This week, we’re tracking the latest news from the daily fantasy sports industry, what’s happening inside HubSpot, new money for several local startups, and a pair of wearable devices from Massachusetts companies. (It’s not all GE.) Read on for details.
—Boston-based DraftKings and New York-based FanDuel will be allowed to continue operating in New York throughout the duration of state appellate court proceedings that will determine if the daily fantasy sports companies are running gambling operations considered illegal under state law. New York is the two companies’ largest market.
—In other fantasy sports business news, Mark Cuban invested in Fantasy Labs, a Beverly, MA-based software company that provides daily fantasy sports data and analytics tools. The size of the investment wasn’t disclosed. Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has backed several Massachusetts companies, including HourlyNerd, Apptopia, Haystagg, Chargify, and more.
—The U.S. Justice Department has decided not to charge two former HubSpot employees for allegedly trying to gain access to a draft of a pending book about the Cambridge, MA-based sales and marketing software company, according to BetaBoston. The book—Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble, which chronicles writer Dan Lyons’s stint as a HubSpot marketing fellow—is scheduled to be published in April.
Meanwhile, HubSpot just expanded to a second building to make room for its continued growth. The new digs include an indoor beer garden and a table tennis room, the Boston Business Journal reported.
—Boston-based edtech startup accelerator LearnLaunch has created a second program called Breakthrough, which will focus on later-stage companies that already have products on the market. Breakthrough is a shorter, two-month version of its main accelerator program, and will focus on strategies for accelerating sales growth.
—Goodwall, a Geneva, Switzerland-based startup that is opening a Boston office, raised $2.1 million in seed money from angel investors. The company says more than half a million high school students worldwide use its website and mobile app to connect with peers and colleges, showcase their achievements, and get help with the college search and application process. Goodwall was a finalist in MassChallenge’s Boston accelerator last year.
—Zagster, a Cambridge-based bicycle-sharing company, raised $1.5 million from investors, a new SEC filing shows. The money follows a $3.5 million round Zagster announced in July. The company went through the Techstars Boston accelerator program in 2012.
—Boston-based data analytics firm Cambridge Semantics has acquired the intellectual property of San Diego-based Sparql City and hired its top executives. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed. Sparql City had raised $11.6 million in venture capital, according to SEC documents.
—Lexington-based MC10 and L’Oreal unveiled the first product created through their partnership: “My UV Patch,” a thin wearable product that sticks to the skin and has sensors that measure one’s exposure to UV radiation. BetaBoston has more here.
—Boston-based New Balance announced a new technology division, and its first product will be a smartwatch targeting athletes. The smartwatch, made in partnership with Google and Intel, will play music and track running routes via GPS—all without needing to carry a smartphone, New Balance said.
