Here’s some potentially big news in the world of Internet TV. This tech sector is dominated by giants—think Comcast, Verizon, Cisco, Microsoft, Netflix—but that doesn’t mean a smaller company can’t play with the big boys. That company would be Azuki Systems, based in Acton, MA. The five-year-old startup has rolled out new software this week … Continue reading “As TV Wars Grow, Azuki Expands Video Delivery Tech to First Screen”
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
CustomMade, SageCloud Raise Series Bs in Commerce, Storage
A busy morning for Series B tech financings already… —Cambridge, MA-based CustomMade has pulled in $18 million led by new investor Atlas Venture and previous investor Google Ventures. That brings the company’s total raised to more than $24 million, by my count. CustomMade runs an online marketplace that connects consumers with regional makers of furniture, … Continue reading “CustomMade, SageCloud Raise Series Bs in Commerce, Storage”
Startup Tips from Twitter Boston’s Wayne Chang at XSITE 6/19
The mysterious Wayne Chang won’t tell me much these days, but he’s got a message for Boston-area startups: Talk about distribution. If you’re a software startup, he says, your product is obviously important. But equally important is figuring out how to get people to use your product—and spread the gospel to others. That’s one of … Continue reading “Startup Tips from Twitter Boston’s Wayne Chang at XSITE 6/19”
Miguel de Icaza, Wayne Chang, Founders’ Stories, & Blackjack: XSITE June 19
Just under two weeks to go before our blowout event of the year: XSITE 2013: Boston’s Tech Revival at Babson College on Wednesday, June 19. (Full agenda here.) Tom Leighton, the CEO and co-founder of Akamai, will set the table with a historical perspective on Kendall Square and the Boston-area tech community, followed by a … Continue reading “Miguel de Icaza, Wayne Chang, Founders’ Stories, & Blackjack: XSITE June 19”
Prime Student Loan Leads New Pack of Entrants in Education Finance
It’s June, which means school is just getting out. For new college grads (and post-grads), that means the pain of paying back student loans is just about to begin. Student loans are a busy topic lately. The total debt and default rates in the industry are sky-high. President Obama has been sparring with Congress over … Continue reading “Prime Student Loan Leads New Pack of Entrants in Education Finance”
InsightSquared Gets $8M to Continue (Boring) Business Intelligence Growth
A few weeks ago, Fred Shilmover, the CEO and co-founder of InsightSquared, gave the most boring interview I’ve done all year. In this case, that’s a good thing. The Cambridge, MA-based business-intelligence startup is announcing $8 million in Series B funding today, led by new investor Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Previous investor Atlas Venture also participated … Continue reading “InsightSquared Gets $8M to Continue (Boring) Business Intelligence Growth”
Top 20 Under-the-Radar Trends in Innovation
What’s the most important trend in innovation that nobody is talking about? We at Xconomy reached out across our national network of innovation leaders (the Xconomists) to get some answers to this question, and to spur some intercity discussion. What we got back was astounding for its diversity and depth. And while it’s no longer … Continue reading “Top 20 Under-the-Radar Trends in Innovation”
Skyhook CEO Jeff Glass on Growth, Google, & the Glitz of Indoor Location
As an entrepreneur and a venture capitalist, Jeff Glass has seen his share of challenging companies. Now he faces perhaps his greatest task, as he leads Boston mobile-tech stalwart Skyhook through the perilous world of location technology. Back in December, Glass took the reins from longtime Skyhook CEO Ted Morgan, the company’s co-founder (who remains … Continue reading “Skyhook CEO Jeff Glass on Growth, Google, & the Glitz of Indoor Location”
Redstar Building “New Retail Channel” Startup Led by Former Krush CEO
Sounds like it’s business as usual at Redstar this summer. So look out, startup world. Redstar, based in Cambridge, MA, has always been a little different. It’s not an incubator. It’s not a venture firm. It calls itself a venture “foundry” (though I’m not sure that label will stick). The 20-person company got started in … Continue reading “Redstar Building “New Retail Channel” Startup Led by Former Krush CEO”
Digital Lumens, Finding Its Identity, Brings Cost & Energy Savings to Light
Among local startups, Digital Lumens is a different kind of animal. It’s a hardware company. It’s a networking software company. It’s an energy-efficiency company. It’s an LED and “smart lighting” company. So what is it? Well, all of the above. Interestingly, Brian Chemel, a co-founder of the Boston startup, penned an op-ed earlier this year … Continue reading “Digital Lumens, Finding Its Identity, Brings Cost & Energy Savings to Light”
CommonAngels Pledges 20 Startup Tix for XSITE June 19: Get Yours Here
With just under a month to go before our fifth annual XSITE conference at Babson College (agenda here), we’re pleased to announce that CommonAngels has pledged to buy 20 tickets for startups looking to attend—see below for details. (CommonAngels is an investor in Xconomy.) This year’s event features top speakers including Akamai CEO Tom Leighton, … Continue reading “CommonAngels Pledges 20 Startup Tix for XSITE June 19: Get Yours Here”
Swipely Swipes $12M More to Advance “Operating System for Local Commerce”
Don’t look now, but Swipely is becoming a big player. The Providence, RI-based startup led by Angus Davis (of Tellme Networks fame) has just raised $12 million in Series B funding led by Shasta Ventures. Previous investors First Round Capital, Greylock Partners, and Index Ventures also participated in the round, which is one of the … Continue reading “Swipely Swipes $12M More to Advance “Operating System for Local Commerce””
Andy Miller on Leap Motion as the New Apple, & Sacramento Kings Deal
I’m on the phone with Andy Miller, and I don’t know where to begin. Ask him about working with Steve Jobs at Apple? About how Leap Motion may or may not be the next Apple? Or what about how that $348 million deal to buy the Sacramento Kings went down? Miller is driving in his … Continue reading “Andy Miller on Leap Motion as the New Apple, & Sacramento Kings Deal”
The Daily Grommet Leads Wave of “Anti-Amazon” E-Commerce in Boston
First of all, the company is no longer called the Daily Grommet. Now it’s just The Grommet. “We still execute daily,” says CEO Jules Pieri, “but we dropped the word because it seemed to be superfluous.” She adds, “We love what ‘grommet’ represents, a humble piece of hardware that makes things better.” The company’s mission? … Continue reading “The Daily Grommet Leads Wave of “Anti-Amazon” E-Commerce in Boston”
Dyn, FitnessKeeper, HeyWire CEOs Join XSITE June 19: Here’s the Agenda
Just a little over a month to go before our fifth annual flagship conference, XSITE 2013 (Xconomy Summit on Innovation, Technology, & Entrepreneurship) at Babson College. The date is June 19, the theme is “Boston’s Tech Revival,” and the agenda is here. You can still register for the event (be sure to note our student … Continue reading “Dyn, FitnessKeeper, HeyWire CEOs Join XSITE June 19: Here’s the Agenda”
Walt Doyle, Former CEO of Where, Leaves PayPal: What’s Next?
A prominent leader in the tech-startup community is moving on. Walt Doyle, the longtime CEO of Where, which was acquired by PayPal in April 2011, has left the company as of today. Doyle served as general manager of PayPal Media Network after the acquisition. It has been two years since the deal, so Doyle’s departure … Continue reading “Walt Doyle, Former CEO of Where, Leaves PayPal: What’s Next?”
Dyn Gets More Mobile with Trendslide Analytics Acquisition
It’s time to catch up with Dyn. You know, the once-bootstrapped tech dynamo from Manchester, NH, which raised a big venture round last fall and has been making some acquisitions as of late. Today the Web infrastructure company said it has acquired fellow New Hampshire firm Trendslide, a business-analytics startup focused on mobile apps. No … Continue reading “Dyn Gets More Mobile with Trendslide Analytics Acquisition”
How Boston Tech Will Lead the World: Find Out at XSITE June 19
It’s as simple as A, B, C. Akamai. Actifio. BzzAgent. Bolt. Crashlytics. Crunchbutton… The list goes on and on, filled with Boston-area companies of old and new. The common theme? They have laid a strong foundation for the tech community to come together and embrace its strengths—and its challenges—as it seeks to lead the business … Continue reading “How Boston Tech Will Lead the World: Find Out at XSITE June 19”
Out of Bezos’s Shadow: 7 Startup Secrets from Amazon’s Andy Jassy
If you want to understand Amazon’s culture of innovation—and the lessons it holds for startups, big companies, and the tech world at large—you could do a lot worse than talk to Andy Jassy. Jassy is senior vice president of Amazon Web Services (AWS). In his 16 years at the Seattle-based Internet giant (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]), he … Continue reading “Out of Bezos’s Shadow: 7 Startup Secrets from Amazon’s Andy Jassy”
From U.S. Beachhead, MediaTek Faces Qualcomm & Other Mobile Giants
A big Taiwanese tech company you probably haven’t heard of is starting to make noise in the U.S. Based out of several hubs around the country, it is positioning itself to gain a foothold in the local market for chips used in smartphones, tablets, and wireless networks. In recent years, Hsinchu, Taiwan-based MediaTek has opened … Continue reading “From U.S. Beachhead, MediaTek Faces Qualcomm & Other Mobile Giants”
Moju Labs Building Smart Digital Photo Albums Using Big Data
What do you get when you add Silicon Valley mojo to Korean soju (rice liquor)? You get Moju Labs, the latest startup from Boston-bred entrepreneur Mok Oh. The former chief scientist of PayPal and current entrepreneur-in-residence at North Bridge Venture Partners has been working on a “consumer big data” startup on the West Coast for … Continue reading “Moju Labs Building Smart Digital Photo Albums Using Big Data”
Terrafugia Unveils New TF-X Project, Talks Future of Flying Cars
Yes, this company makes a flying car. And apparently, it works—at least the prototype does. Now how about this, a little further down the road: a self-flying car. Perhaps we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. But what if the technology were feasible? Here’s the thing: it could be. In fact, some observers predict we’ll have … Continue reading “Terrafugia Unveils New TF-X Project, Talks Future of Flying Cars”
Three Schools, Three Startups: Boston Buzzing with Business Plan Finalists
If you try to keep up with all the business-plan contests and student startup competitions in the Boston area, you will go mad. I’m making the rounds this spring, but I won’t be able to write about everything I see (or even most things). Instead, here’s a snapshot of three companies/teams that happened to grab … Continue reading “Three Schools, Three Startups: Boston Buzzing with Business Plan Finalists”
Stealthy No More, Skillz Brings Cash Tournaments to Mobile Games
Andrew Paradise is at it again. Scarcely a year after confirming he’d sold his last company, AisleBuyer, to Intuit, the Boston-area entrepreneur and angel investor is taking his latest company out of stealth mode. Skillz (fka Lookout Gaming), which has offices in Boston and San Francisco, is trying to make a splash in the mobile … Continue reading “Stealthy No More, Skillz Brings Cash Tournaments to Mobile Games”
Placester Picks Up $2.5M to Push Real Estate Publishing Market
Here’s another snapshot of a tech startup making its way through the Series A crunch. This one hasn’t officially “made it” yet, but it seems to be doing just fine. The startup is Placester, a real-estate Web publishing company based in Cambridge, MA, and it is announcing a seed financing round of $2.5 million from … Continue reading “Placester Picks Up $2.5M to Push Real Estate Publishing Market”
LearnLaunch On the Move as Ed-Tech Market Heats Up in Boston
The school year may be heading down the home stretch, but tech companies in the education sector are finding things are just starting to pick up—particularly in New England. That’s according to Eileen Rudden, the co-founder of LearnLaunch, a local nonprofit focused on bringing the education and business communities together. Rudden also helps run LearnLaunchX, … Continue reading “LearnLaunch On the Move as Ed-Tech Market Heats Up in Boston”
Azuki, Led by Wu-Lynch Clan, Looks to Go Big in Mobile TV Market
Television is in the air these days—quite literally, as more people are watching video on mobile devices via wireless networks. The Boston area is also abuzz with the news that Aereo, the IAC-backed Internet TV startup, is bringing its streaming service to the area in May. But another video-tech company that starts with “A” is … Continue reading “Azuki, Led by Wu-Lynch Clan, Looks to Go Big in Mobile TV Market”
TEDx Boston
Information and registration here. From the TEDx Boston site: “What happens when a group of people rally around a radical idea and set in motion unlimited possibilities for a brighter future? A Revolution. “More than two centuries ago, ordinary citizens in Boston dreamed of a democracy and launched a revolution that changed the course of … Continue reading “TEDx Boston”
GrabCAD Leads Surge in Boston-Area Hardware Design Startups
Is hardware the next big thing? That’s certainly the impression you get in local tech circles. The question is, what are companies actually doing to advance the sector? Historically, device firms have needed lots of time and money to get off the ground. Especially as compared to software startups, which, in the past five to … Continue reading “GrabCAD Leads Surge in Boston-Area Hardware Design Startups”
SolidWorks Founder Joins MIT Blackjack Reunion Panel at XSITE June 19
As the Boston area tries to get back to some semblance of normalcy, there’s an event I’d like to put on your radar. The theme is “Boston’s Tech Revival,” which seems appropriate today. The time and place is June 19 at Babson College. The occasion is Xconomy’s fifth annual XSITE conference, in which we bring … Continue reading “SolidWorks Founder Joins MIT Blackjack Reunion Panel at XSITE June 19”
Amid Grief, Boston Tech Firms Spot Threats, Analyze Video, Aid Victims
I was having a drink with an entrepreneur friend last Friday, before the bombs. Something he said has been ringing in my head this week. Instead of going after the next Facebook or Instagram, he said, tech entrepreneurs should be trying to solve people problems. Real societal problems. Like improving elder care, helping families spend … Continue reading “Amid Grief, Boston Tech Firms Spot Threats, Analyze Video, Aid Victims”
Boston Tech Community Raising Money for Marathon Bombing Victims
I don’t have much to say right now, but if you want to help support the people of Boston, please check out this fundraising effort from a group of well-known entrepreneurs, tech companies, and venture capitalists. Will update if I hear more about this effort, or others in the business/innovation community. [Update: As of noon … Continue reading “Boston Tech Community Raising Money for Marathon Bombing Victims”
Bay State Newbies from J&J, PayPal, and More Gather in Kendall Square
Who are all these new guys around town? Over the past year or so, Massachusetts has seen lots of outside companies set up offices in the Boston area. Not a new trend, but something to keep an eye on. Tonight a bunch of them will be in one place—Genzyme’s headquarters in Kendall Square, Cambridge—for a … Continue reading “Bay State Newbies from J&J, PayPal, and More Gather in Kendall Square”
Unica Founder and MIT Blackjack Alum Yuchun Lee Joins General Catalyst
This is a micro-trend among Boston-area entrepreneurs and VC firms: the latter hiring the former. Unica founder and ex-IBM exec Yuchun Lee is joining General Catalyst Partners as an entrepreneur in residence, where he’ll work with the venture firm’s growth equity team on enterprise software and analytics companies. Lee co-founded Unica back in 1992 and … Continue reading “Unica Founder and MIT Blackjack Alum Yuchun Lee Joins General Catalyst”
TechSandBox Looking to Rally Entrepreneurs in Boston’s MetroWest
Here’s a concept: a Boston-area startup incubator outside of Route 128. What’s outside 128, you ask? A whole lot of experienced technology and life sciences workers, that’s what. And some of them want to start new companies, without commuting every day into the rush-hour hell that is Boston and Cambridge. That’s the impetus behind TechSandBox, … Continue reading “TechSandBox Looking to Rally Entrepreneurs in Boston’s MetroWest”
Elder Care, iPad Toys, & Food: Inside the HBS New Venture Competition
Business plan competitions are in full bloom at colleges and universities around Boston. One of the most prominent ones, at Harvard Business School, got a facelift this year and is in the process of selecting its semifinalists. The program is now called the HBS New Venture Competition (fka Business Plan Contest). The name change seems … Continue reading “Elder Care, iPad Toys, & Food: Inside the HBS New Venture Competition”
3 Takeaways from Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” Tour
I haven’t read all of Sheryl Sandberg’s book yet. I’m not on Facebook. Also, I’m a man. That makes me a perfect commentator for her “Lean In” book tour, which hit Boston this week. Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook, spoke to a crowd of several hundred entrepreneurs, investors, and startup/marketing folks at the … Continue reading “3 Takeaways from Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” Tour”
Boston Tech Roundup: Attune, Cognex, GreenBytes, LevelUp, & More
Here we go, catching up on an insanely busy news and events week in Boston. (That’s it, Curt, no more vacations.) —Cognex (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CGNX]]), the Natick, MA-based computer-vision tech company (which I always forget is locally based), filed a lawsuit against Renton, WA-based Microscan over alleged patent infringement. You can read the details in the … Continue reading “Boston Tech Roundup: Attune, Cognex, GreenBytes, LevelUp, & More”
WorldOne Getting $35M to Expand Sermo Physician Network
A pretty big deal in healthcare IT this morning: WorldOne, a health data and intelligence company based in New York, says it has secured a $35 million funding commitment from Deerfield Management, also in New York. The main focus is to expand Sermo, the Cambridge, MA-based online community for physicians, which WorldOne acquired last July. … Continue reading “WorldOne Getting $35M to Expand Sermo Physician Network”
3D Startup Lagoa Has Designs on $1.6M Seed Round, Boston Expansion
There’s a new player in town in 3D design and graphics software—a field that has deep roots in Boston. Lagoa (fka TeamUp) has rolled out a cloud-based interactive rendering and collaboration platform today. The company says this product is the first of its kind. Lagoa has recently raised $1.6 million in seed funding from 500 … Continue reading “3D Startup Lagoa Has Designs on $1.6M Seed Round, Boston Expansion”
A Sandwich, a Startup, and Soon, a Lawsuit? The Crunchbutton Story
It all started with a sandwich. As great stories often do. Judd Rosenblatt was a senior at Yale. There is a popular food item among Yalies, called the Wenzel, consisting of a chicken cutlet sub with cheese, mayo, and hot sauce, made by a New Haven eatery. Rosenblatt and his partners made a mobile Web … Continue reading “A Sandwich, a Startup, and Soon, a Lawsuit? The Crunchbutton Story”
Editor’s Picks: Xconomy Boston’s Top 20 Stories of Q1 2013
The first quarter’s in the books, the birds are singing, and this is no April Fool’s story, I assure you. As is my quarterly tradition, I am posting a list of the top 20 stories in Xconomy Boston from January through March 2013. These are the stories that I think best exemplify the kind of … Continue reading “Editor’s Picks: Xconomy Boston’s Top 20 Stories of Q1 2013”
Jerry Fishman, Analog Devices CEO, Dead at 67: Some of His Insights
Analog Devices announced today that its CEO, Jerry Fishman, passed away from an apparent heart attack on Thursday evening. He was 67. Fishman had been chief executive of Analog, an electronics firm specializing in data conversion and signal conditioning technology, since 1996. He joined the company in 1971 in product marketing and proceeded to climb … Continue reading “Jerry Fishman, Analog Devices CEO, Dead at 67: Some of His Insights”
QD Vision, With $20M More in VC, Waves Flag for Boston Nanotech
QD Vision is a throwback to the days when “nano” was cool. OK, that was 10 years ago, but still. These days you would be hard-pressed to find many thriving nanomaterials companies in the Boston area (not counting biotechs). But Lexington, MA-based QD Vision seems to be doing just fine. The company has just closed … Continue reading “QD Vision, With $20M More in VC, Waves Flag for Boston Nanotech”
XSITE 2013: Boston’s Tech Revival Coming June 19
Boston tech is back, baby. We might not be Silicon Valley, but who cares? The Boston area has incredible amounts of technical talent, business expertise, capital, culture, and new ideas. Over the past few years, those pieces of the innovation community seem to have meshed together into a more unified whole. There are a whole … Continue reading “XSITE 2013: Boston’s Tech Revival Coming June 19”
Tasktop Talks Up New Model to Boost Software Delivery, Productivity
Anything that describes itself as “the opposite of Facebook” is OK with me. Enter Mik Kersten, the CEO and co-founder of Tasktop Technologies. “Vendors want to create ‘Facebook for software,’” he says, referring to more social ways to develop, deploy, and manage applications. “It would be a beautiful world, but Facebook is good at one … Continue reading “Tasktop Talks Up New Model to Boost Software Delivery, Productivity”
Mobile Madness 2013: The Photos
Mobile advertising is resurgent among Boston-area tech startups. Games are driving mobile as much as mobile is driving games. Healthcare is a fertile ground for mobile innovators who dare to enter. And a little snow and sleet won’t stop Boston’s innovation community from turning out at one of our biggest events of the year. Those … Continue reading “Mobile Madness 2013: The Photos”
With Tiny Tycoons, The Tap Lab Leads New Charge of Boston Game Studios
[Updated with game trailer, 2:05 pm] That sound you hear is a dozen or more independent studios churning out new games around town. The games are mostly for the mobile-social set, and they are mostly free to play, with an emphasis on attracting and retaining users. They make money through a combination of advertising, virtual … Continue reading “With Tiny Tycoons, The Tap Lab Leads New Charge of Boston Game Studios”
EverTrue Lands $5.25M to Build Out Alumni-Relations Mobile Tech
Anyone making it through the Series A crunch these days? EverTrue is. The Boston-based alumni-networking software startup has raised $5.25 million in Series A funding led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from previous investors Boston Seed Capital, TechStars’ David Cohen, Andy Dunn, and Brian Spaly. Bain Capital Ventures has been busy lately, bringing on … Continue reading “EverTrue Lands $5.25M to Build Out Alumni-Relations Mobile Tech”
10 Takeaways from Mobile Madness 2013: Ads, Games, M2M, and More
Before I even have time to thank everyone involved in yesterday’s Mobile Madness conference, I wanted to share some of the highlights that were etched in my brain. Here are my top 10 quotes and takeaways from the day (it’s not comprehensive): 1. Jonathan Bush, CEO of Athenahealth: “We’re the best in healthcare, but we … Continue reading “10 Takeaways from Mobile Madness 2013: Ads, Games, M2M, and More”