Category: Seattle

$13M for Jama From Trinity, Madrona Shows Strength of Portland Tech

Jama Software, which helps companies manage complex projects, is raising $13 million from Trinity Ventures and Madrona Venture Group in the latest sign that the Portland, OR technology industry is hitting its stride. Oregon startups—most of which are concentrated in the Rose City—are having one of their best years in terms of fundraising since before … Continue reading “$13M for Jama From Trinity, Madrona Shows Strength of Portland Tech”

Who Should Biotech Pros Follow on Twitter? An Update for 2013

[Updated: 12:07 pm PT] Twitter is where the biotech industry comes to trade news, analysis, and gossip every day. This has been true for a couple years. The 140-character blogging platform just keeps gaining strength every day as more people join, more people figure out how they can contribute in a meaningful way, and more … Continue reading “Who Should Biotech Pros Follow on Twitter? An Update for 2013”

Allozyne Garners $2,452,450 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=dcfe65a5-4d10-4004-9a4c-028a8beb8db3 Date 8/19/2013 Company Name Allozyne Mailing Address 1600 Fairview Ave E Seattle, WA 98102 Company Description Allozyne, Inc., is a privately held biotechnology company focused on the development and manufacture of protein therapeutics. These technologies will enable the company to improve the efficacy of protein-based therapeutics. Website http://www.allozyne.com Transaction Type Debt … Continue reading “Allozyne Garners $2,452,450 New Financing Round”

Jama Software Garners $13,000,000 Series B Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=08b03c27-b429-4543-9c23-ce52eb15dff3 Date 8/19/2013 Company Name Jama Software Mailing Address 1060 NW Ninth Ave. Portland, OR 97209 Company Description We’ve designed Jama’s products for every organization seeking to be more agile, achieve real efficiencies and create measurable business value for their customers, employees and partners. Website http://www.jamasoftware.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Jama Software Garners $13,000,000 Series B Funding Round”

Biotech VCs, Stung by Startup Returns, Elbow into Royalty Financing

The new landscape for venture capital investing does not seem to leave much room for classic company formation. Investor after investor has shut down or moved beyond startups into what seem like greener pastures. So it should come as no surprise that at least a few VC firms are now expanding into the royalty space, … Continue reading “Biotech VCs, Stung by Startup Returns, Elbow into Royalty Financing”

High-Speed Rail or Hyperloop? Let’s Try Both, and Reward the Winner

It’s been a bumpy week for high-speed rail advocates in California. On Sunday, the Los Angeles Times published a story saying that groundbreaking on the first section of the “bullet train” route linking L.A. and San Francisco will likely slip into 2014—more than two years behind schedule. Then on Monday, aerospace and automotive mogul Elon … Continue reading “High-Speed Rail or Hyperloop? Let’s Try Both, and Reward the Winner”

Tissue Regeneration Systems Obtains $3,638,821 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b2221792-2832-4cb5-8032-df2595cd9e68 Date 8/16/2013 Company Name Tissue Regeneration Systems Mailing Address 5400 Carillon Point Kirkland, WA 98033 Company Description Tissue Regeneration Systems (TRS) is a start-up medical device company commercializing a breakthrough skeletal reconstruction and bone regeneration technology platform licensed from the Universities of Michigan and Wisconsin. Website http://www.tissuesys.com Transaction Type Venture Equity … Continue reading “Tissue Regeneration Systems Obtains $3,638,821 New Financing”

Hutch’s “Project Violet” Taps Crowd, Seeks $20M for Drug Discovery

Many scientists are dreaming these days about using crowdfunding to raise money for their projects, through platforms like Kickstarter. Usually the scientists seek to raise a few thousand bucks in the name of a fairly incremental advancement in our understanding of biology. Jim Olson and his team at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center are … Continue reading “Hutch’s “Project Violet” Taps Crowd, Seeks $20M for Drug Discovery”

Lucid Energy Garners $5,715,246 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2ebee368-2f8a-4c66-9f17-9dbd4d90bed3 Date 8/15/2013 Company Name Lucid Energy Mailing Address 108 NW 9th Avenue Portland, OR 97209 Company Description Lucid Energy is a provider of renewable energy systems. Our patented LucidPipe Power System enables industrial, municipal and agricultural facilities to produce clean, reliable, low-cost electricity from their gravity-fed water pipelines and effluent streams. … Continue reading “Lucid Energy Garners $5,715,246 New Financing”

Lively Lands $500,000 Seed Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b942bdd2-d083-4a34-9194-9cf89a1c7d15 Date 8/15/2013 Company Name Lively Mailing Address 3412 4th Avenue South Seattle, WA 98134 Company Description Lively is bringing fans and bands together: whether it’s the next hot indie artist or a major label band, quality access to live music doesn’t need to stop at the venue’s doors. Website http://www.getlive.ly Transaction … Continue reading “Lively Lands $500,000 Seed Funding Round”

Placed Service Would Prove Mobile Ads Get Customers in the Door

A mobile advertisement offering 10 percent off of lunch at a fast food restaurant is more likely to drive customers to the store than a banner ad for a burger displayed on the Web. That’s the promise of mobile advertising—an $8.9 billion global business last year, growing at a rapid clip—and the behavior Seattle startup … Continue reading “Placed Service Would Prove Mobile Ads Get Customers in the Door”

Survey: VCs Less Confident in Global Markets, Look to Home Turf

Private-market investors tend to be an optimistic bunch, at least in public—it comes with the territory when you’re betting on unknown or unproven companies and their founders. But a new survey of market confidence from the National Venture Capital Association shows a pretty dour outlook in several cases from VC, private equity, and growth equity … Continue reading “Survey: VCs Less Confident in Global Markets, Look to Home Turf”

Gates Foundation Lures Biotech VC to Work on Global Health Startups

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has people with big Rolodexes that extend into high levels of government, philanthropy, public health, and Big Pharma. Now the organization has hired someone to open doors to biotech entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Bob More, a former partner with Frazier Healthcare Ventures and Domain Associates, recently joined the Gates … Continue reading “Gates Foundation Lures Biotech VC to Work on Global Health Startups”

Redmond Rocket Scientists Propel Innovation as Space Cluster Grows

Rocket engines designed, built, and tested by a company tucked away at the edge of the Seattle suburbs have travelled to the edge of the solar system, visiting every planet including Mars, where the Curiosity Rover made a successful landing a year ago last week, using rockets from Redmond, WA, for the long interplanetary journey … Continue reading “Redmond Rocket Scientists Propel Innovation as Space Cluster Grows”

Six Reasons Why Giving Scientists Big Bonuses Won’t Fix Pharma R&D

Scientists in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry are an underappreciated bunch. They make decent salaries, but nowhere near the big bucks that go to their bosses. Even when an industry scientist discovers a new drug that helps people and makes billions, he or she almost never gets publicly recognized. They live mostly anonymous middle class … Continue reading “Six Reasons Why Giving Scientists Big Bonuses Won’t Fix Pharma R&D”

Roundup: WTIA, Lytics, SwopBoard, Contour, Obama at Zillow & More

You may have heard earlier this week that a local technology entrepreneur purchased an old media company. In other news around the Northwest this week, the Washington Technology Industry Association named a new CEO; Portland big-data-for-marketers startup Lytics attracted funding, as did SwopBoard, a Seattle company building a sales platform for school communities; Contour appears … Continue reading “Roundup: WTIA, Lytics, SwopBoard, Contour, Obama at Zillow & More”

The Geek Doesn’t Always Get the Girl: A Novelist on Hacking Romance

In today’s Silicon Valley, the hacker wunderkinds are ascendant. Boy-kings are running billion-member social networks, founding massive new venture capital firms, building incubators that churn out hundreds of new startups every year, and even fighting poverty and disease by drilling for water in Ethiopia. Materially, at least, their revenge on whatever high-school cliques once excluded … Continue reading “The Geek Doesn’t Always Get the Girl: A Novelist on Hacking Romance”

In Memoriam: Duane Roth Was a Driving Force in Our Innovation Economy

Duane Roth was a very special person to me and to the San Diego life sciences community. After he took over as the CEO of Connect at the end of 2004, he took on a larger role for the entire technology community—or as Duane would call it, the “Innovation Economy.” For Duane, San Diego has … Continue reading “In Memoriam: Duane Roth Was a Driving Force in Our Innovation Economy”

Flux Drive Receives $600,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cd261421-e9fc-48b7-933a-30c81880481b Date 8/9/2013 Company Name Flux Drive Mailing Address 14209 29th Street East Sumner, WA 98390 Company Description Founded in 2003, Flux Drive has focused its development effort on building an alternative to the electrical variable frequency drive (VFD). Specifically, the founders wanted to solve vibration and reduce the peripheral cost associated … Continue reading “Flux Drive Receives $600,000 New Funding”

Lytics Secures $2,200,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=914e52a4-b5e7-471e-bd94-7cdd4c92eec9 Date 8/9/2013 Company Name Lytics Mailing Address 1227 NW Davis Street Portland, OR 97209 Company Description Lytics offers an adaptive analytical platform for performing complex analytics on structured and unstructured data, all in one cloud-optimized system. We developed our platform to eliminate data silos and enable organizations to analyze massive amounts … Continue reading “Lytics Secures $2,200,000 New Round”

Builders Cloud Lands $1,100,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=90ae05d7-4c57-4dfa-98c7-cbedbe7637e9 Date 8/9/2013 Company Name Builders Cloud Mailing Address 4 102nd Avenue NE Bellevue, WA 98004 Company Description BuildersCloud is the best way to keep construction projects, teams, and blueprints in sync. With unlimited file-storage, and security controls that allow you to share exactly the files you want, with exactly who you … Continue reading “Builders Cloud Lands $1,100,000 New Funding”

Tableau Software Sales Up 71 Percent With Lots of Room to Grow

In its first quarterly financial report as a public company, Tableau Software posted sales of $49.9 million, up 71 percent from a year ago, and a net loss of $2.6 million, sending its shares to a new high in after-hours trading. The Seattle data visualization software maker raised a net $177 million in a public … Continue reading “Tableau Software Sales Up 71 Percent With Lots of Room to Grow”

Dendreon Says Sales Will Decline in 2013, Shares Fall

Seattle-based Dendreon set a modest goal this year. It wanted to see annual sales of its prostate cancer drug increase. The company didn’t say it wanted a 30 percent increase or a 20 percent increase—just an increase. Today, it said it’s likely to fall short of that relatively mild ambition. Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) said today … Continue reading “Dendreon Says Sales Will Decline in 2013, Shares Fall”

Understanding Open Science

The dream of getting to cures, faster, is one shared by many. But every new instrument we’ve invented to examine the human body has shown us only more complexity and interconnection.  The failure of all of our new technologies to translate rapidly into drugs has demonstrated that we’re the folks in the parking lot looking under the lamppost … Continue reading “Understanding Open Science”

Azuqua Obtains $180,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3fc29d4f-2580-4502-9d86-5b7abddb0264 Date 8/8/2013 Company Name Azuqua Mailing Address PO Box 706 Bellevue, WA 98009 Company Description Azuqua helps companies build integrated cloud-based enterprise apps in ten minutes or less. Website http://www.flo.azuqua.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $180,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. Not a … Continue reading “Azuqua Obtains $180,000 New Financing Round”

Bezos, No Fan of Unions, Gets 1,200 Union Workers at Washington Post

[Updated 12:40 pm Pacific time.] Since founding Amazon, Jeff Bezos has poured his growing wealth and business savvy into a dizzying array of interests, from cloud computing and consumer electronics to private spaceflight and even fusion power. One role he hasn’t typically filled, however, is labor negotiator. But that will change when Bezos takes over … Continue reading “Bezos, No Fan of Unions, Gets 1,200 Union Workers at Washington Post”

Lost in Translation: The Novice’s Guide to BioPharma Idioms

Many fields of endeavor have their own special words, abbreviations, and coded language. People working in each of these disciplines learn over time how to use certain phrases that describe items or situations in the best possible light. In real estate listings, for example, a house will never be designated as “small.” Instead, it might … Continue reading “Lost in Translation: The Novice’s Guide to BioPharma Idioms”

VLST, After Nine Years and $50M, Sells Assets and Winds Down

VLST, a Seattle biotech company that raised about $50 million in its nine-year history, has wound down all its operations and sold off its remaining assets, Xconomy has learned. The names of the buyers, and the price they paid for VLST’s components, aren’t being disclosed, said VLST’s former CEO Marty Simonetti. One buyer has scooped … Continue reading “VLST, After Nine Years and $50M, Sells Assets and Winds Down”

The Women’s Entrepreneurship Opportunity Is Not For Women Only

My doctoral dissertation, published in 2009, was a phenomenological study of 15 trailblazing women who held board of director positions in life sciences and technology businesses. The findings focused on the common traits and characteristics shared by the study participants, all of whom found success in an industry that is defined and dominated by men. … Continue reading “The Women’s Entrepreneurship Opportunity Is Not For Women Only”

Medicines Buys ProFibrix, Led by Former Zymonite, for $90M

[Updated: 4:55 pm PT] ProFibrix, the Netherlands-based biotech company with a Seattle drug development office, has agreed to be acquired by The Medicines Company for $240 million after passing the final stage of clinical trials with a new treatment for surgical bleeding. Parsippany, NJ-based The Medicines Co. (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MDCO]]) said today it has agreed to … Continue reading “Medicines Buys ProFibrix, Led by Former Zymonite, for $90M”

Bezos Buys Washington Post for $250M in Surprise Deal

[Updated 6 pm Eastern.] Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has long talked about his knack for operating businesses on very low profit margins. Now, he’s getting another chance to test that muscle. In an announcement that shocked the media industry, the Washington Post Co. says it is selling its flagship newspaper “and affiliated publications” to Bezos … Continue reading “Bezos Buys Washington Post for $250M in Surprise Deal”

Obama to Discuss Housing with Zillow CEO, Answer Public Questions

President Obama is certainly hamming it up with Seattle-based companies lately. Just last week, Obama toured a Chattanooga, TN, warehouse owned by Amazon, giving a speech on jobs policy and granting an interview with the editor of Amazon’s Kindle Singles publishing arm. This week, the president is sitting down with Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff, who … Continue reading “Obama to Discuss Housing with Zillow CEO, Answer Public Questions”

Techstars Picks 11 Startups for 2013 Class in Seattle

Techstars Seattle has picked 11 startup companies to participate in its 2013 class, which begins today. The fourth edition of the top-tier startup accelerator in Seattle includes three companies working on some aspect of online education; a social media metrics play; a collaborative news reader for businesses; mobile customer service tools; a service for continuous … Continue reading “Techstars Picks 11 Startups for 2013 Class in Seattle”

How to Think Like a Hacker, Even If You Can’t Code

What do Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Larry Page all have in common? Yes, they’ve founded multi-billion dollar businesses with virtually no formal business training, with combined revenues of over $80 billion. But they are also former software engineers and hackers, an experience that undoubtedly taught them skills in critical thinking and problem solving. Making … Continue reading “How to Think Like a Hacker, Even If You Can’t Code”

Celgene Emerges as Biotech’s Shrewdest, Nimblest Dealmaker

Celgene is best known for taking a notoriously dangerous compound, thalidomide, and turning a derivative into a hugely successful cancer drug. But what fewer people may realize is that it is fast building the biotech industry’s best network of partnerships with innovators. This feels odd to say, even though Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) has been a … Continue reading “Celgene Emerges as Biotech’s Shrewdest, Nimblest Dealmaker”

Qhode Obtains $118,000 Seed Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=30c852a6-e5ef-41ff-b35c-c128e0aeaa61 Date 8/5/2013 Company Name Qhode Mailing Address 788 110th Ave NE Bellevue, WA 98004 Company Description Qhode, based in Bellevue, WA, is making a cloud-based continuous integration service for software developers. The company, founded by Avinash Cavale, describes it as “on demand build-Platform as a Service (bPaaS) providing continuous automated builds … Continue reading “Qhode Obtains $118,000 Seed Round”

Inside Social Lands $118,000 Seed Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c82e23ac-e8c2-4208-9c09-c207f8cf6b3d Date 8/5/2013 Company Name Inside Social Mailing Address Undisclosed Seattle, WA 98102 Company Description Inside Social, according to the Techstars release, “enables brands and publishers to measure and increase the direct impact that social sharing has on the metrics that really matter.” The Seattle company’s Web site provides no further detail … Continue reading “Inside Social Lands $118,000 Seed Financing”

flck.me Secures $118,000 Seed Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=becdf4b3-7b58-491f-9adf-ca9bb957668c Date 8/5/2013 Company Name flck.me Mailing Address Undisclosed Seattle, WA 98101 Company Description The Seattle company says it is reinventing mobile social networking, presumably by “combining the best parts of mobile messaging and social networking. Website http://www.invite.flck.me Transaction Type Accelerator Transaction Amount $118,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes The company will … Continue reading “flck.me Secures $118,000 Seed Funding Round”

Everpath Secures $118,000 Seed Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=178e6f44-5735-4ce0-a5d7-f0181e631b55 Date 8/5/2013 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 Secures $118,000 Seed Financing”

Pansieve Garners $118,000 Seed Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=48bf46e6-2e87-41c7-bbc0-f2cdabb2b031 Date 8/5/2013 Company Name Pansieve Mailing Address 8201 164th Ave NE Redmond, WA 98052 Company Description We all began our journey to Redmond from different corners of the world. Our professional careers intersected at Microsoft about five years ago. We had lot of fun as part of a small team building … Continue reading “Pansieve Garners $118,000 Seed Funding Round”

Inside Social Obtains $118,000 Seed Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2dfe0966-d50b-4566-a8bb-3673950e4b55 Date 8/5/2013 Company Name Inside Social Mailing Address Undisclosed Seattle, WA 98102 Company Description Inside Social enables brands and publishers to measure and increase the direct impact that social sharing has on the metrics that really matter. Website http://www.insidesoci.al Transaction Type Accelerator Transaction Amount $118,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes The … Continue reading “Inside Social Obtains $118,000 Seed Financing”

Wire Labs Garners $118,000 Seed Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4460ff44-0d3c-4af7-b5b7-5f68d1acc6ca Date 8/5/2013 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 Accelerator Transaction Amount $118,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes The company will use the proceeds to accelerate its … Continue reading “Wire Labs Garners $118,000 Seed Funding”

Cuecard Secures $118,000 Seed Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d066a60a-ceba-409d-b6a9-9fbfe0af1e16 Date 8/5/2013 Company Name Cuecard Mailing Address 164th Ave N E Redmond, WA 98052 Company Description We all began our journey to Redmond from different corners of the world. Our professional careers intersected at Microsoft about five years ago. We had lot of fun as part of a small team building … Continue reading “Cuecard Secures $118,000 Seed Funding Round”

Roundup: HootSuite’s $165M, Plus News on Chirpify, Exo Labs, Blucora

This is the “put a bird on it” edition of the Northwest tech news roundup. HootSuite, the Twitter dashboard maker, hauls in $165 million, the most venture capital in one go for a Canadian software company. Meanwhile, Chirpify, which enables commerce in Twitter and other social media, grabbed a more modest sum. There are some … Continue reading “Roundup: HootSuite’s $165M, Plus News on Chirpify, Exo Labs, Blucora”

What’s In Your Earthquake Kit? Here’s a Look at Mine

If you live in California, where earthquakes measuring 4.0 or above hit once or twice a month, you can’t ignore the fact that the continental plates are shifting. Frequent, minor temblors help to remind us that someday, the Big One could instantly disable our fragile highways, aqueducts, and communications networks. In that scenario, all of … Continue reading “What’s In Your Earthquake Kit? Here’s a Look at Mine”

Four Startup Challenges that Technology Can Help Solve

Many startups think that their greatest challenge is to get funding. Sure, that’s tough. And when you do find a willing investor, half the battle is won. But after that, the real work begins. You need to build a good team, put in place processes and infrastructure, innovate, and of course, pursue aggressive marketing strategies. … Continue reading “Four Startup Challenges that Technology Can Help Solve”

Theraclone Merges With PharmAthene, Plans to Stay in Seattle

[Updated: 11:40 am] Theraclone Sciences is likely headed for the public markets, but not through the IPO route. Seattle-based Theraclone, the developer of targeted antibody drugs, said today it has agreed to a merger with Annapolis, MD-based PharmAthene (NYSE MKT: [[ticker:PIP]]). The combined company will be headquartered in Seattle and led by CEO Cliff Stocks, while PharmAthene … Continue reading “Theraclone Merges With PharmAthene, Plans to Stay in Seattle”

The Sowing of a Startup Community in Telluride

All it takes are the right seeds and soil for a startup community to take root and thrive. I recently saw this first hand in a seemingly off-the-beaten-path city—Telluride, CO. I discovered Telluride’s entrepreneurial aspirations last summer, when I received a call from Jesse Johnson, an entrepreneur who relocated from New York City to Telluride … Continue reading “The Sowing of a Startup Community in Telluride”