Intellectual Ventures

Video

How Lumotive will put metamaterials in self-driving cars, with Bill Gates’ backing

by Alan Boyle on March 27, 2019March 28, 2019 at 10:28 amComment

BELLEVUE, Wash. — A succession of spinouts supported by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has taken an unorthodox technology known as metamaterials to high-flying realms ranging from satellite communications to drone-sized… Read More

Bill Gates, Airbus and SoftBank invest in satellite video startup that wants to help us ‘see and understand the Earth live and unfiltered’

by Alan Boyle on April 18, 2018April 19, 2018 at 10:26 amComment

The latest spinout from Intellectual Ventures, EarthNow, says it’s coming out of stealth mode with backing from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and other high-profile investors. Bellevue, Wash.-based EarthNow aims to… Read More

Bill Gates-backed startup Sunlight Payments helps track grant money for philanthropic projects

by Nat Levy on November 18, 2017November 19, 2017 at 10:01 pmComment

It can be a tough task to ensure that grants and charity funds get into the right hands, and show the path the money takes around the world. A Seattle… Read More

News Brief

Intellectual Ventures’ Global Good teams up with Motic on AI-powered microscope

Intellectual Ventures’ malaria-hunting AI microscope is ready for commercial debut

by Alan Boyle on November 2, 2017November 2, 2017 at 6:57 pmComment

SAN FRANCISCO — Can artificial intelligence help battle malaria and other infectious diseases? Intellectual Ventures CEO Nathan Myhrvold says it’s time for his company’s AI-enabled microscope to join the fray. “We’ve… Read More

Photos

Gourmet tech: Nathan Myhrvold’s ‘Modernist Bread’ finds new twists in one of the oldest foods

by Alan Boyle on October 21, 2017October 21, 2017 at 12:35 pm 4 Comments

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Did you ever try inflating bread dough with a bicycle pump? Gourmet technologist Nathan Myhrvold did — and after thumbing through the 2,642 pages of his latest opus, “Modernist Bread,”… Read More

Video

Entrepreneurs swarm to get in on the idea factories at Intellectual Ventures and AI2

by Alan Boyle on October 6, 2017October 6, 2017 at 7:50 amComment

Less than two months after Intellectual Ventures and the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence put out the call for entrepreneurs, business is booming. “We might be sitting here in a… Read More

Video

Help wanted: Intellectual Ventures sets up ISF Incubator to commercialize discoveries

by Alan Boyle on September 19, 2017September 19, 2017 at 5:48 pmComment

Calling all entrepreneurs: Intellectual Ventures is launching a new business unit called ISF Incubator to match up its inventions with outsiders who can turn them into breakthrough businesses. The move… Read More

Intellectual Ventures spinout Xinova creates new company Allied Inventors to manage IP assets

by Taylor Soper on September 12, 2017September 12, 2017 at 3:40 pmComment

Xinova, a Seattle-based invention factory that spun off from Intellectual Ventures last year, has spun off its own new standalone company called Allied Inventors to help manage intellectual property assets. Xinova launched… Read More

Video

This engineer has worked with Gates and Bezos — now he wants to succeed Dave Reichert in Congress

by Monica Nickelsburg on September 6, 2017September 6, 2017 at 4:39 pm 4 Comments

Tola Marts isn’t what you’d expect from a Congressional candidate. The Minnesota native manages a team of engineers at Intellectual Ventures Lab, where he has regular one-on-ones with Bill Gates; he… Read More

Holographic beam-forming antenna startup Pivotal Commware raises $17M from Bill Gates and others

by Alan Boyle on June 16, 2017June 16, 2017 at 10:01 amComment

BELLEVUE, Wash. – Chalk up another score for metamaterials technology: Bellevue-based Pivotal Commware says it’s raised $17 million in Series A funding from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Globalstar’s parent company… Read More

Intellectual Ventures’ president and general counsel are both leaving their roles

by Todd Bishop on June 1, 2017June 1, 2017 at 1:47 pm1 Comment

Adriane Brown, the president and chief operating officer of Intellectual Ventures, is stepping down from her executive role at the Bellevue, Wash.-based patent holding and technology company, to be replaced by… Read More

Bill Gates-backed satellite antenna company Kymeta raises $73.5M, total funding nears $200M

by Taylor Soper on April 6, 2017April 7, 2017 at 6:26 amComment

Kymeta has raised its largest investment round to fuel development of the company’s satellite antenna technology. The Redmond, Wash.-based company recently reeled in a $73.5 million round, according to a new… Read More

Wireless energy for drones? Intellectual Ventures beams power with metamaterials

by Alan Boyle on February 1, 2017February 27, 2017 at 11:00 amComment

BELLEVUE, Wash. – Wireless power transmission has been a dream since the days of Nikola Tesla, but Intellectual Ventures is adding a twist to make it so, and make it… Read More

Proposed wireless charging station would make dead batteries ‘a thing of the past’

by Clare McGrane on October 25, 2016January 16, 2017 at 2:16 pm1 Comment

Imagine the living room of the future — AI-controlled heating and cooling systems, VR gear strewn across the floor, and best of all a flat, TV-like wireless charging station that makes… Read More

Podcast

Nathan Myhrvold: If you obsess about what people think of you, you’ll never change the world

by Todd Bishop on October 12, 2016October 12, 2016 at 12:14 pm 2 Comments

Intellectual Ventures CEO Nathan Myhrvold is one of the most controversial figures in the technology industry — a lightning rod for criticism of the patent system thanks to his company’s large… Read More

Podcast

GeekWire Radio: Another big week for Amazon, and inside the world of Nathan Myhrvold

by Todd Bishop on October 7, 2016June 11, 2017 at 8:19 amComment

This week on the GeekWire radio show and podcast: Amazon launches a regional employee bus service, leases a giant new office space in Bellevue, and donates $10 million to help build… Read More

Nathan Myhrvold: Why Intellectual Ventures still believes in the power of patents

by Nat Levy on October 5, 2016October 5, 2016 at 2:50 pm 3 Comments

Some see Nathan Myhrvold as a patent troll. He prefers to think of himself as an invention advocate. The eccentric CEO of Intellectual Ventures addressed a wide range of topics during an… Read More

Live Blog: Intellectual Ventures founder Nathan Myhrvold talks patent trolling, asteroids, and bread at the GeekWire Summit

by Monica Nickelsburg & Nat Levy on October 5, 2016October 5, 2016 at 12:23 pmComment

Nathan Myhrvold is a polarizing figure, to say the least. From patent licensing to dinosaur growth rates to a recent controversy over the search for killer asteroids, the Intellectual Ventures founder and former… Read More

Intellectual Ventures’ Global Good Fund wins ‘Patents for Humanity’ award from USPTO

by Clare McGrane on September 29, 2016September 29, 2016 at 10:24 am1 Comment

When looking for a solution to a tough humanitarian issue, patents are rarely the first thing on anyone’s mind. But the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patents for Humanity program is seeking… Read More

Intellectual Ventures’ invention network spins out and reinvents itself as Xinova

by Alan Boyle on September 28, 2016October 6, 2016 at 11:29 am1 Comment

There’s a “new, new” name in the invention business: Xinova, a company that’s been spun out from Intellectual Ventures and is now in the midst of reinventing itself. Xinova used… Read More

Photos

Intellectual Ventures

How Lumotive will put metamaterials in self-driving cars, with Bill Gates’ backing

Bill Gates, Airbus and SoftBank invest in satellite video startup that wants to help us ‘see and understand the Earth live and unfiltered’

Bill Gates-backed startup Sunlight Payments helps track grant money for philanthropic projects

Intellectual Ventures’ Global Good teams up with Motic on AI-powered microscope

Intellectual Ventures’ malaria-hunting AI microscope is ready for commercial debut

Gourmet tech: Nathan Myhrvold’s ‘Modernist Bread’ finds new twists in one of the oldest foods

Entrepreneurs swarm to get in on the idea factories at Intellectual Ventures and AI2

Help wanted: Intellectual Ventures sets up ISF Incubator to commercialize discoveries

Intellectual Ventures spinout Xinova creates new company Allied Inventors to manage IP assets

This engineer has worked with Gates and Bezos — now he wants to succeed Dave Reichert in Congress

Holographic beam-forming antenna startup Pivotal Commware raises $17M from Bill Gates and others

Intellectual Ventures’ president and general counsel are both leaving their roles

Bill Gates-backed satellite antenna company Kymeta raises $73.5M, total funding nears $200M

Wireless energy for drones? Intellectual Ventures beams power with metamaterials

Proposed wireless charging station would make dead batteries ‘a thing of the past’

Nathan Myhrvold: If you obsess about what people think of you, you’ll never change the world

GeekWire Radio: Another big week for Amazon, and inside the world of Nathan Myhrvold

Nathan Myhrvold: Why Intellectual Ventures still believes in the power of patents

Live Blog: Intellectual Ventures founder Nathan Myhrvold talks patent trolling, asteroids, and bread at the GeekWire Summit

Intellectual Ventures’ Global Good Fund wins ‘Patents for Humanity’ award from USPTO

Intellectual Ventures’ invention network spins out and reinvents itself as Xinova

Inside the invention factory: Get a peek at Intellectual Ventures’ lab

Tech Moves: Marc Nager leaving Techstars role; Mona Locke departs Intellectual Ventures; and more

Intellectual Ventures spinoff Sublime Technologies raises cash for new consumer products venture

China, U.S. invention firms collaborate for potential ‘technology incubator center’ in Seattle

Kymeta partners with Sharp to build satellite internet antennas with TV screen tech

Court rejects Intellectual Ventures appeal in Capital One case, citing ‘unpatentable abstract ideas’

UCLA student op-ed slams Nathan Myhrvold as commencement speaker

Intellectual Ventures licenses patents to Shazam music recognition app

Intellectual Ventures scores partial win in Motorola Mobility patent case

Women in Tech Regatta

BEGINNERS WORKSHOP: One to a billion, how to amplify DNA in a tube. (PCR)

UW Foster School’s Technology Management MBA Application Workshop