Intellectual Ventures
Facts
- HQ
- Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
- Sectors
- Venture Capital and Private Equity Principals
- Founded
- 2000
- Employees
- 268
TerraPower, co-founded by Bill Gates, raises $750M to develop advanced nuclear reactors and medical tech
TerraPower, co-founded by Bill Gates, raised $750 million in one of Seattle's largest private funding rounds to develop safer nuclear reactors and medical applications. The company is partnering with GE-Hitachi and funded partly by the U.S. DOE for a 500 MW demonstration reactor planned for Wyoming by 2028.
Bill Gates Leads $84M Funding Round to Expand Kymeta's Flat-Panel Antenna Production and Market Reach
Bill Gates led an $84 million funding round for Kymeta, a mobile connectivity startup specializing in flat-panel antennas that provide hybrid cellular-satellite connectivity. The investment will support production acceleration and market expansion, especially for defense and satellite broadband users.
Former Intellectual Ventures Leaders Back Tim Londergan’s Tangibly; Seattle Startup Raises $700,000 to Manage Trade Secrets
Tangibly, a Seattle startup led by former Intellectual Ventures exec Tim Londergan, launched to help companies manage enterprise trade secrets and raised $700,000 in a pre-seed round from several former Intellectual Ventures leaders and other tech executives.
Modern Electron files for $30M raise to scale heat-to-electricity converters, led by CEO Tony Pan and CTO Max Mankin
Modern Electron, an Intellectual Ventures spinoff, is raising $30 million per an SEC filing to commercialize its heat-to-electricity converters that capture wasted heat from furnaces, hot water tanks and industrial sources. The Bothell, Washington startup previously raised about $40 million including backing tied to Bill Gates, and is led by co-founders CEO Tony Pan and CTO Max Mankin.
Deal mania reshuffles GeekWire 200: M&A, IPOs and SPACs push top firms out while Blue Origin stays No. 1
A surge of M&A, IPO and SPAC activity — labeled 'deal mania' — reshuffled the GeekWire 200 rankings, removing several top-10 companies that went public or were acquired and creating openings for new entrants; Blue Origin remains No. 1 while more deal-making and rule changes about private equity-owned companies promise further shake-ups.
Echodyne wins $20M, five-year DHS CBP contract to expand EchoGuard radar deployment at U.S. borders
Echodyne won a $20 million, five-year contract from DHS Customs and Border Protection to expand deployment and explore new uses of its compact EchoGuard radars at U.S. borders and ports, after already delivering 30 systems under the IDIQ agreement.
Former Kymeta CEO Nathan Kundtz raises $6M seed for Rendered.ai to build customizable synthetic datasets for AI
Nathan Kundtz, former Kymeta CEO, launched Seattle-area startup Rendered.ai to produce customizable synthetic datasets and infrastructure for training AI on visual and sensor data, and the company raised $6 million in a seed round. Rendered.ai focuses on treating dataset generation as an engineering platform to improve AI training efficiency and reduce bias and data-collection costs.
Kymeta and OneWeb Successfully Test u8 Antenna-Based Mobile Satellite Broadband at 200 Mbps Using OneWeb’s LEO Constellation
Kymeta Corp. partnered with OneWeb to test satellite broadband services using Kymeta's u8 flat-panel antenna, achieving promising results for mobile connectivity with OneWeb's LEO satellite network. The tests in Toulouse demonstrated about 200 Mbps reception, targeting first responders, government, military, and enterprise markets.
Xinova, spun out of Intellectual Ventures in 2016, shutters after failed fundraising and restructuring
Xinova, a Seattle-based invention-network company spun out of Intellectual Ventures in 2016, is winding down after failing to raise additional capital and unable to restructure legacy liabilities. The firm raised $48 million in Series A funding, grew a 12,000-inventor network, employed 100+ people at its peak, and has cut staff to two employees assisting the shutdown.
Sustainable Living Innovations breaks ground on 303 Battery, a 15-story, 112-unit net-zero energy high-rise in Seattle
Seattle-based Sustainable Living Innovations broke ground on 303 Battery, a 15-story, 112-unit high-rise in Belltown they call the world’s first net zero energy apartment building, slated for move-in next summer. The modular project uses 900 premanufactured panels with integrated wiring, plumbing and systems, runs on solar and batteries, includes 27 affordable units, and incorporates water recycling and mold-resistant materials.
MetaVC Partners raises debut fund to back metamaterials startups with investments from Bill Gates and Nathan Myhrvold
MetaVC Partners, a San Francisco venture fund founded by physicists Chris Alliegro and Conrad Burke, is raising its first fund to back early-stage metamaterials startups, with investors including Bill Gates and Intellectual Ventures founder Nathan Myhrvold.
Echodyne’s tablet-sized radars enable autonomous AiRanger drone to complete 14.5-mile NASA pipeline test; Gates is an investor
NASA tests with an AiRanger drone and Echodyne’s compact flat‑panel radars demonstrated autonomous detect-and-avoid capability over a 14.5-mile pipeline inspection, showing the potential for drones to operate in crowded airspace. Echodyne, backed by investors including Bill Gates, says regulatory clarity from the FAA is needed before commercial deployment scales.
ChefSteps Co-founder Chris Young Launches Combustion Inc., Debuts Eight-Sensor Smart Thermometer and Timer
ChefSteps co-founder Chris Young launched Combustion Inc. and unveiled a smart wireless thermometer/timer that uses eight sensors and algorithms to measure temperature gradients and estimate size and doneness without sous-vide or plastic bags. He returned to product invention after leaving ChefSteps (acquired by Breville in 2019) and developed the device during COVID-19 downtime.
Pivotal Commware raises $50M Series C led by Tracker Capital with Bill Gates and Verizon participating
Pivotal Commware closed a $50 million Series C led by Tracker Capital Management, with participation from Devonshire Investors and existing backers including Bill Gates and Verizon, to expand R&D, distribution and deployment of its millimeter-wave 5G products. The company sells Pivot outdoor repeaters, Echo indoor repeaters, WaveScape modeling and an Intelligent Beam Management System for ultra-wideband mmWave 5G.
Foursquare CEO David Shim to Resign; Gary Little Named CEO in 2021; Other Tech Leadership Moves Reported
Foursquare CEO David Shim, founder of Placed, is resigning and will be succeeded by board member Gary Little in 2021 after a transition; Shim plans to return to entrepreneurship. Other moves: investor Karan Mehandru left Trinity Ventures to join Steadfast Financial while remaining on several boards, 343 Industries’ Chris Lee stepped down from Halo Infinite project direction, and WTIA hired Molly Jones as VP of government affairs.
Kymeta wins FCC blanket authorization for next-gen u8 antenna as beta moves toward commercial release
Kymeta, the Bill Gates-backed mobile connectivity venture, won FCC blanket authorization for its next-generation u8 flat-panel antenna, which is in beta and slated for commercial release later this year; the company also secured type approvals from several satellite operators and recently raised $85 million and acquired Lepton Global Solutions.
Kymeta acquires Lepton Global Solutions to add 17-satellite service network, targets U.S. government and military contracts
Kymeta Corp., the Redmond-based satellite antenna company backed by Bill Gates, acquired Lepton Global Solutions to add satellite service capabilities and strengthen its position for U.S. government and military contracts. Lepton will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary in Tysons Corner with fewer than 15 employees, expanding Kymeta’s workforce to nearly 200; financial terms were not disclosed.
Former Intellectual Ventures EVP Maurizio Vecchione named CEO of Washington Global Health Alliance; Shujinko hires three executives after $7.5M raise
Maurizio Vecchione, former Intellectual Ventures EVP, was named president and CEO of Seattle-based Washington Global Health Alliance and K.R. Prabha named board chair; Seattle startup Shujinko added three senior hires after a $7.5M raise; Oracle appointed Clay Magouyrk EVP for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and UW named Dr. Ekin Yasin director of its Communication Leadership graduate program.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman shares startup secrets
It’s been 15 years since Reid Hoffman co-founded LinkedIn. The company was acquired by Microsoft last year for $2.6 billion and Hoffman now sits on Microsoft’s board, but he’s still very much an entrepreneur. On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, we share Hoffman’s full talk at the recent Technology Alliance Luncheon in downtown Seattle, where he shares thoughts on how to drive entrepreneurship, the success of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and, of course, Settlers of Catan. Follow all our coverage, including more on Hoffman's talk, at GeekWire.com. Thank you to this week’s sponsors: Wealthsimple — GeekWire listeners pay no management…
Microsoft and Nathan Myhrvold Lead $20.7M Investment in Atlas, Launching Digital Footprint Search Engine Atlas Recall
Microsoft, Nathan Myhrvold, and Aspect Ventures invested $20.7 million in Seattle-based Atlas Informatics, which launched Atlas Recall, a search engine for indexing users' entire digital footprint with an open beta release for Mac and iOS. The technology captures encrypted records of user activity across apps by integrating deeply with the operating system and supports search via Google and Mac Spotlight.
Bill Gates-Backed Kymeta Demonstrates High-Speed Flat-Panel Satellite Antennas at Monaco Yacht Show, Secures Superyacht Commitments
Kymeta Corp., backed by Bill Gates, showcased its flat-panel satellite antennas at the Monaco Yacht Show, delivering high-speed broadband to yachts using Panasonic’s satellite network. The demonstration impressed superyacht owners, resulting in commitments for Kymeta’s mTenna technology from iconic yachts and promising significantly faster maritime broadband.
