INRIX: Google’s $1B Waze acquisition ‘incredible,’ shows importance of crowdsourced traffic data

Bryan Mistele

Google’s acquisition of traffic technology company Waze, for a reported purchase price of more than $1 billion, is generating buzz across the industry, but Kirkland-based traffic tech company INRIX is paying especially close attention given the similarities in its business. Responding to our questions, INRIX spokesman Jim Bak called the reported purchase price “incredible,” especially… Read More…

Never fight for parking again: INRIX rolls out new service to help Audi drivers find parking

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You’ve probably faced the parking challenge in your city, circling several blocks as you prowl for that perfect spot or best deal. Now, Audi drivers will have a little help, thanks to the new INRIX Park service. The new offering, which is being rolled out to Audi Connect users at no added cost today, provides… Read More…

VIDEO: Watch the I-5 bridge collapse into river

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Our news partners at KING5 just posted security footage of the Interstate 5 bridge collapse that resulted from a semi-truck striking the side of the bridge on Thursday night. The collapse happens at the 39-second mark. In what’s being called a miracle, no fatalities were reported. Three people were rescued from the Skagit River in Mount Vernon…. Read More…

INRIX reacts quickly to I-5 bridge collapse, says traffic delays minimal right now

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One Seattle area tech company jumped into action shortly after a portion of Interstate 5 bridge spanning the Skagit River collapsed Thursday night. Within minutes, Kirkland-based INRIX had received notifications from the Washington Department of Transportation of the collapse and had put an operations team in place to update its traffic navigation apps and services…. Read More…

Microsoft emerges as Waze investor, as Google and Facebook weigh $1B bids

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Bloomberg News says this morning that Google may try to acquire Waze, the traffic and mapping technology company that Facebook is reportedly also interested in buying, and plenty of M&A rumors have circulated around the company for months. The stakes are high, with a reported asking price of more than $1 billion. The piece also… Read More…

INRIX names top 10 worst traffic cities, says increased gridlock indicates stronger economy

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Traffic may be getting worse, but it’s a good indicator of a rebounding economy. That’s the latest from Kirkland-based traffic data company INRIX, which just released its sixth annual Traffic Scorecard Annual Report. The company found that after two years of declining traffic congestion, including a 22 percent decrease in 2012, gridlock is increasing through the first few… Read More…

GeekWire Awards: Vote for the ‘Next Tech Titan’

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Today’s featured category in the GeekWire Awards voting is a big one, literally. The Next Tech Titan — brought to you by Wave Business Solutions — will reward the company that’s moving from the tough trenches of startup land to the big leagues. The Pacific Northwest is loaded with those up-and-comer companies, and our judges… Read More…

Predicting commute times from the homestead: INRIX inks deal with Windermere

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Home shoppers weigh all sorts of criteria when thinking about buying a home: How are the schools? What about crime? Are the neighbors cool? Now, INRIX and Windermere are partnering to answer another important question: What are the commute times to and from the workplace? Using INRIX data, Windermere home shoppers can now enter their… Read More…

Tracking traffic made easy: INRIX launches digital reporting suite for media

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As the Kirkland-based company inches closer to an IPO, INRIX just released a turn-key set of applications that can help media members deliver traffic information faster and for less money. The traffic information analytics provider is offering something called the INRIX Digital Media Suite made for T.V. and radio media. The web-based app can be… Read More…

INRIX hires new CFO as it heads down the IPO path, picks startup vet to lead mobile efforts

Saul Gates

INRIX is driving toward an initial public offering, and today the Kirkland-based provider of traffic information analysis hired a new chief financial officer to help guide the way. The spin-out from Microsoft Research has hired Saul Gates, the former senior vice president of finance and chief accounting officer at Coinstar, to lead the company’s financial… Read More…

Former Microsoft CFO John Connors joins board of INRIX

John Connors

INRIX continues to add horsepower to its board, as the Kirkland provider of traffic data preps for an initial public offering. The latest addition is John Connors, a venture capitalist at Bellevue-based Ignition Partners who previously served as CFO of Microsoft. That’s a big-name election for INRIX, which crowd sources data from nearly 100 million… Read More…

INRIX picks bankers, inches closer to IPO

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It’s no secret that Bryan Mistele wants to take INRIX public. But the Kirkland provider of traffic data appears to be getting a bit closer, with The Wall Street Journal reporting that the company has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. to help lead the efforts on a 2013 IPO that… Read More…

Podcast: Apple, Atari, AT&T, and how technology is changing the daily drive

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Should you give up your unlimited data plan on AT&T? How much will you pay for your next ticket to a Husky football game? Why is Apple moving to a new store in Microsoft’s backyard? And what’s the deal with Atari’s latest revival of its classic games? Those are just a few of the burning… Read More…

Olympics traffic jams not as bad as feared, INRIX finds

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Gearing up for the Summer Olympics in London, one of the concerns in London was about the traffic. But it turns out the situation isn’t as bad some feared. That’s the word from INRIX, the Kirkland, Wash.-based traffic information startup. The company ramped up its services for the Olympics to help athletes, fans, journalists, British… Read More…

Geek of the Week: Olly Downs on stats, science and racecars

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Seattle tech veteran Olly Downs, senior vice president of data sciences at Globys, has made a habit of turning data into useful applications — including a past role as principal scientist at INRIX, working on technologies to predict traffic jams. So it’s only fitting that he likes to spend some of his off-hours speeding around an… Read More…

INRIX names ex-Blue Nile CEO to board, strengthens management team

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INRIX is bolstering its board and management team as the Kirkland provider of traffic data continues to add new customers, and possibly positions for an initial public offering. The spin out of Microsoft Research today named former Blue Nile CEO Diane Irvine  to the board, tapping a proven executive with public company experience. At Blue… Read More…

BMW picks INRIX to help drivers maneuver through traffic gridlock

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Earlier today, we told you about a new partnership that integrates the real-time location sharing information from Glympse into the dashboards of new vehicles from Mercedes-Benz. But Glympse isn’t the only Seattle tech upstart linking arms with a big German car company at the Telematics Detroit conference today. In other news from the show, Kirkland-based… Read More…

INRIX names top 10 worst traffic cities (and tells drivers how to avoid gridlock)

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It’s getting easier to travel on the nation’s roadways, but traffic congestion is still eating up plenty of time for frustrated drivers in major cities like LA, San Francisco, New York and Seattle. A report out today from INRIX found that traffic congestion declined by 30 percent last year, with 70 of the top 100… Read More…

INRIX CEO Bryan Mistele on surviving 70 VC rejections

Bryan Mistele

Bryan Mistele wants to eliminate one of society’s biggest issues — traffic. How’s he going to do it? Find out in this episode of Nextcast. Growing up, Bryan knew he wanted to run his own tech company. After spending time in high school working with electrical engineers, he wrote down a life goal: start and… Read More…

IPO-bound INRIX hires former RealNetworks legal chief

Tracy Daw

Is RealNetworks becoming a farm system for the Seattle region’s aspiring public companies? Tracy Daw, who resigned as RealNetworks’ chief legal officer earlier this week, has been hired as general counsel by INRIX, the Kirkland-based traffic technology company that has made no bones about its plans to eventually file for an IPO. “We are thrilled… Read More…