Rural tech startups see success across the US

TechCrunch | Alice Williams | 1 August 2016

https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/01/rural-tech-startups-see-success-across-us/

“States are starting to recognize the importance of supporting and developing opportunities for rural counties. In the state of Washington, the Department of Commerce has been encouraging business plan competitions in rural areas with “at least 10 competitions in rural areas that we have promoted and supported,” stated Maury Forman, senior manager of the rural initiatives and innovations at Washington State Department of Commerce.”

 

The state of SaaS in 2016: What a recent report means for your business and your staff

TechRepublic | Brandon Vigliarolo | 1 August 2016

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/the-state-of-saas-in-2016-what-a-recent-report-means-for-your-business-and-your-staff/

“Software-as-a-service, or SaaS, is quickly replacing locally installed programs as the standard way of doing business. A new report from software analysis firm Better Buys sheds some light on how things are changing and how those changes will impact businesses and their teams.”

 

Glowforge raises $22M in new funding from Foundry Group and True Ventures to scale up production of 3D laser printers

Geekwire | Taylor Soper | 1 Aug 2016

http://www.geekwire.com/2016/glowforge-raises-22m-new-funding-foundry-group-true-ventures-scale-production-3d-laser-printers/

“Glowforge was founded in 2014 by Shapiro, the brains behind the hit kids board game Robot Turtles — one of Kickstarter’s most successful campaigns ever — and fellow Seattle area startup veterans Tony Wright and Mark Gosselin. The company employs 33 people, up from 14 this past December, and has job openings for another 20 positions.”

Latest job postings for Glowforge: Glowforge jobs

 

The Silicon Valley of Space Start-Ups? It Could be Seattle.

New York Times| Nick Wingfield | 29 July 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/science/seattle-space-flight-innovation-center.html

“No single spot can claim to be the Silicon Valley of such companies yet, but Seattle is on the short list of contenders, investors and entrepreneurs say. The area is home to two tech billionaires — Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Paul Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft — who are funding ambitious, varied efforts to make space more accessible. They have been joined by a few smaller companies like Spaceflight, attracted by Seattle’s abundant supply of software engineers from stalwarts like Amazon and Microsoft and aerospace experts from Boeing, the aviation giant that has major operations in the area.”

 

Amazon reports big jump in profit, adds nearly 24,000 employees in one quarter

Puget Sound Business Journal | Rachel Nielsen | 28 July 2016 http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2016/07/amazon-reports-big-jump-in-profit-adds-nearly-24.html

“The online retail and tech giant posted revenue of $30.4 billion for the quarter compared with $23.2 billion in the year-earlier period, an increase of just over 30 percent. That meant Amazon hit its target for revenue given in its financial guidance, when it predicted revenue between $28 billion and $30.5 billion.”