Today, technologies like Google, Siri, and Wolfram Alpha can answer virtually any question in milliseconds. So it’s refreshing to come across a mystery that takes a little longer to unravel. I recently found the solution to a minor historical puzzle that’s been gnawing at me for almost two years, ever since I moved to the … Continue reading “The Case of the Tilted Clubhouse: A Geographical Detective Story”
Category: Seattle
Fandeavor.com Secures $525,000 Seed Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8909a7f7-a8fe-49f3-b29d-9a2a8a529d5d&Preview=1 Date 8/17/2012 Company Name Fandeavor.com Mailing Address 48 Trailside Ct Henderson, NV 98012 Company Description Fandeavor.com, a Las Vegas-based gameday immersion experience company. Website http://www.fandeavor.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $525,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor VegasTech Fund Venture Investor Undisclosed
IDRI, Medicago To Test Self-Injectable Pandemic Flu Vaccine
One of the worst fears of public health officials is that a new flu strain could emerge, sweeping the world and killing millions of people, like the notorious “Spanish flu” pandemic of 1918. Now the Seattle-based Infectious Disease Research Institute and a Canadian biotech company are working on testing a flu vaccine candidate that people … Continue reading “IDRI, Medicago To Test Self-Injectable Pandemic Flu Vaccine”
Jackpot: Big Fish Games Dives into Real-Money Online Gambling
Casual game companies are already big money-makers on smartphones and social networks, often by selling power-ups and extra digital goodies that gamers can use to supercharge their play. But the industry’s next frontier is something edgier and potentially more lucrative: Real-money gambling. As of today, Seattle’s Big Fish Games is going all in. Big Fish … Continue reading “Jackpot: Big Fish Games Dives into Real-Money Online Gambling”
Raising the Bar for Neuroscience in the Northwest
From Alzheimer’s to depression, brain diseases are an extremely challenging area for therapeutic discovery and development. The field of neuroscience has an inadequate understanding of how the brain works and why things go wrong to cause diseases. The field is very exciting, but still relatively young, and all stakeholders could benefit from improved collaboration. When it comes to the … Continue reading “Raising the Bar for Neuroscience in the Northwest”
Xconomist of the Week: Habib Kairouz Foresees a Valuation Correction
A perhaps overused idiom in technology news is to proclaim that the latest bubble is about to burst. While there have been flashy stories about the rise and stumblings of some high profile startups, Habib Kairouz, a managing partner with venture capital firm Rho Ventures in New York, says he believes the market is entering … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Habib Kairouz Foresees a Valuation Correction”
Richard Brewer, Former Scios CEO and Dendreon Chairman, Dies at 61
[Updated: 12:55 pm PT] Richard Brewer, the veteran biotech executive who served as CEO of Sunnyvale, CA-based Scios and chairman of Seattle-based Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]), has died from multiple myeloma. He was 61. Most recently, Brewer had been serving as CEO of Salt Lake City, UT-based Myrexis (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MYRX]]), a company seeking to in-license drug … Continue reading “Richard Brewer, Former Scios CEO and Dendreon Chairman, Dies at 61”
Zulily Quietly Powers Past 5M Members in Mom-and-Kid Sales
There probably isn’t a startup in Seattle as intriguing as Zulily. Founded by veterans of e-commerce jewel seller Blue Nile and backed by more than $50 million in venture capital, the company is often said to be the biggest success story among early stage Seattle companies, with supposedly remarkable revenue growth. Not that you can … Continue reading “Zulily Quietly Powers Past 5M Members in Mom-and-Kid Sales”
Bill Gates Turns His Attention, and Money, to Toilet Innovation
Very little innovation has happened with toilets over the past 200 years. If Thomas Crapper, the 19th century plumber associated with commodes, were alive today “he would find the toilets we use quite familiar,” Bill Gates said yesterday afternoon. Maybe Crapper would notice an extra handle, or rolls for toilet paper, but that’s about all, … Continue reading “Bill Gates Turns His Attention, and Money, to Toilet Innovation”
Northeastern University Finds a Home at ISB in South Lake Union
Northeastern University’s plan to open a graduate school in Seattle depends on delivering a lot of coursework via the Internet, but it still needs a physical location for students to occasionally meet each other and the faculty. Now it has picked a home, in one of the busiest high-tech and biotech neighborhoods in Seattle. Northeastern … Continue reading “Northeastern University Finds a Home at ISB in South Lake Union”
Remove the Cap on Social Security
I am apolitical by nature. The entire process of electing representatives, from city councils to Presidents, leaves me cold. Blame my extraordinary microeconomics professor H. Scott Bierman who was at Carleton College then but now is the President at Beloit College. He helped me crystallize a handful of tangential thoughts about our system into a … Continue reading “Remove the Cap on Social Security”
Kineta Pulls in $5.8M for Autoimmune Drug
Seattle-based Kineta has continued raising cash to fuel its unconventional business model for drug development. Kineta One, a unit within the Kineta parent company, has raised $5.8 million in new equity financing from a group of 133 investors, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The money will be used to develop … Continue reading “Kineta Pulls in $5.8M for Autoimmune Drug”
Smartphones at Tipping Point as Carriers Turn to Data Revenue
More than half of Americans are now carrying a smartphone—and their hunger for mobile Internet access will only grow, leading to more tiered data plans as wireless carriers search for new streams of cash. In a new market survey, relying on data from carriers, industry consultant Chetan Sharma reports that smartphones for the first time … Continue reading “Smartphones at Tipping Point as Carriers Turn to Data Revenue”
The Bar Is Rising in Casual & Social Games, Says GSN’s Davin Miyoshi
If you only followed Zynga’s stock price, you might think the entire business of games on Facebook was in free-fall. But many of the big developers of social and casual games are doing just fine, according to Davin Miyoshi, vice president of social games at GSN, which operates a major game studio in downtown San … Continue reading “The Bar Is Rising in Casual & Social Games, Says GSN’s Davin Miyoshi”
Brace Yourself: Biotech IPOs Are Beating Tech’s Big Names
The average American on the street has a Facebook account, an opinion about Facebook, heard about the Facebook initial public offering, and knows it collapsed. That same person doesn’t see how their life connects with biotech, probably can’t name a single biotech company, and certainly hasn’t heard of any members of the biotech IPO class … Continue reading “Brace Yourself: Biotech IPOs Are Beating Tech’s Big Names”
TechStars Seattle: The Early Word on the Lucky Few
While most of us are enjoying the summer, one group of entrepreneurs is buckling down for three intense months of work. TechStars, the national tech startup accelerator program, has just named its latest Seattle-based class of companies. Well, most of them, anyway. Ten companies in all were chosen from a long list of applicants, and … Continue reading “TechStars Seattle: The Early Word on the Lucky Few”
Waiting for the Speakularity
In late 2010, the Nieman Journalism Lab surveyed reporters for their predictions about what 2011 would bring for the future of journalism. My favorite prediction came from Matt Thompson, an editorial product manager at National Public Radio and a widely respected evangelist for digital journalism. (I happened to meet Thompson in person around the same … Continue reading “Waiting for the Speakularity”
Buddy Secures New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9abfea64-92f1-403a-90de-1cf9ebecb6d1&Preview=1 Date 8/10/2012 Company Name Buddy Mailing Address P.O. Box 2934 Kirkland, WA 98083 Company Description Buddy was started by David McLauchlan and Jeff MacDuff. Dave & Jeff met when they both worked at Microsoft, and a decade later launched Buddy to the public in September, 2011. Website http://www.buddy.com Transaction Type Debt … Continue reading “Buddy Secures New Financing Round”
Pinion Secures New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d3318ef1-49ce-4c93-a5df-d615fe3c406a&Preview=1 Date 8/10/2012 Company Name Pinion Mailing Address Undisclosed Bellevue, WA 98004 Company Description Pinion is all about helping communities help themselves. We provide community owners or publishers advertising revenue. This revenue can be used to improve infrastructure through the hiring of better servers or the addition of new ones all together. … Continue reading “Pinion Secures New Financing Round”
Microsoft’s Bing Fund Makes First Investments: Buddy and Pinion
The Bing Fund, a new angel investment arm of Microsoft, has announced its first two deals: Mobile developer service Buddy and video-game advertising startup Pinion. Bing Fund general manager Rahul Sood didn’t disclose the size of the investments in his blog post, and declined to offer more details on that front in a follow-up e-mail … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Bing Fund Makes First Investments: Buddy and Pinion”
Join Risa Stack, Tony Coles & More for ‘Reinventing Biotech’
Back in the old days, biotech companies used to dream about becoming a “FIBCO,” as in, “fully integrated biopharmaceutical company.” Entrepreneurs sought to raise lots of venture capital and invest it in everything from research to development to marketing and manufacturing. Most companies failed, but the industry’s first-generation success stories—Amgen, Genentech, Biogen, Genzyme—set a powerful … Continue reading “Join Risa Stack, Tony Coles & More for ‘Reinventing Biotech’”
Collaborative Software Initiative Secures $550,000 Series C Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cdc06182-b7e1-4e36-8873-17c233e39f80&Preview=1 Date 8/9/2012 Company Name Collaborative Software Initiative Mailing Address 1 SW Columbia Street Portland, OR 97258 Company Description Collaborative Software Initiative: Applying the successful open source software model to essential application development among like-minded IT companies and half the cost of outsourcing. Website http://www.csinitiative.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $550,000 … Continue reading “Collaborative Software Initiative Secures $550,000 Series C Round”
Kineta Garners $5,757,742 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f9a49c48-700d-435d-8fd0-7e0fa8812e29&Preview=1 Date 8/9/2012 Company Name Kineta Mailing Address 219 Terry Ave N Seattle, WA 98109 Company Description Through Kineta, our pioneering team is dedicated to further study of innate immunity with an aggressive strategy to develop early stage programs for powerful new antiviral and immune modulating drugs. We believe our unique approach … Continue reading “Kineta Garners $5,757,742 New Financing Round”
Seattle Genetics Gets $34.7M in Second-Quarter Sales of Cancer Drug
[Updated: 8:40 am PT, 8/9/12] Seattle Genetics generated steady sales of its cancer drug for the first two quarters of this year, and that disappointed some investors who were expecting to see more growth. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) said today it pulled in $34.7 million in sales of brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) in … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Gets $34.7M in Second-Quarter Sales of Cancer Drug”
Starbucks and Square: This One’s About the Bankers
Updated 1:40 pm Pacific, see below Starbucks surprised the retail and tech worlds today with news that it will start using mobile-payments startup Square to process credit- and debit-card payments at U.S. coffee shops. And while a lot of the initial reaction has focused on the gee-whiz features possible with Square’s consumer smartphone app, the fundamental … Continue reading “Starbucks and Square: This One’s About the Bankers”
Connected Cars Show New Signs of Life, and Seattle Companies Benefit
For years, it seemed that most car owners were nowhere near the computer-laden machines of the future promised back in the days of “Knight Rider.” Sure, a rich guy could get a savvy computer system in his ride. But for your average Joe, an iPod connection was a feature to brag about. Today, that’s changing—and … Continue reading “Connected Cars Show New Signs of Life, and Seattle Companies Benefit”
Xconomist of the Week Christina Lampe-Onnerud Talks Cleantech
It’s been less than a year since Boston-Power, a lithium-ion battery maker, announced it had raised a whopping $125 million Series F funding round from Beijing-based GSR Ventures—and was moving most of its operations to China to chase down the electric vehicle market in that country. It’s seeing the first big payoff from that decision. … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week Christina Lampe-Onnerud Talks Cleantech”
Infratel Secures $3,000,000 Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d35fb5a1-70a1-4d49-b529-1c85259c4d4b&Preview=1 Date 8/8/2012 Company Name Infratel Mailing Address 2101 9th Ave Seattle, WA 98121 Company Description Infratel helps resellers & cloud service providers expand their portfolio with services that small businesses need to compete. By adding Infratel solutions. Website http://www.infratel.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds … Continue reading “Infratel Secures $3,000,000 Series A Round”
COAXIS Obtains $76,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=22760503-d73e-4dff-8db7-fab75493b86e&Preview=1 Date 8/8/2012 Company Name COAXIS Mailing Address 1515 SE Water Avenue Portland, OR 97214 Company Description Coaxis, Inc. partners with its customers to enhance their success by delivering innovative solutions and services that meet today’s most demanding business challenges. Website http://www.coaxis.net Transaction Type Debt, Venture Equity Transaction Amount $76,000,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “COAXIS Obtains $76,000,000 New Financing Round”
COAXIS Lands $76,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=22760503-d73e-4dff-8db7-fab75493b86e&Preview=1 Date 8/8/2012 Company Name COAXIS Mailing Address 1515 SE Water Avenue Portland, OR 97214 Company Description Coaxis, Inc. partners with its customers to enhance their success by delivering innovative solutions and services that meet today’s most demanding business challenges. Website http://www.coaxis.net Transaction Type Debt, Venture Equity Transaction Amount $76,000,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “COAXIS Lands $76,000,000 New Financing”
WCTA Summer Soiree
The Washington Clean Technology Alliance is holding a “Summer Soiree” at Mithun on Aug. 16. For more information on how to register, click here.
More Cash for DocuSign: Google Ventures Now an Investor
DocuSign has raked in even more investment cash to help expand its electronic signature business. Today, the company says Google Ventures has contributed about $8 million to the company’s Series D financing, bringing that round of investment to a whopping $55.7 million. Total cash invested in the company now tops $120 million. DocuSign got its … Continue reading “More Cash for DocuSign: Google Ventures Now an Investor”
Sarepta Holds Its Breath as Feds Order Halt to Ebola Work
Just when Sarepta Therapeutics had some news to get excited about, the company now has to brace itself for what could be a pretty big setback. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SRPT]]) said last month that its experimental RNA-based drug for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy showed some encouraging signs of improving walking ability for boys … Continue reading “Sarepta Holds Its Breath as Feds Order Halt to Ebola Work”
Mayo and Myriad: Can Two Patent Rulings Chill Innovation?
Two recent patent cases have engendered considerable uncertainty regarding the ability of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to patent their commercial products and methods. The first case, Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., relates to the patent eligibility of certain diagnostic methods. On March 20th, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the personalized medicine … Continue reading “Mayo and Myriad: Can Two Patent Rulings Chill Innovation?”
Amazon (Officially) Leaps into Social Games
It’s been speculated for months that e-commerce titan Amazon would begin publishing its own casual games. Today, the company made it official with the release of “Living Classics,” a fairy-tale-themed game for Facebook. Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) didn’t indicate whether Amazon Game Studios would concentrate specifically on social games, which are generally light and entertaining “casual” … Continue reading “Amazon (Officially) Leaps into Social Games”
How Wavii Turned #NBCFail into a Real-Time Feed for Olympics Fans
When the Summer Olympics got under way, the folks at Seattle startup Wavii figured they had a great test case for exploring some new ways of visualizing content. With thousands of voices online pumping out information about a shared topic, Wavii could do what it does best: Crawl an enormous database of things being discussed … Continue reading “How Wavii Turned #NBCFail into a Real-Time Feed for Olympics Fans”
U.S. Biotech Clusters Are Losing Their Anchor Tenants, and It Hurts
Every industry needs its anchors, the companies that everyone looks up to as models of success. Think Apple, GE, Boeing. Biotech is no different, as it has been defined by trailblazers like Genentech, Genzyme, and more. But if you look around, biotech is clearly losing its anchors. And this worrisome trend isn’t just happening in … Continue reading “U.S. Biotech Clusters Are Losing Their Anchor Tenants, and It Hurts”
UpWind Solutions Secures $10,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=18750a37-f822-4288-910d-ccb463b3532a&Preview=1 Date 8/6/2012 Company Name UpWind Solutions Mailing Address 3555 Lear Way Medford, OR 97504 Company Description We help wind project developers and owners maximize profits and ensure project success. UpWind Solutions is a full-service operations and maintenance service provider for utility-scale wind energy projects with a bold, innovative approach to business. … Continue reading “UpWind Solutions Secures $10,000,000 New Round”
SportStream’s App Bottles the Social Media Explosion in Sports
I don’t have much of a head for sports. If you said “ERA” my first thought would be Equal Rights Amendment, not Earned Run Average. And being a cable TV cord-cutter, I never watch televised games. But I do know about iPads, social media, and next-generation-TV technologies. So at the risk of sounding like a … Continue reading “SportStream’s App Bottles the Social Media Explosion in Sports”
Xconomist of the Week: John Reed on Sanford-Burnham’s Drug Pipeline
In the decade since John Reed stepped in as chief executive, San Diego’s Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute has basically doubled in size. The nonprofit research facility has added a campus in Orlando, FL, the full-time faculty has grown from 52 to 89, and the overall staff has increased from 520 to 1,200. Today the institute … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: John Reed on Sanford-Burnham’s Drug Pipeline”
Motiga Lands $5,110,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8e67050e-0227-4ead-89c2-4b9c977969f2&Preview=1 Date 8/3/2012 Company Name Motiga Mailing Address 677 120th Ave NE Bellevue, WA 98005 Company Description We are a team of veteran game developers that are focused on building triple-A PC game experiences. What matters to us most is that you are passionate about making and playing games and love doing … Continue reading “Motiga Lands $5,110,000 New Financing Round”
Point Inside Locates $3.2M to Fuel Indoor GPS for Retailers
Even for some of the brightest technology minds of this generation, mobile advertising is a tough nut to crack. Just ask Mark Zuckerberg and company. While the media portals sort that out, a different breed of company is banking on the mobile computing revolution by helping bricks-and-mortar retailers serve the people in their stores. And … Continue reading “Point Inside Locates $3.2M to Fuel Indoor GPS for Retailers”
Overseas Pirates a Big Target for Big Fish Games’ Streaming Service
It’s easy to see why Seattle’s Big Fish Games is bullish on the streaming service it unveiled last week. More than a year in development, the new Big Fish Unlimited offering gives players unlimited access to a catalog of casual video games on smartphones, tablets, traditional computers, and even some connected TVs. And at $7.99 … Continue reading “Overseas Pirates a Big Target for Big Fish Games’ Streaming Service”
OncoGenex Waits, and Waits, For Data on Prostate Cancer Drug
Pity Scott Cormack. As the CEO of an aspiring prostate cancer drug developer, he’s got to answer to the masters at the FDA and the cancer physicians who want unequivocal, long-term data to prove his company’s product works. His other masters, those on Wall Street, want to know the answer by next Monday. Naturally, Cormack … Continue reading “OncoGenex Waits, and Waits, For Data on Prostate Cancer Drug”
EnergySavvy Lands $3,000,000 Series B Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5c6ad33b-1977-4f0a-8d97-c7c70ae47c12&Preview=1 Date 8/2/2012 Company Name EnergySavvy Mailing Address 1517 12th Ave Seattle, WA 98122 Company Description The company operates a one stop shop web application that helps homeowners become more energy efficient. Website http://www.energysavvy.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes The company will use the … Continue reading “EnergySavvy Lands $3,000,000 Series B Round”
PhysioSonics Receives $1,498,830 Series B Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=85a26ce1-6951-41ac-928b-fca4a410f30d&Preview=1 Date 8/2/2012 Company Name PhysioSonics Mailing Address 14450 NE 29th Pl Bellevue, WA 98100 Company Description PhysioSonics, formerly known as Allez PhysiOnix, is a privately held company, founded in 2000 with technology developed at the University of Washington. The company has developed and patented a number of new technologies including an … Continue reading “PhysioSonics Receives $1,498,830 Series B Financing Round”
Gladstone, Sage Bionetworks Top ‘Best Places to Work’ List
A couple of small West Coast research centers, the J. David Gladstone Research Institutes in San Francisco, and Sage Bionetworks in Seattle, have gotten kudos as the “Best Places to Work” in academia by The Scientist magazine. The 10th annual survey by the magazine found that the Gladstone Institutes, composed of 27 researchers affiliated with … Continue reading “Gladstone, Sage Bionetworks Top ‘Best Places to Work’ List”
Seattle Fundraising Notes: Contour, Adapx, Jawfish, Solavei, Motiga
Updated 11:45 am with more on Motiga Who said summer was a time for taking vacation? Around the Seattle region, it appears, startup companies have been putting the finishing touches on some fundraising. Here are the highlights from a recent flurry of financing paperwork reported to the SEC from companies in the area: —Contour, the … Continue reading “Seattle Fundraising Notes: Contour, Adapx, Jawfish, Solavei, Motiga”
Decide Gets Opinionated: Smart-Shopping Site Pulls in Reviews
Decide, a Seattle startup that pores over tons of data to make money-saving shopping recommendations, is getting a little more picky. Starting today, Decide will expand its data-based recommendations to include ratings on the quality of the products it analyzes. Decide arrives at it quality score—on a 100-point scale, ranging from “Don’t Buy It” to … Continue reading “Decide Gets Opinionated: Smart-Shopping Site Pulls in Reviews”
CMC Biologics Snaps Up Biotech Manufacturing Plant From Xoma
Xoma has burned through a lot of shareholder cash over 30 years in business—$916 million at last count. Now that the venerable Berkeley, CA-based biotech (NASDAQ: [[ticker:XOMA]]) has come under pressure to shed employees and assets, it’s created new opportunity for a contract manufacturer to swoop in. CMC Biologics, the contract biotech drugmaker in Copenhagen, … Continue reading “CMC Biologics Snaps Up Biotech Manufacturing Plant From Xoma”