Category: Seattle

Hello Ambassador Locke, Can You Get Me On the Line With China, Inc.?

Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke’s nomination as the U.S. ambassador to China puts someone the state’s business community knows very well at the forefront of one of the nation’s most important global relationships. That doesn’t mean every Seattle-area company can expect the red-carpet treatment in Beijing—after all, presuming he’s confirmed by the Senate (which seems … Continue reading “Hello Ambassador Locke, Can You Get Me On the Line With China, Inc.?”

White Pages’ Hiya Wants to Eat Plaxo’s Lunch by Blending Your Scattered E-Phone Books with Old-School Contact Info

Seattle-based online directory provider WhitePages is unveiling a networked address book application that it says can outperform Plaxo and other startups in the market for wrangling your various digital rolodexes. WhitePages has been testing its Hiya service since last fall, building up knowledge from a base of about 10,000 users. The public beta starts Thursday. … Continue reading “White Pages’ Hiya Wants to Eat Plaxo’s Lunch by Blending Your Scattered E-Phone Books with Old-School Contact Info”

Bill Gates Backs Nimbus, Betting on Computer-Based Drug Discovery

Here’s a startup that is stepping out of top-secret status in style. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, the second-most wealthy person in the world, is one of two new seed investors in the stealthy biotech startup, Nimbus Discovery. Cambridge, MA-based Nimbus, focused on computer-based drug discovery in partnership with the global chemical-simulation software provider Schrödinger, said … Continue reading “Bill Gates Backs Nimbus, Betting on Computer-Based Drug Discovery”

Appature’s Koester Leaves for Zaarly

Well, that was quick. Seattle startup attorney Eric Koester is leaving Appature for an auction-type consumer buying startup with backing from Ashton Kutcher and others (yes, that Ashton Kutcher). Koester joined Appature in October to help the growing healthcare services company manage its operations. But, as GeekWire reports, he was part of a group that … Continue reading “Appature’s Koester Leaves for Zaarly”

The Buzz From the Zino Life Sciences Forum

There was a great buzz yesterday at ZINO Life: Life Sciences Investment Forum where 14 biotech and life sciences companies pitched to a room full of eager investors. Many exciting technologies were on display, including Empowering Engineering Technologies‘ ExoWalk—the 2010 Zino Life fund recipient—as well as Cerevast Therapeutics’ ClotBust-ER. All presenters delivered energetic and compelling … Continue reading “The Buzz From the Zino Life Sciences Forum”

King of the Web Lets More People in on the Secret: It’s a Video-Heavy Popularity Contest with Cash Prizes

King of the Web, the social gaming startup led by some big names in Seattle tech, is opening up the private beta I speculated about earlier this month. Passwords were doled out to Twitter and Facebook followers today, and I took a peek under the hood. From what I can see so far, King of … Continue reading “King of the Web Lets More People in on the Secret: It’s a Video-Heavy Popularity Contest with Cash Prizes”

Madrona and Ignition Invest $8.5M in Seattle Cloud-Computing Provider Tier 3

Seattle-based Tier 3, a cloud-computing service for businesses, said Wednesday that it has raised $8.5 million from Ignition Capital and Madrona Venture Group. This is the company’s first publicly announced round of financing. Tier 3 was founded in 2006 and counts Microsoft among its nearly 100 clients. In a release, Tier 3 said it plans … Continue reading “Madrona and Ignition Invest $8.5M in Seattle Cloud-Computing Provider Tier 3”

Targeted Genetics, Re-invented as AmpliPhi, Bets on Anti-Bacterials, Moves HQ to London

Targeted Genetics has been a shell of its former self for a couple years now, but today it’s officially no longer the same old Targeted Genetics. The Seattle-based company, a one-time trailblazer in the field of gene therapy, said today it has made a slew of changes to its business, including ditching the old name … Continue reading “Targeted Genetics, Re-invented as AmpliPhi, Bets on Anti-Bacterials, Moves HQ to London”

Calypso Medical’s New CEO Seeks to Steady Ship After a Rough Couple of Years

Calypso Medical Technologies, on the surface, looked like it was on the brink of breakout success in September 2009. The Seattle-based company raised $50 million in venture capital—the biggest investment that year in Washington state—to beef up R&D, hire more people, and take its system for precision-guided cancer radiation treatment beyond the U.S. market and … Continue reading “Calypso Medical’s New CEO Seeks to Steady Ship After a Rough Couple of Years”

Tier 3 Garners $8,500,000 Series A Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9d384e7c-2238-4dd2-8006-61f8c16f57bc&Preview=1 Date 3/9/2011 Company Name Tier 3 Mailing Address 9594 1st Ave. NE. Seattle, WA 98115 Company Description Tier 3 offers enterprise-level managed services for businesses of all types and sizes around the world. With our best-in-class architecture and platform, Tier 3 serves as an extension of its customers’ IT departments, enabling … Continue reading “Tier 3 Garners $8,500,000 Series A Funding Round”

TechFest Pumps Up Microsoft Research, HomePipe Lands $1.1M, A New Fund for Science Education, & More NW Tech Tidbits

Microsoft Research is having its annual TechFest get-together across the lake, including some pretty cool-looking demonstrations and discussion of what Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) gets for its $9 billion in annual R&D spending. Of course, one of the biggest storylines out of the research shop lately is the popularity of the Kinect motion-sensor for more than … Continue reading “TechFest Pumps Up Microsoft Research, HomePipe Lands $1.1M, A New Fund for Science Education, & More NW Tech Tidbits”

ISB, Covance Form Brain Tumor Partnership

Covance (NYSE: [[ticker:CVD]]), said today that its genomics laboratory in Seattle has agreed to a new collaboration with the Institute for Systems Biology to study brain tumors, according to GenomeWeb. Researchers will study the genetic differences that lurk within tumors, and find molecular targets that would enable researchers to select the right drug for the … Continue reading “ISB, Covance Form Brain Tumor Partnership”

Gates Foundation Makes First Equity Investment in a Biotech Startup, Liquidia Technologies

Global health innovators have a rich new venture capitalist to turn to—the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Seattle-based nonprofit, the world’s largest philanthropy with $36.4 billion in assets, made its first direct equity investment in a for-profit biotech company last week when it pumped $10 million into Research Triangle Park, NC-based Liquidia Technologies. While … Continue reading “Gates Foundation Makes First Equity Investment in a Biotech Startup, Liquidia Technologies”

Facebook and Salesforce Hunt for Talent, Bing Rolls Out New Features, UW’s Drone Races, & More in Seattle-Area Tech News

Visits with some of Seattle’s big-name Silicon Valley invaders, details from some emerging startups, and new features for Microsoft’s underdog search engine are among the highlights in this wrap-up of the past week in Xconomy’s Seattle tech coverage. —We stopped in for chats with leaders from both Facebook and Salesforce.com in the past week, checking … Continue reading “Facebook and Salesforce Hunt for Talent, Bing Rolls Out New Features, UW’s Drone Races, & More in Seattle-Area Tech News”

HomePipe Secures $1,100,000 Series A Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8b052257-344d-4264-a6e1-c3deedc59eb3&Preview=1 Date 3/8/2011 Company Name HomePipe Mailing Address 19805 15th Ave. NW. Shoreline, WA 98177 Company Description The company provides a service that allows users to access and share files from any browser or mobile device. Website http://www.homepipe.net Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,100,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes The … Continue reading “HomePipe Secures $1,100,000 Series A Funding”

“Quadricopters” Take Over UW’s Allen Center Atrium for Electrical Engineering Class Demo

Students from the University of Washington’s electrical engineering program are showing off what looks like a very fun class project. The embedded microcomputer systems class led by professor Shwetak Patel built wireless controller systems for the Parrot AR Drone—a cool little “quadricopter” vehicle that really puts the radio-controlled stuff I remember to shame (and I’m … Continue reading ““Quadricopters” Take Over UW’s Allen Center Atrium for Electrical Engineering Class Demo”

TechFlash Duo, Todd Bishop and John Cook, Quit PSBJ to Start New Site, GeekWire

Todd Bishop and John Cook, two of the Northwest’s well-known technology journalists, have decided to leave TechFlash, the Puget Sound Business Journal website they started two and a half years ago, to start their own online media company called GeekWire. The two Seattle-based journalists, who worked together for years at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer before joining … Continue reading “TechFlash Duo, Todd Bishop and John Cook, Quit PSBJ to Start New Site, GeekWire”

WaySavvy, With Expedia Partnership, Joins New Wave of Online Travel Sites

A collaboration between New England and Northwest techies is aiming to radically improve the way people book flights and hotels on the Web. If all goes well, it will become part of a broader movement of tech companies looking to reshape the online travel landscape. I’m not talking about the alliance between Microsoft’s Bing Travel … Continue reading “WaySavvy, With Expedia Partnership, Joins New Wave of Online Travel Sites”

Advice Received, But Not Taken: Tales from the Biotech Trenches

Biotechnology is a challenging business, with drug development timelines that are long, costly, and dependent on the approval of government regulatory agencies. The vast majority of biotechs never succeed in developing a new drug. There are many issues that contribute to whether or not a company achieves its goals and makes it in the marketplace. … Continue reading “Advice Received, But Not Taken: Tales from the Biotech Trenches”

ShipSweet Attempts to Stick It to the FedEx-UPS Duopoly with Cheap Shipping for Small Business

[Corrected 3/7/11 10:15 a.m.] Remember shelling out big shipping and handling charges for that rotisserie oven you just had to buy from some infomercial? Small retailers sure do—and they remember it fondly. In fact, when entrepreneurs Ron Wiener and Josh Leichtung were in the catalog business years ago, shipping and handling could actually account for your … Continue reading “ShipSweet Attempts to Stick It to the FedEx-UPS Duopoly with Cheap Shipping for Small Business”

Forget About the IPO Market: It’s Time for Biotechs To Think Differently

When a company like Plexxikon can’t pull off a big-time IPO, you know something’s out of whack in the biotech world. Berkeley, CA-based Plexxikon hit the motherlode last week when it agreed to be acquired for $805 million upfront, plus $130 million in milestones, by Japan-based Daiichi Sankyo. VCs everywhere drooled. That’s because in this … Continue reading “Forget About the IPO Market: It’s Time for Biotechs To Think Differently”

PhaseRx Angles for a Deal, Tom Clement’s New Device Gig(s), InDi’s Alzheimer’s Plan, & More in the Life Science Innovation Northwest Wrap-Up

My head is spinning from the whirlwind of presentations and hobnobbing at this year’s Life Science Innovation Northwest. The regional biotech showcase drew by far the most people in its 11-year history, almost 1,000. More importantly, folks I talked to from outside the region were impressed with the technology here, combined with the community’s can-do … Continue reading “PhaseRx Angles for a Deal, Tom Clement’s New Device Gig(s), InDi’s Alzheimer’s Plan, & More in the Life Science Innovation Northwest Wrap-Up”

“Leonardo’s Notebook”—My Killer App for the iPad 2

Attention all mobile app developers: I’m about to give you an idea for a great new consumer app. I think it’s something that would appeal to any adventurous, creative, curious person—travelers, outdoorsmen, students, scrapbookers, artists, and the like. I think this is the moment to build it, since it’s something that wouldn’t have been possible … Continue reading ““Leonardo’s Notebook”—My Killer App for the iPad 2″

Bing Tries to Make Sense of Rapidly Crowding Daily Deals Space

The huge proliferation of daily deal sites has been begging for more curation and aggregation. And while Google is still working on its Offers service, Microsoft’s search underdog Bing is trying to get ahead by doing the sorting. Bing’s partnering with The Dealmap to bring together a searchable list of bargains that can also populate … Continue reading “Bing Tries to Make Sense of Rapidly Crowding Daily Deals Space”

Facebook Seattle: Past 30 Hires and Growing, Adding Heft to Chat Overhaul, Running Out of Mob-Lunch Restaurant Space

An obvious sign your small office is growing fast: It’s getting harder to find a table for an all-hands meal. As workplace annoyances go, that’s a good one to have—especially if you’re leading Facebook’s first engineering hub outside the mothership in Palo Alto, CA. Xconomy chatted with Seattle’s office lead, Ari Steinberg, Wednesday evening as … Continue reading “Facebook Seattle: Past 30 Hires and Growing, Adding Heft to Chat Overhaul, Running Out of Mob-Lunch Restaurant Space”

Dendreon Moves Across Town, SeaGen Files FDA App, Alder Takes Road Less Traveled, & More Seattle Life Sciences News

The big boys of Seattle biotech made some news this week, but the town was humming with activity from little companies you haven’t heard of, who appeared at Life Science Innovation Northwest. More on that later. —Seattle-based Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) confirmed this week that it has signed leases on a new headquarters at the Russell … Continue reading “Dendreon Moves Across Town, SeaGen Files FDA App, Alder Takes Road Less Traveled, & More Seattle Life Sciences News”

MOD Systems co-founder Convicted of Fraud, Money Laundering in Federal Court

A co-founder and former chief executive of MOD Systems was convicted of federal fraud and money laundering charges today in federal court. The U.S. attorney’s office says Mark E. Phillips, 36, of Seattle, could get up to 20 years in prison when he’s sentenced in late May. Federal prosecutors say Phillips transferred $1.5 million from … Continue reading “MOD Systems co-founder Convicted of Fraud, Money Laundering in Federal Court”

Dealometry, a Men’s Daily Bargain Site with TechStars Roots, Unveils its First Deal

TechStars mentor Bob Crimmins is rolling out a new startup with heavy accelerator roots: Dealometry, a daily-deals site for men. Dealometry’s technology comes from Deal Co-op, a TechStars Seattle grad that says its main motivation in relocating from Birmingham, AL to Seattle was the mentoring opportunity. Dealometry’s first offer is a discount at ManPacks, an … Continue reading “Dealometry, a Men’s Daily Bargain Site with TechStars Roots, Unveils its First Deal”

Alder Steers Next Antibodies To Unusual Places: Treating Migraines and High Cholesterol

Alder Biopharmaceuticals prides itself on challenging conventional wisdom. But while Alder has proved the skeptics wrong, showing it can make targeted antibody therapies in a new way with cheap and fast-dividing yeast cells, it has used this technology in a pretty conventional way—to make weapons against cancer and autoimmunity. Now Alder is stepping out with … Continue reading “Alder Steers Next Antibodies To Unusual Places: Treating Migraines and High Cholesterol”

Nick Hanauer and Rich Barton’s Stealth Startup “King of the Web” Inches Closer to Revealing What’s Under That Crown

From the drip-drip-drip department comes this little update on what some big names in Seattle tech are planning with their latest company. King of the Web, a stealth-mode social gaming startup led by aQuantive founder Nick Hanauer and former Expedia CEO Rich Barton, says it’s heading for a private beta this month. The company currently is … Continue reading “Nick Hanauer and Rich Barton’s Stealth Startup “King of the Web” Inches Closer to Revealing What’s Under That Crown”

Cheezburger Network’s Big Bite Easily Leads January’s Seattle-Area Venture Deals Roundup

Cheezburger Network’s decision to finally take some venture money was 2011’s first big deal for Seattle-area tech companies, and it easily dominated the roughly $55 million raised in 15 equity-based financing transactions recorded in January, according to data compiled by CB Insights FundingFlash. Ben Huh and his team over on Queen Anne have a growing … Continue reading “Cheezburger Network’s Big Bite Easily Leads January’s Seattle-Area Venture Deals Roundup”

Health Records are Going to the Cloud, Going Mobile, and the Feds Are Still Paying

The annual Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) just concluded the largest healthcare technology conference of the year with a record-breaking 31,225 attendees in Orlando, FL. The annual event includes the leading technology innovators and healthcare executives in the country. This year there were several distinct themes that will have an effect on any company … Continue reading “Health Records are Going to the Cloud, Going Mobile, and the Feds Are Still Paying”

Angel Investing is Up, But Will It Spark the NW Economy? Check Out “The Conversation”

Most people on the street would struggle to define what an angel investor does. Mostly, in Seattle anyway, they are the little-known startup investors who operate behind the scenes while venture capitalists get all the glory for bankrolling the would-be Googles and Facebooks of the future. But for a few minutes yesterday, Seattle angels got … Continue reading “Angel Investing is Up, But Will It Spark the NW Economy? Check Out “The Conversation””

Discover: Global Health with Gene Walther

Get an update on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s global health initiatives from Gene Walther, deputy director of health diagnostics. He’ll also preview the foundation’s new strategy for diagnostics, set to be rolled out in the coming months. RSVP by noon on March 7. More information at the Technology Alliance site.

Powerit Solutions Plugs Into $5M Financing, Names Former DocuSign Chief Matt Schiltz CEO

Seattle-based Powerit Solutions, which provides energy management and conservation for industry clients, is trumpeting a new boss and a fresh round of investment. Matthew Schiltz is Powerit’s new group CEO, handling both the North America and Northern Europe divisions. Schiltz was chief executive at Seattle-based DocuSign from 2007 to 2010. The company’s $5 million financing round was … Continue reading “Powerit Solutions Plugs Into $5M Financing, Names Former DocuSign Chief Matt Schiltz CEO”

Physio-Control Buys Jolife

Physio-Control, the Redmond, WA-based unit of Medtronic (NYSE: [[ticker:MDT]]) that makes heart defibrillators, said it has acquired Jolife, the Sweden-based maker of the Lucas Chest Compression System. The two companies have had a partnership since 2004, in which they have worked on the early stages of a mechanical cardio-pulmonary resuscitation device, according to a statement … Continue reading “Physio-Control Buys Jolife”

Salesforce.com Officially Opens Bigger Seattle Office, Says Aggressive Hiring of Top Talent Will Continue

Salesforce.com, the cloud-computing provider that has been in an extended battle with Microsoft for market share and talent, plans to hire as aggressively as possible to fill its new 11,000 square-foot space in South Lake Union. And the pace apparently won’t be slowed by a recent court battle over Salesforce.com’s (NYSE: [[ticker:CRM]]) hiring of a … Continue reading “Salesforce.com Officially Opens Bigger Seattle Office, Says Aggressive Hiring of Top Talent Will Continue”

Dendreon Makes It Official, Grabs Downtown Office and Former Zymo Lab Building

[Update: 12:40 pm] Dendreon has been searching around Seattle for months to find a new home to accommodate its growth, and now it has made its moving plans official. The Seattle-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) has signed a lease to take eight floors, or about 185,000 square feet of office space, at the Russell Investments … Continue reading “Dendreon Makes It Official, Grabs Downtown Office and Former Zymo Lab Building”

Tippr’s Legal Intrigue, PhotoRocket’s Debut, Untangling Earmarks, and More in the Seattle-Area Tech Roundup

It lives! Now that Xconomy Seattle has a full-time tech writer again (yours truly), we’re bringing back a weekly roundup to help our far-too-busy readers catch up with what’s been on our minds and percolating in the Seattle-area scene lately. Highlights from the past week or so: —Tippr, the Seattle-based group-deals site that emphasizes its … Continue reading “Tippr’s Legal Intrigue, PhotoRocket’s Debut, Untangling Earmarks, and More in the Seattle-Area Tech Roundup”

Powerit Holdings Lands $5,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5ece3eb6-24d7-47a7-b762-612bed9b2231&Preview=1 Date 3/1/2011 Company Name Powerit Holdings Mailing Address 568 First Ave South Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Powerit Solutions provides comprehensive energy demand response and demand control solutions for industrial and commercial applications. We are committed to helping customers in a wide variety of industries manage their energy usage, reduce their … Continue reading “Powerit Holdings Lands $5,000,000 New Funding”

Lumier Secures $350,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=988e71ca-ac0c-4aee-9a56-b087facc4fa6&Preview=1 Date 3/1/2011 Company Name Lumier Mailing Address Undisclosed Seattle, WA 98100 Company Description The company is developing technologies to improve interfaces between humans and computers. Website http://www.lumier.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $350,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Founders Fund Venture … Continue reading “Lumier Secures $350,000 New Financing”

Former RealNetworks Leaders Jump Into Non-Creepy Video Chat Arena With SocialEyes

Another company trying to leapfrog the inappropriate-lurker element of online video chat is starting its public beta test today at the DEMO conference in Palm Desert, CA. SocialEyes, a new San Francisco-based startup, is led by a couple very familiar names here in Seattle’s tech scene. The chairman is Rob Glaser and the chief executive … Continue reading “Former RealNetworks Leaders Jump Into Non-Creepy Video Chat Arena With SocialEyes”

Big Pharma’s Hardball Tactics Won’t Kill Biotech, But They Could Kill Off Some Pharmas

Few people in biotech have the guts to stir the pot the way Kevin Kinsella did in an interview with Xconomy’s Bruce Bigelow earlier this month. Kinsella, a venture capitalist with a 30-year track record of biotech investing, delivered a blistering analysis of what he sees as the pharmaceutical industry’s bad-faith negotiating habits, predatory behavior, … Continue reading “Big Pharma’s Hardball Tactics Won’t Kill Biotech, But They Could Kill Off Some Pharmas”

PhotoRocket, Led by Amazon and aQuantive Vet Scott Lipsky, Uncloaks its “Not Another Photo Sharing Service”

Sharing your latest digital snapshots with family, friends, coworkers and the rest of the world is nothing new. But Scott Lipsky, a veteran of some of Seattle’s biggest tech success stories, thinks it’s still way too annoying. His proposed cure is PhotoRocket, the startup photo-sharing utility that’s finally making its full public debut at Monday’s … Continue reading “PhotoRocket, Led by Amazon and aQuantive Vet Scott Lipsky, Uncloaks its “Not Another Photo Sharing Service””

Seven Questions That Will Decide Mobile’s Future-Part Two

To me, one thing seems pretty clear: the changes wrought over the coming 10 years by mobile devices are going to be even more far-reaching than those we’ve seen over the past 20 years from desktop and laptop PCs. The shifts in the ways we communicate, learn, shop, travel, and do business might not be … Continue reading “Seven Questions That Will Decide Mobile’s Future-Part Two”

CupidsPlay Garners New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fec3964a-02c5-4c2f-813f-6d9f55263ca3&Preview=1 Date 2/25/2011 Company Name CupidsPlay Mailing Address Undisclosed Bellevue, WA 98004 Company Description The company operates an online dating website that leverages social games. Website http://www.cupidsplay.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes from the funding were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Clearstone … Continue reading “CupidsPlay Garners New Financing”

Doyenz Garners $2,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d35327ec-7866-45a8-9066-9ddb9f4a5a42&Preview=1 Date 2/25/2011 Company Name Doyenz Mailing Address 11245 SE. 6th St. Bellevue, WA 98004 Company Description Doyenz is the first to deliver Automated Virtual IT Out-of-the-box, a ground-breaking end-to-end virtual appliance lifecycle management solution, for the SMB market. Automated Virtual IT empowers VARs and IT consultants to deliver high quality and … Continue reading “Doyenz Garners $2,000,000 New Funding Round”

DocuSign, Isilon, Swype and More Take Honors at WTIA Industry Achievement Awards

Hundreds of techies braved Seattle’s latest snowpocalypse for one of the community’s biggest shindigs: The Washington Technology Industry Association‘s Industry Achievement Awards. If there was a theme to Thursday’s speeches, I’d say it was a rousing round of yay-Seattle encouragement for other entrepreneurs to start their companies here—which I guess is kind of the point, … Continue reading “DocuSign, Isilon, Swype and More Take Honors at WTIA Industry Achievement Awards”