Category: Seattle

How to Turn Cloud Computing Into Big Business—A Peek Inside Amazon Web Services

On Tuesday night, I attended an intriguing event in the Washington Technology Industry Association’s cloud computing series, on “Scaling Into the Cloud with Amazon Web Services.” It was held at Amazon’s Beacon Hill headquarters in Seattle, in a room with gorgeous, sweeping views of the downtown skyline. The talks, given by Amazon and two prominent … Continue reading “How to Turn Cloud Computing Into Big Business—A Peek Inside Amazon Web Services”

How to Collect Baseball Cards: A Few Thoughts for Coping With the Downturn

I have approximately 7,000 baseball cards in my collection. These treasures are arranged in numerical order, in long and slender cardboard “card boxes,” with the typical box containing cards from a single year. The vast majority of my collection hails from the sixties. My heyday covered the years 1962 through 1965, when I collected every … Continue reading “How to Collect Baseball Cards: A Few Thoughts for Coping With the Downturn”

Second Avenue Re-ups with Fanzter

Seattle-based Second Avenue Partners has invested in a $2 million Series B financing round in Fanzter, a Collinsville, CT-based new media development company. The round was led by Steamboat Ventures. Fanzter was founded in 2007 and was also backed by Seattle-area investors Rich Barton from Zillow and Expedia, and Curious Office Partners. The startup runs … Continue reading “Second Avenue Re-ups with Fanzter”

Wine, Startups, and VCs—A Report from DEMO

Late last fall, after discussion with some board members, I decided to apply to show some new features from Evri at DEMO 09, which we were about to start active development on. We got accepted, so now we really did have to get the stuff ready to ship. In fact, one of the great reasons … Continue reading “Wine, Startups, and VCs—A Report from DEMO”

The Oregon Cleantech Cluster: The A-to-Z List of Alternative Energy Players

(Updated) Yesterday, we provided a rundown of about 80 companies we identified in Washington as players in the alternative energy industry. Today, it’s Oregon’s turn. For those who missed the first installment, here’s the idea: We thought it would be useful for people across the Northwest (and elsewhere) to have a detailed list of who’s … Continue reading “The Oregon Cleantech Cluster: The A-to-Z List of Alternative Energy Players”

Geoff Entress Joins Voyager Capital, Looks to Strengthen the VC Firm’s Internet Plays

The newest face at Seattle-based Voyager Capital is a familiar one to Northwest techies. Voyager is announcing today that Geoff Entress, one of the region’s most active and prominent angel investors, has joined the firm as a venture partner. He will focus primarily on consumer Internet and digital media investments in Washington state. Entress was … Continue reading “Geoff Entress Joins Voyager Capital, Looks to Strengthen the VC Firm’s Internet Plays”

MOD to Present at Retail IT Show

Seattle-based MOD Systems, a maker of digital-media delivery technology, announced it is demonstrating its product at Retailtech Japan 2009 in Tokyo, the country’s largest retail IT event. Toshiba and NCR, which are investors in MOD, will jointly present MOD’s system for downloading videos from a touch-screen kiosk to SD memory cards.

TrafficGauge Bought by Networks In Motion

Seattle-based TrafficGauge, a provider of road traffic information in real time, has been acquired by Networks In Motion, a mobile navigation and search company in Aliso Viejo, CA. Financial terms were not disclosed. TrafficGauge first launched its mobile traffic map in Seattle in 2003.

The Washington Cleantech Cluster: The A-to-Z List of Alternative Energy Players

(Updated) The venture capitalist John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers said three years ago that “greentech could be the largest economic opportunity of the 21st century.” Since then, voters in the U.S. have elected a President and Congress that have vowed to break the country’s addiction to oil. So here in the Northwest, … Continue reading “The Washington Cleantech Cluster: The A-to-Z List of Alternative Energy Players”

Arzeda Scores VC, Intellectual Ventures Teams with Telcordia, Twilio Gets Founders Funding, & More Seattle-Area Deals News

It was a relatively busy week for deals in the Northwest, with plenty of action in software, biotech, and alternative energy. —Seattle and San Francisco-based Twilio, a startup that provides cloud-based tools for building voice applications over the phone, raised its first institutional round of funding from Founders Fund and computing pioneer Mitchell Kapor. The … Continue reading “Arzeda Scores VC, Intellectual Ventures Teams with Telcordia, Twilio Gets Founders Funding, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”

The Greatest Internet Pioneers You Never Heard Of: The Story of Erwise and Four Finns Who Showed the Way to the Web Browser

Three quiet and unknown Finnish engineers in their late thirties, Kim Nyberg, Kari Sydänmaanlakka, and Teemu Rantanen, have spent their working careers at the engineering software company Tekla in Finland. Their clients have used the software they created to model several well-known buildings, including Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, New York’s … Continue reading “The Greatest Internet Pioneers You Never Heard Of: The Story of Erwise and Four Finns Who Showed the Way to the Web Browser”

Twilio Raises Venture Funding, Looks to Expand Cloud-Based Phone Services

Seattle and San Francisco-based Twilio, a software startup focused on telephone applications, closed its first institutional round of funding today, according to co-founder Jeff Lawson. The investment was led by San Francisco-based venture firm Founders Fund (which includes founders of PayPal, Facebook, and Napster) and computer industry pioneer Mitchell Kapor, the creator of Lotus 1-2-3 … Continue reading “Twilio Raises Venture Funding, Looks to Expand Cloud-Based Phone Services”

MITEF Venture Lab: Financing a Startup in a Downturn

Join MIT Enterprise Forum Venture Lab on March 5th for the second event of the MITEF’s “Startup in a Downturn” series, and learn how to overcome the challenge of financing your new business in today’s unique economic climate. Learn tips and tricks from our expert speakers as they share their knowledge, experience and perspective on … Continue reading “MITEF Venture Lab: Financing a Startup in a Downturn”

Ex-Microsoft Vets Gearing Up New Incubator, 8ninths, and New Social Startup, Lolligift

There’s a new tech-startup incubator in Seattle, and it’s called 8ninths. It doubles as an R&D lab, focused on social media and Web development software. The lab was established in September, and so far it’s still pretty stealthy. The principals aren’t talking to the press just yet, but their ideas and track record are intriguing … Continue reading “Ex-Microsoft Vets Gearing Up New Incubator, 8ninths, and New Social Startup, Lolligift”

Ignition Leads $10M Funding for Zenprise

Bellevue, WA-based Ignition Partners has led a $10 million funding round for Zenprise, a mobile-management software firm based in Fremont, CA. Existing investors Bay Partners, Mayfield, and Shasta Ventures also participated in the round. Zenprise makes automated software to help companies troubleshoot and fix IT problems with smartphones and mobile devices.

Principle Power Raising $20M to Build World’s First Floating Wind Farm

Seattle wind energy startup Principle Power is in the process of raising $20 million to develop wind farms in the deep waters off the coast of Oregon and other locations. The financing deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this year, according to Principle Power CEO Alla Weinstein. “We’re talking to a … Continue reading “Principle Power Raising $20M to Build World’s First Floating Wind Farm”

Targeted Genetics Hands Off Manufacturing

Targeted Genetics said today it has found a way to conserve its remaining cash reserves a few more months, through the first half of 2009. The Seattle-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TGEN]]) is transferring its manufacturing know-how of AAV viruses for delivering gene therapy drugs to contract manufacturers, and renegotiated its partnership with La Jolla, CA-based … Continue reading “Targeted Genetics Hands Off Manufacturing”

Harnessing the Crowd to Make Better Drugs: Merck’s Friend Nails Down $5M to Propel New Open Source Era

Biology has never really had a social-networking movement like open-source computing, where thousands of loosely-affiliated people around the world pool brainpower to make better software. If Merck’s Stephen Friend gets his way, about five years from now, he will have ushered in a new era in which biologists work together to make drugs that are … Continue reading “Harnessing the Crowd to Make Better Drugs: Merck’s Friend Nails Down $5M to Propel New Open Source Era”

Evri, Ontier, Kutano to Present at DEMO

Northwest software startups Evri (Seattle), Ontier (Portland, OR), and Kutano (Burnaby, BC) will be presenting at the DEMO technology conference in Palm Desert, CA, March 1-3. They are among 39 companies that each will give six-minute stage demonstrations of their new products.

Is E Ink Working on Hearst’s New E-Reader?

According to a report today in Fortune, publishing giant Hearst Corp., owner of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the San Francisco Chronicle, and many other prominent newspapers and magazines, is developing an e-reading device similar to the Amazon Kindle 2 and the Sony PRS-700. Kenneth Bronfin, head of Hearst’s interactive media group, wouldn’t give Fortune details about … Continue reading “Is E Ink Working on Hearst’s New E-Reader?”

Alliance of Angels Releases 2008 Stats

Seattle-based Alliance of Angels, a network of individual investors focused on the Northwest, announced today it invested a total of $6.4 million in 36 companies in 2008—the second-highest amount in the organization’s 11-year history. Nineteen of the investments were new, in startups spanning Web 2.0, software and services, mobile, gaming, nanotech, and consumer/retail. Five portfolio … Continue reading “Alliance of Angels Releases 2008 Stats”

A Laser Focus: Three Questions With nLight CEO Scott Keeney

If anyone can ever build a real lightsaber like the ones from “Star Wars,” it will be Scott Keeney. The co-founder and CEO of Vancouver, WA-based nLight has expertise in high-powered semiconductor lasers, and he has shown some serious business chops by leading his company from early uncertainty to profitability in the past few years. … Continue reading “A Laser Focus: Three Questions With nLight CEO Scott Keeney”

Cell Therapeutics Closing Italian Branch, Cutting 62 Jobs

Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics is shutting down its drug research center in Italy to try to hold onto what little cash it has left. The company is starting a collective dismissal procedure under Italian law, and negotiations with trade unions, at its facility in Bresso, outside of Milan, where it has 62 employees. Cell Therapeutics has … Continue reading “Cell Therapeutics Closing Italian Branch, Cutting 62 Jobs”

Arzeda, Maker of Designer Enzymes, Prepares to Leave UW Roots with New Leader and VC Bucks

One of the biggest startup ideas at the University of Washington is getting ready to leave the academic nest. Arzeda, which designs custom-built enzymes on computers that can do things Mother Nature never could, has recruited Michael Martino as its CEO and secured commitments from OVP Venture Partners and WRF Capital to anchor its founding … Continue reading “Arzeda, Maker of Designer Enzymes, Prepares to Leave UW Roots with New Leader and VC Bucks”

Massachusetts Technology Industry Needs a New Deal, Not a New Brand

If Silicon Valley didn’t exist, Boston would have to invent it in order to have someplace to feel inferior to. That’s the thought that occurred to me when I read an article in the Boston Globe last week about the Information Technology Collaborative. This new posse of industry, government, and academic leaders met in Cambridge … Continue reading “Massachusetts Technology Industry Needs a New Deal, Not a New Brand”

Propel Fuels Gets New CEO and HQ

Propel Fuels, a clean fuel company with operations in Washington and California, announced today it has named Matt Horton chief executive officer. Horton, who has worked on cleantech with the venture funds @Venture and Garage Technology Ventures, succeeds Propel founder Rob Elam, who is staying on as president and director. The company recently moved its … Continue reading “Propel Fuels Gets New CEO and HQ”

VC Model Is Not Broken: Insights from Brad Feld of TechStars and Foundry Group

It’s always good to hear an outside perspective. Last night, Boulder, CO-based entrepreneur and investor Brad Feld, the co-founder of Foundry Group, Mobius Venture Capital, and TechStars, gave a talk at the Palace Ballroom in Seattle. The event was organized by Dave Schappell of TeachStreet and T.A. McCann of Gist. The crowd amounted to well … Continue reading “VC Model Is Not Broken: Insights from Brad Feld of TechStars and Foundry Group”

BIO Boss Plays Defense as Member Companies Struggle to Survive, Political Heat Cranks Up

Lobbying for the biotech industry in Washington DC doesn’t sound like fun now. The industry is being left for dead by Wall Street, the IPO market has closed down, and about half of the 370 public companies are reporting they have run down to less than a year’s worth of cash on hand. Many of … Continue reading “BIO Boss Plays Defense as Member Companies Struggle to Survive, Political Heat Cranks Up”

General Dynamics Cuts 353 Jobs in Spokane

General Dynamics Itronix, a manufacturer of laptops and mobile devices for field use, is closing its facility in Spokane Valley, WA, according to the Washington State Employment Security Department. The closure, which is effective April 24, 2009, affects 353 people. General Dynamics Itronix is based in Spokane and has offices in Canada and Europe.

Kindling a Revolution: E Ink’s Russ Wilcox on E-Paper, Amazon, and the Future of Publishing

Almost as soon as Amazon released the Kindle e-book reader in November 2007, I settled in to wait for the Kindle 2. Like many other observers, I thought Amazon had made a good first stab at building a usable e-book device, but that it needed a sleeker profile, better ergonomics, new features such as text-to-speech … Continue reading “Kindling a Revolution: E Ink’s Russ Wilcox on E-Paper, Amazon, and the Future of Publishing”

UW’s Gardasil Windfall, Cell Therapeutics Unloads Zevalin, Trubion Cuts Jobs, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

It was another busy week in Seattle’s life sciences scene, with a mix of stories from biotech, medical devices, diagnostics, and biofuels. —Xconomy had the exclusive feature story on how the University of Washington is reaping a windfall of royalties because one of its inventions from the 1980s is used for manufacturing Merck’s billion-dollar vaccine, … Continue reading “UW’s Gardasil Windfall, Cell Therapeutics Unloads Zevalin, Trubion Cuts Jobs, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

SBRI Teams With PATH To Pick Best Candidates for Malaria Vaccines

Seattle’s tight-knit global health community is getting a little tighter today. The Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (SBRI) has secured a $2.3 million grant from the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative to help sift through a load of discoveries it has made in recent years that researchers say could be critical ingredients in a more effective new … Continue reading “SBRI Teams With PATH To Pick Best Candidates for Malaria Vaccines”

It’s a Good Time To Be at Microsoft—A Report from TechFest

[Updated Feb. 25 with photos from TechFest 2009:] Yesterday, I reported from Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, WA, on some high-level thoughts about the importance of corporate research from Craig Mundie, Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer, and Rick Rashid, senior vice president and head of research. It’s TechFest week, which means tons of demos and … Continue reading “It’s a Good Time To Be at Microsoft—A Report from TechFest”

Trubion Cuts One-Fourth of Workforce

Seattle-based Trubion Pharmaceuticals said today it is cutting one-fourth of its workforce, about 25 jobs, leaving it with a staff of about 75. The company says it expects the cuts will help it conserve enough cash to operate into the second half of 2010. The Trubion (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TRBN]]) cuts will affect “most areas of the … Continue reading “Trubion Cuts One-Fourth of Workforce”

Intellectual Ventures, Telcordia Team Up

Bellevue, WA-based Intellectual Ventures said today it has formed an alliance with Telcordia Technologies, a networking and telecommunications firm in Piscataway, NJ. Intellectual Ventures has acquired the rights to license about 500 of Telcordia’s patents, and in return, has also agreed to fund inventions from Telcordia’s R&D lab. Financial terms of the deal were not … Continue reading “Intellectual Ventures, Telcordia Team Up”

VMware Takes On Microsoft, Amazon in the Cloud

Palo Alto, CA-based software firm VMware (NYSE: [[ticker:VMW]]), a subsidiary of Hopkinton, MA-based EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]), has rolled out an ambitious cloud-computing program that looks to challenge the big players in the space—Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and others. VMware makes virtualization software that helps companies run their information technology operations, like networking and desktop management, more … Continue reading “VMware Takes On Microsoft, Amazon in the Cloud”

Dotster Sells RevenueDirect, Buys Hosts

Dotster, an online domain hosting company in Vancouver, WA, announced it has sold its RevenueDirect monetization service to Cambridge, MA-based Sedo. Dotster also has acquired marketing and hosting services EmailBrain and FortuneCity. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Seattle Genetics Completes Enrollment in SGN-33 Trial

Seattle Genetics, the Bothell, WA-based developer of targeted cancer drugs, said today it had completed enrollment in a trial of 210 patients with acute myeloid leukemia. The study is looking at the company’s SGN-33 drug in combination with a low-dose chemotherapy drug, compared with the chemotherapy drug alone. The main goal of the study is … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Completes Enrollment in SGN-33 Trial”

Life Sciences on a Budget: Startups Make Pitch for Angel Dollars at First Zino Society Forum

(Updated) Angel investors and biotech companies don’t usually mix. Most biotech startups begin with university research, and embark on a decade-long quest of product development, all while inhaling several hundred million dollars of capital, and carrying the burden of a 90 percent failure rate. This is where deep-pocketed, risk-seeking venture capitalists and public equity investors … Continue reading “Life Sciences on a Budget: Startups Make Pitch for Angel Dollars at First Zino Society Forum”

Harnessing IT for Energy: Washington’s Next Tech Sector?

Washington is home to some of the most advanced companies building products to revolutionize energy management. From smart meters to smart grids, we’re leading the country in creating innovative solutions. But is there more? Could Energy Management be the next growth tech sector for Washington? Come to the World Trade Center in Seattle for WTIA’s … Continue reading “Harnessing IT for Energy: Washington’s Next Tech Sector?”

Craig Mundie and Rick Rashid on Why Microsoft Research Matters (Even More than Usual)

Microsoft’s ninth annual TechFest is going on this week in Redmond, WA. This is the big demo event where researchers from all of Microsoft’s research labs around the world (based in Redmond, Silicon Valley, New England, UK, India, and China) get to show off their results to product groups, vice presidents, professors, and other guests. … Continue reading “Craig Mundie and Rick Rashid on Why Microsoft Research Matters (Even More than Usual)”

PopCap Buys Gastronaut Studios

Seattle-based PopCap Games announced today it has acquired game developer Gastronaut Studios, also based in Seattle. Financial terms were not disclosed, but PopCap gets Gastronaut’s assets and employees, as well as exclusive license to Gastronaut’s tools and technologies. Gastronaut, known for its Xbox titles like Small Arms, has been a partner of PopCap’s.

Bionavitas Unveils Technology to “Shed Light” on Algae, Further Boosting Yields

Redmond, WA-based Bionavitas has been pretty stealthy until today, when it offered a peek into what it thinks will enable it to corner a piece of the market for algae-based biofuels. Biofuels made from algae have attracted a boomlet of interest in the past year, as investors and entrepreneurs have been impressed with its potential … Continue reading “Bionavitas Unveils Technology to “Shed Light” on Algae, Further Boosting Yields”

Impinj Navigates Nascent RFID Market with Unique Technology, Strategy—and Patience

What’s the most exciting company in Seattle? I recently put the question to Patrick Ennis, the global head of technology for Bellevue, WA-based Intellectual Ventures, and his answer surprised me: Impinj. The firm in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood has been around since 2000, and is well-known for its focus on radio-frequency identification (RFID) technologies—not exactly the … Continue reading “Impinj Navigates Nascent RFID Market with Unique Technology, Strategy—and Patience”

Amazon and Madrona Back Yieldex, UW Benefits from Merck Sales, Digini and Vyk Merge, & More Seattle-Area Deals News

It was a quiet week for deals in the Northwest, with just a trickle in the biotech, business software, and gaming arenas. —Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTIC]]) sold its remaining 50 percent stake in its cancer drug Zevalin to its partner, Irvine, CA-based Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SPPI]]) for $18 million, Luke reported. The cash will … Continue reading “Amazon and Madrona Back Yieldex, UW Benefits from Merck Sales, Digini and Vyk Merge, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”

Topaz Bridge Lands $2,000,000 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=bc9c6d5f-0301-43e7-9576-d0c1a826fa8e&Preview=1 Date 2/24/2009 Company Name Topaz Bridge Mailing Address 330 120th Ave NE, Building C Bellevue, WA 98005 Company Description Topaz Bridge was founded in 2007 to use Microsoft® Office Sharepoint® Server to help large organizations get more utility and return from their investment in line-of-business applications. The company was founded by … Continue reading “Topaz Bridge Lands $2,000,000 Series B Financing Round”

MOD Fraud? Investor’s Lawsuit Alleges Blatant Misuse of Funds by CEO

Seattle-based MOD Systems and three of its top executives are being sued by investor Robert Arnold for fraud, embezzlement, misrepresentation, and breach of fiduciary duty, among other complaints. That’s according to a lawsuit filed in King County superior court last Wednesday. Arnold’s investigation into the company was first reported by TechFlash. In the suit, MOD … Continue reading “MOD Fraud? Investor’s Lawsuit Alleges Blatant Misuse of Funds by CEO”