2.0 Goes from Calbucci to Cabala
Seattle 2.0 founder Marcelo Calbucci said today he has named television reporter Jennifer Cabala the new president and editor-in-chief of the organization, in charge of business and editorial content. Cabala previously was a TV journalist with KING 5 and Q13 (Fox) based in Seattle. Calbucci says he will continue as a blogger and advisor to … Continue reading “Seattle 2.0 Goes from Calbucci to Cabala”
Steve Ballmer at UW: Is This Microsoft’s Cloud Computing Strategy, or Just Internet Software?
The first sign that Steve Ballmer was in the house came when I saw a cop car parked outside the University of Washington’s Computer Science & Engineering building. Then there were the paper signs telling you where to line up for his 10 am talk today. The Microsoft CEO doesn’t make many local public appearances, … Continue reading “Steve Ballmer at UW: Is This Microsoft’s Cloud Computing Strategy, or Just Internet Software?”
Offbeat Creations Bought by Playdom
Bellevue, WA-based Offbeat Creations, a developer and publisher of Facebook gaming apps, has been acquired by Playdom, the social gaming company based in Mountain View, CA. Financial terms of the deal weren’t released. Offbeat Creations is best known for its dice game, Super Farkle. Its founders, Chia Chin Lee, Robert Reichner, and Tom Fakes, are … Continue reading “Offbeat Creations Bought by Playdom”
Donuts for Developers: CEO Scott Kveton on Getting Urban Airship Aloft
Every startup has a defining moment from its early days. Its first big customer. Its first outside funding round. Its first big change in strategy or revenue model. For Urban Airship, I would say it was its first big developers conference. And the company didn’t even make it in the door. You might think the … Continue reading “Donuts for Developers: CEO Scott Kveton on Getting Urban Airship Aloft”
S4 to Build Waste-to-Fuel Plant
S4 Energy Solutions, a joint venture by Houston, TX-based Waste Management (NYSE: [[ticker:WM]]) and Bend, OR-based InEnTec, said today it plans to build a waste-to-fuel facility at a landfill in Arlington, OR. The plan is for the plasma gasification plant to convert municipal solid waste into clean fuels and renewable energy. Construction is slated to … Continue reading “S4 to Build Waste-to-Fuel Plant”
Microsoft’s Full-Court Innovation Press: TechFest User Interfaces, IT for Hospitals, Ballmer at UW
Please excuse the March Madness sports metaphor, but Microsoft is picking up the intensity around its innovative new products (and earlier-stage projects) this week. Between its TechFest research showcase, healthcare software product announcements, and a special local appearance by CEO Steve Ballmer, the Redmond, WA-based company is on a serious PR roll, getting the word … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Full-Court Innovation Press: TechFest User Interfaces, IT for Hospitals, Ballmer at UW”
Vulcan Re-ups with Audience
Seattle-based Vulcan Capital, the venture firm of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, has participated in a $15 million Series E round for Audience, a Mountain View, CA-based voice processing semiconductor company. New Enterprise Associates, Tallwood Venture Capital, and VentureTech Alliance also participated in the funding, which was all raised from existing investors. Audience designs chips, for … Continue reading “Vulcan Re-ups with Audience”
ShopIgniter Adds $3M for Social Commerce, Led by Madrona Venture Group; Amazon Watches
Portland, OR-based ShopIgniter, a startup working to unify the worlds of e-commerce and social media, has raised $3 million in Series A funding led by Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group. As part of the deal, former Madrona venture partner Matt Compton has joined ShopIgniter as CEO. ShopIgniter was founded in 2008 by Alan Wizemann, Dan Warner, … Continue reading “ShopIgniter Adds $3M for Social Commerce, Led by Madrona Venture Group; Amazon Watches”
British Invasion: Finsphere Expands to U.K., With A Little Help From Its Friends
A couple of weeks ago, I had an interesting chat with Finsphere, a technology company in Bellevue, WA, that makes mobile software to help banks and other institutions fight financial fraud and identity theft. Finsphere has been working on expanding globally, and it took a big first step last August when it opened an office … Continue reading “British Invasion: Finsphere Expands to U.K., With A Little Help From Its Friends”
Portland’s Platial to Close
Portland, OR-based Platial, a social mapping startup, is shutting its doors, according to a blog post on the site. The news was reported yesterday by paidContent, TechCrunch, GigaOm, and others. Platial was backed by Kleiner Perkins, Keynote Ventures, Ron Conway, and other investors.
PhotoRocket Opens Financing Round, Alliance of Angels Has Record 2009, Picnik Gets Bought by Google, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
The big news of the week (and year) is Picnik’s acquisition by Google. But read on for some other notable deals from the Northwest as well. —Seattle-based Picnik, the popular photo-editing software startup, was bought by Google in a deal of undisclosed size. The folks at Picnik seem pretty happy, and it sounds like a … Continue reading “PhotoRocket Opens Financing Round, Alliance of Angels Has Record 2009, Picnik Gets Bought by Google, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Picnik CEO on Getting Bought by Google, and How It Affects Startups and Consumers
Google’s acquisition of Seattle-based photo editing company Picnik is the deal of the year—and maybe more—for the local tech startup community. It just closed this morning, and terms aren’t being disclosed, but suffice to say Picnik’s leadership and team of 20-odd employees will make out pretty well. What’s more, the acquisition adds a bookend to … Continue reading “Picnik CEO on Getting Bought by Google, and How It Affects Startups and Consumers”
Google Buys Picnik, Developing Its Strength in Photo Editing and Storage
Well, this is no big surprise. Seattle-based Picnik was on everybody’s list as a local tech company with great potential to be acquired. The photo-editing startup announced today it has been bought by Google. Terms of the deal weren’t given, but this is big news for a startup community that hasn’t seen a major tech … Continue reading “Google Buys Picnik, Developing Its Strength in Photo Editing and Storage”
Poole, Gerrity Join MOD Squad
Seattle-based MOD Systems announced that former Microsoft vice president and social technologist Will Poole and former Coinstar and Naverus CEO Dan Gerrity have joined the company’s board of directors. Poole is co-chairman of Redwood City, CA-based NComputing, while Gerrity is vice president of business development at Bellevue, WA-based Intellectual Ventures. MOD board member Kyleen Cane … Continue reading “Poole, Gerrity Join MOD Squad”
Napera Networks Evolves, Moves Into Purely Cloud-Based IT Security
Startups almost never end up doing what they started out doing. The key is, can they adjust to the market and find enough paying customers before they run out of money? Here’s an interesting case study in the making: Napera Networks. The computer-network security startup, based in Mercer Island, WA—are there any other startups there?—is … Continue reading “Napera Networks Evolves, Moves Into Purely Cloud-Based IT Security”
Microsoft HealthVault Makes Pitch to Hospitals, Tries to Crack Tough Nut of Health-IT Adoption
One of the big questions surrounding the burgeoning field of healthcare IT is, who is going to push to adopt the technology—patients, doctors, or hospitals? After much thought, it seems Microsoft is banking on the latter. The Redmond, WA, company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) is announcing a new software system geared toward hospitals today at the 2010 … Continue reading “Microsoft HealthVault Makes Pitch to Hospitals, Tries to Crack Tough Nut of Health-IT Adoption”
Breakthrough Ideas: Hanauer, Hood, Myhrvold to Keynote Xconomy Event at UW
Entrepreneurs need to think bigger. Big companies need to think bigger. Everyone needs to think bigger. Including Xconomy. That’s why we’re organizing our biggest event in Seattle so far, called “What’s Your Breakthrough Idea?” It’s on the afternoon of March 29 at the University of Washington, in the atrium of the Computer Science & Engineering … Continue reading “Breakthrough Ideas: Hanauer, Hood, Myhrvold to Keynote Xconomy Event at UW”
PhotoRocket Hires Michael Cockrill; Founder Scott Lipsky Shares More Details
Seattle stealth startup PhotoRocket has some intriguing news today. The company, which says it is planning on “changing the landscape of the photo sharing space,” has hired former Atlas Accelerator managing partner Michael Cockrill to lead the delivery of its products and services. PhotoRocket has also officially opened a new round of financing, which it … Continue reading “PhotoRocket Hires Michael Cockrill; Founder Scott Lipsky Shares More Details”
Alliance of Angels Invested $9.1M in 2009
Seattle-based Alliance of Angels said today that it invested more money in 2009—$9.1 million in 29 companies—than in any previous year. The investments were made in software (33 percent of the money), cleantech (28 percent), retail and consumer products (12 percent), and other sectors like Internet, mobile, biotech, and medical devices. Besides direct investment, the … Continue reading “Alliance of Angels Invested $9.1M in 2009”
How Amazon Innovates: Lessons in Strategy for Microsoft and Others
Sometimes a question that sounds naïve at first can lead to a revealing answer. So here goes: What is it about Amazon’s corporate culture that seems to foster creativity and innovation, while Microsoft gets ripped constantly for failing to innovate? Are there simple principles at work inside Amazon that might explain the difference? I choose … Continue reading “How Amazon Innovates: Lessons in Strategy for Microsoft and Others”
Cray Wins $45M DoD Contract
Seattle-based Cray, the supercomputing company, announced today it has won three high-performance computing awards from the U.S. Department of Defense, totaling more than $45 million. Cray will provide three next-generation supercomputing systems to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in Ohio, the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center in Alaska, and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and … Continue reading “Cray Wins $45M DoD Contract”
Smilebox CEO Talks New Funding, Profitability, and European Expansion
Smilebox is turning into an intriguing story of a young company grappling with the challenges of expanding to new markets and geographies. The Redmond, WA-based company just raised $2 million from its existing investors, as we reported yesterday, and the money is being used to fuel its expansion to Europe, starting with the U.K., Germany, … Continue reading “Smilebox CEO Talks New Funding, Profitability, and European Expansion”
Amazon and Microsoft Strike Patent Deal, Yapta and Kayak Team Up, Smilebox Scores Cash, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
Microsoft showed up in three deals this past week, involving healthcare-IT, Web search, and software patents. Other than that, the Northwest deals scene felt a little too quiet for its own good. —Redmond, WA-based Smilebox raised $2 million in equity financing, according to a filing with the SEC. The investors weren’t disclosed, and Smilebox hasn’t … Continue reading “Amazon and Microsoft Strike Patent Deal, Yapta and Kayak Team Up, Smilebox Scores Cash, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Alibris Acquires Monsoon
Portland, OR-based Monsoon, a maker of software for managing and processing online selling, is being bought by Emeryville, CA-based Alibris, for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock. The acquisition is expected to close in early March, and the companies will continue to operate as separate businesses under their current names; Monsoon CEO Kanth Gopalpur … Continue reading “Alibris Acquires Monsoon”
Smilebox Raises $2M, Keeps Pushing E-Cards and Photo Services
Redmond, WA-based Smilebox, a provider of software and photo services for electronic greeting cards, scrapbooks, and photo albums, has raised $2 million in equity financing, according to an SEC filing. The investors weren’t disclosed, but Paul Bialek, Rob Stavis, and Richard Wolpert are listed on the form as directors, and they are all previous investors … Continue reading “Smilebox Raises $2M, Keeps Pushing E-Cards and Photo Services”
Survey Analytics, Feedjit, Delve Climb Index
The Seattle 2.0 website announced its monthly ranking of local tech startups based on Web traffic estimates. For January, Cheezburger Network, Zillow, BuddyTV, and Picnik ranked as the top four. In the top 20, gains from the previous month were made by Survey Analytics (IdeaScale) at #5, Feedjit at #7, Cozi at #17, and Delve … Continue reading “Survey Analytics, Feedjit, Delve Climb Index”
TeachStreet Rolls Out Test Prep Sites, Does Lead Generation with Big Partners
“It’s like figuring out what we want to be when we grow up.” That’s Dave Schappell, founder and CEO of Seattle-based TeachStreet, an Internet startup focused on helping students and teachers connect through classes and online tools in seven metro areas around the U.S. Today, the company announced an important milestone in its growth: the … Continue reading “TeachStreet Rolls Out Test Prep Sites, Does Lead Generation with Big Partners”
Pivotal Investments Seeks to Build Regional Network of Future Cleantech Leaders
There has been a lot of talk in the past year (and the past month) about the need to build a critical mass of cleantech and alternative energy companies in the Northwest. Now one venture firm in Portland, OR, is doing something about it, by assembling a talent pool of people with the ability to … Continue reading “Pivotal Investments Seeks to Build Regional Network of Future Cleantech Leaders”
Microsoft, Amazon Tie Patent Knot
Seattle-area tech giants Amazon and Microsoft have signed a patent cross-license agreement that gives each company some access to the other’s patent portfolio, and covers a broad range of technology, including Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader and its use of Linux-based servers. Financial terms of the deal weren’t given, but Microsoft says Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) will … Continue reading “Microsoft, Amazon Tie Patent Knot”
Jive Software Gets Interim CEO
Portland, OR-based Jive Software announced today that CEO and co-founder Dave Hersh has left his post to become chairman of the board. Jive has appointed board member Tony Zingale as interim CEO while it conducts a search for a permanent successor. Zingale is the former chief executive of Mercury Interactive and Clarify. Jive makes social … Continue reading “Jive Software Gets Interim CEO”
How Microsoft’s New Mobile Approach Stacks Up with Apple and Google
Pretty soon you might not be able to tell the difference between Microsoft and its most hated rivals. At least in the mobile sector. This would be good news for Microsoft. That’s my take after thinking more about Microsoft’s announcement last week of its heir apparent to Windows Mobile—the Windows Phone 7 Series operating system. … Continue reading “How Microsoft’s New Mobile Approach Stacks Up with Apple and Google”