Transitioning an elderly patient to palliative care can be a difficult decision for caregivers, but it’s one that families and clinicians across the globe make every day. Seattle-based KenSci contends that technology can help all parties make better, more informed choices. The startup’s software has gained traction in hospitals, where KenSci says crunching patient mortality … Continue reading “KenSci Gets $22M for Tools to Help Hospitals Flag High-Risk Patients”
Category: Seattle
Helmet Maker Vicis Courts NFL QBs to Invest in Latest Funding Round
Aaron Rodgers has taken some trips to the Pacific Northwest he’d probably rather forget. Rodgers, who since 2008 has been the starting quarterback of the National Football League’s Green Bay Packers, has a career 1-4 record in regular season and playoff road games against the Seattle Seahawks, including an overtime loss in 2015 that sent the Seahawks … Continue reading “Helmet Maker Vicis Courts NFL QBs to Invest in Latest Funding Round”
Cancer Cures and the Importance of Communicating Responsibly
Last week, it was reported by multiple media outlets (see here, and here, and here) that a group of Israeli scientists had found “a cure for all cancer” and that it could be ready within a year. As a long-time life sciences industry executive my knee-jerk reaction was not “finally!” but “crap, not again!” As … Continue reading “Cancer Cures and the Importance of Communicating Responsibly”
Privacy Watch: Facebook Rebounds, But Privacy Concerns Accelerate
After Facebook posted a record profit of almost $7 billion in the fourth quarter on nearly $17 billion in revenue last week, an early investor, former advisor to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and current shareholder said he’s making it a mission to “fix’’ the 15-year-old tech giant. Roger McNamee, in a podcast interview with The New … Continue reading “Privacy Watch: Facebook Rebounds, But Privacy Concerns Accelerate”
ZoomInfo Bought by Washington Marketing Tech Firm DiscoverOrg
Business contact software company ZoomInfo is being acquired by Vancouver, WA-based marketing technology firm DiscoverOrg in a deal that aims combine the pair’s business and personnel intelligence into a single dataset to power enterprise marketing tools. Great Hill Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm that bought ZoomInfo in August 2017 for $240 million, declined to … Continue reading “ZoomInfo Bought by Washington Marketing Tech Firm DiscoverOrg”
Microsoft Buys Cloud Service DataSense to Expand Education Suite
BrightBytes, a San Francisco-based education technology company, announced Monday it has sold a data-management platform used by school districts and software businesses to Microsoft. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) will work to make the platform, DataSense, part of the Seattle-area company’s Microsoft Education product suite, Steve Liffick, general manager of education strategy and … Continue reading “Microsoft Buys Cloud Service DataSense to Expand Education Suite”
Seattle Venture Capital Watch: Alpine Immune, Wyze, Aduro, Gaia & More
Welcome to February! Whether your weekend plans involve watching the Super Bowl, tracking this year’s prediction by famed groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, or other activities, take a few minutes to catch up on some of the notable funding rounds raised by Seattle-area tech and life sciences companies in January. —Alpine Immune Sciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALPN]]), a Seattle-based … Continue reading “Seattle Venture Capital Watch: Alpine Immune, Wyze, Aduro, Gaia & More”
Allen Institute Adds Peterson, Hackett to Executive Team
The Allen Institute announced that Todd Peterson has joined as chief scientific officer, a new position at the Seattle bioscience research organization. Before joining the nonprofit institute, Peterson was chief technology officer for La Jolla, CA-based Synthetic Genomics. The institute also hired Lauren Hackett to serve as chief operations officer. She was most recently executive … Continue reading “Allen Institute Adds Peterson, Hackett to Executive Team”
Magnolia Medical Captures $20M to Reduce Blood Culture Contamination
Magnolia Medical Technologies, a Seattle-based manufacturer of devices for collecting blood and bodily fluids, announced this week it has raised $20 million in equity funding to ramp up sales of its flagship product. The funding comes as Magnolia and San Diego-based competitor Kurin battle each other in court. RTW Investments, a New York-based firm that … Continue reading “Magnolia Medical Captures $20M to Reduce Blood Culture Contamination”
Bio Roundup: Alzheimer’s Fail, Drug Price Plan, Gene Therapies & More
Pharmaceutical companies typically raise prescription drug prices at the start of each year and this year was no different. The increases were the latest reminder that, despite President Trump’s fiery campaign rhetoric, the administration had done little to actually lower drug prices. But a new plan aimed at the secretive rebate deals between pharma companies … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Alzheimer’s Fail, Drug Price Plan, Gene Therapies & More”
Packers, Microsoft Play to Green Bay’s Strengths With TitletownTech
As Jill Enos tries to improve the environment for entrepreneurs in Green Bay, WI, she says she has studied how communities such as Boulder, CO, Kansas City, MO, and Wilmington, NC, have attempted to build startup hubs. The key? Don’t try to be something you’re not. That means, for example, focusing on sectors that have … Continue reading “Packers, Microsoft Play to Green Bay’s Strengths With TitletownTech”
Sentinel Healthcare Raises $2M For Hypertension-Monitoring Software
A Seattle-based startup, Sentinel Healthcare, is developing a platform combining software and wearable medical devices that it believes can help healthcare providers monitor patients who have high blood pressure—and perhaps one day predict their risk of heart attack or stroke. In the United States, about 75 million people, or one in three adults, have hypertension, … Continue reading “Sentinel Healthcare Raises $2M For Hypertension-Monitoring Software”
Retailers Brace For Possible Economic Headwinds in 2019
Even as retailers struggle with a technology-disrupted business model and changing consumer desires, at least a generally positive overall economy and low unemployment rates seemed to keep shoppers’ wallets open. But a 2019 that started with stock market losses, a recently ended (but longest-ever) government shutdown, and other headwinds might now force consumers to pull … Continue reading “Retailers Brace For Possible Economic Headwinds in 2019”
Equidate, Re-Named Forge Global, Boosts Series B to $85M
Equidate, one of the trading platforms that help employees sell their shares in pre-IPO unicorn companies, rolled out a new name today and announced a $35 million expansion of its $50 million funding round publicized in July. Re-branded as Forge Global, the five-year-old company plans to continue broadening the services it developed as many venture … Continue reading “Equidate, Re-Named Forge Global, Boosts Series B to $85M”
Billie, Subscription Shaving Products Service for Women, Raises $25M
Billie, a monthly subscription service for shaving and body care products for women, has raised $25 million. The New York-based startup said Tuesday that the new funding round, which is being led by Goldman Sachs Private Capital Investing group, brings its total investment to $35 million. Previous investors Silverton Partners, Female Founders Fund, and Lakehouse … Continue reading “Billie, Subscription Shaving Products Service for Women, Raises $25M”
Gilead, Gates Foundation Join Lyndra’s $55M Funding for Phase 2 Tests
Lyndra Therapeutics, a startup whose technology turns daily pills into extended-release formulations intended to last a week or longer, has raised $55 million to advance several of its drugs into mid-stage studies. The Series B round of funding was led by Polaris Partners, the firm that also led Lyndra’s Series A financing nearly two years … Continue reading “Gilead, Gates Foundation Join Lyndra’s $55M Funding for Phase 2 Tests”
Healthcare Technology Bubble Concerns Are Likely Overblown
By nearly every measure, 2018 was a banner year for the venture capital industry, particularly in the healthcare technology sector. Over $130 billion of venture capital was invested across all sectors in the U.S., easily eclipsing the prior high-water mark in 2000 and nearly 4.8 times what was invested a decade ago. While certain sectors … Continue reading “Healthcare Technology Bubble Concerns Are Likely Overblown”
Norwest VC Eyes Waves of Change in A.I., Marketing, Cloud for 2019
Venture capital firms invest in potentially disruptive technologies with the hope of profit, then keep watch for further advances that could overtake their existing portfolio companies. All this is done while they guide startups through other external challenges such as fundraising droughts and overall market downturns. Scott Beechuk, a partner at Norwest Venture Partners, is … Continue reading “Norwest VC Eyes Waves of Change in A.I., Marketing, Cloud for 2019”
Sigma IQ Nabs $3.5M to Save Bean Counters Time on End-of-month Tasks
Businesses nearing the end of a financial reporting period roll up their sleeves for the task of reconciling the books, with accounting and finance teams responsible for making sure everything adds up the way it should. A Seattle software startup, Sigma IQ, believes it can make this process, which involves validating an organization’s financial accounts … Continue reading “Sigma IQ Nabs $3.5M to Save Bean Counters Time on End-of-month Tasks”
America Should Welcome Immigrant Entrepreneurs
When I came to America in 1987, as a wide-eyed University of Texas grad student, I arrived with just a suitcase and a few hundred dollars — money that my mother, back in India, had scraped together by selling her beloved jewelry collection. Three decades later, I’m a successful biomedical researcher and serial entrepreneur with … Continue reading “America Should Welcome Immigrant Entrepreneurs”
What $1M in Bay Area Startup Dollars Buys You in 12 Other Cities
The cost of doing business is always on the mind of startup executives. Salaries, rent, and other expenses like software licenses can often make or break a company. Much of the math comes down to how much money you can raise for your business, and startups often look to San Francisco and Silicon Valley to … Continue reading “What $1M in Bay Area Startup Dollars Buys You in 12 Other Cities”
Bio Roundup: Bosley’s Editas Exit, Bridge Bucks, CRISPR Crime & More
In a week of big personnel moves, none was more surprising than Editas Medicine CEO Katrine Bosley’s departure. After guiding the CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing startup from scientific breakthrough toward the development of a potential cutting-edge medicine, slogging victoriously through a legendary patent fight, and reaching the cusp of an historic clinical trial, the well-traveled Bosley is … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Bosley’s Editas Exit, Bridge Bucks, CRISPR Crime & More”
Air Taxis Are on the Horizon with Boeing’s Test of Autonomous Plane
Many aviators use autopilot to control the trajectory of aircraft between takeoff and landing, but Boeing is among those in the industry seeking to advance autonomous flying technology even further. Boeing (NYSE: [[ticker:BA]]), which is headquartered in Chicago but has roots and extensive operations in the Seattle area, announced this week it conducted a successful … Continue reading “Air Taxis Are on the Horizon with Boeing’s Test of Autonomous Plane”
Autonomic CEO Gavin Sherry on Mobility, China, and Data Privacy
In a tech culture that looks toward self-driving cars as the pinnacle of mobility innovation, we’re still debating whether fully autonomous vehicles are an imminent reality for our roads or an ever-receding Shangri-La. But looking back from the viewpoint of 2019, it’s worth considering whether the really pivotal, world-changing advances in transportation have not already … Continue reading “Autonomic CEO Gavin Sherry on Mobility, China, and Data Privacy”
Amazon Deploys Autonomous Delivery Vehicles on WA County’s Sidewalks
Amazon may still have a long way to go before realizing its vision of a network of package-carrying drones, which it discussed five years ago on an episode of “60 Minutes.” But the online retailing and technology giant says it’s begun testing a similar—if a bit less futuristic—concept involving unmanned delivery vehicles rolling around a … Continue reading “Amazon Deploys Autonomous Delivery Vehicles on WA County’s Sidewalks”
2019 Will See Progress on Personalization’s Last Frontier: Education
Today, technology and data science have combined to create artificial intelligence—data-driven algorithms that seemingly provide us with options for a fully personalized life. Gone are the days of Henry Ford’s “You can have any color so long as it’s black.” There are way more than three major network TV channels. We live in an era … Continue reading “2019 Will See Progress on Personalization’s Last Frontier: Education”
Insmed’s Paul Streck Joins Alder Bio as Chief Medical Officer
Alder BioPharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALDR]]) has appointed Paul Streck to serve as chief medical officer, a post he held at his former company, Insmed (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INSM]]). His experience also includes roles at GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: [[ticker:GSK]]), Shire, and Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]). Alder’s lead drug, eptinezumab, was developed to prevent migraine pain. The Bothell, WA-based company has said … Continue reading “Insmed’s Paul Streck Joins Alder Bio as Chief Medical Officer”
Detroit Trends in 2018? More Traction, Diversity, and Collaboration
Editor’s note: This is part of a series of posts sharing thoughts from industry and technology leaders about 2018 trends. A few trends come to mind that continue to shape and define the startup ecosystem in Detroit: —Marketplaces continue to evolve and attract funding (initial and follow-on), and gain traction that has to be recognized and respected. … Continue reading “Detroit Trends in 2018? More Traction, Diversity, and Collaboration”
Zipwhip Gets $51.5M for Software That Lets Businesses Text Customers
Texting has grown well beyond person-to-person communications. To remind customers about upcoming appointments or notify diners their restaurant tables are ready, for example, text messages have in many businesses replaced phone calls and light-up buzzer systems. But text-based communications between businesses and their customers are becoming more of a two-way dialogue, with organizations increasingly allowing … Continue reading “Zipwhip Gets $51.5M for Software That Lets Businesses Text Customers”
Bio Roundup: Aimmune Drama, Shutdown Blues, Perlmutter Talks Cancer
The partial government shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history, began to take a bite out of biotech this week, served with a hot side dish of confusion. On Tuesday, Aimmune Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AIMT]]) said the shutdown would delay the review—and potential approval—of its experimental treatment for peanut allergy. Aimmune said it received a letter … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Aimmune Drama, Shutdown Blues, Perlmutter Talks Cancer”
Microsoft Pledges $500M for Housing in Growth-Strained Seattle
Microsoft announced a new, $500 million initiative late Wednesday that’s aimed at making housing more affordable and available to low- and middle-income residents of the Seattle area. The Redmond, WA-based software giant pointed to data indicating that in this decade, population increases in the metropolitan area that Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) calls home have outpaced growth … Continue reading “Microsoft Pledges $500M for Housing in Growth-Strained Seattle”
What’s Your Emergency? Law Enforcement’s Increasing Interest in Tech
Fort Worth, TX—Data analytics and visual search technologies are increasingly being used by law enforcement agencies, growth that has captured the attention of tech giant Motorola. The Chicago-based tech company, which has long sold narrow-band radios to law enforcement, has been building its arsenal of software and camera technologies through a series of acquisitions. The … Continue reading “What’s Your Emergency? Law Enforcement’s Increasing Interest in Tech”
Merck And The Future of Immuno-Oncology: A Chat With Roger Perlmutter
Cancer immunotherapy is, in a word, tantalizing. It might save the life of someone at death’s door and keep the cancer at bay for years. Or it might not work at all. There’s no telling what a patient will experience. “There’s a real poverty of understanding of how the machine that is us works,” says … Continue reading “Merck And The Future of Immuno-Oncology: A Chat With Roger Perlmutter”
Walgreens Prepares for High-Tech Future with Microsoft Partnership
Microsoft is making a “wal-to-wal” bet that retailers can harness the Seattle-area tech giant’s products and services to upgrade the brick-and-mortar experience for consumers and patients. About six months after it struck a partnership with Walmart (NYSE: [[ticker:WMT]]), Microsoft on Tuesday announced a seven-year agreement with Walgreens (NASDAQ: [[ticker:WBA]]), the specific financial terms of which … Continue reading “Walgreens Prepares for High-Tech Future with Microsoft Partnership”
Smartsheet Buys TernPro, Seattle Developer of Collaboration Tools
Smartsheet, a Bellevue, WA-based company that develops collaborative software allowing users to track projects and manage company processes, announced Tuesday it has acquired Seattle-based TernPro, whose flagship product Slope lets customers mark up documents, images, videos, and other media before releasing them to a wider audience. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Smartsheet’s … Continue reading “Smartsheet Buys TernPro, Seattle Developer of Collaboration Tools”
A VC’s Take: Global Volatility Hurts U.S. Venture Ecosystem
As Xconomy’s editors looked back at the year just passed, we asked technology leaders to comment on the trends they’d observed in 2018, and the developments they expected in 2019. Some leaders responded with their views on the business impact of the Trump era, pointing to specific policy positions such as tax code revisions, curbs … Continue reading “A VC’s Take: Global Volatility Hurts U.S. Venture Ecosystem”
Pensa, AI-Enabled Drones Maker for Inventory Monitoring, Raises $5M
[Updated, 1/18/19, 1:10 pm CT] Austin—The grocery store shelf has yet to be plugged into the increasingly digital food supply chain. Instead, inventory is typically tallied by employees by hand in a slow and laborious process. “It’s one big black hole with groceries, not knowing what is exactly on the retail shelf and available for … Continue reading “Pensa, AI-Enabled Drones Maker for Inventory Monitoring, Raises $5M”
E-Commerce Startups, Legacy Stores Grapple With Changing Retail Scene
The changing of the guard transforming retail is accelerating. Sears, the nation’s first “everything store,” is teetering toward bankruptcy after years of stagnation as industry leaders prepare to gather in New York at the National Retail Federation’s annual conference. Yet, new startups—aided with tech tools like artificial intelligence, chatbots, and the like—are trying to reinvent … Continue reading “E-Commerce Startups, Legacy Stores Grapple With Changing Retail Scene”
Tech Companies Share Shutdown Losses, With Little Chance of Back Pay
As federal agency employees miss their first paychecks today due to the partial government shutdown that began Dec. 22, federal contractors and their workers—including technology professionals—face a loss of income that they may never recover. Big technology companies such as Oracle (NYSE: [[ticker:ORCL]]), Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]), and Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]), as well as smaller tech … Continue reading “Tech Companies Share Shutdown Losses, With Little Chance of Back Pay”
Bio Roundup: #JPM19 Notes, Loxo Buyout, Black Diamond’s Cash & More
Diabetes drugs are Eli Lilly’s bread and butter, but the pharmaceutical giant hasn’t lost its appetite for cancer drugs. It grabbed hold of a few more this week by betting $8 billion on Loxo Oncology. Loxo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LOXO]]) has made a name for itself by becoming one of just two companies ever to earn an … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: #JPM19 Notes, Loxo Buyout, Black Diamond’s Cash & More”
Notes from the JPM19 Vortex: Price Apocalypse, Celgene Fallout & More
[Editor’s note: Ben Fidler and Sarah de Crescenzo coauthored this report.] It is here, and then it is gone. But by the time everyone staggers to the airport or back home to sleep in their own beds, the annual few days of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference and everything that mushrooms around it seem just … Continue reading “Notes from the JPM19 Vortex: Price Apocalypse, Celgene Fallout & More”
Uncertainty Grows for Biotech as Government, FDA Shutdown Drags On
The partial government shutdown could soon become the longest shutdown in history, and biotech firms that have submitted regulatory filings are facing greater uncertainty about their future plans. More than 40 percent of FDA workers and thousands at the SEC are furloughed, and FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb is resorting to Twitter to post updates about … Continue reading “Uncertainty Grows for Biotech as Government, FDA Shutdown Drags On”
FAANG, Public Trust, Valuations, in 2019: The Read from Menlo Ventures
The market caps of some of the most successful tech titans reach as high as $1 trillion. Yet in 2018, perceptions about these dominant companies often reflected uneasiness and doubt—and for some, so did their stock performance. Maybe the mood shift has to do with the fact that the public and government leaders no longer … Continue reading “FAANG, Public Trust, Valuations, in 2019: The Read from Menlo Ventures”
Apollo 8: Holding the Mirror Up to Our Planet—Milestones of Innovation 16
The fiftieth anniversary of Apollo 8’s orbital visit to the moon underlines the importance of emotion and changes of perception in the history of innovation. Then and later, commentators said that the technological marvel reversed some of the gloom from the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, the Chicago police beating of dissidents … Continue reading “Apollo 8: Holding the Mirror Up to Our Planet—Milestones of Innovation 16”
Big Deals, Life Sciences Push U.S. VC in 2018 to Dot-Com Boom Levels
[Updated 1/18/19, 3:27 pm. See below.] Venture capital investments rose in 2018 to levels not seen since the heady days of 2000, the last year U.S. startups collectively took in more than $100 billion. That’s according to PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association’s Venture Monitor report, released this week, which tallied nearly 9,000 deals … Continue reading “Big Deals, Life Sciences Push U.S. VC in 2018 to Dot-Com Boom Levels”
Providence Ventures Raises $150M to Invest in Healthtech Startups
Providence Ventures, the venture investing arm of Renton, WA-based health system Providence St. Joseph Health, says it has raised a $150 million fund to invest in early- and mid-stage healthcare technology businesses. The venture firm says it will consider making investments across several areas of digital health, including healthcare information technology and Internet-connected medical devices. … Continue reading “Providence Ventures Raises $150M to Invest in Healthtech Startups”
Beta Bionics Secures $63M as AI-Driven “Pancreas” Heads to Key Tests
Beta Bionics, a startup developing a medical device that monitors and manages blood sugar levels in diabetes patients, has closed $63 million to back late-stage clinical tests of its AI-powered technology. The cash tops off a Series B round of funding announced last year. The Boston company, which counts diabetes drug giants Eli Lilly (NYSE: … Continue reading “Beta Bionics Secures $63M as AI-Driven “Pancreas” Heads to Key Tests”
The Power Combo of A.I. Devices with Cloudlets Comes with Cyber Risks
When we have a chance to view it from a distance, the year 2018 may be seen as a period when innovations in a number of technological fields came together to transform not only the future of computing, but also the very structure of the Internet. First, entrepreneurs vying to invent self-driving vehicles, virtual assistants, … Continue reading “The Power Combo of A.I. Devices with Cloudlets Comes with Cyber Risks”
Microsoft, Kroger Advance Grocery Tech to Fend Off Amazon
From the cloud on down to the floors of supermarkets, the rivalry between Microsoft and Amazon spans many sectors in software, gadgets, and increasingly, retail. The Seattle-area tech giants are battling—both with one another, and other competitors—to further digitize grocery shopping. The latest salvo came on Monday from Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]), which announced new details … Continue reading “Microsoft, Kroger Advance Grocery Tech to Fend Off Amazon”
Bio-JPM Roundup: Lilly Buys Loxo, Sage’s Stock Soars, ALS Cash & More
The flow of biotech news is particularly heavy today, and for good reason. The annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, one of the biggest gatherings for the biopharmaceutical industry, kicked off today in San Francisco, and many companies, whether they’re speaking at the event or not, use this time to get their news out. Xconomy is … Continue reading “Bio-JPM Roundup: Lilly Buys Loxo, Sage’s Stock Soars, ALS Cash & More”