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.

Onaro to be Acquired by NetApp for a Reported $120 Million

Boston-based storage software provider Onaro, whose customer list includes Jet Blue Airways, State Street Global Advisors, and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, will be acquired by California data management firm NetApp (NASDAQ:[[ticker:NTAP]]), the companies announced yesterday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a report in TechCrunch, citing Israeli reports (Onaro’s roots are apparently in Israel), put … Continue reading “Onaro to be Acquired by NetApp for a Reported $120 Million”

Vertex Falls On Hepatitis Drug Delay Reports

Shares of Cambridge, MA-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:VRTX]]) sagged again this morning after falling 7 percent yesterday on word that a prominent analyst had downgraded the stock in light of flawed trials that could delay the debut of its hepatitis C drug candidate by as much as two years. The Associated Press reported on Thursday that … Continue reading “Vertex Falls On Hepatitis Drug Delay Reports”

Gone Today, Hair Tomorrow—Follica Raises Funds to Begin Human Trial of Baldness Treatment

Call it a hair-raising event. Follica, a Boston startup out to develop novel ways of treating and even curing baldness and other hair-follicle disorders, today announced it had completed a $5.5 million Series A financing round. The round was led by Interwest Partners of Dallas and Menlo Park, CA, and joined by founding investor PureTech … Continue reading “Gone Today, Hair Tomorrow—Follica Raises Funds to Begin Human Trial of Baldness Treatment”

After Missing Key Milestones, N2N Calls it the End; E-Commerce Startup Had Raised $30 Million

N2N Commerce, a Cambridge, MA-based e-commerce company that raised $30 million from General Catalyst Partners and Limited Brands (from which it spun off), laid off essentially all its staff just before Christmas and is ceasing operations, says a source close to the company, confirming a report yesterday in TechCrunch. The source also says the 18-month-old … Continue reading “After Missing Key Milestones, N2N Calls it the End; E-Commerce Startup Had Raised $30 Million”

New CEO for T2 Biosystems

Cambridge’s T2 Biosystems, a developer of portable medical diagnostic products combining nanotechnology and miniaturized magnetic resonance imaging technology, today announced that John McDonough has been named its new CEO. McDonough, previously president of medical diagnostics and devices company Cytyc Development, will also join T2’s board of directors.

Tempo Steps Up The Funding Pace

Tempo Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, MA-based biopharmaceutical startup that’s developing treaments for cancer, and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases based on nanoparticles that can release two different drugs at different rates, announced today that it has closed an $8.1 million Series B financing round. New investor Bessemer Venture Partners of Wellesley, MA, joined previous investors Polaris Venture … Continue reading “Tempo Steps Up The Funding Pace”

Venture-Backed IPOs Soared in 2007; Boston Led the Way in Fourth Quarter

A wave of initial public offerings in the fourth quarter of 2007—led by companies in Boston and San Jose—helped make last year the best IPO year for venture-backed firms since 2004, according to a report released today by Thomson Financial and the National Venture Capital Association. The fourth quarter saw 31 venture-backed IPOs (totaling $3 … Continue reading “Venture-Backed IPOs Soared in 2007; Boston Led the Way in Fourth Quarter”

Analog Devices Completes $184 Million Sale of Business Line

Analog Devices (NYSE: [[ticker:ADI]]) announced today that it has completed the $184 million sale, announced last November, of its CPU voltage regulation and PC thermal monitoring business to ON Semiconductor of Phoenix. The divestiture is part of Norwood, MA-based Analog’s efforts to transition its power management portfolio to high-performance products that better complement its signal-processing … Continue reading “Analog Devices Completes $184 Million Sale of Business Line”

Sepracor Licenses Epilepsy Drug

Marlborough, MA-based Sepracor, maker of the insomnia drug Lunesta, announced today that it has signed an exclusive licensing deal with Bial covering development and commercialization of the Portuguese company’s anti-epileptic compound BIA 2-093 in Canada and the United States. Under the terms of the agreement, Bial will receive $75 million up front and is eligible … Continue reading “Sepracor Licenses Epilepsy Drug”

High Financing for HiWired

HiWired, a Needham, MA-based provider of IT support and services for consumers and small businesses, announced today that it has received $9 million in a Series B financing. The round was led by North Hill Ventures and includes Series A investors Sigma Partners and Kodiak Venture Partners. HiWired was founded in 2004 by Singu Srinivas … Continue reading “High Financing for HiWired”

Power, Drugs & Money—MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge Innovation Summit 2008

Clean energy. Finance. Health and medicine. With innovation in these vital sectors transforming the way people live and work around the globe, the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge is zeroing in on them for its annual summit, aptly titled Power, Drugs & Money. Keynoting the day-long extravaganza is John Kao, author of Innovation Nation (Xconomy’s … Continue reading “Power, Drugs & Money—MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge Innovation Summit 2008”

The Burgeoning Massachusetts Biofuels Industry

What’s the promise of biofuels, and what role does Massachusetts play in this aspect of the cleantech revolution? Those are some of the big questions to be pondered in the latest chapter in the Clean Perspectives series of chats and networking events, which includes state senators Michael Morrissey and Ben Downing, along with a group … Continue reading “The Burgeoning Massachusetts Biofuels Industry”

Season’s Greetings—Xconomy’s Slowing Down for the Holidays!

Happy Holidays everyone—time for a well-deserved break! Your friends at Xconomy were going all out Friday evening, bringing you the breaking news about iRobot’s big victory in its legal battles with Robotic FX live from our watering hole at Bambara: we posted the final story from our barstools, sipping Xconomy green apple martinis and celebrating … Continue reading “Season’s Greetings—Xconomy’s Slowing Down for the Holidays!”

IRobot Declares Victory in Battle of the Bots; Could Absorb Some Robotic FX Assets as Rival Dissolves

IRobot officially declared victory in its legal battles with Robotic FX this evening, as judges in Massachusetts and Alabama signed off on settlements (which we reported earlier in the day had been reached) that put Robotic FX out of business. At its discretion, the Burlington, MA-based firm can also absorb some of its former rival’s … Continue reading “IRobot Declares Victory in Battle of the Bots; Could Absorb Some Robotic FX Assets as Rival Dissolves”

Corrections in Webloyalty Lawsuit Story

It’s not fun making mistakes. On Wednesday, we published a story about a class-action lawsuit being brought against Webloyalty, Fandango, Priceline, and others. We’re proud of our work on the piece and, as always, tried hard to get the story straight, but yesterday evening several potential inaccuracies were brought to our attention. We investigated further … Continue reading “Corrections in Webloyalty Lawsuit Story”

Altus Shares Nosedive as Agreement With Genentech Ends

Shares in Altus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ALTU]]) plunged nearly 50 percent today after the Cambridge company announced that an exclusive option agreement with Genentech on a drug candidate for human growth hormone had expired. Altus said it had reacquired development and commercialization rights to the drug candidate, ALTU-238, which had been granted to the California company under … Continue reading “Altus Shares Nosedive as Agreement With Genentech Ends”

Akamai CEO Paul Sagan to Join EMC Board and Help With Mergers and Acquisitions

Akamai’s president and chief executive officer Paul Sagan will join the board of directors of EMC. In a statement issued this morning, Hopkinton, MA-based EMC billed Sagan’s presence as a great fit, both for the knowledge he brings about information technology in general, but also for his experience with Internet-based businesses and services—an area of … Continue reading “Akamai CEO Paul Sagan to Join EMC Board and Help With Mergers and Acquisitions”

Elixir Sets Price Target for IPO

Elixir Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge company formed in 1999 and focused on developing drugs for diabetes, obesity, and other metabolic diseases, has set the price range of its planned initial public offering of five million shares at between $14 and $16 per share. The company, whose litany of investors includes MPM Capital, Oxford Bioscience Partners, and … Continue reading “Elixir Sets Price Target for IPO”

Nuance Cuts Stock Offering Size

Burlington, MA-based Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]), which sells speech and imaging software, announced in a regulatory filing that it planned to cut the number of shares being sold in its secondary public offering of its stock from 15 million to 7 million. Under its revised plan, the firm will offer 6.8 million shares, down from … Continue reading “Nuance Cuts Stock Offering Size”

Calling New Contract a “Sustaining Bridge” to IRobot’s Future Plans, Exec Says Company Set to Deliver First Robots on January 8

Evidently things got a little festive over at iRobot (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]) late Friday evening, when the company learned that it had been awarded a contract worth up to $286 million to supply so-called “xBot” bomb-detection robots to the U.S. Army. “I think there might have been a beer or two,” said Joe Dyer, president of … Continue reading “Calling New Contract a “Sustaining Bridge” to IRobot’s Future Plans, Exec Says Company Set to Deliver First Robots on January 8″

IRobot Wins $286 Million Army Contract, Replacing Contract Previously Awarded to Robotic FX

In a dramatic turnaround that is sure to send holiday cheer echoing through its halls, Burlington, MA-based iRobot (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]) has won a multi-million-dollar contract to deliver bomb detection robots to U.S. troops; the contract was originally awarded to arch-rival Robotic FX barely two months ago. The company said in an announcement released this morning … Continue reading “IRobot Wins $286 Million Army Contract, Replacing Contract Previously Awarded to Robotic FX”

Biogen Idec-Icahn Story Likely Far From Over; History Says the Activist Investor Will Act Again

Does anyone really think Carl Icahn is done with Biogen Idec? He pushed for a sale of the company, by most reports at a price around $80 per share. But as of yesterday’s close, just three trading days after the Cambridge biotech’s announcement that it had failed to find a buyer and would remain independent, … Continue reading “Biogen Idec-Icahn Story Likely Far From Over; History Says the Activist Investor Will Act Again”

Army Cancels Robotic FX’s $280 Million Contract; Decision Could Pave the Way for IRobot to Win Award

Less than two months after setting aside a $279.9 million contract with Illinois-based Robotic FX for delivering bomb-detection robots to U.S. troops, the U.S. Army has canceled the agreement, the Boston Globe reports. The decision apparently paves the way for the contract, which was awarded to Robotic FX in September, to go to iRobot as … Continue reading “Army Cancels Robotic FX’s $280 Million Contract; Decision Could Pave the Way for IRobot to Win Award”

Third Rock Hires Three Partners—Says Team Complete to Implement Its Hands-On, Early-Stage Venture Model

Third Rock Ventures, the new Boston venture firm zeroed in on funding early stage, local life sciences companies, announced the hiring of three new partners yesterday. The company, which closed its $378 million fund in September, says it has now completed the core team needed to implement its somewhat unique model of providing top-tier operational … Continue reading “Third Rock Hires Three Partners—Says Team Complete to Implement Its Hands-On, Early-Stage Venture Model”

NewsGator Gobbles Up $12 Million Financing Round; Masthead’s Extreme VC Levandov Raises the Bar on Tattoos

Denver-based NewsGator Technologies, which makes one of the leading RSS news feed aggregators as well as other products designed to allow users keep up with online information, announced today that it has closed a $12 million funding round. The financing was led by new investor Vista Ventures of Boulder, CO. But it includes existing investor … Continue reading “NewsGator Gobbles Up $12 Million Financing Round; Masthead’s Extreme VC Levandov Raises the Bar on Tattoos”

Biogen Idec Announces It Will Remain Independent—Says No “Definitive Offers” Received, Not Even From Icahn. Shares Plummet

UPDATED: 12/12/07, 4:50 p.m. and 5:40 p.m.—Was it just five or six hours ago that I advised readers not to pay too much attention to the gathering storm of rumors that Biogen Idec was about to be sold? Did I predict that nothing would happen with efforts to sell the company before the New Year? … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Announces It Will Remain Independent—Says No “Definitive Offers” Received, Not Even From Icahn. Shares Plummet”

Biogen Idec Shares Rising—But Is No News Really News?

Even as the stock market took a big swoon yesterday in the wake of a less-than-hoped-for Fed rate cut, Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) shareholders didn’t seem to be feeling the pain. The stock rose as high as $77.85 yesterday before closing at $75.39. That was still up $1.42 on a day when the Dow tanked … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Shares Rising—But Is No News Really News?”

Peddle Power: MIT Cyclocross Team Promotes Alternative Energy, Low-Power Computing

As the red, white, and black uniforms of the MIT Cycling Team bobbed up and down before me early this afternoon, I couldn’t help thinking: human abacus. Okay, the logic might be twisted (most folks here at Xconomy figure that’s a given when I start writing), but there is method to my madness. The cyclists, … Continue reading “Peddle Power: MIT Cyclocross Team Promotes Alternative Energy, Low-Power Computing”

Flavored Water Tastes Fine To New Highland Consumer Fund

In the early 1980s, Steve Jobs famously recruited Apple CEO John Sculley, then the president of Pepsi, with the question: “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life?” I can’t help thinking that if Jobs visited Highland Capital Partners and asked general partner Ted Philip the same question (replacing “sugar” … Continue reading “Flavored Water Tastes Fine To New Highland Consumer Fund”

Highland Adds Two New Partners, Loses One

Highland Capital Partners, the Lexington, MA-based venture capital firm, announced on Friday that it has promoted Peter Bell and Richard de Silva to general partner. Based in the firm’s Menlo Park office, de Silva focuses on digital media investments and has been at Highland since 2003. Bell, former CEO of StorageNetworks, joined the firm last … Continue reading “Highland Adds Two New Partners, Loses One”

Who (and Who Not) to Hire: A Napkin Sketch from Xconomist Bill Aulet

Last week Wade offered some fantastic tips on how to recruit employees in the midst of what’s shaping up to be a major staffing crunch at local information-technology firms. And it got me thinking about something that Xconomist Bill Aulet told me a few weeks ago during a power lunch at Aceituna, over near the … Continue reading “Who (and Who Not) to Hire: A Napkin Sketch from Xconomist Bill Aulet”

Massachusetts Conference for Women

Listen. Learn. Network. The Massachusetts Conference for Women claims the title of “the state’s premier networking and educational experience designed to help women connect and collaborate, and grow personally and professionally.” The one-day conference features keynoters Jack Welch, Suzy Welch, author Anna Quindlen, and CBS anchor and author Rene Syler. It’s not all about business … Continue reading “Massachusetts Conference for Women”

Polaris Senior Associate and GreenFuel VP Nick Sinai Joining Lehman Brothers Venture Arm in Boston

Nick Sinai, a rising senior associate star at Polaris Venture Partners, will be leaving the firm at the end of the year to become a vice president in the newly created Boston office of Lehman Brothers’ venture capital arm. Sinai, just 31 years old, will also be stepping down from his position as interim vice … Continue reading “Polaris Senior Associate and GreenFuel VP Nick Sinai Joining Lehman Brothers Venture Arm in Boston”

Going Up Against Henri—Genzyme Not For Sale

“I’d hate to go up against Henri.” That was the view of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals CEO Christoph Westphal when asked at Xconomy’s Forum last night about recent speculation that two other Cambridge-based biotech firms, Biogen Idec and Genzyme, might be targets of takeover bids after investor Carl Icahn had taken stakes in both firms. The Henri … Continue reading “Going Up Against Henri—Genzyme Not For Sale”

Xconomy’s Battle of the Tech Bands

Finally, a tech networking event that rocks. Musicians from Boston’s most innovative companies play their geeky hearts out—you pick the winners! Date: Tuesday, January 22, 2008. Location: Middle East Restaurant and Night Club, 472-480 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA. Time: Doors open at 7:00 pm, music starts at 7:30 sharp. Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at … Continue reading “Xconomy’s Battle of the Tech Bands”

Hotel@MIT to Become a Le Meridien

Welcome, or should we say “bienvenue,” to Cambridge, Le Meridien. The incoming owner of the Hotel@MIT (aka the University Park Hotel) has announced that the current Doubletree establishment, located in the University Park high-tech and biomedical area between Central Square and MIT, will become part of the luxury Le Meridien hotel group, the Boston Globe … Continue reading “Hotel@MIT to Become a Le Meridien”

Hawk vs. Pigeon: Impromptu Lunch in Kendall Square Gives Two Lotus Legends Pause

Got this photo in an e-mail from Reed Sturtevant, who’s creating a new Microsoft advanced development lab in Kendall Square. He was walking to lunch in the square yesterday with another former Lotus legend, Bob Frankston, when an unusual sight stopped them in their tracks. As Sturtevant described it: “a hawk eating a pigeon in … Continue reading “Hawk vs. Pigeon: Impromptu Lunch in Kendall Square Gives Two Lotus Legends Pause”

Microsoft Cambridge Lab Getting into Gear—Core Hires Expected Soon

Reed Sturtevant is building a Microsoft development lab and innovation group here in Cambridge, but I caught up with him in Redmond, WA. I gather the former Eons chief technology officer and local tech legend has logged a lot of miles between Seattle and Boston since being plucked away from Eons in late September. And, … Continue reading “Microsoft Cambridge Lab Getting into Gear—Core Hires Expected Soon”

Why EMC Bought Mozy, Part 2: The Consumer As Enterprise

The home consumer is a far cry from a big corporate enterprise, but each one of us can be seen as a mini enterprise. That was the big revelation I took away from a recent interview with Jeff Nick, EMC’s chief technology officer. We spoke about many things, but I was particularly curious to ask … Continue reading “Why EMC Bought Mozy, Part 2: The Consumer As Enterprise”

The Little Laptop That Could…One Way or Another

Opening my weekend Wall Street Journal yesterday, I found the following headline: “A Little Laptop With Big Ambitions: How a Computer for the Poor Got Stomped by Tech Giants.” The article vividly detailed the woes of the One Laptop Per Child effort, and how far OLPC is from achieving founder Nicholas Negroponte’s 2005 vision of … Continue reading “The Little Laptop That Could…One Way or Another”

Xconomy Poll: As the Holiday Shopping Season Starts, Is Kindle Must-Buying?

It’s featured on Amazon’s home page, and the star-power testimony behind it runs from Toni Morrison to Michael Lewis. But is Amazon’s new e-book reader, Kindle, produced with Cambridge company E Ink’s “electronic paper” technology, a winner? Will it really transform the way people consume literature? At $399 for the reader and $9.99 a book, … Continue reading “Xconomy Poll: As the Holiday Shopping Season Starts, Is Kindle Must-Buying?”

2007 Executive Compensation Study: Life Sciences Leads the Way, New England Pay Lagging

First, the good news: salaries and bonuses for key employees of privately held firms in life sciences and information technology went up virtually across the board in the past year. Now, the not-so-good news: New England high-tech executives are in the middle of the pack (or lower) in compensation when compared to their peers around … Continue reading “2007 Executive Compensation Study: Life Sciences Leads the Way, New England Pay Lagging”