Seattle-based Amazon.com announced today that its Kindle Digital Text Platform can now be used by authors and publishers to upload their electronic books in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian to the Kindle Store. The service is already available for English, French, and German books. Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) also said yesterday that its Kindle application is now … Continue reading “Amazon Kindle E-Books Expand Reach”
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.
ARPA-E Director Arun Majumdar Meets with Bill Gates, Advises Local Startups, Speaks at UW
There’s no better way to kick off a Seattle visit than to have a two-hour meeting with Bill Gates. That was Arun Majumdar’s morning yesterday. The director of ARPA-E, the new $400 million research agency within the U.S. Department of Energy, was on tour to promote novel energy R&D programs and get feedback from innovators … Continue reading “ARPA-E Director Arun Majumdar Meets with Bill Gates, Advises Local Startups, Speaks at UW”
Nathan Myhrvold Shares Plan to Create Invention Capital Industry, but Skeptics Abound
Intellectual Ventures has been making a lot of waves lately. Today the Bellevue, WA-based firm, focused on the business of invention and patents, laid out its arguments for creating a new industry of “invention capital,” in a Harvard Business Review article penned by CEO and co-founder, Nathan Myhrvold. In a separate piece, the New York … Continue reading “Nathan Myhrvold Shares Plan to Create Invention Capital Industry, but Skeptics Abound”
Microsoft-Yahoo Search Deal Approved
Tech giants Microsoft and Yahoo announced today they have received clearance for their search and advertising agreement from U.S. and European regulators. The news means the companies can move forward with their plan to transition Yahoo’s search platforms to Microsoft’s Bing (which should be complete by the end of this year), while Yahoo will handle … Continue reading “Microsoft-Yahoo Search Deal Approved”
RealNetworks, With Narrowed Focus, Seeks to Help Consumers Manage Digital Media Clutter
You might not know it, but you could say RealNetworks is being reborn today. The Seattle-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RNWK]]) is announcing a new version of RealPlayer SP, its signature software for downloading, sharing, and transferring personal videos to smartphones and other devices. The new features include quick video editing—so you can keep just the parts … Continue reading “RealNetworks, With Narrowed Focus, Seeks to Help Consumers Manage Digital Media Clutter”
Yapta, Kayak Team Up in Travel Search
Seattle-based Yapta, the online airfare-tracking service, announced today it has formed a partnership with travel search site Kayak, based in Norwalk, CT. Financial terms of the deal weren’t given, but Kayak will power the flight search engine on Yapta.com, which should give consumers more options in tracking fares and planning travels. Kayak is also interested … Continue reading “Yapta, Kayak Team Up in Travel Search”
How to Win the Future of Social Mobile Gaming: The Z2Live Story
Take two technology areas that Seattle is best known for: mobile and gaming. Mix them together in a fast-growing market (iPhone multiplayer games), put some shrewd venture capital behind it (Madrona Venture Group), and what do you get? Answer: Z2Live. This isn’t two guys in a garage working on their passion. This Seattle startup was … Continue reading “How to Win the Future of Social Mobile Gaming: The Z2Live Story”
Cozi CEO Confirms $5M Funding, Affirms Advertising Business Model
Maybe online advertising revenues are coming back—at least in certain markets. That’s what I thought after catching up yesterday with Robbie Cape, the founder and CEO of Seattle-based Cozi. Earlier this week, the family-focused software company disclosed in an SEC filing that it has raised $5 million in new equity funding. The news was first … Continue reading “Cozi CEO Confirms $5M Funding, Affirms Advertising Business Model”
RealNetworks Spins Off Rhapsody, Urban Airship and Swype Raise Cash, Winshuttle Buys A1, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
There were a bunch of small deals in the Northwest this week. Some hot spots were mobile, business software, and alternative fuels. —Portland, OR-based Urban Airship, a mobile software startup, raised $1.1 million in a deal led by True Ventures. Seattle-based Founder’s Co-op also participated in the round. Urban Airship makes infrastructure for mobile messaging … Continue reading “RealNetworks Spins Off Rhapsody, Urban Airship and Swype Raise Cash, Winshuttle Buys A1, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Kashless Acquires Mercata Patents from Vulcan, Rolls Out New Group Buying Site, Tippr
“I believe it’s the pocket aces of IP in group collective buying,” Martin Tobias tells me. Tobias, the Seattle entrepreneur and investor who heads up the online community site Kashless, is talking about his latest strategic move. His company has acquired the patent portfolio of former Bellevue, WA-based dot-com Mercata from Paul Allen’s Vulcan Capital, … Continue reading “Kashless Acquires Mercata Patents from Vulcan, Rolls Out New Group Buying Site, Tippr”
Urban Airship Gets Funded
Portland, OR-based Urban Airship, a mobile messaging startup, has raised $1.1 million led by True Ventures, with participation from Seattle-based Founder’s Co-op. The news was first reported by Rick Turoczy of Silicon Florist. Urban Airship provides software infrastructure for mobile messaging services like Apple Push Notifications, which lets companies send news and alerts to iPhones … Continue reading “Urban Airship Gets Funded”
Winshuttle Expands to Germany with Acquisition, Keeps Growing Through the Recession
The global expansion continues for Winshuttle, one of the unsung heroes of the Seattle tech scene that I highlighted back in August. The Bothell, WA-based software company is announcing today it has acquired the German firm A1 Professional Software. Financial terms of the deal weren’t given, but Winshuttle is keeping the A1 Professional team of … Continue reading “Winshuttle Expands to Germany with Acquisition, Keeps Growing Through the Recession”
Swype Scores $1M Led by Docomo
Seattle-based Swype, a maker of text-input technology for touchscreen mobile devices, announced today it has raised an additional $1 million led by Docomo Capital. The money is an extension of Swype’s $5.6 million Series B round led by Nokia Growth Partners and Samsung Ventures, announced in December. NTT Docomo is Japan’s leading mobile operator, and … Continue reading “Swype Scores $1M Led by Docomo”
Inside the McKinstry Innovation Center: A First Look at Seattle’s Big Cleantech Hope
Elsa Croonquist of McKinstry would cringe at the hype, but I’m here to say it’s at least partly true. The Seattle alternative energy scene has been eerily quiet as of late. This is not to diminish the efforts of organizations like the Clean Tech Open, Washington Clean Technology Alliance, Clean Energy Council, Climate Solutions, and … Continue reading “Inside the McKinstry Innovation Center: A First Look at Seattle’s Big Cleantech Hope”
The First Rule of FounderDating, and More Takeaways from the Group’s First Seattle Event
The next big startup out of Seattle might have been conceived on the top floor of the Washington Athletic Club this past Tuesday. That’s where 35 carefully selected tech entrepreneurs and business people gathered over drinks and light appetizers for the first-ever FounderDating session in Seattle. The idea, as we reported on a couple weeks … Continue reading “The First Rule of FounderDating, and More Takeaways from the Group’s First Seattle Event”
Seattle Applying for Google Fiber Network
Seattle mayor Mike McGinn announced today that the city will respond to Google’s request for information from communities across the U.S. that want to partner with Google to build ultra-high-speed fiber broadband networks. The experimental idea is to connect homes to the Internet via ultra-fast fiber optics (100 times faster than a conventional broadband network), … Continue reading “Seattle Applying for Google Fiber Network”
RealNetworks Acting CEO Bob Kimball Speaks on Rebuilding the Company, Transforming the Culture, and Spinning Off Music and Games
In today’s RealNetworks earnings call, we heard from president and acting CEO Bob Kimball for the first time. Kimball recently took over from founder Rob Glaser, who stepped down as CEO a month ago. Kimball originally joined RealNetworks (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RNWK]]) in 1999 and served for 10-plus years as the senior executive responsible for all legal … Continue reading “RealNetworks Acting CEO Bob Kimball Speaks on Rebuilding the Company, Transforming the Culture, and Spinning Off Music and Games”
CEO Christian Chabot on Tableau Software’s New Consumer App for Making Data Social
“I make the bold claim that this will be of interest to anyone who posts content online,” says Christian Chabot, the co-founder and chief executive of Seattle-based Tableau Software. We were talking recently about his company’s big move into consumer software, which was just announced today. “The target is really bloggers, journalists, writers, critics, researchers, … Continue reading “CEO Christian Chabot on Tableau Software’s New Consumer App for Making Data Social”
SinglePoint Buys M2Junction, Wants to Become Mobile Advertising Leader in India
Bellevue, WA-based SinglePoint, a mobile messaging software company, announced today it has acquired M2Junction, a leading mobile advertising startup based in Hyderabad, India. Financial terms of the deal weren’t given. The move should make it easier for SinglePoint to connect with and sell its services to content publishers, mobile operators, brands, and ad agencies in … Continue reading “SinglePoint Buys M2Junction, Wants to Become Mobile Advertising Leader in India”
A Good Start? WA Companies Raised $57M in January, Up from $22M in Previous Month
Last month, companies based in Washington state raised a total of about $57 million in venture capital, in eight deals. That’s up from about $22 million in December 2009 (four companies), and $44 million (10 companies) in the month before that. The VC stats are courtesy of private company intelligence platform CB Insights. See the … Continue reading “A Good Start? WA Companies Raised $57M in January, Up from $22M in Previous Month”
Propel Fuels Gets Cash for CA Expansion
Propel Fuels, the alternative fuel company founded in Seattle but now based in Sacramento, CA, announced today it has raised $12 million in Series C equity financing led by new investor Craton Equity Partners, along with $8 million in debt financing. Previous investors Nth Power and @Ventures also participated in the equity round. The money … Continue reading “Propel Fuels Gets Cash for CA Expansion”
Real Spins Off Rhapsody
Seattle-based RealNetworks and MTV Networks announced today they will spin off their digital music service joint venture, Rhapsody, into a separate company. Under the terms of the deal, RealNetworks (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RNWK]]) will no longer be the majority owner and operator of Rhapsody; the new company will not have a single majority owner. Real says this … Continue reading “Real Spins Off Rhapsody”
What’s Your Breakthrough Idea? Let’s Talk About How to Change the World on March 29
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, an investor, a researcher, a corporate executive, a journalist, or a patent attorney, you’ve heard it: an idea that will supposedly change the world. In fact, you probably come across someone trying to pitch you an idea like that every week, if not every day. Maybe you even have one you’re … Continue reading “What’s Your Breakthrough Idea? Let’s Talk About How to Change the World on March 29”
Amazon Buys Touchco, Infinia Raises More Cash, the Truth About Photobucket, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
Another quiet week for deals in the Northwest as we head into the depths of winter. Nevertheless, there were a few notable deals in software, hardware, and energy. —Kennewick, WA-based Infinia snapped up another $11.5 million in equity financing in a round that could total $75 million over time, as Luke reported. The investors in … Continue reading “Amazon Buys Touchco, Infinia Raises More Cash, the Truth About Photobucket, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Voyager Capital’s Daniel Ahn on the Firm’s Refocused Clean-IT Strategy
To Voyager Capital managing director Daniel Ahn, “cleantech” is just a buzzword. “Clean IT” is much more precise—and, to the point, it’s something a hardcore techie venture capitalist can get his hands around. Last week, I spoke with Ahn by phone about Voyager’s recent investment in Coulomb Technologies, a Campbell, CA-based startup focused on electric … Continue reading “Voyager Capital’s Daniel Ahn on the Firm’s Refocused Clean-IT Strategy”
IdeaScale Used for 24 Government Sites
Seattle-based Survey Analytics has rolled out a total of 24 crowdsourcing websites for U.S. government agencies to help them solicit and manage feedback from citizens. Financial details of the current partnerships weren’t given. The sites are powered by IdeaScale, the company’s software platform for hosting and managing feedback from communities and customers. Last May, the … Continue reading “IdeaScale Used for 24 Government Sites”
Sack Ballmer? Break Up the Company? How Microsoft Could Innovate
Outside of official circles in Redmond, WA, the term “Microsoft innovation” is often thought of as an oxymoron, sort of like “Army intelligence.” People have been actively debating the issue of whether and how Microsoft can truly innovate in the tech world for at least the past decade. Enter Dick Brass (great name), who was … Continue reading “Sack Ballmer? Break Up the Company? How Microsoft Could Innovate”
It’s Official: Ontela Bought Photobucket from News Corp.
Back in December, we reported that Seattle mobile imaging startup Ontela merged with Photobucket, the Denver-based photo sharing site previously owned by News Corporation. Financial terms of the deal weren’t released, but News Corp. ceded some control of Photobucket to Ontela’s investors while retaining an equity stake in the merged company, which retains the Photobucket … Continue reading “It’s Official: Ontela Bought Photobucket from News Corp.”
Datacastle, with Aussie Connections, Moves Into Corporate Data Management
Managing data on desktop and laptop computers is a perennial problem for businesses. That’s because IT managers and administrators don’t have control over individual machines the way they do the servers inside their own data center. So dealing with issues around each laptop’s security, privacy, and data backup and recovery tends to be costly and … Continue reading “Datacastle, with Aussie Connections, Moves Into Corporate Data Management”
Microsoft, NSF Team Up in Cloud
Microsoft announced today it has formed a partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide free cloud-computing resources to selected researchers and research groups through Windows Azure. Financial details of the agreement weren’t given, but NSF will be in charge of awarding and managing the projects through its usual review process. Microsoft will grant … Continue reading “Microsoft, NSF Team Up in Cloud”
Isilon Posts First Profit, Gives Props to Its People and Partners
Ding, ding. What’s that sound? It’s Isilon Systems ringing the NASDAQ market closing bell at 4 pm ET this afternoon. The Seattle data storage company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ISLN]]) is celebrating its first quarterly profit in its nine-year history. I caught up with CEO and founder Sujal Patel by phone from New York this morning after the … Continue reading “Isilon Posts First Profit, Gives Props to Its People and Partners”
Amazon Said to Buy Touchscreen Startup: Implications for the Kindle and E Ink Display
Seattle-based Amazon has acquired Touchco, a touchscreen technology company based in New York, according to a report in the New York Times, which cites an anonymous source with knowledge of the deal. The acquisition raises some interesting questions about the future of the Kindle device, Amazon’s competition with Apple, and the role of technology firm … Continue reading “Amazon Said to Buy Touchscreen Startup: Implications for the Kindle and E Ink Display”
BlueKai Brings In Big Money, Siemens Licenses HealthVault, Intellectual Ventures Buys Avistar Patents, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
Deal activity picked up a bit in the Northwest this week. But most of the action was in two or three big deals in the software and Internet sectors, with a smattering of deals in biotech and clean IT. —Portland, OR-based Coaxis raised $10 million in growth capital from Updata Partners, based in Virginia and … Continue reading “BlueKai Brings In Big Money, Siemens Licenses HealthVault, Intellectual Ventures Buys Avistar Patents, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Coaxis Coaxes $10M from Updata
Portland, OR-based Coaxis, the parent company of Viewpoint Construction Software, has raised $10 million in growth equity funding from Virginia and New Jersey-based Updata Partners. The money will be used to fuel the company’s international expansion in marketing and product distribution. Viewpoint’s software, which is built on Microsoft’s .NET platform, is used by construction firms … Continue reading “Coaxis Coaxes $10M from Updata”
Ericsson Buys SinglePoint Biz
Bellevue, WA-based SinglePoint, a mobile software firm, announced it has sold its mobile aggregation business to Ericsson (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ERIC]]) for an undisclosed price. The assets will give the Swedish giant connections to mobile operators that will bolster its text messaging reach in the U.S. SinglePoint is focused on mobile marketing and advertising; its messaging service … Continue reading “Ericsson Buys SinglePoint Biz”
Picnik Vs. Flickr: A Growth Comparison
Just a quick observation here. Seattle-based Picnik, the popular photo-editing startup, said yesterday it has reached the “1 billion photos edited” mark. Is this a big deal? Well, if you compare the growth of Picnik to that of arguably the world’s top social storage site for photos, Flickr, it could be a very revealing milestone. … Continue reading “Picnik Vs. Flickr: A Growth Comparison”
Mpire Drops Widgetbucks, Switches Strategy to Be All About Optimizing and Verifying Online Ads
It has certainly been a busy week in the online advertising sector. On Monday, Bellevue, WA-based BlueKai announced it had raised $21 million in Series C funding in its effort to help transform how companies use customer data to design ad campaigns. And Seattle-based ad technology startup AdReady has formed a partnership with Internet radio … Continue reading “Mpire Drops Widgetbucks, Switches Strategy to Be All About Optimizing and Verifying Online Ads”
Google Funds Research on Mobile Sensing at UW, Energy Efficiency at UC San Diego
With all the froth around big tech company earnings, device announcements, and mobile app stores, it’s refreshing to see some long-term research in computing being funded. Google announced today it has awarded $1.35 million ($900,000 up front) to the University of Washington for work on mobile data collection for public health and environmental monitoring, and … Continue reading “Google Funds Research on Mobile Sensing at UW, Energy Efficiency at UC San Diego”
Z2Live CEO David Bluhm on Game Community’s “Overwhelming Disappointment” in Apple iPad
The honeymoon is over for Apple. Although it has been quite fashionable to bash the iPad tablet device announced last week, it did seem like a promising platform for gaming and other entertainment apps—at least to an outside observer. Now the truth comes out. Last week, the local gaming and iPhone app developer community gathered … Continue reading “Z2Live CEO David Bluhm on Game Community’s “Overwhelming Disappointment” in Apple iPad”
Previewing Xconomy’s Battle of the Tech Bands (Seattle Vs. Boston) with Dave Dederer from Melodeo and The Presidents of the USA
OK, I need to weigh in on this whole Battle of the Tech Bands thing. In case you didn’t know, it’s this Thursday night at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA. It has a major new twist this year: Seattle versus Boston. The battle is on. And I’m torn. I’m from Boston, after all, but … Continue reading “Previewing Xconomy’s Battle of the Tech Bands (Seattle Vs. Boston) with Dave Dederer from Melodeo and The Presidents of the USA”
From Social Media to the 3-D Internet: Companies Need to Change Up, Says Former RealNetworks Exec Kelly Jo MacArthur
Every once in a while, I sit down with a businessperson who brings a unique perspective to a huge global trend—and helps me see things in a profound new light. In this case, that person is Kelly Jo MacArthur, and the global trend is the explosion of social media and its broader impact on corporations. … Continue reading “From Social Media to the 3-D Internet: Companies Need to Change Up, Says Former RealNetworks Exec Kelly Jo MacArthur”
Voyager Capital Makes Cleantech Investment
Seattle-based venture firm Voyager Capital has co-led a $14 million Series B investment in Coulomb Technologies, a Campbell, CA-based startup focused on electric vehicle infrastructure. Voyager and Rho Ventures co-led the financing for Coulomb, which makes technologies for vehicle charging stations. Daniel Ahn, a Voyager managing director based in Silicon Valley, is joining the Coulomb … Continue reading “Voyager Capital Makes Cleantech Investment”
SEOmoz Hands Off Consulting Biz to U.K. Firm, Doubles Down on Software and Tools
Don’t think of Seattle-based SEOmoz as a consulting firm. It’s all about software and tools now—and pretty much has been for a couple of years. That’s the message from founder and CEO Rand Fishkin, who spoke with me last week about the search engine optimization company’s strategy. SEOmoz announced today it is officially handing over … Continue reading “SEOmoz Hands Off Consulting Biz to U.K. Firm, Doubles Down on Software and Tools”
Why the Apple iPad Is a Kindle Killer, or Not—and How Amazon Must Step Up
Almost everyone in the consumer tech industry has been thinking about how the Apple iPad, unveiled on Wednesday, affects their line of business—whether it’s gaming, video, mobile content and advertising, mobile interfaces, or digital books. Especially digital books. Yesterday, Ben Elowitz, the CEO and co-founder of Seattle-based Wetpaint, argued in TechCrunch that the iPad will … Continue reading “Why the Apple iPad Is a Kindle Killer, or Not—and How Amazon Must Step Up”
Who Should You Start a Company With? As Seattle Evolves, FounderDating Has an Answer
Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Before they were the co-founders of billion-dollar technology companies—Microsoft, Apple, Google—they were friends, classmates, lab mates. But most people aren’t lucky enough to meet their ideal co-founder before it’s time to start a company. Is there a more systematic way … Continue reading “Who Should You Start a Company With? As Seattle Evolves, FounderDating Has an Answer”
Bill Gates Funds Geoengineering and Climate Projects, Steve Ballmer on China, and Other Microsoft-Related News
Lest Apple take all the headlines this week, a certain software powerhouse in Redmond, WA, is making waves in its own way. Analysts and stockholders are anxiously awaiting the results of Microsoft’s fourth-quarter earnings call today, with some predicting a boost in revenues thanks to Windows 7. But there are other things going on too. … Continue reading “Bill Gates Funds Geoengineering and Climate Projects, Steve Ballmer on China, and Other Microsoft-Related News”
BuddyTV Rising Fast, Looking for New Revenue Streams in a Changed Media Landscape
This Seattle-based website draws some 6 million visitors a month. It has been seeing annual traffic growth of about 300 percent, and was recently named the #2 fastest-growing website in the U.S., according to comScore. Yes, I’m talking about BuddyTV, the social site for television fans led by prominent entrepreneur and investor Andy Liu. Fans … Continue reading “BuddyTV Rising Fast, Looking for New Revenue Streams in a Changed Media Landscape”
The Apple iPad’s Impact on Mobile, Gaming, and E-Books: Local Techies and Startups React
[Updated 1/28/10, see below] The wait is over, but the endless mulling of the details and implications is just beginning. As Apple unveiled its long-rumored tablet device, the iPad, at a press event today in San Francisco, mobile industry insiders in Seattle, Boston, and elsewhere were watching closely. Which is exactly what you would expect, … Continue reading “The Apple iPad’s Impact on Mobile, Gaming, and E-Books: Local Techies and Startups React”
Intellectual Ventures Buys Avistar Patents
Bellevue, WA-based Intellectual Ventures has agreed to pay $11 million upfront to acquire the majority of the patent portfolio of San Mateo, CA-based Avistar, a video-conferencing technology firm. The deal calls for Avistar to receive a full grant back license that protects its products under these patents. Earlier this month, Intellectual Ventures, the invention firm … Continue reading “Intellectual Ventures Buys Avistar Patents”
DocuSign Gets New CEO, Chairman
Seattle-based DocuSign, a maker of software to automate electronic signatures, announced today it has appointed Steve King as new CEO and Keith Krach as chairman of the board. King, a veteran of Virtela, Zantaz, and E*Trade, succeeds Matthew Schiltz, who will now head up strategic business development for the company. Krach is the co-founder and … Continue reading “DocuSign Gets New CEO, Chairman”