Microsoft Research announced today that it’s adding a 13th site to its fold, with the creation of Microsoft Research New York City. Jennifer Chayes, managing director of Cambridge, MA-based Microsoft Research New England, will lead both campuses, which will function as “sister labs,” she says. A month or so into baseball season, it’s a bit … Continue reading “Microsoft Adds NYC Research Site Targeting Social Science Questions”
Category: Seattle
Box Looks to New York, Boston, and Seattle for Innovation
At a time when new rivals are emerging in the file-sharing industry, Box in Palo Alto, CA, is looking to New York and other markets as potential destinations for opening new offices and finding talent. Box is a venture-backed startup that has made name for itself in Silicon Valley. In recent weeks, however, the company … Continue reading “Box Looks to New York, Boston, and Seattle for Innovation”
Virtual Biotech Companies: Built on Solid Bedrock or Unstable Landfill?
A recent meeting focused on “Reinventing Biotech’s Business Model” provided an interesting window into the spectrum of approaches being used to create new biotech companies. Unfortunately, it did little to relieve the concerns I recently voiced regarding the expanding numbers of “virtual” biotechs. This model is becoming a popular archetype for the creation of new … Continue reading “Virtual Biotech Companies: Built on Solid Bedrock or Unstable Landfill?”
Zillow Buys RentJuice for $40M, Reports Record Revenue
Zillow, one of the country’s leading online real-estate companies, is acquiring San Francisco-based RentJuice to beef up its growing professional services business. Zillow is paying $40 million in cash for the smaller company, which is the second acquisition Zillow has made since going public last July. In a statement, Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff said the … Continue reading “Zillow Buys RentJuice for $40M, Reports Record Revenue”
Amazon Expands Content-Creation Play with Original TV Show Project
Amazon.com’s ambitions in signing up content creators are taking another step forward. The company is now showing off the details of its new TV programming project for Amazon Studios, an entertainment division that had thus far been focused on developing movie scripts. Any shows would be piped to viewers over Amazon’s streaming video service, which … Continue reading “Amazon Expands Content-Creation Play with Original TV Show Project”
5 Things to Do Before the New Patent Law Takes Full Effect
On September 16, 2011, President Obama signed into law the America Invents Act, the most important modification to U.S. patent law in 60 years—and some even argue, since 1836. Some changes went into effect immediately, such as fee penalties for submitting paper applications and strict rules on when multiple defendants can be joined together in … Continue reading “5 Things to Do Before the New Patent Law Takes Full Effect”
CareZone Receives $13,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f9b57886-de84-435d-b482-8fb1a1255a4b&Preview=1 Date 5/2/2012 Company Name CareZone Mailing Address 1463 E. Republican St Seattle, WA 98112 Company Description CareZone simplifies the lives of those caring for children, partners and aging parents. We provide a simple and entirely private environment where family and helpers can stay organized and coordinated. Website http://www.carezone.com Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “CareZone Receives $13,000,000 New Financing”
SEOmoz Raises $18M from Brad Feld, Sees a Possible Path to IPO
SEOmoz, the Seattle-based provider of online marketing software, has raised $18 million in venture financing to fuel its expansion in the growing sectors of social media, online publishing, and search engine optimization. The profitable company, always refreshingly open about its performance, says it doubled revenue last year to $11.7 million and is projecting revenue growth … Continue reading “SEOmoz Raises $18M from Brad Feld, Sees a Possible Path to IPO”
SEOmoz Lands $18,000,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=20c3fc15-619d-4025-9f65-ac776e69a821&Preview=1 Date 5/1/2012 Company Name SEOmoz Mailing Address 119 Pine St. Seattle, WA 98101 Company Description The company provides Internet search marketing services and technology. Website http://www.seomoz.org Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $18,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes The new stack of cash will help SEOmoz grow their web index, … Continue reading “SEOmoz Lands $18,000,000 Series B Financing”
Berwick’s Advice: Cost-Effectiveness Is Here to Stay
Dr. Donald Berwick, the former administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, held his post from July 2010 until December 2011 (about 18 months if you’re counting), before resigning in the face of sustained Senate opposition to confirmation. He has kept a fairly low profile since his departure from the agency, but he … Continue reading “Berwick’s Advice: Cost-Effectiveness Is Here to Stay”
Future of Genome Sciences Panel, UW event
The panel discussion on the Future of Genome Sciences includes Bruce Alberts, editor of Science magazine; Natalie Angier, science writer for The New York Times; Andrew White, Director of Clinical Cancer Genetics Services at UNC, and Keith Yamamoto, vice chancellor for research at UCSF. Maynard Olson, UW professor of genome sciences and medicine and a … Continue reading “Future of Genome Sciences Panel, UW event”
Biotech IPOs Start to Show Some Modest Signs of Life
[Updated: 2:10 pm ET, 5/2/12] Something feels wrong about putting the words “biotech” and “IPO” together in a headline. This market has been lifeless for so long that few investors even play the game anymore. Biotech entrepreneurs I talk to seem to feel a bit sheepish about saying they are considering an IPO, probably because … Continue reading “Biotech IPOs Start to Show Some Modest Signs of Life”
Taking Open Biology to the Next Level: Notes from the Sage Congress
Last week, attendees of Sage Bionetworks’ 3rd Annual Congress came to San Francisco with the bold charge to speed up drug discovery and ready to stand on the shoulders of the previous two Congresses to take the nascent open source biology movement from a thinking to a doing stage. Pitched as “Building Better Models of … Continue reading “Taking Open Biology to the Next Level: Notes from the Sage Congress”
Big Fish Games Founder Thelen Back in CEO Job
Updated 4:15 pm with comment The surprising announcement that Big Fish Games CEO Jeremy Lewis was stepping aside was a planned change of power that puts the focus on founder Paul Thelen’s expertise in gaming and product development, Thelen says. “It was in the planning with both Jeremy and myself, and the board, for a … Continue reading “Big Fish Games Founder Thelen Back in CEO Job”
Keystone Pipeline Debate: Washington Clean Tech Alliance Event
“The Obama administration’s decision to reject TransCanada’s pipeline proposal – at least for now – represents an historic win for the environmental movement.” -Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith of Grist “I will build that pipeline if I have to do it myself.” -Mitt Romney The debate over the Keystone Pipeline System is a critical 2012 … Continue reading “Keystone Pipeline Debate: Washington Clean Tech Alliance Event”
Hey, Silicon Valley: Wake Up and Smell the Robots
Investors and entrepreneurs in the Bay Area pride themselves on being the first to identify and exploit new technologies with huge commercial potential. And they’ve earned the right to be a little cocky. Since 1960, Silicon Valley companies have been the pacesetters in four consecutive infotech revolutions (semiconductors, personal computers, the Internet, and mobile). It’s … Continue reading “Hey, Silicon Valley: Wake Up and Smell the Robots”
Fledge, a New Social Enterprise Incubator, Opening in Seattle
Could Seattle become a center of innovation for social enterprise? Mobile and tech startup veteran Michael “Luni” Libes is betting on it with Fledge, a new incubator aimed at fostering companies that hope to improve society. Libes is calling these ventures “conscious companies,” and the second part of that phrase is key—Seattle-based Fledge is not … Continue reading “Fledge, a New Social Enterprise Incubator, Opening in Seattle”
UW Startups Look to Improve Bras, Bicycle Ads, Mental Health
The University of Washington campus is so big, with 42,000 students, that it’s impossible to get a handle on everything going on there. But this much I can say for sure: there are some very creative and enterprising students working on fighting brain tumors, improving video editing, and helping young women carry around smartphones in … Continue reading “UW Startups Look to Improve Bras, Bicycle Ads, Mental Health”
Announcing Xconomy’s Napa Summit: Keeping America Growing
As the Presidential campaign heats up, one of the most pressing issues on the minds of candidates and voters alike is the future of American growth and competitiveness. So it is our great pleasure to announce an exclusive Xconomy gathering dedicated to exploring this vital issue with some of the most knowledgeable experts on the … Continue reading “Announcing Xconomy’s Napa Summit: Keeping America Growing”
Xconomist of the Week: Michael Greeley Dissects the VC Data
Michael Greeley is no pessimist. Eeyores don’t get picked to run the New England Venture Capital Association, as Greeley did from 2005 to 2008, and they don’t win gubernatorial appointments to state entrepreneurship boards. But he’s more willing than most VCs to talk about troubling trends in the innovation economy. So we paid attention earlier … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Michael Greeley Dissects the VC Data”
Cardeas Gears Up for Clinic, With Drug Combo for Hospital Infections
Once while reporting on a medical meeting for new antibiotics, I met a physician/researcher who said “stay in the hospital long enough, and something bad will happen to you.” Now the prolific drug developer Bruce Montgomery and his Seattle-based startup have set their sights on making new antibiotics to fight one of those bad things … Continue reading “Cardeas Gears Up for Clinic, With Drug Combo for Hospital Infections”
Resolve Therapeutics Lands $1,083,334 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=62ba0bdd-bfdb-4ba8-aef8-aadfacaa7af6&Preview=1 Date 4/26/2012 Company Name Resolve Therapeutics Mailing Address 5400 Carillon Point Kirkland, WA 98033 Company Description Resolve Therapeutics is a privately held biotechnology company based in Seattle that is dedicated to helping patients with lupus through the development of RSLV-125, its novel targeted biologic therapy. Website http://www.resolvebio.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction … Continue reading “Resolve Therapeutics Lands $1,083,334 New Financing Round”
Illumina Opens Apple-Inspired App Store for DNA Software Developers
San Diego-based Illumina has talked openly about how it is inspired by the way Apple integrates hardware and software, and now it’s taking another cue from the consumer technology colossus. Illumina, the market-leading maker of DNA sequencing instruments, said today it is creating an open platform for genomic software developers to make apps for scientific … Continue reading “Illumina Opens Apple-Inspired App Store for DNA Software Developers”
Symform Adds $8M, Sees Strategic Investor on Horizon in Cloud Backup
Competition in the cloud storage business is definitely ticking up a few notches. Yesterday, we saw the official unveiling of Google Drive, the long-rumored online file-storage service that could draw customers from a huge base of people already using the tech giant’s e-mail, photo, and document software. Other companies jumped out ahead of that announcement, … Continue reading “Symform Adds $8M, Sees Strategic Investor on Horizon in Cloud Backup”
Symform Receives $11,000,000 Series B Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=84ed4a63-3a4a-482d-ac6a-6b78fc2f7ab7&Preview=1 Date 4/25/2012 Company Name Symform Mailing Address 999 N. Northlake Way Seattle, WA 98103 Company Description Symform is a privately-held company based in Seattle. We are developing cost effective solutions to large scale distributed data management problems. Symform is dedicated to the belief that technology products built on cooperative, decentralized principles … Continue reading “Symform Receives $11,000,000 Series B Round”
CoinLab Secures $500,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=10e27ff0-1b58-437d-9d0d-75d1ad165ba6&Preview=1 Date 4/25/2012 Company Name CoinLab Mailing Address Undisclosed Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Based in Seattle, CoinLab is an emerging umbrella group for cultivating and launching innovative bitcoin projects. Until now, they have been relatively quiet regarding their initiatives but they are credited with releasing a comprehensive Bitcoin Primer in January … Continue reading “CoinLab Secures $500,000 New Round”
Chirpify Lands $1,300,000 Series A Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f6535316-06b5-48c5-b2e0-ed5b4e3c86b6&Preview=1 Date 4/25/2012 Company Name Chirpify Mailing Address 500 NW 9th Ave Portland, OR 97209 Company Description Chirpify turns Tweets into transactions, enabling consumers and businesses to buy, sell, donate and transact on Twitter. These are social, device agnostic, frictionless, in-stream, one step payments. We do this in real time at scale. … Continue reading “Chirpify Lands $1,300,000 Series A Financing”
The Napa Summit: Keeping America Growing
How do we keep America competitive and growing? To explore this vital question, Xconomy is tapping its national network of Xconomists, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and other leading members of the innovation community for an intimate, invitation-only summit in the heart of California’s wine country. This extraordinary day-and-a-half-long, off-the-record retreat will feature candid chats, entrepreneur and … Continue reading “The Napa Summit: Keeping America Growing”
Asteroid Mining: Metals are Valuable, but Water is the Real Prize
Planetary Resources, the new company started by wealthy entrepreneurs and space experts to mine asteroids, hopes to make bundles of money by hauling precious metals like platinum back down to Earth. But there’s something more basic that the company says is far more valuable: water. Asteroids are known to carry stores of water, and drawing … Continue reading “Asteroid Mining: Metals are Valuable, but Water is the Real Prize”
The JOBS Act—The “IPO On-Ramp” Makes IPOs Easier
Enacted with great fanfare in early April, the JOBS Act is intended to improve access to the public capital markets for startup companies. The cornerstone of the act is the creation of an “IPO on ramp” which provides “emerging growth companies” up to five years following their IPO to come into full compliance with various … Continue reading “The JOBS Act—The “IPO On-Ramp” Makes IPOs Easier”
Voyager Leads $1.3M Round in Chirpify, Turning Tweets Into Sales
Twitter has become a revolutionary way for celebrities and brands to communicate with fans and customers. Now, investors are hoping to pump up the messaging platform’s potential as a sales channel. That’s the thinking behind today’s Voyager Capital-led $1.3 million investment in Chirpify, a Portland, OR-based startup that can turn tweets into miniature digital storefronts. … Continue reading “Voyager Leads $1.3M Round in Chirpify, Turning Tweets Into Sales”
Visible Technologies Garners $23,689,449 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e1243772-ec89-4748-bc8f-4e715fd96617&Preview=1 Date 4/24/2012 Company Name Visible Technologies Mailing Address 3535 Factoria Blvd SE Bellevue, WA 98006 Company Description Visible Technologies empowers companies to track, analyze and participate in consumer-generated media to drive their business forward. Their innovative TruCast platform is the industry’s first complete solution for social media analysis and participation. Visible … Continue reading “Visible Technologies Garners $23,689,449 New Funding Round”
George Rathmann, Founding CEO of Amgen and Icos, Dies at 84
[Updated: 9:25 pm PT] George Rathmann, the first CEO of Amgen and a pioneer who inspired a generation within the biotech industry, has died at the age of 84. He had kidney disease and lived through dialysis treatments in his final years. Rathmann was best known as the guy who bet the company at Amgen … Continue reading “George Rathmann, Founding CEO of Amgen and Icos, Dies at 84”
Asteroid Mining? Yeah, It’s Possible—With Enough Money
An all-star group of investors, entrepreneurs, and space experts is gearing up to unveil Planetary Resources, a new company that focused on mining asteroids for precious elements. It’s not the first time that wealthy people have set their sights on a space mission, but this one is definitely more complicated than sending a few space … Continue reading “Asteroid Mining? Yeah, It’s Possible—With Enough Money”
Sapphire Energy CEO Jason Pyle’s Parting Thoughts on Big Biofuel
After stepping down as the founding CEO of San Diego’s Sapphire Energy, Jason Pyle tells me he’s accomplished a number of key initiatives at the algae-based biofuels startup, and basically that it’s time to move on. His departure surprised me. Founding CEOs don’t often walk away from startups that have amassed a $1 billion valuation … Continue reading “Sapphire Energy CEO Jason Pyle’s Parting Thoughts on Big Biofuel”
Amazon’s Fight Against Content Middlemen: Books, TV, Movies, Games
The publishing industry was rocked last year when Amazon.com, long the most important retailer in books, got serious about becoming a publisher. No longer content to control a few niche imprints, Amazon took aim at the big publishing houses’ cash cows by directly signing up best-selling authors and hiring an industry insider to run the … Continue reading “Amazon’s Fight Against Content Middlemen: Books, TV, Movies, Games”
What Are the Hottest Targets in Biotech Today?
Hardly anybody wants new drugs that act like a sledgehammer, bashing diseased and healthy cells like old-school cancer chemotherapy. Many drugs today are supposed to be smart enough to work like laser-guided missiles that hit the diseased cells and mostly spare the healthy ones. But if your goal is to create one of these amazing … Continue reading “What Are the Hottest Targets in Biotech Today?”
JeNu Biosciences Obtains $1,800,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=62ead3dc-5f38-480e-9b11-1e5306c0e69d&Preview=1 Date 4/23/2012 Company Name JeNu Biosciences Mailing Address 3911 Ne Belvoir Place Seattle, WA 98105 Company Description JeNu is looking to use ultrasound waves to deliver specially formulated creams into the skin, or simply, “put good things into the skin,”. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,800,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “JeNu Biosciences Obtains $1,800,000 New Funding Round”
VoloMetrix Garners $1,600,000 Series A Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=daa18596-2037-45ff-81a7-33839449bb20&Preview=1 Date 4/23/2012 Company Name VoloMetrix Mailing Address 2101 Fourth Ave Seattle, WA 98121 Company Description VoloMetrix is an enterprise analytics start-up in Seattle focused on providing tools to improve organizational effectiveness and drive knowledge worker productivity in the enterprise. We are passionate about empowering business leaders to make better, more data … Continue reading “VoloMetrix Garners $1,600,000 Series A Financing Round”
CoffeeTable Aims to Reinvent Catalog Shopping for the iPad Era
When e-commerce startup CoffeeTable was brand new, the company occupied a table at San Francisco’s Dogpatch Labs, right across from another startup called Burbn. The week Burbn launched its iPhone app, CoffeeTable’s lead engineer “started to see that it was going to take off, and decided to switch over and join them,” says Ben Choi, … Continue reading “CoffeeTable Aims to Reinvent Catalog Shopping for the iPad Era”
Centri Technology Secures $810,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=788be6dc-6665-4348-994b-4a0ef0b23122&Preview=1 Date 4/20/2012 Company Name Centri Technology Mailing Address 411 First Avenue South North Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Centri Technology develops a broad suite of solutions that make it possible for mobile phones to download files, access the Internet and send emails at speeds three times as fast as the current … Continue reading “Centri Technology Secures $810,000 New Funding”
How to Build a Billion-Dollar Startup
The quickest way to create a billion dollar company is to take basic human social needs and figure out how to mediate them online. Look at the first wave of the Web/mobile/cloud startups that have done just that: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Match.com, Pandora, Zynga, WordPress, LinkedIn. It’s your turn. Hard-Wired This week I’m in New … Continue reading “How to Build a Billion-Dollar Startup”
Cell Therapeutics Shells Out $30M for New Drug
Cell Therapeutics has been known to travel the world to find new drugs to develop, and the latest stop is Singapore. The Seattle-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTIC]]) said today it has agreed to acquire picritinib, a drug from S*Bio of Singapore, that’s designed to block biological targets known as JAK2 and FLT3. The company agreed to … Continue reading “Cell Therapeutics Shells Out $30M for New Drug”
Xconomist of the Week: Ramsinghani On Microinvesting in a Company Town
There is a lot of talk these days in post-industrial American cities like Detroit about transforming the “brawn economy” into the brain economy. Detroit Xconomist Mahendra Ramsinghani, who runs Invest Detroit’s First Step Fund, is on the front lines of that battle to economically recalibrate. “As a community, generation after generation got up and went … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Ramsinghani On Microinvesting in a Company Town”
Alder Biopharma Snags $38M To Charge Ahead With Antibody Drugs
Alder Biopharmaceuticals has nailed down the biggest round of venture capital the Seattle biotech community has seen in a long time. The Bothell, WA-based antibody drug developer is announcing today it has raised $38 million in a Series D financing led by new investor Novo Ventures. All of Alder’s previous backers— Sevin Rosen Funds, Ventures … Continue reading “Alder Biopharma Snags $38M To Charge Ahead With Antibody Drugs”
Big Fish Games Receives $11,944,796 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0a621efb-ed4e-4a8e-baf2-1157253b0d90&Preview=1 Date 4/19/2012 Company Name Big Fish Games Mailing Address 333 Elliott Avenue West Seattle, WA 98119 Company Description Big Fish Games is a global leader and innovator in the online games industry, producing and delivering the world’s best games and game experiences. The Big Fish Games portal at BigFishGames.com distributes more … Continue reading “Big Fish Games Receives $11,944,796 New Financing Round”
Alder Biopharmaceuticals Receives $38,000,000 Series D Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fee9c9ee-d3f4-4af9-ab0f-fb4eb530bca6&Preview=1 Date 4/19/2012 Company Name Alder Biopharmaceuticals Mailing Address 11804 North Creek Parkway South Bothell, WA 98011 Company Description Alder Biopharmaceuticals uniquely identifies, develops, and manufactures novel antibody therapeutics to alleviate human suffering in the autoimmune and inflammatory disease areas. Alder’s management team combines decades of industry experience with a proven track … Continue reading “Alder Biopharmaceuticals Receives $38,000,000 Series D Financing Round”
Big Fish Games Paid Nearly $12M in Stock for Self Aware Games
Updated 6:20 pm We now know how much stock in Big Fish Games changed hands for the Seattle casual gaming company’s recent acquisition of Oakland, CA-based studio Self Aware Games. A new regulatory filing by Big Fish, posted earlier today, shows that nearly $12 million worth of Big Fish shares were issued for the acquisition, with … Continue reading “Big Fish Games Paid Nearly $12M in Stock for Self Aware Games”
Sage Bionetworks Moves from Thinking Stage to Doing Stage
Three years ago, Stephen Friend started a nonprofit with a bold vision to speed up drug discovery, which might represent the biggest cat-herding exercise in the history of biology. If it sounds equal parts promising and daunting, it should. The idea of creating an open-source movement for biology—a field in which scientists and corporations guard … Continue reading “Sage Bionetworks Moves from Thinking Stage to Doing Stage”
Small is Beautiful in Q1 Venture Deals as VCs Write Lots of Checks
Venture investors wrote lots of checks during the first three months of 2012, but the amounts were small, according to the venture capital activity report being released today by CB Insights, the New York data services firm. The firm counted 785 venture deals during the quarter that ended March 31, marking the second-highest deal count … Continue reading “Small is Beautiful in Q1 Venture Deals as VCs Write Lots of Checks”