In San Diego, Connect is the non-profit organization that reaches into most corners of the local innovation community. Connect likes to say that it has assisted in the formation of more than 3,000 technology and life sciences companies in the area, and more than 50 cities around the world have emulated its programs for mentoring … Continue reading “Seven Innovation Policy Ideas to Spark an Economic Recovery in the U.S.”
Category: Seattle
Amazon Pushing National Sales-Tax Bill, a Victory for its All-or-Nothing Stance
Looks like Amazon’s pugnacious bet on national sales tax reform is paying off. The Seattle company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) says it is strongly supporting a proposed national law that would force online retailers to collect local taxes on more of their sales, ending a longtime loophole originally meant to help catalog businesses. The National Retail Federation, which has … Continue reading “Amazon Pushing National Sales-Tax Bill, a Victory for its All-or-Nothing Stance”
Stockbox Grocers: the Food Store That’s Kind of a Tech Startup (Inside a Shipping Container)
You might not think of a grocery store inside a recycled shipping container as a technology-centric startup. But without some cheap, powerful devices and software, Web-enabled crowdfunding, and tech startup methods, Stockbox Grocers probably wouldn’t be where it is today. The Stockbox team, which recently wrapped up the run of its first prototype store, is … Continue reading “Stockbox Grocers: the Food Store That’s Kind of a Tech Startup (Inside a Shipping Container)”
TechStars Demos, Real CEO, Zillow Earnings: Wrapping Up a Week in Seattle Tech Headlines
The biggest story of the past week on the Seattle tech innovation beat was surely the Demo Day for TechStars Seattle, the second-ever class of entrepreneurs to graduate from the bootcamp program in the Emerald City. Hundreds packed the venue to see the pitches, and were treated to some really solid and exciting pitches from … Continue reading “TechStars Demos, Real CEO, Zillow Earnings: Wrapping Up a Week in Seattle Tech Headlines”
The Old Immunex Headquarters, 51 University St., Being Reinvented Once More
The old waterfront warehouse that Immunex gutted and turned into Seattle’s biotech hotspot in the 1980s and 1990s is being transformed once again. This time, it’s being turned into a modern office building, with a whisky distillery on the ground floor. The building at 51 University Street was acquired earlier this year by Sam Zell’s … Continue reading “The Old Immunex Headquarters, 51 University St., Being Reinvented Once More”
Gail Naughton on the Commercial Landscape for Tissue Engineering
Gail Naughton, the CEO of San Diego-based Histogen and former CEO of Advanced Tissue Sciences, will be the guest speaker at the University of Washington on Nov. 16 for a talk about the commercial landscape of tissue engineering. For more information, contact UW professor Buddy Ratner.
Dismal Markets Mean Inrix, nLight Aren’t Rushing to IPO
Ah, the good old days of April. Spring was in the air, and bankers were running the numbers on IPOs for Northwest technology companies. It was fun while it lasted. Here’s the flashback: Real-estate website Zillow filed its paperwork on April 18, and RFID maker Impinj followed suit three days later. I even interviewed Seattle-area investors … Continue reading “Dismal Markets Mean Inrix, nLight Aren’t Rushing to IPO”
The Fortune Story that Saved Immunex, & More Mementos: A Photo Slide Show
When Stewart Parker walked into my office on Seattle’s First Hill the other day, she didn’t mince words. “Here’s the story that saved Immunex,” Parker said, reaching into her bag for a yellowed copy of Fortune magazine from November 1985. This issue has a bold cover story, written by Gene Bylinsky, with the headline “Cancer … Continue reading “The Fortune Story that Saved Immunex, & More Mementos: A Photo Slide Show”
The Wisdom of the Crowd: Social Networking Meets Capital Formation
Last year I had a chance to visit Washington D.C. and tour the Washington Monument. I later learned that this magnificent national icon was, in fact, an early example of crowd funding. Crowd funding is the process of aggregating small amounts of money from a large number of people in order to accomplish great things. … Continue reading “The Wisdom of the Crowd: Social Networking Meets Capital Formation”
Hark Sounds Off: 1 Billion Listens, and a Quietly Profitable Company
Updated 11/11 with clarification What does 1 billion sound like? At Seattle startup Hark, it’s this clip of Harry Potter deploying the “expelliarmus” spell to disarm an enemy. Expelliarmus! That little incantation marked the 1 billionth play of a sound bite on Hark, which has amassed a huge catalog of snippets, speeches, and quotes on … Continue reading “Hark Sounds Off: 1 Billion Listens, and a Quietly Profitable Company”
NanoString Grabs $20M From GE, Former Genzyme CEO to Pursue Molecular Diagnostics
NanoString Technologies has pulled in another $20 million to capitalize on its genetic analysis instrument for researchers, and to pursue the lofty goal of creating a workhorse diagnostic tool that enables more personalized medicines. The Seattle-based company is announcing today it has raised $20 million in its Series D venture financing, which includes new investors … Continue reading “NanoString Grabs $20M From GE, Former Genzyme CEO to Pursue Molecular Diagnostics”
TechStars Honchos David Cohen & Andy Sack: The Post-Demo Day Download
If you want a glimpse at the leading edge of tech startups, TechStars Demo Day is a fine place to go prospecting. In just 60 minutes of total pitch time, you’ve got a damn good idea of the industries, customers, ideas, and technologies that top entrepreneurs and investors think are ripe for innovation. And the … Continue reading “TechStars Honchos David Cohen & Andy Sack: The Post-Demo Day Download”
Groupon: The IPO With More Sizzle, and Money, Than the Entire Biotech IPO Class of 2011
Groupon raked in so much cash through its initial public offering last week that it could buy the entire class of life sciences companies that have gone public in 2011. For those of you who aren’t following the Groupon melodrama, the Chicago-based online daily deals site raised $700 million last week in its IPO after … Continue reading “Groupon: The IPO With More Sizzle, and Money, Than the Entire Biotech IPO Class of 2011”
Urban Airship Garners $15,100,000 Series C Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=bd3d3870-d8a4-43a2-a844-5473345d223e&Preview=1 Date 11/7/2011 Company Name Urban Airship Mailing Address 334 NW 11th Ave Portland, OR 97209 Company Description Urban Airship provides an easy, affordable way to deliver real-time push notifications and in-app purchase content for mobile developers. Website http://www.urbanairship.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $15,100,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “Urban Airship Garners $15,100,000 Series C Financing”
NanoString Technologies Obtains $20,000,000 Series D Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=84c5cb27-07b3-4cb4-964b-f233640ca18f&Preview=1 Date 11/7/2011 Company Name NanoString Technologies Mailing Address 530 Fairview Ave N Seattle, WA 98109 Company Description NanoString Technologies is developing a patent pending platform for single molecule identification and digital quantification. The NanoString system uniquely barcodes individual target molecules, scans them, and delivers a literal inventory of target molecules in … Continue reading “NanoString Technologies Obtains $20,000,000 Series D Funding”
Top 3 Takeaways From Our Twitter Chat With Appature’s Kabir Shahani
In advance of his appearance at Xconomy’s “6×6: Six Cities, Six Big Tech Ideas” conference on Dec. 1 in Boston, I did a live tweet chat with Kabir Shahani, the co-founder and CEO of Seattle-based Appature, yesterday. Thanks to all who tuned in and sent us their thoughts; we had a great audience. Appature is … Continue reading “Top 3 Takeaways From Our Twitter Chat With Appature’s Kabir Shahani”
Mobile App Search is So Bad AltaVista Could Have Done It. Chomp Is Biting Off the Problem
There are roughly 500,000 iPhone and iPad apps in Apple’s iTunes App Store, and almost that many smartphone and tablet apps in Google’s Android Market. That gives mobile consumers lots of choices, but it has created an untenable situation for mobile developers. Unless you get lucky and your app vaults onto the top-5 or top-10 … Continue reading “Mobile App Search is So Bad AltaVista Could Have Done It. Chomp Is Biting Off the Problem”
TechStars Seattle Demos: One Room, 10 Startups, Tons of Potential
David Cohen has seen this movie before. As the founder and CEO of TechStars, he knows that the first year in any city is about building community, making impressions, and proving the model. Then things get turned up a notch. “Year one is a lot of excitement, the town really supports it,” Cohen said. “People come … Continue reading “TechStars Seattle Demos: One Room, 10 Startups, Tons of Potential”
Yaletown Venture Partners Opening Up Seattle Office, Led by Kirk Washington
Yaletown Venture Partners, the Vancouver, BC-based startup investor, said today that one of its founding partners, Kirk Washington, has opened up an office in Seattle. Yaletown made the announcement at the Venture Northwest Conference in Portland, OR, according to a statement on the firm’s website. The firm, which raised funds in 2003 and 2008, has … Continue reading “Yaletown Venture Partners Opening Up Seattle Office, Led by Kirk Washington”
Seattle Genetics Beats Expectations With $10M Sales in Lymphoma Drug Debut
[Update: 2:55 pm PT] Seattle Genetics handily beat Wall Street expectations by selling $10 million worth of its new lymphoma drug in its first 30 business days on the market. The Bothell, WA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) said today it generated $10 million in net product sales in the quarter ended Sept. 30, according to its … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Beats Expectations With $10M Sales in Lymphoma Drug Debut”
Xconomists of the Week: Tom Maniatis and Marc Tessier-Lavigne Lead the Charge on the New York Genome Center
Today marked the official launch of the New York Genome Center, a collaboration among 11 top academic institutions that’s designed to accelerate genomic research. The initiative—supported by the City of New York and private and public institutions—is being guided by two of our Xconomists: Rockefeller University’s Marc Tessier-Lavigne, who will serve on the center’s board … Continue reading “Xconomists of the Week: Tom Maniatis and Marc Tessier-Lavigne Lead the Charge on the New York Genome Center”
Facebook Grabs New Seattle Office, Doubling Space for More Hires
Facebook’s Seattle office, the social networking giant’s biggest engineering presence outside its Palo Alto, CA headquarters, is doubling its footprint to make room for more engineers. Facebook Seattle opened in August 2010 with three employees, and has grown to about 60 people in the year-plus since then, the company says. Some key early projects that … Continue reading “Facebook Grabs New Seattle Office, Doubling Space for More Hires”
UW Spinoff PhysioSonics Snaps up $2.5M Defense Grant to Monitor Brain Blood Flow
Bellevue, WA-based PhysioSonics has picked up a $2.5 million grant from a military agency to see if its ultrasound technology can be adapted to the battlefield. PhysioSonics said today it has gotten the grant from the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, an organization at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, located at … Continue reading “UW Spinoff PhysioSonics Snaps up $2.5M Defense Grant to Monitor Brain Blood Flow”
Infographic: College or Incubator for Startup Founders?
[Updated 11/4 at 2:30 pm] Not everyone can be a Gates, Allen, Jobs, or Zuckerberg—founders who dropped out of college and went on to change the technology industry by starting landmark companies. But there are more options available for budding entrepreneurs these days, most notably the explosion of incubators, accelerators, and other startup nurseries that … Continue reading “Infographic: College or Incubator for Startup Founders?”
Dendreon Shares Tank Again, Elias Joins Gates Foundation, Seattle Children’s Gets $50M, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This was a week of volatile ups and downs in Seattle biotech. Yeah, I know, what’s new? —Seattle-based Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]), the cancer drug developer that so many people love to hate, gave its critics some more ammunition in its quarterly financial report. The company reported $64.3 million in third quarter sales, which slightly edged … Continue reading “Dendreon Shares Tank Again, Elias Joins Gates Foundation, Seattle Children’s Gets $50M, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Bing Chief Stefan Weitz on Facebook in Search: Humans Crave Other Humans
Updated 11:30 am 11/3 with slides Sorry, experts: Information consumers don’t particularly care about all your highfalutin’ degrees and special titles. For a surprisingly large swath of online queries, friends and other real-world users are the key sources of opinions, says Stefan Weitz, Microsoft’s director of search. “People don’t know who to trust. They don’t … Continue reading “Bing Chief Stefan Weitz on Facebook in Search: Humans Crave Other Humans”
Clearwire Adds Subscribers, Stems Losses in Third Quarter
Years ago, Bellevue, WA-based Clearwire (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLWR]]) placed a big bet. It thought that an Intel-backed wireless technology called WiMax would become the foundation of the “4G” broadband data networks that will eventually take the place of today’s 3G networks. It bet wrong—a rival technology called long-term evolution (LTE), backed by Verizon, AT&T, and other … Continue reading “Clearwire Adds Subscribers, Stems Losses in Third Quarter”
Dendreon Edges Past Street Expectations With Third Quarter Provenge Sales, Shares Still Fall
[Update: 2:55 pm PT] Seattle-based Dendreon deeply disappointed investors with its last quarterly financial report, but today it reported sales of its prostate cancer drug continued to grow in the third quarter, slightly exceeding Wall Street forecasts. Shares fell about 20 percent in after-hours trading, though, as the company said it expects to see “modest” … Continue reading “Dendreon Edges Past Street Expectations With Third Quarter Provenge Sales, Shares Still Fall”
Zillow Acquires Real Estate Marketing Company, Registers Loss on HQ Move
Online real estate company Zillow, which announced a small quarterly loss related to its recent headquarters move, is acquiring Diverse Solutions, a company that provides online marketing tools for real estate agents. The stock-and-cash transaction is worth $7.8 million, Zillow (NASDAQ: [[ticker:Z]]) said Wednesday. Zillow said its net loss for the third quarter was $750,000, … Continue reading “Zillow Acquires Real Estate Marketing Company, Registers Loss on HQ Move”
Seeding Entrepreneurship: How to Build a Venture-Finance Ecosystem
[Editor’s note: Cross-posted from The Economist, 11/2/11] New York Mayor-entrepreneur Michael Bloomberg, not known for shyness, recently proclaimed New York City as America’s new entrepreneurship capital, roaring past Boston in venture capital and soon to leave Silicon Valley in the dust as the “go to” destination for entrepreneurs. Indeed, the world media are awash with … Continue reading “Seeding Entrepreneurship: How to Build a Venture-Finance Ecosystem”
Join Us Thursday for a Twitter Chat with CEO Kabir Shahani of Marketing Tech Startup Appature
Twitter has already sucked away 20 percent of your life. What’s another 30 minutes? If you don’t know Kabir Shahani or his startup, Appature, here is your chance. I will be hosting a live Twitter chat with him tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 3). This open chat will start at 2 pm Eastern / 11 am Pacific … Continue reading “Join Us Thursday for a Twitter Chat with CEO Kabir Shahani of Marketing Tech Startup Appature”
UW Spinoff Cardiac Insight Looks to Spot Common Cause of Stroke with Stick-On Device
Tom Clement spent more than a year poking around the University of Washington, looking for the next hot medical device idea to develop after his long run at Kirkland, WA-based Pathway Medical Technologies. And now he’s latched onto a new technology he says could become a low-cost, disposable, and accurate way to diagnose a leading … Continue reading “UW Spinoff Cardiac Insight Looks to Spot Common Cause of Stroke with Stick-On Device”
New RealNetworks CEO: Former Adobe Exec Thomas Nielsen
RealNetworks, the dot-com era digital media company that has gone through a major overhaul in the past couple of years, has appointed former Adobe VP Thomas Nielsen president and CEO effective Nov. 9. Nielsen, who worked at Microsoft earlier in his career, also will join the company’s board. Nielsen comes to RealNetworks (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RNWK]]) from … Continue reading “New RealNetworks CEO: Former Adobe Exec Thomas Nielsen”
Al Gore Was Almost a VIP Scientist, and More to Remember at the Immunex Impact Dec. 1
Legend has it that former vice president Al Gore was once supposed to visit Seattle-based Immunex. Somebody had the bright idea of making a white lab coat with Gore’s name and “VIP scientist” embroidered on it, which probably would have made for an amusing photo op for the evening news. Ah, but according to former … Continue reading “Al Gore Was Almost a VIP Scientist, and More to Remember at the Immunex Impact Dec. 1”
Steel in Their Eyes—Why VCs should be Startup CEOs
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. —Mark Twain Venture capitalists who are serious about turning their firms into more than one-fund wonders may want to have their associates actually start and run a company for a year. Running a company is distinctly different … Continue reading “Steel in Their Eyes—Why VCs should be Startup CEOs”
Gates at UW, PopCap’s Mobile Guru, Redfin’s Millions: Wrapping up Seattle Tech Headlines
The past week in tech headlines was dominated by our leading alpha geek: Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates. Gates stopped by the University of Washington to give a short talk about the future of computing, and how he sees cheap, powerful storage and processing revolutionizing everything from robots to disease eradication (the part about … Continue reading “Gates at UW, PopCap’s Mobile Guru, Redfin’s Millions: Wrapping up Seattle Tech Headlines”
Biopharma Industry Meetings Could Use Some Fresh Voices
One or more notices of upcoming biopharma industry conferences arrive in my email every day. I give their agendas a quick glance before deleting them, as they’re seldom in areas I focus on. The vast majority of presenters are plucked from the ranks of top-tier Big Pharma; there’s a seminar from Pfizer, a speaker from … Continue reading “Biopharma Industry Meetings Could Use Some Fresh Voices”
Gates Foundation, WA Colleges Roll Out Open-Source Texts
Tech entrepreneurs are pushing pretty hard these days to improve education, from the Khan Academy to Codecademy to Altius Education to education-focused Startup Weekend events. And, of course, there’s the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has made education its primary domestic policy initiative—something Bill Gates discussed in his recent wide-ranging lecture and Q&A session … Continue reading “Gates Foundation, WA Colleges Roll Out Open-Source Texts”
The Economy in 17 Syllables, All of Them Gloomy
For the third quarter of 2011, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation leavened its otherwise morose quarterly survey of economics bloggers (PDF) with something new: a haiku contest. The 63 academics, entrepreneurs, investors, and journalists who participated in the survey, including myself, were asked to describe the state of the economy in the form of a haiku, … Continue reading “The Economy in 17 Syllables, All of Them Gloomy”
Seattle Children’s Nabs $50M Donation for Research, Plus $15M for Nursing, Clinical Care
Seattle Children’s Hospital probably has more fun than most hospitals every year on Halloween, but this year it has something really big to celebrate. The hospital said today it has secured a pair of charitable donations worth a combined $65 million to support its research programs, nursing education, and clinical care. One $50 million gift … Continue reading “Seattle Children’s Nabs $50M Donation for Research, Plus $15M for Nursing, Clinical Care”
PATH CEO Chris Elias Resigns For Top Anti-Poverty Job at Gates Foundation
PATH president and CEO Chris Elias, who led the global health nonprofit to prominence over the past decade, is stepping down to become the president of global development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Elias joined PATH in 2000, when it had an annual budget of $44 million and a staff of 297 employees, … Continue reading “PATH CEO Chris Elias Resigns For Top Anti-Poverty Job at Gates Foundation”
PopCap Mobile Chief Giordano Contestabile: Games as a Service Transform the Industry
Giordano Contestabile started working in mobile gaming before it was cool. Way before. Back then, the only available mobile games were based around sending and receiving text messages—something that brings in nice profits for mobile carriers, of course. “I’d go out and pitch this game, and the game was an SMS fishing game. Already it … Continue reading “PopCap Mobile Chief Giordano Contestabile: Games as a Service Transform the Industry”
The Cancer Drug Dark Ages Are Coming to an End
Only a couple stories in the past decade have given advocates of personalized cancer medicines much to brag about. There was Genentech’s Herceptin for a form of breast cancer in 1998, and Novartis’ Gleevec for chronic myeloid leukemia in 2001. But just a few short weeks ago, in August, we saw a flurry of FDA … Continue reading “The Cancer Drug Dark Ages Are Coming to an End”
Clearwire Board Member Wolff Resigns
Benjamin Wolff, a former CEO of Clearwire and close ally of company founder Craig McCaw, has resigned from the troubled wireless company’s board. Clearwire (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLWR]]) reported the change in a filing with federal regulators on Friday, saying Wolff’s “decision to resign is not due to any disagreements with the company.” McCaw’s investment firm, Eagle River … Continue reading “Clearwire Board Member Wolff Resigns”
Vinod Khosla Helps Startup Entrepreneurs Think Bigger
I had been planning to talk in today’s column about the shortcomings of the Google Chromebook, which are numerous. But I’m in too good of a mood this week to play the critic, partly because of a terrific Silicon Valley event that I attended Tuesday night called Get Bigger! With Vinod Khosla. So instead, I’m … Continue reading “Vinod Khosla Helps Startup Entrepreneurs Think Bigger”
Navigating Cancer Secures $3,000,000 Series B Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c911e4de-d170-414b-8f18-699bc69f8423&Preview=1 Date 10/28/2011 Company Name Navigating Cancer Mailing Address 6 Nickerson Street Seattle, WA 98109 Company Description We understand how overwhelming a cancer diagnosis can be. Navigating Cancer will help you take control of your journey by bringing together powerful tools, relevant cancer resources, and a supportive community — all free and … Continue reading “Navigating Cancer Secures $3,000,000 Series B Financing Round”
Ask Bill Gates Anything: Being a Billionaire is Strange, Microsoft Co-Founder Tells Students
How’s the life of a billionaire? “Quite strange,” says Bill Gates, who fielded questions from University of Washington students on Thursday evening as part of a lecture on the future of computing. Gates’ talk, at a packed hall in the UW’s computer science building, focused on some areas where he thinks cheap, powerful computing will … Continue reading “Ask Bill Gates Anything: Being a Billionaire is Strange, Microsoft Co-Founder Tells Students”
Redfin Adds $14.8M to Expand Online Real Estate Brokerage to New Markets
[Updated 12:20 pm Pacific with correction] Redfin, the Seattle-based online real estate brokerage, says it has raised $14.8 million led by new investor Globespan Capital Partners. Redfin says the new round of financing, which pushes its total venture tally to about $46 million, will be used for R&D spending and expansion into new markets. At … Continue reading “Redfin Adds $14.8M to Expand Online Real Estate Brokerage to New Markets”
WA Companies Raked in Nearly $32M in September Deals
Washington companies in the technology, biotech, and cleantech sectors rolled up nearly $32 million in financing in September, according to data compiled by our partners at research firm CB Insights. Leading the way was RF Surgical Systems, a Bellevue-based company that raised $12 million last month. As Luke wrote last year, the company is working … Continue reading “WA Companies Raked in Nearly $32M in September Deals”
EquaShip, Isilon, Tippr, Zaarly: Wrapping up a Week-Plus of Seattle Headlines
A pretty busy week in Seattle business means this weekly wrap of Seattle tech headlines is a little longer than normal: —EquaShip, the upstart shipping competitor hoping to outfox UPS and FedEx by consolidating parcels from small and medium-sized businesses, finally took the covers off its service last week. The company is led by CEO … Continue reading “EquaShip, Isilon, Tippr, Zaarly: Wrapping up a Week-Plus of Seattle Headlines”