Connie Bourassa-Shaw of the University of Washington’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Jim Roberts of UW TechTransfer will speak on December 7 as part a seminar series on creating startups. The series, geared toward UW faculty, graduate students and post-docs, will focus on resources at the UW for getting companies started. For more information, … Continue reading “Getting Started—Resources at the UW”
Category: Seattle
Safe to Eat? The Science, Politics, and Economics of Food from Farm to Fork
Tom Besser and Bill Sischo, a pair of Washington State University professors in the College of Veterinary Medicine, will give a talk in Seattle on December 3 as part of WSU’s Innovators lecture series. The title is “Safe to Eat? The Science, Politics, and Economics of Food from Farm to Fork.” For more information on … Continue reading “Safe to Eat? The Science, Politics, and Economics of Food from Farm to Fork”
Zino Society’s “Stairway to Heaven” Holiday Party
The Zino Society, a Seattle-based angel investment group, is holding its “Stairway to Heaven Holiday Party” on December 2. It will be held at the new Club Cielo in Seattle. For more information, click here.
Science on Tap: Rewiring Circuits of Life for Bioremediation and Bioenergy
Nitin Baliga, a faculty member at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, will give a talk on Nov. 30 about new ideas biologists are pursuing to clean up environmental contaminants and create biofuels, as part of the Science on Tap lecture series. For more information, click here.
Bruce Montgomery on Drug Development: Science & Technology Discovery Series
Bruce Montgomery, the senior vice president of Gilead Sciences in Seattle, will give a talk on January 8 as part of the Technology Alliance’s Science & Technology Discovery Series. Montgomery will discuss discoveries being made at Gilead to treat deadly lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis and tuberculosis. For more information on how to register, … Continue reading “Bruce Montgomery on Drug Development: Science & Technology Discovery Series”
Dan Levitan on Maveron’s Bay Area Expansion, Its Latest Stealth Startup, and His First Starbucks
Seattle-based venture capital firm Maveron has been in the news a lot this month. There have been reports about its latest stealth startup, which is a new type of e-commerce play. Another report from VentureWire said Maveron will be selling its shares in Motley Fool—a deal that will generate cash for Maveron, which led a … Continue reading “Dan Levitan on Maveron’s Bay Area Expansion, Its Latest Stealth Startup, and His First Starbucks”
The Icos Alumni Guide, Trubion CEO Resigns, OVP Leads $30M Fate Deal, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
Three years have gone by since the region’s top biotech company was taken over by Eli Lilly, so it seemed like a good time to find out where all that talent migrated around the Northwest. —Icos was once the great hope for Seattle biotech, but now three years have passed since the Bothell, WA-based company … Continue reading “The Icos Alumni Guide, Trubion CEO Resigns, OVP Leads $30M Fate Deal, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Sony Ericsson Closing Bellevue Office
Sony Ericsson, the London-based mobile handset maker, is shutting its Seattle-area office, as first reported by Engadget and Triangle Business Journal. Sony Ericsson is cutting about 2,000 out of 9,900 jobs globally, including closing offices in Research Triangle Park, San Diego, Miami, Kista, Sweden, and Chennai, India. The moves are part of a company-wide restructuring … Continue reading “Sony Ericsson Closing Bellevue Office”
Beyond Anecdotes: Measuring Global Health Impact in Washington State
The threat of global infectious disease was already a significant humanitarian concern when Ken Stuart set up his independent research lab in 1976. Now known as Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Stuart’s lab directed the research spotlight on tropical diseases, such as malaria, at a time when few others had shown interest. Fast-forward more than 30 … Continue reading “Beyond Anecdotes: Measuring Global Health Impact in Washington State”
RealSelf, Backed by Second Avenue and Rich Barton, Blazes Trail with Cosmetic Review Site
Who says consumer websites are dead? Maybe you don’t need the ridiculous traffic of, say, Seattle-based Cheezburger Network (LOLcats) to survive on advertising revenues. Maybe user-generated content around a targeted niche, especially where there are purchasing decisions being made, can work well after all. That’s the sense I got after talking with Tom Seery, the … Continue reading “RealSelf, Backed by Second Avenue and Rich Barton, Blazes Trail with Cosmetic Review Site”
Voyager Re-ups with Placecast
Seattle-based Voyager Capital has participated in a $5 million investment in 1020, the San Francisco developer of Placecast, a location-based advertising and marketing platform, according to a report in TechCrunch. Quatrex Capital and Onset Ventures also participated in the Series B funding, which will be used to accelerate Placecast’s technology development. Placecast’s algorithms combine data … Continue reading “Voyager Re-ups with Placecast”
NanoString Forges Closer Ties With Broad Institute to See What Genetic Tool Can Really Do
NanoString Technologies, the maker of a machine that lets scientists digitally analyze how genes are turned on or off in a tissue sample, just won a glowing endorsement from one of the biggest names in biology—Eric Lander of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The Seattle-based company has nailed down a three-year research collaboration … Continue reading “NanoString Forges Closer Ties With Broad Institute to See What Genetic Tool Can Really Do”
The Icos Alumni: Where Are They Now?
[Update: 9:41 pm Pacific, 9/7/10] Icos was once the great hope for Seattle biotech. Founded in 1990 with an investment from Bill Gates, it went on over the next 15 years to create a $1 billion molecule for treating erectile dysfunction, and employed about 700 people nationwide at its peak. For a while, it looked … Continue reading “The Icos Alumni: Where Are They Now?”
Why Mobile Doesn’t Go Viral, As Told By Ontela’s Dan Shapiro
Google, Yahoo, Facebook, MySpace. Those companies’ products spread over the Internet like a virus. But why hasn’t there been a runaway hit like those in the mobile software world? Why does it take so much longer to build value, and a strong customer base, in mobile companies than in certain Internet startups? Dan Shapiro had … Continue reading “Why Mobile Doesn’t Go Viral, As Told By Ontela’s Dan Shapiro”
Kindle and Sharing and Mobile, Oh My! 5 More Ways to Use Xconomy
Here at Xconomy we may not be on the absolute bleeding edge of media technology—usually we’re too busy writing about the latest stuff to adopt it right away ourselves—but when there’s a cool new way to get our content out, we try to take advantage of it as soon as we can. In that spirit, … Continue reading “Kindle and Sharing and Mobile, Oh My! 5 More Ways to Use Xconomy”
Top Three Takeaways from Mobile Northwest’s Investor Panel
I sat in on a good venture capital panel yesterday at Mobile Northwest 2009 in Seattle. No huge arguments or chair throwing to speak of (we’ll see what we can stir up at the next few Xconomy Forums). But some solid and useful observations from Geoff Entress of Voyager Capital, and also a prominent Seattle-based … Continue reading “Top Three Takeaways from Mobile Northwest’s Investor Panel”
Bing Partners with Wolfram Alpha, OVP Leads $30M Fate Deal, Redfin Rakes In $10M, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
Just when I thought venture deals, especially for software and tech companies, had headed south for the winter (or longer), the Northwest erupted with a slew of financings in the past week. —But first, some serious biotech. Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners led a $30 million Series B round for Fate Therapeutics, a San Diego-based … Continue reading “Bing Partners with Wolfram Alpha, OVP Leads $30M Fate Deal, Redfin Rakes In $10M, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Paul Allen Diagnosed with Cancer
[Updated 11/16/09 6pm. See below] Microsoft co-founder and renowned technologist Paul Allen has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer, as of early this month, according to an e-mail message sent from Allen’s sister, Jody Allen Patton, to employees of Seattle-based Vulcan and its affiliates this afternoon. The message was sent to Xconomy … Continue reading “Paul Allen Diagnosed with Cancer”
Trubion CEO Peter Thompson Steps Down, Arch’s Gillis To Step Up Temporarily
[Updated: 5:55 pm Pacific, 11/16/09] Trubion Pharmaceuticals, the Seattle-based company developing new drugs for autoimmune diseases and cancer, said today that its founding CEO, Peter Thompson, has resigned and director Steve Gillis of Arch Venture Partners will step in to fill the void as executive chairman. Trubion (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TRBN]]) said today that Thompson is leaving … Continue reading “Trubion CEO Peter Thompson Steps Down, Arch’s Gillis To Step Up Temporarily”
DocuSign Scores Second Century Investment
Seattle-based DocuSign announced today it has received a strategic investment from Second Century Ventures, the VC fund of the National Association of Realtors. The amount was undisclosed, but the cash will be used to speed up and extend DocuSign’s efforts with residential and commercial real estate customers. DocuSign was founded in 2003 and makes software … Continue reading “DocuSign Scores Second Century Investment”
What Wireless Carriers Want from Startups, and Other Insights from VC Tom Huseby at Mobile Northwest
Tom Huseby says he’s finally able to go home and not worry about seeing his family’s savings stuffed under his mattress. “The panic is over,” he says. “All of a sudden, things are getting a lot better. It doesn’t feel much better now, but it is.” Huseby, a noted Seattle-based venture capitalist with SeaPoint Ventures, … Continue reading “What Wireless Carriers Want from Startups, and Other Insights from VC Tom Huseby at Mobile Northwest”
Ex-Microsoftie Don Dodge Going to Google
It turns out that Don Dodge—famous among entrepreneurs for putting a personal face on Microsoft’s operations in New England, until his unceremonious termination earlier this month—was only in job limbo for about about an hour and a half. Dodge sends Xconomy word this morning that he has been hired by Microsoft archrival Google. Vic Gundotra, … Continue reading “Ex-Microsoftie Don Dodge Going to Google”
Fate Therapeutics Bags $30M Venture Deal, Led by OVP, to Develop “Industrialized” Stem Cells
Fate Therapeutics, the San Diego-based company on a quest to develop techniques that make stem cell research practical for the pharmaceutical industry, has raised $30 million in a Series B round of venture financing. Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners led the deal, which included the three venture firms that co-founded the company two years ago—Arch … Continue reading “Fate Therapeutics Bags $30M Venture Deal, Led by OVP, to Develop “Industrialized” Stem Cells”
DocuSign Receives New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e1bb05b7-5f29-451d-b763-f9191739cfc3&Preview=1 Date 11/16/2009 Company Name DocuSign Mailing Address 701 Fifth Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description DocuSign was founded in 2003 with one goal: to make electronic signatures as ubiquitous and simple as email. DocuSign delivers the final step in the online customer relationship—the ability to complete a legally binding agreement over … Continue reading “DocuSign Receives New Round”
Mobile Northwest 2009
Info and registration here. This one-day conference and networking event — sponsored by Miller Nash LLP — is for mobile-focused companies and developers who continue to innovate and break ground in the growing mobile industry. The technology industry is a stronghold for innovation, new products and new ways of doing business. The Third Annual MobileNorthwest … Continue reading “Mobile Northwest 2009”
Avnera Raises $8M Equity Round to Advance Wireless Audio Chip Technology
A consumer tech company has scored one of the bigger equity financing rounds in the Portland area this fall. Beaverton, OR-based Avnera, a fabless semiconductor company that makes chips for wireless audio applications, has raised about $8 million in equity financing out of a total offering of $10 million, according to a regulatory filing with … Continue reading “Avnera Raises $8M Equity Round to Advance Wireless Audio Chip Technology”
Seattle’s Bill McCoy, E-Books and Digital Distribution Expert, Leaving Adobe
We’ve all been wondering how the Adobe layoffs, reported earlier this week, may affect the Seattle area—especially given the slew of other recent cutbacks in the local tech industry. Adobe (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ADBE]]), which is headquartered in San Jose, CA, has a strong presence in Seattle. As of recently, it employed some 500 people, focused on … Continue reading “Seattle’s Bill McCoy, E-Books and Digital Distribution Expert, Leaving Adobe”
Enroute Closes Series A, Looks for More as It Expands and Aims for Profitability
Early-stage tech financings are still chugging along, it seems. On the heels of yesterday’s news of a $5.25 million financing of Seattle stealth startup Doxo, I checked in with Keith McCall of Bellevue, WA-based Enroute Systems, a maker of parcel-shipping management software, to hear the latest on his company’s recent financing. McCall, the company’s founder … Continue reading “Enroute Closes Series A, Looks for More as It Expands and Aims for Profitability”
Avnera Corporation Secures $8,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3bca99fd-b6ee-492a-bcf2-bb4cf43c0075&Preview=1 Date 11/13/2009 Company Name Avnera Corporation Mailing Address 16505 NW Bethany Ct Beaverton, OR 97006 Company Description Avnera is a fabless semiconductor company founded in June 2004 in Beaverton, Oregon. It has pioneered a new semiconductor technology enabling breakthrough products for wireless audio and Voice-over-IP (VoIP) applications that remove the pain-points … Continue reading “Avnera Corporation Secures $8,000,000 New Funding Round”
Doxo Digs Up $5.25M
Seattle-based Doxo, a stealthy tech startup, has raised $5.25 million in equity financing, according to a regulatory filing. The funding was reported by Northwest Innovation and TechFlash. The investors were not disclosed, but David Feinleib of Silicon Valley-based Mohr Davidow Ventures is listed on the SEC form as a director. Doxo was started by members … Continue reading “Doxo Digs Up $5.25M”
Qliance Nabs First Union Health Plan
Qliance Medical Management, the Seattle-based company that operates primary care clinics that don’t accept insurance payments, has been selected for a one-year pilot program to offer services to members of Washington state’s largest employee union. The agreement is with the South Health & Wellness Trust, which provides health benefits to 50,000 union members and their … Continue reading “Qliance Nabs First Union Health Plan”
Redfin Raises $10M More to Improve Customer Service, Expand, and Invest in R&D
Well, this does nothing to change the downward trend of early-stage software financings, but it’s good news nonetheless. Seattle-based Redfin, the online real estate broker and information discovery service, has announced a $10 million Series D funding, led by new investor Greylock Partners, the Silicon Valley venture firm formerly based in the Boston area. Existing … Continue reading “Redfin Raises $10M More to Improve Customer Service, Expand, and Invest in R&D”
Oncothyreon Advances Cancer Drug
Seattle-based Oncothyreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ONTY]]) said it has decided to advance an experimental cancer drug into mid-stage clinical trials in the first half of 2010. The company plans to run two or more trials of PX-866, an oral pill made to block the PI3 Kinase pathway implicated in cancer cell growth. This shift in priorities, from … Continue reading “Oncothyreon Advances Cancer Drug”
Negotiating a Better Series A Deal
[Updated 11/18/09, see below] This post is about how to get a better deal from VCs investing in your first round of financing. It is also about how to make the deal into a win-win. The idea for the post came from an exchange with @bakespace about some of the resources for entrepreneurs on FastIgnite. … Continue reading “Negotiating a Better Series A Deal”
Cautious Perspectives on Recovery in the IPO, M&A, and Credit Markets
The second half of 2009 provided a good measure of optimism, easing some of the pain investors felt toward the end of 2008 and in early 2009. The stock market has been volatile but up significantly overall. There are signs of increased lending activity. Mergers and acquisitions have picked up. And there’s a pulse in … Continue reading “Cautious Perspectives on Recovery in the IPO, M&A, and Credit Markets”
Alder’s Breakout $1B Deal, Kineta Teams With UW on Vaccines, Verathon Gets Acquired, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This was the week that a little biotech company in Bothell that few of the locals have ever heard of, burst onto the national stage. —Bothell, WA-based Alder Biopharmaceuticals had its breakout moment this week when it pulled in $85 million in upfront cash, and stands to gain more than $1 billion over time from … Continue reading “Alder’s Breakout $1B Deal, Kineta Teams With UW on Vaccines, Verathon Gets Acquired, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Widevine Technologies Lands $7,250,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fd8b0d82-9c9e-4ff0-9ca8-1bb0d3e86a22&Preview=1 Date 11/12/2009 Company Name Widevine Technologies Mailing Address 901 5th Avenue Seattle, WA 98164 Company Description Widevine is the most widely deployed provider of content security solutions for IP video operators worldwide. Widevine enables telco, cable, fiber, satellite, internet and wireless service operators to generate new revenue opportunities through the secure … Continue reading “Widevine Technologies Lands $7,250,000 New Round”
Redfin Corporation Garners $10,000,000 Series D Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b9a51c69-e55f-4b33-8685-d9977c8e57b2&Preview=1 Date 11/12/2009 Company Name Redfin Corporation Mailing Address 710 2nd Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Redfin is the industry’s first online real estate brokerage. Unlike any other real estate site, Redfin lets you buy and sell MLS-listed homes online. You can shop for homes and browse prices using our map-driven … Continue reading “Redfin Corporation Garners $10,000,000 Series D Funding”
Doxo Obtains $5,250,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=682cde41-c806-4c9b-bd4f-2e2f2a61eb0a&Preview=1 Date 11/12/2009 Company Name Doxo Mailing Address 206 1st Ave S Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description doxo™ is developing an innovative solution to an age-old problem – a simple and efficient system that addresses a multi-billion dollar business problem and a market opportunity with global impact. And on top of all … Continue reading “Doxo Obtains $5,250,000 New Round”
Bing Partners with Wolfram Alpha
The teams behind Microsoft’s Bing and Wolfram Alpha announced today they have teamed up to enhance Bing’s search results across topics like nutrition, health, and advanced mathematics. Financial terms weren’t given, but the partnership gives Bing users access to Wolfram Alpha’s advanced algorithms and curated data. The move fits with Bing’s goal of helping people … Continue reading “Bing Partners with Wolfram Alpha”
Future of Search Event Nov. 30 to Draw Top Startups, VCs, and Execs to UW
Online search and information discovery are being transformed before our eyes. It’s no longer just Google, or Google and Bing, or even Google, Bing, and Twitter—there are big problems in technology and business to solve across all areas of social media search, real-time news and information, mobile search, user interfaces, search marketing, vertical search (travel, … Continue reading “Future of Search Event Nov. 30 to Draw Top Startups, VCs, and Execs to UW”
Washington Bioscience Business Roundtable
Washington biotech, government, and venture capital leaders are gathering to discuss the future of Washington bioscience at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center on Dec. 2. For more information and to RSVP, click here by November 27.
Alder and New Partner, Bristol, to Give Amgen and Abbott a Run for Their Money
Alder Biopharmaceuticals keeps such a low profile that even after five years in business, few people in Seattle biotech know who they are. That changed yesterday as the private Bothell, WA-based company burst onto the local, and national, biotech scene by striking a deal with Bristol-Myers Squibb that could be worth more than $1 billion … Continue reading “Alder and New Partner, Bristol, to Give Amgen and Abbott a Run for Their Money”
Don Dodge Weighs In On Leaving Microsoft, What’s Next, and Friends Old and New
It was big news here in New England last week when Don Dodge announced on his blog that he had been laid off from Microsoft as part of some 800 layoffs at the software powerhouse. Dodge had been a regular on the innovation scene here in New England—and around the world, really—and was known as … Continue reading “Don Dodge Weighs In On Leaving Microsoft, What’s Next, and Friends Old and New”
Clearwire Closes $1.5B, Alder Scores $1B Partnership, Software Financings Are Down, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
Healthcare deals are going one way, tech deals another. That’s my read from the past week in the Northwest, where we’ve seen some of the biggest biotech deals around, even as a prominent Seattle tech venture firm (and software financings in general) head south. —Bothell, WA-based Alder Biopharmaceuticals scored one of the biggest biotech partnerships … Continue reading “Clearwire Closes $1.5B, Alder Scores $1B Partnership, Software Financings Are Down, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
ISB Nabs $8M for Cancer Genome
The Institute for Systems Biology, a Seattle-based nonprofit research center, said today it has secured an $8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health as part of The Cancer Genome Atlas, an effort to identify new targets for cancer drugs based on deeper genomic understanding. ISB professor Ilya Shmulevich is the co-primary investigator on … Continue reading “ISB Nabs $8M for Cancer Genome”
BigDoor Opens Virtual Currency Site
Bellevue, WA-based BigDoor Media, a developer of software that helps social entertainment sites make money, has rolled out a not-for-profit community website called VirtualCurrencyExperts.com. It is meant to be a resource for online publishers to learn about how to use virtual currencies and goods. The site, along with its first discussion point—a top 10 list … Continue reading “BigDoor Opens Virtual Currency Site”
Alder Scores Deal With Bristol-Myers Potentially Worth $1 Billion
Alder Biopharmaceuticals has just struck one of the biggest biotech partnerships of the year, both in the Seattle area and nationally. The Bothell, WA-based developer of faster and cheaper technology for making antibody drugs has formed a collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]), focused on the development of Alder’s experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug, that could … Continue reading “Alder Scores Deal With Bristol-Myers Potentially Worth $1 Billion”
Seattle’s Kineta Rakes in Half of $13M Federal Contract to UW For Vaccine Boosters
Kineta, the Seattle-based developer of drugs for autoimmune diseases, has won about half of a $13 million federal contract awarded to the University of Washington to create new compounds which might be used to boost the effectiveness of vaccines against HIV or flu. The five-year contract from the National Institutes of Health is worth about … Continue reading “Seattle’s Kineta Rakes in Half of $13M Federal Contract to UW For Vaccine Boosters”
Where Are the Software Deals? WA Firms Raised $70M in October, Mostly in Healthcare, Gaming
Early-stage software and IT deals are a scarce breed these days. That’s my initial take from looking at the October funding numbers for Washington state, courtesy of ChubbyBrain, a New York-based information services company that makes tools for investors, startups, and entrepreneurs. According to ChubbyBrain’s stats, Washington tech, life sciences, and cleantech companies raised a … Continue reading “Where Are the Software Deals? WA Firms Raised $70M in October, Mostly in Healthcare, Gaming”