James Thorne
GeekWire
Seattle, WA, United States
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Past articles by James:
The new barcode? Alitheon lands $11.6M for tech that assigns digital fingerprints to objects
Update, Jan. 9: Alitheon raised an additional $3.3 million as part of a $14.9 million round. Investors include MW i Ventures, IPD Capital and Shasta Ventures. Original story: Imagine mail without postage stickers, airplane luggage without bag tags, and paper money that’s authenticated not by ink or… → Read More
KitoTech lands $1.5M for skin-healing ‘microstaple’ bandage
New funding: Seattle startup KitoTech Medical raised $1.5 million as part of a convertible note round to fund the development of its microMend wound closure device, which was made from technology originally developed at the University of Washington. The startup says that microMend can heal wounds up… → Read More
Fred Hutch loses data chief in latest leadership shakeup for Seattle cancer research powerhouse
— Matthew Trunnell is stepping down from his post as chief data officer at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. It’s the second major leadership loss for Fred Hutch in recent months following president Gary Gilliland’s decision to leave the institution next year. During his time at Fred… → Read More
Microsoft and Amazon vets raise $2.85M for multicloud management platform MontyCloud
New funding: Seattle-based MontyCloud brought in $2.85 million for its AI-driven software platform that helps companies work across multiple cloud computing providers. Lead investor: Madrona Venture Group led the seed round, adding to its robust portfolio of cloud startups that includes Algorithmia… → Read More
Seattle-area startup Quantivate raises cash for risk and compliance platform
New funding: Woodinville, Wash.-based Quantivate, which sells software for risk management and compliance, raised an undisclosed amount of money. Lead investor: San Francisco-based private equity firm Luminate Capital Partners was the sole investor. Luminate’s Hollie Haynes, Scott Kingsfield and… → Read More
Shield Compliance nabs $5M for cannabis banking platform
New funding: Seattle-based Shield Compliance raised $5 million in Series A funding to build out its platform that helps pot companies and banks get along. Lead investor: The round was led by Copia Investments, which backs financial technology startups. Company background: Shield’s software lets… → Read More
Rising Pacific Northwest startups show that financial technology is about more than payments
Seattle-area startups are building fintech offerings centered around communities like churches, schools and foreign workers. Church fundraising tech startup Subsplash climbed 29 spots on the GeekWire 200 this month, illustrating the growth of the sector. Even with the momentum for some fintech… → Read More
Extra cheese, please: Restaurant tech startup Picnic lands $5M for pizza robot
Seattle startup Picnic, which makes robots for the restaurant industry, raised $5 million in a seed round led by Creative Ventures with returning investors Flying Fish Partners and Vulcan Capital. → Read More
Here’s how much T-Mobile execs stand to earn following CEO John Legere’s departure
T-Mobile’s bold, attention-grabbing CEO John Legere is out, and he’s handing the reins to the longtime heir apparent, Mike Sievert. Sievert will step into Legere’s magenta-colored shoes on May 1, 2020, and the company just revealed in a regulatory filing what Sievert and other executives will be… → Read More
Tech Moves: Ex-Microsoft legal head joins UW health initiative; Amazon mints another startup CFO
— Microsoft’s longtime head lawyer Bill Neukom will chair the advisory board for the University of Washington’s Population Health Initiative. The sprawling, 25-year initiative aims to take on challenges related to human health, environmental resilience, and social and economic equity. During the… → Read More
SheerID raises $64M to help marketers offer online deals to students, teachers, military members
Marketing verification startup SheerID just raised $64 million of fresh funding in a round led by CVC Growth Partners with participation from existing investors Centana Growth Partners and Seattle firm Voyager Capital. Portland, Ore.-based SheerID helps consumer brands run special deals for… → Read More
ZoomInfo acquires Komiko, a Seattle-area CRM startup founded by Microsoft veterans
Vancouver, Wash.-based marketing software firm ZoomInfo bought Komiko, a 4-year-old Seattle-area startup that improves the customer relationship management (CRM) process with data and machine learning. “Everybody dreams of the unicorn exit. And those are all well and good, but the goal of every… → Read More
Adaptive Biotechnologies beats estimates with Q3 revenue of $26.1M as shares rise 6%
Adaptive Biotechnologies’ stock rose 6 percent to $30 per share in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the company reported higher revenues and narrower losses than expected for its third-quarter earnings. Revenue: The biotech brought in $26.1 million for the quarter, well above Wall Street… → Read More
Sneaker startup Vimazi pairs runners with shoes based on their speed
Nike has more than 100 styles of men’s running shoes and more than a dozen ways to filter through them on its website. But nowhere in the shoe-buying experience will you be asked to consider one of the most basic running-related questions: How fast do you run? Vimazi is a Seattle-based startup that… → Read More
Amazon’s Fire TV will stream Disney+
The Disney+ streaming service will be available on Amazon’s Fire TV, settling a reported dispute that threatened to impede Disney’s much-hyped rollout. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the companies were locked in a disagreement over the terms of the deal, specifically over how much… → Read More
Fitness startup Katalyst raises $5.6M for Peloton-like electrified workout experience
Seattle startup Katalyst has raised $5.6 million for an at-home workout experience that uses full-body electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), a training technique that’s popular in countries such as Germany, Japan and Brazil. The round was led by London-based investor Octopus Ventures, whose partner… → Read More
Tech Moves: OneLogin snags ex-DocuSign security leader; Hootsuite’s longtime CEO steps down
— Identity management startup OneLogin hired Vanessa Pegueros, the former chief information security officer of DocuSign and Expedia, to lead global information security. Pegueros, who stepped down from DocuSign in April, also previously led information security at US Bank and is a venture partner… → Read More
Amazon is reportedly testing step tracking on Echo Buds
Amazon’s Echo Buds are capable of tracking steps in some versions of the Alexa app, according to a report from CNBC. Step tracking, calorie counting, and run tracking were among the features rumored to be coming to the $129.99 wireless headphones, though none were mentioned during a launch event in… → Read More
Former Uber, Microsoft engineers raise $11M for cloud data monitoring tool Chronosphere
Chronosphere, a startup founded by former Uber and Microsoft engineers, has raised $11 million to build a platform that lets companies make sense of the data in the cloud. The Series A funding was led by Greylock with participation from Lux Capital. Chronosphere CEO Martin Mao and CTO Rob… → Read More
Amazon and JPMorgan to roll out new health insurance plans as part of Haven joint venture
Haven Healthcare, a joint venture between Amazon, JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway, created its first offering in the form of health insurance plans for tens of thousands of employees. Amazon and JPMorgan will offer new plans to employees for 2020 that feature wellness incentives and don’t have… → Read More