After months of negotiating, 196 individual countries at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Paris pledged to combat climate change and limit temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius. This commitment to curb carbon emissions is unprecedented, especially when you consider the stakes. The agreement effectively creates a collective carbon ceiling. If the globe … Continue reading “In India, Viewing the Global Cleantech Opportunity for Washington State”
Category: Seattle
Upland Software Acquires HipCricket for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b1c7efe2-61b3-4449-85d5-6a5a3c157e4e Date 3/14/2016 Company Name HipCricket Mailing Address 11241 Slater Ave NE Kirkland, WA 98033 USA Company Description HipCricket Inc. specializes in producing interactive mobile marketing campaigns that generate non-traditional revenue for radio, television, and agency clients. Website http://www.hipcricket.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms The … Continue reading “Upland Software Acquires HipCricket for Undisclosed Sum”
Seattle Week in Review: To Asia via Puyallup, Space via Kent
We’ve reached the end of a very long week. Let’s review. There was wind, rain, power outages, and an earthshaking natural gas explosion (we felt it) that leveled three buildings but mercifully caused only minor injuries to responding firefighters. There were tours of a new international crossroads of information, the Transpacific Hub, and the formerly secretive … Continue reading “Seattle Week in Review: To Asia via Puyallup, Space via Kent”
West Coast Bio Roundup: Illumina, CRISPR, Orexigen, Ambry & More
El Niño-driven storms returned to California this week to fill up reservoirs and snarl commutes, although we’ve got nothing to compare with what’s happening down South. A few biotech parades were rained on out West. The two rival parties battling for CRISPR patent rights tried to undermine each other’s cases, filing documents to kick off … Continue reading “West Coast Bio Roundup: Illumina, CRISPR, Orexigen, Ambry & More”
Accelerator 9Mile Labs Evolves Model for Investing in Startups
[Updated 3/10/16 2:12 pm. See below.] In the three years since it opened, Seattle business-to-business accelerator 9Mile Labs has tweaked just about every aspect of its model for mentoring, supporting, and funding companies. Co-founder Sanjay Puri and his partners are seeking the right formula amid a boom in the business of gooming startups for fast growth … Continue reading “Accelerator 9Mile Labs Evolves Model for Investing in Startups”
Icertis Receives $15,000,000 Series B Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=757d1bbe-5372-4aee-8e04-3da757aaf51e Date 3/10/2016 Company Name Icertis Mailing Address 14711 NE 29th Place Bellevue, WA 98007 USA Company Description Icertis is the leading provider of enterprise contract management software in the Microsoft Cloud. The company’s flagship product, Icertis Contract Management (ICM), can manage sell-side, buy-side and corporate enterprise contracts across the globe by … Continue reading “Icertis Receives $15,000,000 Series B Financing Round”
INRIX Buys OpenCar in Seattle Auto Tech Tie-up
INRIX, the Kirkland, WA-based company providing traffic data and other services for connected cars, acquired OpenCar, a Seattle startup making a platform to unite app developers and car manufacturers. The deal combines two significant players in the Seattle area’s cluster of automotive IT and telematics companies. INRIX plans to maintain, and possibly expand, OpenCar’s Seattle … Continue reading “INRIX Buys OpenCar in Seattle Auto Tech Tie-up”
AreaMetrics Secures $2,000,000 Seed Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=438cfa1f-d7c7-4a18-b107-3f188d7f227d Date 3/9/2016 Company Name AreaMetrics Mailing Address 1601 5th Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 USA Company Description We believe that the in-app user experience should be multifaceted, just like your users. Our mission is to help app publishers leverage these differences, and to enable them to deliver unparalleled in-app experiences. Website http://www.areametrics.com … Continue reading “AreaMetrics Secures $2,000,000 Seed Round”
Biotech Dealmaking Is Tough, But AgBio Deals Prove Even Tougher
It’s a familiar story: a biotechnology company develops a promising product but falls short of sales projections. The company then cuts staff, realigns resources, and turns to startups to fill its depleted pipeline. While this scenario does play out in pharmaceuticals, it also describes what is happening in agriculture. Big ag companies face pressures to … Continue reading “Biotech Dealmaking Is Tough, But AgBio Deals Prove Even Tougher”
Seattle Week in Review: Why We’re Great, Code Schools, Health IT, Art in Space
If you’re looking for a concise, articulate answer to the question of why to invest in or start a company in Seattle, look no further than Heather Redman. Her comments lead off our Xconomy Seattle Week in Review, which also covers the boom in coding schools locally and nationally, new data on the fastest-growing occupation … Continue reading “Seattle Week in Review: Why We’re Great, Code Schools, Health IT, Art in Space”
West Coast Bio Roundup: UCLA Cashes In, BioMarin Tries Again & More
The prostate cancer drug enzalutamide (Xtandi), from San Francisco’s Medivation, has had a long, legally tangled history. Its inventors can also call it lucrative: a New York finance group that specializes in drug sales royalties has bought royalty rights from the University of California, Los Angeles, and others for more than $1 billion. Reversals of … Continue reading “West Coast Bio Roundup: UCLA Cashes In, BioMarin Tries Again & More”
Art on the Moon: Contemplating Culture as a Space-faring Species
Let’s say you’re the first artist sent to space. You have a $500,000 budget, up to 60 kilograms of supplies, and 12 hours on the surface of the Moon to execute your vision, with the help of one astronaut assistant. What mark will you make on behalf of humanity? Dozens of answers from artists in … Continue reading “Art on the Moon: Contemplating Culture as a Space-faring Species”
Zembula Garners $1,100,000 Seed Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=94848979-f67c-4fa3-8918-021f24fcf54c Date 3/3/2016 Company Name Zembula Mailing Address 2828 SW Corbett Ave. Portland, OR 97201 USA Company Description Easily create rich interactive content that your customers will love. While everyone is stuck sending out the same static marketing, Zembula provides a solution to the monotony, and it works. Website http://www.zembula.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “Zembula Garners $1,100,000 Seed Financing”
LabConnect Secures $4,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=17b4f001-3ef2-4db8-9195-0e96d100f1d5 Date 3/3/2016 Company Name LabConnect Mailing Address 605 First Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 USA Company Description What sets LabConnect apart is our blend of local resources and global capabilities. We provide the scientific expertise your tests require, along with the location-specific project management and service tools you need to ensure data … Continue reading “LabConnect Secures $4,000,000 New Funding Round”
Famed Cryptographers, Turing Awardees Back Apple at RSA Conference
No surprise—the conflict between Apple and the FBI is dominating many sessions at the big RSA Conference in San Francisco this week. Some of the most intriguing comments came from a panel of distinguished cryptographers, including Whitfield Diffie, former chief security officer of Sun Microsystems, and Stanford professor Martin Hellman. On the RSA stage before … Continue reading “Famed Cryptographers, Turing Awardees Back Apple at RSA Conference”
Making the Web More Open: Drupal Creator Floats an “FDA for Data”
When Dries Buytaert created the open-source Web publishing system Drupal in his college dorm room in Belgium 15 years ago, the ways people interacted with the Internet looked a lot different. Google was still a small private company. Facebook, Twitter, and the iPhone didn’t exist. Only 7 percent of the world’s population had Internet access. … Continue reading “Making the Web More Open: Drupal Creator Floats an “FDA for Data””
FAST Act Offers More Goodies to Emerging Growth Companies
Once again proving that you can’t judge a gift by its box, emerging growth companies (EGCs) received a pleasant, but oddly wrapped, surprise in December with the enactment of a new law authorizing spending on highway and transit projects. Although adopted with less fanfare than the JOBS Act, the new FAST Act (that’s short for … Continue reading “FAST Act Offers More Goodies to Emerging Growth Companies”
TripActions Receives $9,124,972 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6401b631-8965-4de1-b5e7-8865c7edc84e Date 3/2/2016 Company Name TripActions Mailing Address 444 Castro Street Mountain View, CA 98204 USA Company Description As business travelers and road warriors ourselves, we knew that the existing infrastructure is simply not delivering the ease of use that we’ve all grown accustomed to in other areas of our lives. TripAction’s … Continue reading “TripActions Receives $9,124,972 New Financing”
Seattle’s Life Science Disruptors Take The Stage on May 2
We’re gearing up for Xconomy’s annual Seattle life sciences forum. It’s happening on the afternoon of Monday, May 2, at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and we’ve already got some big names, fresh faces, and cutting-edge ideas to share with you. Seattle’s dense confluence of biotechnology, medicine, information technology, and public health expertise, all … Continue reading “Seattle’s Life Science Disruptors Take The Stage on May 2”
Xconomy’s EXOME Presents: Seattle’s Life Science Disruptors 2016
Seattle is one of the few cities in the world with a dense confluence of biotechnology, medicine, information technology, and public health expertise, and a footprint small enough to encourage intense collaboration between the sectors. From that mix come new ideas, products, and organizations that aim to change the way new therapies are created and … Continue reading “Xconomy’s EXOME Presents: Seattle’s Life Science Disruptors 2016”
Unequal Pay: The Worst and Best Cities for Women in Tech
It’s no secret that a wage gap exists between men and women, and that there are groups working to narrow the divide. But did you know that the disparity of pay between male and female workers, in the tech field at least, is larger in some areas of the country than others? While that much … Continue reading “Unequal Pay: The Worst and Best Cities for Women in Tech”
Inpria Lands New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4869eee8-da47-415c-820c-762453003f94 Date 3/1/2016 Company Name Inpria Mailing Address 2001 NW Monroe Avenue Corvallis, OR 97330 USA Company Description Inpria Corporation is a pioneer in extending semiconductor lithography with inorganic photoresists for nanoscale patterning. Inpria’s patented photo-condensed molecular oxides offer customers the unique ability to deposit. Website http://www.inpria.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “Inpria Lands New Financing Round”
New UniEnergy Investor Bullish on Storage, But Prices Must Drop
UniEnergy Technologies (UET), the grid-scale battery maker based north of Seattle, began 2016 with a fresh $25 million funding round from investors including Orix, a Japanese financial services firm with business lines in renewable energy project development and energy storage. Last week, Orix executive vice president Yuichi Nishigori (pictured) visited UET and spoke to clean energy advocates … Continue reading “New UniEnergy Investor Bullish on Storage, But Prices Must Drop”
As Industry Booms, Dev Bootcamp Adds Seattle, Austin, Washington DC
After spending their first nine weeks working remotely and part-time, the first 18 students to enroll in Dev Bootcamp’s inaugural San Diego program for Web developers are moving downtown this week. They begin the immersive phase of their vocational training today in “full-stack” Web development, with new equipment that Dev Bootcamp has installed in their … Continue reading “As Industry Booms, Dev Bootcamp Adds Seattle, Austin, Washington DC”
VitalWare Secures Series A Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d7e8c9e5-7252-45ba-87a9-1a2733938148 Date 2/29/2016 Company Name VitalWare Mailing Address 1200 Chesterley Drive Yakima, WA 98902 USA Company Description The Company you trust to deliver innovative healthcare intelligence and technology for enhanced, next generation revenue cycle success. Website http://www.vitalware.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes This funding … Continue reading “VitalWare Secures Series A Funding”
Seattle Week in Review: Tradeoffs in Wi-Fi, Solar, Self-driving Cars
Sneak out for a run on one of the first springlike days of the year, or stay inside and finish that project? Connect via Wi-Fi or save your phone’s battery? Own your own self-driving car or join a transportation network? Meet with a potential customer or order beer for your event next week? We all … Continue reading “Seattle Week in Review: Tradeoffs in Wi-Fi, Solar, Self-driving Cars”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Alfred Mann, ResMed, Illumina, & More
President Obama unfurled key aspects of his year-old Precision Medicine Initiative yesterday at a White House summit. A central concept of the initiative is to collect detailed health and genomic data from 1 million volunteers across the U.S., and put that information into a database that can be used to help doctors find the optimal … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Alfred Mann, ResMed, Illumina, & More”
Emissions May Rise if Self-Driving Cars Become Too Convenient
If a road trip from Seattle to Portland meant three hours of focused work rather than gripping the wheel and gritting your teeth through traffic, would you be more likely to go by car than take the train, plane, or bus? That’s one scenario that could cause a transition to fully automated self-driving cars to … Continue reading “Emissions May Rise if Self-Driving Cars Become Too Convenient”
NYCEDC Bets on Streamlined Pilot Studies to Buoy NY Healthtech Startups
It’s one thing to come up with a new digital health product, say an operating system for health benefits, or a widget to help with patient referrals, that you think might change healthcare. It’s another to get clinicians to actually use it. That’s where pilot studies, or test runs of a new technology at a … Continue reading “NYCEDC Bets on Streamlined Pilot Studies to Buoy NY Healthtech Startups”
Stanford Spins Out Immunotherapy Work Funded By CIRM’s Millions
A new cancer immunotherapy company has spun out of Stanford University with backing from a quartet of venture investors and a big hand from the taxpayers of California. The Palo Alto, CA-based firm, dubbed Forty Seven, emerged Wednesday with a program already in clinical trials, a rarity for an academic spinout. Stanford researchers led by … Continue reading “Stanford Spins Out Immunotherapy Work Funded By CIRM’s Millions”
The Road to Safe, Secure Driverless Cars
The development of autonomous vehicles promises a future of safe and efficient roads, unimpeded by distracted, impaired, aggressive, or deliberately speeding drivers. But to achieve this, the companies involved in developing driverless cars will have to navigate significant obstacles. The transition from personally controlled to automated vehicles can be likened to the shift that occurred … Continue reading “The Road to Safe, Secure Driverless Cars”
Mobile Development Startup Xamarin Bought by Microsoft
File this under least-surprising acquisition of 2016: Microsoft said today it is buying Xamarin, a San Francisco- and Boston-based company that builds tools for mobile-app development. Terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed; it’s expected to close in the next month. Rumors of an acquisition by Redmond, WA-based Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) previously surfaced in 2014. … Continue reading “Mobile Development Startup Xamarin Bought by Microsoft”
Emphasizing Collaboration at a Pivotal Moment in Cancer Research
The cancer community—those of us researching, fighting, and caring for people with cancer—is an optimistic and dogged bunch. We’ve learned to focus on the long game. After all, President Nixon’s “War on Cancer” was declared in 1971 and it’s still raging. Still, the years have taught us much, especially how complex and daunting an adversary … Continue reading “Emphasizing Collaboration at a Pivotal Moment in Cancer Research”
Dyson, Maeda, Jepsen, & More at Our Napa Summit–Request Your Invite
Forget for a moment our truly mind-blowing presidential possibilities. Consider instead the wellspring of innovators and innovation out there, and you’ll feel better about the future, no matter where your political anxieties lie. And then imagine coming to Napa in mid-May to join Xconomy at our most special event—where you will enjoy first-hand interaction with … Continue reading “Dyson, Maeda, Jepsen, & More at Our Napa Summit–Request Your Invite”
Keiretsu Forum NW Invested a Record $43.5M in 2015
Angel investors affiliated with Keiretsu Forum Northwest invested $43.5 million in 57 companies last year, a record for the organization in this region. Keiretsu Forum Northwest, which began with a single chapter in 2005, has also seen its membership swell, attracting about 100 new members each of the last two years—including members gained through its … Continue reading “Keiretsu Forum NW Invested a Record $43.5M in 2015”
Realizing the Return on Digital Health Technologies
A “Wired for Health” study recently reported by The Scripps Translational Science Institute in San Diego poses a significant challenge for those working to realize the potential of digital health technologies. The Scripps team has been investigating the relationship between wireless health-monitoring technologies, healthcare costs, and outcomes in patients with chronic disease. After equipping one cohort of patients … Continue reading “Realizing the Return on Digital Health Technologies”
Former Apple Exec: Biometrics Could Help Prevent a Backdoor for Feds
As Apple and federal authorities lock horns over whether the tech giant should provide software to weaken the defenses of an iPhone belonging to one of the shooters in San Bernardino, CA, a former Apple executive says his startup’s technology could help resolve such situations. Chuck Goldman—founder and former CEO of mobile app management company … Continue reading “Former Apple Exec: Biometrics Could Help Prevent a Backdoor for Feds”
Investor Survey, Part 2: A Pair of Seattle VCs on 2016 Themes
Will a new crop of Seattle startups rise to world domination? Will virtual or augmented reality applications create the next powerhouse tech company? Those are two of the overriding hopes and ambitions emerging from the Seattle segment of my informal cross-country survey of leading investors as I seek to unearth core investment themes and premises … Continue reading “Investor Survey, Part 2: A Pair of Seattle VCs on 2016 Themes”
Finding Innovation in the Modern Data Center
The modern data center is going through a period of transition. Traditional data center infrastructures are increasingly giving way to disruptive and innovative technologies such as cloud computing and hyperconvergence. Business demands and IT challenges are forcing executives to take a longer look at investments that will accelerate innovation, provide a competitive advantage, and achieve … Continue reading “Finding Innovation in the Modern Data Center”
Seattle Week in Review: Northwest Energy, Space Education, & More
This week, we’re reviewing a new long-term energy plan for the Northwest that calls for more of the same: energy efficiency. Also, a new regional space education effort is under way. Might it yield applicants to NASA’s next astronaut class (the latest one received a record 18,300 applicants)? And check out some good reading and … Continue reading “Seattle Week in Review: Northwest Energy, Space Education, & More”
West Coast Bio Roundup: CRISPR Patent, HCV Data, Verily Digs & More
Pouring rain? Hailstorms? Record-setting heat? Freakin’ gnarly wipeouts on killer waves? Desert blooms stretching for miles? Bald eagles stuck in trees? Yeah, we got those. Welcome to February on the West Coast, where the biotech news is nearly as varied as the weather and its effects. The developments of the past seven days included a … Continue reading “West Coast Bio Roundup: CRISPR Patent, HCV Data, Verily Digs & More”
Digital Fortress Obtains $8,750,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c55af6af-1944-4f5c-8856-13ab5e1c9d85 Date 2/19/2016 Company Name Digital Fortress Mailing Address 12101 Tukwila International Blvd. Seattle, WA 98168 USA Company Description Digital Fortress was formed in early 2012 through the combination of two successful Seattle based data centers – Digital Forest and Fortress Colocation Centers. Immediately after the completion of the merger, Digital Fortress … Continue reading “Digital Fortress Obtains $8,750,000 New Round”
A North Carolina High School that Spins Out Entrepreneurs
Over the years, many successful ventures have emerged from North Carolina’s rich concentration of university researchers. Some of the state’s innovators get an even earlier start: high school. North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) began in 1980 as an innovation itself, founded as a public residential high school for academically talented high school … Continue reading “A North Carolina High School that Spins Out Entrepreneurs”
Cairn Obtains $1,700,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cf4452b3-37bd-4e41-8734-09485c01a6d7 Date 2/18/2016 Company Name Cairn Mailing Address 70 SW Century Dr. Bend, OR 97702 USA Company Description Cairn was built by a group of passionate outdoor enthusiasts and entrepreneurs. We saw an opportunity to bring positive disruption to the industry we love. We left successful careers around the country and congregated … Continue reading “Cairn Obtains $1,700,000 New Round”
Alcohol Delivery App Thirstie Pours Itself a Double, Acquires DrinkFly
The race to be the top app that people use to order alcohol for delivery took a new turn on Wednesday. New York-based Thirstie has acquired DrinkFly, a Chicago-based company also in the alcohol delivery business. With this deal, Thirstie gets into four new markets, bringing its coverage to more than 22 cities, says CEO Devaraj Southworth. The … Continue reading “Alcohol Delivery App Thirstie Pours Itself a Double, Acquires DrinkFly”
APImetrics Lands $175,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=677c0f0a-5049-40f3-b7a9-a62c3650269e Date 2/17/2016 Company Name APImetrics Mailing Address 1235 17th Avenue Seattle, WA 98112 USA Company Description APImetrics builds on 3 years experience gained working on the challenge of API abstraction and management that is critical to every App and Web Service in use today. By combining elements gained from API management … Continue reading “APImetrics Lands $175,000 New Round”
Medical Devices Tie-up: Stryker to Buy Physio-Control for $1.28B
Physio-Control, a progenitor of the Seattle-area medical devices industry, will again become part of a large public company headquartered elsewhere. Kalamazoo, MI-based Stryker (NYSE: [[ticker:SYK]]) has agreed to buy the maker of automated external defibrillators and other devices for $1.28 billion in cash. For Stryker, Physio-Control is the third acquisition announced this month and its 20th since 2010. Stryker … Continue reading “Medical Devices Tie-up: Stryker to Buy Physio-Control for $1.28B”
“Innovation” in a Competitive Startup Economy
Seventy-three percent of U.S. adults agree that we’re living in an age of significant innovation. Indeed, the pace at which new products and services are being developed is truly incredible. In 2014 alone, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted a record 300,678 utility patents – the most issued in a single year, ever. … Continue reading ““Innovation” in a Competitive Startup Economy”
Seven Bridges Gets $45M, Begins Test Run for Cancer Genomics Tool
When President Obama announced the Precision Medicine Initiative last year ears perked up at Seven Bridges Genomics, one of a number of startups that helps researchers store, analyze, and interpret huge amounts of genomic data. The announcement meant more large-scale genomic data projects were on the way for the Cambridge, MA-based startup to fight for. … Continue reading “Seven Bridges Gets $45M, Begins Test Run for Cancer Genomics Tool”
Biotech’s Recent Headlines, Reimagined In Verse and On Stage
Dear Theranos, I noticed recently that you’re looking for a writer to work in your Palo Alto office. Please don’t tell my bosses at Xconomy, but I’m throwing my hat in the ring. In your job posting, the final requirement in particular made me think I’d be a good fit: Bold experimentation in different … Continue reading “Biotech’s Recent Headlines, Reimagined In Verse and On Stage”