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.

OVP Leads $12M Investment in RedSeal

Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners has led a $12 million investment in San Mateo, CA-based RedSeal Systems, a security software firm. OVP managing director Mark Ashida has joined the company’s board. Existing investors Venrock, Jafco Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures, and Leapfrog Ventures also participated in the deal, which brings RedSeal’s total funding to more than $43 million.

10/20/09

AudienceScience Confirms $20M Funding

Bellevue, WA-based AudienceScience (formerly Revenue Science) has confirmed it has raised $20 million from Silicon Valley investors Mohr Davidow Ventures, Mayfield Fund, Meritech Capital Partners, and Integral Capital Partners. The online advertising firm says it will use the money to hire new staff, do R&D for products in targeted advertising, and expand internationally. Last week, Xconomy reported AudienceScience had closed a $15.1 million funding round (involving equity, debt, and preferred stock), with the potential to go as high as $20 million, based on a regulatory filing.

WA Tech Industry Exported $3.5B in 2008

Tech manufacturing exports from Washington state grew for the sixth straight year in 2008, up to $3.5 billion (15th out of 50 states), according to a TechAmerica Foundation report highlighted today by the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA). Washington ranked fifth nationwide in consumer electronics exports, which totaled $320 million. The top three tech export destinations for the state were Canada, Taiwan, and the Netherlands. The report did not include software exports.

10/19/09

Visible Technologies Inks In-Q-Tel Deal

Bellevue, WA-based Visible Technologies has formed a strategic partnership with In-Q-Tel, the investment firm run by the CIA. The deal includes a technology development agreement, but financial terms were not given. Visible makes software that helps companies and organizations monitor the social media landscape (and Web sentiment towards specific topics and brands), as well as manage their online reputations. Last week, Visible said it had raised an additional $2 million from existing investors, bringing its total funding to $23.5 million. The company also said it had achieved more than 60 percent year-over-year revenue growth, and signed up 24 Fortune 1000 customers in the third quarter of 2009, including Xerox and Autodesk.