Boston Tech Roundup: Carbonite, BlueConic, CodeShip, Accelerators

This week saw the founder of a publicly traded tech company stepping down from his job, while some startups raised Series A rounds to relocate to Boston and local accelerators made some moves:

—Carbonite founder David Friend is leaving his job as president and CEO of the online computer backup company. Carbonite (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CARB]]) said Friend would step down once a replacement is found, becoming executive chairman instead. Friend founded Carbonite in 2005 and led it through an IPO in 2011. In recent years, the company has sought to add more features as it competes with a new generation of online software backup and file storage companies.

—Online marketing software startup BlueConic has raised a $3 million Series A round and is moving its headquarters to Boston. The investment was led by Sigma Prime Ventures, bringing the total private finanicing for BlueConic to $7 million. The company was founded in the Netherlands in 2010 by CEO Bart Heilbron and CTO Martijn van Berkum.

—CodeShip, a TechStars startup with operations in Boston and Vienna, has raised a $2.6 million Series A led by Sigma Prime. CodeShip is an online software service that helps developers move their programs onto cloud services, cutting out the need for separate engineering efforts. Co-founder and CEO Mo Plassnig says the startup is in the process of establishing its headquarters in Boston, and is hiring three people here along with four in Austria. Boston Seed Capital, Devonshire Investors and angels also invested in the round. 

—LearnLaunchX, an accelerator program for education technology startups, has welcomed its second group of early stage companies. The seven companies are tackling ideas in the classroom, student recruiting, and admissions, among others. LearnLaunchX’s demo day will be in May.

—MassChallenge, the nonprofit startup accelerator that has shepherded hundreds of young companies since 2010, is expanding again. Officials say the program expects to add a branch in the U.K. near the end of this year, with 60-100 startups participating. The local program also has started accepting applications for its 2014 class, which will compete for a share of $1.5 million in cash and other prizes without having to give up any equity. MassChallenge announced it was expanding to Israel last year.

Author: Curt Woodward

Curt covered technology and innovation in the Boston area for Xconomy. He previously worked in Xconomy’s Seattle bureau and continued some coverage of Seattle-area tech companies, including Amazon and Microsoft. Curt joined Xconomy in February 2011 after nearly nine years with The Associated Press, the world's largest news organization. He worked in three states and covered a wide variety of beats for the AP, including business, law, politics, government, and general mayhem. A native Washingtonian, Curt earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. As a past president of the state's Capitol Correspondents Association, he led efforts to expand statehouse press credentialing to online news outlets for the first time.