Seattle Layoff Update: Exide, Expedia, Impinj, Sun Trim Staff; MSN Encarta, Trusera to Close

In the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen further bloodletting in terms of area tech-company layoffs and closures. It really is brutal out there. Here is a quick recap: —Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:XIDE]]), a maker of batteries and energy storage devices in Alpharetta, GA, closed its facility in Sumner, WA, and laid off 43 workers … Continue reading “Seattle Layoff Update: Exide, Expedia, Impinj, Sun Trim Staff; MSN Encarta, Trusera to Close”

Spotlight on Startups: Finalists for Seattle 2.0 and CNET Webware Awards Announced

‘Tis the season for Seattle startup awards. This week, the finalists have been announced for two separate sets of techie awards—one local, one national. If nothing else, the awards call much-deserved attention to the efforts of some very busy companies around town that we follow closely here at Xconomy. —Finalists for Marcelo Calbucci’s Seattle 2.0 … Continue reading “Spotlight on Startups: Finalists for Seattle 2.0 and CNET Webware Awards Announced”

Swype Scores $1.3M for Text-Input Tech

Seattle-based Swype, a maker of text-input technology for mobile devices, has closed a $1.3 million funding round from angel investors and company management, according to TechFlash. Swype’s software lets you enter text by tracing a path on a touch-screen keyboard using a stylus or your fingertip.

Skytap, With New VC Bucks in Tow, Takes on Big Boys in the Cloud

A couple of weeks ago, we reported on Seattle startup Skytap’s $7 million funding round. It’s one of the Northwest’s bigger venture deals of the year, and the company is a pretty interesting play in the cloud computing space, so I figured it was worth a closer look. Especially given all the hubbub about cloud … Continue reading “Skytap, With New VC Bucks in Tow, Takes on Big Boys in the Cloud”

Anything But Ordinary: Bonanzle Aims To Be the Social Site for Buying and Selling Niche Items

First off, please don’t call it an eBay competitor. Sure, it’s in the online marketplace space, but it’s going after a specialized segment with a different approach. The startup is called Bonanzle, it’s based in Kirkland, WA, and it has one of the most promising trajectories of any young company in the Northwest. Bottom line: … Continue reading “Anything But Ordinary: Bonanzle Aims To Be the Social Site for Buying and Selling Niche Items”

Sun, Exide Lay Off Staff

Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: [[ticker:JAVA]]) has laid off 24 workers in Bellevue, WA, effective May 30, 2009, according to a notice from the Washington State Employment Security Department. Meanwhile, Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:XIDE]]), a maker of batteries and other energy-storage devices, has closed its facility in Sumner, WA, and has laid off 43 workers, effective immediately.

Clearwire Brings WiMax to More Devices

Kirkland, WA-based Clearwire Communications, a subsidiary of Clearwire (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLWR]]), has rolled out an accessory to allow Wi-Fi devices to connect to broadband Internet via the company’s mobile WiMax service. The battery-powered router creates a personal, mobile Wi-Fi hotspot to provide faster connections for iPhones, BlackBerries, MP3 players, digital cameras, and other devices.

Google’s Cloud Computing Platform Aims to Fuel Growth of Web Applications, Users, Revenues

[Updated April 5 with a correction: Google’s Mike Repass is based in San Francisco, not Seattle] On Monday evening, I stopped by a talk on “Google’s world view of cloud computing,” organized by the Washington Technology Industry Association as part of its series of events on this emerging IT trend. The first event we covered, … Continue reading “Google’s Cloud Computing Platform Aims to Fuel Growth of Web Applications, Users, Revenues”

Ignition’s Brad Silverberg Says No Company Split, Just Different Funds

Xconomy reported yesterday that Bellevue, WA-based Ignition Partners has split into separate management organizations with the formation of downtown Seattle-based Ignition Capital, which is focused on growth-stage and private equity investments. Reached by e-mail, Ignition Partners co-founder Brad Silverberg says that Ignition is still one firm, with three complementary funds. That’s despite the fact that … Continue reading “Ignition’s Brad Silverberg Says No Company Split, Just Different Funds”

Pathway Raises $40M, Bsquare Brings Flash to Android, Vioguard Hits Up Angels, & More Seattle-Area Deals News

It was another relatively slow week for deals in the Northwest—with a very notable exception being the largest venture capital deal of the year to date (see below). —Xconomy broke the news of the Northwest’s biggest venture deal of 2009 so far: Kirkland, WA-based Pathway Medical Technologies’ $40 million financing led by Amsterdam-based Forbion Capital … Continue reading “Pathway Raises $40M, Bsquare Brings Flash to Android, Vioguard Hits Up Angels, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”

Microsoft Closes Book on Encarta

Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) announced today it is shutting down MSN Encarta, its online encyclopedia, as of October 31, 2009. The news was first reported by Ars Technica. Microsoft says, “The category of traditional encyclopedias and reference material has changed”—which seems to refer to online sites like Wikipedia and Google—and that the company will “develop future … Continue reading “Microsoft Closes Book on Encarta”

Greed Is Good, and Other Takeaways from Xconomy’s Cleantech Forum

Last Thursday, we hosted a fantastic event on energy innovation at K&L Gates in downtown Seattle. The panel discussion—moderated by Michael Butler of Cascadia Capital and featuring Mark Aggar of Microsoft, Jesse Berst of Global Smart Energy, Jeremy Jaech of Verdiem, and Linden Rhoads of UW Tech Transfer—did not disappoint in its edgy treatment of … Continue reading “Greed Is Good, and Other Takeaways from Xconomy’s Cleantech Forum”

Ignition Capital Splits from Ignition Partners, Focuses on Private Equity

Xconomy has learned that three venture partners from Bellevue, WA-based Ignition Partners have formed a separate management company called Ignition Capital, and are working from new offices in downtown Seattle on private equity and late-stage investments. Jon Anderson, Rich Tong, and John Zagula are managing directors of Ignition Capital, whose fund is “focused on profitable … Continue reading “Ignition Capital Splits from Ignition Partners, Focuses on Private Equity”

Ex-Microsoft Innovators: Raikes, Ranta, Howard, and Ferroni on the Startup Trail

We’re hearing about an increasing number of startups founded or backed by ex-Microsoft employees from many different backgrounds and levels of experience. The uptick seems to be a relatively recent trend, and it could be a good sign in otherwise tough times. Here’s a recap from the past couple of weeks. —Jeff Raikes, the former … Continue reading “Ex-Microsoft Innovators: Raikes, Ranta, Howard, and Ferroni on the Startup Trail”

Bsquare Brings Flash to Google Android

Bellevue, WA-based Bsquare (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BSQR]]), a maker of software for embedded devices, has announced it will port Adobe’s Flash technology onto Google’s Android operating system for a top-tier wireless carrier. More specifics and financial terms were not disclosed. The news is significant because, with Bsquare’s work, Android may get Flash before the iPhone does.

Xconomy Forum Tonight: The Rise of Cleantech in the Northwest

We’re putting on a cleantech show tonight at K&L Gates in downtown Seattle, starting at 6 pm. The event is sold out, but we may still have a few standing-room tickets available if you contact me. Our panel, moderated by Michael Butler of Cascadia Capital, is made up of Mark Aggar from Microsoft, Jesse Berst … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum Tonight: The Rise of Cleantech in the Northwest”

Ontela, Visible, Wetpaint Win WTIA Awards

The 14th annual WTIA Industry Achievement Awards were announced last night at the Paramount Theater in downtown Seattle. The winning companies, as determined by online community voting, were AdReady (service provider), Ontela (breakthrough startup), Wetpaint (consumer product), and Visible Technologies (commercial product). Best use of technology in government, nonprofit, or education went to Snohomish County … Continue reading “Ontela, Visible, Wetpaint Win WTIA Awards”

Vioguard CEO Larry Ranta Takes Germ-Zapping Keyboard Into Growing Hospital Market

The concept is simple: a computer keyboard that self-sanitizes by zapping potentially deadly germs with ultraviolet light. The technology could help prevent the spread of nasty bacterial invaders like MRSA in hospitals and other institutions with shared computer facilities. That’s the idea behind Vioguard, a Bothell, WA, company co-founded by startup specialist Larry Ranta and … Continue reading “Vioguard CEO Larry Ranta Takes Germ-Zapping Keyboard Into Growing Hospital Market”

Vulcan Re-ups with Audience

Audience, a Mountain View, CA-based company that makes voice-processing software to reduce noise in cell phones, announced it has closed a $15 million Series D round of financing from existing investors, including Seattle-based Vulcan Capital. Other investors in the round were New Enterprise Associates, Tallwood Venture Capital, and VentureTech Alliance.

NWEN Investor Forum Yields Five Startup Finalists and a Winner, Hydrovolts

I stopped by The Big Picture, a cozy movie theater and lounge in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood, to catch the end of the Northwest Entrepreneur Network’s First Look Forum yesterday. The concept of the retooled event was to showcase only companies that had not yet pitched to an organized angel group or VCs. These are startups … Continue reading “NWEN Investor Forum Yields Five Startup Finalists and a Winner, Hydrovolts”

Xconomy Forum Preview: Northwest Cleantech Rising this Thursday

It’s shaping up to be a really special event. Xconomy is putting on a forum about cleantech innovation this Thursday evening at K&L Gates in downtown Seattle. Our distinguished panelists will put away their PowerPoint slides and get right down to debating the tough questions. What are the real opportunities in cleantech-meets-software? How should the … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum Preview: Northwest Cleantech Rising this Thursday”

Intellectual Ventures Inks India Deal, Ontela Teams with T-Mobile, MDRNA Nabs $7.25M, & More Seattle-Area Deals News

It was a quiet week for deals in the Northwest, with a few partnerships formed in software, biotech, and intellectual property. —Bothell, WA-based MDRNA (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MRNA]]), a developer of RNA interference technology for drug development, agreed to license its technology non-exclusively to Novartis in exchange for $7.25 million in upfront fees, as Luke reported. MDRNA … Continue reading “Intellectual Ventures Inks India Deal, Ontela Teams with T-Mobile, MDRNA Nabs $7.25M, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”

Jeff Raikes on Backing Agile Sports, a Startup Focused on Football, Built on Microsoft Tech

Even the chief executive of the world’s largest philanthropic institution has a little time for his boyhood passions. Jeff Raikes, the CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, grew up on a ranch near Omaha, NE, rooting for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers, a national college football powerhouse. Raikes made his fortune at Microsoft, … Continue reading “Jeff Raikes on Backing Agile Sports, a Startup Focused on Football, Built on Microsoft Tech”

Seattle Layoff Update: Amaze Entertainment, Evri Cut Staff

The carnage continues. At least two area technology companies that we follow at Xconomy have had significant layoffs this week—both at least in part because of the worsening economic climate. Here’s a quick summary of the news: —Kirkland, WA-based Amaze Entertainment, the console-game developer studio owned by Foundation 9 Entertainment (F9E), has laid off about … Continue reading “Seattle Layoff Update: Amaze Entertainment, Evri Cut Staff”

Clean Tech Open Expands to Northwest

The Clean Tech Open, a nonprofit based in Palo Alto, CA, announced today it is expanding its 2009 business competition to include cleantech entrepreneurs in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The fourth annual competition will award $50,000 each to three winners in the Northwest, in addition to winners in California and the Rocky Mountain region. Regional … Continue reading “Clean Tech Open Expands to Northwest”

Intellectual Ventures’ Indian Deal Epitomizes Strategy to Support Invention in Asia

On Monday, Bellevue, WA-based Intellectual Ventures signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay to license some of the university’s inventions and to work on technology commercialization strategies with its researchers, as reported by CIOL, Express India, TechFlash, and other outlets. It’s not really big news by itself—Intellectual Ventures has formed similar partnerships with … Continue reading “Intellectual Ventures’ Indian Deal Epitomizes Strategy to Support Invention in Asia”

Amazing Society Makes Gazillion Game

Issaquah, WA-based Amazing Society, a game development studio owned by San Mateo, CA-based Gazillion Entertainment, is making a video game based on the Super Hero Squad cartoon, through a partnership between Gazillion and Marvel Entertainment. Gazillion emerged from stealth mode this week, as reported by VentureBeat and Northwest Innovation. Amazing Society is slated to develop … Continue reading “Amazing Society Makes Gazillion Game”

Snapshot of a Tipping Point: Ontela Teams Up with T-Mobile to Deliver Photos Online

Seattle mobile startup Ontela is announcing today that its photo-sending service for camera phones is now available through T-Mobile, via a partnership with the photo-sharing website Photobucket. The news comes on the heels of Ontela’s software going live on Verizon Wireless phones in November (also through Photobucket), as well as being pre-installed on four of … Continue reading “Snapshot of a Tipping Point: Ontela Teams Up with T-Mobile to Deliver Photos Online”

UW Energy Talks Dive Deep into Boeing Biofuels, Smart Grid Savings, and Solar Cells

New ideas for alternative energy and cleantech were in the air on Tuesday at the University of Washington, which hosted a regional meeting of the National Academy of Engineering and a public symposium on energy topics. We’ve taken a keen interest in this subject lately at Xconomy as we prepare for our own Northwest cleantech … Continue reading “UW Energy Talks Dive Deep into Boeing Biofuels, Smart Grid Savings, and Solar Cells”

HipCricket Expands to Mexico

Kirkland, WA-based HipCricket, a mobile marketing software firm, announced today it has formed a partnership with investors Pablo Peralta and Enrique Lopez-Negrete of Mexico. The resulting service, HipCricket de Mexico, is the first step in the company’s plans to expand its reach to wireless customers in Latin America.

Discovery Sues Amazon over Kindle

Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DISCA]]), the owner of Discovery Channel and other TV networks and websites, has filed a lawsuit against Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]), alleging that the Kindle and Kindle 2 infringe on a Discovery patent issued in 2007 for e-book security and copyright protection. Discovery is seeking an unspecified amount of compensation.

Evri Teams Up with The Times of London, Helps Online Audience Browse the Web Better

Seattle-based Internet startup Evri is announcing today that it has formed a partnership with The Times of London, one of the UK’s leading newspapers, to provide content recommendation software for online articles. For selected stories in the Times Online, Evri’s widget shows up next to the text with a list of links to related articles … Continue reading “Evri Teams Up with The Times of London, Helps Online Audience Browse the Web Better”

Ex-Microsoftie’s Startup, Telligent, Takes on Jive (and Others) in Social Software for Businesses

A week ago, I reported on Portland, OR-based Jive Software’s latest product, a business software package designed to let employees communicate and collaborate more effectively using social networking tools. Jive competes with the likes of big companies such as IBM and Microsoft, who want to own the business communication space and have been adding social-network … Continue reading “Ex-Microsoftie’s Startup, Telligent, Takes on Jive (and Others) in Social Software for Businesses”

Blade Games Raises $4M, Skytap Scores $7M, ZymoGenetics Gets $20M, & More Seattle-Area Deals News

St. Paddy’s Day caps a relatively busy week for deals in the Northwest, with activity in business software, gaming, and biotech. —In the big funding news of the week, Seattle-based Skytap scored a $7 million Series B round from existing Seattle-area investors Ignition Partners, Madrona Venture Group, and WRF Capital. Skytap develops cloud-computing software to … Continue reading “Blade Games Raises $4M, Skytap Scores $7M, ZymoGenetics Gets $20M, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”

Funding Advice from Global Smart Energy

Redmond, WA-based Global Smart Energy has released guidelines for evaluating proposals for smart-grid projects that seek federal stimulus funds. The “stimulus scorecard” recommends proposals should be specific about how they impact things like consumer choice and energy bills, utilities’ desire for open, secure, and replicable systems, and job growth and other economic factors. The report … Continue reading “Funding Advice from Global Smart Energy”

Azaleos Merges With M3

Seattle-based Azaleos, a Microsoft Exchange services company, announced today it has merged with Charlotte, NC-based M3 Technology Group. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the new company will retain the name and management team of Azaleos. Azaleos was founded in 2004 by senior Microsoft execs to handle e-mail for businesses.

Cloud Computing Firm Skytap Scores $7M More from Ignition, Madrona, WRF

What financing risk? Seattle-based Skytap, a cloud-based virtualization startup, said today it has closed a $7 million Series B funding round from previous investors Ignition Partners, Madrona Venture Group, and WRF Capital. The company said the funds will be used to bolster product development, sales, and marketing efforts. Skytap was spun out of the University … Continue reading “Cloud Computing Firm Skytap Scores $7M More from Ignition, Madrona, WRF”

OVP’s Rick LeFaivre on Venture Capital and the Future of Cleantech

Sick of cleantech yet? Rick LeFaivre certainly isn’t. In fact, he’s just getting started. The managing director at Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners leads the VC firm’s investments in alternative energy and cleantech, together with fellow managing director Gerry Langeler, who is based in Portland, OR. To date, OVP has made five investments in cleantech—Carbonflow, … Continue reading “OVP’s Rick LeFaivre on Venture Capital and the Future of Cleantech”

Amazon Cloud Takes Reservations

Amazon’s chief technology officer Werner Vogels said yesterday that Amazon Web Services is now letting customers reserve cloud-computing capacity on its Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) service. Companies can reserve computing power for a fee, and receive a discount on the hourly rate (they still pay for just what they use). The move is viewed as … Continue reading “Amazon Cloud Takes Reservations”

Seattle Layoff Update: Imperium, Daptiv, General Dynamics, Cell Therapeutics, Trubion Cut Staff

At least five area companies that we watch at Xconomy have had significant layoffs in the past two weeks. They span the fields of energy, biotech, hardware, and software. The sad part is that none of these cases is particularly surprising. You can check our updated list of tech and life sciences layoffs in the … Continue reading “Seattle Layoff Update: Imperium, Daptiv, General Dynamics, Cell Therapeutics, Trubion Cut Staff”

Seattle-Area Company Closures: Sotto, TeachFirst, and Ultreo Shut Down

It’s rough out there, as everyone knows. Yesterday, Dow Jones VentureWire ran a story about venture-backed companies that have shut down this year. Their list includes three Seattle-area firms. Before we see too many more of these reports, Xconomy would like to start gathering lessons learned from startups, investors, and observers. Many people still seem … Continue reading “Seattle-Area Company Closures: Sotto, TeachFirst, and Ultreo Shut Down”

New Microsoft Board Member Maria Klawe on Bill Gates, College Students, and Seattle Innovation

On Monday, Microsoft announced it had appointed Maria Klawe, the president of Harvey Mudd College, to the company’s board of directors. Klawe’s appointment makes Microsoft’s board 10 members strong again, after longtime director Jon Shirley (a former Microsoft president and chief operating officer) stepped down last November. I had the opportunity to speak with Klawe … Continue reading “New Microsoft Board Member Maria Klawe on Bill Gates, College Students, and Seattle Innovation”

Rob Monster Backs Complaints.com

Bellevue, WA-based Complaints.com announced today it has received angel funding from Seattle-area investor Rob Monster, who has joined the company as chairman. The amount of investment was not disclosed. Complaints.com was founded in 1998 and lets companies track, manage, and respond to complaints listed against them on websites, forums, blogs, and social networks.

Blade Games Raises $4M, Wants to Make Game Development Cheaper and Easier

Bellevue, WA-based Blade Games World announced today it has raised $4 million in a first round of venture funding led by California Technology Ventures. Blade Games was formed last month in a merger between game-development toolmaker Digini, based in Issaquah, WA, and Shanghai, China-based Vyk Games. Digini was known for creating Blade3D, a software tool … Continue reading “Blade Games Raises $4M, Wants to Make Game Development Cheaper and Easier”

Washington Is “Well Behind” Other States in Cleantech, but Gaining in Smart Grid, Efficiency

“If you’re a technology junkie, cleantech is the candy store for you,” said Byron McCann, co-founder and managing partner of Seattle-based Ascent Partners, an investment bank that advises cleantech and software entrepreneurs. McCann, who also serves on the board of the Northwest Energy Angels, was talking about his own transition from software to energy, and … Continue reading “Washington Is “Well Behind” Other States in Cleantech, but Gaining in Smart Grid, Efficiency”

Seattle 2.0 Announces Awards

Entrepreneur resource site Seattle 2.0 has announced it is hosting a startup awards ceremony on May 7 at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. Nominations are open from now until March 25 in 10 categories including best startup, best venture capitalist, best angel investor, and best startup technologist. Finalists will be selected by a panel … Continue reading “Seattle 2.0 Announces Awards”

Ignition, Bain Invest $5.5M in Enclarity

Enclarity, a healthcare IT company based in Aliso Viejo, CA, announced today it has closed a $5.5 million Series C round led by Bellevue, WA-based Ignition Partners and Boston, MA-based Bain Capital Ventures. The funds will be used for R&D and product development. Enclarity makes software that helps companies manage healthcare provider information and records.