Category: Seattle

Two Issaquah Companies to Help DOE Manage Nuclear Waste

Nuclear waste dumps require careful handling. To avoid incidences of nuclear material leaking into the surrounding soil and water, the Department of Energy must monitor the 80 sites in the U.S. regularly and do its best to adjust conditions if warranted. Issaquah, WA-based consulting firm Predicus has used mathematical modeling software developed by fellow Issaquah company GoldSim … Continue reading “Two Issaquah Companies to Help DOE Manage Nuclear Waste”

For Microsoft and Google, Battleground Shifts to Web-Based Operating Systems

The fight between Microsoft and Google for the future of computing just got more intense. Last night, Google officially announced a new project, a Web browser-based operating system called Google Chrome OS, which will initially target netbooks. Google said it would make the code available on an open-source basis later this year, and plans to … Continue reading “For Microsoft and Google, Battleground Shifts to Web-Based Operating Systems”

Cozi Joins Nestle Online

Cozi, a free online family organizing and planning application, is partnering with Nestlé to launch their service on Nestlé’s website according to an announcement made today.  Financial details were not released.  The Seattle-based Cozi provides family-oriented programs to plan schedules, make lists and create photo albums online.  Nestlé plans on putting Cozi’s programs, rebranded with … Continue reading “Cozi Joins Nestle Online”

A Tribute to Stephen Quinn, 1962-2009

[Editor’s Note: this piece is adapted from a speech Chris Rathe gave at a memorial service last week for Stephen Quinn, a biotech entrepreneur who died suddenly on June 28.] We are here today grieving the untimely passing of Stephen Quinn, but are also here to rejoice for the person that he was. Four years … Continue reading “A Tribute to Stephen Quinn, 1962-2009”

Kineta Acquires Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes Drug Candidates to Test Unusual Biotech Strategy

Seattle-based Kineta doesn’t want to grow up to be the next Amgen. It has seen plenty of biotech companies go up in flames when they try to do everything from drug discovery to development, and manufacturing to marketing. Instead, the company sees opportunity in carving out one piece of that product development continuum, doing it … Continue reading “Kineta Acquires Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes Drug Candidates to Test Unusual Biotech Strategy”

EndoGastric Solutions Secures $7,500,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=85eeb030-833d-4339-b3d2-e9b062f9a96b&Preview=1 Date 7/8/2009 Company Name EndoGastric Solutions Mailing Address 8210 154th Ave NE Redmond, WA 98052 Company Description EndoGastric Solutions, Inc. (FKA Esophyx) is the pioneer in endoluminal procedures for the treatment of upper gastrointestinal diseases, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and obesity. EGS’ mission is to utilize the most current wisdom … Continue reading “EndoGastric Solutions Secures $7,500,000 New Financing”

Amgen’s Dmab Works in Cancer Trial

Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]), the world’s largest biotechnology company, said today that its lead experimental drug, denosumab, reached all its goals in a clinical trial of more than 2,000 women with breast cancer. Women with breast cancer often have tumors spread to their bones, and the drug, “dmab,” was able to delay the time it took … Continue reading “Amgen’s Dmab Works in Cancer Trial”

Northwest VCs React to Prometheus Energy’s Funding and Partnership with Shell

Last week, we reported that Prometheus Energy, the Redmond, WA-based liquid natural gas producer, closed a $10 million investment from Shell Technology Ventures in a deal that is still resonating in the local alternative energy community. Prometheus, led by co-founder and chief executive Kirt Montague, has gone through many ups and downs since its formation … Continue reading “Northwest VCs React to Prometheus Energy’s Funding and Partnership with Shell”

Earth Class Mail Gains New Partner

Earth Class Mail, a Seattle-based company that delivers physical mail digitally announced today that it is working with Kansas City, MO-based Perfect Output to create a combined document and mail-processing service. Financial details were not released. Earth Class Mail, which creates digital forms of paper letters and mail for businesses, will provide key technology for Perfect … Continue reading “Earth Class Mail Gains New Partner”

UWEB Summer Symposium: Biomaterials, Entrepreneurship, Innovations, Translation

The University of Washington is hosting the BEIT2009 conference August 26-28 to discuss innovations in biomaterials. Speakers include David Walt of Tufts University (co-founder of San Diego-based Illumina), Joseph DeSimone of the University of North Carolina (co-founder of Research Triangle Park, NC-based Liquidia Technologies), and UW bioengineering professor Buddy Ratner (co-founder of Redmond, WA-based Healionics). … Continue reading “UWEB Summer Symposium: Biomaterials, Entrepreneurship, Innovations, Translation”

Let’s Rock: Five Finalists Selected for Xconomy’s Battle of the Tech Bands

And then there were five. Here at Xconomy, we have made our selections for the five finalists who will compete at our inaugural Battle of the Tech Bands in Seattle, to be held on the evening of Thursday, July 30 at the WTIA Summer Celebration at the Pyramid Alehouse. We are looking forward to putting … Continue reading “Let’s Rock: Five Finalists Selected for Xconomy’s Battle of the Tech Bands”

Prometheus Partners with Big Oil, Qliance Raises $4M, Microsoft May Sell Razorfish, & More Seattle-Area Deals News

The activity in the Northwest picked up a little bit around the holiday weekend. In the past week, we’ve seen some interesting deals in alternative energy, healthcare, and software. —Seattle-based Qliance Medical Management raised $4 million in venture capital led by Second Avenue Partners, with participation from New Atlantic Ventures and Clear Fir Partners, as … Continue reading “Prometheus Partners with Big Oil, Qliance Raises $4M, Microsoft May Sell Razorfish, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”

Qliance Raises $4M To Expand New Primary Care Model, Circumvent Health Insurers

Qliance Medical Management, the Seattle-based company that doesn’t accept health insurance for primary care medical services, has raised $4 million in venture capital to expand its practice in Washington and to other states around the country. The financing was led by Seattle-based Second Avenue Partners, and also included New Atlantic Ventures and Clear Fir Partners. … Continue reading “Qliance Raises $4M To Expand New Primary Care Model, Circumvent Health Insurers”

Qliance Medical Management Inc. Receives $4,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a5a8fb31-3f67-485b-8845-f472886841f3&Preview=1 Date 7/7/2009 Company Name Qliance Medical Management Inc. Mailing Address 509 Olive Way, Medical Dental Building Seattle, WA 98101 Company Description Qliance’s unique approach to providing primary care has grown out of frustration with an unmanageable, expensive insurance system and a desire to put good, affordable, personalized primary healthcare back in … Continue reading “Qliance Medical Management Inc. Receives $4,000,000 New Round”

Fisher Plaza Fire Felt from Seattle to East Coast: Lessons from a Data Disaster

In case you missed it over the holiday, an electrical fire and power outage at Fisher Plaza near Seattle Center late on Thursday night disrupted a number of websites and services, including those of local tech companies Redfin, Survey Analytics, and Big Fish Games, as well as Microsoft’s Bing Travel site (formerly Farecast), Verizon’s DSL … Continue reading “Fisher Plaza Fire Felt from Seattle to East Coast: Lessons from a Data Disaster”

Taxing Times for Amazon in Japan, U.S.

Taxes aren’t fun for anyone, but recent events have put online retail leviathan Amazon.com in a “Boston Tea Party” mood.  In the digital age, what does “physical presence,” the usual definition of a taxable company, really mean? —Amazon may owe 14 billion yen, or about $119 million, to Japanese tax authorities according to the Japanese … Continue reading “Taxing Times for Amazon in Japan, U.S.”

Theraclone Gets Funding for HIV

Theraclone Sciences, the Seattle-based developer of antibody drugs formerly known as Spaltudaq, said today it has received additional funding from the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative to continue developing antibodies that could lead to an AIDS vaccine, or new treatment. The HIV virus has dodged past attempts to develop antibody-based treatments or vaccines, because it mutates … Continue reading “Theraclone Gets Funding for HIV”

Targeted Genetics Sheds Lease

Targeted Genetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TGEN]]), the Seattle-based gene therapy company struggling to avoid bankruptcy, said today that it has terminated a lease on a manufacturing facility in Bothell, WA. The company agreed to pay a $500,000 fee to terminate the lease on the facility, which will allow Targeted to avoid $12 million in lease payments through … Continue reading “Targeted Genetics Sheds Lease”

Ramgen, Maker of CO2 Compression Technology, Aims to Fight Climate Change

Forget renewable fuels for a minute. If the world is ever going to get serious about avoiding a global warming catastrophe, then we need to capture carbon dioxide being spewed from power plants into the atmosphere and bury it underground, at least according to one school of thought. The technology to make this practical on … Continue reading “Ramgen, Maker of CO2 Compression Technology, Aims to Fight Climate Change”

Microsoft’s Bing Gets Social, Includes Tweets in Search Results

Twing? Beet? There may have to be a new word for the sound of Twitter results showing up on Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing. Launched just last month, Bing has begun indexing popular Twitter feeds. This means that a search of the names of a few thousand famous people will bring up their Twitter feed … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Bing Gets Social, Includes Tweets in Search Results”

Theraclone Sciences Garners New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0dc197a5-27df-4792-8fb1-bcd1046164bd&Preview=1 Date 7/6/2009 Company Name Theraclone Sciences Mailing Address 1124 Columbia Street, Seattle Life Sciences Building Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Theraclone Sciences is a Seattle-based, discovery-stage biotech focused on the development of novel therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of infectious disease and inflammation. Our technology harnesses the power of the human … Continue reading “Theraclone Sciences Garners New Financing”

Prometheus, $10M in Hand, Poised to Deliver Alternative Fuel for Shell Technology Ventures

Kirt Montague is the Comeback Kid of the Seattle cleantech community. We saw the fire in his eyes back in March when he rocked the room with a killer presentation on waste-to-energy at Xconomy’s cleantech forum in Seattle. And we see it again now that his company, Redmond, WA-based Prometheus Energy, which produces liquid natural … Continue reading “Prometheus, $10M in Hand, Poised to Deliver Alternative Fuel for Shell Technology Ventures”

Happy Fireworks Day; See You Next Week

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for bloggers to temporarily dissolve the bonds which have connected them with their readers, and to assume among the powers of the earth the long weekend to which the laws of nature entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they … Continue reading “Happy Fireworks Day; See You Next Week”

Ballard, IdaTech Sell 310 Hydrogen Generators

Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BLDP]]) and its partner, Bend, OR-based IdaTech announced today that they can now confirm the sale of 310 hydrogen fueled generators to a wireless infrastructure company in India.  Ballard, based in Burnaby, BC, manufactures the FCgen-1300 fuel cell, which will be incorporated into IdaTech’s ElectraGen generators which provide backup power for … Continue reading “Ballard, IdaTech Sell 310 Hydrogen Generators”

The Eight (Seven…Six?) Information Devices I Can’t Live Without

If you read Xconomy, chances are that digital information is a big part of your day. You spend quite a bit of time absorbing, manipulating, and repackaging it. So here are a few questions for you: How many different devices do you use to channel all those bits? Is the number going up, or down? … Continue reading “The Eight (Seven…Six?) Information Devices I Can’t Live Without”

Stem Cell Entrepreneur Quinn Dies, Dendreon Tames Shorts, PhysioSonics Monitors Brain Blood, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

News flow in Seattle life sciences slowed down heading into the holiday weekend, so I rolled out a couple biotech and medical device features I’ve been meaning to clear off my to-do list for a while. —Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) raised $221 million last month to expand its manufacturing and marketing efforts for its prostate cancer … Continue reading “Stem Cell Entrepreneur Quinn Dies, Dendreon Tames Shorts, PhysioSonics Monitors Brain Blood, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

Who’s Playing at the Battle of the Tech Bands? Stay Tuned…

We are in the final stages of selecting the five finalist bands who will perform on July 30 at the Xconomy Battle of the Tech Bands, to be featured at the Washington Technology Industry Association’s Summer Celebration at the Pyramid Alehouse across from Safeco Field in Seattle. We will announce the finalists very soon, but … Continue reading “Who’s Playing at the Battle of the Tech Bands? Stay Tuned…”

Ground Truth, Inc Lands $2,600,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=517fb6e4-3fe4-4147-910f-29bdcfdb97c9&Preview=1 Date 7/2/2009 Company Name Ground Truth, Inc Mailing Address 719 Second Ave Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Ground Truth is based in Seattle. Ground truth is a term used in cartography, meteorology, analysis of aerial photographs, satellite imagery and a range of other remote geographical areas. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “Ground Truth, Inc Lands $2,600,000 New Financing Round”

WTC Awards $375K to UW, WSU

Five researchers from the University of Washington and Washington State University, Vancouver, working together with Washington companies, received a total of $376,454 in state funding through Washington Technology Center, according to an announcement today.  The university researchers are working with property data solutions company Data Data in Vancouver; biomaterials firm Healionics in Redmond; pressure instrumentation … Continue reading “WTC Awards $375K to UW, WSU”

Prometheus Energy, Maker of Liquid Natural Gas from Waste, Raises $10M from Shell Oil

Redmond, WA-based Prometheus Energy has closed a $10 million financing from Netherlands-based Kenda Capital, which manages the Shell Technology Ventures Fund that’s part of the Dutch oil giant. A second tranche of financing, worth an additional $10 million, will be part of the deal if Prometheus meets certain milestones. Chief executive Kirt Montague co-founded Prometheus … Continue reading “Prometheus Energy, Maker of Liquid Natural Gas from Waste, Raises $10M from Shell Oil”

Cleantech Venture Funding Brightens for All But Solar

The clouds may be parting for cleantech startups. Venture capital funding for renewable energy and cleantech startups (which plunged from last October through March) rebounded in the second quarter—but the $1.2 billion invested in 67 countries is still down 44 percent from the same quarter in 2008. Cleantech venture investments were strongest in transportation—specifically, vehicles … Continue reading “Cleantech Venture Funding Brightens for All But Solar”

Appature Labs Experiments with Twitter Search Engine, Chatterfly

Even with only 180 characters per post, it can be hard to find what you are looking for on Twitter. Sorting through the stream of tweets from the people you follow, let alone the entire Twitter network, can be daunting. Seattle-based healthcare marketing firm Appature recognized this fact, and so early last month released the … Continue reading “Appature Labs Experiments with Twitter Search Engine, Chatterfly”

PhysioSonics, Inc Receives $2,000,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a4f4845e-71f4-4926-b667-0d0570f27278&Preview=1 Date 7/1/2009 Company Name PhysioSonics, Inc Mailing Address Undisclosed Undisclosed, WA 98100 Company Description PhysioSonics, formerly known as Allez PhysiOnix, is a privately held company, founded in 2000 with technology developed at the University of Washington. The company has developed and patented a number of new technologies including an ultrasound-based technology … Continue reading “PhysioSonics, Inc Receives $2,000,000 Series A Round”

Microsoft to Sell Razorfish, Report Says

The Financial Times reported that Microsoft [[NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) is selling off Razorfish, its online advertising subsidiary based in Seattle, which it acquired as part of its purchase of aQuantive in 2007. The report says Morgan Stanley has been appointed to find a buyer, and that French marketing firm Publicis is a possible bidder. Razorfish went … Continue reading “Microsoft to Sell Razorfish, Report Says”

Stephen Quinn, Biotech and Medical Device Entrepreneur, Dies Suddenly at 46

Xconomy is sad to report that Stephen Quinn, an emerging biotech and medical device entrepreneur in the Northwest, died suddenly at his home in Redmond, WA, on Sunday. He was 46. The cause of death is unknown. Paramedics found Quinn at home on Sunday afternoon with no pulse, and rushed him to Overlake Hospital Medical … Continue reading “Stephen Quinn, Biotech and Medical Device Entrepreneur, Dies Suddenly at 46”

The Naked Truth 2009

The Naked Truth 2009: Show Me the Money brings together different entrepreneurs to discuss making money with online services. “Redfin, Madrona, Fenwick & Square 1 Bank have put together a panel of entrepreneurs from Seattle’s funnest online consumer sites — Picnik, Animoto, Urbanspoon — to talk about how to make different revenue models work. Michael … Continue reading “The Naked Truth 2009”

CTI, OncoGenex Join Russell Indexes

Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTIC]]) and OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OGXI]]), a pair of Seattle-area cancer drug developers, were added to several stock indexes compiled by Russell Investments. Both companies joined the Russell 3000 Index, which measures the performance of the 3,000 largest U.S. public companies. The Russell indexes are widely used for index funds, and as … Continue reading “CTI, OncoGenex Join Russell Indexes”

Dendreon Tames Short Sellers, Transforms Itself into Old-School Buy-and-Hold Stock

Dendreon has had enough of the fast money world. The short sellers who hope to profit from a falling stock, and the hedge fund players who thrive on volatility that comes from rumors and speculation, turned this Seattle-based biotech company into one of Wall Street’s great running dramas of the past two years. Not anymore. … Continue reading “Dendreon Tames Short Sellers, Transforms Itself into Old-School Buy-and-Hold Stock”

Yapta Closes Series B, PhysioSonics Scores $2M More, Powerit Talks Strategy, & More Seattle-Area Deals News

It was a slow week for deals in the Northwest, with just a trickle of activity in software, Internet, and medical devices. We’ll see if things pick up after the holiday weekend. —Bellevue, WA-based PhysioSonics raised $2 million in equity funding from undisclosed investors, as Luke reported. The maker of ultrasound technology for monitoring blood … Continue reading “Yapta Closes Series B, PhysioSonics Scores $2M More, Powerit Talks Strategy, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”

Biotech Gaining Ground in Washington State, Report Says

“Boeing, bytes, and biotech.” That is what Washington state will be best known for over the coming decades, at least according to U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee. Inslee, a Democrat from Western Washington’s first congressional district, delivered that catchy sound bite yesterday morning at the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute. He spoke during a press conference to … Continue reading “Biotech Gaining Ground in Washington State, Report Says”

Generic Medical Devices Lands $4,981,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ce97cb2e-db11-4ad5-832b-0b14d6421bf6&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name Generic Medical Devices Mailing Address 5727 Baker Way NW Gig Harbor, WA 98332 Company Description Generic Medical Device’s (GMD’S) mission is to improve the lives of patients, families and health care providers by offering high quality, cost effective medical devices for standard of care procedures. GMD is … Continue reading “Generic Medical Devices Lands $4,981,000 New Financing”

ecohaus Receives $2,500,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8c02c160-1f96-4b8c-91d5-2a2983bfc5b0&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name ecohaus Mailing Address 4121 1st Avenue South Seattle, WA 98134 Company Description In a decade we’ve grown from a tiny storefront to become a national distributor of green building supplies and household products. Along the way, we’ve solved problems for thousands of customers—parents looking for low-toxic paint … Continue reading “ecohaus Receives $2,500,000 New Round”

Vaccsys Lands $1,667,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=947f25c3-6bea-4df5-891d-2c9d6797cf88&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name Vaccsys Mailing Address 1124 Columbia St Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description The company is developing vaccines that “regulate immune responses by targeting dendritic cell biology with combinations of proprietary vectors and adjuvants.” Website http://www.vaccsys.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,667,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds … Continue reading “Vaccsys Lands $1,667,000 New Round”

EndoGastric Solutions Obtains $3,750,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=91a5b16c-6d93-46d9-93eb-a2b0b871f6e9&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name EndoGastric Solutions Mailing Address 8210 154th Ave NE Redmond, WA 98052 Company Description EndoGastric Solutions, Inc. (FKA Esophyx) is the pioneer in endoluminal procedures for the treatment of upper gastrointestinal diseases, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and obesity. EGS’ mission is to utilize the most current wisdom … Continue reading “EndoGastric Solutions Obtains $3,750,000 New Funding”

Blade Games World Garners $5,426,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7e7954e0-6cce-482b-867e-ac5e491ac762&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name Blade Games World Mailing Address PO Box 1329 Issaquah, WA 98027-0053 Company Description The company offers a complete video game development solution accessible to any and all developers, from the students to the professional studio. The company is led by a strong executive team with management experience … Continue reading “Blade Games World Garners $5,426,000 New Financing Round”

Clear Access Obtains $607,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9d2d38e5-5452-44a6-8529-af3a27ddf22d&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name Clear Access Mailing Address 1301 NE 144th St Vancouver, WA 98685 Company Description ClearAccess has a clear vision to become the easiest company to work with in the broadband solution business. Our wireline and wireless solutions address the growing need for robust internet, telephony, video and other … Continue reading “Clear Access Obtains $607,000 New Financing Round”

MicroGreen Polymers Secures $3,406,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7f79b39d-f2ec-4fd5-95fd-d224c8e022a9&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name MicroGreen Polymers Mailing Address 19421 59th Avenue NE Arlington, WA 98223 Company Description MicroGREEN Polymers is on a mission to give the plastics industry and the world environmentally sound plastics technologies with substantial economic advantages. MicroGREEN Polymers Inc. was incorporated September 11, 2002, in Washington State (“Micro” … Continue reading “MicroGreen Polymers Secures $3,406,000 New Round”