Bill Gates Launches Mystery Company Called bgC3
Date : 23 Oct 2008 Category : Technology
NewsFactor NetworkIndeed, there is no public Web site for bgC3. There is no press release surrounding its plans. And Gates hasn't offered a peep about what he is doing -- or plans to do --with the startup. However, a trio of Seattle-area reporters have been digging for the scoop.
John Cook, Eric Engleman and Todd Bishop, three well-known tech and venture-capital writers in the Northwest, wrote a story about Gates' mysterious new firm as part of the launch of a new venture of their own -- a tech blog dubbed TechFlash.
Breaking Gates News
According to the story as reported by Bishop and Engleman, the new company has its own high-tech office space and a logo. Public documents describe the new entity as a think tank and it's based in Kirkland, Wash., office Gates established after he retired this summer.
"Is this Bill Gates' next big business? A Gates insider gives an emphatic no -- saying it's not a commercial venture but rather a vehicle to coordinate the software mogul's work on his business and philanthropic endeavors," the authors wrote.
"However, bgC3 will also oversee Gates' personal pursuit of breakthrough ideas in science and technology. The insider said the goal isn't necessarily to create new companies, although ideas could be passed along to Microsoft, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -- or others -- as it makes sense."
Holding Company or Think Tank?
State records don't offer many details, other than the fact that the company was originally called Carillon Holdings and was established in March 2008. The company changed its name to bgC3 in early July. bgC3 marks Gates' third venture after Microsoft and the philanthropic foundation...