The Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association is organizing an event on some of the best practices to follow in the notoriously difficult field of new drug development. David Brewster of Roche, Roger Ulrich of Calistoga Pharmaceuticals, Richard Slauter of MPI Research, and Jerry Moore of Pacific BioDevelopment will be part of the panel discussion. For … Continue reading “Planning for Drug Development Success: WBBA Event”
Category: Seattle
WBBA Golf Invitational, BIOPAC Fundraiser
The Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association is holding its annual golf invitational and political fundraiser on Sept. 13 at Fairwood Golf & Country Club in Renton. For more information on how to register, click here.
Piercing the Clouds: Emerging Opportunities in Cloud Computing
The MIT Enterprise Forum of the Northwest has assembled a panel of executives and entrepreneurs from Google, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Madrona Venture Group and RealNetworks to talk about their experiences in cloud computing. The event, on September 22, will be moderated by Mark Anderson, CEO of Strategic News Service. For more information on how … Continue reading “Piercing the Clouds: Emerging Opportunities in Cloud Computing”
Marketfish Nabs $1.5M More
Seattle-based online marketing startup Marketfish has raised $1.5 million in venture financing in a round led by Rustic Canyon and Accelerator Ventures, according to a report by TechFlash. As part of the deal, Rustic Canyon principal Neal Hansch will join the Marketfish board of directors, while Accelerator Ventures founder and managing partner Alex Lloyd will … Continue reading “Marketfish Nabs $1.5M More”
Emerging Issues in K-12 STEM Education
The Institute for Systems Biology and the Technology Alliance are co-presenting a Town Hall event focused on the state of K-12 STEM education in Washington. ISB president Leroy Hood, UW computer science professor Ed Lazowska, and Google site director Scott Silver will be part of a panel conversation with Mary Alice Huechsel, the superintendent of … Continue reading “Emerging Issues in K-12 STEM Education”
The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez: Science & Technology Discovery Series
Dr. Usha Varanasi, the director of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, will be the guest speaker at the Technology Alliance’s Science & Technology Discovery Series breakfast meeting on Sept. 10. Varanasi will talk about the legacy of the Exxon Valdez and the effects of oil spills on aquatic ecosystems. For more information on how to … Continue reading “The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez: Science & Technology Discovery Series”
Bridging the Commercialization Gap: ITHS Industry Day
The Institute of Translational Health Sciences, a joint program from the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Children’s Hospital, is hosting a half-day networking event with industry partners on Sept. 22 in South Lake Union. The goal is to explore “ways to improve human health through cooperative therapeutic, device or diagnostic … Continue reading “Bridging the Commercialization Gap: ITHS Industry Day”
Amazon Plans Digital TV/Movies Service
Seattle-based Internet retailer Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) is working on a new online digital TV and movies subscription service, challenging established competitors such as California-based Netflix (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NFLX]]). The e-commerce company has been pitching the Web-based service to media companies including General Electric’s NBC Universal (NYSE:[[ticker:GE]]), Time Warner (NYSE: [[ticker:TWX]]), News Corp. (NasdaqGS: [[ticker:NWSA]]) and Viacom … Continue reading “Amazon Plans Digital TV/Movies Service”
PSBJ’s 40 Under 40 Honoree Bash
Join the Puget Sound Business Journal as it celebrates the 12th year of its 40 Under 40 program—the region’s premier award program that spotlights the top business leaders under the age of 40 who excel in their industry and show dynamic leadership. The PSBJ will be honoring the 2010 roster at an event on Wednesday, … Continue reading “PSBJ’s 40 Under 40 Honoree Bash”
TAF Annual Report & Anniversary Celebration
Since 1996 the Technology Access Foundation has provided community-centered public education programs for underserved students of color. Join TAF for its Annual Report and Anniversary Celebration on Thursday, September 30 from 5 pm to 7 pm at the Mt. Baker Community Club, located at 2811 Mount Rainier Drive S.
Zillow Partners with Apartments.com
Seattle-based real estate website, Zillow, said today that it has partnered with Chicago-based Apartments.com. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but through the partnership Apartments.com’s national database of some 90,000 managed apartment rental listings will be syndicated on Zillow.com, bringing the total number of listings for single-family homes and apartments on the site … Continue reading “Zillow Partners with Apartments.com”
Innovators in Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Northwest Top World Economic Forum’s List of Technology Pioneers
The World Economic Forum—the body behind the exclusive annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland—today released its “Technology Pioneers” list for 2011. An unusually large number of the companies on the list (11 out of 31) are located in or near Xconomy’s home cities—see the rundown below. For the Pioneers list, the WEF singles out companies that … Continue reading “Innovators in Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Northwest Top World Economic Forum’s List of Technology Pioneers”
Party Like It’s 1999: 10 Old Tech Ideas That Are New Again
Timing is everything—especially in the tech world. If you follow trends in technology, science, or business for long enough, you realize there are very few new ideas. Instead, the combination of the right idea with the right timing and execution is usually the key to success in any field. Look at all the snazzy tech … Continue reading “Party Like It’s 1999: 10 Old Tech Ideas That Are New Again”
DreamBox Learning Hires New CEO
Bellevue, WA-based online education company DreamBox Learning has hired Jessie Woolley-Wilson as its new chief executive. Woolley-Wilson previously served as president of K-12 at Blackboard (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BBBB]]), as executive vice president of LeapFrog Enterprises (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LF]]), and as president of LeapFrog SchoolHouse. She has also held executive leadership positions at MyRoad.com, The College Board, and … Continue reading “DreamBox Learning Hires New CEO”
Will the Stem Cell Ruling Affect Venture Capital Investing?
Last week’s federal district court ruling ordering an immediate halt in federal funding for stem cell research has thrown academic research circles into a state of confusion. This has caught the attention of the VC community, as the venture-backed biotech world is largely dependent on technology developed in academic institutions, and the cutting-edge research produced … Continue reading “Will the Stem Cell Ruling Affect Venture Capital Investing?”
Marketfish Garners $1,500,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=95256b4d-0dc6-4671-8948-3f6a08a399a2&Preview=1 Date 9/1/2010 Company Name Marketfish Mailing Address 512 2nd Ave Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Operates an online marketing and email service platform. Website http://www.marketfish.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The company will use the proceeds to grow sales, build out the platform and … Continue reading “Marketfish Garners $1,500,000 New Financing”
BigDoor Rolls Out Badge-O-Matic Tool
Seattle-based web “gamification” company BigDoor Media rolled out a new tool today called Badge-O-Matic to help online publishers integrate game-like mechanics into websites. Badge-O-Matic allows virtual economy administrators to quickly customize and create a series of badges, popularized by applications like Foursquare, that users automatically receive as rewards for leveling up, performing certain actions, and … Continue reading “BigDoor Rolls Out Badge-O-Matic Tool”
SocialDeck is Latest Ingredient in Google’s Recipe For A Social Platform to Rival Facebook; Reviewing the List, From Aardvark to Zynga
The latest addition to the budding Google social-and-gaming empire is SocialDeck, the maker of cross-platform social games such as Color Connect, Pet Hero MD, and Shake & Spell. The Waterloo, Ontario-based startup—which has also built a platform called Spark that lets game developers connect players on iPhones, BlackBerry devices, and Facebook—announced that it’s joining the … Continue reading “SocialDeck is Latest Ingredient in Google’s Recipe For A Social Platform to Rival Facebook; Reviewing the List, From Aardvark to Zynga”
Apptio Nabs $16.5M Series C, While Series A and B Funds Collect Interest in the Bank
Entrepreneurs looking for tips on how to rake in venture capital might want to talk to Apptio‘s co-founder and CEO Sunny Gupta. Although the Bellevue, WA-based software startup still has money in the bank from its $7 million Series A in 2007, the company said today that it has raised another $16.5 million in Series … Continue reading “Apptio Nabs $16.5M Series C, While Series A and B Funds Collect Interest in the Bank”
Bing Powers Yahoo Search, City Teams Up With Ford, Startup Investments Drop from June to July, and More Seattle-Area Deals News
Most of the local tech deals we’ve seen recently have involved strategic partnerships, rather than financings. Over the last week, two big Internet and software players made some strides in a search partnership that was over a year in the making, a couple of partnerships were forged in the clean energy space, and a local … Continue reading “Bing Powers Yahoo Search, City Teams Up With Ford, Startup Investments Drop from June to July, and More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Apptio Garners $16,500,000 Series C Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b52f2c41-630d-4745-92a6-fa7f845432fe&Preview=1 Date 8/31/2010 Company Name Apptio Mailing Address 10900 NE 4th Street 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 $16,500,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes Customer … Continue reading “Apptio Garners $16,500,000 Series C Financing”
I Can Has Cheezburger CEO Ben Huh Publicly Offers to Buy Reddit from Condé Nast
[Updated with comments from Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman, 6:35 pm] I Can Has Cheezburger‘s Ben Huh extended an offer to purchase Condé Nast’s online user-generated news aggregation site Reddit.com last week, amidst an online debate over politically controversial advertising, according to VentureBeat. In a post on the Seattle-based humor network’s pop culture site, The Daily … Continue reading “I Can Has Cheezburger CEO Ben Huh Publicly Offers to Buy Reddit from Condé Nast”
Puzzling Out Paul Allen’s Patent Suit Against Silicon Valley’s Giants
There’s something odd about the patent infringement lawsuit that Paul Allen’s holding company Interval Licensing filed last week against an array of high-profile Silicon Valley and e-commerce companies. The organization, which is part of the Microsoft co-founder’s large array of Seattle-based business and technology ventures, isn’t saying exactly how it thinks the defendants—AOL, Apple, eBay, … Continue reading “Puzzling Out Paul Allen’s Patent Suit Against Silicon Valley’s Giants”
Electronic Data Sharing, Cloud-Computing, and Collaboration: The WBBA Talks on the Future of Health IT
“What is healthcare IT?” That was the question that kicked off the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association (WBBA)’s Health IT event last week, which was focused on recognizing the important role that information technology plays within the healthcare industry, finding ways to use technology to improve healthcare in the future, and looking forward to the … Continue reading “Electronic Data Sharing, Cloud-Computing, and Collaboration: The WBBA Talks on the Future of Health IT”
EndoGastric Solutions Secures $30,000,000 Series F Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0eed747b-cb4d-483a-8d32-a201dd1cedaf&Preview=1 Date 8/30/2010 Company Name EndoGastric Solutions Mailing Address 8210 154th Ave NE Redmond, CA 98052 Company Description EGS leverages the most current wisdom in gastroenterology and surgery in developing new transoral incisionless procedures and products to advance the state of the art in treating gastrointestinal diseases. Website http://www.endogastricsolutions.com Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “EndoGastric Solutions Secures $30,000,000 Series F Round”
SonoSite Receives FDA Clearance
Bothell, WA-based ultrasound company SonoSite (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SONO]]) has received FDA clearance for its LumenVu catheter guidance system, the company said yesterday. The technology, designed to aid in the placement of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC), uses a combination of near-infrared and a fiber optic stylet, replacing a traditional guide wire, and allowing real-time tracking and … Continue reading “SonoSite Receives FDA Clearance”
Fotopedia Heritage Shows the Web Isn’t Dead—It’s Just Met the App World
The reports of the Web’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Wired has been getting a lot of attention this month for its “The Web Is Dead” cover piece. But, as many observers have pointed out, the article’s central chart, which purports to illustrate the Web’s wane, is fundamentally misleading. Web traffic may make up a … Continue reading “Fotopedia Heritage Shows the Web Isn’t Dead—It’s Just Met the App World”
Washington Startups Bring in $81.7M in July, Majority in Healthcare Sector
For the second month in a row we’re compiling all recent Seattle-area tech and biotech deals—“under the radar” and otherwise—into one comprehensive overview of all financings for the month. As always, the information is based on data provided by our partner, New York-based private company intelligence platform CB Insights, and our own prior coverage. And … Continue reading “Washington Startups Bring in $81.7M in July, Majority in Healthcare Sector”
Act-On Software Lands $500,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1310695b-48c9-41b5-a425-f31773bfbe54&Preview=1 Date 8/27/2010 Company Name Act-On Software Mailing Address 4905 SW Griffith Drive Beaverton, OR 97005 Company Description We provide a next-generation communication and collaboration service that transforms business e-mail into a true 24/7 prospect and customer interaction service. Website http://www.actonsoftware.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds … Continue reading “Act-On Software Lands $500,000 New Funding Round”
Seattle and Ford Prepare City for Electric Cars
The City of Seattle and Dearborn, MI-based Ford Motor Company have teamed up to prepare the city for the operation of electric vehicles, the automaker said today. The partnership will include the joint development of consumer outreach and education programs on electric cars, as well as collaboration on information regarding charging requirements of electric vehicles … Continue reading “Seattle and Ford Prepare City for Electric Cars”
Cypress Bio Acquires Technologies in Separate Deals with Marina Biotech, Alexza Pharmaceutical
San Diego’s Cypress Bioscience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CYPB]]), which is trying to keep an unsolicited buyout at bay while executing a dramatic change in its business strategy, says it has acquired rights to two novel therapies. Earlier this month, Cypress rejected a $160-million buyout offer made in July by the New York-based Ramius Value and Opportunity Advisors—and … Continue reading “Cypress Bio Acquires Technologies in Separate Deals with Marina Biotech, Alexza Pharmaceutical”
Lessons in Energy from an MIT Sloan School Grad
A little less than two years ago I made the decision to enroll at MIT Sloan for an MBA. Shortly after getting to the campus, I made the decision to look at careers in the energy sector. Despite being armed with a technical degree and spending some time in the energy sector prior to enrolling … Continue reading “Lessons in Energy from an MIT Sloan School Grad”
Herding Lionesses: Michigan Women’s Foundation Gathering Power Women, Forming Angel Fund to Invest in Female Entrepreneurs
[Updated and corrected, Aug. 26—see below] Just a few years ago, the Michigan Women’s Foundation was truly your mother’s philanthropic foundation—putting on fund-raising dinners, tapping corporate sponsors like the Big Three automakers, and then giving away small chunks of money to a wide array of charitable groups—totaling some $3.5 million to 420 entities to be … Continue reading “Herding Lionesses: Michigan Women’s Foundation Gathering Power Women, Forming Angel Fund to Invest in Female Entrepreneurs”
Varolii Confirms New Round of Layoffs This Week
Varolii, a Seattle-based company that develops tools for automated business communications, laid off an undisclosed number of employees this week. The story was first reported by TechFlash. Varolii’s director of public relations and customer programs Robin Rees confirmed the layoffs with Xconomy, citing ongoing corporate strain due to the downturn in the economic climate. “While … Continue reading “Varolii Confirms New Round of Layoffs This Week”
Can Microsoft Outflank Apple, Facebook, and Google? A Strategy Update
I left Seattle just over a month ago, and people keep asking if I miss anything about it. Yes, I say. But it’s not the amazing coffee, the great food, the nice people, or the beautiful scenery. I miss Microsoft. I’m only half-kidding. I don’t miss hearing about Steve Ballmer’s iPhone and every turn of … Continue reading “Can Microsoft Outflank Apple, Facebook, and Google? A Strategy Update”
Todd Dean Steps Down from Keiretsu Forum
The president of the Keiretsu Forum‘s Northwest chapter, Todd Dean, is stepping down from his position to pursue new career opportunities. Dean informed his fellow forum members of his decision in a letter, thanking them for their support in the past five years, both in growing the angel investment organization and bolstering the regional startup … Continue reading “Todd Dean Steps Down from Keiretsu Forum”
Seattle Children’s CEO, Between Meetings, Invents Cheap Ventilator to Save Babies Worldwide
Being a hospital CEO sounds like a mind-numbing, innovation-crushing job to me. I imagine days filled with insurance hassles, egotistical docs, malpractice lawyers, and boring meetings about saving on rubber gloves. At night, I envision wining and dining donors to keep the place afloat. But in between doing everything that a hospital CEO must do, … Continue reading “Seattle Children’s CEO, Between Meetings, Invents Cheap Ventilator to Save Babies Worldwide”
NeuroVista Raises $21.5M More Through VC Round and Investment From Cyberonics
[Updated and corrected: 1 pm, 9/9/10] Seattle-based medical device developer NeuroVista has raised $16.5 million in equity financing led by Australian firm GBS Venture Partners, and an additional $5 million through a convertible debt agreement with Houston, TX-based Cyberonics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CYBX]]), a medical device firm specializing in the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders. … Continue reading “NeuroVista Raises $21.5M More Through VC Round and Investment From Cyberonics”
NeuroVista Receives $16,500,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=24851999-996b-4bf7-adf3-b79751341719&Preview=1 Date 8/25/2010 Company Name NeuroVista Mailing Address 100 Fourth Ave North Seattle, WA 98109 Company Description NeuroVista Corporation is an early-stage medical device company pioneering new technologies that will revolutionize the management and treatment of epilepsy. Epilepsy is a neurological condition affecting approximately 1% of the U.S. population – more than … Continue reading “NeuroVista Receives $16,500,000 New Funding”
Yahoo Search Now Fully Powered By Bing
Just over a year after announcing plans to team up on search engine and advertising efforts, Yahoo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:YHOO]]) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) have completed a sizable leg of the search transition—Yahoo search results are now powered by Microsoft’s Bing in the U.S. and Canada, the companies said today. The ten-year agreement that puts Redmond, … Continue reading “Yahoo Search Now Fully Powered By Bing”
NoaNet Nabs $54.5M for Broadband Expansion, Tyfone Brings in $5M, AP Backs Out of I Can Has Cheezburger Deal, & More NW Deals News
Another week has passed, and with it, more Seattle-area technology deals. This week we’ve seen a hefty amount of federal dollars get poured into developing the state’s broadband infrastructure, a handful of local financings, and a deal that fell apart between a global wire service and a local online humor company. Take a look at … Continue reading “NoaNet Nabs $54.5M for Broadband Expansion, Tyfone Brings in $5M, AP Backs Out of I Can Has Cheezburger Deal, & More NW Deals News”
ValueAppeal Rolls Out National Services for Property Tax Appeals, Competing with EasyTaxFix and Others
Who wouldn’t want to lower their property taxes? That’s the question on the minds of the team over at ValueAppeal, a Seattle-based startup that helps online customers to quickly evaluate their current value of their real estate property, and to create a custom property tax appeal that could potentially save them money. The company, founded … Continue reading “ValueAppeal Rolls Out National Services for Property Tax Appeals, Competing with EasyTaxFix and Others”
AP Backs Out of I Can Has Cheezburger Deal Over Concerns of Journalistic Integrity
Everyone loves a cute picture of a kitten with a funny (and often, misspelled) caption over it. Everyone other than the Associated Press, that is. Seattle’s famous (or infamous depending on your point of view) I Can Has Cheezburger network has made a name for itself as a place where the absurdly adorable meets funny. … Continue reading “AP Backs Out of I Can Has Cheezburger Deal Over Concerns of Journalistic Integrity”
Entrepreneurial Walk of Fame Idea Resonates—Although A Few Potential Cracks Have Surfaced in the Pavement
If ever an idea has, um, hit its stride quickly, it’s the one we wrote about last week to create an Entrepreneurial Walk of Fame in Kendall Square to honor local and regional entrepreneurs in much the same fashion as the Hollywood Walk of Fame honors movie stars. As Xconomist Bill Aulet, managing director of … Continue reading “Entrepreneurial Walk of Fame Idea Resonates—Although A Few Potential Cracks Have Surfaced in the Pavement”
Tyfone Nabs $5M
Portland, OR-based Tyfone, which develops mobile software for contactless payment services, has raised $5 million in equity from an undisclosed investor, according to a regulatory filing. The company partnered with Atlanta, GA-based e-commerce and payment processing company First Data in March, to offer SideTap micro secure digital (MicroSD) memory cards equipped with Tyfone’s technologies, which … Continue reading “Tyfone Nabs $5M”
In Seed Funding Race, AngelList Sorts the “Junk” from the “Maybes”
You don’t have to search far on Twitter for glowing testimonials about AngelList, a matchmaking service for startups and angel investors launched in February by San Francisco investor/entrepreneurs Babak Nivi and Naval Ravikant: “Wow, just a few days and I’m pretty impressed by the quality of the opportunities”—Hunter Walk “An entrepreneur’s best friend. Two companies … Continue reading “In Seed Funding Race, AngelList Sorts the “Junk” from the “Maybes””
Tyfone Garners $4,963,364 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d6ad4211-5734-48a9-9017-e68696e24b63&Preview=1 Date 8/20/2010 Company Name Tyfone Mailing Address 5520 SW Macadam Avenue Portland, OR 97239 Company Description The Tyfone mobile banking platform puts financial institutions right in the center of mobile banking and payment space, with comprehensive hardware and software platforms that enables financial institutions to optimize the mobile channel to offer … Continue reading “Tyfone Garners $4,963,364 New Financing”
Oggifinogi Raises $2M
Bellevue, WA and New York-based creative technology and rich media advertising firm Oggifinogi has raised $2 million in Series A financing, led by Greycroft Partners, the company said in a statement today. The company, founded in 2008, plans to use the funds to grow its Real Time Rich Media (RTRM) product base, and expand its … Continue reading “Oggifinogi Raises $2M”
Xconomy is Expanding Its Coverage of Michigan Innovation—and We’re Looking for Great Writers to Join Us
It’s been just four months since we launched Xconomy Detroit to bring our unique coverage of life sciences, information technology, energy, transportation, robotics, venture capital, and other high-tech arenas to bear on Michigan’s innovation scene—but already we want more! We have found a ton of stories of technology and innovation that still need telling, and … Continue reading “Xconomy is Expanding Its Coverage of Michigan Innovation—and We’re Looking for Great Writers to Join Us”
Why Facebook Places Will Make Foursquare into a Footnote
If Facebook is doing location, then location must finally be real. I don’t mean that in a sarcastic way. I think that’s actually the most important takeaway from the introduction of Facebook Places last night, at a media event I attended at the social networking giant’s Palo Alto headquarters. The new feature allows people accessing … Continue reading “Why Facebook Places Will Make Foursquare into a Footnote”