11/06/09

LaserMotive Wins $900K NASA Prize

Kent, WA-based LaserMotive has won $900,000 in a NASA competition to build a small prototype device that one day could help lead to a commercial “space elevator,” a cable that could transport cargo to and from outer space. The news was reported by the New York Times and other outlets. LaserMotive, a laser power-beaming company, is led by Thomas Nugent and Jordin Kare, who both also work with Bellevue, WA-based Intellectual Ventures. The power-beaming project and competition was reported by TechFlash earlier today.

11/05/09

Report: RealNetworks Lays Off 70

Seattle-based RealNetworks is cutting 4 percent of its worldwide staff today, about 70 out of 1,700 jobs, according to All Things Digital. The report cites the economic downturn and cost-cutting as reasons for the move. Last week, RealNetworks (NASDAQ: RNWK) reported a small profit for the third quarter, the company’s first profitable quarter since the first three months of 2008.

11/04/09

Movaya Bought by Digby

Seattle-based Movaya Wireless, a mobile software startup, has been acquired by Digby, a mobile commerce firm based in Austin, TX. Financial terms were not announced. Movaya was founded in 2006 by Phil Yerkes and Stanley Wang, and recently has been focused on making digital goods storefront applications for the iPhone, Android, and other mobile Web platforms. The company has a development team in China that will serve as the basis for Digby’s operations in Asia.

11/03/09

Calypso Teams Up with Siemens

Seattle-based Calypso Medical Technologies announced today it has signed a strategic development agreement with Siemens Healthcare to jointly develop products for radiation therapy of pancreas and lung cancer, as well as prostate cancer. Financial details weren’t given. Calypso makes tracking technologies that help deliver pinpoint radiation to tumors. The company raised $50 million in September, and also has partnerships with Varian Medical Systems, Elekta, and Philips Medical.

11/02/09

$1.2B Amazon-Zappos Deal Closes

Seattle-based Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) said today its acquisition of online apparel and shoe seller Zappos, based in Las Vegas, has closed. The Zappos management team will remain intact, the company said. In a blog post, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh said his board of directors has been “switched out,” and that the deal, worth about 10 million shares of Amazon stock, is valued at $1.2 billion, based on Friday’s closing price.

ISB Cuts Deal to Sequence 100 Genomes

The Seattle-based Institute for Systems Biology and Mountain View, CA-based Complete Genomics said today they are planning to gather full human genome sequences from 100 individuals to study Huntington’s disease. The experiment, the largest complete human genome disease association study ever conducted, will examine samples from patients with Huntington’s, family members, and matched controls to look for genomic differences linked to how the disease presents itself and progresses. Complete Genomics, which we profiled in August, is best known for its effort to sequence entire human genomes for $5,000 apiece, far cheaper than is currently possible with other technologies.

10/30/09

Onehub Raises $1.3M Series A

Bellevue, WA-based Onehub announced it has raised $1.3 million in Series A financing from Bellevue-based Ignition Partners and angel investors. Onehub makes cloud-based software for collaboration and file-sharing, and was founded in 2007. Back in April, we reported that Onehub had raised $600,000 from undisclosed investors, and in September we mentioned the company was part of Ignition’s portfolio.

10/29/09

Prolifiq Wins at OEN Venture Northwest

Beaverton, OR-based Prolifiq was named winner of the day at the annual Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN) Venture Northwest investor forum in Portland, OR, today. Eleven companies, including three from the Seattle area, presented to an audience of investors and entrepreneurs. Prolifiq makes mobile marketing software that helps companies distribute sales materials to customers in the technology, media, and life sciences industries.

10/28/09

Big Fish Hires Senior Execs

Seattle-based Big Fish Games announced today it has hired Michael Vernon as chief financial officer and Ian Hurlock-Jones as chief technology officer. Vernon is a veteran of Seattle-area firms aQuantive and Zumobi, while Hurlock-Jones comes from Fox Interactive Media and Buy.com. Big Fish, a leading developer and distributor of casual games, announced it was opening its European headquarters in Cork, Ireland, in April. The company also has a small office in Vancouver, BC, which former CFO Glenn Walcott told me about last year. Big Fish raised $83.3 million back in September 2008.

10/27/09

Polaris Venture Adds Google Vet

Polaris Venture Partners, which has its main office in Waltham, MA, has tapped former Google employee Jon Steinberg to be an executive in residence at the venture firm, VentureWire reports. VentureWire writes that Steinberg, a former strategic partner development manager at Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), will be based in the New York office of Polaris. Polaris also has an office in Seattle.

Kineta Cuts Deal With MPI

Seattle-based Kineta, the company developing drugs against autoimmune diseases, said today it has formed an alliance with MPI Research. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Kineta will get support for animal studies that will enable it to start clinical trials in 2010, the company said. Kineta also received the second year of funding under a grant from the National Institutes of Health to advance its antiviral research program. We profiled Kineta and its unusual strategy back in July when it acquired drug candidates for multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune disorders.

RF Arrays Raises $6.5M

Portland, OR-based RF Arrays, a wireless communications technology firm, has raised $6.5 million in equity, options, warrants, and/or other rights to acquire securities, according to a regulatory filing. The investors were not disclosed, but New York-based New Science Ventures has previously backed RF Arrays. The SEC form lists as directors Chandra Deshpandey, the company’s CEO; Rupert Prince, the company’s executive vice president of sales and marketing; and Thomas Lavin and Somu Subramaniam of New Science Ventures. An e-mail message to RF Arrays seeking confirmation of the financing was not immediately returned.

SonoSite Sales Drop 13%

SonoSite, the Bothell, WA-based maker of portable ultrasound machines, said today its sales dropped 13 percent in the three-month period that ended Sept. 30. The company (NASDAQ: SONO) said it had $53.6 million in revenue during the third quarter, compared with $61.6 million in the same period a year earlier. The company also said it has started operating in the red, reporting a $240,000 net loss, compared with a $1 million a profit a year ago. SonoSite said it expects to finish this year with $225 million to $230 million in revenue, down from $243.5 million a year ago.

Zymo Gets $70M for Starting Trial

Seattle-based ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: ZGEN) will receive a $70 million milestone payment from its partner, Bristol-Myers Squibb, for starting a mid-stage clinical trial of pegylated interferon lambda for hepatitis C, according to a statement. The trial, called Emerge, will initially enroll 50 patients on a variety of doses, then expand to 500 patients who are randomly assigned to get the ZymoGenetics drug or Roche’s peginterferon-alfa 2a (Pegasys). ZymoGenetics’ pegylated interferon lambda, sometimes called IL-29, is designed to have potent anti-viral activity without the nasty flu-like symptoms that force many patients to quit taking other interferon drugs.

10/26/09

Bezos, Spark Invest $7M in Aviary

Boston-based Spark Capital has led a $7 million Series B investment in Aviary, a creative design software startup based in Long Island, NY. Bezos Expeditions, the Seattle-based investment firm of Jeff Bezos from Amazon, participated in the round as an existing investor. Aviary makes cloud-based software for graphic design, audio editing, and other digital creation services. As part of the deal, Mo Koyfman of Spark Capital is joining Aviary’s board.

10/23/09

McKinstry to Build Cleantech Incubator

Seattle-based McKinstry, the construction, consulting, and energy firm, announced today it is developing an innovation center for new and emerging cleantech and green energy startups. The 24,000-square-foot incubator will be housed at McKinstry headquarters in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood, and is slated to be finished in the spring of 2010.

10/22/09

Amazon, Microsoft Team Up for Kindle on PC

Seattle-based Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced today a new “Kindle for PC” application that will let people read Kindle electronic books on Windows personal computers. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) demoed the free app at its Windows 7 release event in New York. It will be available worldwide next month.

Delve Wins Keiretsu Angel Capital Prize

Seattle-based Delve Networks won the “best presenting company” award from the attendees of the first annual Angel Capital Expo, hosted by Keiretsu Forum Northwest on Tuesday. More than a dozen companies across different fields presented to investors, including Humanity Interactive, Iverson Genetic Diagnostics, and Exro Technologies. Delve Networks started in 2006 (formerly called Pluggd) and makes video hosting and searching software.

10/21/09

Revolution Computing Raises $9M

Revolution Computing, which has offices in New Haven, CT, and Seattle, said today that it has raised $9 million in venture financing from North Bridge Venture Partners of Waltham, MA, and Intel Capital, based in Santa Clara, CA. The startup, which provides software and support for the statistical programming language known as “R,” also announced the appointment of Norman Nie, a veteran of data mining software company SPSS, as CEO.

Enroute, MicroGreen Win Zino Prizes

Seattle-based Zino Society has announced the winners of its 2009 Zino Zillionaire Investment Funds. Bellevue, WA-based Enroute Systems, a maker of analytics and transportation management software for parcel-shipping businesses, received $60,000. Arlington, WA-based MicroGreen Polymers, a company focused on making plastic products more environmentally sustainable, also took home $60,000. The companies presented to investors back on September 17.