Epic Systems may soon add its name to the list of companies with virtual assistant software that people can give instructions to and get information from. But those who say, ‘Hey Epic’ to initiate a man-to-machine conversation won’t be your average consumers. Instead, they’ll be doctors, nurses, and others who use the Verona, WI-based company’s … Continue reading “Epic Seeks to Join Alexa, Siri as Software You Can Chat With”
Category: Seattle
Google, Apple Offer Salvation from the Horrors of Autoplay
Tech giants are under a lot of pressure these days to make the world a better place—to ferret out Russian hackers trying to fix elections; to combat gender bias in hiring; to stamp out sexual harassment; and to lend their voices to the protests over President Trump’s immigration policies. Despite efforts they’ve made on these … Continue reading “Google, Apple Offer Salvation from the Horrors of Autoplay”
The Winners of the 2017 Xconomy Awards Are…
We are excited to announce the recipients of the first-ever Xconomy Awards. Big Idea Bridge Project The Bridge Project was hatched by MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research in Cambridge and the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center in Boston to fund collaborative research between cancer researchers from MIT and Harvard-affiliated hospitals and schools. Its aim is … Continue reading “The Winners of the 2017 Xconomy Awards Are…”
Federal Grant Funding Boosts Cascadia CleanTech Accelerator
Nearly two dozen Northwest cleantech startup companies have found their footing in the last two years through the Cascadia CleanTech Accelerator, a pre-equity business development program that on Tuesday won a half-million-dollar grant to expand its curriculum. The funding, through a U.S. Department of Commerce program focused on regional innovation, goes to Seattle-based industry trade … Continue reading “Federal Grant Funding Boosts Cascadia CleanTech Accelerator”
Trump Orders Up $200M a Year for STEM, Coding Education
President Donald Trump, who has had a rocky relationship with tech companies during his short administration so far, announced an education initiative Monday that apparently met with their approval. In a White House ceremony, Trump directed his education secretary to allocate at least $200 million a year to fund student access to coursework in science, … Continue reading “Trump Orders Up $200M a Year for STEM, Coding Education”
Xconomy Q&A: Todd Schulte of Tech Immigration Advocacy Org FWD.us
[Updated 9/25/17, 1:55 p.m. Clarified 9/27/17, 10:01 a.m. See below.] Immigration policy has always been important to the tech industry, but this year is different. Under a steady barrage of nationalist, anti-immigrant policies promulgated by the Trump administration, the tech industry has been forced to respond like never before, in the halls of Congress, the … Continue reading “Xconomy Q&A: Todd Schulte of Tech Immigration Advocacy Org FWD.us”
Low-Hanging Fruit Gone, Ag & Food Tech Investors Pay More for Deals
[Updated 9/25/17, 5:18 pm. See below.] Food delivery startups are catching on with more consumers, and that demand is whetting investor appetites. The $400 million that grocery delivery startup Instacart raised in March marked the largest deal for a U.S. food technology company in the first half of the year, according to new data from … Continue reading “Low-Hanging Fruit Gone, Ag & Food Tech Investors Pay More for Deals”
Bio Roundup: RNAi’s Big Day, CAR-T For Kids, Drugs From Fungi & More
It’s been a year of biomedical milestones in the U.S., including the first approval of a CAR-T cellular immunotherapy, the first smartphone app to treat substance abuse, and the first approval of a cancer drug based on genetic signature instead of the tumor’s organ of origin. Add to the list the first successful Phase 3 … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: RNAi’s Big Day, CAR-T For Kids, Drugs From Fungi & More”
Nathan Myhrvold: The Full Xconomy Voices Interview
Episode 3 of our new podcast, Xconomy Voices, features a conversation about nuclear power with Nathan Myhrvold, the founder and CEO of Intellectual Ventures. The former Microsoft chief technology officer is now vice chairman of TerraPower, a Bellevue, WA-based spinout of Intellectual Ventures that aims to revive commercial nuclear energy. The company is researching next-generation … Continue reading “Nathan Myhrvold: The Full Xconomy Voices Interview”
Would a Binational Detroit-Windsor Amazon HQ2 Bid Be a Game-Changer?
Just about all of North America has been abuzz over Amazon’s search for a second headquarters. Dubbed HQ2, the project is expected to bring billions in investment capital to the winner, along with up to 50,000 jobs. Like virtually every major city in America, Detroit is planning to toss its hat into the ring. But unlike … Continue reading “Would a Binational Detroit-Windsor Amazon HQ2 Bid Be a Game-Changer?”
Xconomy Voices, Episode 3: Nathan Myhrvold and TerraPower
We’re pleased to bring you the third episode of Xconomy Voices, our new podcast featuring conversations with entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors from Xconomy’s home cities and regions. This week our guest is Nathan Myhrvold, the former Microsoft chief technology officer who, since 2000, has headed Intellectual Ventures, a Bellevue, WA-based firm that buys, develops, and … Continue reading “Xconomy Voices, Episode 3: Nathan Myhrvold and TerraPower”
Techstars Heads to Norway in Search of Energy Startups with Statoil
Global startup launcher Techstars plans to run a program next year in Oslo, with Norwegian state-owned energy giant Statoil, focused on startups working in the energy industry. Statoil (NYSE: [[ticker:STOS]]) is a 45-year-old vertically integrated oil and gas giant with deep expertise in offshore exploration and drilling, as well as a significant hydroelectric and wind energy … Continue reading “Techstars Heads to Norway in Search of Energy Startups with Statoil”
Costello’s A.I.-Driven Software Aims to Improve Sales Rep Performance
Artificial intelligence technologies are evolving at a rapid pace, remaking everything from vehicles to video games. An Indianapolis startup called Costello, armed with $1 million in investment capital, is launching this month to bring A.I. to deal management software, which the company says will help to better prepare sales reps while also offering managers increased … Continue reading “Costello’s A.I.-Driven Software Aims to Improve Sales Rep Performance”
NVCA Sues Trump Administration for Delaying “Startup Visa” Program
Add another item to the list of tech industry beefs with the new crew in the White House. An organization representing venture capital firms filed a federal suit in Washington, DC, on Tuesday accusing Trump Administration officials of unlawfully delaying a program that would have allowed international entrepreneurs to work at companies they founded within … Continue reading “NVCA Sues Trump Administration for Delaying “Startup Visa” Program”
Itron-Silver Springs, Doosan’s Storage Win, and More Smart Grid News
Here’s a look at recent news from some of Washington state’s grid modernization and energy storage players, including Itron’s planned acquisition of Silver Spring Networks; a big energy storage project in the Mojave Desert for Seattle-based Doosan GridTech; and a bolus of federal funding for electricity grid researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: Itron Buying … Continue reading “Itron-Silver Springs, Doosan’s Storage Win, and More Smart Grid News”
On CAR-T’s Edge, Seattle Researchers Plot to Bypass Novartis Therapy
[Corrected, 10/10/17, 2 p.m. ET. See below.] It’s not a stretch to say that Greta Oberhofer is alive thanks to the genetically modified cell therapy called CAR-T. At three and a half months old, she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, an aggressive blood cancer. At 10 months old, she had a bone … Continue reading “On CAR-T’s Edge, Seattle Researchers Plot to Bypass Novartis Therapy”
Qumulo Fulfills Cloud Promise of Its Name with AWS Integration
Enterprise data storage software company Qumulo is making its technology available in Amazon’s public cloud for the first time starting Tuesday, fulfilling the promise of its cloud-inspired name five years after it emerged from Seattle’s early-2000s data storage success story. The move to the cloud, and a related set of technology improvements that comprise the … Continue reading “Qumulo Fulfills Cloud Promise of Its Name with AWS Integration”
Akili, Emulate, Ginkgo & More: The Innovation at the Intersection Award Finalists
Research that happens at the intersection of different fields can lead to new innovations that tackle pressing problems in the life sciences. This year’s finalists in the Innovation at the Intersection category show the value of bringing different disciplines—engineering and biology, IT and medicine—together. Here are brief introductions to the finalists. The winners of this … Continue reading “Akili, Emulate, Ginkgo & More: The Innovation at the Intersection Award Finalists”
Dealmaker, Thought Leader & More: The X of the Year Xconomy Award Finalists
Given the size and diversity of the life sciences community in the Boston area, we at Xconomy knew that many candidates would be so unique that they wouldn’t fit neatly into a category. So we gave them a category of their own. These finalists represent the wide range of talent—from investors to entrepreneurs and thought-leaders—that … Continue reading “Dealmaker, Thought Leader & More: The X of the Year Xconomy Award Finalists”
Bio Roundup: Phase 3 Fails, Shkreli Jailed, Moderna Flip-Flops & More
It was a week of realignments. President Trump, who used to be known as “The Donald” but now goes by “Amnesty Don,” kept up the parlay-voo with his new friends Chuck and Nancy. Martin Shkreli, who was once known—and still is!—as the “pharma bro,” will have a new perspective for a while, through the bars … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Phase 3 Fails, Shkreli Jailed, Moderna Flip-Flops & More”
After Equifax: Should Tech Entrepreneurs Design the Next-Gen Credit Agency?
Personal financial data for as many as 143 million Americans, inadequately guarded by credit bureau Equifax and stolen by hackers, can never be sheltered again under an umbrella of privacy. Those victims could face dire consequences, such as raids on their bank accounts and identity theft, for the rest of their lives. The losses for … Continue reading “After Equifax: Should Tech Entrepreneurs Design the Next-Gen Credit Agency?”
Washington Faces Outward with Opening of Global Innovation Exchange
A five-year effort launched by a top Microsoft executive to unite some of the Pacific Rim’s top educational institutions and businesses came to fruition Thursday with the grand opening of the Global Innovation Exchange in Bellevue, WA. The graduate education program aims to train a new generation of international innovators and entrepreneurs through project-based learning … Continue reading “Washington Faces Outward with Opening of Global Innovation Exchange”
Going Big or Against the Tide: Meet the Big Idea & Contrarian Award Finalists
[Corrected, 1:25pm ET, see below] All innovation and companies start off as an idea. Some will gain more traction than others over time, but we at Xconomy think that big ideas—and the people and companies in Boston’s life sciences community bold enough to try to implement them—are worth celebrating. Some of those ideas even go … Continue reading “Going Big or Against the Tide: Meet the Big Idea & Contrarian Award Finalists”
GM, Ford, BAE Systems Up the Self-Driving Ante with New Advances
Things are moving quickly in the mobility sector as the race to develop autonomous vehicle technologies revs up. This week brought a spate of mobility news from GM and Cruise, Ford, BAE, and even the federal government. Read on for details. —The Detroit News published a detailed report this week regarding Ford’s Silicon Valley lab, … Continue reading “GM, Ford, BAE Systems Up the Self-Driving Ante with New Advances”
Heptio Pilots Businesses Toward Hybrid Cloud with $25M Investment
The praise Heptio co-founder Joe Beda received after the Seattle startup company announced a $25 million funding round “seems a little strange,” he said in a tweet Wednesday, because the “real work” is still ahead. Thanks for all of the “congrats” but seems a little strange. We convinced VCs of good team and plan. Real … Continue reading “Heptio Pilots Businesses Toward Hybrid Cloud with $25M Investment”
Education Is Unbundling—Three Key Trends to Watch
Technology in the classroom has come a long way since its advent in the 1920s, when teachers would air radio broadcasts about topics relevant to their lesson plans. Ten years later, in the 1930s, the overhead projector debuted to display material for the whole class to see all at once, followed by the launch of … Continue reading “Education Is Unbundling—Three Key Trends to Watch”
Xconomy Award Finalists in the Eye of the National Drug Price Debate
[Corrected 12:20pm ET; see below.] The national debate over the high cost of healthcare, with prescription drugs at the center, resonates from the chambers of Congress to every American’s pocketbook. And it’s growing fiercer by the day. Last week, the first genetically modified cell therapy came to market with a price tag of $475,000. This … Continue reading “Xconomy Award Finalists in the Eye of the National Drug Price Debate”
Uniting Cascadia: Cross-Border Efforts on Accelerators, Investment
Startups in Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia can look forward to more regional networking and, perhaps, an increased pool of investment capital under a pair of initiatives announced Tuesday. The Cascadia Innovation Network, spearheaded by the Canadian Consulate General in Seattle, would unite startup incubators and accelerators from across the region in an effort to … Continue reading “Uniting Cascadia: Cross-Border Efforts on Accelerators, Investment”
Prowess in Energy, Logistics, & Talent Gives Houston Edge for Amazon
Houston is the most diverse city in the country with a strong industrial base, well-run port, two airports, cheap real estate, several universities, and most importantly: a huge can-do attitude. Houston should be the home of HQ2 because: —Support: We have been working hard at establishing a third leg to our economy in tech, with … Continue reading “Prowess in Energy, Logistics, & Talent Gives Houston Edge for Amazon”
Grab the Early Bird Rate for Healthcare + A.I. NW on Nov. 9
Leaders from the life sciences and technology industries are coming together for Xconomy’s special event on artificial intelligence in healthcare on Nov. 9 at Cambia Grove in Seattle. Act now to get the best price on tickets for what we expect will be a sold-out event. Join us to hear from experts, innovators, entrepreneurs, and … Continue reading “Grab the Early Bird Rate for Healthcare + A.I. NW on Nov. 9”
To Win Amazon’s HQ2, Incentives Are Nice, But Talent Is Required
Amazon lists one requirement in the stunning request for proposals it issued Thursday, which invites cities across North America to compete to host a second corporate headquarters for the tech and commerce giant. Economic development officials are justifiably salivating at the once-in-a-generation opportunity to attract what is arguably the 21st century’s most important company, and … Continue reading “To Win Amazon’s HQ2, Incentives Are Nice, But Talent Is Required”
Bio Roundup: RNAi Drama, Immunotherapy Data, Lasker Winners & More
The summer doldrums are over. Biotech news came at a breakneck pace this week both before and after Labor Day, starting with the surprise resignation of Novartis’s top executive just days after the Swiss company notched an historic FDA approval. From there, the week featured big headlines, both good and bad, from several trials in … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: RNAi Drama, Immunotherapy Data, Lasker Winners & More”
Five Regions That Could Draw Amazon’s Next Headquarters
[Updated 4:26 p.m. See below.] Amazon sent cities across North America into a frenzy Thursday after announcing plans to build a second headquarters outside of Seattle, bringing with it tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic development benefits. The tech and commerce giant says it wants cities and states to apply … Continue reading “Five Regions That Could Draw Amazon’s Next Headquarters”
Levin, Holtzman, 183 Other Bio Leaders Urge White House to Preserve DACA
Biotech CEOs Jeremy Levin and Steve Holtzman are continuing their recent push to spur the life sciences industry to speak out against government policies it doesn’t agree with. Levin, CEO of Ovid Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OVID]]) and Holtzman, the head of Decibel Therapeutics, co-authored a letter to the Trump administration and congressional leaders asking them to … Continue reading “Levin, Holtzman, 183 Other Bio Leaders Urge White House to Preserve DACA”
Zipwhip Continues Business Texting Push With $22.5M in New Funding
How many texts did you send today? And how many did you send to a business? Whatever the number, Zipwhip and the investors who just poured another $22.5 million into the Seattle company are betting you’ll be sending more—and they’re not alone. Zipwhip makes software that allows businesses to better communicate with customers via text … Continue reading “Zipwhip Continues Business Texting Push With $22.5M in New Funding”
Lasker Award Goes to HPV Vaccine Developers Lowy, Schiller
A top prize in American biomedical science was awarded today to two scientists for their discoveries that led to the development of a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which prevents cervical cancer caused by the sexually transmitted virus. Douglas Lowy (pictured right), acting director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and John Schiller (left), also at … Continue reading “Lasker Award Goes to HPV Vaccine Developers Lowy, Schiller”
Smartphone Medicine: Detecting Concussions With Machine Learning
If you’re rolled into the emergency room of Harborview Medical Center with a head injury, doctors there might use an $8,000 infrared camera to track how your pupils respond to light. The digital pupilometer can measure the pupillary light reflex with more precision than even an expert clinician can, using a pen light and his … Continue reading “Smartphone Medicine: Detecting Concussions With Machine Learning”
Presage Bio Licenses Anti-Cancer Drug to San Diego’s MEI Pharma
San Diego’s MEI Pharma (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MEIP]]) has agreed to pay $2.9 million upfront to Seattle-based Presage Biosciences for exclusive worldwide rights for the anti-cancer drug candidate voruciclib, which has shown some promise in a small, early stage study of patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). Additional payments could eventually add another $181 million if MEI … Continue reading “Presage Bio Licenses Anti-Cancer Drug to San Diego’s MEI Pharma”
Patient Death Triggers FDA Hold For Cellectis’s “Off the Shelf” CAR-T
[Corrected, 9/18/17, see below] The FDA has forced Cellectis to shut down two Phase 1 trials it has been running to test an “off the shelf” type of cell therapy—a stinging setback to the France- and New York-based company’s aspirations to leapfrog other developers of CAR-T, a type of cancer immunotherapy that the FDA just … Continue reading “Patient Death Triggers FDA Hold For Cellectis’s “Off the Shelf” CAR-T”
Seattle Week in Review: Dreamers, Uber, Harvey, Satellites, & More
Heading into Labor Day weekend, mourning for Houston, here’s a look at this week’s tech news from Seattle and beyond, with updates on several big stories: —President Donald Trump is reportedly set to decide next week the fate of the Dreamers—young, undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children and registered with the government … Continue reading “Seattle Week in Review: Dreamers, Uber, Harvey, Satellites, & More”
Booster Sees Membership Surge as Dallas Faces Fuel Shortage
On-demand fuel delivery startup Booster Fuels, which operates in Dallas-Fort Worth and the San Francisco Bay Area, says thousands of new users downloaded its app on Thursday. Long lines have formed at gas stations in Dallas and elsewhere as drivers fear fuel shortages in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, which struck the heart of the … Continue reading “Booster Sees Membership Surge as Dallas Faces Fuel Shortage”
Bio Roundup: CAR-T’s Huge Week, Merck’s ‘Pib Choice & More
[Corrected 9/5/17, 12:22 p.m. See below.] The far-out idea of reprogramming a patient’s immune cells to fight cancer, known as CAR-T, entered the mainstream this week, and two numbers highlight the tale. The first is $11.9 billion, the price Gilead Sciences is paying for Kite Pharma and its cancer-fighting cell therapy pipeline. It’s one of … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: CAR-T’s Huge Week, Merck’s ‘Pib Choice & More”
Novartis: CAR-T Results In One Month, Or No Charge. Why One Month?
Novartis said Wednesday that it would not charge for its newly approved cellular immunotherapy, tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah)—the first so-called CAR-T product to ever come to market—if it fails to help patients within a month. If the cell therapy, approved for kids with leukemia who have run out of other options, starts to work within a month, … Continue reading “Novartis: CAR-T Results In One Month, Or No Charge. Why One Month?”
Embracing the Inevitable Changes of Self-Driving Vehicles
Read today’s news and you’d think fully autonomous vehicles—commercial vehicles, in particular—will be everywhere in the very near future. With headlines like these, it’s no wonder: Self-Driving Trucks Could be on Highways in 3 to 4 Years U.S. and Europe Race to be First to Self-Driving Trucks Ford Plans Self-Driving Car for Ride Share Fleets … Continue reading “Embracing the Inevitable Changes of Self-Driving Vehicles”
As Uber Confirms CEO Pick, A Real Change of Control?
The board of embattled ride-hailing giant Uber late Tuesday confirmed its decision to hire Expedia chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi as its new CEO. The vote was unanimous, the board wrote in an upbeat letter to Uber employees. “We’re really fortunate to gain a leader with Dara’s experience, talent and vision,” the note said. “The Board … Continue reading “As Uber Confirms CEO Pick, A Real Change of Control?”
Rivals Microsoft, Amazon Let Their Intelligent Assistants Be Friends
Two of the biggest names in tech—Cortana and Alexa—are getting together. The makers of these two intelligent, voice-enabled assistants—Seattle’s tech giants, Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) and Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]), respectively—said Wednesday they are collaborating to make it easier to access one with the other. Specifically, later this year, Windows 10 users will be able to call … Continue reading “Rivals Microsoft, Amazon Let Their Intelligent Assistants Be Friends”
Novartis Wins Historic FDA Nod, Prices CAR-T For Leukemia at $475,000
Ahead of schedule, Novartis has received the first-ever approval of a genetically modified living cell therapy called CAR-T, which uses a cancer patient’s own immune cells as the medicine. Within days, children and young adults with a severe form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia could receive the treatment at a handful of centers across the U.S. … Continue reading “Novartis Wins Historic FDA Nod, Prices CAR-T For Leukemia at $475,000”
Taking Tech Ideas Global: Connecting an Innovation Ecosystem
The word ecosystem conjures up a rain forest in Ecuador, where sunlight, soil, water, and a multitude of species exist together in a self-sustaining environment that is constantly evolving. This image from biology translates perfectly into what many people like to call an innovation ecosystem. Think of a group of people developing a new idea, … Continue reading “Taking Tech Ideas Global: Connecting an Innovation Ecosystem”
Amplero Raises $17.5M to Build A.I. System for Consumer Marketers
Picture the trove of data that companies have stored up about you over the years—your clicks, likes, posts, purchases, devices, demographics, credit score, and more. That’s the fuel for a new wave of automated, highly personalized marketing pitches. Seattle startup Amplero just raised $17.5 million to build the machine that would create those pitches “at … Continue reading “Amplero Raises $17.5M to Build A.I. System for Consumer Marketers”
University of Washington Team Among Finalists in $2.5M Alexa Prize
The finalists in Amazon’s contest that recruited university student teams to develop better conversational chatbots include a team from University of Washington. Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) announced that the UW’s Sounding Board team is in the finals of the $2.5 million Alexa Prize competition, along with Alquist, a team from Czech Technical University in Prague; and What’s … Continue reading “University of Washington Team Among Finalists in $2.5M Alexa Prize”