A list of the most recent tech financings around Boston paints a pretty representative picture of what kinds of companies are getting built here (robotics, hardware, defense tech, custom goods via the Web). Consider:
—Billerica, MA-based Harvest Automation, a maker of agricultural robots, has raised $7.8 million in new funding led by Entree Capital. We first wrote about the company in 2008 when it was called Q Robotics. Since then, we’ve profiled Harvest here.
—Littleton, MA-based TeraDiode, a developer of high-powered lasers for defense and industrial applications, has closed $10 million in Series B financing led by Argonaut Ventures. I wrote about TeraDiode’s laser-weapon technology in July (yes, weapons). The company appointed a new CEO, Parviz Tayebati, in September.
—Cambridge, MA-based CustomMade.com said who its investors in its recent $2.1 million funding round are: Google Ventures and First Round Capital led the round, with a number of other firms and angel investors also participating. Earlier this fall, I wrote about CustomMade’s approach to online customization service.
That’s it for now, but there’s more financing news coming very shortly…
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
View all posts by Gregory T. Huang