It was another slow week in the Northwest for deals. Still, there was a trickle of activity in energy, biotech, and software. —Seattle-based EnerG2 and its lead investor, Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners, told Xconomy the full story of the energy-storage startup’s $8.5 million Series A financing. Turns out EnerG2 needed to refocus on a … Continue reading “Accelerator Accepts $4.5M, EMC Merges Mozy and Pi, EnerG2 Tells All, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Category: Seattle
Geospiza Sells Genetics Software To Harvard Medical, Children’s Hospital Boston
Geospiza, a Seattle-based maker of software to help researchers analyze reams of genomic data, said today it has sold its FinchLab product to the Molecular Genetics Core Facility shared by Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School. Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed, although Geospiza president Rob Arnold said it June that it typically charges … Continue reading “Geospiza Sells Genetics Software To Harvard Medical, Children’s Hospital Boston”
Vaccine Impresario, Todd Patrick, At it Again With Immunization Against Strep Throat
Todd Patrick is one of those rare people in the pharmaceutical business who can say he built a successful career as a vaccines entrepreneur. He was the president of ID Biomedical, a Vancouver, BC-based vaccine company with operations in Bothell, WA, for 12 years before it was sold to the world’s second-largest drugmaker, GlaxoSmithKline, for … Continue reading “Vaccine Impresario, Todd Patrick, At it Again With Immunization Against Strep Throat”
EnerG2, Backed by OVP and Firelake, Wants to Own Energy Storage in the Electricity Economy
Two weeks ago, Xconomy broke the news of the Seattle startup EnerG2’s $8.5 million first-round venture deal with Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners and Palo Alto, CA-based Firelake Capital Management. Today, the energy storage and advanced materials company is officially announcing its approach and giving the story behind its financing. I had a chance to … Continue reading “EnerG2, Backed by OVP and Firelake, Wants to Own Energy Storage in the Electricity Economy”
How to Start a Company: Advice from Seattle Entrepreneur T.A. McCann
On Friday, there was a really good talk by the noted tech entrepreneur and investor T.A. McCann at a Northwest Entrepreneur Network breakfast in Bellevue, WA. The topic was how to get a startup off the ground: he called it “0-25 mph.” What with the economy these days, advice from someone like McCann seems more … Continue reading “How to Start a Company: Advice from Seattle Entrepreneur T.A. McCann”
Innovating New Winners in Established Markets
I’m attracted to the market opportunity within large, established markets. These markets already have huge spend, they have established dominant players with an inertia resistant to major change, most of the innovative talent and money is off in new market spaces, and innovation within these spaces tends to be evolutionary in nature and follow predictable … Continue reading “Innovating New Winners in Established Markets”
Talisma Bought by Campus Management
Bellevue, WA-based Talisma announced today its customer relationship management business has been acquired by Boca Raton, FL-based Campus Management, which makes a software platform for e-learning. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Talisma, which was founded in 1999, was bought by Austin, TX-based nGenera last May.
Stewart Parker Resigns from Board of Targeted Genetics, Susan Robinson Takes Her Spot
H. Stewart Parker has resigned from the board of Targeted Genetics, a week after she stepped down as president and CEO. The Seattle-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TGEN]]) named her replacement as CEO, Susan Robinson, to also fill Parker’s position on the board. Parker left the company she founded as a series of setbacks in the … Continue reading “Stewart Parker Resigns from Board of Targeted Genetics, Susan Robinson Takes Her Spot”
How to Handle the Downturn: Xconomy’s Top 9 List of Top 10 Lists
Death. Taxes. Advice. You can always count on the first two, as the saying goes. But advice—usually unsolicited—can be added to the “inevitables” list whenever things go sour. As in today’s economy. Said advice will be all over the map, too—everything from “cut your losses and head for the hills” to “double up and buy … Continue reading “How to Handle the Downturn: Xconomy’s Top 9 List of Top 10 Lists”
Obama Envisions $150 Billion for “Green Energy Economy” in YouTube Address
In case you weren’t one of the 657,000 people who have watched it as of this writing, Barack Obama posted his first post-election YouTube address on Saturday, signaling a new stage in the evolution of presidential communications. The President elect, who plans to give weekly video addresses in parallel to the traditional weekly radio messages, … Continue reading “Obama Envisions $150 Billion for “Green Energy Economy” in YouTube Address”
Seattle’s Pharma Godfather, Ben Shapiro, Sees Potential Here To Transform Medicine Despite Setbacks
Not many people in the world have played a leading role in delivering 23 new drugs and vaccines to the U.S. market. Bennett Shapiro is the only person living in Seattle who can say it. Shapiro, 69, spent the first chapter of his career as a biochemist at the National Institutes of Health, followed by … Continue reading “Seattle’s Pharma Godfather, Ben Shapiro, Sees Potential Here To Transform Medicine Despite Setbacks”
EMC Forms New Company, Decho, to Help Customers Take Control of Personal Data Online
EMC, the software and data-storage giant based in Hopkinton, MA, is announcing today it has formed a new company called Decho. The new organization is composed of two formerly separate EMC businesses—American Fork, UT-based Mozy and Seattle-based Pi. The merged operation will focus on cloud computing services having to do with managing people’s digital information, … Continue reading “EMC Forms New Company, Decho, to Help Customers Take Control of Personal Data Online”
Finding Financing in Cash-Strapped Times: WTIA Urban Leadership Series
The economic outlook is uncertain. A recession is ominous. Is it possible to obtain funding during these tentative financial times? On November 18, come hear what local angel investing firms and their angels have to say at the Washington Technology Industry Association’s Urban Leadership Series. This panel discussion will include Todd Dean, NW Chapter President … Continue reading “Finding Financing in Cash-Strapped Times: WTIA Urban Leadership Series”
Tuning In to the Digital Music Business: NWEN December Venture Breakfast
Get a glimpse inside the music business with Dave Dederer, founding member of Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum Seattle band The Presidents of the United States of America. Dave has served as the band’s “entrepreneur in residence” since inception and will share with us where the bodies are buried in the music business-who makes what and how they … Continue reading “Tuning In to the Digital Music Business: NWEN December Venture Breakfast”
Hutch Holiday Gala
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is holding its annual holiday gala at 5 pm on December 6 at the Seattle Sheraton. The black-tie event features live and silent auctions, as well as dinner and dancing with more than 850 business and community leaders. To register, click here.
Science & Technology Discovery Series: UW’s Nate Mantua on Climate Change
Nate Mantua, a professor at the University of Washington, will be the featured speaker on December 12 at the Technology Alliance’s Science and Technology Discovery Series breakfast program. Mantua, an associate director of the UW Climate Impacts Group, will discuss research projections on global climate change and its impact in the Pacific Northwest. To register, … Continue reading “Science & Technology Discovery Series: UW’s Nate Mantua on Climate Change”
Supercomputing Along the Columbia River: PNNL’s Chinook Operators Crunching Digits on How to be More Green
The most powerful computer in Washington state goes by the name of Chinook, and stands along the banks of the Columbia River. It is being used for thorny computing tasks like modeling ways to more efficiently store hydrogen for fuel cells, and how to safely sequester carbon dioxide residue underground. This morning, I heard an … Continue reading “Supercomputing Along the Columbia River: PNNL’s Chinook Operators Crunching Digits on How to be More Green”
Where Innovators Meet Up: The Greater Seattle Coffee Cluster
Map and list updated Dec. 19: Want to know where your favorite VC gets his or her morning latte? How about where tech and life sciences entrepreneurs gather to network and discuss ideas? If you’re looking to rub shoulders with the technological elite—or if you’re just looking for a quiet cafe to have a meeting … Continue reading “Where Innovators Meet Up: The Greater Seattle Coffee Cluster”
Know What Your Tech and Life Sciences Executive Peers Are Paid? Compensation Study Tells All—Plus New Insights on Clean-Tech CEO Pay
It’s too early to know the full impact of the economic meltdown on executive compensation at private technology and life sciences companies. Alas, 2008—or at least the first three fiscal quarters of it—could be viewed next year as the end of the good old days of executive compensation. Still, for those of you who want … Continue reading “Know What Your Tech and Life Sciences Executive Peers Are Paid? Compensation Study Tells All—Plus New Insights on Clean-Tech CEO Pay”
Accelerator Scores New Investment From PPD, Adds Clinical Trial Expertise
Accelerator has lured another high-profile investor into the fold. The Seattle-based biotech startup incubator has collected about $4.5 million from PPD, the global contract research organization that runs clinical trials and animal tests for pharmaceutical companies. PPD’s founder and CEO, Fred Eshelman, will join the Accelerator board of directors as part of the deal. The … Continue reading “Accelerator Scores New Investment From PPD, Adds Clinical Trial Expertise”
Stewart Parker Leaves Targeted, Biotech Cash Gets Tight, Dendreon Thinks Beyond Provenge & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
It was one of those cold, rainy November weeks in Seattle, and the headlines were pretty grim in local biotech. —Targeted Genetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TGEN]]) will never be the same. That was the big news this week, when H. Stewart Parker, the founder, CEO, and ballast during some very rocky years, resigned from the ailing Seattle … Continue reading “Stewart Parker Leaves Targeted, Biotech Cash Gets Tight, Dendreon Thinks Beyond Provenge & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Attention, Startups: Move to New England. Your Gay Employees Will Thank You.
If you’re trying to decide where to build your new tech startup, California obviously has a lot of attractions. You’ll be close to the heart of the venture capital community. Non-compete agreements, which are said to slow innovation in states like Massachusetts, are illegal in the Golden State. The weather is beautiful year-round. And let’s … Continue reading “Attention, Startups: Move to New England. Your Gay Employees Will Thank You.”
Ontela Goes Live on Verizon
Seattle-based Ontela announced today that it has partnered with Denver, CO-based Photobucket to provide automatic photo uploading to the Web on Verizon Wireless phones. Verizon is the largest wireless carrier to adopt Ontela’s technology so far. The service, which costs $2.99 a month, sends users’ pictures from their phone to their Photobucket account.
Microsoft Spins Out Sabi
Microsoft announced today that it has helped launch an educational gaming startup called Sabi, which is based in Kirkland, WA. Sabi’s technology has its origins in Microsoft Research and was licensed through Microsoft’s IP Ventures program. The startup, led by Margaret Johnson, has launched its first interactive drawing and reading game, called ItzaBitza.
Microsoft’s Life Sciences Game Plan: Use IT to Usher in the World of Predictive, Personalized Medicine
Nobody ever accused Bruce Montgomery of being a mealy-mouthed, politically-correct businessman. On Microsoft’s own turf, he offered some free advice last night about what to do with an extremely messed-up healthcare IT industry. “If Microsoft really wants to own the world, create a standardized electronic medical records system and give it away for free the … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Life Sciences Game Plan: Use IT to Usher in the World of Predictive, Personalized Medicine”
Tallying Seattle’s Tech & Life Sciences Layoffs
The economics headlines can sound awfully abstract, until people start losing their jobs. We’re seeing a lot more talented tech and biotech workers heading to the unemployment lines, and frankly, with the dwindling cash reserves at many companies, we expect to see more to come. Rather than talk about the latest half-percentage point increase in … Continue reading “Tallying Seattle’s Tech & Life Sciences Layoffs”
Sapphire Energy, Backed by Bill Gates, Tries to Tone Down the Hype as it Makes Gasoline From Algae
Sapphire Energy has not provided many details about its technology since CEO Jason Pyle stepped into the limelight six months ago to announce the San Diego startup has developed a revolutionary process for turning pond scum into high-octane gasoline. “I have no intention of being secretive,” Pyle told me at the inaugural networking meeting of … Continue reading “Sapphire Energy, Backed by Bill Gates, Tries to Tone Down the Hype as it Makes Gasoline From Algae”
Smartsheet Aims to Become the Google of Outsourced Team Management
Collaborative work management—it’s not the sexiest topic, but it’s a big business. Seattle-area entrepreneur Brent Frei estimates that his newest startup, Smartsheet, is the “301st company in the space.” The basic idea is to make software that companies can use to manage team-based projects and keep track of things like workflow, file storage, discussion threads, … Continue reading “Smartsheet Aims to Become the Google of Outsourced Team Management”
Biotech Survival Index: Cash Running Low at Seattle Life Sciences Companies
Two questions matter most to the financial survival of a biotech company: How much cash does it have in the bank, and how fast is it burning through it? That’s especially true in dark economic days, so I checked on just how well-prepared Seattle’s public biotech companies are to weather this particular storm. The findings … Continue reading “Biotech Survival Index: Cash Running Low at Seattle Life Sciences Companies”
Delve Launches Video Site for U.S. Troops
Seattle-based Delve Networks, a video management and media platform company, has launched a video-sharing site called TroopTube for U.S. military personnel and their families. Delve partnered with Texas-based Marion, Montgomery to deliver the service as part of Military OneSource, which is run by the Department of Defense.
MacTrak Posts Laptop Thieves’ Photos, Locations to Flickr
Woe to the hoodie-wearing miscreant who steals a Mac laptop equipped with MacTrak. He’s likely to find his photo plastered all over the Internet—and the police at his door. MacTrak is a beta application for Macs introduced today by Portland, OR-based GadgetTrak. It’s similar in conception to Absolute Software’s LoJack for Laptops and to Adeona, … Continue reading “MacTrak Posts Laptop Thieves’ Photos, Locations to Flickr”
Long Live Microsoft, Farewell Yahoo, and Flat Is the New Up: A Panel of Predictions for 2009
Everyone loves a good prediction. Well, last night there were many of them. I attended the Washington Technology Industry Association’s “Predictions for 2009” dinner event at the Westin Hotel in Seattle. Before I get to the panel discussion, just a couple of tidbits overheard around the room: —Ben Elowitz, co-founder and CEO of Wetpaint, told … Continue reading “Long Live Microsoft, Farewell Yahoo, and Flat Is the New Up: A Panel of Predictions for 2009”
Higher Education, the Driver of Our State’s Economy, Must Avoid the Budget Axe
Even with the economic downturn, plenty of Seattle area technology companies are going to be hiring new, highly skilled workers in 2009. These are high-paying jobs; the average annual salary plus benefits per worker in Washington’s technology-based industries is more than twice the state average. Too bad more of those jobs won’t be going to … Continue reading “Higher Education, the Driver of Our State’s Economy, Must Avoid the Budget Axe”
Puget Sound Energy Buys Wind Turbines, Voyager Backs Video Ads, 10 Reasons Why Startups Fail, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
It was a pretty slow week for tech deals in the Northwest—chalk it up to the election and the Veteran’s Day holiday. Nevertheless, there was a trickle of activity in software, digital media, and energy. —Seattle-based Voyager Capital has led an investment in Keystream, a Mountain View, CA-based online video advertising startup. The deal closed … Continue reading “Puget Sound Energy Buys Wind Turbines, Voyager Backs Video Ads, 10 Reasons Why Startups Fail, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Cell Therapeutics Lymphoma Drug Wipes Out Tumors in Pivotal Trial
Cell Therapeutics may just have one last chance to dig itself out of its hole. The Seattle-based biotech company said its experimental drug for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, pixantrone, was able to completely wipe out tumors for one-fifth of patients in a clinical trial, compared with about 6 percent who did that well on standard chemotherapy. The … Continue reading “Cell Therapeutics Lymphoma Drug Wipes Out Tumors in Pivotal Trial”
Observing Veterans Day
It’s a holiday for us here at Xconomy, as we join banks, schools, state and federal offices, and the rest of the nation in commemorating those who’ve served in the military. We’ll be back on Wednesday with a new bundle of stories.
Puget Sound Energy Buys Vestas Wind Turbines
Bellevue, WA-based utility Puget Sound Energy, announced today it has purchased 22 wind turbine generators from turbine manufacturer Vestas, which has U.S. headquarters in Portland, OR. The order is for an expansion of the utility’s Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility in eastern Kittitas County, WA, and it accounts for most of the project’s $100 … Continue reading “Puget Sound Energy Buys Vestas Wind Turbines”
Backed by Voyager Capital, Keystream Takes on Video Advertising
Seattle-based Voyager Capital has been investing pretty aggressively in software and digital media startups up and down the West Coast, as we reported back in September. Today, one of its portfolio companies, Mountain View, CA-based Keystream, emerged from stealth mode to announce its new product, management team, and investors. Voyager Capital led a funding round … Continue reading “Backed by Voyager Capital, Keystream Takes on Video Advertising”
Livemocha Wins Startup Award, Wants to Teach You the International Language
“Language lessons,” says the Korean sportscaster in his Howard Cosell voice at the end of Better Off Dead. It’s what allowed Lane Meyer (played by John Cusack) to ski the K-12 on one ski, and 23 years later, it’s still the key to building relationships in global business. So when we heard on Friday that … Continue reading “Livemocha Wins Startup Award, Wants to Teach You the International Language”
Entrance Controls Buys 1Pointe
Tukwila, WA-based Entrance Controls, a technology firm that manages electronic security for businesses, announced today it has acquired Portland, OR-based 1Pointe. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 2005, 1Pointe delivers secure networking, wireless, and storage technologies to businesses in the Northwest.
Stewart Parker Resigns from Targeted Genetics After Gene Therapy Setbacks
H. Stewart Parker’s long career at Targeted Genetics has come to an end. The Seattle biotech company said today that Parker, its founder and the only CEO since it started in 1989, along with her longtime partner, chief scientist Barrie Carter, have both resigned as of last Thursday. Parker will remain on the Targeted Genetics … Continue reading “Stewart Parker Resigns from Targeted Genetics After Gene Therapy Setbacks”
Beyond Provenge: Dendreon Expands Cancer Drug Pipeline
Provenge, Provenge, Provenge. The drug for prostate cancer, which is attempting to be the first approved treatment of its kind in the U.S. to actively stimulate the immune system to fight tumors, is the one product candidate shareholders love to obsess about from Dendreon. But behind the scenes, Seattle-based Dendreon (NASDAQ:[[ticker:DNDN]]) is making headway on … Continue reading “Beyond Provenge: Dendreon Expands Cancer Drug Pipeline”
New Customers in Tow, Apptio Wants To Help Manage Your Skyrocketing IT Costs
Whether you’re a startup or a big company, your IT costs are probably going up these days. And what with all the laptops, desktops, mobile phones, servers, and data centers to keep track of—not to mention e-mail systems, software applications, and tech support—it’s getting harder to predict what those costs are going to be, or … Continue reading “New Customers in Tow, Apptio Wants To Help Manage Your Skyrocketing IT Costs”
MIT Enterprise Forum: The Secret To Getting Funded
During this tumultuous period, startups and emerging companies are questioning what will happen to the usual sources of investment capital. Angels and venture capitalists alike are signaling that the months to come may be brutal. Whatever “lift” the equity and credit markets may get from the upcoming election, it is a given that we are … Continue reading “MIT Enterprise Forum: The Secret To Getting Funded”
Where Is the Seattle Cloud: No Local Startups Among Amazon Web Services’ $100K Finalists
Today, Amazon announced the seven finalists in its Amazon Web Services (AWS) startup challenge. These are young companies that are using the Seattle giant’s cloud-computing platform to build their businesses, and Amazon is rewarding the ones it thinks are the most promising. The grand prize is $50K in cash and $50K in AWS credits and … Continue reading “Where Is the Seattle Cloud: No Local Startups Among Amazon Web Services’ $100K Finalists”
Dendreon Reports $106M in Cash at End of September
Dendreon said today in its quarterly report that it finished the month of September with $106 million in cash and investments in the bank. The Seattle biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) said its net loss in the quarter was $26.8 million. It expects to get final clinical results from a trial of its leading prostate cancer … Continue reading “Dendreon Reports $106M in Cash at End of September”
In the World of Total Information Awareness, “The Last Enemy” Is Us; A TV Show Good Enough to Inspire a Political Rant
If you thought the notorious Total Information Awareness program went away when Congress eliminated funding for the Pentagon’s mass-surveillance experiment in 2003, you were misled. The program itself may have been dismantled, but as an investigation by the Wall Street Journal detailed in March, many pieces of it were simply transferred to other federal agencies, … Continue reading “In the World of Total Information Awareness, “The Last Enemy” Is Us; A TV Show Good Enough to Inspire a Political Rant”
3Tier: Remapping the World for Renewable Energy, From a Supercomputer Hothouse in Seattle
There’s a small company in downtown Seattle called 3Tier Group that has a goal of no less than “Remapping the World” for alternative energy. T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire Texas oilman, is such a big fan, he used 3Tier’s maps to draw a bold conclusion-that the United States has the potential to be “the Saudi … Continue reading “3Tier: Remapping the World for Renewable Energy, From a Supercomputer Hothouse in Seattle”
Why Startups Fail: A Top 10 List From Geoff Entress, Seattle’s Prolific Angel Investor
Despite the post-election glow in some circles, the financial reality for most people remains gloomy (along with the weather here in Seattle). As Geoff Entress succinctly puts it, “The economy still sucks…Nobody’s writing any checks right now at all.” I sat down with the Seattle-based angel investor yesterday in between his appearances at the University … Continue reading “Why Startups Fail: A Top 10 List From Geoff Entress, Seattle’s Prolific Angel Investor”
Obama Administration Will Give Clean Energy a Boost, but Smart Grid Is Needed
At SmartGridNews.com, we expect the Obama Administration to announce two things that will converge to give this already growing sector an additional boost. The first is a Clean Energy program to stimulate five million new jobs. The second is a “New Deal” stimulus package based on rejuvenating essential infrastructure. In both case, the Smart Grid … Continue reading “Obama Administration Will Give Clean Energy a Boost, but Smart Grid Is Needed”