If you look closely at the cover of Steve Blank’s new book, The Startup Owner’s Manual, you’ll see that it shows an exploded view of the transmission from an automobile engine. Leonardo da Vinci invented the exploded view more than 500 years ago, and it has stayed with us as a visualization tool, because it’s … Continue reading “Steve Blank Hands A New Owner’s Manual to Startup Founders”
Category: Seattle
Late Add: John Mendlein Joins “Reinventing Biotech” Lineup April 3
We already have a jam-packed lineup of creative entrepreneurs at next week’s big Xconomy event, but hey, you know what they say about the more the merrier? That’s what I figured this week when John Mendlein, one of the more successful biotech executives on the West Coast, agreed to be one of the speakers at … Continue reading “Late Add: John Mendlein Joins “Reinventing Biotech” Lineup April 3″
Oncothyreon Grabs $47M in Stock Offering
Seattle-based Oncothyreon has raised a lot more money to run clinical trials of its experimental cancer treatments. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ONTY]]) said today it has raised $47 million from an underwritten stock offering, in which it sold 11.75 million shares to investors at $4 apiece. The company could end up getting another $7.1 million if … Continue reading “Oncothyreon Grabs $47M in Stock Offering”
Four to Watch in Mobile Payments: Google, Apple, Amazon, & PayPal
It’s not happening just yet, but in the next few years we’ll start to see much wider adoption of mobile phone-based consumer payments in the U.S. It’s kind of a numbers game at this point—there just aren’t enough phones in the market right now enabled with near-field communications technology that will make paying for groceries … Continue reading “Four to Watch in Mobile Payments: Google, Apple, Amazon, & PayPal”
Accelerator Gets New Chief Scientist, David McElligott
The Accelerator, the place that starts more biotech companies than any other outfit in Seattle, has had a changing of the scientific guard. David McElligott, the chief scientific officer at one of Accelerator’s portfolio companies, Groove Biopharma, has been promoted to the role of chief scientific officer at Accelerator. He replaces Pat Gray, who announced … Continue reading “Accelerator Gets New Chief Scientist, David McElligott”
Nokia and Microsoft Try to Woo New York Developers to Windows Phone 7
[A previous version of this story inferred that Fresh Digital Group developed the TVPyx app. Viafo created the app.] It is no secret that Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems dominate the smartphone realm. But Microsoft and phone maker Nokia are marching in lockstep together in a bid to disrupt the near duopoly of … Continue reading “Nokia and Microsoft Try to Woo New York Developers to Windows Phone 7”
Cleantech Open Launch Event
The 2012 version of the Cleantech Open startup competition kicks off with an evening of networking and discussion, with panelists including investors and Cleantech Open alumni. Tickets are $20, with registration and more information at the Cleantech Open site.
NWEN: First Look Forum
Twelve early stage companies get to pitch their startups to a roomful of investors and get coaching, feedback, and a chance to win prizes. The annual First Look Forum is one of the signature events for the Northwest Entrepreneur Network, and attendance is available by invitation only. More information at the NWEN site.
WCTA: Has the Cleantech Game Changed?
Natural gas development in the U.S. is growing at a remarkable pace, bringing both promise for home-grown energy sources and worries about environmental effects. The Washington Clean Technology Alliance convenes this breakfast discussion to talk about the rise of natural gas in the cleantech sector. Participants include WCTA chairman Kirt Montague, Northwest Gas Association director … Continue reading “WCTA: Has the Cleantech Game Changed?”
T-Mobile: International Mobility Strategies
Frank Sickinger, T-Mobile’s vice president for multi-national corporate and government sales, leads a free one-hour webinar on how companies can address their mobile needs in a time of rapidly growing and changing technologies. Find the discussion at this link.
Theraclone’s Cliff Stocks Joins “Reinventing Biotech” Lineup Apr. 3
Theraclone Sciences was founded back in 2005, when biotech companies with hot platform technologies could sometimes be excused for thinking they could raise unlimited sums of venture capital. That’s certainly not true anymore, but Theraclone, an early stage antibody drug discovery shop, is still alive and kicking seven years later without raising limitless piles of … Continue reading “Theraclone’s Cliff Stocks Joins “Reinventing Biotech” Lineup Apr. 3″
Alliance of Angels: How Yi-Jian Ngo Sifts for Startup Gold
When he worked at Microsoft, Yi-Jian Ngo got to work on high-profile projects like the Windows Azure cloud-computing platform and the hosted version of Microsoft Office. But when he left Redmond to dive back into early stage companies, Ngo had to spend some time gaining a little on-the-ground experience. And so he found himself north … Continue reading “Alliance of Angels: How Yi-Jian Ngo Sifts for Startup Gold”
The iPhone Before the Apple iPhone
Ask most people to tell you the story of the iPhone, and you’ll likely hear about how an innovative computer company took the traditional telephone, combined it with the Internet, and came up with an attractive and low-cost device that pioneered a new category of touch screen hardware, appealing not just to the tech savvy, … Continue reading “The iPhone Before the Apple iPhone”
PATH Names Former Tech Exec Steve Davis as New CEO
PATH has turned to Steve Davis, the well-known technology executive and global health leader, to be its new president and CEO. The Seattle-based global health nonprofit said today that Davis, the former CEO of digital image company Corbis and a global director at the consulting firm McKinsey, will replace Chris Elias in PATH’s top job … Continue reading “PATH Names Former Tech Exec Steve Davis as New CEO”
Some Tongue-in-Cheek Fantasy Baseball (and Biotech) Picks
Baseball season starts this week, which means it’s time for me to spend too much time and energy on fantasy baseball. This is a strange little hobby in which millions of people use a combination of real-time data, news, and intuition to pick an imaginary team of baseball players that they hope will beat the … Continue reading “Some Tongue-in-Cheek Fantasy Baseball (and Biotech) Picks”
Cloud Software Startup Opscode Adds $19.5M to Fuel Growth
More money is pouring into Seattle-area enterprise computing startups. Today’s exhibit is Opscode, a cloud-computing software provider that just scored $19.5 million in new venture financing. The funding round, led by Bellevue, WA’s Ignition Partners, will help Opscode grow its engineering team, which already has a branch office in Raleigh, NC. Previous investors Battery Ventures … Continue reading “Cloud Software Startup Opscode Adds $19.5M to Fuel Growth”
Opscode Secures $19,500,000 Series C Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9becca15-34cb-4b0a-a745-fb9a53c0d502&Preview=1 Date 3/26/2012 Company Name Opscode Mailing Address 1008 Western Ave Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Opscode is building the best systems integration and automation platform on the planet. We are some of the most respected and well-known systems engineers, software developers, and systems architects in the world, who have built or … Continue reading “Opscode Secures $19,500,000 Series C Financing”
An Evangelist Makes the Case for Google+
Guy Kawasaki, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor who first rose to notoriety as chief evangelist for Apple back in the early days of the Macintosh, has found something new to evangelize. He’s just published an e-book about Google+ called What the Plus: Google+ for the Rest of Us. At a trim 180 pages, including … Continue reading “An Evangelist Makes the Case for Google+”
Glaxo and J&J’s Shrewd Move Will Help the Biotech Ecosystem
Index Ventures made news recently when it announced a new €150 million fund to invest in early-stage, life science companies. With many venture firms scaling back or exiting the business entirely, any successful fundraising is good news. However, two aspects made the announcement from Index particularly noteworthy: first, the fund is focused on early-stage innovation, … Continue reading “Glaxo and J&J’s Shrewd Move Will Help the Biotech Ecosystem”
Movies via USB Drive? Digiboo’s Download Kiosks Land in Seattle
We’re suddenly living in the age of the digital kiosk. If cashing in your coins or renting DVDs wasn’t enough, there’s now apparently a fancy-cupcake dispenser and a computerized coffee machine that spits out decent java. So it’s not much of a stretch for the people at Digiboo to think air travelers will want to … Continue reading “Movies via USB Drive? Digiboo’s Download Kiosks Land in Seattle”
Zipline’s Moai, Already Earning Revenue, Opens Up for More Devs
While the latest class of mobile, social, location-discovery hopefuls continues spelunking for actual users, the mobile gaming sector keeps plugging along and collecting, you know, revenue. Today’s example is Zipline Games, the Seattle-based startup that makes its own games, as well as the Moai game-development platform. Although it’s a young company, Zipline has already been … Continue reading “Zipline’s Moai, Already Earning Revenue, Opens Up for More Devs”
The Supreme Court’s Bad Precedent for Innovation
The Supreme Court’s ruling this week in Prometheus vs Mayo that medical tests relying on correlations between drug dosages and treatment are non-patentable portends a dramatic and frightening reduction in patent protection for innovations in the life sciences and bio-technology industries – and beyond. The Court held that San Diego-based Prometheus Laboratories’ patent claim for … Continue reading “The Supreme Court’s Bad Precedent for Innovation”
Paul Allen’s Big Bet to ‘Uncover the Essence of What Makes Us Human’
Following his second brush with cancer a couple of years ago, billionaire Paul Allen had some time to think about the legacy he’ll leave, beyond being the co-founder of Microsoft. Yesterday, he made clear that he wants to be the guy who helped spark new understanding of the human brain. “I’ve always been fascinated by … Continue reading “Paul Allen’s Big Bet to ‘Uncover the Essence of What Makes Us Human’”
Xconomist of the Week: Linda Rottenberg on Global Tech Boom
Tech blogs typically cover startups in North America and Europe that want to be the next Facebook-style success, but the innovation ecosystem is far more diverse and far-reaching. Linda Rottenberg, CEO and co-founder of New York nonprofit Endeavor Global, has spent the last 15 years or so championing an effort to connect mentors and investors … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Linda Rottenberg on Global Tech Boom”
Brammo Garners $1,204,001 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4395d536-02bb-4e85-8d41-3778f1a00926&Preview=1 Date 3/22/2012 Company Name Brammo Mailing Address 550 Clover Lane Ashland, OR 97520 Company Description Brammo is in business for one simple reason – to drive change in the New Energy Economy. Our technically-advanced Enertia plug-in electric motorcycle – which gets up to 45 miles per charge – is the lightweight, … Continue reading “Brammo Garners $1,204,001 New Financing Round”
Paul Allen Commits $300M to Expand Institute for Brain Science
Paul Allen is making one of the biggest bets of his life on brain science. The billionaire co-founder of Microsoft says he’s committing another $300 million of his fortune to the Allen Institute for Brain Science, a nonprofit research center he founded in Seattle in 2003. The new cash infusion—one of the largest private contributions … Continue reading “Paul Allen Commits $300M to Expand Institute for Brain Science”
Xconomy Launches Mobile Channel
Coming on the heels of a fantastic, jam-packed Mobile Madness 2012 event last Wednesday here in Cambridge, MA, Xconomy is pleased to announce the official debut of our new Mobile Channel. The mobile sector—from apps to iPads—has been a growing part of our daily coverage. Our Mobile Madness conference, meanwhile, has been a mainstay in … Continue reading “Xconomy Launches Mobile Channel”
OVP, Looking for a Home Run, Hits Bunt Single With Complete Genomics
OVP Venture Partners had one of its portfolio companies go public a little more than a year ago, so the Kirkland, WA-based firm had to have high hopes for the kind of home-run returns that can make up for a lot of misses in a portfolio. But now its investment in Mountain View, CA-based Complete … Continue reading “OVP, Looking for a Home Run, Hits Bunt Single With Complete Genomics”
FutureAdvisor Garners New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b594d3e0-64d8-40a0-ae4f-d902f2444d5d&Preview=1 Date 3/21/2012 Company Name FutureAdvisor Mailing Address 122 S Jackson Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description FutureAdvisor takes academically researched portfolio management principles and applies them to your situation. Our recommendation algorithms are based on these principles and academic works. Website http://www.futureadvisor.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed … Continue reading “FutureAdvisor Garners New Financing Round”
Biotech Lagging Behind Go-Go Web Valuations, Survey Says
Developing the latest breakthrough drug just doesn’t pay these days as much as creating the hot new web app does. Private life sciences companies in Silicon Valley that got financing in the fourth quarter of 2011 had an average per-share value that was about 10 percent higher than their previous round of financing, which typically … Continue reading “Biotech Lagging Behind Go-Go Web Valuations, Survey Says”
EMC-Isilon Acquires Storage Software Partner Likewise
One of the biggest recent acquisitions in the Seattle area is paying some more dividends today. EMC’s Isilon storage division, which was added to the IT behemoth in a $2.25 billion deal two years ago, is now acquiring Bellevue, WA-based Likewise Software. No price was given in the announcement from Likewise CEO Barry Crist, and … Continue reading “EMC-Isilon Acquires Storage Software Partner Likewise”
Amazon Buying Warehouse Tech Company Kiva Systems for $775M
Updated 3:30 pm Pacific Amazon.com is calling on armies of robots to help it get the most out of a rapidly expanding national distribution system—and those robots already work for some other well-known names in retail. The Seattle e-commerce pioneer (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) announced Monday that it plans to buy Kiva Systems, a supplier of planning … Continue reading “Amazon Buying Warehouse Tech Company Kiva Systems for $775M”
Biotech’s New Frontier: Europe?
Plenty of places in the world are messed up, but Europe has been near the top of the list lately. If all the horrible scenarios play out, this will be the year the euro collapses, the European Union fractures, and some economically advanced countries could go bust. Yet while the world financial system holds its … Continue reading “Biotech’s New Frontier: Europe?”
Placed Secures $3,400,000 Series A Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=44c0136e-5f51-489a-af10-5bdb0cca30b3&Preview=1 Date 3/19/2012 Company Name Placed Mailing Address Undisclosed Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description The company’s “Placed for Developers” service is designed to help app developers better understand location analytics. Website http://www.placed.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,400,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes The company is using funding for opening … Continue reading “Placed Secures $3,400,000 Series A Funding Round”
EMC Acquires Likewise Software for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0a3dd6ec-885c-4a5a-aae8-c89c87d0e5a8&Preview=1 Date 3/19/2012 Company Name Likewise Software Mailing Address 15395 SE 30th Place Bellevue, WA 98007 Company Description Likewise makes an integrated software platform, Likewise Storage Services, for identity, security and storage used by market-leading OEM storage vendors including Riverbed, EMC and HP. In addition, Likewise Data Analytics and Governance is an … Continue reading “EMC Acquires Likewise Software for Undisclosed Sum”
Concur’s Steve Singh, DocuSign, Founder’s Co-op Among WTIA Winners
Even South by Southwest hangovers and the start of March Madness couldn’t keep people away from the Washington Technology Industry Association‘s annual Industry Achievement Awards, held once again at the Showbox Sodo. But if you couldn’t join the hundreds who made it for last night’s show and shindig—or just cobbled together too many drink tickets … Continue reading “Concur’s Steve Singh, DocuSign, Founder’s Co-op Among WTIA Winners”
OncoGenex Snags $50M for Prostate Cancer Drug Plan
OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals decided it needed to spend more money on the final stage of clinical trials for its prostate cancer drug, so today it went out and raised a lot more cash. The Bothell, WA and Vancouver, BC-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OGXI]]) said today it has raised $50 million through an underwritten stock offering. The company … Continue reading “OncoGenex Snags $50M for Prostate Cancer Drug Plan”
Bikes and Business: Can Cities Cycle Their Way To Prosperity?
I’ve been in Boston this week, attending Xconomy’s big Mobile Madness conference and hanging out with my colleagues in our Cambridge, MA, headquarters. For all the debate among startup entrepreneurs about whether Boston or Silicon Valley is a better place to start a company, I’ve been reminded during my visit that Boston has a huge … Continue reading “Bikes and Business: Can Cities Cycle Their Way To Prosperity?”
Groove Biopharma Joins Stellar Lineup at “Reinventing Biotech” Apr. 3
Groove Biopharma, one of the edgy biotech startups at Seattle’s Accelerator, could have easily raised $20 million based on the scientific goals it reached last year. That almost certainly would have been the case in 2005, 2006, or 2007. But since Groove hit its milestones in the post-downturn era, it pulled in $6 million and was … Continue reading “Groove Biopharma Joins Stellar Lineup at “Reinventing Biotech” Apr. 3″
The Greater Seattle Brain Science Cluster
[Update: 3/29/12 2:10 pm PT] Seattle has a lot of biotech talent, but not every major field of research is strong here, and I’d say it’s mostly an oncology, immunology, and infectious disease (global health) kind of town. Never in my time covering the local scene has it occurred to me think of Seattle a … Continue reading “The Greater Seattle Brain Science Cluster”
Apptio Receives $50,000,000 Series D Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=239481d6-b920-4921-8b1e-7282aea43497&Preview=1 Date 3/16/2012 Company Name Apptio Mailing Address 225 108th Ave. NE. 2nd floor Bellevue, WA 98004 Company Description Apptio is an early stage software-as-a-service (SaaS) company focused on enabling IT organizations to optimize their services and operations. Website http://www.apptio.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $50,000,000 Transaction Round Series D Proceeds … Continue reading “Apptio Receives $50,000,000 Series D Financing”
Apptio Adds $50M to “War Chest,” Plans to Double Sales Bookings
Looks like those predictions about a boom in IT infrastructure companies might not just be idle talk. Apptio, a Bellevue, WA provider of IT management software for large companies, has raised another $50 million in financing to grow its worldwide footprint—a notable sum of cash for a Seattle-area tech company. The financing will help Apptio … Continue reading “Apptio Adds $50M to “War Chest,” Plans to Double Sales Bookings”
Dwellable’s Vacation Rentals, Built For iPad, Take On the Uglyweb
It’s amazing how many different industries are still wandering around somewhere in one of the desolate cul-de-sacs of Web 1.0—low-quality photos, weird tables, endless lists of links. Adam Doppelt, a co-founder of the restaurant-rating app Urbanspoon, ran into all of those hurdles when he was researching vacation rentals for a family trip. But it took … Continue reading “Dwellable’s Vacation Rentals, Built For iPad, Take On the Uglyweb”
How the NY Times Got the JOBS Act Wrong
One of the great dilemmas in the modern economy is balancing risk and reward, cost and benefit. That is true for investors, corporate managers, citizens, and elected officials. The financial crisis was caused by excessive risk taking by almost every player in the system. Investors stretched for return but didn’t understand the risks to which … Continue reading “How the NY Times Got the JOBS Act Wrong”
Lee Hood’s P4 Initiative Finds Community Partner, PeaceHealth
Leroy Hood‘s fledgling institute for personalized medicine struck its first big partnership with an academic medical center two years ago. Now it’s branching out to include some Northwest hospitals that are philosophically a lot closer to the community than to the academy. The P4 Medicine institute, a nonprofit inside the Seattle-based Institute for Systems Biology, … Continue reading “Lee Hood’s P4 Initiative Finds Community Partner, PeaceHealth”
Xconomist of the Week: Rapundalo on How the Affordable Care Act May Thwart Innovation
Stephen Rapundalo, head of the industry association MichBio, has been spending some time on Capitol Hill recently lobbying Michigan’s congressional delegation to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act, which he says will have a chilling effect on innovation in Michigan’s nascent medical device sector. Along with representatives from 18 other states’ med-tech associations—including the … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Rapundalo on How the Affordable Care Act May Thwart Innovation”
Perlego Systems Receives $3,380,006 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3841614c-f26c-4529-a67d-19d470e6b676&Preview=1 Date 3/15/2012 Company Name Perlego Systems Mailing Address 371 NE Gilman Blvd Issaquah, WA 98027 Company Description Perlego Systems, Inc. is the only provider of end-to-end mobile device lifecycle management solutions that allow enterprises, resellers and device manufacturers to effectively manage deployed smart wireless devices, regardless of platform or carrier. The … Continue reading “Perlego Systems Receives $3,380,006 New Funding”
DataSphere Obtains $8,000,000 Series D Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cc4195d8-bef4-4821-a640-b851c23374df&Preview=1 Date 3/15/2012 Company Name DataSphere Mailing Address 15395 SE 30th Place Bellevue, WA 98007 Company Description DataSphere Technologies, Inc. is a Software as a Service (SaaS) Web technology company built by a group of senior online technologists and Web marketers. The DataSphere team has an unparalleled ability to deliver increased revenue … Continue reading “DataSphere Obtains $8,000,000 Series D Financing Round”
Life Science Innovation Northwest: Jeff Raikes Keynote
Life Science Innovation Northwest, the big annual investment conference hosted by the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association, will be held July 11-12 this year at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. Jeff Raikes, the CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will be a keynote speaker this year, as will Steve Burrill, the … Continue reading “Life Science Innovation Northwest: Jeff Raikes Keynote”
Seattle 2.0 Startup Awards
The annual Seattle 2.0 Startup Awards event, presented by Geekwire, will be held this year on May 3. For more information on how to register, click here.