Category: Seattle

Can’t Get No Respect? Bio-venture Issues Are Deeper Than Paper Gains

In one of his recent blogs at Life Sci VC, Atlas Venture’s Bruce Booth makes the optimists’ case for venture capital investments in the life sciences. Booth’s message is that life sciences venture capital is healthy but misunderstood, but he misses the forest for the trees in important ways. Based on my 27 years in … Continue reading “Can’t Get No Respect? Bio-venture Issues Are Deeper Than Paper Gains”

Julep Beauty Secures $5,040,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0a5a4a59-2fdf-44f2-9762-2e2e83cdb54e&Preview=1 Date 6/25/2013 Company Name Julep Beauty Mailing Address P.O. Box 19523 Seattle, WA 98109 Company Description Julep was created as a tribute to the girlfriends who tell it like it is. Who push us to take a break from the bob and try something a little more daring with our hair. … Continue reading “Julep Beauty Secures $5,040,000 New Funding Round”

Study: Advanced Sensors Promise Major Energy Savings in Buildings

The cafeteria is freezing as a solitary worker finishes a late lunch in the cavernous space. The problem of overly air-conditioned rooms in office buildings is not just one of comfort. It’s a huge waste of energy in commercial buildings, which consume about 36 percent of U.S. electricity. And it’s often caused by heating, ventilating, … Continue reading “Study: Advanced Sensors Promise Major Energy Savings in Buildings”

Battle of the Bluetooth Speakers: Big Sound in Small Packages

Back in 2009, Lief Storer realized he was putting his own safety in jeopardy every time he donned his big DJ headphones before biking to work. “I had a tough time picking up traffic coming at me from the rear,” he says. But he didn’t want to give up his music. So he jammed an … Continue reading “Battle of the Bluetooth Speakers: Big Sound in Small Packages”

Are Apple, Google, and Facebook Done Innovating? Readers Speak

In the world of tech journalism, the fastest way to start an argument is to say something critical about Apple. When you throw in Google and Facebook, you really know there are going to be fireworks. That’s exactly what happened over the weekend after we published my column “Don’t Panic, But We’ve Passed Peak Apple. … Continue reading “Are Apple, Google, and Facebook Done Innovating? Readers Speak”

With $10M, SpaceCurve Readies ‘Third Generation’ Big Data Platform

SpaceCurve says its big data platform removes the barriers to real-time analysis of enormous, multi-dimensional datasets inherent in current technologies. The Seattle startup has raised $10 million to begin marketing its platform, as investors continue to bet on locally based big data companies. Triage Ventures led the Series B funding, with earlier SpaceCurve investors Reed … Continue reading “With $10M, SpaceCurve Readies ‘Third Generation’ Big Data Platform”

Apex Learning Garners $8,261,724 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=531c186d-fe48-4a5e-91c9-55e7bae9ae02&Preview=1 Date 6/20/2013 Company Name Apex Learning Mailing Address 1215 Fourth Ave. Seattle, WA 98161 Company Description Apex Learning is a leading publisher of online instructional materials for secondary education. The company’s standards-based digital curriculum in the core subjects — math, science, English, social studies, and world languages — and in Advanced … Continue reading “Apex Learning Garners $8,261,724 New Funding Round”

Apex Learning Garners $8,261,724 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=531c186d-fe48-4a5e-91c9-55e7bae9ae02&Preview=1 Date 6/20/2013 Company Name Apex Learning Mailing Address 1215 Fourth Ave. Seattle, WA 98161 Company Description Apex Learning is a leading publisher of online instructional materials for secondary education. The company’s standards-based digital curriculum in the core subjects — math, science, English, social studies, and world languages — and in Advanced … Continue reading “Apex Learning Garners $8,261,724 New Financing Round”

X2 Biosystems Receives $1,157,040 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fd202d90-5c1b-4e57-8e71-8bca6081798e&Preview=1 Date 6/20/2013 Company Name X2 Biosystems Mailing Address 1927 Post Alley Seattle, WA 98101 Company Description The X2 system notifies athletic trainers, coaches, and team physicians in real time about impacts to players heads, and provides a suite of tools supporting athlete assessment in bench vs. play decisions, recovery and safe … Continue reading “X2 Biosystems Receives $1,157,040 New Financing Round”

Tred Brings Cars To Test Drive, But Dealers Still Close the Deal

Buying a new car is a high-value transaction, one that is often time-consuming and stressful. Tred, a Seattle startup, is trying to ease at least part of the process by delivering cars for consumers to test drive from their homes. Unlike electric car maker Tesla, which is fighting car dealer associations in several states to … Continue reading “Tred Brings Cars To Test Drive, But Dealers Still Close the Deal”

Nimia Garners $500,000 Seed Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b08b9909-737a-453f-b4b4-1a4883591c95&Preview=1 Date 6/19/2013 Company Name Nimia Mailing Address 701 5th Ave 42nd Floor Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Nimia is a cloud-based platform for media producers & agencies to archive, clear rights, distribute & monetize video assets. Nimia is a full-service entourage for media producers. Website http://www.nimia.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “Nimia Garners $500,000 Seed Financing Round”

Yabbly Garners $500,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d4b65057-b429-4a11-9013-72253b23e4c9&Preview=1 Date 6/19/2013 Company Name Yabbly Mailing Address 209 1/2 1st Ave S Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description What’s Yabbly? It’s a community for asking thoughtful questions where members help each other find the best product. Website http://www.yabbly.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Leung said … Continue reading “Yabbly Garners $500,000 New Funding Round”

FiftyThree, Maker of Paper App, Raises $15M To Build New Tools

FiftyThree, the Seattle- and New York-based company behind one of the most successful iPad apps of the last year, has raised $15 million to expand its minimalist approach to mobile digital creativity tools. The Series A funding round is being led by Andreessen Horowitz with new investors Thrive Capital and Twitter and Square co-founder Jack … Continue reading “FiftyThree, Maker of Paper App, Raises $15M To Build New Tools”

Trendspotting: Commerce on Facebook

Social media’s impact on global e-commerce is being felt everywhere. By promoting products via social media outlets, e-commerce companies have invited customers to spread interest and awareness of their brands through liking, reviewing, and sharing products with their network of friends. Commerce on social media has become a hot trend for many e-commerce firms to … Continue reading “Trendspotting: Commerce on Facebook”

Roundup: Mirabilis Medica, Exo Labs, Yabbly, Ninu Attract Investment

Investors are betting on Seattle-area companies working on everything from uterine fibroids (Mirabilis Medica) to video storage and licensing (Ninu). Those companies, along with microscope camera maker Exo Labs and social decision-making platform Yabbly, raised capital recently. Meanwhile, car-sharing services are getting closer scrutiny from the city. The details: —Mirabilis Medica has raised $4 million … Continue reading “Roundup: Mirabilis Medica, Exo Labs, Yabbly, Ninu Attract Investment”

SpaceCurve Garners $10,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a37c0327-5d02-42c6-96c7-721fd88b3701&Preview=1 Date 6/18/2013 Company Name SpaceCurve Mailing Address 710 Second Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description SpaceCurve is a fundamentally new kind of massively parallel analytical database technology. Effortlessly index geospatial polygon data in real-time using Internet-scale compute clusters. Efficiently analyze social and semantic graphs on massively parallel systems. Fuse complex sensors … Continue reading “SpaceCurve Garners $10,000,000 New Funding Round”

Zoomingo Receives $200,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2c5e8317-e685-4230-aa55-f7ef88c08def&Preview=1 Date 6/18/2013 Company Name Zoomingo Mailing Address 12600 SE 38th Street Bellevue, WA 98006 Company Description Zoomingo (which stands for “Zoom-in and go”) is a shopping discovery application that helps you find the best sales in local retail stores in town. Website http://www.zoomingo.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $200,000 Transaction … Continue reading “Zoomingo Receives $200,000 New Financing Round”

Optimum Energy Receives $12,200,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=27077956-be57-48cd-9271-a40a5e8d1e95&Preview=1 Date 6/17/2013 Company Name Optimum Energy Mailing Address 411 First Avenue South Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Optimum Energy develops networked building control applications and products to reduce energy consumption in commercial buildings. Our groundbreaking integrated solutions reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gases while increasing operating efficiencies in HVAC plants with … Continue reading “Optimum Energy Receives $12,200,000 New Financing Round”

Don’t Panic, But We’ve Passed Peak Apple. And Google. And Facebook.

After the dot-com crash in 2001, the tech world needed a few years to regroup. But starting around 2004, the year Facebook was founded and Google went public, the winds of innovation in consumer- and business-facing technology began to pick up again. In 2007 or so, they reached hurricane speed, and minus a short lull … Continue reading “Don’t Panic, But We’ve Passed Peak Apple. And Google. And Facebook.”

Mirabilis Medica Secures $7,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4c34d90d-da20-45d1-842c-24c7522ed30d&Preview=1 Date 6/14/2013 Company Name Mirabilis Medica Mailing Address 18706 North Creek Parkway Bothell, WA 98011 Company Description Mirabilis’ patented technology employs therapeutic ultrasound under real-time guidance of imaging ultrasound. This leading-edge technology is designed to allow a physician to treat pathological tissue deep inside the body without incisions, punctures or other … Continue reading “Mirabilis Medica Secures $7,000,000 New Round”

SAVVIS Acquires AppFog for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=056246b0-ecb7-47d5-b6fb-f56371a55248&Preview=1 Date 6/14/2013 Company Name AppFog Mailing Address 319 SW. Washington St. Portland, OR 97204 Company Description The company makes it easier to deploy and scale applications of PHP via cloud computing infrastructure. Website http://www.appfog.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms Financial terms of the transaction … Continue reading “SAVVIS Acquires AppFog for Undisclosed Sum”

Roundup: Funding for Optimum, Visualant, Planets, Payments and More

[Corrected 6/18/13, 9:32 a.m. See below.] Optimum Energy and Visualant collected significant funding in the last week, while Planetary Resources announced a stretch goal for its Kickstarter campaign, Chirpify expanded beyond PayPal, and Amazon delivered groceries to L.A. Read on for details: —Optimum Energy, a Seattle company that helps building managers run heating and cooling … Continue reading “Roundup: Funding for Optimum, Visualant, Planets, Payments and More”

Solavei Secures $300,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c78ec13a-4f1a-4b78-a0b6-2e22acc48696&Preview=1 Date 6/13/2013 Company Name Solavei Mailing Address 10500 NE 8th Street Bellevue, WA 98004 Company Description Solavei Mobile Service is built on the backbone of the superfast T-Mobile 4G network, ensuring you will get great coverage and the highest speeds around, wherever you live, work and play. Website http://www.solavei.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “Solavei Secures $300,000 New Funding Round”

Sonivate Medical Garners $300,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=084a6671-6470-4902-bc7c-f00223bebd31&Preview=1 Date 6/13/2013 Company Name Sonivate Medical Mailing Address 8305 SW. Creekside Pl. Beaverton, OR 97008 Company Description Sonivate Medical designs, develops, and manufactures high-performance, miniaturized ultrasound probe solutions which combine ultrasound technology with an innovative physical probe design. Website http://www.sonivate.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $300,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds … Continue reading “Sonivate Medical Garners $300,000 New Round”

Seattle Trying Innovative Financing Model for Building Efficiency

Seattle’s municipal utility and the people behind one of the world’s most-efficient commercial buildings are trying to reinvent the business model for financing so-called deep energy efficiency improvements, which could generate hundreds of billions of dollars of construction activity and energy savings, and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Seattle City Light and the Bullitt Foundation … Continue reading “Seattle Trying Innovative Financing Model for Building Efficiency”

The Right Now Economy: The Next Wave of Startup Success

[Editor’s Note: Mark Siegel, managing director at Menlo Ventures, was the keynote speaker at IBF’s Venture Capital Investing Conference today in San Francisco. The post below summarizes his talk, in which he argued that the convergence of mobility, cloud infrastructure, social and big data—what he calls the Right Now Economy—sets the stage for $500 billion in … Continue reading “The Right Now Economy: The Next Wave of Startup Success”

Immune Design, NY Non-Profits Team Up to Boost Cancer Drugs

Seattle-based Immune Design took a big step forward as a company in 2010 when it struck a deal to let AstraZeneca’s MedImmune unit test out its proprietary vaccine boosters, or adjuvants. Now, it’s got a bigger goal in mind: using a broad collaboration with two big non-profit organizations to break into the hot field of … Continue reading “Immune Design, NY Non-Profits Team Up to Boost Cancer Drugs”

Scouting for a Summer Camp for the Kids? Camperoo, Sigby Offer Aid

School is almost out. Do you know what your kids will be doing this summer? If you haven’t already locked in a place at Camp Longhorn or Camp Waldemar, and are at loose ends where to send the kiddoes, Houston entrepreneur Emmie Chang says she has a solution: Camperoo, her startup that offers one-stop shopping … Continue reading “Scouting for a Summer Camp for the Kids? Camperoo, Sigby Offer Aid”

TalentWise Obtains $25,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=077eca96-324b-4017-84b0-6a707478e6e2&Preview=1 Date 6/12/2013 Company Name TalentWise Mailing Address P.O. Box 1048 Bothell, WA 98041 Company Description TalentWise is a technology company that’s transforming the way HR selects, screens, and onboards new hires. TalentWise has built a single, online platform that automates the hiring process end-to-end, resulting in a highly efficient and seamless … Continue reading “TalentWise Obtains $25,000,000 New Funding”

TalentWise Lands $25,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=077eca96-324b-4017-84b0-6a707478e6e2&Preview=1 Date 6/12/2013 Company Name TalentWise Mailing Address P.O. Box 1048 Bothell, WA 98041 Company Description TalentWise is a technology company that’s transforming the way HR selects, screens, and onboards new hires. TalentWise has built a single, online platform that automates the hiring process end-to-end, resulting in a highly efficient and seamless … Continue reading “TalentWise Lands $25,000,000 New Financing Round”

Fundraising Is a Means, Not an End

For many entrepreneurs “raising money” has replaced “building a sustainable business” as their goal. That’s a big mistake. When you take money from investors their business model becomes yours. One of my ex students came out to the ranch to give me an update on his startup. When I asked, “What are you working on?” … Continue reading “Fundraising Is a Means, Not an End”

UW Tech Turns Home WiFi Network Into Gesture Control System

If they weren’t outdated already, 1980s innovations like the Clapper and the medical alert pendants of “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” fame may have met their 21st century match in a new gesture sensing technology developed by University of Washington researchers. The WiSee parses and interprets small disruptions in a WiFi signal caused … Continue reading “UW Tech Turns Home WiFi Network Into Gesture Control System”

GM Opens Developer Portal Ahead of 4G Car Launch

People were buzzing at least week’s Telematics Update conference about the dawn of the 4G car, made possible starting in 2014 thanks to a partnership between General Motors and AT&T.  In my informal, off-the record poll, executives running some of the world’s largest mobile technology companies said they considered it to be the biggest thing … Continue reading “GM Opens Developer Portal Ahead of 4G Car Launch”

Profiles in Long-Termism: Sarepta Therapeutics CEO Chris Garabedian

Biotech is a long-term business, in a world that places more value on short-term thinking. Pharma companies often cut long-term R&D budgets, or do disastrous mega-mergers, mainly to juice their profits for a quarter or two. But sometimes people come along who are willing and able to buck the trends. They have a strategy for … Continue reading “Profiles in Long-Termism: Sarepta Therapeutics CEO Chris Garabedian”

Coffee Goes from Folger’s, to Starbucks, to Tech-Driven ‘Third Wave’

There’s change brewing in the world of coffee. Over the last 10 years or so, an assortment of independent “third wave” coffee roasters has appeared in cities like Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Boston, Austin, and Boulder—in other words, the same high-tech hubs we cover here at Xconomy. Each Xconomy editor has his or her … Continue reading “Coffee Goes from Folger’s, to Starbucks, to Tech-Driven ‘Third Wave’”

UW Spinout Cardiac Insight Wins FDA OK for Heartbeat Monitor

[Updated: 3:55 pm PT] Medical device startups often need to live on shoestring budgets as a lot of venture capital has dried up in the wake of the Great Recession, but Bellevue, WA-based Cardiac Insight has proven that you can sometimes come up with innovative new devices for less than $2 million. The company, a … Continue reading “UW Spinout Cardiac Insight Wins FDA OK for Heartbeat Monitor”

Socrata Powers—and Benefits From—Open Data Movement in Government

Drawing on an unprecedented amount of government data that is easier to access than ever before, more than 11,000 software developers, entrepreneurs, students, and others across the country devoted part of last weekend to building technologies designed to help local, state, and federal governments solve problems and improve their communities. The first National Day of … Continue reading “Socrata Powers—and Benefits From—Open Data Movement in Government”

Cheetah Medical Garners $14,500,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fc6f44a6-4171-4941-a9fb-56d45bf5fb1e&Preview=1 Date 6/6/2013 Company Name Cheetah Medical Mailing Address 600 SE Maritime Ave Vancouver, WA 98661 Company Description By providing non-invasive, accurate, continuous and real-time information Cheetah’s products have been used in a broad range of clinical settings that include fluid and drug optimization for high-risk hospital patients, monitoring for kidney failure … Continue reading “Cheetah Medical Garners $14,500,000 New Funding Round”

Mobisante Grabs $4.2M for Mobile Ultrasound Tools

[Updated 5:42 pm PT] Redmond, WA-based Mobisante has pulled in some new cash to support its dream of making ultrasound technology available on low-cost, lightweight smartphones and tablets. Mobisante has raked in $4.2 million of equity financing out of a deal that could ultimately be worth as much as $5.3 million, according to a filing … Continue reading “Mobisante Grabs $4.2M for Mobile Ultrasound Tools”

Amazon’s Grocery Expansion: A Match Made in Sales-Tax Heaven

In Amazon’s hometown of Seattle, people are pretty used to the sight of bright green Amazon Fresh trucks zipping around the city, loaded down with containers and bags full of groceries delivered to their door. Now it’s looking like folks in other cities might start getting a taste of Amazon’s grocery deliveries. And they’ve got … Continue reading “Amazon’s Grocery Expansion: A Match Made in Sales-Tax Heaven”

Opanga Networks Receives $101,999 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=84c4353a-37fd-476b-80b3-807d0a09b4dd&Preview=1 Date 6/5/2013 Company Name Opanga Networks Mailing Address 100 S King St. Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Opanga Networks, Inc is a privately held company based in Seattle, Washington. As the leading innovator of pragmatic video optimization solutions Opanga overhauls the mobile video experience for consumers while substantially improving network utilization … Continue reading “Opanga Networks Receives $101,999 New Round”

Contour Garners $175,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3dcd50f0-7893-4087-8a36-976ef363a46f&Preview=1 Date 6/5/2013 Company Name Contour Mailing Address 3131 Western Ave Seattle, WA 98121 Company Description Contour, formerly known as VholdR, is the market leader in hands-free video cameras and adventure storytelling tools that enable modern day explorers to tell their stories of action, adventure and travel through video. Website http://www.contour.com Transaction … Continue reading “Contour Garners $175,000 New Funding”

Roundup: Funding for Apex, Seeq, Highline, and More Seattle News

A pair of Seattle startups aren’t saying much publicly, but SEC filings show that Seeq and Highline have the ears and wallets of some investors. Apex Learning also raised new capital. In other news, WhitePages acquires Mr. Number, Seattle’s presentation software makers forge ahead, and the White House is coming down on patent trolls. —Seeq … Continue reading “Roundup: Funding for Apex, Seeq, Highline, and More Seattle News”

We Owe it to Patients to Provide a Reliable Supply of Medicines

Too often in recent years, medicines for life-threatening conditions have been in short supply. It is unnecessary and avoidable for patients, their families, and health care professionals to experience and worry about medicine availability on top of the anxiety caused by their medical conditions. A reliable supply of high-quality medications is something all drug makers … Continue reading “We Owe it to Patients to Provide a Reliable Supply of Medicines”

ASCO Wrap-Up: Cancer News from the West Coast

Anybody with a more than passing interest in cancer has been transfixed the last few days by the news coming out of Chicago. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting has been especially newsy this year, chock full of important clinical trial news—some good, some bad, and some that you’d have to give … Continue reading “ASCO Wrap-Up: Cancer News from the West Coast”

How Carbonite, EMC Beat a Patent Troll Tied to Intellectual Ventures

[Updated 6/4, see below.] Intellectual Ventures, the controversial patent licensing company headed by former Microsoft technology chief Nathan Myhrvold, is under the microscope again. And a pair of Boston-area technology companies are part of the courtroom drama. This weekend, NPR and public radio program This American Life delved into the U.S. patent system again, following … Continue reading “How Carbonite, EMC Beat a Patent Troll Tied to Intellectual Ventures”