Welcome to Xconomy Seattle’s new Week in Review. Today, we’ll look back at significant happenings from the Seattle area and beyond, in space, virtual reality, and machine intelligence. The idea is to give you a quick, visual way to digest some of the week’s news. As we all know, dealing with information overload is an … Continue reading “Seattle Week in Review: Space, VR, Machine Intelligence”
Category: Seattle
The Companies: San Antonio’s Techstars Cloud 2016 Demo Day Pitches
[Corrected 2/15/16, 2:15 p.m. See below.] San Antonio — One company lets you send encrypted, secure e-mails. Another finds the meaning in your mounds of unfiltered data. Saw a photo online of a dress that you loved but can’t find? At the Techstars Cloud Demo Day in San Antonio, there was a company that proposed … Continue reading “The Companies: San Antonio’s Techstars Cloud 2016 Demo Day Pitches”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Grail, Juno, Amgen, Imprimis & More
The continuing market selloff has been brutal to biotech stocks. Barron’s reports that the SPDR S&P Biotech exchange traded fund and the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF are both in bear territory, having dropped 50 percent and 39 percent, respectively, since their summer peaks. Yet in San Diego, at least, the preceding boom has enabled a … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Grail, Juno, Amgen, Imprimis & More”
LiquidPlanner Lands $2,000,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=384d01a6-e2f5-4035-9028-bd6ce79d9c3b Date 2/12/2016 Company Name LiquidPlanner Mailing Address 2324 Eastlake Ave. E. Seattle, WA 98102 USA Company Description LiquidPlanner is a company founded on the belief that even in the face of complexity, uncertainty and constant change, project management should be simple and effective. Website http://www.liquidplanner.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “LiquidPlanner Lands $2,000,000 New Funding”
Can Innovation Improve Lives of Vulnerable Children and Families?
Technological innovation is rare in the human services field because most service providers operate with limited resources and they are forced to choose between serving more families or investing in technology. In addition, most funding in human services comes from government sources, which rely on paper processes for accountability. More specifically, social service providers lack … Continue reading “Can Innovation Improve Lives of Vulnerable Children and Families?”
Diffbot Raises $10M To Expand AI Engine That Mines The Web
Diffbot, an artificial intelligence company that helps clients extract and combine data from multiple Web sources, announced today it raised $10 million from investors including Tencent and Felicis Ventures to expand its “knowledge-as-a-service” offerings to businesses and consumer apps. The Palo Alto, CA-based startup, founded in 2009, still has a tiny staff of 14. But … Continue reading “Diffbot Raises $10M To Expand AI Engine That Mines The Web”
Proteostasis Cuts Price But Heads to Nasdaq After $50M IPO
The stock markets haven’t been kind to biotech companies this year whether the companies are already public or trying to be. Proteostasis Therapeutics, a developer of drugs for cystic fibrosis and other diseases, is the latest example. It had to significantly discount its IPO demands to make it to the Nasdaq. Cambridge, MA-based Proteostasis raised … Continue reading “Proteostasis Cuts Price But Heads to Nasdaq After $50M IPO”
CopsForHire Obtains New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6edf400a-133e-487e-a2c9-753fca09fbd1 Date 2/11/2016 Company Name CopsForHire Mailing Address 16426 Cedar Grove Road SE Issaquah, WA 98027 USA Company Description CopsForHire, Inc. provides off-duty law enforcement professionals for businesses, jobs, and events. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is based in Issaquah, Washington. Website http://www.copsforhire.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed … Continue reading “CopsForHire Obtains New Funding Round”
A Slice of DFJ’s New $350M Fund Intended for Northwest Entrepreneurs
[Corrected 2/11/16, 9:00 pm. See below.] Bill Bryant is something of an anomaly in Pacific Northwest venture capital: He’s a full-fledged investing partner in a big, storied Silicon Valley firm—Draper Fisher Jurvetson, which just announced a $350 million 12th venture fund—who is based permanently in Seattle and focused squarely on investments in the region. Bryant, a … Continue reading “A Slice of DFJ’s New $350M Fund Intended for Northwest Entrepreneurs”
Amperity Obtains $9,000,000 Series A Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=aa2838ce-a8f6-4b60-aa30-50d0e4ac0954 Date 2/9/2016 Company Name Amperity Mailing Address Undisclosed Seattle, WA 98122 USA Company Description Amperity is a marketing technology company. Advances in machine learning and cloud infrastructure are making it possible to finally solve one of the biggest challenges faced by both marketing and IT organizations,” said Kabir Shahani, co-founder and … Continue reading “Amperity Obtains $9,000,000 Series A Financing”
MicaSense Garners $7,400,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e85f0491-d146-497f-88d1-f2fa7a9707ec Date 2/9/2016 Company Name MicaSense Mailing Address 1300 N Northlake Way Seattle, WA 98103 USA Company Description MicaSense was founded by 3 experts in the unmanned systems and sensors industry, with a combined 30 years of experience and a proven track record in product and software development. We understand that professional … Continue reading “MicaSense Garners $7,400,000 New Funding”
Infoblox Acquires IID for $45,000,000
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b70c34ba-83e5-44b4-ae27-1c4e745541c0 Date 2/9/2016 Company Name IID Mailing Address 1142 Broadway Tacoma, WA 98402 USA Company Description The IID team consists of a cadre of serial entrepreneurs, cyber security experts and seasoned technologists. The team includes globally respected threat intelligence thought leaders who play prominent roles in both leading industry associations and guiding … Continue reading “Infoblox Acquires IID for $45,000,000”
How Google Enables VR Content, From Pro Rigs to Smartphone Cameras
While investors might fret about when or whether forthcoming virtual reality headsets will be ready to support a new technology ecosystem, Google is building out a substantial one of its own around its low-end Cardboard viewer. Much of the work behind the scenes is led by a team in Seattle. There are now more than … Continue reading “How Google Enables VR Content, From Pro Rigs to Smartphone Cameras”
West Coast Bio Roundup: Tessier-Lavigne, Twist, Unity, Grail & More
The biggest news on the West Coast this week came from Stanford University. The school has lured decorated neuroscientist Marc Tessier-Lavigne away from New York’s Rockefeller University to be the 11th president on The Farm, as Stanford is often known. It’s a return to the West Coast for Tessier-Lavigne, who had risen to chief scientific … Continue reading “West Coast Bio Roundup: Tessier-Lavigne, Twist, Unity, Grail & More”
4 Worst-Case Scenarios That Make the Case For Disaster Recovery
It’s a topic frequently heard in board meetings and splashed across the news: storm-related data loss and downtime trigger threats to our IT environments. For instance, last winter in New England caused a scare among executives and IT professionals alike. Record-breaking snowfall and increased risks to regional business data created a huge buzz about the … Continue reading “4 Worst-Case Scenarios That Make the Case For Disaster Recovery”
Baobab, Oculus, Penrose, Et Al: The Disneys Of Early VR Animation?
You’re a film director whose last feature was a blockbuster, and now you’re funded to make a movie from a fabulous script of your own. It’s a dream job, but there’s just one hitch. Every day, a fan is released onto the set to point your cameras wherever he or she wants. When your stars … Continue reading “Baobab, Oculus, Penrose, Et Al: The Disneys Of Early VR Animation?”
One Writer’s Strategy for Avoiding Information Overload
This week one of my favorite podcasts, WNYC’s Note to Self, is featuring a project called Infomagical. Every day the show is sharing new challenges designed to help listeners cope with information overload. We all know that feeling of being so far behind on the e-mails, texts, articles, and all the other stuff our digital … Continue reading “One Writer’s Strategy for Avoiding Information Overload”
Microsoft Taps 10 Machine Learning Startups for Seattle Accelerator
Ten nascent businesses applying machine learning to everything from answering medical questions to recruiting university students were tapped for Microsoft Ventures’ latest accelerator, kicking off this week in Seattle. It’s the third running of the accelerator program in Seattle. The focus this time around is machine learning and data science, enabled, naturally, by Microsoft services such … Continue reading “Microsoft Taps 10 Machine Learning Startups for Seattle Accelerator”
Improving Odds for Women in Tech? Take Notes from Biotech
At our entrepreneurial support organization, the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), we often joke about adhering to the proper dress and catering code for our networking events: jeans and beer for tech; suits, wine and cocktails for life sciences. But there is more to these superficial differences between the two networks serving 1,200 entrepreneurial companies … Continue reading “Improving Odds for Women in Tech? Take Notes from Biotech”
Blood Simple? Grail’s Cancer Screening Quest Faces Tough Questions
[Corrected, 2/4/16, 2:05pm. See below.] Three weeks ago the world’s biggest genomic sequencing company, Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]), unveiled a spinout called Grail to make blood tests that could spot all kinds of cancer in seemingly healthy people, perhaps as soon as 2019. If you know anything about the history of screening healthy people for cancer, … Continue reading “Blood Simple? Grail’s Cancer Screening Quest Faces Tough Questions”
Unity Bio Wants To “Lengthen Health Span,” But 1st Goals More Modest
Live longer? How about starting with healthier knees or clearer eyesight? That’s the proposal from Unity Biotechnology, unveiling itself today with drug programs based upon research into a biological process that, when left undisturbed, seems to hasten aging. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Unity wants to interrupt that process—not to tap into a … Continue reading “Unity Bio Wants To “Lengthen Health Span,” But 1st Goals More Modest”
Is 2016 the Year Virtual Reality Platforms Take a Magic Leap?
Try as he might, Madrona managing partner Tim Porter could not get Sachin Deshpande to share much of anything about Magic Leap. The two were on stage last week at a virtual reality conference in Seattle. Deshpande is senior director of product management at Qualcomm Ventures, an early investor in the Florida augmented reality company, … Continue reading “Is 2016 the Year Virtual Reality Platforms Take a Magic Leap?”
How Scientific Social Work Helps People Flourish
Here’s a question for everyone who wants to change the world: Which of these innovations will have more impact on society—a first-of-its-kind experimental vaccine to prevent HIV/AIDS that’s been developed by a venture-capital-backed biotechnology company, or a big-data research study from a social work scholar that identifies the role that alcohol consumption plays in the … Continue reading “How Scientific Social Work Helps People Flourish”
Time to Ease On Down the Road
It’s been a real pleasure writing my guest op-ed pieces for Xconomy for the past six years. I’ve enjoyed sharing my thoughts about a wide spectrum of biopharma topics, and appreciated the feedback I received whether you agreed with my views or not. However, it’s time for me to move on. I’ve already started posting … Continue reading “Time to Ease On Down the Road”
Zumobi Lands $500,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=41571baf-bdfc-402f-b61b-e264f3028752 Date 2/2/2016 Company Name Zumobi Mailing Address 1525 4th Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 USA Company Description We help you to utilize your existing brand content from videos, blogs, news feeds, social media channels and more in the Content Hub experience. Website http://www.zumobi.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $500,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “Zumobi Lands $500,000 New Funding”
Seattle Roundup: Moz, PitchBook, Cedexis, Corbis, Getty, Nimia
A pair of Seattle companies, Moz and PitchBook, announced $10 million funding rounds this week and were both refreshingly forthcoming about things that private tech companies typically keep close to the vest: revenue and valuations. Meanwhile, Portland-based Cedexis raised $22 million, and some big deals went down involving Seattle-based digital image licensing giants Corbis and … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Moz, PitchBook, Cedexis, Corbis, Getty, Nimia”
CRISPR: The Path to Clinical Trials
If you have read a newspaper lately, there is a good chance you have heard about CRISPR-Cas9, the versatile gene editing technology. Over the past several months, legal battles over intellectual property, ethical concerns over editing of the human germline, jaw-dropping partnerships with pharma, and talk of IPOs have crescendoed to a steady roar, reaching … Continue reading “CRISPR: The Path to Clinical Trials”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Gilead, Adicet, Otonomy, Fate & More
The only major Republican presidential candidate who didn’t show up for last night’s debate was front-runner Donald Trump. He also made national news this week by announcing his intent to let Medicare negotiate drug prices—a distinctly un-GOP-like position. The drug-price debate reverberated on the West Coast, too, as the Massachusetts attorney general threatened California’s Gilead … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Gilead, Adicet, Otonomy, Fate & More”
ID Experts Lands $5,000,000 Series A Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f0408774-1a1c-4b0a-9518-42c8831bb412 Date 1/29/2016 Company Name ID Experts Mailing Address 10300 SW Greenburg Road Portland, OR 97223 USA Company Description At ID Experts, we provide innovative software and services to organizations for managing cyber risks and data breaches, and to consumers to protect and restore their identities from identity theft. Website http://www2.idexpertscorp.com Transaction … Continue reading “ID Experts Lands $5,000,000 Series A Funding”
Booster Fuels Receives $9,000,000 Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d40395b0-c2af-4db9-9d8d-eb41dfe4a84c Date 1/29/2016 Company Name Booster Fuels Mailing Address 1425 Broadway Avenue Seattle, WA 98122 USA Company Description Founded in late 2014, Booster is an innovative fuel delivery service that aims to change the way people think about how they spend their time. With a tap of a button on the Booster … Continue reading “Booster Fuels Receives $9,000,000 Series A Round”
Three Things To Know About Doing Business in California
Since the 1849 gold rush, California has had a reputation as a great place to seek—and find—your fortune. The Golden State is home to the Golden Gate Bridge, the Golden State Warriors and, in Silicon Valley, golden opportunities. But, as you might suspect, California sometimes operates like its own country, with laws that aren’t like … Continue reading “Three Things To Know About Doing Business in California”
PitchBook Data Secures $10,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fb656bc1-ed16-4223-98ae-1137682c4dbd Date 1/28/2016 Company Name PitchBook Data Mailing Address 901 Fifth Avenue Seattle, WA 98164 USA Company Description We help our clients build the great companies of tomorrow by providing them with the world’s meaningful business information and resources to understand it. Website http://www.pitchbook.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $10,000,000 Transaction … Continue reading “PitchBook Data Secures $10,000,000 New Financing”
Li Takes Over at Qualcomm Ventures as Kashyap Joins Microsoft
Nagraj Kashyap, who led Qualcomm’s corporate venture arm for the last 12 years, has left the wireless technology giant and the temperate climate of San Diego for Seattle, where light rain and drizzle averages close to 39 inches a year. Kashyap, who was a senior vice president of ventures and innovation for Qualcomm Technologies and … Continue reading “Li Takes Over at Qualcomm Ventures as Kashyap Joins Microsoft”
UW Researchers Work on Financial Services for the Developing World
In Kenya, sending money to anyone with a mobile phone is easy, fast, and just a normal part of life for everyone from fishermen and rural farmers to wealthy business owners in the cities. But for all the good that Kenya’s M-Pesa system has done in spreading access to the country’s formal financial system, duplicating … Continue reading “UW Researchers Work on Financial Services for the Developing World”
The Right Resources Are Key to Growing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
One of the more pressing issues for communities that have built emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems is how they can better support growth stage companies. There are many cities and regional hubs around the U.S. that are producing some great companies, with smart founders and talented employees, but without the right resources (outside capital, peer-to-peer mentoring, a … Continue reading “The Right Resources Are Key to Growing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems”
KrowdFit Lands $2,450,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=eea26b49-0de6-4bba-8b62-3811ff7790ad Date 1/27/2016 Company Name KrowdFit Mailing Address 227 Bellevue Way NE Bellevue, WA 98004 USA Company Description We are an active KREW and don’t sit in the office all day, which allows us to live a healthy, active, lifestyle. Please read the FAQ and if necessary e-mail us if you have … Continue reading “KrowdFit Lands $2,450,000 New Funding”
Moz Receives $10,000,000 Series C Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=997b8c77-fbd3-4e3b-ab5b-6f43752b958b Date 1/27/2016 Company Name Moz Mailing Address 119 Pine St. Seattle, WA 98101 USA Company Description The company provides Internet search and content marketing services and technologies. Website http://www.moz.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $10,000,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes Our recently launched Moz Content helps marketers understand and … Continue reading “Moz Receives $10,000,000 Series C Financing”
Remembering Computing Pioneer Marvin Minsky, Dead at 88
The science and technology community is mourning the loss of Marvin Minsky, the MIT-based artificial intelligence and computing giant, who passed away Sunday at the age of 88. Minsky is a transcendent figure who cut major swaths through the history of scientific research, education, philosophy, and technology. His ideas are credited with influencing everything from … Continue reading “Remembering Computing Pioneer Marvin Minsky, Dead at 88”
Top Trends in Online Lending for 2016
Though online lending has been around for over a decade, the past year was a big one for the sector. There was at least one notable IPO in late 2014, a groundbreaking partnership with one of the largest banks in the U.S., and several young online lenders crossed the billion-dollar mark in valuations. Momentum is … Continue reading “Top Trends in Online Lending for 2016”
Cedexis Receives $22,000,000 Series B Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=17a1006a-185b-4e6b-88ac-4628864ea69e Date 1/26/2016 Company Name Cedexis Mailing Address 317 SW Alder St. Portland, OR 97204 USA Company Description Founded in 2009, Cedexis is an international startup delivering Cloud Performance as a Service. Website http://www.cedexis.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $22,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes The total $22.8 million of … Continue reading “Cedexis Receives $22,000,000 Series B Funding”
Cedexis Lands $750,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0b0d9341-6077-4811-b328-755578061dbe Date 1/26/2016 Company Name Cedexis Mailing Address 317 SW Alder St. Portland, OR 97204 USA Company Description Founded in 2009, Cedexis is an international startup delivering Cloud Performance as a Service. Website http://www.cedexis.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $750,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The new funding (Debt plus equity round … Continue reading “Cedexis Lands $750,000 New Financing Round”
nLight Garners $10,499,999 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f1612bab-a926-4607-b31f-ec17fb83d466 Date 1/26/2016 Company Name nLight Mailing Address 5408 NE 88th Street Vancouver, WA 98665 USA Company Description nLight develops and manufactures industry leading high-power semiconductor diode laser components and subsystems. nLight’s products feature unparalleled power, brightness, and reliability and enable a broad range of laser-based products in the industrial, medical, graphic … Continue reading “nLight Garners $10,499,999 New Financing Round”
As Markets and Controversies Swirl, Editas Aims For $100M CRISPR IPO
Editas Medicine is pushing ahead with plans to go public. An IPO for the Cambridge, MA-based company would make it the first among the handful of biotechs that are betting on the groundbreaking CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system to develop human therapeutics. In a regulatory filing posted today, Editas said it would aim to sell 5.9 … Continue reading “As Markets and Controversies Swirl, Editas Aims For $100M CRISPR IPO”
ISpot.tv Measures Ad Effectiveness in World of Fragmented TV Viewing
The Super Bowl, its 50th incarnation now less than a fortnight away, is one of the few remaining events on the calendar that qualify as must-see, appointment television viewing for a mass audience. And many of us come for the commercials as much as the football game. The rest of the year, television viewers—if that’s … Continue reading “ISpot.tv Measures Ad Effectiveness in World of Fragmented TV Viewing”
From Airbnb to Uber: An MIT Sloan Tour of Bay Area Tech
I’ve always been curious about the West Coast, especially San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Growing up in India and then working in the oil & gas industry in Latin America and Texas, I didn’t have much opportunity (or reason) to visit the Bay Area. Now that I’m an MBA student at MIT Sloan, I want … Continue reading “From Airbnb to Uber: An MIT Sloan Tour of Bay Area Tech”
Identity Theft Guard Solutions Receives $5,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=47cec63b-9127-46ef-85e6-1c45fb3075b3 Date 1/25/2016 Company Name Identity Theft Guard Solutions Mailing Address 10300 SW Greenburg Road Portland, OR 97223 USA Company Description Identity Theft Guard Solutions, LLC, doing business as ID Experts, provides software and services to simplify privacy and security incident response management. Website http://www2.idexpertscorp.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,000,000 … Continue reading “Identity Theft Guard Solutions Receives $5,000,000 New Funding Round”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: StemCells, Five Prime, Qualcomm & More
Bad weather has brought parts of the South and the Eastern seaboard to a halt today, but out west, we’re wearing our gumboots and splashing onward. While the rain drums steadily down, the news flow this week includes trade secret theft accusations, Senate drug-price investigations, big cash payouts to departing executives, big FDA approvals, and … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: StemCells, Five Prime, Qualcomm & More”
Seattle Roundup: Airbnb Regulations, Sendachi, Health IT, & More
Seattle lawmakers are moving toward regulations of short-term rentals facilitated by the likes of Airbnb, which says its guests generated some $138 million in direct spending in the city. In other news, Sendachi, a DevOps-focused IT services company, raised $10 million; Seattle healthcare IT companies Wellpepper and EveryMove announced significant new customers; a startup from … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Airbnb Regulations, Sendachi, Health IT, & More”
Techstars Expands Programs for Early-Stage Michigan Entrepreneurs
Techstars has been doing a bit of revamping in the last year—it acquired and merged networks with UP Global, the nonprofit organization behind Startup Weekend; it launched a retail startup accelerator in partnership with Target in Minneapolis and a mobility startup accelerator in Detroit; pulled the plug on a robotics accelerator in San Diego; and … Continue reading “Techstars Expands Programs for Early-Stage Michigan Entrepreneurs”
Indice Semiconductor Secures $2,149,030 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4940ffc3-cc48-43b0-8632-029fe426c455 Date 1/22/2016 Company Name Indice Semiconductor Mailing Address 18840 SW Boones Ferry Road Tualatin, OR 97062 USA Company Description Indice is a fabless semiconductor company with experience in not only researching, designing and developing technology, but also bringing it to market, with proven commercialized reference design implemented by manufacturers globally. Website … Continue reading “Indice Semiconductor Secures $2,149,030 New Financing”