Online marketing software seller HubSpot, which helps mid-sized businesses attract customers with blog posts, e-mails, and social media campaigns, has raised about $114 million in its initial public stock offering. The Cambridge, MA-based company said Wednesday night that it sold 5 million shares of its stock at $25 each. That price was higher than HubSpot’s previously estimated price range, indicating … Continue reading “HubSpot IPO Raises $114M for Online Marketing Software”
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.
OpenView Venture Partners Raises $250 Million Fund
Boston’s OpenView Venture Partners, a VC firm that backs growth-stage software companies, has raised $250 million for its fourth fund. The news was expected. Fortune reported in August that OpenView was hoping to hit that price tag for the new fund, which had been teased in an SEC filing. OpenView touts several successful investments, including Intel-acquired API service Mashery and marketing software seller … Continue reading “OpenView Venture Partners Raises $250 Million Fund”
Catch Google “Big Picture” Data Leader Viégas at The Tech Agenda
The big idea behind our next big innovation conference, the Tech Agenda 2015, is deceptively simple. Get a bunch of smart people who are building the future of their industries. Separate the brilliant from the bogus, and find out what’s really driving change in technology, business, and society. Wrap it all up with bold predictions for what you should pay attention to—or … Continue reading “Catch Google “Big Picture” Data Leader Viégas at The Tech Agenda”
Atlas Venture Splits: A Sharp Change in Less Than 18 Months
Since closing its ninth fund in mid-2013, Boston-area venture capital firm Atlas Venture has seen big changes in its personnel roster and scored some notable returns on its investments. Today, the firm announced even bigger news: It’s splitting its life sciences and IT business, sending the tech investors off to form a new, still-unnamed fund sometime next year. … Continue reading “Atlas Venture Splits: A Sharp Change in Less Than 18 Months”
Twitter Bankrolls MIT Research with $10M, Wide-Open Data Access
MIT is mining its close connections with the technology industry to build a new research lab that hopes to harness social media for the public good. Twitter says it’s committing $10 million to sponsor social-media research at the renowned university and giving it access to the two most coveted streams of Twitter data: its “firehose” of real-time tweets and the entire archive of every … Continue reading “Twitter Bankrolls MIT Research with $10M, Wide-Open Data Access”
Circle’s Bitcoin Service is Free—But Someone’s Gotta Pay
If bitcoin goes mainstream, companies like Circle Internet Financial will probably lead the way. The Boston-based startup isn’t banking on techno-libertarian visions of a unregulated financial system. Instead, Circle is hoping to bring the emerging digital currency trend to everyday consumers by giving it the familiar feel of online banking, complete with trusted-middleman protections. The … Continue reading “Circle’s Bitcoin Service is Free—But Someone’s Gotta Pay”
Kinvey Lands $10.8M Series B, Hot on Heels of VMware Partnership
If you want to make hay as an independent mobile backend service company, it helps to have a big partner and some extra cash. Boston-based startup Kinvey can now cross both of those items off its to-do list. Today, the company is announcing a $10.8 million Series B investment, led by new backers NTT Docomo … Continue reading “Kinvey Lands $10.8M Series B, Hot on Heels of VMware Partnership”
Boston Tech Roundup: Wayfair, Flashnotes, Ubersense, & More
A little more detail about a big IPO and news of some smaller private deals, from seed funding up to an acquisition, to get you caught up this week: —Wayfair, the Boston-based e-commerce company that focuses on home goods, has set a price range for its upcoming IPO. In an SEC filing, the company says it may price its shares at $25-$28 … Continue reading “Boston Tech Roundup: Wayfair, Flashnotes, Ubersense, & More”
End Your Year Right: Xconomy’s Tech Agenda 2015, Dec. 2
If the cooler days and earlier sunsets weren’t enough of a clue, the flurry of tech-company product announcements should really seal the deal: time is running out on 2014. And if you’re not careful, it’s easy to wind up with a headful of spin, hype, and just plain nonsense. We’re here to help. On Dec. 2, Xconomy is … Continue reading “End Your Year Right: Xconomy’s Tech Agenda 2015, Dec. 2”
Spurned by Salesforce, HubSpot Aims for Revenge with Sales Software
A little more than a year ago, Salesforce announced it was paying $2.5 billion to acquire marketing software company ExactTarget. It was the largest in a string of buyouts meant to make Salesforce more competitive in digital marketing, giving it more ammunition against huge names like SAP, Oracle, IBM, and Microsoft. Analysts praised the deal, … Continue reading “Spurned by Salesforce, HubSpot Aims for Revenge with Sales Software”
Design Software Startup GrabCAD Bought by Stratasys for About $100M
[Updated 9/16/14 10 am] 3D printing isn’t exactly a new idea, but the costs and availability of the tools have greatly improved in the past several years. That means a lot more people doing things with the technology. And it also means established companies are feeling some pressure to keep up. Today we’re seeing the result: Cambridge, MA-based … Continue reading “Design Software Startup GrabCAD Bought by Stratasys for About $100M”
New MC10 CEO Hopes to Drive More Products for Wearable Electronics
Pioneering wearable electronics company MC10, which makes flexible sensors that can wirelessly monitor biological data while sticking close to the skin, has recruited a new leader to help it bring more products to market. Cambridge, MA-based MC10 is announcing today that it has hired former Broadcom executive Scott Pomerantz as its new CEO. He replaces … Continue reading “New MC10 CEO Hopes to Drive More Products for Wearable Electronics”
Court: Dealers Can’t Stop Tesla From Selling Direct to MA Consumers
Tesla Motors, the high-performance electric car company headed by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, has won another legal skirmish in its quest to sell cars directly to consumers. On Monday, Massachusetts’ top court ruled that car dealers in the state had no right to sue Tesla (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TSLA]]) for its direct-sales model, which cuts out any … Continue reading “Court: Dealers Can’t Stop Tesla From Selling Direct to MA Consumers”
IPhones, Payments, Watches, & More on WGBH’s Boston Public Radio
Greg Huang and I stopped by the WGBH studios this week to talk technology business news on Boston Public Radio. And this week, of course, it’s all Apple—the new iPhones, the company’s hoped-for mobile payments system, smartwatch, and data security. It was a lot of fun talking with hosts Margery Eagan and Jim Braude, who I think have pretty level heads about … Continue reading “IPhones, Payments, Watches, & More on WGBH’s Boston Public Radio”
Boston Tech Roundup: FlightCar, ReWalk, Skyword, Visible Measures
A few interesting fundraising deals to catch up with this week—one of them involving a West Coast relocation—along with reports of layoffs at a well-funded tech startup in town: —FlightCar, a startup that lets everyday drivers rent their cars to other people while they’re away traveling, has raised a Series A investment round of $13.5 … Continue reading “Boston Tech Roundup: FlightCar, ReWalk, Skyword, Visible Measures”
RunKeeper Sees Apple Health Moves as “Both Scary and Exciting”
If you’re an independent mobile developer, big Apple product announcements are more than just a passing curiosity—entire companies can be dramatically boosted or quickly crippled by the huge company’s decisions. One of those watching the developments closely was Jason Jacobs, the CEO of fitness-tracking startup RunKeeper. And he had plenty to digest. Jacobs’ Boston-based company, … Continue reading “RunKeeper Sees Apple Health Moves as “Both Scary and Exciting””
Y Combinator Alum Lob Raises $7M to Expand APIs for Print Marketing
A lot of the fun in our current Internet era comes from the ability to manipulate the “real” world with digital tools—arranging a ride, ordering some food, or changing the temperature in your house when nobody’s home. Lob, a San Francisco-based startup, is hoping to add an international network of print shops to that list. … Continue reading “Y Combinator Alum Lob Raises $7M to Expand APIs for Print Marketing”
Boston Tech Roundup: Savant, Black Duck, LogMeIn, Mobiquity, Bridj
Here’s a smattering of fundraising deals from recent days around the greater Boston area, and an acquisition thrown in for good measure: —Savant Systems, an established home-automation company based in Hyannis, MA, has raised $90 million from private equity firm KKR and Savant’s founder, Robert Madonna. The company, founded in 2005, makes smart-home systems for the luxury market. … Continue reading “Boston Tech Roundup: Savant, Black Duck, LogMeIn, Mobiquity, Bridj”
Twitch Buy Highlights Amazon’s $20B Bet on Technology & Content
Forget all the corporate intrigue about how Amazon outfoxed Google in its head-turning $970 million acquisition of video-game broadcasting site Twitch. If you want to be truly impressed by the Seattle retailer’s ever-increasing ambitions, just take a look at how much it’s sunk into digital infrastructure and media projects over the past few years. Amazon … Continue reading “Twitch Buy Highlights Amazon’s $20B Bet on Technology & Content”
Home & Baby Companies Plan To Profit as Millennials Settle Down
Sure, he’s in love with artful neck tattoos and outlandish facial hair right now. But that hipster at your favorite coffee bar down the street is going to get older, and a growing group of businesses are betting that his search for domestic bliss will be a profitable one. A wave of e-commerce companies has … Continue reading “Home & Baby Companies Plan To Profit as Millennials Settle Down”
HubSpot Files for IPO, On Pace for $100M in Revenue
Online marketing software company HubSpot is finally heading to the public stock markets, seeking a $100 million IPO after nine years as a private company. Cambridge, MA-based HubSpot made its stock sale ambitions public late Monday. The news wasn’t a surprise—HubSpot’s leaders have been aiming to take the company public for some time, and it has raised some … Continue reading “HubSpot Files for IPO, On Pace for $100M in Revenue”
DraftKings Gets Bigger, Richer as Football Season Starts
If you run a fantasy-sports league, the start of the NFL season is like Christmas morning and New Year’s all rolled into one. If your business is based around paying fantasy players for their smarts, the stakes are even higher. Boston-based DraftKings is girding up for the new season in a big way today, announcing … Continue reading “DraftKings Gets Bigger, Richer as Football Season Starts”
Former Intern Takes General Catalyst to Task On Gender, Again
What happened after an MIT summer intern blogged about her sometimes-difficult experience as a woman in venture capital? Partners at Boston-based firm General Catalyst tried to find ways of spinning the news into something positive, but didn’t really address her concerns—and in one case, a partner burst into a meeting and launched into an angry, finger-pointing tirade, former intern Erica … Continue reading “Former Intern Takes General Catalyst to Task On Gender, Again”
Boston Considering New Regulations for Airbnb, Similar Sites
The rise of home-rental services like Airbnb has been hailed as a revolution for travelers and homeowners alike—a leading example of the “sharing economy,” letting everyday people save money on rentals and profit from their underused property. Local government, however, has been dealing with the complaints that inevitably come when a residential home is turned into an ad-hoc rental business. And they’re also not … Continue reading “Boston Considering New Regulations for Airbnb, Similar Sites”
Boston Bans Haystack, Nixing Companies That Profit from Public Roads
[Updated 1:50 pm to add details, document.] Parking-search app Haystack has been banned in Boston, and any other companies that want to follow in its footsteps will face a similar fate. The City Council voted Wednesday to ban private companies that try to make money by selling or leasing public roadways without the city’s permission. The new ordinance takes … Continue reading “Boston Bans Haystack, Nixing Companies That Profit from Public Roads”
Boston Tech Roundup: Nasuni, Acquia, Happier, Betaspring, Techstars
[Updated, 5 pm] Here’s a collection of deals and announcements worth noting from around the past week in the the Boston-area technology sector, including investments both secretive and straightforward, and startup accelerators either stalling or forging ahead: —Nasuni, a Natick, MA-based data storage software company, has collected another $10 million investment from previous backers. The … Continue reading “Boston Tech Roundup: Nasuni, Acquia, Happier, Betaspring, Techstars”
NBD Nano Aims its Bug-Inspired Tech at Big Industrial Markets
Technology inspired by the exoskeleton of a hardy desert bug is being aimed at big industrial problems, and investors are betting several million dollars that it could make a difference. NBD Nanotechnologies, a Boston-based advanced materials startup, has landed a $5.2 million investment led by Phoenix Venture Partners. Supply Chain Ventures and existing angel investors … Continue reading “NBD Nano Aims its Bug-Inspired Tech at Big Industrial Markets”
Leaf Now Fully Owned by Heartland, Still Losing Cash
Killing off the last generation of cash registers isn’t going to be easy. But the recent buyout of a Boston-area payments company should give us a glimpse at how expensive it’ll be to build the replacement. Heartland Payment Systems has bought out the remaining shareholders of Leaf, a three-year-old company that sells a custom-built tablet … Continue reading “Leaf Now Fully Owned by Heartland, Still Losing Cash”
Boston Tech Roundup: RedPoint, Verdasys, Directr
Here’s a few deals to catch up on as we wrap up another summer week around the Boston-area technology sector: —RedPoint Global, a Wellesley Hills, MA-based software company, has raised $5.2 million in venture investment. The round was led by Grotech Ventures and joined by Sagamore Ventures. RedPoint offers products aimed at digital marketing and data … Continue reading “Boston Tech Roundup: RedPoint, Verdasys, Directr”
How Google, Microsoft, and Amazon’s Boston-Area Offices Stack Up
The biggest names in technology have very few boundaries when it comes to competing with each other. Take the smartphone market, where Amazon, Google, Apple, and Microsoft—four companies with very different core business models—have all made huge investments. At the core of that competition is a race to hire the engineers, designers, developers, and other … Continue reading “How Google, Microsoft, and Amazon’s Boston-Area Offices Stack Up”
How Cotton Bureau Became the Internet’s Coolest T-Shirt Store
You may not have realized that it was possible to become addicted to buying T-shirts. But that probably means you just haven’t stumbled upon Cotton Bureau, a year-old website that has quickly become the world’s coolest T-shirt shop. The four-person crew behind Cotton Bureau has managed to pull this off by stitching together an impressive number … Continue reading “How Cotton Bureau Became the Internet’s Coolest T-Shirt Store”
Boston Tech Roundup: EyeNetra, ViralGains, MetraTech, HubSpot
Here’s a smattering of deal and departure news to catch up on for the end of the week: —EyeNetra, an MIT spinout that is developing vision-testing hardware for smartphones, has raised $4 million in an equity investment. Co-founder David Schafran tells MedCity News that the company is engaged in foreign and U.S.-based clinical trials for the … Continue reading “Boston Tech Roundup: EyeNetra, ViralGains, MetraTech, HubSpot”
MA Won’t Change Noncompete Law, VCs Pledge to Continue Campaign
Startups and technology investors in Boston are finding out that political change usually doesn’t happen very fast. Despite a heavy lobbying campaign coordinated by the state’s venture capital firms, Massachusetts legislators have once again declined to restrict the use of non-competition agreements in the state. Employers use those contracts to ensure their workers won’t jump … Continue reading “MA Won’t Change Noncompete Law, VCs Pledge to Continue Campaign”
New Leaf CEO: “The Vision Hasn’t Changed” as Payment Tech Heats Up
The checkout counter at your neighborhood hangout has become one of the hottest pieces of real estate in technology. Younger companies like Square and Groupon are pushing digital cash registers based on the iPad, and the software that goes along with them. Heavyweights like PayPal, Amazon, and Google are in the mix too, with digital … Continue reading “New Leaf CEO: “The Vision Hasn’t Changed” as Payment Tech Heats Up”
Zillow, Trulia Deal Means Fewer Competitors in Online Real Estate
Online real estate marketplace Zillow made good on the rumors today, announcing the $3.5 billion all-stock purchase of its major rival, San Francisco-based Trulia. The news was mostly sunshine and synergy in the corporate announcement and New York Times coverage. “We’ve been competitors and rivals for nine years, but I’ve always had respect for them,” … Continue reading “Zillow, Trulia Deal Means Fewer Competitors in Online Real Estate”
Boston Tech Deals: TripAdvisor, PTC, Karmaloop, Intigua
Here are a handful of tech-industry financing and acquisition deals that went down this week, from travel and industrial software to IT and e-commerce: —TripAdvisor, the Newton, MA-based online travel site conglomerate, is making another acquisition. TripAdvisor says it’s spending about $200 million, mostly in cash, for online travel-booking company Viator. TripAdvisor says San Francisco-based … Continue reading “Boston Tech Deals: TripAdvisor, PTC, Karmaloop, Intigua”
Venture Capital Had a Great 2013—But Public Markets Were Still Better
In an industry obsessed with creating the next big thing, it can be easy to forget that a lot of big ideas simply crash and burn. So here’s a little reminder: Last year, American venture capitalists put together their best annual performance since 1999. But it still wasn’t good enough to beat the public stock … Continue reading “Venture Capital Had a Great 2013—But Public Markets Were Still Better”
Which Boston VCs Write the Most Checks in Their Own Backyard?
When longtime Boston venture capital firm CRV recently announced it was focusing more intensely on West Coast companies for its newest fund, we took a look at the history and showed that it had been sending its money to California for quite some time. But we also wondered how other notable VC firms in Boston would … Continue reading “Which Boston VCs Write the Most Checks in Their Own Backyard?”
Boston Tech Roundup: Care.com, Plastiq, DraftKings
Here’s a trio of deals that popped up around the Boston area this week, ranging from a public Web company to smaller startups: —Care.com, a publicly traded online marketplace for nannies and other caregivers, has acquired a consumer e-commerce company. Care.com says it is paying $31 million up front in cash and stock for Citrus … Continue reading “Boston Tech Roundup: Care.com, Plastiq, DraftKings”
NextView Ventures Doubles Size With $40M Second Seed-VC Fund
The surge of seed-stage investments in technology startups over the past few years has meant a pileup of companies not making it past the “Series A crunch.” And some observers are predicting the same thing will eventually happen with seed-stage venture capital funds. One Boston-based seed firm is among those surviving to write more checks. … Continue reading “NextView Ventures Doubles Size With $40M Second Seed-VC Fund”
The Microsoft Job Cuts That Really Matter: 5,500 Non-Nokia Layoffs
Microsoft’s largest-ever layoffs seem like a massive change in direction by new CEO Satya Nadella, who is leading an overdue corporate makeover at the pioneering technology company. But the smaller numbers tell the real story, and we’re not entirely sure what that means just yet. The headline for today’s layoff announcement is Microsoft cutting up … Continue reading “The Microsoft Job Cuts That Really Matter: 5,500 Non-Nokia Layoffs”
The Name Is New, But CRV’s Money Moved to California Years Ago
With its new $393 million investment fund secured, longtime Boston venture capital firm Charles River Ventures is making its love affair with the West Coast official. As partner Jon Auerbach noted in a blog post, the firm’s 16th fund represents the first time that the majority of its investing team is based in the San … Continue reading “The Name Is New, But CRV’s Money Moved to California Years Ago”
Pay-for-Parking App Haystack to Launch in Boston Despite City Ban
[Updated 5:15 pm with reaction, comment] Boston’s city government is not budging in its regulatory stare-down with a startup that lets drivers pay for access to public parking spots. But the company is forging ahead anyway. Haystack, a Baltimore, MD-based startup, plans to start operating in Boston on Thursday. It has scheduled a launch party … Continue reading “Pay-for-Parking App Haystack to Launch in Boston Despite City Ban”
Boston Tech Deals: Erecruit, Procyon, Robin, Canary
We’ve got tech companies raising money, a small startup’s team joining a big tech name, and a new mini-VC fund in this week’s collection of Boston-area news briefs: —Erecruit, a Boston-based developer of software for professional staffing companies, has raised $25 million in its first institutional investment round. North Bridge Growth Equity led the investment. … Continue reading “Boston Tech Deals: Erecruit, Procyon, Robin, Canary”
Road Test: Ministry of Supply’s High-Tech Shirts Hold Up In the Heat
Summer in the Northeast leaves its mark everywhere you look. For men, that means plenty of glistening forearms, grubby necks, and painterly splotches on the backs of shirts. We’re talking about sweat here. And if you’re walking more than a couple of blocks in any city with a hot, humid climate, you’re going to have … Continue reading “Road Test: Ministry of Supply’s High-Tech Shirts Hold Up In the Heat”
Boston Tech Roundup: CRV, Gridco, Luminoso, Smart Lunches
Venture firms and startups have been closing fundraising deals left and right in the past week: —Charles River Ventures has raised $393 million for its 16th venture fund, according to an SEC filing. The firm, with offices in Cambridge, MA and Menlo Park, CA, previously raised a $375 million fund in February 2012. Charles River … Continue reading “Boston Tech Roundup: CRV, Gridco, Luminoso, Smart Lunches”
Boston Tech Roundup: MassChallenge, True Fit, SmashFly, & More
Here’s a collection of fundraising headlines that surfaced around the Boston-area technology scene in the past week, from cleantech companies and startup accelerators to enterprise software, e-commerce tools, and more: —Next Step Living, a Boston-based company that aids homeowners with energy-efficiency retrofits, has raised a $25 million Series D investment. The round was led by … Continue reading “Boston Tech Roundup: MassChallenge, True Fit, SmashFly, & More”
Calm Down: Aereo’s Supreme Court Loss Isn’t Chaos for Cloud Tech
After the U.S. Supreme Court smacked down online TV service Aereo for violating copyright law, worries instantly sprung up that the justices were putting a huge array of Internet and cloud-computing services at risk of similar treatment. That torch was carried highest by Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote for the court’s three-person minority that the Aereo … Continue reading “Calm Down: Aereo’s Supreme Court Loss Isn’t Chaos for Cloud Tech”
MA Warns Ride-Sharing, Car-Sharing Drivers of Insurance Risks
Changes in the transportation sector are happening pretty fast these days, spurred by the wide availability of smartphones and richly funded startups with a new take on old-school taxi and car rental services. That’s meant clashes with local regulators, established competitors, and even the startups’ own drivers. And lately, a seemingly dry topic has become … Continue reading “MA Warns Ride-Sharing, Car-Sharing Drivers of Insurance Risks”
Medical Software Maker Imprivata Raises $66.3M in IPO
The Boston-area tech industry saw another company graduate to the public markets on Wednesday with Imprivata’s IPO, which netted the healthcare software provider an estimated $66.3 million. Imprivata shares (NYSE: [[ticker:IMPR]]) traded slightly higher in early market activity, which is a good sign that the company and its earlier investors didn’t leave too much money … Continue reading “Medical Software Maker Imprivata Raises $66.3M in IPO”