Yesterday, I ran the first installment of an interview with Trevor Mundel, the president of global health at the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He talked about his personal reasons for leaving the pharmaceutical industry to work on global health problems, and how the foundation makes decisions on how to spend its money. Today, … Continue reading “Gates Foundation Health Chief on Coaxing Pharma to Do Good (Part 2)”
Category: Seattle
Cerevast Therapeutics Receives $1,780,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6e4b6500-7f2d-4fdd-aace-38b26a66c5fd Date 11/26/2013 Company Name Cerevast Therapeutics Mailing Address 12277 134th Court NE Redmond, WA 98052 Company Description Cerevast Therapeutics, Inc. is a medical technology company with primary emphasis in the field of SonoLysis for the treatment acute ischemic stroke and other vascular disorders. Website http://www.cerevast.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $1,780,000 … Continue reading “Cerevast Therapeutics Receives $1,780,000 New Financing”
Avalara Lands $28,653,004 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=13362c33-f63a-4afe-bc5b-9917a1588003 Date 11/26/2013 Company Name Avalara Mailing Address 100 Ravine Lane NE Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 Company Description Avalara was founded by a team of tax and software industry veterans to fulfill a vision of delivering an affordable, scalable sales tax solution. Thus making what was not economically feasible in the past … Continue reading “Avalara Lands $28,653,004 New Financing Round”
ZIIBRA Secures $450,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4c4e754c-3f87-41ac-82ec-e4dda0e916e0 Date 11/26/2013 Company Name ZIIBRA Mailing Address 3718 130th Ave NE Bellevue, WA 9800 Company Description Based in Seattle, Washington, ZIIBRA was started with one goal in mind: to help keep creativity alive and well. Over the last year and a half, more than a few things have changed, but this … Continue reading “ZIIBRA Secures $450,000 New Financing”
Glaxo Setting Up San Diego Outpost to Oversee its Westward Expansion
The British multinational pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: [[ticker:GSK]]) is establishing an R&D outpost in San Diego to help manage its relationships with venture capital firms, and to prospect along the West Coast for new opportunities in drugs, biologics, vaccines, and other products. It will be GSK’s first office in San Diego, according to Damien McDevitt, … Continue reading “Glaxo Setting Up San Diego Outpost to Oversee its Westward Expansion”
Gates Foundation Health Chief on Coaxing Pharma to Do Good
Bill Gates can summon the CEOs of every major global pharmaceutical company, and get them thinking and talking about things that won’t help them make more money. Pharma and biotech companies, cast as the villain pretty much everywhere, certainly like the PR boost they get from working with Gates and putting their immense resources to … Continue reading “Gates Foundation Health Chief on Coaxing Pharma to Do Good”
iFlipd Receives $210,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1df58685-bd5d-4f04-abd4-d6f438d660cb Date 11/25/2013 Company Name iFlipd Mailing Address 15450 Boones Ferry Road Lake Oswego, OR 97035 Company Description You can rent a prom dress. You can drive a Mini through a car share. In Florida you can even lease a giraffe by the hour. But try reading a book on a pay-as-you-go … Continue reading “iFlipd Receives $210,000 New Round”
Wire Labs Obtains $1,245,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b944040d-58d3-4d2f-9efd-ff9f96156f25 Date 11/25/2013 Company Name Wire Labs Mailing Address 1118 Broadway E Seattle, WA 98102 Company Description The company is developing as yet unspecified technologies in the mobile market space. Website http://www.wire.im Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $1,245,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. Contact … Continue reading “Wire Labs Obtains $1,245,000 New Financing Round”
Opal Labs Secures $2,100,000 Seed Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f184beeb-7e47-4199-80cf-2fa67efbc5d5 Date 11/25/2013 Company Name Opal Labs Mailing Address 107 Southeast Washington Street Portland, OR 97214 Company Description Opal Brainstorms radically amplifies the innovation potential of your organization. Unlock insight sharing across geographies, business units and specialties. Surface new ideas, solve problems, tackle ignored opportunities. Watch your team discover just how good … Continue reading “Opal Labs Secures $2,100,000 Seed Round”
Vital Therapies Postpones IPO as Biotech Sector Chills
Life sciences IPOs ran into market resistance for the second consecutive week. San Diego-based Vital Therapies and Malvern, PA’s TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals both postponed their IPOs yesterday, according to the IPO research firm Renaissance Capital. Travena, another Pennsylvania biotech, scrapped its IPO earlier in the week, and two other life science companies, Oxford Immunotec and Evogene, … Continue reading “Vital Therapies Postpones IPO as Biotech Sector Chills”
Vidible Garners $100,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=87899de2-4a26-4852-b831-5366b2a3cbad Date 11/22/2013 Company Name Vidible Mailing Address 13122 NE 20th St. Bellevue, WA 98005 Company Description The first video content exchange for syndication that matches content sellers with content buyers in a programatic, streamlined Saas based platform. Vidible delivers the professional quality video content to the right context or audience at … Continue reading “Vidible Garners $100,000 New Funding”
Roundup: News from Everpath, Haiku Deck, Planetary Resources & More
No IPOs or blockbuster funding rounds so far this week, but check out some interesting tidbits from Techstars grads Everpath and Haiku Deck; Planetary Resources; Portland-based startup Househappy; and more. —Everpath, a 2013 Techstars Seattle company making an online education platform, raised $950,000 from angel investors in Seattle and the Bay Area. The startup is … Continue reading “Roundup: News from Everpath, Haiku Deck, Planetary Resources & More”
A 21st-Century Bill of Consumer Product Rights
Among the great innovations of the 21st century are products that are cloud-connected and update and improve automatically. For software, gone are the days of having to buy a new version of physical media (disks or CDs). For hardware it’s the magical ability to have a product get better over time as new features are … Continue reading “A 21st-Century Bill of Consumer Product Rights”
NVoicePay Receives New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1f23d256-054b-4634-b2f2-e435523ec399 Date 11/21/2013 Company Name NVoicePay Mailing Address 8905 SW Nimbus Ave Beaverton, OR 97008 Company Description NVoicePay is streamlining accounts payable, dramatically reducing costs and generating new revenue for customers. We are a financial services firm specializing in electronic payments for accounts payable invoices. Our simple, secure, and efficient e-payables solutions … Continue reading “NVoicePay Receives New Round”
Slideshow: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle
There are a wide range of people and companies working on many aspects of the big data challenge in Seattle and we heard from many of them at a packed event Tuesday. Thanks to all of our speakers, attendees, and sponsors for helping make Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle a successful event. … Continue reading “Slideshow: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle”
To Tell the Story of Innovation in Detroit, Xconomy Needs Your Help
Whenever I’m describing Xconomy to someone who hasn’t come across our website before, I rattle off the names of the eight high-tech hubs where we have bureaus, in the order we opened them: Boston, Seattle, San Diego, Detroit, San Francisco, New York, Boulder/Denver, and Texas. At that point, the listener usually exclaims “Detroit! Why Detroit?” … Continue reading “To Tell the Story of Innovation in Detroit, Xconomy Needs Your Help”
A Few Good Mentors: A DIY Mentor Program for Startup Communities
I’m going to go out on a limb here. I guarantee that good startup mentors exist everywhere, even in your neck of the woods. Without any more evidence than my personal experience—working alongside hundreds of mentors and entrepreneurs around the globe, including such far-off places as Brussels, Moscow, and Kuala Lumpur—I’m willing to bet there … Continue reading “A Few Good Mentors: A DIY Mentor Program for Startup Communities”
Little Bird Receives $541,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5e1c31e2-8e15-4d4c-abad-38d3858a626e Date 11/20/2013 Company Name Little Bird Mailing Address 5916 NE Alberta Street Portland, OR 97218 Company Description A company called Plexus Engine Inc., doing business as Little Bird, automates the process of finding and verifying social media sources. Website http://www.getlittlebird.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $541,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “Little Bird Receives $541,000 New Funding Round”
Indow Windows Garners $2,600,000 Series A Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7725afee-d83d-42da-a738-7f022ec48c5d Date 11/20/2013 Company Name Indow Windows Mailing Address 2267 N. Interstate Avenue Portland, OR 97227 Company Description I founded Indow Windows because I wanted to find a better window insulation solution for my own home. Double pane windows are so expensive that even the cheap and ugly vinyl replacement windows cost … Continue reading “Indow Windows Garners $2,600,000 Series A Funding”
As Total U.S. IPOs Mount, Several Biotech Deals Stumble
With less than six weeks remaining in 2013, the number of U.S. IPOs continues to mount at a rate unseen since the financial meltdown of 2008. Ten companies are set to go public on U.S. markets this week, according to Renaissance Capital, the IPO investment firm based in Greenwich, CT. That includes Vital Therapies, a … Continue reading “As Total U.S. IPOs Mount, Several Biotech Deals Stumble”
Futuristic “Human-on-Chip” Models Will Help Drug Development
The pharmaceutical industry needs better scientific models for testing drugs before they get to the proving ground of human clinical trials. Current lab dish models and animal testing models are time-consuming, expensive and chronically unable to predict which drugs are going to work in clinical trials. The industry is crying out for new modes of … Continue reading “Futuristic “Human-on-Chip” Models Will Help Drug Development”
Everpath Receives $750,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f5dfeeb0-0cb2-4853-b638-b996c7166f0c Date 11/19/2013 Company Name Everpath Mailing Address 1828 B 27th Avenue Seattle, WA 98122 Company Description Everpath Inc. provides an online platform to search and study online educational courses. The site offers courses in technology, business, and design. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Seattle, Washington. Website … Continue reading “Everpath Receives $750,000 New Financing”
CenturyLink Acquires Tier 3 for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9f084476-4c41-41e1-83fa-7fdc1c4029cc Date 11/19/2013 Company Name Tier 3 Mailing Address 110 110th Ave NE Seattle, WA 98004 Company Description Tier 3 offers enterprise-level managed services for businesses of all types and sizes around the world. With our best-in-class architecture and platform, Tier 3 serves as an extension of its customers’ IT departments, enabling … Continue reading “CenturyLink Acquires Tier 3 for Undisclosed Sum”
City Council Maintains Planned Funding for Seattle Startup Initiative
The Seattle City Council is on its way to approving funds allocated for the Startup Seattle initiative, despite an effort to cut or delay the funding by three council members skeptical of the effort’s merit. The $151,000 line item for a staff position to run the initiative—unveiled in May by Mayor Mike McGinn—was the only … Continue reading “City Council Maintains Planned Funding for Seattle Startup Initiative”
See You There: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle
We’ve got a great group of innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers, and investors lined up to help us make sense of big data in Seattle tomorrow afternoon. The agenda for this Xconomy forum is full, and we expect the house will be too. Just a few tickets remain. They’re available at the door, beginning at 1 p.m. … Continue reading “See You There: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle”
The Biotech Startup Class of 2013: Don’t Worry, It’s a Short List
[Updated: 12:45 pm PT 12/13/13] We’ve heard a lot this year about the IPO boom for biotech companies. Even after a few high-profile blowups (Ariad, Sarepta), the public biotech stock indexes are still outperforming the Nasdaq Composite Index and S&P 500. Some biotechs have been acquired for megabucks (Onyx, ViroPharma). We’ve heard about another biotech … Continue reading “The Biotech Startup Class of 2013: Don’t Worry, It’s a Short List”
Acumatica Lands $10,000,000 Series C Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f6feee5a-a176-4452-8e85-4a32b5daa3d5 Date 11/18/2013 Company Name Acumatica Mailing Address 4030 Lake Washington Blvd NE Kirkland, WA 98033 Company Description Acumatica is an innovative company that develops an integrated set of web-based accounting, customer relationship management, content management, and business management software designed to improve the productivity of medium sized organizations. Website http://www.acumatica.com Transaction … Continue reading “Acumatica Lands $10,000,000 Series C Financing”
Hamburger Heaven: Business Lessons from a Child’s Bookshelf
Perhaps because I have a sales/marketing/product background, or perhaps because sales/marketing/product development are such a focus of conversation when you hang around with entrepreneurs, I am often asked what business book I would most recommend on these topics. I am sure that most would expect me to recommend one of the “classics,” such as Clayton … Continue reading “Hamburger Heaven: Business Lessons from a Child’s Bookshelf”
SNUPI Technologies’ Home Sensor Network Monitors Water Leaks, Babies
SNUPI Technologies wants to help homeowners spot mold, leaks, and appliance failures before they become a big problem, but that’s just the beginning. This Seattle startup is building a platform at the intersection of low-cost, low-power sensor networks, cloud computing, and machine learning, that is showing potential beyond the initial product and service that SNUPI … Continue reading “SNUPI Technologies’ Home Sensor Network Monitors Water Leaks, Babies”
The Hottest High-Tech Toy of 2013: Anki’s iPhone-Driven Robot Cars
If you had wandered up to the second floor of the Apple store in San Francisco on a Thursday evening a couple of weeks ago, you would have seen an unusual spectacle. The big wooden tables were cleared of the usual iPads and MacBooks, and in their place visitors had laid out large sheets of … Continue reading “The Hottest High-Tech Toy of 2013: Anki’s iPhone-Driven Robot Cars”
Seattle E-Commerce Startup Zulily Raises $253M in IPO, Soars 71%
[Updated throughout 11/15/13, 1:42 p.m. PT] Seattle is home to another multi-billion-dollar tech company with the initial public offering of Zulily, which sold 11.5 million shares for $22 each Thursday and watched its stock climb as much as 87.8 percent in trading on the NASDAQ Friday. Zulily shares, trading under the ticker symbol ZU, closed … Continue reading “Seattle E-Commerce Startup Zulily Raises $253M in IPO, Soars 71%”
Redfin Raises $50M From Tiger Global, T. Rowe Price, Others
Redfin just raised $50 million, more than double what the Seattle-based online real estate brokerage had raised from venture capitalists in its prior 11 years in business. The company brought on new investors Tiger Global Management and T. Rowe Price Associates’ portfolios for this “mezzanine investment.” Previous investors Greylock Partners, Globespan Capital Partners, Draper Fisher … Continue reading “Redfin Raises $50M From Tiger Global, T. Rowe Price, Others”
In Defense of Sarepta’s Chris Garabedian
Anyone who follows the biotechnology industry surely is aware of the setback Cambridge, MA-based Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SRPT]]) experienced this week after FDA changed their mind about the company’s ability to request early approval for its Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy drug, eteplirsen, on the basis of an encouraging Phase IIb study of 12 patients. However, the … Continue reading “In Defense of Sarepta’s Chris Garabedian”
The Future of Microsoft Research: One on One With New Boss Peter Lee
How do you help invigorate the Microsoft machine? Well, for Peter Lee, the answer lies in the frontiers of computer science. Lee is the new managing director of Microsoft Research, the company’s global research arm. His job is to help his parent company, not always quick on the uptake with emerging technology, understand the latest … Continue reading “The Future of Microsoft Research: One on One With New Boss Peter Lee”
Zulily Garners $253,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7f0208f4-170a-4f4e-a17b-0f9647ec36cd Date 11/14/2013 Company Name Zulily Mailing Address 2200 First Avenue South Seattle, WA 98134 Company Description Zulily (NASDAQ: ZU). It’s a fabulous new online store offering daily sales on top-quality apparel, gear and other goodies for moms, babies and kids. Members can enjoy savings of up to 70% off retail prices … Continue reading “Zulily Garners $253,000,000 New Round”
Former Decide CEO Fridgen to Advise Social Commerce Startup Yabbly
Yabbly proclaims on its Web site: “Product search powered by people, not an algorithm.” So it was interesting to learn that Mike Fridgen, who headed Decide.com—which offered very powerful product and pricing searches powered by algorithms, not people—has signed on as an adviser to Seattle-based Yabbly. I had a chance to talk with Fridgen to … Continue reading “Former Decide CEO Fridgen to Advise Social Commerce Startup Yabbly”
Ombitron Receives $100,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e6a23f99-6f6b-49fa-88f5-dee61efe10b5 Date 11/13/2013 Company Name Ombitron Mailing Address 821 2nd Ave Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Ombitron creates hardware and software solutions specifically for the Internet of Things (also called Machine to Machine (M2M)) market. Ombitron specializes in cellular gateways combined with cloud based software to provide a fully managed, easy to … Continue reading “Ombitron Receives $100,000 New Financing”
Visible Technologies Garners $1,402,652 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=beb34e66-c30a-45cd-a5ae-fee72dfb0df3 Date 11/13/2013 Company Name Visible Technologies Mailing Address 3535 Factoria Blvd SE Bellevue, WA 98006 Company Description Visible Technologies is the industry leader in advanced social intelligence and engagement for innovative enterprises and agencies around the globe. Since its inception in 2005, Visible’s patented platform – Visible Intelligence – and Insights … Continue reading “Visible Technologies Garners $1,402,652 New Financing Round”
Discount Ends Today: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle
Seattle seems to be adding to its big data assets by the day. Today, it’s a $37.8 million grant to the University of Washington and two other elite institutions to strengthen data-driven science. This effort and others like it promise to help attract and train the sought-after data scientists driving the next generation of discovery … Continue reading “Discount Ends Today: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle”
Big Data Grant from Moore, Sloan Aims to Make Pi-Shaped Scientists
Scientists in nearly every field are confronting the blessing and the curse of big data. New scientific instruments and simulations such as the Large Hadron Collider and the cabled ocean observatory in the northeastern Pacific promise more and better observations of places and phenomena that were difficult or impossible to access before. Sociologists and economists … Continue reading “Big Data Grant from Moore, Sloan Aims to Make Pi-Shaped Scientists”
Dendreon Cuts 150 Jobs, As Prostate Cancer Drug Sales Decline
Dendreon once had 2,000 employees at its peak, less than three years ago. Its stock was once over $40 a share. Analysts once predicted its prostate cancer drug would rake in billions in sales every year, with no generic competition in sight. Today, it’s down to 820 employees, its stock is under $3, and it’s … Continue reading “Dendreon Cuts 150 Jobs, As Prostate Cancer Drug Sales Decline”
Dallas’s Naya Ventures Targets Investments in Telecom Startups
Dayakar Puskoor wants you to know that North Texas’s telecom scene is not dead yet. More than a decade after the region’s telecommunications industry busted, leading to company closures and layoffs numbering around 100,000, Puskoor hopes to be part of its resurrection. The software engineer turned entrepreneur and investor believes so much in the region’s … Continue reading “Dallas’s Naya Ventures Targets Investments in Telecom Startups”
Time to Come Clean: Why A High-Tech Guy Envies the Low-Tech World
I’m ready to confess that I’ve been basking in a particular drug-induced fantasy for a number of years. It’s a different type than we usual read about, and I suspect it’s shared by a fair number of other folks who work in biopharma. We dream of the day when a medicine we created begins to … Continue reading “Time to Come Clean: Why A High-Tech Guy Envies the Low-Tech World”
How Alkermes Survived a Brush With Death
Most every biotech company with some mileage has had at least one near-death experience. Maybe the key experiment failed, or a dangerous side effect emerged late in the game. Maybe a rich competitor decided to squash the little guy with a frivolous intellectual property lawsuit. Maybe a key partner bailed for whatever reason. Maybe the … Continue reading “How Alkermes Survived a Brush With Death”
Apple’s Weakness: Customer Loyalty Has Its Limits
If you’re ever forced to read a public company’s annual report, turn first to the “risk factors” section, which is always the most entertaining. This is where companies are required to disclose all of the things that could go terribly wrong with their businesses. It’s a Wall Street version of Edward Gorey’s Gashlycrumb Tinies (“A … Continue reading “Apple’s Weakness: Customer Loyalty Has Its Limits”
Agenda: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle on Nov. 19
From the latest on in-home sensors to next-generation big data platforms to Internet-scale data-centric applications to the future of artificial intelligence, we’ve got the data-to-insight pipeline covered at Xconomy’s Nov. 19 forum, Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle. The full agenda for this half-day event is locked in and now available here. You … Continue reading “Agenda: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle on Nov. 19”
Bristol-Myers Cuts Clinical Team at ZymoGenetics Seattle Site
[Update: 2:50 pm PT] Bristol-Myers Squibb has laid off as many as 20 people in its clinical development/operations group at ZymoGenetics in Seattle as part of a companywide R&D restructuring, Xconomy has learned. New York-based Bristol-Myers acquired ZymoGenetics for about $885 million in October 2010, and pledged a few months later to retain the remaining … Continue reading “Bristol-Myers Cuts Clinical Team at ZymoGenetics Seattle Site”
Building Biotechs to Last: See Bonnie Anderson, Dan Bradbury & More
For a few years, “virtual” biotech companies with a single asset and a handful of employees and contractors were the rage. The idea was to get a small team to work together a few years, hit some milestone, and flip it to Big Pharma. This year, in what looks like the second-biggest crop of biotech … Continue reading “Building Biotechs to Last: See Bonnie Anderson, Dan Bradbury & More”
Indi Looks to Show Bang for the Buck With New Lung Cancer Blood Test
[Updated: 11 am PT] People with a history of smoking, and people who are getting up there in age, have an increased risk of lung cancer. That’s been known a long time. But only recently have doctors seen hard data that says routine screening tests for ‘high-risk’ patients, which attempts to spot lung tumors early, … Continue reading “Indi Looks to Show Bang for the Buck With New Lung Cancer Blood Test”
Surviving Exponential Growth: Lessons from Network Solutions
At the beginning of 1995, there were only about 71,000 domain names in the entire world, and a grand total of about 16 million Internet users. This was the year that Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), then based in San Diego, acquired Network Solutions—a small technology company in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. … Continue reading “Surviving Exponential Growth: Lessons from Network Solutions”