There were a number of tech developments this week that I didn’t get a chance to digest yet. That’s in part because I couldn’t eat solid food for, like, two days. Let’s just move on.
—As one incubator class (Y Combinator) wrapped up its session on the West Coast, another one got started here on the East Coast. TechStars Boston announced its 12 teams (selected from 600+ applicants) that will work for the next three months on becoming real businesses with real investor interest. Their names and focus may change, but for now they are EverTrue, Ginger.io, GrabCAD, HelpScout, Kinvey, Memrise, Promoboxx, Senexx/SircleIt, Scout EP, Student Spill, The Tap Lab, and one undisclosed real-estate startup. (Scott Kirsner from the Boston Globe got the pre-briefing here.)
—It was a big week for “big data.” One database company I didn’t get a chance to report on is Tokutek, a Lexington, MA-based firm that announced version 5.0 of its software that makes databases faster and more efficient to query. Tokutek focuses on high-volume online applications in areas like click-stream analysis and advertising. (Travel meta-search firm Kayak is a customer.) Lawrence Schwartz, an MIT and E-Ink alum who works at Tokutek, wrote a blog post with some key observations from a big data event in New York this week.
—Continuing on the data-driven theme, Exoprise Systems of Waltham, MA, busted out its debut product with the dreaded “cloud” prefix (CloudReady). But seriously, Exoprise makes analytics software that helps businesses move applications like e-mail from local servers to the Internet cloud. The startup was founded in 2009 and has raised $1 million from Fairhaven Capital and angel investors.
—Jumptap, the Cambridge, MA-based mobile advertising company, announced partnerships with five “rich media” providers: Celtra, Phluant Mobile, PointRoll, Crisp Media, and Medialets. Financial terms weren’t given, but the moves should allow Jumptap to cash in on advertisers’ desire to reach consumers through more engaging video and interactive ads on mobile devices. Jumptap also said it has been granted its 13th U.S. patent (#7,912,458) in 22 months.
—Global law firm Latham & Watkins announced it has opened a new office in Boston (John Hancock Tower) and has added six new partners and one counsel locally. The new staff are John Chory, Peter Handrinos, Susan Mazur, Phil Rossetti, Hans Brigham, Alex Temel, and Julie Scallen. Besides providing a solid footprint in New England, the move appears to strengthen the firm’s overall expertise in advising emerging companies, strategic buyers, and financial institutions working in technology, cleantech, and life sciences.
