Author: Robert Buderi

Bob is Xconomy's founder and chairman. He is one of the country's foremost journalists covering business and technology. As a noted author and magazine editor, he is a sought-after commentator on innovation and global competitiveness. Before taking his most recent position as a research fellow in MIT's Center for International Studies, Bob served as Editor in Chief of MIT's Technology Review, then a 10-times-a-year publication with a circulation of 315,000. Bob led the magazine to numerous editorial and design awards and oversaw its expansion into three foreign editions, electronic newsletters, and highly successful conferences. As BusinessWeek's technology editor, he shared in the 1992 National Magazine Award for The Quality Imperative. Bob is the author of four books about technology and innovation. Naval Innovation for the 21st Century (2013) is a post-Cold War account of the Office of Naval Research. Guanxi (2006) focuses on Microsoft's Beijing research lab as a metaphor for global competitiveness. Engines of Tomorrow (2000) describes the evolution of corporate research. The Invention That Changed the World (1996) covered a secret lab at MIT during WWII. Bob served on the Council on Competitiveness-sponsored National Innovation Initiative and is an advisor to the Draper Prize Nominating Committee. He has been a regular guest of CNBC's Strategy Session and has spoken about innovation at many venues, including the Business Council, Amazon, eBay, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.

Icahn Dumps Genzyme Position

Looks like Genzyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]) employees who’ve maybe been watching their counterparts over at Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) squirm under the stern attention of Carl Icahn can stop wondering if their company is about to receive the same. Regulatory filings posted today show that during the fourth quarter of 2007 the activist investor dumped all … Continue reading “Icahn Dumps Genzyme Position”

Eons Spins Off Obits, But Insists Company is Alive and Well as It Unveils Big Redesign

The folks over at Eons, the web site for the baby boomer crowd, must have aged a lot in the last few months. Back in September, the struggling Boston company laid off a third of its staff. Then, in a pretty full-out public relations disaster, the firm early this month dropped its over-50 age limit … Continue reading “Eons Spins Off Obits, But Insists Company is Alive and Well as It Unveils Big Redesign”

Dyax Inks Potential $500M Deal With Sanofi-Aventis

Cambridge, MA-based biotech company Dyax (NASDAQ:[[ticker:DYAX]]) announced today it had signed a pair of licensing agreements with French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis potentially worth $500 million. The deals, which involve a $25 million payment this year, grant the French company an exclusive worldwide license for the development and commercialization of Dyax’s fully human monoclonal antibody DX-2240, as … Continue reading “Dyax Inks Potential $500M Deal With Sanofi-Aventis”

Tizor Raises $8.3 Million

Tizor Systems, a Maynard, MA-based provider of data auditing and protection solutions for enterprise data centers, announced today that it has closed an $8.3 million third round of financing. Longworth Venture Partners led the round, which included Masthead Venture Partners, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Navigator Technology Ventures, and CommonAngels (which led Xconomy’s Series A round … Continue reading “Tizor Raises $8.3 Million”

Boston Scientific Assessed $431M in Patent Suit

A Texas jury found against Natick, MA-based Boston Scientific (NYSE: [[ticker:BSX]]) in a patent infringement suit involving drug-eluting stent products, awarding $431 million in damages to its opponent, the company announced today. The verdict, from a U.S. District Court jury in Marshall, Texas, found that the firm’s Taxus Express and Taxus Liberte stent products infringe … Continue reading “Boston Scientific Assessed $431M in Patent Suit”

ByAllAccounts Closes $5 Million Series A Round

Woburn, MA-based ByAllAccounts, which provides reconciliation-ready data for advisory and investment management firms, announced today that it has closed a new account of its own—a $5 million Series A funding round led by Commonwealth Capital Ventures that was joined by members of the firm’s executive management team. The firm plans to use the funds to … Continue reading “ByAllAccounts Closes $5 Million Series A Round”

Avedro Sees Way to $8 Million Funding Round

Avedro, a Waltham, MA-based developer of vision correction technologies that bills itself as “the next wave in refractive surgery,” has closed an $8 million Series A-1 funding round led by Prism VentureWorks, PE Week reports, citing a regulatory filing. Return backers include Echelon Ventures and Borealis Ventures.

Dress for Success, Automatically: IDG and ATV Wrap Big Bucks Around Robotic Wound Treatment

Think R2D2 meets information kiosk meets Coke machine. That’s the way Michael Greeley, general partner at IDG Ventures Boston, describes (I’d add “photocopier” to his description myself) the roughly waist-high, customized-bandage-dispensing robot on wheels he thinks will revolutionize wound treatment. And he’s got 25 million reasons to hope the “revolutionize” part comes true. That’s because … Continue reading “Dress for Success, Automatically: IDG and ATV Wrap Big Bucks Around Robotic Wound Treatment”

Polaroid Closing Two Bay State Plants; Laying Off 150

Pioneering instant film company Polaroid is closing two Massachusetts film manufacturing plants—in Norwood and Waltham—as it discards the core technology that made it a household name to focus on digital photography and flat-panel TVs, the Boston Globe reports. About 150 jobs will be eliminated as part of the closures, which should be completed this quarter. … Continue reading “Polaroid Closing Two Bay State Plants; Laying Off 150”

Harvard Launches New Biomedical Fund Round—Hires CombinatoRx Co-Founder to Help Run Effort

I was at the Power, Drugs, & Money conference in Boston yesterday (put on by the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge), as part of a panel discussing the New England innovation landscape, when the question of Harvard University’s tech transfer and spinoff performance came up. Our moderator—Xconomist, former gubernatorial candidate, and venture capitalist Chris Gabrieli—mentioned … Continue reading “Harvard Launches New Biomedical Fund Round—Hires CombinatoRx Co-Founder to Help Run Effort”

State Awards Program Aims to Hasten Technologies’ Journey From Lab to Market

Ten researchers at seven Massachusetts universities and research institutions—working in such areas as biotechnology, medicine, nanotech, and clean energy—are the latest beneficiaries of a state-funded program to prod new technologies along the path to commercialization. These recipients of the Fall 2007 Technology Investigation Awards from the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center, announced yesterday, will receive $40,000 … Continue reading “State Awards Program Aims to Hasten Technologies’ Journey From Lab to Market”

ATV’s New $300 Million Fund to Expand Firm’s Reach to Green Building Materials and More

Advanced Technology Ventures slipped one by us. Over the holidays the Waltham, MA-based venture firm closed its eighth fund, at $303 million, and didn’t put out a notice. VentureBeat broke the news in a small item two days ago, and ATV confirmed it—and gave me a bit more detail about the fund’s investment targets and … Continue reading “ATV’s New $300 Million Fund to Expand Firm’s Reach to Green Building Materials and More”

Barbs of Wisdom: Carl Icahn to Start Blogging

Carl Icahn is already turning up the heat fast enough around here. The “activist” investor announced last week that he will put forth a slate of director nominees at the next Biogen Idec annual meeting—as a first step to possibly trying to take control of the board next year—and let’s not forget he also has … Continue reading “Barbs of Wisdom: Carl Icahn to Start Blogging”

Innovation and Homeland Security Playing Well Together? DHS Under Secretary Jay Cohen May Convince You It’s Possible

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security isn’t exactly known for innovation—and, in the past, that has held true even for its Science & Technology Directorate, the research and development arm of DHS that’s meant to serve as its innovation engine. But The Honorable Jay Cohen, Under Secretary of Science and Technology for DHS, has made … Continue reading “Innovation and Homeland Security Playing Well Together? DHS Under Secretary Jay Cohen May Convince You It’s Possible”

Liquid Machines Closes $10 Million Financing

Liquid Machines of Waltham, MA, a provider of enterprise rights management solutions focused on protecting intellectual property and other sensitive information, closed a $10 million Series D funding round, the company has announced. The financing was led by RRE Ventures. Return backers included Goldman, Sachs & Co., Atlas Venture, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Masthead Ventures. … Continue reading “Liquid Machines Closes $10 Million Financing”

Cleaning Up In Cleantech

The Yale Entrepreneurial Society—YES—is hosting this event to zero in on zero emissions and other aspects of alternative energy. The focus is on entrepreneurial opportunities in alternative energy and other cleantech technologies in New England. Speakers include Jay Fiske , partner with the Massachusetts Green Energy Fund; Dan Pullman, principal with McNamee Lawrence & Co.; … Continue reading “Cleaning Up In Cleantech”

SOURCE Boston: Computer Security

New England and the East Coast are home to some of the world’s leading computer security professionals. They and others from around the world—from industry and academe—will be gathering in Cambridge for SOURCE Boston, a new educational security conference. Former senior White House Advisor Richard Clarke, internationally recognized expert on security, will be one of … Continue reading “SOURCE Boston: Computer Security”

Lovin’ Life on Both Sides of 50? Eons Removes Age Limit in Bid to Spur Social Networking; More Big Changes Coming

Eons, the web portal for aging Baby Boomers with the famous slogan “Lovin’ Life on the Flip Side of 50,” removed its age limits last week as part of a bid to remake itself—and revitalize the business—by becoming a more general social networking site. It was a dramatic and controversial action for the company “as … Continue reading “Lovin’ Life on Both Sides of 50? Eons Removes Age Limit in Bid to Spur Social Networking; More Big Changes Coming”

EntreTech Forum: Spinning the Semantic Web

It wasn’t so long ago the World Wide Web was some arcane phrase a dude hanging out in Switzerland thought up. But now the same dude—Tim Berners-Lee—and some others, like Ken Baclawski of Northeastern University, are well along on pushing the next phase of the revolution: the Semantic Web. It’s deep stuff, but the basic … Continue reading “EntreTech Forum: Spinning the Semantic Web”

Athenahealth Pulls Secondary Public Offering; No Jets for the Weary?

Talk about timing. On the very day we post the IPO advice of Athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush, Jr.—in an article that happens to mention the current tough economic climate for IPOs—Athenahealth (NASDAQ:ATHN) announces it is shelving its plans for a secondary public offering. And, you guessed it, the company is citing the current tough economic … Continue reading “Athenahealth Pulls Secondary Public Offering; No Jets for the Weary?”

IPO Advice from the President’s Cousin—Strike That—IPO Advice From a CEO to Whom the President is Related

It’s shaping up to be a bleak year for IPOs. Last Thursday, BG Medicine pulled its initial public offering, citing market conditions. The week before that, Elixir Pharmaceuticals also put its IPO plans on ice. But the idea of IPOs was alive and well last Thursday night, when I had the pleasure of moderating a … Continue reading “IPO Advice from the President’s Cousin—Strike That—IPO Advice From a CEO to Whom the President is Related”

An Analysis of Icahn’s Biogen Idec Strategy: Why Three Board Seats When Four Will Be Open?

Carl Icahn is making no bones about it—he is not happy with the way Biogen Idec handled its efforts to seek a buyer for the company, and so now he’s moving to take matters more into his own hands. That was the point behind Icahn’s announcement Monday that he plans to advance a slate of … Continue reading “An Analysis of Icahn’s Biogen Idec Strategy: Why Three Board Seats When Four Will Be Open?”

Power, Drugs, Money, and the Future of New England Innovation—the Journalists’ View

Xconomy is all about hyper-local coverage of the local innovation community—and bringing idea and people together across disciplines and other boundaries. But as journalists, we’re typically out there listening to what others have to say, bringing it to light, challenging it, analyzing it, and sharing it with our readers. We don’t usually pontificate or speechify, … Continue reading “Power, Drugs, Money, and the Future of New England Innovation—the Journalists’ View”

GreenFuel Powers Through First Steps of Recovery Plan; Algae Thriving

GreenFuel Technologies “completed, and in cases blew away” the first five steps of its seven-part recovery plan, interim CEO Bob Metcalfe reports. After successfully raising revenues while simultaneously lowering expenses, the Cambridge, MA-based renewable energy firm has pushed the end date for its so-called interim period, by which it needs to complete a new round … Continue reading “GreenFuel Powers Through First Steps of Recovery Plan; Algae Thriving”

E-Dialog Acquired For $157 Million

Lexington, MA-based e-mail marketing solutions provider e-Dialog has reached an agreement to be acquired by e-commerce company GSI Commerce of King of Prussia, PA. The $157 million deal includes $147.8 million in cash and $9.2 million in restricted GSI Commerce shares. E-Dialog, founded in 1997, has taken in some $20 million in venture funding from … Continue reading “E-Dialog Acquired For $157 Million”

MIT Energy Conference

A real, excuse the pun, powerhouse set of speakers is lined up for this year’s MIT Energy Conference, which examines Solutions that Scale to Meet the Energy Challenge. Among them: MIT president Susan Hockfield, legendary venture capitalist John Doerr, and Jim Rogers, chairman, president, and CEO of Duke Energy. The conference will also include sessions … Continue reading “MIT Energy Conference”

Polaris Leads Two Big Digital Media Investments: Beats Out Sand Hill VCs for Quantcast Deal

In case you hadn’t noticed it, blogging and online advertising are growing fast—and they’re converging. And the digital media folks over at Polaris Venture Partners seem happy to bring that convergence about. Tuesday brought news that the Waltham, MA-based firm had taken the lead in a $20 million Series B round investment in online audience … Continue reading “Polaris Leads Two Big Digital Media Investments: Beats Out Sand Hill VCs for Quantcast Deal”

The A123 Story: How a Battery Company Jumpstarted its Business

If there’s one Boston-area energy company atop everybody’s list to become the next great New England success story, it’s got to be A123 Systems. The six-year-old Watertown, MA, maker of high-power lithium-ion batteries for applications like GM’s planned Volt electric vehicles and Black & Decker power tools has quickly established itself as a real powerhouse. … Continue reading “The A123 Story: How a Battery Company Jumpstarted its Business”

Aveksa Raises $12 Million

Waltham, MA-based Aveksa, which automates many of the tasks needed to manage access to enterprise information, announced today that it has closed a $12 million Series B funding round led by FTVentures and including return investors Pequot Ventures, Charles River Ventures, and Aveska chairman Barry Bycoff.

IRobot Strikes “Transformational” Deal to Enable Next Generation Laser-Guided Bots

In an era of irregular warfare, where troops must contend with roadside bombs and HAZMAT teams might confront bioweapons, one long-standing vision is for warfighters and first responders to be able to deploy autonomous robots to handle terrain-clearing and reconnaissance chores while the humans wait out of harm’s way. For several years now, iRobot’s Packbot … Continue reading “IRobot Strikes “Transformational” Deal to Enable Next Generation Laser-Guided Bots”

Cleantech, Life Sciences, and Web Plays Lead the Way as Venture Investments Hit Six-Year High; New England VCs Step Up the Pace

That skidding sound you heard all through the fourth quarter of 2007 might have been the U.S. economy, but the screech of brakes apparently didn’t reach the ears of venture capitalists. Venture investments in U.S. companies stayed strong through the fourth quarter, capping off a solid year, according to the latest data from Dow Jones … Continue reading “Cleantech, Life Sciences, and Web Plays Lead the Way as Venture Investments Hit Six-Year High; New England VCs Step Up the Pace”

PeptImmune Peps Up with $8 Million Financing

Cambridge, MA-based PeptImmune, a Genzyme biotech spinoff that’s developing therapies for treatment of obesity, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other chronic autoimmune or inflammatory disorders, has taken in $8.2 million under the first tranche of a Series D round. The financing was led by New Enterprise Associates, MPM Capital, Hunt Ventures, Boston Medical Investors, and … Continue reading “PeptImmune Peps Up with $8 Million Financing”

Out to Shed Light on Venture Capital’s Dark Side, Former VC Nijhawan Starts New Role at BU

Two-hundred-odd deals sourced. One deal done. Something wrong? Vinit Nijhawan thinks so, and the well-known local entrepreneur, angel investor, venture capitalist (make that former VC), chairman of TiE-Boston, and Xconomist, is on a mission to figure out what. After taking off his venture hat last August and evaluating many options for what to do next, … Continue reading “Out to Shed Light on Venture Capital’s Dark Side, Former VC Nijhawan Starts New Role at BU”

Slow Going For Bay State Economy—Tech A Small Bright Point

In the face of a declining housing market, the high costs of gasoline and heating oil, and fallout from the subprime mortgage debacle, third-quarter 2007 growth estimates for the Massachusetts economy have been revised downward, according to MassBenchmarks Current Economic Index figures released today. The outlook is for slower growth in the first half of … Continue reading “Slow Going For Bay State Economy—Tech A Small Bright Point”

MIT and Italy’s Eni Sign $50 Million Energy Research Agreement

MIT and the Italian energy giant Eni today announced a five-year, $50 million research agreement focused on a wide array of energy studies and initiatives. Half the funding will be used to create the Eni-MITEI (for MIT Energy Initiative) Solar Frontiers Research Program, a far-reaching collaboration whose six specific areas of focus will include nano-structured … Continue reading “MIT and Italy’s Eni Sign $50 Million Energy Research Agreement”

Nearly $35 Billion in Venture Funds Raised in 2007—And Don’t Worry About A Bubble

More venture funds. More money raised. And it’s not a bubble. So reads the trifecta of good news about venture capital in 2007, as reported today by the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Financial. All told, 235 U.S. venture firms raised $34.7 billion last year, marking the highest level of activity seen since the … Continue reading “Nearly $35 Billion in Venture Funds Raised in 2007—And Don’t Worry About A Bubble”

LogMeIn Files for IPO Worth Up to $86.25 Million

LogMeIn, which provides IT support services and secure connections to PCs and other computers from remote locations, has registered for an initial public offering worth up to $86.25 million, according to SEC documents. The Woburn, MA-based firm intends to trade on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol LOGM. Founded in 2004 as 3am Labs … Continue reading “LogMeIn Files for IPO Worth Up to $86.25 Million”

Basis Technology Wins Fight Against Amazon

Cambridge, MA-based Basis Technology, which develops software for multilingual information retrieval, reported today that the Appeals Court of Massachusetts has ruled in its favor in a long-running lawsuit against Amazon involving Basis’s compensation for providing consulting services relating to the formation of Amazon’s Japan operations. Although exact terms of the settlement were not disclosed, a … Continue reading “Basis Technology Wins Fight Against Amazon”

First Tenant Moves into New Biogen Idec Incubator, Snares First Funding

Escoublac, the Columbia University Medical Center spinoff company named last month as the first investment of the recently formed Biogen Idec Innovation Incubator, has moved to Cambridge, MA, and secured $6.65 million in funding from Biogen. The funding is one tranche in a Series A round that could total $10 million based on its scientific … Continue reading “First Tenant Moves into New Biogen Idec Incubator, Snares First Funding”

Primera Primed with $21 Million Financing Round

Molecular diagnostics company Primera Biosystems of Mansfield, MA, has secured $21 million in Series B funding, according to a press release. Abingworth Management took the lead in the deal, joined by Interwest Partners and previous investors Malaysian Technology Development Corp., MPM Capital, Burrill & Co., and the Invus Group. Primera raised $11 million in a … Continue reading “Primera Primed with $21 Million Financing Round”

Year’s Best Exits—Top Massachusetts IPOs and M&As of 2007

First (and second and third) impressions are important. But it’s also nice to go out on a sweet note. Yesterday, we brought you a list of Massachusetts’s top 10 venture deals for 2007: you might think of them as great entrances (although most were later- stage deals, so we’re straining a bit). Today we’re looking … Continue reading “Year’s Best Exits—Top Massachusetts IPOs and M&As of 2007”

Athenahealth Files for Secondary Public Offering

Watertown, MA-based Athenahealth (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ATHN]]), which provides online billing and other business services for medical practices, has filed for a secondary public offering of approximately 3.11 million common shares. Selling shareholders include Oak Investment Partners and Cardinal Partners. Athenahealth’s strong IPO last September made it runner-up only to VMware in Xconomy’s “Google IPO Impersonation of the … Continue reading “Athenahealth Files for Secondary Public Offering”

GreatPoint Energy Tops List of Biggest Massachusetts VC Deals of 2007

Good old 2007. Whether just starting out or going public, it was a fine year for many Massachusetts technology firms. In fact, as we reported last week, a bevy of four-quarter Boston area initial public offerings helped make last year the best IPO year for venture-backed companies since 2004. Today, we’re presenting the numbers on … Continue reading “GreatPoint Energy Tops List of Biggest Massachusetts VC Deals of 2007”

Diamonds are for Rabbis: Ice.com and Its Founders Heat Up with $47 Million From Polaris and Ignition

I rounded the wrong way when I got Shmuel Gniwisch on the phone, referring to the $46.6 million financing round his online jewelry retail company—Ice.com—had just closed as $46 million. “It’s $47 million,” the Ice CEO corrected. Then there was a pause. “That’s 47 parties.” He was joking, of course—breaking the ice, you might say. … Continue reading “Diamonds are for Rabbis: Ice.com and Its Founders Heat Up with $47 Million From Polaris and Ignition”