For the entire staff at Global Detroit, the Executive Orders from President Trump on immigration, refugees, the so-called Muslim ban, and the wall have been devastating and deeply distressing. They challenge our sense of American values and history. Beyond our personal and moral reactions, however, the Executive Orders also may have some impact on the … Continue reading “Trump’s Immigration Policies Threaten to Thwart Economic Growth”
Category: Seattle
Biotech Leaders Sign Letter Condemning Trump’s Travel Ban
The blowback from U.S. business leaders to President Trump’s travel ban continues—today from a throng of biotech executives. This morning, 165 U.S. biotech leaders have signed a letter voicing “deep concern and opposition” to the order, which bars entry to the U.S. to refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. The Jan. 27 order placed … Continue reading “Biotech Leaders Sign Letter Condemning Trump’s Travel Ban”
Kentucky Biotech CEO’s Message For McConnell: I’ll Be Muslim, Too
President Trump’s order to bar refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries is on temporary hold, and a court hearing later today could eventually force a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. One of the latest biotech executives to speak out against the ban is in the backyard of Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the top Republican … Continue reading “Kentucky Biotech CEO’s Message For McConnell: I’ll Be Muslim, Too”
Seattle Week in Review: MSFT Calls for Exceptions to Immigration Ban
[Updated 2/3/17 4:22 p.m. See below.] The Trump administration’s immigration ban remained a top concern for technology companies, including major Seattle-area stalwarts that this week joined with Washington state to challenge it. Microsoft, while acknowledging that the broader debate over the ban must continue, sought a process to exempt certain people from the ban. In other news, … Continue reading “Seattle Week in Review: MSFT Calls for Exceptions to Immigration Ban”
Microsoft Moving Michigan Tech Center to Downtown Detroit
Bedrock Detroit, the real estate company tied to Quicken Loans chairman Dan Gilbert, announced today that it has successfully lured Microsoft to downtown Detroit. The Redmond, WA-based technology giant (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) has maintained a 52,000-square-foot tech center in Southfield, a suburb of Detroit, since 2010. But Microsoft’s planned 2018 relocation to the Motor City is being … Continue reading “Microsoft Moving Michigan Tech Center to Downtown Detroit”
Bio Roundup: Travel Ban, Pharma in DC, Biogen Splits, PCSK9 Wins
Folks had just clocked out last Friday when the Trump Administration announced a travel ban that threw airports around the country into chaos. That announcement set the tone for this week in life sciences. Many in biopharma blasted Trump’s order and tried to grapple with its implications. At the same time, a handful of the … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Travel Ban, Pharma in DC, Biogen Splits, PCSK9 Wins”
Robots Might Eat Your Job, But Being Human Could Get You A New One
Robots and artificial intelligence software could eventually render human workers obsolete in virtually every industry, but that shift will likely take at least 30 to 50 years to play out. In the meantime, it’s important to focus on properly preparing people for the jobs that will be available over the next decade or so, and … Continue reading “Robots Might Eat Your Job, But Being Human Could Get You A New One”
Survey Reveals Seattle Startup Gender Gap as Techstars Struggles
Men and women in Seattle startups agree that men have more opportunities for advancement and typically fit in better with their company’s culture, according to a survey focused on gender of employees at smaller, growing companies. That’s one of several findings of the survey, Catalyze Seattle, released Thursday, which takes in responses from 315 people … Continue reading “Survey Reveals Seattle Startup Gender Gap as Techstars Struggles”
Nohla Therapeutics Names Kathleen Fanning President & CEO
Nohla Therapeutics has appointed Kathleen Fanning its new president and chief executive. Before joining Seattle-based Nohla, Fanning served as chief operating officer at VentiRx Pharmaceuticals. She has also held various posts at Cell Therapeutics, CellPro, and Zeneca Pharmaceuticals (now AstraZeneca). Nohla is developing therapies from umbilical cord blood to treat blood disorders.
Seed-Stage Deals Show Growing Diversity of Agtech Investments
Fundraising is tough for startups but it’s particularly difficult in agriculture, a sector that has fewer firms focused on agtech investments. The dynamics are starting to change, though. A growing number of early-stage agtech startups are raising money and they’re pulling capital from a broader pool of sources, according to a new report from AgFunder, … Continue reading “Seed-Stage Deals Show Growing Diversity of Agtech Investments”
Many Washington Tech Giants in Vocal Opposition to Immigration Ban
When Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit to invalidate the Trump administration’s executive order temporarily banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries, he did so with the explicit support of two giants of the tech industry. Amazon and Expedia filed legal briefs outlining the order’s negative impacts to their businesses and employees, … Continue reading “Many Washington Tech Giants in Vocal Opposition to Immigration Ban”
Datto Buys Open Mesh to Build Out Networking Business
New England data-protection firm Datto is pushing deeper into IT networking technologies with the acquisition of Open Mesh. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed in Tuesday’s announcement. Open Mesh makes hardware and cloud-based software that it says enables IT professionals to implement secure wireless networks more quickly and cheaply than traditional networks. Open Mesh will … Continue reading “Datto Buys Open Mesh to Build Out Networking Business”
Still No Official Word From Biopharma Groups About Trump Travel Ban
Four days after President Donald Trump issued an order to temporarily ban U.S. entry for people from seven Muslim-majority countries—and for all refugees—the drug industry’s two main lobbying groups have remained silent, even while individual executives in the industry have voiced opposition. The main life science trade group in California has also stayed on the … Continue reading “Still No Official Word From Biopharma Groups About Trump Travel Ban”
Ex-Xerox CTO Vandebroek Named Chief Operating Officer of IBM Research
When I last spoke to Sophie Vandebroek in December, it was for a kind of exit interview as she prepared to leave her longtime job as Xerox’s CTO and head of its worldwide research organization. We went over highlights of her Xerox tenure, her outlook on key technology trends for 2017 and beyond—the Internet of … Continue reading “Ex-Xerox CTO Vandebroek Named Chief Operating Officer of IBM Research”
Cybersecurity in 2017: Goal, Illusion, or Oxymoron?
Here at the (relative) beginning of 2017, we can safely say that the previous year was among the most significant in history from a cybersecurity standpoint. Nation-state actions, in the form of the assumed Russian interference in the U.S. elections (especially the presidential race) and in the leaks of e-mails from the Clinton campaign, dominated … Continue reading “Cybersecurity in 2017: Goal, Illusion, or Oxymoron?”
Seattle Week in Review: UW Gets $279M, Cow Sharing, Techstars & More
Seattle’s role as a capital for global health was highlighted again this week when the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a historic grant to a key University of Washington population health effort. We’re also rounding up a handful of recent early-stage funding rounds for area companies pursuing cow-sharing, healthcare IT, and water metering. And, … Continue reading “Seattle Week in Review: UW Gets $279M, Cow Sharing, Techstars & More”
Bio Roundup: Trump News, Anthem’s Stand, Diversity by 2056 & More
It was a wild week in biotech and on Capitol Hill. A new study showed it may take another 40 years to achieve gender parity in public biotech boardrooms. Tensions continued to mount between drugmakers and payers over the rising costs of rare disease drugs. A flurry of deals took place, headlined by Johnson & … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Trump News, Anthem’s Stand, Diversity by 2056 & More”
Techstars Picks 9 Startups For Seattle, Complementing Local Strengths
Techstars has named nine startup companies for its 2017 Seattle accelerator class, each with a focus that complements one of the region’s core or emerging technology strengths. Techstars Seattle managing director Chris DeVore says this deliberate matching of startup companies to strengths in the local tech industry is meant to “give the teams we select … Continue reading “Techstars Picks 9 Startups For Seattle, Complementing Local Strengths”
KenSci Raises $8.5M, Delves into Data to Predict Who Will Get Sick
Seattle healthcare IT startup KenSci has a tagline that helps simplify the company’s audacious aims: Death versus data science. Unpack that a little bit and you’ll find a company—banging its drum Wednesday with an $8.5 million Series A funding round led by Ignition Partners—that’s combing of-the-moment machine learning technology and mountains of data to attack … Continue reading “KenSci Raises $8.5M, Delves into Data to Predict Who Will Get Sick”
Report: Biotech VCs Perpetuate Boardroom Gender Gap
If power in the business world is centered in the boardroom, women in biotech have a long way to go to get their fair share—and the venture community deserves much of the blame. That’s according to British recruitment firm Liftstream and its new study of biotech companies that went public in the recent boom years. … Continue reading “Report: Biotech VCs Perpetuate Boardroom Gender Gap”
Ex-FDA Commish Califf Gives Props to Patient Groups—With Caveats
The nation’s former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Robert Califf, appearing for the first time since he resigned last week, told a Silicon Valley crowd this morning that the FDA will have to be flexible in coming years, allowing greater patient input into drug evaluation and leaning on outside watchdogs for help weeding out “imposters.” … Continue reading “Ex-FDA Commish Califf Gives Props to Patient Groups—With Caveats”
EOW Reading List: Gender in AI, Manufacturing’s Future & More
Leading off our End of Work Reading List this week is a series of explorations of gender and sexism in the creation of artificial intelligence and automation technologies. Why are so many robots and virtual assistants designed with female forms and voices? Will women suffer more economic dislocation from the coming wave of automation than … Continue reading “EOW Reading List: Gender in AI, Manufacturing’s Future & More”
Business Leaders Talk Trump’s Impact on Visas, Drug Pricing, Insurance
Perhaps you’ve heard about the inauguration of one Donald J. Trump. Xconomy has been asking prominent members of the national innovation community for their thoughts on the incoming administration and its potential impact on their companies and industries. Here are responses from four business leaders in different cities across Xconomy’s network. Alex Lash, our national … Continue reading “Business Leaders Talk Trump’s Impact on Visas, Drug Pricing, Insurance”
Bio Roundup: Tom Price, Patient Conflicts, Orphan Games & More
The new president of the United States, Donald Trump, is being sworn in today amid a storm of questions about the plans that he, and those who might work for him, have in store for American healthcare and medicine. Trump’s nominee to run the $1 trillion Health and Human Services Department, Tom Price, answered—or didn’t … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Tom Price, Patient Conflicts, Orphan Games & More”
Want to Ruin Your Relationships? Ask Family and Friends to Fund Your Startup
When you need cash to fuel your startup, it’s tempting to “think local.” The people with the strongest ties to you—relatives, friends, college roommates, running buddies, and co-workers—are the ones who believe in you. You’d probably turn first to them for financial support. Capital fronted by these folks might be the quickest, easiest cash you’ll … Continue reading “Want to Ruin Your Relationships? Ask Family and Friends to Fund Your Startup”
Dems Grill HHS Nominee Price About Trump Comments, Stock Holdings
[Note: This report was co-authored by deputy biotech editor Ben Fidler.] Tom Price, the man who could oversee an overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system, answered often pointed questions this morning from U.S. senators about his views, his plans for Obamacare, and personal financial transactions. Price, an orthopedic surgeon by training, is President-elect Donald Trump’s … Continue reading “Dems Grill HHS Nominee Price About Trump Comments, Stock Holdings”
Video Trends Point to Changing Ways Companies Reach Consumers
The top emerging trends that will affect our business in 2017 are a mixture of how consumers digest information online, video trends, and the continued growth of live video. The way people digest information online has shifted over time from being text based to photo based to now being very video based. Facebook forecasts that … Continue reading “Video Trends Point to Changing Ways Companies Reach Consumers”
Seattle Week in Review: 100k to AMZN, MSFT’s Olympia Agenda, VC Stats
This was a busy week. Let’s get right to our review featuring a Microsoft acquisition in “machine literacy”; Amazon’s plans to hire 100,000 full-time U.S. workers by mid-2018; a green light for the UW’s new computer science building; transparency from Microsoft on its agenda for the state legislative session; 2016 venture capital statistics, including a … Continue reading “Seattle Week in Review: 100k to AMZN, MSFT’s Olympia Agenda, VC Stats”
In AI Race, Microsoft Snaps Up Machine Literacy Startup Maluuba
The Montreal-based startup Microsoft is acquiring aims to teach machines to read so they can get smarter on their own. The acquisition of Maluuba, a five-year-old startup, adds a trove of deep learning researchers to Microsoft’s already world-class artificial intelligence research group, and gives the company a stronger presence in Montreal, a significant hub of … Continue reading “In AI Race, Microsoft Snaps Up Machine Literacy Startup Maluuba”
Biotech Roundup: JPM Deals, Gender Diversity, PCSK9 Battle & More
[Corrected, 1/14/16, see below] This past week, the biopharma industry made its annual January pilgrimage to San Francisco for the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. 2016 was a whirlwind year in biotech, and the biopharma gods rewarded attendees with a multi-day monsoon to slog through to get from one meeting to the next. Earlier today, Alex … Continue reading “Biotech Roundup: JPM Deals, Gender Diversity, PCSK9 Battle & More”
Notes From The JPM ’17 Vortex: Trump, Rainstorms & The Price You Pay
[Editor’s note: Ben Fidler contributed to this report] The week of frenetic data sharing, deal talking, and party hopping of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference—and the events that have mushroomed around it—took a punch to the gut just as most attendees were wrapping up and checking their outbound flight status. The incoming party-pooper-in-chief, Donald Trump, … Continue reading “Notes From The JPM ’17 Vortex: Trump, Rainstorms & The Price You Pay”
Startup Resolution 2017: Embrace Believers, Bounce Skeptics & Keep Moving
The holiday period is a great time for reflection and then behavior modification – often referred to as resolutions. While a bit artificial to the logical engineer, this opportunity can be helpful. This year, my favorite insight came from a former student and employee, Elliot Cohen, co-founder of PillPack. While thinking about the major aspirational … Continue reading “Startup Resolution 2017: Embrace Believers, Bounce Skeptics & Keep Moving”
EOW Reading List: Automation, Onshoring, Heart, and AI Texas Hold’em
One of Xconomy’s areas of focus in 2017 is the increasing impact of technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation on human labor. Technology has always made some occupations obsolete, while changing others, and creating new ones. Today, and looking forward, these changes seem to be accelerating. This is the exponential economy from which … Continue reading “EOW Reading List: Automation, Onshoring, Heart, and AI Texas Hold’em”
Warrior Suit R&D Paves Road to Robotics for the Aging and Disabled
When Rich Mahoney was director of the robotics program at SRI International, one of his main projects was an advanced robotic warrior suit that SRI was working on with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a U.S. military research institute responsible for cutting-edge R&D in fields related to national security. The idea was to … Continue reading “Warrior Suit R&D Paves Road to Robotics for the Aging and Disabled”
Cyber Attackers Targeted Our Trust, Not Just an Election
The cyber attacks on political organizations and election infrastructure added a level of intrigue to this year’s U.S. presidential election – culminating in the U.S. government officially blaming the Russian government for trying to influence the election. If the Cold War has taught us anything, it’s that global espionage is a game of chess, not … Continue reading “Cyber Attackers Targeted Our Trust, Not Just an Election”
Venture Investment in Seattle Area Companies Falls 27 Percent in 2016
Two quarters do not make a trend, but the Seattle metro area bucked a national downturn in venture capital investment during the second half of 2016, as measured by both deals and dollars invested. For the year, however, 2016 was down significantly from 2015 in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area, according to data from Seattle-based PitchBook … Continue reading “Venture Investment in Seattle Area Companies Falls 27 Percent in 2016”
Biopharma Leaders Call for Gender Diversity Amid J.P. Morgan Conference
A group of more than 100 prominent life sciences executives, investors, and business leaders have signed an open letter calling on the industry to step up efforts to increase gender diversity. The letter was published Wednesday, on the second to last day of the annual J.P. Morgan healthcare conference in San Francisco (see full letter … Continue reading “Biopharma Leaders Call for Gender Diversity Amid J.P. Morgan Conference”
Trump Slams Drug Companies, Says Medicare “Bidding” Is Coming
Oh, the power of a Donald Trump sound bite. On the campaign trail and as president-elect he has made occasional noises about drug pricing—giving the U.S. Medicare system, the largest buyer of drugs in the world, the right to negotiate prices, for instance. This morning, in his first press conference, Trump went further. He said … Continue reading “Trump Slams Drug Companies, Says Medicare “Bidding” Is Coming”
Edtech Venture Funding Down in 2016, But Still Tops $1B
While we’re looking at venture deal numbers from the past year, let’s consider the education technology industry, which isn’t broken out by sector in the general reports I’ve seen. A recent study by EdSurge, an edtech information firm, shows venture funding for U.S. education tech companies totaled $1.03 billion (across 138 deals) in 2016. Those … Continue reading “Edtech Venture Funding Down in 2016, But Still Tops $1B”
At Allergan And Other Pharmas, Price Transparency Has Limits
The first test of pharmaceutical giant Allergan’s promise to behave responsibly came last week. The firm acknowledged price hikes on several drugs that stayed—sometimes barely—under the 10 percent limit that CEO Brent Saunders pledged last September, in what he called a “social contract with patients.” In an interview at the annual J.P. Morgan healthcare investment … Continue reading “At Allergan And Other Pharmas, Price Transparency Has Limits”
VC Activity Continues Slowdown in Fourth Quarter, and Top 10 Deals
Venture capital firms didn’t exactly take their foot off the accelerator, but the pace of VC investments continued to weaken in the three months that ended in December, extending a slowdown that began in July, according to two venture reports issued today. The deceleration followed a strong start to venture activity during the first half … Continue reading “VC Activity Continues Slowdown in Fourth Quarter, and Top 10 Deals”
Zillow’s $5M Gift Powers UW CSE Building Toward Construction Start
[Updated 1/11/17 10:18 am. See below.] Construction on the University of Washington’s second computer science building could start as soon as Friday if the university’s leadership approves a bridge loan of up to $25 million to finance the project while remaining anticipated private contributions materialize. Those private contributions have come in large, highly-touted chunks, and lower-profile … Continue reading “Zillow’s $5M Gift Powers UW CSE Building Toward Construction Start”
Protecting America’s Tech Prowess Amid the Hostile Rhetoric of 2017
With the inauguration of Donald Trump as president on January 20th, the editors asked some of our Xconomists to offer their thoughts on “How could the incoming administration significantly affect your industry?” My biggest concern would be a failure to recognize and take full advantage of the fact that America’s biggest asset is its technological … Continue reading “Protecting America’s Tech Prowess Amid the Hostile Rhetoric of 2017”
Smart Voice Assistants Will Spread From Talking Devices To Apps in 2017
Millions of consumers who used to type their search questions on a laptop or the tiny keys of a smartphone are now simply telling a tabletop device what they want. Signs are that the Amazon Echo and Google Home—both equipped with smart voice assistants—will turn out to be blockbuster sellers of the holiday gift season … Continue reading “Smart Voice Assistants Will Spread From Talking Devices To Apps in 2017”
Seattle Week in Review: Alexa, Rosetta, Alaska Airlines, Cuba
The deep freeze is forecast to relent this weekend, just in time for playoff football. Go Seahawks! Today we’re looking back at stories on Alexa, Amazon’s voice-activated, cloud-connected personal assistant technology, which had a very good week at CES and, more people are realizing, could represent a new operating system for the growing wave of … Continue reading “Seattle Week in Review: Alexa, Rosetta, Alaska Airlines, Cuba”
Scangos Surfaces to Lead New Infectious Disease Startup, Vir Biotech
George Scangos, who stepped down from the top spot at Biogen late last year, didn’t take long to land a new gig. He is now CEO of Vir Biotechnology, a biotech startup developing treatments for infectious diseases. The move to Vir brings Scangos (pictured) back to the San Francisco area, where he led Exelixis (NASDAQ: … Continue reading “Scangos Surfaces to Lead New Infectious Disease Startup, Vir Biotech”
Bio Roundup: Biogen Price Fears, A Grail Billion, Hellos, Byes & More
Happy new year, everyone. Are you all strapped in? Tray tables in the locked and upright position? As Bette Davis once said, “It’s going to be a bumpy night.” The news from Washington is already coming fast and furious. The effort to repeal Obamacare is underway, spawning more perspectives and opinions than a postmodern Japanese … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Biogen Price Fears, A Grail Billion, Hellos, Byes & More”
Families Fret As Insurers Mull Biogen’s $750K Spine Disease Drug
This past Christmas weekend, Ana Memedovich had her best two days in more than a decade. Her 23-year-old son Mikhail has spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA, a rare genetic disease that has slowly robbed him of the ability to walk and function independently. On Dec. 23, the FDA approved nusinersen (Spinraza), the first-ever drug for … Continue reading “Families Fret As Insurers Mull Biogen’s $750K Spine Disease Drug”
Biopharma Industry, Heal Thyself (Without Government Help)
With the inauguration of Donald Trump as president on January 20th, the editors asked some of our Xconomists to offer their thoughts on “How could the incoming administration significantly affect your industry?” The life sciences industry has one problem: Lack of productivity. When it figures out how to consistently make a profit discovering and developing drugs … Continue reading “Biopharma Industry, Heal Thyself (Without Government Help)”
Rethink Robotics Adds $18M to Funding Pot Amid Automation Debate
One of New England’s leading robotics companies has raised new money for the new year. Boston-based Rethink Robotics says it has closed $18 million as part of a Series E funding round. A regulatory filing from this week shows the equity round could grow to $33 million. Private equity firm Adveq participated in the latest … Continue reading “Rethink Robotics Adds $18M to Funding Pot Amid Automation Debate”