Articles by James Thorne

Seattle-based journalist James Thorne is an NYU business and economics journalism grad who has written for publications including Reuters, CNBC, and Financial Planning. Follow him on Twitter @jamescthorne.

Rising Pacific Northwest startups show that financial technology is about more than payments

Taste-testing the Cosmic Crisp, Washington state’s star-studded ‘apple of the future’
A new world for unicorns: What the WeWork flop means for Seattle’s top startups and IPO prospects
First look: Inside Google Cloud’s new Seattle campus — right across the street from Amazon

Latest from James Thorne

Marijuana review startup Leafly raises $2.3M, dials down hiring amid broader industry cutbacks

by James Thorne on November 1, 2019November 1, 2019 at 3:05 pm

Seattle-based marijuana strain and dispensary review startup Leafly is raising cash, but not with breakneck growth mind: the startup is simultaneously implementing a company-wide effort to limit spending and slow down… Read More

Tech Moves: Accolade names chief medical officer; Apptio hires marketing lead; Rigado has a new CEO

by James Thorne on November 1, 2019November 1, 2019 at 10:42 am

— Health technology company Accolade landed Dr. Shantanu Nundy as chief medical officer. Nundy formerly worked on digital health initiatives for the World Bank and was director of the nonprofit… Read More

A new world for unicorns: What the WeWork flop means for Seattle’s top startups and IPO prospects

by James Thorne on October 31, 2019October 31, 2019 at 9:10 am

WeWork’s dramatic fall from grace, which saw its valuation fall from $47 billion to a reported $8 billion amid an IPO fiasco, was just one example of a larger reckoning… Read More

Tech Moves: Gates Foundation CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann steps down from Facebook’s board

by James Thorne on October 30, 2019October 30, 2019 at 3:10 pm

— Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is stepping down from Facebook’s board at the end of October. “I remain positive about Facebook and the… Read More

Tech Moves: Maveron partner departs; Boeing adds Navy vet to board; Saykara hires president

by James Thorne on October 29, 2019October 29, 2019 at 6:28 pm

— Elise Hebb left Seattle-based venture capital firm Maveron, where she was COO and partner, and is planning to launch a consulting firm next year. Hebb, who joined Maveron in… Read More

Podcast

Meet the hacker professor who’s saving lives with smart devices and sonar

by James Thorne on October 29, 2019October 29, 2019 at 10:13 am

Shyam Gollakota has come a long way since his first day as a university undergraduate. “I didn’t know how to program. In fact, I didn’t even know how to type,”… Read More

Twistle raises $16M to automate how healthcare providers talk to patients

by James Thorne on October 29, 2019November 26, 2019 at 11:20 am

Health tech startup Twistle landed $16 million to fund a platform that makes it easier for hospitals to communicate with patients. The Series A funding round was led by Health… Read More

Microsoft and Jackson Lab tackle cancer genetics with ‘human-computer symbiosis’

by James Thorne on October 27, 2019October 25, 2019 at 9:03 pm

The rise of therapies that target tumors based on their genetic profile is revolutionizing how we treat cancer. It’s also creating a data overload. Around 17 million people are diagnosed… Read More

Why Fujifilm SonoSite is betting the future of ultrasound on artificial intelligence

by James Thorne on October 25, 2019October 25, 2019 at 12:47 pm

Decades of technological advances have led to a revolution in ultrasound machines that has given rise to modern devices that weigh less than a pound and can display images on… Read More

University of Washington once again named world’s most innovative public university

by James Thorne on October 24, 2019October 24, 2019 at 12:43 pm

For the third year in a row, the University of Washington has won the title of the world’s most innovative public university, according to an annual ranking by Reuters and… Read More

Gates Foundation and NIH commit $200M to make gene therapies cheaper

by James Thorne on October 23, 2019October 23, 2019 at 5:08 pm

The world’s most expensive drug, a treatment for spinal muscular atrophy made by Novartis, comes with a $2.1 million bill. The gene therapy is one of a new class of… Read More

Amazon buys another healthcare startup to boost primary care service for its employees

by James Thorne on October 23, 2019October 26, 2019 at 7:16 am

Amazon has snapped up small healthcare startup Health Navigator to help power its recently-launched primary care program for employees. The deal is Amazon’s second purchase the healthcare space following the… Read More

Tech Moves: PayScale exec joins Amperity as COO; NPR hires former Microsoft and Amazon AI leader

by James Thorne on October 23, 2019October 23, 2019 at 11:00 am

— Former PayScale CFO Mark Klebanoff signed on with Amperity as chief operating officer. Klebanoff, who joined PayScale in 2013, previously worked with Amperity co-founders Kabir Shahani and Derek Slager at… Read More

Former Jive execs raise $3M to bring ‘Karate Kid principle’ to management teams with Koan

by James Thorne on October 23, 2019December 10, 2020 at 1:36 pm

Koan, a startup founded by former Jive Software executives, has raised $3 million to build software that helps business leaders keep their teams on track. The company plans to use… Read More

Tech Moves: Google names ex-Cortana chief to lead G Suite; Twitch hires ex-Zynga exec as CMO

by James Thorne on October 21, 2019October 21, 2019 at 5:20 pm

— Amazon-owned Twitch hired Doug Scott as chief marketing officer of the live streaming platform, based out of San Francisco. Scott was formerly global marketing lead at game developer Zynga… Read More

Microsoft lands another healthcare partnership, this time with Humana to take care of aging seniors

by James Thorne on October 21, 2019October 21, 2019 at 2:39 pm

Microsoft has signed yet another partnership with a major healthcare organization, this time with insurance giant Humana on digital health solutions for aging populations. The deal is an opportunity for… Read More

Seattle Genetics stock jumps 17% on breast cancer drug trial success

by James Thorne on October 21, 2019October 21, 2019 at 10:35 am

Shares of cancer drug maker Seattle Genetics soared more than 17 percent Monday morning following positive results for a new drug that fights aggressive breast cancers. Tucatinib is a daily… Read More

Diversity in tech: Company leaders talk ‘black tax,’ recruiting, retention, and impostor syndrome

by James Thorne on October 19, 2019October 19, 2019 at 11:11 am

For all of the talk around bringing more diversity to tech, black and Hispanic employees remain vastly underrepresented at some of the world’s largest tech firms. Tech leaders from Twitter,… Read More

Tech Moves: Microsoft’s M12 director departs; Nordstrom loses accounting chief to another retailer

by James Thorne on October 18, 2019October 26, 2019 at 7:25 am

— Lisa Nelson is leaving her role as managing director of M12, the corporate venture arm of Microsoft. Nelson is a 14-year Microsoft veteran who helped to launch the company’s… Read More

Cigna-owned Express Scripts buys Seattle-area health tech startup Verity Solutions

by James Thorne on October 17, 2019October 17, 2019 at 4:12 pm

Verity Solutions, a Kirkland, Wash.-based startup that sells drug pricing software, was snapped up by Express Scripts, a large pharmacy benefit manager that is part of health insurance giant Cigna.… Read More

Bayer G4A partners with Seattle startups Litesprite and Prevencio on digital health efforts

by James Thorne on October 17, 2019October 17, 2019 at 12:22 pm

Two Seattle-area startups were hand-picked by Bayer for a competitive program to create novel digital health solutions. It’s an endorsement of the region’s growing life science industry and of the… Read More

Video

Microsoft and Nuance team up on ‘exam room of the future’ to end doctor burnout

by James Thorne on October 17, 2019October 17, 2019 at 7:31 am

Microsoft is teaming up with Nuance Communications to revamp hospital exam rooms with artificial intelligence and natural language processing, creating technology that will help clinicians spend less time documenting interactions with… Read More

Tech Moves: DocuSign hires trust and security chief; Opendoor beefs up leadership; Avanade names chair

by James Thorne on October 16, 2019August 31, 2020 at 5:55 pm

— DocuSign landed former United Airlines executive Emily Heath as chief trust and security officer. Before she led information security at United, Heath was the CISO at AECOM in San… Read More

Univ. of Washington researchers make futuristic baby monitors from smart speakers

by James Thorne on October 16, 2019October 16, 2019 at 11:56 am

Alexa could soon be the ultimate baby monitor. Researchers at the University of Washington created a speaker system that is capable of monitoring the breathing and movement of sleeping children.… Read More

Sports Illustrated owner Maven raises $20M to power controversial publishing plans

by James Thorne on October 15, 2019October 16, 2019 at 9:13 am

Maven, the Seattle-based media company that purchased Sports Illustrated earlier this year, has raised $20 million and revealed more of its strategy for the iconic sports publication, as well as… Read More

Seattle Children’s opens a ‘cure factory’ to explore treatments for childhood cancer and other diseases

by James Thorne on October 15, 2019October 15, 2019 at 12:26 pm

Maryn Sage remembers the words she heard on the day she learned that her 16-year-old son, Jedd Feliciano, was cancer-free. “His marrow’s clean,” the doctor told her over the phone,… Read More

Shares of Gates-backed Vir Bio tumble after $143M IPO to fund infectious disease efforts

by James Thorne on October 11, 2019October 11, 2019 at 3:54 pm

It was a rough Wall Street debut for Vir Biotechnology, a San Francisco company with ambitious plans to battle infectious diseases. After raising $143 million in an initial public offering… Read More

Tech Moves: Seahawks legend Doug Baldwin joins Intellectual Ventures; Microsoft’s Dona Sarkar changes roles; Adaptiva lands marketing exec

by James Thorne on October 11, 2019September 10, 2020 at 8:56 am

— Former NFL receiver Doug Baldwin is now a senior advisor of product concepts at Intellectual Ventures, the Bellevue, Wash.-based invention and investment lab. “As a kid, I grew up… Read More

Cadence Neuroscience raises $15M for epilepsy treatment created at Mayo Clinic

by James Thorne on October 11, 2019October 11, 2019 at 8:45 am

Medical device startup Cadence Neuroscience raised $15 million to develop a therapy for the treatment of epilepsy. The Series A round was led by Jazz Venture Partners, and the company… Read More

Fred Hutch scientist on how gold nanoparticles could bring CRISPR to the developing world

by James Thorne on October 10, 2019October 10, 2019 at 11:21 am

Genetically editing cells using CRISPR could be the answer to curing genetic disorders such as sickle cell anemia. But in order for the technology to be available for people in… Read More

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