This week in Boston tech, we’re tracking the latest venture capital deals, office relocations, the future of the EMC brand, and updates on local alcohol-related tech startups. Kick off your weekend the right way, by reading on:
New venture funding
—1366 Technologies, a Bedford, MA-based developer and manufacturer of solar power components, has tacked $10 million on to its Series C funding round, which now stands at $32.5 million. The company has raised $80 million from investors to date, a spokeswoman says.
1366 Technologies makes less expensive silicon wafers, the cells that are the building blocks of photovoltaic solar panels that make up solar power systems. The new money, from Korea-based Hanwha Investment Corp., will go toward constructing the company’s first large-scale factory, a New York facility expected to be operational in 2017.
—Vee24, a Boston-based live video chat technology company, said it closed an $8.5 million Series B funding round led by Ascent Venture Partners, with contributions from earlier investors Data Point Capital and Point Judith Capital. The company also named Priya Iyer, previously CEO of Anaqua, as its CEO and board chair. Ascent general partner Geoffrey Oblak also joined the board.
Making moves
—Boston-based online home goods seller Wayfair (NYSE: [[ticker:W]]) is reportedly hiring 330 people and scouting for additional office space, sources told the Boston Business Journal. Wayfair is one of the fastest-growing tech companies in the area.
—TrueMotion, formerly known as Censio, announced it has moved the startup’s 35 employees out of the Harvard Innovation Lab and into its own digs near Boston’s South Station. TrueMotion makes a mobile app used to track distracted driving and enable insurers like Progressive to measure risk and reward good drivers. The company has raised $13 million from investors.
Deal updates
—At the end of last week, PillPack was reportedly close to a deal with Express Scripts that would resolve their contract dispute and allow the Somerville, MA-based online pharmacy and medication-management firm to remain a member of Express Scripts’ network of pharmacies, according to the Boston Globe. The news came a couple weeks after PillPack and its customers publicly pressured Express Scripts to maintain its relationship with PillPack. The startup had said it would lose around a third of its customers if Express Scripts cut ties with it.
—After Dell completes its $67 billion acquisition of EMC, the combined company will go by Dell Technologies. The EMC name will, however, live on—the new company’s enterprise business will be called Dell EMC.
Alcohol tech…
…because what better way to close a Friday post?
—Boston-based Drizly, whose mobile app enables on-demand delivery of alcohol, will now offer next-day delivery of a wider selection of beer, wine, and spirits that might not be available at local retail outlets. The new service, called Connect, is being offered initially in the Boston and Washington, DC, areas.
—eBay launched a new website dedicated to selling wine and accessories, and it formed a partnership with Somerville’s Drync—which offers a mobile app-enabled wine marketplace—to tap into its network of wine retailers.
Cheers to the weekend, dear readers!
