On a rainy Friday morning, it’s time to look back at the past quarter and select a few stories that stand out. These are my picks for the top Xconomy Boston stories of Q3. If you can only read a few, read these. They represent the kind of reporting, writing, and editing that we strive … Continue reading “Xconomy Boston’s Top 20 Stories of Q3 2012: Editor’s Picks”
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.
Water Innovation in Massachusetts: 31 Startups and Counting
I sometimes wonder why there aren’t more entrepreneurs working on the really big problems of the environment. Well, it turns out there are, and many of them are right here in Massachusetts. An intriguing event has come to my attention: The Environmental Entrepreneurs group (E2) has organized a discussion about water issues and innovation at … Continue reading “Water Innovation in Massachusetts: 31 Startups and Counting”
Mimecast Reels In $62M Expansion Round for E-mail Management
Some big news in the corporate e-mail world today. Mimecast, a London-based e-mail management company with a sizable office in Waltham, MA, has raised a $62 million Series C financing round led by Insight Venture Partners, a New York private-equity firm. Previous investor Dawn Capital also participated in the round, which brings Mimecast’s total raised to … Continue reading “Mimecast Reels In $62M Expansion Round for E-mail Management”
5 Questions with Formlabs: How a 3D Printer Could Change the World
A stealthy tech startup in Cambridge, MA, is unveiling its product to the world today. Oh, and what its product does is build other products. Formlabs, a one-year-old company founded by MIT alums, has developed a low-cost 3D printer—a desktop device that fabricates models for industrial designers, architects, and engineers. The device is available for … Continue reading “5 Questions with Formlabs: How a 3D Printer Could Change the World”
Punchbowl Brings Party Data to E-Retail and “Deductive Commerce”
It’s a classic case of big data meets retail. With some partying thrown in. Punchbowl, a Framingham, MA-based startup known for its party-planning software and digital greeting cards, is rolling out a big e-retail component today. The idea is to use information the company has on customers’ event-planning behaviors to offer them products they might … Continue reading “Punchbowl Brings Party Data to E-Retail and “Deductive Commerce””
7 Ways that Security Firm Rapid7 Is Bucking IT-Business Trends
In case you’ve forgotten, cybersecurity is still one of the biggest issues in the tech world—and one that is being fiercely contested by many companies in New England and beyond. One company that stands out from the fray is Boston-based Rapid7. We’ve previously written about the firm’s approach to developing software to protect against cyber-espionage … Continue reading “7 Ways that Security Firm Rapid7 Is Bucking IT-Business Trends”
Azigo, Dyn, Pathogenica, and Smarterer: Boston Startup News
A quick look at what’s happening around the horn today: —Boston-based Pathogenica, a DNA-sequencing technology startup specializing in detecting pathogens, has formed an exclusive partnership with Life Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LIFE]]) to co-market and distribute its hospital-acquired infection biodetection kit in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Pathogenica started in 2009 and is led by CEO … Continue reading “Azigo, Dyn, Pathogenica, and Smarterer: Boston Startup News”
Apperian Targets Big Enterprises for Mobile App Management in BYOD Era
If you’re like me, the biggest question about the iPhone 5 is how far you can dropkick it. Ditto the Nokia/Microsoft Lumia 820, the Motorola/Google Droid Razr M, the Kindle Fire HD…and pretty much every new device du jour. (I’m an equal-opportunity hater of screens—especially screens advertised incessantly on other screens—but I’m resigned to using … Continue reading “Apperian Targets Big Enterprises for Mobile App Management in BYOD Era”
iRobot Doubles Down on Floor Cleaning, Vacuums Up Evolution Robotics for $74M
The Boston tech scene is all about robots today. While Rethink Robotics was unveiling its new humanoid factory worker to the world, the godfather of commercial robotics was busy doubling down on its core strength. Bedford, MA-based iRobot (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]), the maker of Roomba vacuum cleaners, said last night it is acquiring Evolution Robotics, the … Continue reading “iRobot Doubles Down on Floor Cleaning, Vacuums Up Evolution Robotics for $74M”
Rod Brooks and Rethink Reveal an Industrial Robot for the Masses
“Want to see some robots?” says Rodney Brooks. Yes I would, I say. And so would the rest of the world. Brooks is a renowned roboticist and artificial intelligence expert, the founder, chairman, and chief technology officer of Boston-based Rethink Robotics. In a previous life, he was an MIT faculty member for 25 years, and … Continue reading “Rod Brooks and Rethink Reveal an Industrial Robot for the Masses”
Yottaa, an Anti-Lean Startup, Makes Move to Undercut Compuware, Akamai, HP
Web infrastructure is a lucrative but tricky business. It requires a lot of resources and investment to come up with a compelling product. Now a Boston startup has a new set of offerings that broaden its scope on the Web—and could end up disrupting the big boys in the field. Yottaa, a three-year-old company known … Continue reading “Yottaa, an Anti-Lean Startup, Makes Move to Undercut Compuware, Akamai, HP”
Tech Tidbits: Akamai, Lilliputian Make Waves
It has been a very busy news week around town, with no signs of slowing down. A few big deals we’re watching today… —Wilmington, MA-based Lilliputian Systems, a company developing portable-power technology for consumer electronics, has raised a distinctly non-Lilliputian round of equity funding: $40 million out of a planned $60 million, led by Rusnano, … Continue reading “Tech Tidbits: Akamai, Lilliputian Make Waves”
Intrepid Pursuits’ New App, Timbre, Makes Noise at Mass Innovation Nights
At my age, it’s hard to go out and see bands play at night. Plus, let’s just say my new neighborhood doesn’t have a lot of happening music venues. But a new mobile app from a local development shop might change that equation—at least for people at a hipper stage of life. Cambridge, MA-based Intrepid … Continue reading “Intrepid Pursuits’ New App, Timbre, Makes Noise at Mass Innovation Nights”
iWalk Chases Down $17M More for “Personal Bionics”
Prosthetics is a hot field these days. Coming off track star Oscar Pistorius’s Olympic efforts and some renewed interest in robotic exoskeletons for physical therapy, two things are clear: the technology is impacting lives, and there is plenty of money to be made. Now Bedford, MA-based iWalk, the developer of a powered prosthetic foot and … Continue reading “iWalk Chases Down $17M More for “Personal Bionics””
PackBots, Roombas, and Now, Healthcare: The iRobot Story
Robots are in the air these days. They are also quite literally on the ground, in the water, and in many homes, businesses, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities. And they are making lots of money for their creators—something that would have been hard to believe just a few years ago. One company, arguably, has done more … Continue reading “PackBots, Roombas, and Now, Healthcare: The iRobot Story”
Boston Startup School’s Shaun Johnson: Seize the Opportunity
With the new school year under way, I thought it’d be a good time to get to know one of the area’s newer educational organizations: Boston Startup School. As its name suggests, Boston Startup School offers classes to people from all walks of life who are interested in working at a startup. More to the … Continue reading “Boston Startup School’s Shaun Johnson: Seize the Opportunity”
MIT Media Lab’s Sandy Pentland on the Future of Our Big-Data Society
Of all the articles I’ve read about “big data” recently, one stands out as particularly enlightening. It’s by Alex (Sandy) Pentland, a distinguished computer scientist and entrepreneurial professor at the MIT Media Lab, and it appears in John Brockman’s Edge.org. Pentland argues that big data—in this case, analyzing details of social interactions and behaviors on … Continue reading “MIT Media Lab’s Sandy Pentland on the Future of Our Big-Data Society”
Eye Candy: Gazelle, Smarterer, & Ion Interactive Release Graphics
Today is infographics day. I have come across three charts that are worthy of your consumption. They span the fields of mobile devices, marketing tech, and human resources. So fire up your biggest monitor and follow these links to techie enlightenment… —Marketing Technology Landscape, from Scott Brinker at Ion Interactive, will give you a headache … Continue reading “Eye Candy: Gazelle, Smarterer, & Ion Interactive Release Graphics”
EMC, Actifio, Google Ventures Join “Future of Big Data” Program on Oct. 24
We’ve been overwhelmed with the response to our announcement of the Xconomy forum on “The Future of Big Data” on October 24, at the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology in Boston. Tickets have been selling like iPhones—we’re on pace to sell out well before the date. And everyone and their brother in tech (and healthcare, … Continue reading “EMC, Actifio, Google Ventures Join “Future of Big Data” Program on Oct. 24″
Stephen Wolfram on the Singularity
Last month, I posted a story about which Boston-area innovators subscribe to the belief that there will be a technological “singularity,” as popularized by Ray Kurzweil and Vernor Vinge. The idea is that a superhuman artificial intelligence will emerge in a few decades, thereby creating an event horizon beyond which humans cannot fathom—and leading to … Continue reading “Stephen Wolfram on the Singularity”
WikiCell Whips Up $10M from Flagship and Polaris for Edible Food Packaging
No, Julian Assange is not involved. Not as far as we know, anyway. WikiCell Designs, a startup based in Cambridge, MA, and Paris, France, said today it has closed $10 million in Series A funding led by Flagship Ventures and Polaris Venture Partners. The idea behind the company is to produce edible forms of food … Continue reading “WikiCell Whips Up $10M from Flagship and Polaris for Edible Food Packaging”
8 Things We Learned This Summer About the Boston Tech Scene
Before you head out for the long holiday weekend—well, some of you—I wanted to remind you of one thing. Boston innovation scene, I am watching you. I am watching you because you are changing before my eyes. Some of it is surprising, some of it isn’t. Some of it is of local interest, but most … Continue reading “8 Things We Learned This Summer About the Boston Tech Scene”
MIT Startup Flyberry Capital Emerges with Big-Data Hedge Fund
In the good old days—say, the early ‘90s—math and physics PhDs who wanted to make lots of money became quantitative analysts, or quants, on Wall Street. Now, they just start their own hedge funds. It isn’t that simple, of course, but here’s a case in point: Flyberry Capital, a one-year-old startup in Cambridge, MA, founded … Continue reading “MIT Startup Flyberry Capital Emerges with Big-Data Hedge Fund”
The iRobot Q&A: Colin Angle on the Next Robotics Inflection Point
It is a time of change at iRobot. Ten years after the landmark release of Roomba, the robotic vacuum cleaner, the Bedford, MA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]) could be considered the most successful robotics firm in history, even as it is trying to reinvent itself with new product lines. This reinvention comes amid big uncertainties in … Continue reading “The iRobot Q&A: Colin Angle on the Next Robotics Inflection Point”
9 Takeaways from Rock Boston Demo Day: Health IT Firms Up
San Francisco-based accelerator Rock Health had its first Boston Demo Day here in Cambridge, MA, on Friday. I came away with some thoughts, which I will share here. As usual, I was looking more for emerging themes in the field, and not so much trying to figure out exactly what each company is doing, or … Continue reading “9 Takeaways from Rock Boston Demo Day: Health IT Firms Up”
Rock Health’s Boston Demo Day Yields Seven Startups
In case you’ve lost track of Demo Days around here, there’s a pretty interesting one happening today. Rock Health, the grant-giving healthcare accelerator that started in San Francisco, is holding its inaugural Rock Boston Demo Day at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, MA, at 2 pm. You could be forgiven for confusing the various health-tech … Continue reading “Rock Health’s Boston Demo Day Yields Seven Startups”
CIMIT, Induct Software Roll Out New Collaboration Platform for Healthcare
Collaboration is all the rage. So is innovation management. Throw in “cloud-based platform,” “improving quality of patient care while reducing cost,” and “translational research,” and it sounds like the perfect storm of IT-meets-healthcare buzzwords and memes. So here’s the news. Boston-based nonprofit CIMIT, the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology, has teamed up … Continue reading “CIMIT, Induct Software Roll Out New Collaboration Platform for Healthcare”
GrabCAD Shifts to Collaborative Software for Design Firms, Looks to Go Big
A local startup appears to be building something like the “GitHub for CAD.” Does that mean anything to you? Well, GitHub is the open-source software hosting company that raised $100 million from Andreessen Horowitz earlier this summer. CAD is computer-aided design, which the Boston area is famous for (see SolidWorks, Parametric Technology Corporation, and others). … Continue reading “GrabCAD Shifts to Collaborative Software for Design Firms, Looks to Go Big”
Mobile Startup Locately Bought by SMG in “Good Win for Boston”
Locately is one of those startups that I’ve nibbled at around the edges, never fully sinking my teeth into. Now someone else has swallowed the company whole—but that’s not the end of the story. The Boston mobile-tech company said today it has been acquired by market research firm Service Management Group (SMG), based in Kansas … Continue reading “Mobile Startup Locately Bought by SMG in “Good Win for Boston””
Brad Feld, David Friend, Peter Stern Headline “Future of Big Data” on Oct. 24
What’s everybody talking about in the tech world? That’s easy. Big data. Big data is everywhere. Amazon and Google are big data. Twitter and Facebook are big data. Database and data storage companies are big data. Analytics and networking firms are big data. And outside of the hardcore techies, everyone from retail and marketing folks … Continue reading “Brad Feld, David Friend, Peter Stern Headline “Future of Big Data” on Oct. 24”
Hopper Hauls In $12M More, Harnesses Big Data for Travel Discovery
It’s a big day for big data. One of the local flag-bearers of the field has raised a sizable venture round as it prepares to unveil its online travel product to the world. Cambridge, MA- and Montreal-based Hopper is announcing today a $12 million Series B round led by OMERS Ventures, the VC arm of … Continue reading “Hopper Hauls In $12M More, Harnesses Big Data for Travel Discovery”
Visible Measures Gets $21.5M More for Data-Based Video Ad Platform
The latest Boston-area tech company to join the $50 million-plus-in-venture-funding crowd is Visible Measures. The video analytics and advertising startup has just raised $21.5 million from DAG Ventures, Advance Publications, General Catalyst, Mohr Davidow Ventures, Northgate Capital, and new investor Common Fund. Visible Measures now has well over $60 million under its financing belt, so … Continue reading “Visible Measures Gets $21.5M More for Data-Based Video Ad Platform”
Startups and the Singularity: Which Boston Innovators Are Believers?
Hollywood has Scientology. The tech world has the Singularity. I’m not conflating their beliefs or intellectual frameworks. I’m not calling them cults. I’m just saying, either you believe it or you don’t. As it would happen, I was sitting around a table at a local startup shooting the breeze about what’s on entrepreneurs’ minds these … Continue reading “Startups and the Singularity: Which Boston Innovators Are Believers?”
Boundless, Battling Big Publishers, Rolls Out New Site to Replace Textbooks
A scrappy edtech startup from Boston is emerging today with a new website, new content, and a new resolve to fight the powers that be. Boundless Learning, which started in early 2011, has redesigned its free, open educational content platform for college students, in its public launch just ahead of the new school year. Boundless … Continue reading “Boundless, Battling Big Publishers, Rolls Out New Site to Replace Textbooks”
Battery Maker A123 Takes Big China Investment, Averts Disaster
The Chinese takeover of U.S. cleantech interests continues. Today A123 Systems (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AONE]]), the Waltham, MA-based battery maker with plants in Michigan, said it has signed an agreement with China-based Wanxiang Group, a big automotive and energy firm, whereby Wanxiang could invest as much as $450 million in A123, starting with up to $75 million … Continue reading “Battery Maker A123 Takes Big China Investment, Averts Disaster”
MIT Spinout Affectiva Gets $12M More from Big Investors to Pursue Big Idea
Affectiva knows how you feel. And Affectiva feels pretty good today. The Waltham, MA-based tech startup, which also has operations in Santa Clara, CA, has raised $12 million in Series C funding from Horizons Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (Digital Growth Fund), and previous investors, which include WPP and Myrian Capital. KPCB partner Mary … Continue reading “MIT Spinout Affectiva Gets $12M More from Big Investors to Pursue Big Idea”
Boston’s Talent War: Startups Gaining Edge Over Big Companies?
When Sravish Sridhar was graduating from UT Austin, he got an offer letter from a hot, mid-size software company. The firm even sent him a silver-plated pen from Tiffany & Co. to sign the letter. It was a nice touch, but Sridhar declined. Instead of taking the sure thing, he joined United Devices, a distributed … Continue reading “Boston’s Talent War: Startups Gaining Edge Over Big Companies?”
LevelUp Leads “Cambrian Explosion” of Mobile Payments & Rewards
Don’t bet against Boston-based SCVNGR. That’s what I’ve been hearing lately. You take that much talent and that much money and throw them at a big market, like mobile payments or rewards programs or local deals—call it what you want—something’s going to stick. That something seems to be LevelUp, the mobile app created by founder … Continue reading “LevelUp Leads “Cambrian Explosion” of Mobile Payments & Rewards”
EMC, Lenovo Going After Multibillion Dollar, Post-PC China Market
EMC is a bear of a company to get your arms around. So let’s throw in another big global company, plus the world’s most populous country, and see where that gets us. Yes, Hopkinton, MA-based data storage giant EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]) announced yesterday a far-ranging partnership with personal-computer maker Lenovo (HKSE: [[ticker:LNVGY]]), which has dual … Continue reading “EMC, Lenovo Going After Multibillion Dollar, Post-PC China Market”
Top 3 Themes at Boston Mobile-Ad Firms: Timing, Targeting, & TV
Mobile advertising is one of those tech areas that the average guy on the street might find boring. But it is quietly crucial to the way most of us interact with digital information and content—now, and (especially) in the future. Think of it this way: If mobile advertising fails to take off as an industry, … Continue reading “Top 3 Themes at Boston Mobile-Ad Firms: Timing, Targeting, & TV”
Lexalytics Looking Strong as Text Analytics Heats Up for Big Companies, Mobile
I wish I could say Lexalytics has analyzed the entirety of the world’s social-media and Web conversations, and deemed it all worthless. Alas. “That’s not our role,” says Jeff Catlin, the company’s CEO. Nevertheless it’s a good time to check in with Lexalytics, the Boston- and Amherst, MA-based text analysis company whose technology seeks to … Continue reading “Lexalytics Looking Strong as Text Analytics Heats Up for Big Companies, Mobile”
Tapjoy + Viximo = New Boston Social Mobile Studio
In an interesting deal today, San Francisco mobile firm Tapjoy has acquired the core team from Viximo, a social gaming tools startup in Cambridge, MA. Terms weren’t disclosed, and the companies’ announcement makes the deal sound like an expansion for Tapjoy (into the Boston area) rather than an acquisition per se. The companies share a … Continue reading “Tapjoy + Viximo = New Boston Social Mobile Studio”
Tech Tidbits: Apptopia, Bluefin Labs, iRobot, PayPal, TripAdvisor, & More
Catching up on a smattering of technology news updates this week… —Cambridge, MA-based Bluefin Labs, which does social media analytics around TV, has appointed JP Maheu as its new CEO. Maheu is the former CEO of Razorfish and global CEO of Publicis Modem (the digital marketing unit of Publicis Worldwide). Deb Roy, Bluefin’s co-founder and … Continue reading “Tech Tidbits: Apptopia, Bluefin Labs, iRobot, PayPal, TripAdvisor, & More”
Harvest Power CEO Talks Sustainable Startups & Lessons from Farming
In case you’re wondering why there aren’t more entrepreneurs tackling really big problems like alternative energy and sustainability, consider Paul Sellew. Here’s a guy who was never tempted by dot-com fame and fortune. Instead, he has built a successful career around cleantech and the environment—while also making a lot of money in his businesses. Sellew … Continue reading “Harvest Power CEO Talks Sustainable Startups & Lessons from Farming”
Histogenics Brings In $49M for Tissue Regeneration—and Recapitalization
This is one of the bigger venture deals of the year for Boston. Histogenics, a regenerative medicine company based in Waltham, MA, has closed $49 million in new financing led by Sofinnova Ventures. New investors Split Rock Partners, BioMed Ventures, and FinTech GIMV Fund also participated in the round, along with previous investors ProChon Holdings, … Continue reading “Histogenics Brings In $49M for Tissue Regeneration—and Recapitalization”
Cloudant, Born from Big Science, Looks to Build Big Database Business
Big science and big technology work hand in hand. Without the World Wide Web, an idea conceived by scientists at CERN (the European Center for Nuclear Research), we wouldn’t have technologies people use every day, like social media, e-commerce, or Internet cat videos. And, as my colleague Wade argued, without the Web, scientists probably wouldn’t … Continue reading “Cloudant, Born from Big Science, Looks to Build Big Database Business”
Kayak Debuts on Nasdaq: Photos from a Historic Day
How many companies ask you not to take pictures of them on the day they have their $100 million IPO? I can think of only one: Kayak, the online travel software firm based in Connecticut and Concord, MA. Kayak debuted on the Nasdaq this morning to great fanfare. As of 3:30pm ET, shares were up … Continue reading “Kayak Debuts on Nasdaq: Photos from a Historic Day”
The Key to Fantasy Sports Startups? Marketing & Data, Says DraftKings
The latest seed investment to be announced by Cambridge, MA-based Atlas Venture is DraftKings, an online fantasy sports startup in Boston. Atlas led a $1.4 million financing round for the company earlier this year, but today the founders are saying more about what they’re building. Fantasy sports is kind of an odd duck. It’s male-dominated … Continue reading “The Key to Fantasy Sports Startups? Marketing & Data, Says DraftKings”
Jumptap, Mobile, & the Four Horsemen of the Consumer Apocalypse
If you want to see the future of the tech world, come to the back entrance of the CambridgeSide Galleria mall. With your back to the water, go through the first door on your left and take the elevator to the fifth floor. But hurry, because by the end of summer, it will all be … Continue reading “Jumptap, Mobile, & the Four Horsemen of the Consumer Apocalypse”
EMC Execs, iRobot Upgrades, and Zipcar & Denzel: Some Tech Tidbits
A few Boston-area public tech companies we’re keeping an eye on this week… —Some rumors coming out of Hopkinton, MA-based EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]) and Palo Alto, CA-based VMware (NYSE: [[ticker:VMW]]). EMC president and chief operating officer Pat Gelsinger is replacing Paul Maritz as VMware CEO, according to a report in CRN. And the companies are … Continue reading “EMC Execs, iRobot Upgrades, and Zipcar & Denzel: Some Tech Tidbits”