Snapette was supposed to be an unusual way for Sarah Paiji to spend the summer between her two years at Harvard Business School. It was a mobile app idea she started working on last winter with Harvard alum Jinhee Ahn Kim, aimed at enabling women to better share and find fashion products in brick-and-mortar stores. … Continue reading “Social Shopping App Snapette’s “Unexpected” Journey Takes It To NY”
Author: Erin Kutz
Erin Kutz has a background in covering business, politics and general news. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Boston University. Erin previously worked in the Boston bureau of Reuters, where she wrote articles on the investment management and mutual fund industries. While in college, she researched for USA Today reporter Jayne O’Donnell’s book, Gen Buy: How Tweens, Teens and Twenty-Somethings Are Revolutionizing Retail. She also spent a semester in Washington, DC, reporting Capitol Hill stories as a correspondent for two Connecticut newspapers and interning in the Money section of USA Today, where she assisted with coverage on the retail and small business beats. Erin got her first taste of reporting at Boston University’s independent student newspaper, as a city section reporter and fact checker and editor of the paper’s weekly business section.
Avila, iRobot, Verastem, Illume, & More Boston Deal News
This week’s deal news covered a breadth of sectors: biotech, medical devices, mobile applications, software, and robotics. Not to mention a major venture capital fund raise. —Waltham, MA-based drugmaker Avila Therapeutics was bought by New Jersey-based Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) for $350 million, with as much as another $575 million available in milestones. Avila is a … Continue reading “Avila, iRobot, Verastem, Illume, & More Boston Deal News”
Vsnap Building Business on Vision of “Ubiquitous” Video Messaging
The blow from getting a higher-than-expected bill from someone like your lawyer could be softened it if came attached to a 60-second video message explaining the special things he or she actually did in detail. At least, that’s what Dave McLaughlin thinks—and he’s building his new startup Vsnap around the idea. McLaughlin has been around … Continue reading “Vsnap Building Business on Vision of “Ubiquitous” Video Messaging”
ConforMIS Adds $89M to Expand Sales, Manufacturing, Technology
Burlington, MA-based ConforMIS, a medical device company with a newly FDA approved knee replacement system, announced today that it has secured $89 million in a Series E investment. The money comes from London-based AGC Equity Partners, New York-based Axel Johnson, government investment funds from Asia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as other private … Continue reading “ConforMIS Adds $89M to Expand Sales, Manufacturing, Technology”
Millennium, Vertex, Avila, & More Boston Life Sciences Newsmakers
It was a busy news week in the New England life sciences scene, with acquisitions, clinical data, and partnership deals. —Thanks to a new co-promotion deal, Genzyme will begin marketing a diagnostic test for thyroid cancer developed by South San Francisco-based Veracyte. Genzyme, the Cambridge, MA-based unit of Sanofi (NYSE: [[ticker:SNY]]) makes a common drug … Continue reading “Millennium, Vertex, Avila, & More Boston Life Sciences Newsmakers”
Xconomist of the Week: Mark Lowenstein on Mobile’s Next Waves
Mark Lowenstein has made some pretty bold statements about what’s going to happen in the wireless industry this year. More mergers and acquisitions among mobile operators. Same goes for the handset makers. Mobile payments won’t take off just yet. And enterprises may have jumped the gun on tablets. Lowenstein, a Verizon Wireless veteran and now … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Mark Lowenstein on Mobile’s Next Waves”
Constant Contact, Bluefin Labs, HP, & More Boston Dealmakers
An acquisition and startup financings made up the New England deals news this week. —Waltham, MA-based marketing software firm Constant Contact acquired the Boston startup CardStar, the developer of a mobile app for customer loyalty and rewards programs. The deal, whose terms were undisclosed, enables Constant Contact (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTCT]]) to expand its marketing offerings for … Continue reading “Constant Contact, Bluefin Labs, HP, & More Boston Dealmakers”
Intrepid Labs: Boston’s Newest Co-Working Spot for Maturing Startups
Boston has no place for “serious, venture-backed startups” to grow from five employees to 25 employees, akin to San Francisco’s RocketSpace, or New York City’s General Assembly, says Mark Kasdorf. Enter Intrepid Labs, the co-working space he recently established in the former digs of another co-working space (Dogpatch Labs) at 222 Third Street near Kendall … Continue reading “Intrepid Labs: Boston’s Newest Co-Working Spot for Maturing Startups”
Apptopia Hopes to Bring Broker Flair To Mobile App Marketplace
The vast majority of mobile applications in the marketplace aren’t coming from well-established businesses, but experimental developers. The apps can even accrue a good user following, but those developers don’t exactly have the skills or desire to build a business around their creations. “It’s laughable how many times I’ve heard, ‘I didn’t get into this … Continue reading “Apptopia Hopes to Bring Broker Flair To Mobile App Marketplace”
OpenView Labs Aims to Prime Portfolio Companies for Big Growth
“Money is money, anyone can do that,” says Brian Zimmerman, managing director of Boston-based OpenView Venture Partners. Go on. “We have this idea of providing real value to our portfolio companies. If we’re going to call ourselves partners, we really need to be partners.” he says. Plenty of venture capitalists say they like to take … Continue reading “OpenView Labs Aims to Prime Portfolio Companies for Big Growth”
Flagship, Joule, Constellation, and More of The Week’s Boston Dealmakers
Web startups, venture firms, life sciences companies, and a biofuels developer rounded out the deals news this week. —Cambridge, MA-based Flagship Ventures announced it had closed a $270 million fund, surpassing the $250 million it had originally targeted for its fourth fund. —Extreme Reach, a Needham, MA-based startup developing cloud storage technology for delivering video … Continue reading “Flagship, Joule, Constellation, and More of The Week’s Boston Dealmakers”
What Should Students Study? Read the Xconomist Report on Education
Yesterday Bob told you about a special report we put together by canvassing the Xconomists—some of the world’s leading innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors—for their thoughts on what students should study to be prepared for the future. Well, the report is now live, here, with 22 thought-provoking responses. Computing, the scientific method, culture, Chinese, and how to start … Continue reading “What Should Students Study? Read the Xconomist Report on Education”
Joule Socks Away $70M For New Mexico Green Fuel Facility
Joule Unlimited, a biofuels startup located in Bedford, MA, announced today that it has pocketed $70 million in financing to put toward a facility underway in Hobbs, NM, that will demonstrate Joule’s process for converting sunlight and carbon dioxide into fuels such as diesel and ethanol. The new money brings Joule’s funding total to more … Continue reading “Joule Socks Away $70M For New Mexico Green Fuel Facility”
The Boston Life Sciences Newsmakers: Civitas, Blend, Forma, & More
Development deals, clinical advances, startup funding, and new hires made up the New England life sciences news this week. —Chelsea, MA-based Civitas Therapeutics, a spinout from the Waltham, MA, biotech Alkermes (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALKS]]), said that its inhaled form of the Parkinson’s disease drug L-dopa performed well in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The study aimed … Continue reading “The Boston Life Sciences Newsmakers: Civitas, Blend, Forma, & More”
LogMeIn, Safari, Forma, And More Behind the Boston-Area Deals News
Boston area software and life sciences startups are starting off the new year right with a slew of financing, acquisitions, and partnerships news. —Marlborough, MA-based Physicians Interactive Holdings received a $17 million pledge from Merck Global Health Innovation Fund to develop Web and mobile apps for connecting physicians and life sciences companies. —Repeat biotech entrepreneurs Bob … Continue reading “LogMeIn, Safari, Forma, And More Behind the Boston-Area Deals News”
With a Fresh $17M, Pyxis Mobile Pivots Business and Rebrands as Verivo
For almost two years, Pyxis Mobile has been restructuring its business to sell platforms for mobile app development, but was lacking the capital to make the switch official, says CEO Steven Levy. That’s over now, with Waltham, MA-based Pyxis announcing today that it has socked away $17 million in new funding and has rebranded as … Continue reading “With a Fresh $17M, Pyxis Mobile Pivots Business and Rebrands as Verivo”
Par8o, from Sermo Founders, Aims to be Patient-Physician Matchmakers
[Updated 1/11/12 5:15 pm. See below.] “Sermo has been my baby, my blood and tears,” its former CEO Daniel Palestrant told me in a phone call last week. So it was pretty shocking last week when news surfaced that the founder of the Cambridge, MA-based online community for doctors was moving onto a new Web … Continue reading “Par8o, from Sermo Founders, Aims to be Patient-Physician Matchmakers”
Alnylam, Aveo, Biogen, & More Boston Life Sciences Newsmakers
Clinical trial results and drug collaborators made up the New England life sciences news this week. —New Jersey-based drugmaker Merck announced backing a few Boston-area companies in the past few weeks. Its Global Health Innovation Fund led a $10 million financing for Cambridge, MA-based Daktari Diagnostics, a developer of technology for testing small quantities of blood and … Continue reading “Alnylam, Aveo, Biogen, & More Boston Life Sciences Newsmakers”
FirstFuel Software Selected for DoD Energy Efficiency Initiative
Lexington, MA-based FirstFuel Software is among a crop of experimental energy projects picked to help the Department of Defense curb its energy output across military installations, the company announced yesterday. The startup was one of 27 teams selected as part of the DoD’s Installation Energy Test Bed initiative, a program designed to help emerging energy technologies … Continue reading “FirstFuel Software Selected for DoD Energy Efficiency Initiative”
Report: Sermo Founders Off to New Company
Founders of Sermo, the Cambridge, MA-based provider of an online community for physicians, are off to a new health-focused Web startup. The news was first reported today at online publication Pharmalot, which noted Sermo CEO Daniel Palestrant’s departure. Sermo founder and chief medical officer Adam Sharp is also a founder of the new startup, Par8o, according to … Continue reading “Report: Sermo Founders Off to New Company”
Xconomy is Looking for a Digital Media Intern to Join Our Cambridge Offices
Hey intern hopefuls, have you been on the hunt for a sweet media gig for the new semester? You’re in luck. Xconomy is looking for a rockstar intern to help out with a mix of editorial, social media, and event-related projects we’re initiating in the new year. On top of gaining professional Web and news … Continue reading “Xconomy is Looking for a Digital Media Intern to Join Our Cambridge Offices”
Smart Destinations Out to Make Big City Tourist Travel Family-Friendly
Boston has a pretty well-known cluster of tech companies—young and old—that are focused on aspects of travel like booking flights and hotels. Kayak, TripAdvisor, and ITA Software (now part of Google), just to name a few, fit that mold. But there’s another area player that’s helping customers to experience a city once they get there, … Continue reading “Smart Destinations Out to Make Big City Tourist Travel Family-Friendly”
Momenta, Baxter Team Up on Biosimilars
Illinois-based Baxter International (NYSE: [[ticker:BAX]]) is tapping into Cambridge, MA-based Momenta Pharmaceuticals’ abilities as a generic drugmaker in a new collaboration deal focused on developing so-called biosimilars, or knockoffs of biologic drugs. Momenta (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MNTA]]) will receive $33 million upfront in the deal, according to an announcement yesterday, and could receive another $419 million in potential milestones … Continue reading “Momenta, Baxter Team Up on Biosimilars”
Millennium, Metamark, Amgen, & More Boston Life Sciences Headlines
Big drug collaborations and acquisitions took the spotlight in the New England life sciences news pool this week. —Coronado Biosciences, which moved from New York to Burlington, MA, this past August, debuted on the Nasdaq stock exchange, with an opening share price of $6.50 on Monday. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CNDO]]) went public not through a conventional … Continue reading “Millennium, Metamark, Amgen, & More Boston Life Sciences Headlines”
PatientKeeper Inks $6M, Promotes Hazard to Chairman
Waltham, MA-based health IT company PatientKeeper announced today that it has added $6 million in growth financing, from Flybridge Capital Partners, New Enterprise Associates and Whitney & Company. The company, which makes software for improving patient care and physician workflow, said the new money will go to product development and the expansion of its professional … Continue reading “PatientKeeper Inks $6M, Promotes Hazard to Chairman”
Boston-Power Adds $30M to Bring Venture Funding Pot to $346M
Anyone who says cleantech companies are having a tough time raising money should take a look at Boston-Power. The Westborough, MA-based advanced lithium-ion battery maker is announcing today that it’s taken in $30 million in equity funding, just three months after announcing a massive $125 million Series F funding round. The company has now attracted … Continue reading “Boston-Power Adds $30M to Bring Venture Funding Pot to $346M”
IBM Gets Emptoris, Nuance Buys Vlingo, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Acquisitions and IPO announcements dominated the deals news in New England this week. —Boston-based Third Rock Ventures put $34 million in Series A funding into Ember Therapeutics, a startup that’s developing drugs to fight obesity in a new way. Ember, also of Boston, is harnessing new understanding of the bodily tissue known as brown fat, … Continue reading “IBM Gets Emptoris, Nuance Buys Vlingo, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Nuance’s Vlingo Purchase Seen As Survival Move Against Apple, Google
It’s hard to believe that two companies that have spent the last three years suing each other really mean it when they say that together they will be stronger. I’m talking about speech recognition competitors Cambridge, MA-based Vlingo and Burlington, MA-based Nuance Communications. The two software makers announced Tuesday that Nuance would acquire the younger, … Continue reading “Nuance’s Vlingo Purchase Seen As Survival Move Against Apple, Google”
After Years of Legal Battles, Vlingo to Be Acquired by Nuance
Cambridge, MA-based voice-to-text tech startup Vlingo, which just three months ago charged Nuance Communications with unfair competition, commercial bribery, breach of contract, and intentional interference with prospective business relationships, is being acquired by the Burlington, MA-based speech software giant, according to an announcement today. Nuance (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]) and Vlingo, which develops speech-recognition technology for cell … Continue reading “After Years of Legal Battles, Vlingo to Be Acquired by Nuance”
Vertex, Ariad, Alnylam, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences Newsmakers
New England saw a flurry of life sciences news this week, from venture firms, new startups, and established biotechs. —Boston-based Avila Therapeutics presented data at the American Society of Hematology from early human trials of its lead cancer drug, AVL-292, which is on track to enter more extensive Phase 2 trials next year. This compound, … Continue reading “Vertex, Ariad, Alnylam, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences Newsmakers”
Swipely Expands Card-Linked Customer Loyalty Program to Boston
Providence, RI-based Swipely is kicking off a discount program in Boston that it says will give shoppers discounts and earn local merchants a more loyal, consistent customer base. Swipely first got started as a platform that enabled consumers to broadcast and review purchases they made on their debit and credit cards, but switched its focus … Continue reading “Swipely Expands Card-Linked Customer Loyalty Program to Boston”
Kinvey, Zink, ImmusanT, and More of this Week’s Boston Dealmakers
IT and life sciences companies around New England shared the deals news pool this week. —Zink pinned down $35 million in a Series B round led by Genii Capital. The Bedford, MA-based company, whose name stands for “zero ink,” is developing technology for inkless printers that can connect to devices like digital cameras. Zink also … Continue reading “Kinvey, Zink, ImmusanT, and More of this Week’s Boston Dealmakers”
ImmusanT, Developing Celiac Disease Treatments, Closes $20M Series A
Cambridge, MA-based ImmusanT, a new biotech working on therapies targeting celiac disease, announced today that it has wrapped up $20 million in Series A financing from New York-based Vatera Healthcare Partners. The money will go to development of ImmusanT’s vaccine and diagnostic and monitoring tool for patients with celiac disease, a condition that is normally … Continue reading “ImmusanT, Developing Celiac Disease Treatments, Closes $20M Series A”
Fiksu Releases Service to Make Paid Mobile Apps Free for Consumers
Boston-based Fiksu, a startup focused on mobile app marketing, is introducing a new service today that it says will get consumers paid mobile apps for free, while still bringing mobile app developers revenue and traffic. The service, FreeMyApps, allows consumers to rack up credits by trying free, mostly advertising-supported apps from select sponsors, and then … Continue reading “Fiksu Releases Service to Make Paid Mobile Apps Free for Consumers”
LifeImage Wraps Up $8M in New Funding
[Updated 12/9/11 at 11:45 am. See below.] LifeImage, a Newton, MA-based startup that develops technology for sharing digital medical images via the Internet cloud, has taken in $8 million in new equity-based funding, according to a document filed with the SEC. In January LifeImage boosted its Series B financing to $12 million, with money from Stamford, CT-based … Continue reading “LifeImage Wraps Up $8M in New Funding”
EnVivo, Biogen, Momenta, & Other Boston-Area Life Sciences Newsmakers
Drugs, conglomerates, medical nutrition companies, and biotechs dominated the New England life sciences news this week. —EnVivo Pharmaceuticals of Watertown, MA, said its experimental schizophrenia drug EVP-6124 demonstrated statistically significant improvements in patient cognitive function in a Phase 2b study. Patients also demonstrated improvements in what are known as negative schizophrenia symptoms, such as inability … Continue reading “EnVivo, Biogen, Momenta, & Other Boston-Area Life Sciences Newsmakers”
Cambrooke Foods Aims to Help Nourish Patients with Metabolic Disorders
Ayer, MA-based Cambrooke Foods might be a bit deceiving on the surface. It is not a maker of packaged foods the average shopper would pick up at the grocery store. And its founders have no background in the food, health, or nutrition industries. Cambrooke’s founders, David and Lynn Paolella, come from architecture and jeweler backgrounds, … Continue reading “Cambrooke Foods Aims to Help Nourish Patients with Metabolic Disorders”
Qualcomm, uTest, Progress, & Others Inking Boston Deals This Week
Acquisitions and big venture financings made up the deals news for New England-area software and IT companies in the past week. —Retroficiency, a Boston-based maker of energy efficiency software, raised $3.3 million in a funding round from Point Judith Capital and acquired the energy efficiency division of one of the venture firm’s other portfolio companies, … Continue reading “Qualcomm, uTest, Progress, & Others Inking Boston Deals This Week”
25 Photos from Xconomy’s 6×6: Six Cities, Six Big Tech Ideas
What exactly does 6×6 come out to? A half-day of understanding a bit more about how geniuses run companies; listening to innovators share new ways to tackle Web publishing, marketing, travel search, cloud IT, unmanned aerial vehicles, and more; and catching on to new startups. Oh, plus some very high-quality networking. That’s what we saw … Continue reading “25 Photos from Xconomy’s 6×6: Six Cities, Six Big Tech Ideas”
UTest, Boosted by Surge in Mobile App Development, Inks $17M
UTest, a Southborough, MA-based startup that crowdsources testing for software applications, said today that it has raised a $17 million Series D financing, at a company valuation that more than doubled since uTest’s last funding round 15 months ago. Baltimore, MD-based QuestMark Partners led the investment, which also included all existing uTest investors: Scale Venture … Continue reading “UTest, Boosted by Surge in Mobile App Development, Inks $17M”
Infinity, Idera, Civitas, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences Headlines
Medical device makers, drug developers, charity foundations, and health IT startups rounded out the New England life sciences news pot this week. —Cambridge, MA-based MedicalRecords.com is raising $500,000 to put toward the development of its website, which connects sellers of electronic medical records software with doctors looking to adopt the technology. —Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, a New … Continue reading “Infinity, Idera, Civitas, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences Headlines”
Game Lab, From Bocoup and Atlas, Looks to Fund Open Web Game Developers
Big video games studios are a bit old school, with everything from game design, production, execution, and financing done in house, says Boaz Sender, a JavaScript programmer at the Boston-based Web consulting firm Bocoup. But they’re about to go the way that the old Hollywood movie studios did, he says, by outsourcing many of the … Continue reading “Game Lab, From Bocoup and Atlas, Looks to Fund Open Web Game Developers”
Rib-X, Skyhook, Michael J. Fox Foundation & More Boston-Area Deals News
The holiday weekend didn’t seem to slow New England deals making down. —MedicalRecords, a Cambridge, MA-based startup connecting doctors with sellers of health record software, is working on raising its first outside funding round. It’s got about 60 percent of a targeted $500,000 round committed, from investors like Ty Danco and Peter Bordes. —New Haven, … Continue reading “Rib-X, Skyhook, Michael J. Fox Foundation & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Nanigans Aims to Offer Up-to-Minute Insight for Facebook Ad Campaigns
Serial entrepreneur Ric Calvillo had planned to stay away from enterprise customers with his newest venture. He’s now CEO of Nanigans, a Boston-based startup that offers a Facebook advertising platform for enterprise customers with a couple thousand dollars to spend a day on online ads. Oops. “We’re scaling right now with large accounts,” he says. … Continue reading “Nanigans Aims to Offer Up-to-Minute Insight for Facebook Ad Campaigns”
MedicalRecords.com Looks to Cash In on Health Software “Gold Rush”
What exactly is MedicalRecords.com? A health database? A doctors’ community? An encyclopedia site? Not exactly. It’s a lead generation startup for the electronic medical records sector. Sound boring or cryptic? Here’s why it’s not. The U.S. government set aside about $27 billion through 2009’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to incentivize doctors to move patient … Continue reading “MedicalRecords.com Looks to Cash In on Health Software “Gold Rush””
Allena Kicks Off With $15M, Security Firms Ink Funding, TeraDiode Takes In $10M, & More Boston-Area Deals News
New England startups working on drugs, security software, robots, laser weapons (seriously), and mobile fitness applications have reported a bundle of deals this week heading into Thanksgiving. —Newton, MA-based Allena Pharmaceuticals, a new startup targeting protein therapeutics, premiered with a $15 million Series A financing. The funding came from Third Rock Ventures, Frazier Healthcare, and … Continue reading “Allena Kicks Off With $15M, Security Firms Ink Funding, TeraDiode Takes In $10M, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
FitnessKeeper Inks $10M Investment to Develop “Consumer Health Platform”
FitnessKeeper, the Boston-based startup known for its RunKeeper mobile app, is announcing today that it has pulled in a $10 million funding round, led by new investor Spark Capital, with participation from existing investor O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures (OATV) and new investor Revolution Ventures. The money will go towards helping the company, whose RunKeeper app tracks users’ … Continue reading “FitnessKeeper Inks $10M Investment to Develop “Consumer Health Platform””
Aileron Expands Roche Deal, Agios Gets $78M, Genzyme MS Drug Advances, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
Clinical data, startup financings, and collaborations, oh my. It’s been a busy New England life sciences news week. —Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme revealed that its experimental multiple sclerosis treatment, alemtuzumab (Lemtrada), significantly reduced relapses and disability in a Phase 3 trial where it was tested head-to-head against Rebif, a form of interferon sold by EMD Serono and … Continue reading “Aileron Expands Roche Deal, Agios Gets $78M, Genzyme MS Drug Advances, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
FirstFuel’s Analytics Software Looks to Help Utilities Better Spend the Billions Allocated for Energy Efficiency
“Utilities have a big problem,” says Swapnil Shah, CEO and co-founder of Waltham, MA-based FirstFuel Software. “They have a big pile of money they have to spend to achieve certain goals,” he continues. “If they don’t achieve it, they get penalized by the state.” The goal is to increase home and commercial energy efficiency so … Continue reading “FirstFuel’s Analytics Software Looks to Help Utilities Better Spend the Billions Allocated for Energy Efficiency”
Shareholic Snaps Up Seed Money, Avaxia Inks $2.2M, RapidBuyr Buys BizDeals, & More Boston-Area Deals News
It’s been a quieter deals news week around New England, but Web software and drug developers have been reporting new financings and acquisitions. —Collabor, a Maynard, MA-based maker of collaboration software for businesses, is working on raising its first outside funding round from a group of area angel investors, according to CEO and founder Sandeep … Continue reading “Shareholic Snaps Up Seed Money, Avaxia Inks $2.2M, RapidBuyr Buys BizDeals, & More Boston-Area Deals News”