Category: Seattle

Zoodango Relaunches, Ditching Social Networking for Location-Based Meeting Up

For James Sun, runner-up on season six of The Apprentice and CEO of Seattle-based Zoodango, it’s all about getting people together. And he wants to help them find meeting spots. Yesterday, he announced the launch of the re-tooled Zoodango, once a social-networking site and now a map-based service where users use a “geo-search engine” to … Continue reading “Zoodango Relaunches, Ditching Social Networking for Location-Based Meeting Up”

SmartSheet.com Secures $1,250,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=632ce9f7-b1a4-471d-bf77-53a2ffb663af&Preview=1 Date 1/14/2009 Company Name SmartSheet.com Mailing Address 325 118th Ave. SE Bellevue, WA 98005 Company Description Smartsheet.com is a privately-held Software as a Service (SaaS) provider based in Bellevue, Washington (USA). Incorporated in 2005, the company launched its Smartsheet.com service in August of 2006. Since that time, thousands of users throughout … Continue reading “SmartSheet.com Secures $1,250,000 New Financing”

Jott Moves to Paid Model, Rolls Out New Service

Seattle-based Jott, which provides free voice-to-text services for e-mail and text messaging, announced today it is moving to a paid model effective February 2. Jott Founder and CEO John Pollard cited the economy and ad market as reasons for the move. The startup, which was founded in 2006, is also rolling out a voicemail-to-text tool … Continue reading “Jott Moves to Paid Model, Rolls Out New Service”

Positronic Purchased by eBay, Ex-Microsoft Execs Moving to Silicon Valley

The Seattle search startup Positronic has been acquired by eBay for an undisclosed sum. The news was first reported on Mary Jo Foley’s Microsoft blog last week, and was later confirmed on eBay’s company blog. It’s an interesting and somewhat sad story, as it means the departure of prominent Seattle-area tech executives, as well as … Continue reading “Positronic Purchased by eBay, Ex-Microsoft Execs Moving to Silicon Valley”

Mobui Gets Teletouch Investment

Redmond, WA-based Mobui, a mobile applications startup, has received an equity investment from Teletouch Communications, a Fort Worth, TX-based cellular services provider and retailer. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Mobui will use the funds to expand its software development and customer operations, while Teletouch gets access to Mobui’s applications being built to run … Continue reading “Mobui Gets Teletouch Investment”

Pathway’s New CEO Carves Out Market in the Legs & Beyond

Tom Clement was the founding engineer who started Kirkland, WA-based Pathway Medical Technologies a decade ago, resurrected it after a setback in treating heart disease, and reinvented it around a modified device to clear out clogged arteries in the legs. Now that it has won FDA approval, task No. 1 at Pathway is to make … Continue reading “Pathway’s New CEO Carves Out Market in the Legs & Beyond”

Microsoft Wins Over Verizon, DTS Buys Neural Audio, ZymoGenetics Scores with Bristol-Myers, & More Seattle-Area Deals News

The first full week of 2009 was a busy one for deals in the Northwest. There were some big ones in biotech, software, mobile, and cleantech. —Luke reported Seattle-based ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]) has hit a “home run” with a global partnership with the drug giant Bristol-Myers Squibb, worth up to $1.1 billion, to co-develop an … Continue reading “Microsoft Wins Over Verizon, DTS Buys Neural Audio, ZymoGenetics Scores with Bristol-Myers, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”

Biotech Jet-Setter, Chris Rivera, Aims to Build Washington’s Life Sciences Cluster, Part 2

Yesterday, we ran the first part of an extended interview with Chris Rivera, the new president of the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association. He talked about how his skills are different from those of his predecessor, Jack Faris, and the assets this region has compared to Boston and San Francisco, the two global life sciences … Continue reading “Biotech Jet-Setter, Chris Rivera, Aims to Build Washington’s Life Sciences Cluster, Part 2”

ZymoGenetics Snags $1.1 Billion Partnership With Bristol-Myers For Hepatitis C Drug

Update with detail from regulatory filing at the end: ZymoGenetics has broken out of its slump with a home run. The Seattle-based biotech is announcing today it has signed a global partnership with drug giant Bristol-Myers Squibb, worth as much as $1.1 billion, to co-develop an experimental treatment for hepatitis C, a chronic liver infection … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Snags $1.1 Billion Partnership With Bristol-Myers For Hepatitis C Drug”

Microsoft Leads $24M Investment in N-trig’s Pen and Touch Interface

N-trig, a computing-interface company based in Kfar Saba, Israel, announced today it has received $24 million in new funding from Microsoft and other investors, including Aurum Ventures, Challenger, Canaan Partners, and Evergreen Venture Partners. The money will help the company perfect its “DuoSense” digitizer, a hardware layer for touch screens that translates both pen- and … Continue reading “Microsoft Leads $24M Investment in N-trig’s Pen and Touch Interface”

Ignition, Trilogy Back FIREapps

Bellevue, WA, venture firms Ignition Partners and Trilogy Equity Partners have invested $7.5 million in a second round of equity financing for FIREapps, a Scottsdale, AZ, maker of software that manages companies’ exposure to foreign currencies, according to a company press release. FIREapps also received financing through a loan facility from Silicon Valley Bank.

MIT MBA Student: Amazon and Microsoft Are Hiring, Google and Yahoo Aren’t Yet

Want to know who’s hiring the top young business talent around town? Just ask Saleem Hussain, an MBA student from Boston. In a brutal market for tech industry jobs, he gave me a fresh perspective on the next-generation talent pool and where it’s headed, in terms of both big companies and startups. Hussain is a … Continue reading “MIT MBA Student: Amazon and Microsoft Are Hiring, Google and Yahoo Aren’t Yet”

Biotech Jet-Setter, Chris Rivera, Aims to Build Washington’s Life Sciences Cluster, Part 1

Washington state’s life sciences trade group has a new boss, Chris Rivera, who has made a career in the high-pressure world of sales and marketing of new biotech drugs. Rivera’s new challenge, starting this month, is to help strengthen this region’s broader industry cluster as president of the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association. Rivera, 47, … Continue reading “Biotech Jet-Setter, Chris Rivera, Aims to Build Washington’s Life Sciences Cluster, Part 1”

AboutUs Lands $2,500,000 Series A Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d3b748aa-841f-4af5-a451-a216a5164564&Preview=1 Date 1/12/2009 Company Name AboutUs Mailing Address 107 SE Washington Street Portland, OR 97214 Company Description AboutUs is a wiki for, and about, businesses, organizations, blogs, forums, and really anything or anyone that has a website. Think of us as your guide to websites. As a guide to websites, AboutUs aims … Continue reading “AboutUs Lands $2,500,000 Series A Funding Round”

Airborne Mobile Inc Garners $2,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b045afb1-ea2a-4527-a443-b251f8de44c6&Preview=1 Date 1/12/2009 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 $2,000,000 New Round”

Northwest Layoff Update: Agilent, Attachmate, Intermec, and ON Semiconductor Slash Jobs

2009 is barely a week old, and already the Washington and Oregon tech industries have seen massive new layoffs in the struggling economy. A quick recap of the latest bloodletting (see the updated Xconomy Seattle layoff litany here): —Agilent Technologies (NYSE: [[ticker:A]]) cut 120 jobs at its plant in Liberty Lake, WA. The Santa Clara, … Continue reading “Northwest Layoff Update: Agilent, Attachmate, Intermec, and ON Semiconductor Slash Jobs”

ZeaChem Raises $34M for Oregon Biorefinery

ZeaChem, a Colorado-based clean fuel company, announced that they have raised $34 million from investors, led by Globespan Capital Partners and PrairieGold Venture Partners, to fund a green fuels refinery plant in Oregon. The company is developing technology to convert inedible plant matter into ethanol. ZeaChem announced last year that the plant will be built … Continue reading “ZeaChem Raises $34M for Oregon Biorefinery”

ON Semi to Close Oregon Factory

Phoenix, AZ-based ON Semiconductor, which operates a chip manufacturing plant in Gresham, OR, announced cost-reduction measures for 2009, including chip factory closures and layoffs of 10 percent of its worldwide staff, or about 1,500 jobs. The Portland Business Journal reports the Gresham plant will close for at least four weeks in the first half of … Continue reading “ON Semi to Close Oregon Factory”

AboutUs Raises $2.5M from Voyager Capital to Create Collaborative Guide to the Web

The Internet software firm AboutUs, based in Portland, OR, announced today it has raised $2.5 million in Series A funding from Seattle-based Voyager Capital. Voyager managing director Erik Benson has joined the company’s board. The deal closed the day before Thanksgiving. But the real story here is what AboutUs is trying to do, and why … Continue reading “AboutUs Raises $2.5M from Voyager Capital to Create Collaborative Guide to the Web”

Ditch That USB Cable: The Coolest Apps for Sending Your Photos Around Wirelessly

For average consumers, the big complaint about digital photography has always been that it’s too hard to extract the pictures you’ve taken from your camera or phone so you can show them to the rest of the world. But the truth is there are so many ways to move, share, and display digital photos today … Continue reading “Ditch That USB Cable: The Coolest Apps for Sending Your Photos Around Wirelessly”

Tuning In to Global Health, Lisa Cohen Hopes to Amplify Seattle as Research Hotspot

The global health bug bit Lisa Cohen in 2001. She was a producer at KING5-TV in Seattle at the time, and along with anchorwoman Jean Enerson, she traveled through Africa for two weeks in a delegation with Patty Stonesifer, who was then running the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “That trip inspired me to get … Continue reading “Tuning In to Global Health, Lisa Cohen Hopes to Amplify Seattle as Research Hotspot”

Intermec Lays Off 150

Everett, WA-based Intermec (NYSE: [[ticker:IN]]), a maker of radio frequency identification and mobile computing technologies, announced today it is reducing its global workforce by 7 percent, or about 150 full-time positions. The layoffs will be mostly in sales, general, and administrative areas, and are expected to save the company $14 million to $16 million a … Continue reading “Intermec Lays Off 150”

MOD Signs Movie Deals, Demos Downloads

Seattle-based MOD Systems, a digital-media delivery company, announced it has made deals to distribute videos from Warner Bros. and Paramount Digital Entertainment via downloads to SD (secure digital) cards in retail stores. MOD is demoing its video downloading technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, together with Toshiba, which was one of the … Continue reading “MOD Signs Movie Deals, Demos Downloads”

Near Record Pace of Private Equity Fund-Raising Hit Wall in September

Fund-raising by private equity firms slowed dramatically during the last three months of 2008, so much so, in fact, that an analysis shows an 18 percent overall decline among fund-raising by U.S. firms compared to 2007—all of it due to the Q4 meltdown. An analysis published today in the Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst newsletter … Continue reading “Near Record Pace of Private Equity Fund-Raising Hit Wall in September”

Washington Global Health Alliance: Vaccines Panel Discussion

Vaccines are a hot topic right now. Everyone, from Barack Obama to Jenny Garth, is talking about them. Seattle has a number of organizations dedicated to finding effective, safe vaccines that can be delivered to the developing world. The Washington Global Health Alliance is organizing a panel discussion to talk about what’s happening in the … Continue reading “Washington Global Health Alliance: Vaccines Panel Discussion”

Microsoft Lands Verizon Deal, Loses Office Space, Battles Layoff Rumors—A Seattle Primer

For those of you suffering from Microsoft overload these past few days, I’ve put together a quick roundup of the most locally relevant news from the software giant. Most of it happened away from CEO Steve Ballmer’s keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last night. —Microsoft beat out Google and Yahoo to … Continue reading “Microsoft Lands Verizon Deal, Loses Office Space, Battles Layoff Rumors—A Seattle Primer”

Intel Writes Off $950M on Clearwire

Intel is taking a $950 million asset impairment charge from its investment in Kirkland, WA-based Clearwire, because of the declining value of Clearwire’s stock, according to this report in GigaOm. Clearwire, the brainchild of wireless pioneer Craig McCaw, is building a national WiMAX network to improve broadband wireless connections. Clearwire (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLWR]]) stock closed yesterday … Continue reading “Intel Writes Off $950M on Clearwire”

Clean Power Research Looks to Tap Seattle Software Developers for Solar Projects

On a grey winter day, it might not seem like Seattle has much to contribute to the solar power industry. But cleantech and IT are converging in the Northwest these days. And what we lack in sunshine we make up for in software developers, according to Jeff Ressler, head of the software division of Clean … Continue reading “Clean Power Research Looks to Tap Seattle Software Developers for Solar Projects”

Zymo Boss Sees Immunex Parallel, Arch Startup Bags $7M, Northstar Folds, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

The news cycle for Seattle biotech is revving up again, after everybody but the lab mice took a rest during the holidays. We found some predictable doom and gloom (the shutdown of Northstar Neuroscience) to go with a more upbeat exclusive about a cancer drugmaker emerging in town (Qwell Pharmaceuticals.) Here are the past couple … Continue reading “Zymo Boss Sees Immunex Parallel, Arch Startup Bags $7M, Northstar Folds, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

Neural Audio Acquired by DTS for $7.5M

Kirkland, WA-based Neural Audio, a digital sound company, has been acquired by DTS (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DTSI]]), a technology and entertainment firm in Agoura Hills, CA. The purchase price was $7.5 million in cash, with DTS also agreeing to pay up to $7.5 million more over the next five years if certain conditions are met. No other … Continue reading “Neural Audio Acquired by DTS for $7.5M”

Planar Sells Sign Business to CS Software

Beaverton, OR-based Planar Systems (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PLNR]]), a maker of monitors and displays, announced it has sold its remaining interest in its CoolSign Digital Signage business to CS Software Holdings. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. In November, Planar sold part of CoolSign to Bally Technologies, for gambling applications.

Omeros Nabs Michael J. Fox Grant

Omeros, a Seattle-based drug developer, said it has received a $465,000 grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. The grant will pay for research of a new target on brain cells discovered by Omeros scientists, which has been linked to movement disorders like Parkinson’s and Restless Leg Syndrome.

Is Failure a Black Mark for Seattle Innovators? Insights from Erik Benson of Voyager Capital

Erik Benson is a quantum particle. OK, that’s the only metaphor I can think of to explain how he can be in so many places at once. The managing director of Voyager Capital is based in Seattle, but his orbit also includes Portland, OR, Silicon Valley, and San Diego. From what I can tell, he’s … Continue reading “Is Failure a Black Mark for Seattle Innovators? Insights from Erik Benson of Voyager Capital”

How Blist Got Involved with Obama—the Inside Story

A Seattle startup is playing an important role in helping President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team get organized. As of yesterday, the Obama-Biden Transition Project has been using technology from Blist (pronounced as one syllable, and spelled with a lowercase “b” by its employees) to power its Change.gov website. The company’s software lets people create, manage, … Continue reading “How Blist Got Involved with Obama—the Inside Story”

EMC Buys SourceLabs, Qwell Raises $7M, Microsoft Layoff Rumors Rebuffed (For Now), & More Seattle-Area Deals News

It’s been a pretty slow couple of weeks for deals in the Northwest, what with the holidays. But there were still some big ones in software and biotech—starting with an Xconomy exclusive below. —Xconomy broke the news this morning that Seattle-based Qwell Pharmaceuticals has raised a $7 million Series A round led by Arch Venture … Continue reading “EMC Buys SourceLabs, Qwell Raises $7M, Microsoft Layoff Rumors Rebuffed (For Now), & More Seattle-Area Deals News”

Qwell Pharmaceuticals, Backed by Arch, Raises $7M for New Cancer, Inflammation Drugs

Xconomy has learned that Qwell Pharmaceuticals, a Seattle-based drug developer in stealth mode, has raised $7 million in a Series A financing. The investment was led by Arch Venture Partners and the Wellcome Trust, the world’s second-biggest charitable foundation for biomedical research. Qwell’s goal is to develop a new family of small-molecule drugs, derived from … Continue reading “Qwell Pharmaceuticals, Backed by Arch, Raises $7M for New Cancer, Inflammation Drugs”

FEI Buys Intellection for $2.8M

Hillsboro, OR-based FEI (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FEIC]]), a maker of nanotech imaging tools, announced today it has acquired the assets of Intellection Holdings, a Brisbane, Australia-based firm that makes automated mineralogy equipment. The deal was worth $2.8 million, and seems to strengthen FEI’s position in global mining applications.

Northstar Neuroscience Shuts Down, Ending Experimental Depression Trial

Northstar Neuroscience is toast. The Seattle-based medical device company, which failed to develop an electrical stimulation machine that would enable stroke patients to regain arm movement, said today its board has decided to shut down the company and liquidate its assets. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NSTR]]) will lay off most of its remaining employees as it … Continue reading “Northstar Neuroscience Shuts Down, Ending Experimental Depression Trial”

EMC Confirms Acquisition of Some SourceLabs Assets and Staff to Bolster Cloud Business, Denies Swik.net Part of Deal

EMC has acquired some of the assets and personnel of Seattle’s SourceLabs and will integrate them into its cloud computing business, the Hopkinton, MA-based company confirmed today. But contrary to news reports over the weekend, EMC has not acquired all of SourceLabs—nor has it acquired the Swik.net open-source documentation project run by SourceLabs, an EMC … Continue reading “EMC Confirms Acquisition of Some SourceLabs Assets and Staff to Bolster Cloud Business, Denies Swik.net Part of Deal”

Survey Shows VC-Backed IPOs Hit 31-Year Low In ’08

Venture-backed companies are no doubt ready to put 2008 in the past. Year-end reports show a dismal number of initial public offerings and M&A deals last year, after a flurry of tech companies canceled plans to go public and buyout activity slowed to its lowest level in five years.  Thomson Reuters and the National Venture … Continue reading “Survey Shows VC-Backed IPOs Hit 31-Year Low In ’08”

How to Integrate an Acquired Company: Lessons from IBM

These days, mergers and acquisitions are an increasingly important part of corporate strategy. But when one company acquires another, a lot of things have to happen to make the deal right. In fact, most mergers fail—and most of the time, it’s not because of the strategy behind the deal or the negotiation process. Instead, the … Continue reading “How to Integrate an Acquired Company: Lessons from IBM”

ZymoGenetics’ New Boss Sees Parallels to Dark Days at Immunex

ZymoGenetics is enduring one of the ugliest stretches in its 28-year history. Now the Seattle-based biotech company is hoping that Doug Williams, an executive who lived through both the darkest days and finest moments at Immunex in the 1990s, will be able to engineer one more turnaround. Williams, 50, took over as CEO of ZymoGenetics … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics’ New Boss Sees Parallels to Dark Days at Immunex”

What Will Change Everything?

What game-changing scientific ideas and developments do you expect to live to see? The Internet, television, antibiotics, automobiles, electricity, nuclear power, space travel, and cloning—these inventions were born out of dreams, persistence, and imagination. What game-changing ideas can we expect to see in OUR lifetimes? As each year winds to a close, John Brockman, a … Continue reading “What Will Change Everything?”

10 Technology Predictions From The Startup Whisperer

Here are my 2009 technology predictions. It was getting harder and harder since my post is starting to look a lot like everyone else’s posts. I look forward to a better year for the world in 2009. Drum roll please… 10. Video finally takes off Overall consumption of video increases significantly on Web. I have … Continue reading “10 Technology Predictions From The Startup Whisperer”

Economic Forecast Conference 2009

enterpriseSeattle, a regional economic development group, is hosting its 37th annual economic forecast on Jan. 15 at the Seattle Sheraton. Experts from The Conference Board, Federal Reserve Bank, and Puget Sound Economic Forecaster will be there to share their insights into what’s to come in 2009. The conference will also feature an interactive discussion with … Continue reading “Economic Forecast Conference 2009”