[Updated: 2/5/2010, 5:45 pm Pacific, with Infinia CEO comments.] Infinia is raising another truckload of money. The Kennewick, WA-based company, backed by Paul Allen and Vinod Khosla, has snapped up $11.5 million in new equity financing out of a round that could bring in as much as $75 million over time, according to a regulatory … Continue reading “Infinia Raises $11.5M To Make New Solar-Power Generators, Entices Paul Allen Again”
Category: Seattle
Sack Ballmer? Break Up the Company? How Microsoft Could Innovate
Outside of official circles in Redmond, WA, the term “Microsoft innovation” is often thought of as an oxymoron, sort of like “Army intelligence.” People have been actively debating the issue of whether and how Microsoft can truly innovate in the tech world for at least the past decade. Enter Dick Brass (great name), who was … Continue reading “Sack Ballmer? Break Up the Company? How Microsoft Could Innovate”
Yes We Have a Winner from Last Night’s Battle, and No, It’s Not What You Would Expect
We know, we’ve been holding out on you. But don’t worry, we do plan to reveal the winners of last night’s Battle of the Tech Bands 3, for those of you who couldn’t make it. The evening saw a great turnout of people representing all facets of the tech, life sciences, and venture communities here … Continue reading “Yes We Have a Winner from Last Night’s Battle, and No, It’s Not What You Would Expect”
It’s Official: Ontela Bought Photobucket from News Corp.
Back in December, we reported that Seattle mobile imaging startup Ontela merged with Photobucket, the Denver-based photo sharing site previously owned by News Corporation. Financial terms of the deal weren’t released, but News Corp. ceded some control of Photobucket to Ontela’s investors while retaining an equity stake in the merged company, which retains the Photobucket … Continue reading “It’s Official: Ontela Bought Photobucket from News Corp.”
Kindle Conniptions: How I Published My First E-Book
This is the 80th edition of World Wide Wade since this weekly column on technology trends began in April 2008. Since we have so much material piling up in the archive, we at Xconomy decided to do something a bit different: We’re collecting all of the columns in the form of an e-book. It’s called … Continue reading “Kindle Conniptions: How I Published My First E-Book”
Your Immune System Vs. Cancer
Oliver Press of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center will discuss his research on treatments that boost the immune system to fight cancer, in a public event on February 18. For more information, click here.
Datacastle, with Aussie Connections, Moves Into Corporate Data Management
Managing data on desktop and laptop computers is a perennial problem for businesses. That’s because IT managers and administrators don’t have control over individual machines the way they do the servers inside their own data center. So dealing with issues around each laptop’s security, privacy, and data backup and recovery tends to be costly and … Continue reading “Datacastle, with Aussie Connections, Moves Into Corporate Data Management”
Microsoft, NSF Team Up in Cloud
Microsoft announced today it has formed a partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide free cloud-computing resources to selected researchers and research groups through Windows Azure. Financial details of the agreement weren’t given, but NSF will be in charge of awarding and managing the projects through its usual review process. Microsoft will grant … Continue reading “Microsoft, NSF Team Up in Cloud”
Isilon Posts First Profit, Gives Props to Its People and Partners
Ding, ding. What’s that sound? It’s Isilon Systems ringing the NASDAQ market closing bell at 4 pm ET this afternoon. The Seattle data storage company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ISLN]]) is celebrating its first quarterly profit in its nine-year history. I caught up with CEO and founder Sujal Patel by phone from New York this morning after the … Continue reading “Isilon Posts First Profit, Gives Props to Its People and Partners”
Cell Therapeutics Nears Judgment Day, AVI Biopharma Awaits Results, HemaQuest Gets $6M & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
The Seattle biotech beat is about to get a dose of drama over the next week, as one of the oldest companies in town prepares for a make-or-break moment in suburban Washington, D.C. —Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTIC]]]) is getting ready for a critical decision next Wednesday, when a panel of cancer drug experts will … Continue reading “Cell Therapeutics Nears Judgment Day, AVI Biopharma Awaits Results, HemaQuest Gets $6M & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Seattle Needs an “Incubator” Culture
If Seattle is to occupy a future place of dominance in the biotech world, it must foster more of an “incubator” culture. There is a “valley of death” between the well-funded labs of academia and private venture funding that is difficult to cross. The National Institutes of Health funds non-profit institutions like universities for fundamental … Continue reading “Seattle Needs an “Incubator” Culture”
Amazon Said to Buy Touchscreen Startup: Implications for the Kindle and E Ink Display
Seattle-based Amazon has acquired Touchco, a touchscreen technology company based in New York, according to a report in the New York Times, which cites an anonymous source with knowledge of the deal. The acquisition raises some interesting questions about the future of the Kindle device, Amazon’s competition with Apple, and the role of technology firm … Continue reading “Amazon Said to Buy Touchscreen Startup: Implications for the Kindle and E Ink Display”
BlueKai Brings In Big Money, Siemens Licenses HealthVault, Intellectual Ventures Buys Avistar Patents, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
Deal activity picked up a bit in the Northwest this week. But most of the action was in two or three big deals in the software and Internet sectors, with a smattering of deals in biotech and clean IT. —Portland, OR-based Coaxis raised $10 million in growth capital from Updata Partners, based in Virginia and … Continue reading “BlueKai Brings In Big Money, Siemens Licenses HealthVault, Intellectual Ventures Buys Avistar Patents, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Coaxis Coaxes $10M from Updata
Portland, OR-based Coaxis, the parent company of Viewpoint Construction Software, has raised $10 million in growth equity funding from Virginia and New Jersey-based Updata Partners. The money will be used to fuel the company’s international expansion in marketing and product distribution. Viewpoint’s software, which is built on Microsoft’s .NET platform, is used by construction firms … Continue reading “Coaxis Coaxes $10M from Updata”
NanoString Adds Exec Chairman
NanoString Technologies, the Seattle-based developer of genetic analysis tools, said today it has named William Young as its new executive chairman. Young is the chairman of Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]]), and formerly was chairman and CEO of Monogram Biosciences, and chief operating officer of Genentech. NanoString is still seeking a permanent CEO to … Continue reading “NanoString Adds Exec Chairman”
Ericsson Buys SinglePoint Biz
Bellevue, WA-based SinglePoint, a mobile software firm, announced it has sold its mobile aggregation business to Ericsson (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ERIC]]) for an undisclosed price. The assets will give the Swedish giant connections to mobile operators that will bolster its text messaging reach in the U.S. SinglePoint is focused on mobile marketing and advertising; its messaging service … Continue reading “Ericsson Buys SinglePoint Biz”
Picnik Vs. Flickr: A Growth Comparison
Just a quick observation here. Seattle-based Picnik, the popular photo-editing startup, said yesterday it has reached the “1 billion photos edited” mark. Is this a big deal? Well, if you compare the growth of Picnik to that of arguably the world’s top social storage site for photos, Flickr, it could be a very revealing milestone. … Continue reading “Picnik Vs. Flickr: A Growth Comparison”
Seattle Genetics Starts Lymphoma Trial
Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) and its partner, Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, said today they are starting a clinical trial of the brentuximab vedotin “empowered antibody” for patients newly diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease. The drug has been shown effective in a small study for patients with relapsed forms of Hodgkin’s, and is currently being tested … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Starts Lymphoma Trial”
Cell Therapeutics FDA Panel Primer: What You Need to Know to Be Ready Next Week
Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics will find out in seven days whether it has a legitimate shot at getting a new cancer drug on the U.S. market. This company has a long and controversial history, and it is guaranteed to generate noise over the next week from stock market bulls and bears. So I figured it might … Continue reading “Cell Therapeutics FDA Panel Primer: What You Need to Know to Be Ready Next Week”
Mpire Drops Widgetbucks, Switches Strategy to Be All About Optimizing and Verifying Online Ads
It has certainly been a busy week in the online advertising sector. On Monday, Bellevue, WA-based BlueKai announced it had raised $21 million in Series C funding in its effort to help transform how companies use customer data to design ad campaigns. And Seattle-based ad technology startup AdReady has formed a partnership with Internet radio … Continue reading “Mpire Drops Widgetbucks, Switches Strategy to Be All About Optimizing and Verifying Online Ads”
COAXIS Obtains $10,000,000 Series A Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d1c6b063-566d-4cb4-9af1-a334fbebc521&Preview=1 Date 2/3/2010 Company Name COAXIS Mailing Address 1515 SE Water Avenue Portland, OR 97214 Company Description Coaxis, Inc. partners with its customers to enhance their success by delivering innovative solutions and services that meet today’s most demanding business challenges. Website http://www.coaxis.net Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $10,000,000 Transaction Round Series … Continue reading “COAXIS Obtains $10,000,000 Series A Funding”
Technology Access Foundation Leadership Breakfast
The Technology Access Foundation, a Seattle-based nonprofit that seeks to help students of color develop technology industry skills, is organizing is 9th annual leadership breakfast on March 10. Author Eric Liu will be the keynote speaker. For more information, click here.
Google Funds Research on Mobile Sensing at UW, Energy Efficiency at UC San Diego
With all the froth around big tech company earnings, device announcements, and mobile app stores, it’s refreshing to see some long-term research in computing being funded. Google announced today it has awarded $1.35 million ($900,000 up front) to the University of Washington for work on mobile data collection for public health and environmental monitoring, and … Continue reading “Google Funds Research on Mobile Sensing at UW, Energy Efficiency at UC San Diego”
Z2Live CEO David Bluhm on Game Community’s “Overwhelming Disappointment” in Apple iPad
The honeymoon is over for Apple. Although it has been quite fashionable to bash the iPad tablet device announced last week, it did seem like a promising platform for gaming and other entertainment apps—at least to an outside observer. Now the truth comes out. Last week, the local gaming and iPhone app developer community gathered … Continue reading “Z2Live CEO David Bluhm on Game Community’s “Overwhelming Disappointment” in Apple iPad”
Economics Bloggers See Innovation, Immigration as Paths to Recovery
Despite official data showing that the U.S. economy is out of recession, leading economics bloggers remain cautious about the nation’s economic prospects, with almost half saying that conditions are worse than the official numbers indicate. But government policies boosting entrepreneurship and allowing more high-skilled immigrants into the country could bolster recovery, bloggers say. That’s all … Continue reading “Economics Bloggers See Innovation, Immigration as Paths to Recovery”
Previewing Xconomy’s Battle of the Tech Bands (Seattle Vs. Boston) with Dave Dederer from Melodeo and The Presidents of the USA
OK, I need to weigh in on this whole Battle of the Tech Bands thing. In case you didn’t know, it’s this Thursday night at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA. It has a major new twist this year: Seattle versus Boston. The battle is on. And I’m torn. I’m from Boston, after all, but … Continue reading “Previewing Xconomy’s Battle of the Tech Bands (Seattle Vs. Boston) with Dave Dederer from Melodeo and The Presidents of the USA”
From Social Media to the 3-D Internet: Companies Need to Change Up, Says Former RealNetworks Exec Kelly Jo MacArthur
Every once in a while, I sit down with a businessperson who brings a unique perspective to a huge global trend—and helps me see things in a profound new light. In this case, that person is Kelly Jo MacArthur, and the global trend is the explosion of social media and its broader impact on corporations. … Continue reading “From Social Media to the 3-D Internet: Companies Need to Change Up, Says Former RealNetworks Exec Kelly Jo MacArthur”
Vulcan Power Obtains $108,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1f6c568b-14f0-4cc5-8db4-97709b31913b&Preview=1 Date 2/2/2010 Company Name Vulcan Power Mailing Address 775 SW Bonnett Way Bend, OR 97702 Company Description Vulcan Power Company (“Vulcan”) is a privately owned developer of clean, renewable power projects headquartered in Bend, Oregon. Founded in 1991, the primary focus of Vulcan is the development and operation of clean, renewable, … Continue reading “Vulcan Power Obtains $108,000,000 New Financing”
Voyager Capital Makes Cleantech Investment
Seattle-based venture firm Voyager Capital has co-led a $14 million Series B investment in Coulomb Technologies, a Campbell, CA-based startup focused on electric vehicle infrastructure. Voyager and Rho Ventures co-led the financing for Coulomb, which makes technologies for vehicle charging stations. Daniel Ahn, a Voyager managing director based in Silicon Valley, is joining the Coulomb … Continue reading “Voyager Capital Makes Cleantech Investment”
BlueKai Pulls in $21M Series C Round to Enable Targeted Web Ads
BlueKai, a Bellevue, WA-based Internet data exchange company that connects companies with information on the behavior of their customers, has wrapped up a $21 million Series C funding round, the company announced today. New investor GGV Capital (formerly Granite Global Ventures) led the round, which also included previous BlueKai investors Battery Ventures and Redpoint Ventures. … Continue reading “BlueKai Pulls in $21M Series C Round to Enable Targeted Web Ads”
Hemaquest Snaps Up $6M To Treat Sickle Cell, Other Blood Disorders
Hemaquest Pharmaceuticals, the Seattle-based company developing a new treatment for sickle cell anemia, has pocketed a $6 million equity financing, according to a regulatory filing. The financing could eventually total as much as $12.7 million. The filing doesn’t say who participated in the deal, but it lists some familiar biotech names as members of the … Continue reading “Hemaquest Snaps Up $6M To Treat Sickle Cell, Other Blood Disorders”
Science Commons Symposium—Pacific Northwest
Science Commons is hosting a symposium on open science, or what’s sometimes called “Science 2.0,” on Saturday, February 20 on the Microsoft campus in Redmond. Stephen Friend, the founder of Sage Bionetworks and John Wilbanks of the Creative Commons will be among the speakers at this daylong symposium. For more information on how to register, … Continue reading “Science Commons Symposium—Pacific Northwest”
SEOmoz Hands Off Consulting Biz to U.K. Firm, Doubles Down on Software and Tools
Don’t think of Seattle-based SEOmoz as a consulting firm. It’s all about software and tools now—and pretty much has been for a couple of years. That’s the message from founder and CEO Rand Fishkin, who spoke with me last week about the search engine optimization company’s strategy. SEOmoz announced today it is officially handing over … Continue reading “SEOmoz Hands Off Consulting Biz to U.K. Firm, Doubles Down on Software and Tools”
AVI Biopharma Eagerly Awaits Data on Muscular Dystrophy Drug
AVI Biopharma doled out an interesting little morsel of news on its muscular dystrophy drug right before Christmas that showed encouraging results in three boys. This year, the Bothell, WA-based biotech company is eagerly awaiting more meaningful follow-up data that could show it is on track with what could be the first treatment to fix … Continue reading “AVI Biopharma Eagerly Awaits Data on Muscular Dystrophy Drug”
Synchronicity is Not Just an Album by The Police. Nor is Serendipity Just a John Cusack movie.
The most incredible things happen when scientists with a common interest have an opportunity to simply talk with one another. On a bone-chilling December night, 50 Seattle researchers from more than 10 different institutions with dramatically different backgrounds gathered to share drinks and conversation about their work. They discovered surprising connections, initiated new collaborations and … Continue reading “Synchronicity is Not Just an Album by The Police. Nor is Serendipity Just a John Cusack movie.”
Blue Kai Garners $21,000,000 Series C Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=dbcd8a0a-2aa9-49a3-af4d-6f936ec44e47&Preview=1 Date 2/1/2010 Company Name Blue Kai Mailing Address 170 120th Ave Bellevue, WA 98005 Company Description Blue Kai is developing an online marketplace based on relevant marketing. Website http://www.bluekai.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $21,000,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor … Continue reading “Blue Kai Garners $21,000,000 Series C Funding”
Why the Apple iPad Is a Kindle Killer, or Not—and How Amazon Must Step Up
Almost everyone in the consumer tech industry has been thinking about how the Apple iPad, unveiled on Wednesday, affects their line of business—whether it’s gaming, video, mobile content and advertising, mobile interfaces, or digital books. Especially digital books. Yesterday, Ben Elowitz, the CEO and co-founder of Seattle-based Wetpaint, argued in TechCrunch that the iPad will … Continue reading “Why the Apple iPad Is a Kindle Killer, or Not—and How Amazon Must Step Up”
Who Should You Start a Company With? As Seattle Evolves, FounderDating Has an Answer
Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Before they were the co-founders of billion-dollar technology companies—Microsoft, Apple, Google—they were friends, classmates, lab mates. But most people aren’t lucky enough to meet their ideal co-founder before it’s time to start a company. Is there a more systematic way … Continue reading “Who Should You Start a Company With? As Seattle Evolves, FounderDating Has an Answer”
Gates Pledges $10B For Vaccines
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said today that it is pledging $10 billion to foster more work on research, development, and delivery of vaccines over the coming decade. The goal is to save the lives of more than 8 million children by 2020. Bill and Melinda Gates made the announcement at the World Economic … Continue reading “Gates Pledges $10B For Vaccines”
What’s So Magical About an Oversized iPhone? Plenty—And There’s More to Come
The Apple iPad is one of the most eagerly anticipated computing devices in history. With all the heat and hype that preceded Wednesday’s public debut of the device, it was inevitable that the backlash from skeptical bloggers and Twitterers would be equally ferocious. Still, even after you filter out all the bozos who keep repeating … Continue reading “What’s So Magical About an Oversized iPhone? Plenty—And There’s More to Come”
Biotech Bigwig, Steve Burrill, Brings National Profile to Local Conference
Steve Burrill, the San Francisco-based merchant banker with one of the best Rolodexes in the life sciences industry, is getting serious about Seattle. And his name and connections might be just the thing to help lift the Northwest’s annual biotech investing conference out of obscurity. Burrill & Co. made it official yesterday that it has … Continue reading “Biotech Bigwig, Steve Burrill, Brings National Profile to Local Conference”
UW Honors Medical Device Entrepreneur Joe Eichinger For 35 Years Of Service
About 40 prominent researchers, physicians, and businesspeople gathered at the University of Washington’s bioengineering department Wednesday night to honor Joe Eichinger for mentoring students and faculty about how to best apply their inventions in the business world for the past 35 years. Matt O’Donnell, the dean of the UW College of Engineering, and Paul Yager, … Continue reading “UW Honors Medical Device Entrepreneur Joe Eichinger For 35 Years Of Service”
Bill Gates Funds Geoengineering and Climate Projects, Steve Ballmer on China, and Other Microsoft-Related News
Lest Apple take all the headlines this week, a certain software powerhouse in Redmond, WA, is making waves in its own way. Analysts and stockholders are anxiously awaiting the results of Microsoft’s fourth-quarter earnings call today, with some predicting a boost in revenues thanks to Windows 7. But there are other things going on too. … Continue reading “Bill Gates Funds Geoengineering and Climate Projects, Steve Ballmer on China, and Other Microsoft-Related News”
Siemens Licenses Microsoft HealthVault
Microsoft reports today that the German conglomerate Siemens has licensed its HealthVault personal health technology platform. Siemens, through its IT services and solutions division, will be the exclusive provider of HealthVault in Germany. Germany will be the third country to adopt the technology, which enables people to store their personal health records in a secure … Continue reading “Siemens Licenses Microsoft HealthVault”
BuddyTV Rising Fast, Looking for New Revenue Streams in a Changed Media Landscape
This Seattle-based website draws some 6 million visitors a month. It has been seeing annual traffic growth of about 300 percent, and was recently named the #2 fastest-growing website in the U.S., according to comScore. Yes, I’m talking about BuddyTV, the social site for television fans led by prominent entrepreneur and investor Andy Liu. Fans … Continue reading “BuddyTV Rising Fast, Looking for New Revenue Streams in a Changed Media Landscape”
Announcing Boston Battle of the Tech Bands Door Prizes: Reasons (Other than Regional Pride) to Attend Xconomy’s Bicoastal Showdown
For the past two years, Xconomy has invited bands from Boston area companies to submit their music files to a select panel of judges to compete for the right to take the stage at our Battle of the Tech Bands, but this year we’ve added a twist. Rather than go through the selection process, we’ve … Continue reading “Announcing Boston Battle of the Tech Bands Door Prizes: Reasons (Other than Regional Pride) to Attend Xconomy’s Bicoastal Showdown”
Accelerator Slowed Down, Inside the Latest Seattle Genetics Deal, Ekos Finds New Use, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
Biotech companies took a vow of silence during this week of breathless national celebration over the latest creation from Apple. The sarcasm you detect is intended. A few other things happened this week. —The University of Washington has hired two heavy hitters from the world of high tech and biotech to help it get better … Continue reading “Accelerator Slowed Down, Inside the Latest Seattle Genetics Deal, Ekos Finds New Use, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
The Apple iPad’s Impact on Mobile, Gaming, and E-Books: Local Techies and Startups React
[Updated 1/28/10, see below] The wait is over, but the endless mulling of the details and implications is just beginning. As Apple unveiled its long-rumored tablet device, the iPad, at a press event today in San Francisco, mobile industry insiders in Seattle, Boston, and elsewhere were watching closely. Which is exactly what you would expect, … Continue reading “The Apple iPad’s Impact on Mobile, Gaming, and E-Books: Local Techies and Startups React”
Intellectual Ventures Buys Avistar Patents
Bellevue, WA-based Intellectual Ventures has agreed to pay $11 million upfront to acquire the majority of the patent portfolio of San Mateo, CA-based Avistar, a video-conferencing technology firm. The deal calls for Avistar to receive a full grant back license that protects its products under these patents. Earlier this month, Intellectual Ventures, the invention firm … Continue reading “Intellectual Ventures Buys Avistar Patents”
DocuSign Gets New CEO, Chairman
Seattle-based DocuSign, a maker of software to automate electronic signatures, announced today it has appointed Steve King as new CEO and Keith Krach as chairman of the board. King, a veteran of Virtela, Zantaz, and E*Trade, succeeds Matthew Schiltz, who will now head up strategic business development for the company. Krach is the co-founder and … Continue reading “DocuSign Gets New CEO, Chairman”