The Boston area has a distinguished history of companies with innovative approaches to e-commerce and digital marketing. From Art Technology Group (now part of Oracle) to Demandware (which went public in March) in helping brands boost sales online; from Wayfair to Gemvara in new approaches to e-retail sites; from HubSpot to Constant Contact in Web … Continue reading “Zmags CEO Talks Future of E-Commerce and Marketing (Think iPad)”
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.
Reid Hoffman: Not All Tech Is Social (Think Toilets); Let’s Be Better Humans
It’s amazing who you can run into just crossing the street around MIT. Yesterday morning, it was Silicon Valley legend Reid Hoffman (see photo below), the co-founder, executive chairman, and former CEO of LinkedIn, and now a partner at venture firm Greylock Partners. Hoffman was in town to speak at the MIT Media Lab’s 2012 … Continue reading “Reid Hoffman: Not All Tech Is Social (Think Toilets); Let’s Be Better Humans”
Acme Packet, Akamai, & EMC: Three Public Companies Going Places
Exactly where they are going, I’m not sure. They seem to be heading in different directions. But this trio of big Boston-area tech firms, each focused on enterprise customers, has made news in the past week. —Acme Packet (NASDAQ: [[ticker:APKT]]), based in Bedford, MA, said today it has acquired IPTEGO, a German network-management software firm, … Continue reading “Acme Packet, Akamai, & EMC: Three Public Companies Going Places”
How CoolChip Got $500K from Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund: A Salsa Story
It’s rare that chips and salsa lead to a startup funding deal. But this isn’t your average startup, and I’m not talking about the usual kind of chips and salsa. CoolChip Technologies, a Boston-area tech startup looking to make data centers more energy-efficient, raised $500,000 in seed funding earlier this month. What the company didn’t … Continue reading “How CoolChip Got $500K from Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund: A Salsa Story”
The Cure for PowerPoint Pain? Try Slidevana, Says Microsoft Vet
Ravi Mehta, the vice president of product at Boston-area startup Viximo, has an interesting side project. It’s called Slidevana, and it’s aimed at entrepreneurs, academics, lawyers, and anyone else who wants to deliver more effective presentations. Today, Slidevana is releasing its first set of 150-plus slide templates for PowerPoint, available for a one-time download fee. … Continue reading “The Cure for PowerPoint Pain? Try Slidevana, Says Microsoft Vet”
Google, ITA, and the Future of Travel: It’s All About Data, Not Search
Sitting across the table from me, on the seventh floor of a brick building near Kendall Square, is the head of Google travel. He controls where the big, bad Internet giant (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GOOG]]) will go in the vast competitive landscape of flight and hotel search, airline reservation systems, relationships with online travel agencies, and so … Continue reading “Google, ITA, and the Future of Travel: It’s All About Data, Not Search”
PowerInbox CEO Dishes on E-mail as Social Platform vs. Facebook (& Instagram)
At its best, e-mail is a never-ending game of whack-a-mole. At its worst, well, it’s like falling down an infinitely long, dark tunnel with a box of quicksand at the bottom. Can you guess which side of bed I got out of? Fortunately, there are people working on making the e-mail experience better. Matt Thazhmon … Continue reading “PowerInbox CEO Dishes on E-mail as Social Platform vs. Facebook (& Instagram)”
SiteSpect CEO on Web Marketing and Why Big Data is “Like Sex in High School”
Time to check in on another growing and profitable tech company in Boston. This one has built its business around Web and mobile marketing technologies—basically helping big retailers and banks make their websites and other marketing channels faster and more efficient, and thus more lucrative. (Yes, you’re going to have to read a bit more … Continue reading “SiteSpect CEO on Web Marketing and Why Big Data is “Like Sex in High School””
Boston and Cambridge Renew Rivalry in Startup Real Estate
The real estate market for companies can be a tragically boring topic—unless you’re a startup looking for office space. There has been a lot of talk this week about rising rents in Kendall Square as compared to Boston’s Innovation District or South End, say, and some related issues (see below). All the better to fan … Continue reading “Boston and Cambridge Renew Rivalry in Startup Real Estate”
Xconomist of the Week: Jason Baptiste and the Ultralight Startup
Where did this guy find the time to write a book? Never mind that. Jason Baptiste is on the prowl again. The co-founder and CEO of New York-based Onswipe, a tablet-based media and advertising startup, has just released his new book, The Ultralight Startup (Portfolio Penguin, 2012). It’s a how-to-entrepreneur guide with lots of details … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Jason Baptiste and the Ultralight Startup”
Harvest Power, With $100M+ in Revenue, Raises $110M in Tough Cleantech Market
There’s something different about Harvest Power. While other cleantech companies have struggled mightily, the Waltham, MA-based waste-to-energy-and-soil firm keeps chugging along and growing. Today the company says it has raised $110 million in Series C funding, led by True North Venture Partners and American Refining and Biochemical. Previous investors also chipped in, including Kleiner Perkins … Continue reading “Harvest Power, With $100M+ in Revenue, Raises $110M in Tough Cleantech Market”
GrabCAD Hosts Estonian President, Who Happens to Be Cyber Security Expert
The first sign that this was not a regular day was the State Police detail in the parking lot of the American Twine building near Kendall Square. Then, in the hallways, a group of secret-service types watching every door, and at least one person in a military uniform. They weren’t there to see Stavros, the … Continue reading “GrabCAD Hosts Estonian President, Who Happens to Be Cyber Security Expert”
Springpad Upgrades Digital Notebooks for Sharing, Discovery, and Persistence
If you’re interested in the growth of consumer Web companies in the Boston area, you should know the team at Spring Partners. And if you have deeper questions about how the Web will evolve beyond search and social, well, you should really check out what they’re building. Charlestown, MA-based Spring Partners is announcing version 3.0 … Continue reading “Springpad Upgrades Digital Notebooks for Sharing, Discovery, and Persistence”
Crashlytics, With $5M in New VC Bucks, Goes After Huge Mobile Developer Market
Crashlytics has a cool name. It’s run by cool guys. It’s all a little too cool. The truth is, the Cambridge, MA-based startup is solving a really hard technical problem: helping developers fix mobile apps when they crash by pinpointing the line of code (and use case) where the main issue occurred. And as you’ll … Continue reading “Crashlytics, With $5M in New VC Bucks, Goes After Huge Mobile Developer Market”
From Internet Plumbing to Tweeting With Zappos: The Dyn Story
If the Internet needs a plumber, Jeremy Hitchcock is your man. It’s not sexy, it’s not glamorous, but as they say, someone’s got to do it. And if that someone does it right, well, he can build a very profitable, 150-person company right here in the great Northeast. That company would be Dyn (pronounced “dine”), … Continue reading “From Internet Plumbing to Tweeting With Zappos: The Dyn Story”
Microsoft Research’s Jennifer Chayes: 5 Projects for the Future of Computing
When people talk about the future of technology, they tend to mention the same big players (what I might call the four horsemen of the consumer apocalypse): Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google. And if they want to get more cutting-edge, maybe they’ll throw in a viral newcomer or two like Dropbox or Pinterest. Who they … Continue reading “Microsoft Research’s Jennifer Chayes: 5 Projects for the Future of Computing”
Cymfony Snapped Up by Visible Technologies in Social Analytics
Some consolidation in the field of social media analytics and monitoring today. Boston-based Cymfony is being acquired by Visible Technologies, a Bellevue, WA-based company, for an undisclosed sum. Terms of the deal weren’t given, but communications firm WPP Group, which owns about 24 percent of Visible and all of Cymfony, will own 49 percent of … Continue reading “Cymfony Snapped Up by Visible Technologies in Social Analytics”
Boundless Learning, $8M in Tow, Raises Ire of Textbook Publishers
A Boston-based edtech startup is getting an education of its own: if you mess with an entrenched industry, the major players are going to mess with you. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The startup just might have the resources and wherewithal to fight back. Boundless Learning, which serves up free, open educational content … Continue reading “Boundless Learning, $8M in Tow, Raises Ire of Textbook Publishers”
The Tap Lab, Backed by Harmonix Trio, Pushes Mobile Gaming Into Real World
You can’t box in Dave Bisceglia. Just when you think you know what location-based games are, or what mobile check-ins are, he goes and tries to upend the whole sector. Bisceglia and his fellow co-founder Ralph Shao (see photo, right) don’t know any better. They’re a couple of young guns—recent grads of Boston University and … Continue reading “The Tap Lab, Backed by Harmonix Trio, Pushes Mobile Gaming Into Real World”
Privy Puts New Spin on Old Marketing Problem for Local Businesses
Daily deals are dead. Long live daily deals. But out of the ashes of all the Groupon clones—and a few niche deals sites notwithstanding—who will rise up and actually solve the online marketing problem for small businesses? “That’s our goal,” says Ben Jabbawy, the founder and CEO of Boston-based Privy (and formerly with GreatPoint Ventures … Continue reading “Privy Puts New Spin on Old Marketing Problem for Local Businesses”
Xconomy Boston’s Top 20 Stories of Q1: Editor’s Picks
The first quarter of 2012 is in the books, and it looks like Boston is settling into some typical spring weather. Time to look back on our editor’s picks for top stories of Q1. As usual, these are not necessarily the highest-traffic stories, though in some cases they are. They are the stories that exemplify … Continue reading “Xconomy Boston’s Top 20 Stories of Q1: Editor’s Picks”
Xconomist of the Week: Andy Ory on the Real Opportunity for Acme Packet
Acme Packet is not the easiest technology company to write about. If you’re not careful, you end up bogging down in things like SIP trunking, IMS deployments, session delivery solutions, and other Internet Protocol networking lingo. Fortunately, Acme Packet’s co-founder and CEO, Andy Ory, makes things easy. Ory has led the Bedford, MA-based company (NASDAQ: … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Andy Ory on the Real Opportunity for Acme Packet”
Kibits Cuts Through the Chatter with New Micro-Social Network App
Please, Lord, not another social-networking app that helps you connect with 500 more people you don’t actually want to talk to. Or that adds yet more information overload to your life. OK, since it’s Matt Cutler and Dave Greenstein, the former NetGenesis guys, let’s take a closer look. Their free mobile app is called Kibits, … Continue reading “Kibits Cuts Through the Chatter with New Micro-Social Network App”
DynaTrace, Expanding Within Compuware, Looks to Drive Growth for a Giant
When a big tech company acquires a smaller one, there is some bloodletting to be expected—and the smaller company’s products often will get marginalized, if not axed completely. Not so for Waltham, MA-based dynaTrace Software, which is now part of Detroit software giant Compuware (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CPWR]]). Since the $256 million acquisition last July, Compuware has … Continue reading “DynaTrace, Expanding Within Compuware, Looks to Drive Growth for a Giant”
Covestor Looks to Disrupt Investment Industry with “Mirror” Marketplace
If you’ve got $50K or $500K to invest with a financial advisor, you might want to check out Covestor. And well, even if you don’t, the New York-based company tells a pretty interesting story of one effort to make the field of money management more transparent. Covestor has built an online marketplace for consumers to … Continue reading “Covestor Looks to Disrupt Investment Industry with “Mirror” Marketplace”
Celtra Brings Rich Media to Brands on Facebook, Sees Everything Going Mobile
What’s Facebook’s mobile strategy going to be? How are brands going to take advantage of the mobile medium? These are some of the biggest outstanding questions in the tech-business arena. We’re getting a glimpse of some of the answers this week—and a Boston startup is directly involved in helping brands navigate these issues. Celtra, a … Continue reading “Celtra Brings Rich Media to Brands on Facebook, Sees Everything Going Mobile”
Top 10 Quotes From Mobile Madness: Apple Vs. Facebook, OLPC, & More
Hello, I am a recovering Mobile Madness 2012 organizer. I’d like to give huge props to the 350+ people who attended and participated last week, and very special thanks to our speakers, sponsors, and host, Microsoft NERD. (The day is depicted in photos here.) It was a memorable afternoon indeed. So memorable, in fact, that … Continue reading “Top 10 Quotes From Mobile Madness: Apple Vs. Facebook, OLPC, & More”
Ex-Vertica/HP Honcho Lynch Talks Next Steps, New Big Data Investments
“I’m a fighter. I’m only happy when I’m in some kind of battle.” That would be Chris Lynch, the former CEO of Vertica Systems, the Cambridge, MA-based data analytics firm acquired by Hewlett-Packard for some $300 million a year ago. Lynch is looking for his next battle right now, since he left HP and Vertica … Continue reading “Ex-Vertica/HP Honcho Lynch Talks Next Steps, New Big Data Investments”
Former CEO Chris Lynch Out at Vertica/HP: What’s Next?
The golden handcuffs are off, it appears. Chris Lynch, the former CEO of Vertica, the big-data analytics company acquired by Hewlett-Packard a year ago, has left the company. The news was first reported by SiliconAngle this morning. It’s not a big surprise—CEOs leaving a year after being acquired is one of the more predictable things … Continue reading “Former CEO Chris Lynch Out at Vertica/HP: What’s Next?”
Demandware IPO Latest in Series of Boston Tech Breakouts
Ho-hum, another Boston-area technology IPO. This time it’s Demandware (NYSE: [[ticker:DWRE]]), the Burlington, MA-based digital retail and commerce firm. I am being ironic, because, like TripAdvisor (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TRIP]]) and Brightcove (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BCOV]]) before it, Demandware’s going public has not gotten as much in-depth attention from the press and innovation community as it probably should have. … Continue reading “Demandware IPO Latest in Series of Boston Tech Breakouts”
5 Things to Watch at Mobile Madness: Mobile Mafia, Facebook’s Future, & More
Mobile Madness is here at last. Xconomy’s fourth annual mobile conference is set for today at 1 pm, at Microsoft NERD in Kendall Square, Cambridge. The event is sold out with a sizable waiting list that we are trying to manage as you read this. We are looking forward to an unprecedented crowd and a … Continue reading “5 Things to Watch at Mobile Madness: Mobile Mafia, Facebook’s Future, & More”
LoseIt, With 10M+ Users, Looks to Turn Weight Loss App Into Big Business
Want to lose weight fast? Try eating a little less, and exercising a little more. But if that fails, go mobile. As in, try LoseIt, a mobile app that helps you keep track of your diet and exercise so you can shed those extra pounds. You won’t be alone: the free app has more than … Continue reading “LoseIt, With 10M+ Users, Looks to Turn Weight Loss App Into Big Business”
Report from RSA 2012: Mobility, Big Data, and Chinese Handbag Extortion
It’s the time of year for some of the tech industry’s biggest conferences—South by Southwest Interactive, Mobile World Congress, Launch, to name a few—but one notable expo didn’t stir up as much of a tweet storm as the others. That probably means it’s more important, in the grand scheme of things. The RSA Conference in … Continue reading “Report from RSA 2012: Mobility, Big Data, and Chinese Handbag Extortion”
Korrio, Led by Former Isilon CEO, Seeks Fortune in Youth Sports
Are you sick of platforms yet? I know I am. But I’m not sick of sports. Hence, let’s talk about Korrio, a sports-automation software company that has an interesting bicoastal story. Korrio is based in Seattle, but one of its biggest markets is Massachusetts. Specifically, Massachusetts youth soccer clubs. The Bay State is “sports crazy,” … Continue reading “Korrio, Led by Former Isilon CEO, Seeks Fortune in Youth Sports”
SavingStar, Exinda, & NeuroPhage: A Trio of Boston Startup Deals
Things have been pretty quiet around Boston in terms of financing deals. Until today. Here are three decent-size funding rounds just announced, across the very disparate sectors of digital coupons, networking tech, and brain diseases (yeah, I do some neuro too): —SavingStar, a digital grocery coupon service based in Waltham, MA, has raised $9 million … Continue reading “SavingStar, Exinda, & NeuroPhage: A Trio of Boston Startup Deals”
Don’t Read Tech Blogs: 10 Ideas from Backupify’s Rob May
You might know him as the founder and CEO of Backupify, one of the fast-growing technology startups around Boston. I know him as a guy who speaks his mind about many a tech topic. And that makes him a fine happy hour companion. Rob May is a Kentucky transplant and a recent example of fresh … Continue reading “Don’t Read Tech Blogs: 10 Ideas from Backupify’s Rob May”
SessionM, Led by GameLogic and Quattro Vets, Unveils Mobile Ad Platform
If there’s a new angle to mobile advertising, Lars Albright has seen it. That’s why his latest company, Boston-based SessionM, is so interesting. Albright previously co-founded Quattro Wireless, the Boston-area ad-tech firm that Apple picked up for about $275 million in 2010. Before that, he was a vice president at m-Qube, the mobile marketing startup … Continue reading “SessionM, Led by GameLogic and Quattro Vets, Unveils Mobile Ad Platform”
How to Build a Business on Facebook: Brand Networks, Nanigans, & More
Facebook may not have an office in the Boston area, but it certainly has friends here. Take, for instance, the startups that are building their businesses on top of the social-networking giant—and have some thoughts on where the company is headed. Last week, those startups (among many others) watched the first-ever Facebook Marketing Conference in … Continue reading “How to Build a Business on Facebook: Brand Networks, Nanigans, & More”
ITA Software Emerges from Google’s Shadow with New Airline Platform
For having one of the larger tech presences in Kendall Square, ITA Software has been quiet lately. Too quiet. The Cambridge, MA-based travel software firm, which was acquired by Google for $700 million in 2010 (the deal finally went through last spring), hasn’t been saying much about its integration with the Mountain View, CA-based Web … Continue reading “ITA Software Emerges from Google’s Shadow with New Airline Platform”
How to Disrupt IBM, Oracle, and VMware: The CloudBees Story
Sacha Labourey was one of the early skeptics when it came to cloud computing. “For me, initially, the cloud was not that interesting. It was actually pretty boring,” he says. That’s in part because he was the chief technology officer of middleware firm JBoss, which in 2006 was bought by open source software giant Red … Continue reading “How to Disrupt IBM, Oracle, and VMware: The CloudBees Story”
ViziApps, Springpad, LevelUp, & LoseIt: A Mobile Madness Preview
Here at Xconomy, we are gearing up for the biggest mobile event of the year in Boston: Mobile Madness 2012—Total Mobility, on March 14 at Microsoft NERD. I’ve been talking with a number of our conference speakers, taking the pulse of mobile innovation and getting a more complete picture of how all the pieces fit … Continue reading “ViziApps, Springpad, LevelUp, & LoseIt: A Mobile Madness Preview”
What Dell’s Purchase of Bain-Backed AppAssure Means for Big Data
A big acquisition in data protection is reverberating across the tech ecosystems of storage and backup—including in Boston. Dell (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DELL]]) said on Friday that it has acquired AppAssure Software, a data and application protection company based in Reston, VA, for an undisclosed sum. AppAssure opened a Boston-area office late last year and is backed … Continue reading “What Dell’s Purchase of Bain-Backed AppAssure Means for Big Data”
Indivly, Swoop, and Vivox: Three Boston Startups to Watch
Getting caught up on some startup news around town… Two new ones emerging from semi-stealth mode in the field of content-linked deals, and one gaming and communications veteran going direct-to-consumer for the first time. —Indivly is a social Web startup led by founder John Clark, perhaps best known as half of the creative team behind … Continue reading “Indivly, Swoop, and Vivox: Three Boston Startups to Watch”
Intelligent.ly, Led by Balter & Hodges, Wants Boston to Learn New Tricks
At first I thought this might be a joke. Some fine wool pulled over the eyes of overworked, underslept journalists. The same week the “Bostlandia” video spoof comes out (shouldn’t it be Bostonia?) and there are all sorts of rumors flying around at Ruby Riot, surely this thing called “Intelligent.ly” isn’t for real. First of … Continue reading “Intelligent.ly, Led by Balter & Hodges, Wants Boston to Learn New Tricks”
Zipcar and Fontinalis Bet $13.7M on Car-Sharing Startup Wheelz
The world of car-sharing just got more interesting. Zipcar (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZIP]]), the Cambridge, MA-based pioneer in the sector, said today it has led a $13.7 million Series A investment in Wheelz, a Palo Alto, CA-based car-sharing startup that targets college students. Detroit-based Fontinalis Partners, a transportation tech investment firm, also participated in the round. As … Continue reading “Zipcar and Fontinalis Bet $13.7M on Car-Sharing Startup Wheelz”
Is Movik Networks the Next Starent? A Chat with Highland VC Sean Dalton
Here in Boston we can get a little provincial. It’s us against them, East Coast vs. West Coast, Boston vs. New York, the list goes on. This focus on local applies to the tech community as much as anything else: Who’s leading the resurgence of Boston startups? Why don’t Boston VCs invest in more local … Continue reading “Is Movik Networks the Next Starent? A Chat with Highland VC Sean Dalton”
Report: GreatPoint Energy Grabs $420M from Chinese Investor
After last night’s stellar event with Amory Lovins and Jim Matheson, I’m thinking about our energy and cleantech future today. Luckily, so is a Boston-area company that apparently makes billion-dollar deals for breakfast. GreatPoint Energy, a coal-to-natural-gas company in Cambridge, MA, has formed a $1.25 billion partnership with China Wanxiang Holdings, in a deal that … Continue reading “Report: GreatPoint Energy Grabs $420M from Chinese Investor”
Boston Business Leaders Reflect on Susan Hockfield’s MIT Presidency
Susan Hockfield made waves when she became the 16th president of MIT in late 2004. She was the first female president of the Institute, and the first person from life sciences to hold that position. (Her faculty appointment is in neuroscience.) But today, after Hockfield announced she will be stepping down as president after MIT … Continue reading “Boston Business Leaders Reflect on Susan Hockfield’s MIT Presidency”
Mobile Madness 2012 on March 14: Here’s the Agenda
Wow, just under a month to go before we convene a truly amazing group of Boston-area leaders and upstarts in the ubiquitous field of mobile technology. Mobile Madness 2012: Total Mobility is taking place March 14 at Microsoft NERD in Cambridge, MA, from 1:00–5:30 pm, with plenty of time for networking and catching up with … Continue reading “Mobile Madness 2012 on March 14: Here’s the Agenda”
OnSwipe Looks to Ride Third Wave of the Web with New Content Network
“This is the new network for the Internet, and it’s focused on tablets and touch devices,” says Jason Baptiste. In other words, this is no run-of-the-mill product announcement. Or so it seems. OnSwipe, a tech startup based in New York (with lead investors in Boston), is rolling out a content distribution network for publishers who … Continue reading “OnSwipe Looks to Ride Third Wave of the Web with New Content Network”