SonoSite, the Bothell, WA-based maker of portable ultrasound machines, said today in its first-quarter financial report that its annual revenue for 2009 may be flat to down 10 percent compared with the previous year. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SONO]]) said it is responding by cutting expenses 5 to 10 percent, a deeper round of cuts than … Continue reading “SonoSite Lowers Sales Forecast”
Category: Seattle
Venture Funds Did Badly in 2008—But Maybe Not That Badly
We all know that just about every type of financial performance index for the last year showed a sharp turn downward. This definitely held true for venture capital. The National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Reuters today released Q4 2008 venture capital performance numbers showing that VC funds as a whole—early, balanced, and later stage … Continue reading “Venture Funds Did Badly in 2008—But Maybe Not That Badly”
Obama’s Science and Technology Advisory Council Includes Holdren, Molina, Mundie
President Obama announced today the members of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, in remarks made at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington DC. Some members were announced previously, but this is the first time the full council was presented publicly. Obama cited the distinguished council’s “diversity of experience and views,” … Continue reading “Obama’s Science and Technology Advisory Council Includes Holdren, Molina, Mundie”
Down is the New Up: Two Suggestions for How CEOs Can Cope With the Downturn
For the last six months VCs thought they were really funny whenever they used the phrase “flat is the new up.” This crept into the VC lexicon at the beginning of the current crisis to refer to the small victories investors boasted about when raising capital for their portfolio companies. Actually the reality is quite … Continue reading “Down is the New Up: Two Suggestions for How CEOs Can Cope With the Downturn”
OVP Invests $1.5M in Cloud Data Storage Startup, Symform
Seattle-based Symform, a small company that provides data storage and backup in the Internet cloud, is announcing today a $1.5 million Series A financing from OVP Venture Partners in Kirkland, WA. This is the first new investment OVP has announced this year; the firm made six follow-on investments last quarter. Managing directors Mark Ashida and … Continue reading “OVP Invests $1.5M in Cloud Data Storage Startup, Symform”
Newspapers Need Less Paper, More Kindle to Survive, Says Madrona’s Tom Alberg
The death spiral of the newspaper industry is one of the big business stories of 2009, right up there with the free fall of the U.S. auto industry. It’s especially close to my heart as someone who learned the journalism trade at newspapers (including The Seattle Times) before taking the online leap. So when Greg … Continue reading “Newspapers Need Less Paper, More Kindle to Survive, Says Madrona’s Tom Alberg”
Plas2Fuel Corporation Lands $4,300,000 Series A Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=700550c2-55e8-4299-9787-845a1dbbd879&Preview=1 Date 4/27/2009 Company Name Plas2Fuel Corporation Mailing Address 2300 Talley Way Kelso, WA 98626 Company Description Plas2Fuel, a privately-held alternative energy company, converts mixed waste plastics into synthetic crude oil and other valuable petrochemical products. Website http://www.plas2fuel.com/ Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,300,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds … Continue reading “Plas2Fuel Corporation Lands $4,300,000 Series A Funding Round”
Symform, Inc Receives $1,500,000 Series A Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=61a1ce55-abaf-47bf-8aa8-e413a3e49c9e&Preview=1 Date 4/27/2009 Company Name Symform, Inc Mailing Address 2940 Westlake Ave N Seattle, WA 98109 Company Description Symform is a privately-held company based in Seattle. We are developing cost effective solutions to large scale distributed data management problems. Symform is dedicated to the belief that technology products built on cooperative, decentralized … Continue reading “Symform, Inc Receives $1,500,000 Series A Funding Round”
Airborne Mobile Inc Garners $500,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=eff5fb53-c5d4-4fa3-815a-53b19f275b7e&Preview=1 Date 4/27/2009 Company Name Airborne Mobile Inc Mailing Address 800 Fifth Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Airborne Mobile has blazed a distinctive trail, helping to pioneer, build and establish the burgeoning mobile media space by conceiving, creating and distributing best-of-breed mobile programs. Website http://www.airbornemobile.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Airborne Mobile Inc Garners $500,000 New Financing Round”
TechFlash LIVE
Join John Cook, Todd Bishop, Eric Engleman and the rest of the TechFlash team as they bring together some of the region’s top tech companies and personalities for this unique networking event. The featured speaker is Ben Huh, founder and Chief Cheezburger at Seattle-based Pet Holdings, operator of I Can Has Cheezburger, Fail Blog, Engrish … Continue reading “TechFlash LIVE”
PATH Gets $52M for HIV Work
PATH, the nonprofit organization that works to reduce health disparities worldwide, has nailed down a pair of grants worth $52 million to prevent HIV and improve how communities respond to the epidemic. One grant for $35 million over three years from the U.S. Agency for International Development, to strengthen the public health response to HIV … Continue reading “PATH Gets $52M for HIV Work”
Oprah Grabs Some Bacon Salt; Seattle Startup Is Freaking Out
[Updated April 25 with this behind-the-scenes video clip of the Oprah interview] I just got off the phone with Justin Esch of South Seattle-based Bacon Salt. He and fellow founder Dave Lefkow went on The Oprah Winfrey Show this morning, and were in their office watching the 7-8 minute segment, which just aired on the … Continue reading “Oprah Grabs Some Bacon Salt; Seattle Startup Is Freaking Out”
Gov. Gregoire’s Life Sciences Discovery Fund Survives Budget Axe
One of Gov. Chris Gregoire’s prime strategies for economic development was threatened with a death sentence, but it looks like the plan will survive after all, albeit in diminished form. The House compromise budget released online calls for $38 million in funding for the Life Sciences Discovery Fund over the next two-year budget cycle. This … Continue reading “Gov. Gregoire’s Life Sciences Discovery Fund Survives Budget Axe”
Opscode Closes $2.5M from DFJ
Seattle-based Opscode announced it has raised $2.5 million in Series A funding led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Opscode isn’t talking about its new product just yet, but it looks to be helping businesses automate their cloud-computing infrastructure. The company, founded in 2008, will use the funds to hire engineers and other key staff as it … Continue reading “Opscode Closes $2.5M from DFJ”
How Not to Work for The Man: Jonathan Sposato on Life at Picnik, Microsoft, and Google
Every once in a while, you meet an entrepreneur who rocks your world. I mean, most of them are impressive, but as they say on ESPN, Jonathan Sposato is ridiculous. And so is the rest of his team at Picnik, an online photo-editing startup based near Pike Place Market in Seattle. A lot has been … Continue reading “How Not to Work for The Man: Jonathan Sposato on Life at Picnik, Microsoft, and Google”
Seattle Has Performed CPR on Global Health, Says Famed Doctor Paul Farmer
You know you’re a global health rock star when you can tease the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on its home turf and get away with it. That was what Paul Farmer did last night as the keynote speaker for the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute’s Passport to Global Health fundraiser. Farmer is best known as … Continue reading “Seattle Has Performed CPR on Global Health, Says Famed Doctor Paul Farmer”
Zymo Drug Kills Hep C Virus
ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]), a Seattle biotech company, and partner Bristol-Myers Squibb said today that a drug they are co-developing for hepatitis C was able to kill the virus with minimal side effects in a small four-week study. The trial looked at pegylated interferon lambda on its own, or in combination with a standard ribavirin treatment. … Continue reading “Zymo Drug Kills Hep C Virus”
Dendreon Full Results Coming Tuesday
Dendreon, the Seattle maker of an immune-stimulating therapy for prostate cancer, said today it will report the full results of a pivotal trial next week. The company already said the trial, called Impact, hit its main goal of helping men live longer, but the details will have to wait for a presentation at 2:20 pm … Continue reading “Dendreon Full Results Coming Tuesday”
Cutting the Cable: It’s Easier Than You Think
In a column published last July, I vacillated publicly about whether it was time to stop paying extortionate rates to my local cable provider, Comcast, for the privilege of watching 17 minutes of commercials with every hour of programming. Well, it took me a while, but in early March I finally cut the cord. I … Continue reading “Cutting the Cable: It’s Easier Than You Think”
Why Should the Public Care About Biotech? Why is the Answer Always Jobs?
Why isn’t public health important enough? This is what I wondered, sitting in a press conference yesterday at Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute, listening to high government and business officials talk about the urgent need to foster greater public understanding of biotechnology and why it matters to the future of Washington state and our country. … Continue reading “Why Should the Public Care About Biotech? Why is the Answer Always Jobs?”
Opscode Garners $2,500,000 Series A Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a89c39ea-af7b-4c6d-aeaf-11c1303902cc&Preview=1 Date 4/24/2009 Company Name Opscode Mailing Address Undisclosed Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Opscode is building the best systems integration and automation platform on the planet. We are some of the most respected and well-known systems engineers, software developers, and systems architects in the world, who have built or designed web … Continue reading “Opscode Garners $2,500,000 Series A Financing Round”
Plas2Fuel Corporation Secures $4,250,000 Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=700550c2-55e8-4299-9787-845a1dbbd879&Preview=1 Date 4/24/2009 Company Name Plas2Fuel Corporation Mailing Address 2300 Talley Way Kelso, WA 98626 Company Description Plas2Fuel, a privately-held alternative energy company, converts mixed waste plastics into synthetic crude oil and other valuable petrochemical products. Website http://www.plas2fuel.com/ Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,250,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds … Continue reading “Plas2Fuel Corporation Secures $4,250,000 Series A Round”
Appature, SEOmoz on Top Techie List
BusinessWeek’s list of Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs 2009, announced today, includes Seattle-area startup whiz kids Rand Fishkin, 29, of SEOmoz and Kabir Shahani, 26, of Appature. SEOmoz, a search engine optimization startup, is backed by Ignition Partners and Curious Office Partners, while Appature, a health-care marketing firm, is self-funded.
LookStat Closes $500K from Founder’s Co-op, Other Investors
Seattle-based LookStat, which develops Web-based analytics, workflow automation, and earnings tracking software for the microstock photography industry, says it has closed a $500,000 Series A financing round from Founder’s Co-op and individual investors in the Seattle and San Francisco areas. Xconomy broke the preliminary news of the funding (but not the amount) last month, while … Continue reading “LookStat Closes $500K from Founder’s Co-op, Other Investors”
Fate Therapeutics and Stemgent Team Up to Offer Stem Cell Advances to the Research Market
San Diego-based Fate Therapeutics and Stemgent, a provider of stem cell research products headquartered in Cambridge, MA, have joined forces to offer new developments in so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology for research purposes. The joint effort could provide Fate with a new source of money to develop drugs based on the same technology. … Continue reading “Fate Therapeutics and Stemgent Team Up to Offer Stem Cell Advances to the Research Market”
That Giant Sucking Sound? Talent Drain from the Northwest (and Rest of the Nation)
If you want to understand the important local and national trends in talent flow, you need to know Davis Bae. The founder and managing attorney of the Bae Law Group in Seattle, which specializes in immigration law, works with many local startups and employers in the tech community on their immigration and recruiting plans. I’ve … Continue reading “That Giant Sucking Sound? Talent Drain from the Northwest (and Rest of the Nation)”
Amgen Shows Pipeline, Dendreon Revs Up Second Drug, Asemblon Raises $2.9M, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
Cancer research is one of the strengths of the Seattle biotech cluster, and a few companies showed off some of their progress at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Denver. No earth was shattered, because most of this involves early-stage clinical trials and animal experiments, but it’s usually a good indicator of what’s … Continue reading “Amgen Shows Pipeline, Dendreon Revs Up Second Drug, Asemblon Raises $2.9M, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Five Intriguing Green Startups Seek Angel Bucks on Earth Day
[[Updated 9:30 am Pacific with winners]] I wasn’t around for the first Earth Day back in 1970, but I figure it’s safe to say there weren’t any investment forums celebrating the capitalist pursuit of opportunities in the green revolution. It occurred to me, on Earth Day 2009, that it’s pretty remarkable to see how far … Continue reading “Five Intriguing Green Startups Seek Angel Bucks on Earth Day”
LookStat Lands $500,000 Series A Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ba433c5f-09ac-44a2-931b-7630ca4a456c&Preview=1 Date 4/23/2009 Company Name LookStat Mailing Address 2722 Eastlake Avenue E Seattle, WA 98102 Company Description Lookstat is a web service that lets you track your online sales by image at multiple sites. Automatically. Lookstat is currently in beta and our current focus is on portfolio performance tracking. While the service … Continue reading “LookStat Lands $500,000 Series A Financing”
April Think Tank: New Entrepreneur Opportunities in Cloud Computing
The Northwest Entrepreneur Network (NWEN) is putting on a cloud computing think tank event. Info and registration here. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN Cloud computing has come of age and this change represents new opportunities for entrepreneurs to enable companies to not just leverage cloud resources for scale but to move all of their computing requirements … Continue reading “April Think Tank: New Entrepreneur Opportunities in Cloud Computing”
Insitu Wins $30M Canadian Contract
Bingen, WA-based Insitu, a developer of unmanned aircraft systems, announced today it has received a one-year, $30 million contract from the Canadian government to provide technologies to support Canadian forces’ operations in Afghanistan. The contract, which includes two additional one-year options, specifically calls for small unmanned aerial vehicles for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Insitu was … Continue reading “Insitu Wins $30M Canadian Contract”
Redfin Moves Into New Markets in NY, CA
Seattle-based Redfin, an online real estate brokerage, said today it has expanded into New York state (Suffolk County, partners in Westchester County, and search in other areas) and central California (El Dorado, Placer, and Sacramento Counties). The move is part of Redfin’s strategy to reach every major real-estate market in the United States.
Mpire Makes Strategic Shift, Unveils Ad-Optimizing Service
Seattle-based Mpire is rolling out a new online-ad optimizing service today, aimed at letting advertisers, marketers, and publishers more accurately assess how well their ads are working. Matt Hulett, Mpire’s CEO, is announcing the technology, called AdXpose (Xconomy loves names with “X” in them), at the AdTech San Francisco conference this morning. But this isn’t … Continue reading “Mpire Makes Strategic Shift, Unveils Ad-Optimizing Service”
NewPath Lands $30M in Deal to Expand Wireless Network Biz
NewPath Networks, a Seattle-based provider of wireless infrastructure, has reeled in $30 million to fuel its continued growth, according to a statement today. New York private equity firm Charterhouse Group invested $20 million in NewPath, and Denver-based venture group Meritage Funds provided the rest of the money. NewPath, founded in 2004, is capitalizing on consumers’ … Continue reading “NewPath Lands $30M in Deal to Expand Wireless Network Biz”
Mayo Clinic Adopts MS HealthVault
The Mayo Clinic, the highly regarded hospital based in Rochester, MN, has agreed to offer patients an electronic medical records program based on Microsoft’s HealthVault platform. The program will allow patients to store medical information electronically, and receive individual guidance based on it from Mayo Clinic physicians and healthcare staff. Microsoft doesn’t say how many … Continue reading “Mayo Clinic Adopts MS HealthVault”
Xconomy Forms Partnership With Seattle Times To Strengthen Tech, Life Sciences Coverage
Xconomy’s coverage of technology and life sciences in Seattle is growing fast, and now we’re getting another lift. My colleague Greg Huang and I are happy to say our company has secured a partnership with The Seattle Times, the owner of the most-read local news website in the Northwest. This is the second syndication deal … Continue reading “Xconomy Forms Partnership With Seattle Times To Strengthen Tech, Life Sciences Coverage”
Zango Shuts Down, Sells Assets
Bellevue, WA-based Zango, an adware maker that refocused its business on a toolbar gaming system last year, has officially closed down, says co-founder Ken Smith in his blog. San Francisco-based Blinkx, a video search firm, has acquired some of Zango’s assets, according to reports in ComputerWorld and TechFlash.
Asemblon Raises $2.9M To Make Hydrogen Fuel Cheaper Than Gas
[[Update with Buddy Ratner comment, 7 am Pacific]] Asemblon, a Redmond, WA-based developer of technology for storing hydrogen fuel, has raised $2.9 million in the first installment of a Series C financing round, Xconomy has learned. The investment is being led by RAB Capital, a London-based hedge fund, and Sojitz Trading of Japan, says Asemblon … Continue reading “Asemblon Raises $2.9M To Make Hydrogen Fuel Cheaper Than Gas”
Asemblon Inc Obtains $2,900,000 Series C Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=60769647-db1f-4961-b2a7-cc9a00c2b2ca&Preview=1 Date 4/22/2009 Company Name Asemblon Inc Mailing Address 15340 NE 92nd St Redmond, WA 98052 Company Description Asemblon, Inc. is a Seattle area company specializing in the emerging field of self-assembled monolayers or SAMs. Our two areas of business are the production of high purity alkanethiols for use in SAMs and … Continue reading “Asemblon Inc Obtains $2,900,000 Series C Funding”
Kryptiq Sells Product Line to Portico
Hillsboro, OR-based Kryptiq announced today it has sold off its health plan network management software, called Choreo, to Blue Bell, PA-based Portico Systems. Financial terms were not released, but Kryptiq is using proceeds from the sale to expand its core services for healthcare providers. Kryptiq’s collaborative software lets providers share healthcare information with patients, labs, … Continue reading “Kryptiq Sells Product Line to Portico”
User Interfaces, Cloud Computing, and Ray Ozzie—A Guide to the Season’s Tech Events
It is high season for tech gatherings in Seattle. The next couple of weeks will feature a dizzying array of events chock-full of compelling computing content, not to mention top-tier networking. How is a busy entrepreneur, researcher, or investor to choose which ones to attend? Let Xconomy be your guide… —This Wednesday, April 22 (yes, … Continue reading “User Interfaces, Cloud Computing, and Ray Ozzie—A Guide to the Season’s Tech Events”
Xconomy Wins Its Twitter Struggle–How Wade Reclaimed Our Good Name
After a months-long struggle, Xconomy has finally evicted the squatter who usurped our namesake account on Twitter. It took perseverance, Zen, and knowing folks in high Tweeting places to pull it off. But as of last night, Xconomy is on the Twitter air. Thank you Bijan. Thank you Twitter. And thanks to CNET for the … Continue reading “Xconomy Wins Its Twitter Struggle–How Wade Reclaimed Our Good Name”
Dendreon Starts Trial of Cancer Pill
Dendreon, the Seattle company developing an immune-stimulating therapy for prostate cancer, said today it has started a clinical trial of a cancer drug made in a more conventional pill form. The company will examine safety of D3263 at a variety of doses in patients with solid tumors. Dendreon has been advancing this program toward clinical … Continue reading “Dendreon Starts Trial of Cancer Pill”
SignaCert Scores $8.8M, Naverus Nets $4M, Top 5 Q1 Venture Deals in Washington, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
After a flurry of Northwest deals the previous week, the past seven days have been fairly quiet, with some activity in security software, aviation, and biotech. —Kent, WA-based Naverus, a company that makes advanced navigation systems for airlines and air traffic managers, raised $4 million from existing investors Foundation Capital and East Peak Partners. I … Continue reading “SignaCert Scores $8.8M, Naverus Nets $4M, Top 5 Q1 Venture Deals in Washington, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Microsoft’s World View of Cloud Computing
The WTIA is pleased to bring to the Puget Sound a comprehensive look at Cloud Computing. Through this multi-part series, attendees will learn both fundamental and advanced concepts of cloud computing as seen through the eyes of industry leaders. Cloud computing is the buzz of the industry. Whether as a way to lower computing costs, … Continue reading “Microsoft’s World View of Cloud Computing”
Toward a more human experience: The next generation of user-computer interfaces
Drag a finger across the screen to turn the page. Turn your phone on its side for a new perspective. Put your whole body into a living room tennis match. The examples of User Interfaces above are all things you can relate to and have probably experienced with devices such as the Amazon Kindle, iPhone … Continue reading “Toward a more human experience: The next generation of user-computer interfaces”
Naverus, Extra $4M in Tow, Looks to Redesign Flight Paths, Saving Time, Fuel, and Emissions
There’s a saying in sports that if you don’t notice the referees, they’re doing a great job. The same goes for offensive linemen in football, tech support in big companies…and Kent, WA-based Naverus when you’re flying in an airplane. Sure, we in the media notice companies like Naverus when they raise $4 million in venture … Continue reading “Naverus, Extra $4M in Tow, Looks to Redesign Flight Paths, Saving Time, Fuel, and Emissions”
Dendreon Reports More Positive Data
Seattle-based biotech firm Dendreon (NASDAQ:[[ticker:DNDN]]) yesterday reported data from an ongoing Phase III clinical trial of its drug sipuleucel-T (Provenge), saying that the drug caused long-term immune responses in patients with recurrent prostate cancer and whose prostates have been surgically removed. The data follows Dendreon’s whirlwind last week when shares of the company’s stock soared … Continue reading “Dendreon Reports More Positive Data”
Seattle Software Update: AdReady, Azaleos, and Evri Roll Out New Releases
All around town, spring is in the air—and so is new software from some prominent local tech startups. In case you missed them while trying to make it through tax week, here are the most interesting software releases we learned about in the past seven days. —Seattle-based AdReady announced a new suite of services to … Continue reading “Seattle Software Update: AdReady, Azaleos, and Evri Roll Out New Releases”
Seattle and the Developing World: Bill Gates, UW Profs Speak at Global Tech Conference in Qatar
Seattle has become a major global health hub over the last decade, thanks in no small part to having the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the world leaders in funding for global health research, in our own backyard. Now, an emerging and related discipline is also finding an increasing number of connections here—global … Continue reading “Seattle and the Developing World: Bill Gates, UW Profs Speak at Global Tech Conference in Qatar”