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

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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

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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…

Watch my dog help me make the picks for the WTIA awards

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We’ve already made it through Oscar season, and now we’re gearing up for March Madness. But before we get there, I’ve got one piece of business to take care of. The Washington Technology Industry Association is celebrating its 17th annual Industry Achievement Awards on Thursday night at the Showbox Sodo. As in years past, I’ve… Read More…

Here are 5 tech companies from Seattle that could take the IPO plunge in 2012

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The world may be waiting on a Facebook IPO. And while there’s some chatter about whether the $5 billion public offering from the social networking giant will open the floodgates for tech offerings, The Wall Street Journal today notes that it might be a new breed that actually woos Wall Street: enterprise IT companies. That’s… Read More…

Newsmakers 2011: Bryan Mistele guides Inrix on road to success

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With Bryan Mistele at the wheel, Inrix was on the move in 2011. The Kirkland provider of real-time traffic information raised a $37 million venture round from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, signed a multi-million dollar deal with Google and purchased its biggest European rival. The $60 million buyout of ITIS Holdings added $27 million… Read More…

VC activity picks up in Seattle area: Here’s a look at the deals

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Two very large venture capital deals helped bolster venture capital totals in Washington state during the third quarter. A $37 million investment in traffic navigation data provider Inrix and a $32.5 million investment in daily deal site Zulily accounted for 35 percent of all venture dollars in the state. The $194 million invested in the state… Read More…

Traffic navigation startup Waze nets $30M from Inrix backer KPCB

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People must really hate getting stuck in traffic. Waze, a Silicon Valley startup, just landed a whopping $30 million in venture capital financing to help people better navigate through congested highways and side streets. That followed a $25 million round for the company last year, creating a potentially interesting dynamic with Kirkland-based rival Inrix. Inrix,… Read More…