San Diego-based Concerro, the developer of Web-based software that enables nurses in 200 U.S. hospitals to bid for shifts, says it has acquired all the assets and intellectual property related to CommandAware, a hospital-incident management system, from Los Angeles-based PortBlue. The deal means a new line of business for Concerro, which has 50 employees and … Continue reading “Concerro Expands Into Hospital Incident Management”
Author: Juha-Pekka Tikka
ParAccel Lands $22 Million in VC Funding
ParAccel, which has offices in Cupertino, CA, and San Diego, says it has raised $22 million in a Series C round of venture funding. The company provides database management system for data warehousing and analysis. A new investor, Menlo Ventures, led the round, which included Walden International as well as previous investors Bay Partners, Mohr Davidow Ventures … Continue reading “ParAccel Lands $22 Million in VC Funding”
Backchannelmedia Clicks to Market
Boston-based Backchannelmedia said this week that it’s moving from an extended period of beta testing to launching commercial operations in the New York area. The company, whose motto is “TV and the Internet finally just click,” has created a system that allows TV viewers to click using their remote controls in response to special onscreen … Continue reading “Backchannelmedia Clicks to Market”
Auriga Lands $2.75 Million
Lowell, MA-based Auriga Measurement Systems says it has raised $2.75 million in additional seed funding. The wireless instrumentation and design company delivers test equipment for high-frequency, high-powered RF microwave front-ends. The company did not disclose the names of the participants in the seed round. In 2007 Ohio-based White Oak Partners put $1.5 million into Auriga, … Continue reading “Auriga Lands $2.75 Million”
The DivX Story: From Downloading ‘The Matrix’ to Watching it on All Three Screens
DivX is a codec that packs large video files into a smaller size. It’s also the San Diego company that has commercialized the technology. CEO Kevin Hell talks of DivX moving towards “any online content on any device” as the next step in the evolution of consumer media, and “video freedom”, which means you will … Continue reading “The DivX Story: From Downloading ‘The Matrix’ to Watching it on All Three Screens”
Raj Krishnan: Moving From Cancer Diagnosis Innovation to a Business
What recourse does an entrepreneur have when there is no venture capital for a start-up with a truly promising invention? At San Diego’s Biological Dynamics, 27-year-old founder Raj Krishnan’s solution is to win entrepreneur and student competitions—and so far he has won 13 awards, nine of them this year, including most recently a $40,000 first … Continue reading “Raj Krishnan: Moving From Cancer Diagnosis Innovation to a Business”
Display Technology That Shines Like Butterfly Wings, Venture Capital Resets Business, Promising Start-Ups Recognized, & More San Diego BizTech News
San Diego has retained its status among the country’s top regions for innovation, but the hometown venture community is contracting to the point where venture funding is back where it was in the 1990s. —Qualcomm is getting ready to deliver its latest innovation, a display screen for mobile devices that provides great visibility outdoors. The … Continue reading “Display Technology That Shines Like Butterfly Wings, Venture Capital Resets Business, Promising Start-Ups Recognized, & More San Diego BizTech News”
E&Y Names Local Entrepreneurs of the Year
Ernst & Young has named Quake Global CEO Polina Braunstein as its San Diego regional High Technology Entrepreneur of the year. Quake Global makes palm-sized satellite transponders for tracking purposes. Ernst &Young issued awards to San Diego entrepreneurs in seven other categories for 2009: Master Entrepreneur, CEO Les Cross of DJO Inc.; Emerging Entrepreneur, CEO … Continue reading “E&Y Names Local Entrepreneurs of the Year”
Three Local Biotechs Raising Cash
Three San Diego-based biopharmaceutical startups have been raising capital, according to recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). —Valor Medical, which was founded in 2007, has raised $3.1 million of an $8 million offering, according to a recent SEC filing. CEO H. Clark Adams says this is a partial close of a Series … Continue reading “Three Local Biotechs Raising Cash”
Craig Venter Has Algae Biofuel in Synthetic Genomics’ Pipeline
When renowned genome scientist J. Craig Venter spoke at San Diego’s Connect’s Innovation Summit two months ago, he focused mostly on creating genetically engineered microbes that consume coal to produce natural gas. But a review of Venter’s recent presentations and other information suggests that Synthetic Genomics, the San Diego startup he co-founded, also has a major biofuels initiative underway, … Continue reading “Craig Venter Has Algae Biofuel in Synthetic Genomics’ Pipeline”
Seattle Passes Boston in High-Tech Center Ranking; San Diego at #7
Seattle, the Washington D.C. area, and Orange County have moved up in Milken Institute’s ranking of top high-tech center areas in North America. From 2003 to 2007, Seattle passed Boston and became America’s second-ranking high-tech metro area. San Diego is at seventh place. (These are Xconomy’s network cities.) The number one spot belongs to Silicon … Continue reading “Seattle Passes Boston in High-Tech Center Ranking; San Diego at #7”
Nanogen Lays Off 89
After filing last month for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, San Diego rapid molecular diagnostic products maker Nanogen has moved to lay off 89 employees by July 14, according to the website GenomeWeb. The San Diego company plans to sell its assets through an auction supervised by the federal bankruptcy court to the French firm Elitech, as we reported earlier.
Qualcomm Opens Mirasol Display Plant
San Diego’s Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) says it has commenced operations at its mirasol display fabrication facility in Taiwan, which the wireless technology giant operates with Foxlink, a leading device manufacturer. Qualcomm MEMS Technology’s plant in manufactures displays on generation 4.5 glass, which is based on the innovative mirasol (“look at the sun”) display technology that provides superior … Continue reading “Qualcomm Opens Mirasol Display Plant”
Early Cancer Diagnosis Startup Wins Entrepreneur Challenge
A biotechnology company aiming to revolutionize early-stage cancer screening last night won the UC San Diego Entrepreneur Challenge. Biological Dynamics, led by bioengineering PhD student and CEO Raj Krishnan and his fellow graduate students David Charlot and Roy Lefkowitz, took home the $40,000 first prize. Biological Dynamics has developed a screening tool that identifies secondary … Continue reading “Early Cancer Diagnosis Startup Wins Entrepreneur Challenge”
Cricket Refinances Debt and Raises Cash, KESDEE Moves to mLearning from eLearning, Good Technology Buys Intercasting, & More San Diego BizTech News
In the short week after Memorial Day, we got a little European literature with tips on bootstrapping, Medsphere got some venture funding, and Good Technology got a San Diego startup, among other interesting news. —At the San Diego Venture Group’s panel discussion on bootstrapping a business, MaxLinear’s CEO Kishore Seendripu talked defining bootstrapping, which he … Continue reading “Cricket Refinances Debt and Raises Cash, KESDEE Moves to mLearning from eLearning, Good Technology Buys Intercasting, & More San Diego BizTech News”
$21.4M for Tandem Diabetes
Insulin pump developer Tandem Diabetes Care has raised $21.4 million in a $52.3 million financial round, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. San Diego-based Tandem specializes in new insulin pump therapy technology. Last June, Tandem raised $13 million in a Series B round led by Domain Associates and Texas Pacific … Continue reading “$21.4M for Tandem Diabetes”
Chumby Raises $3M
Chumby Industries has raised $3 million through a combination of debt and security offerings, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The San Diego company makes a Web-enabled device called Chumby that is partly an Internet terminal, partly a stuffed toy, and partly a video player. As I reported, Chumby previously … Continue reading “Chumby Raises $3M”
Nokia CEO Says the Door to U.S. Market is in San Diego
Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo says San Diego plays a key role in the Finnish mobile phone giant’s plans to stage a comeback in the U.S. market. Kallasvuo was questioned by Wall Street Journal columnist Walt Mossberg at the All Things Digital D7 conference in Carlsbad, CA, about Nokia’s (NYSE: NOK) decline with U.S. carriers. Nokia … Continue reading “Nokia CEO Says the Door to U.S. Market is in San Diego”
Sterilizable RFID Tags Validated
San Diego-based Awarepoint says an independent medical laboratory has tested and validated its sterlizable RFID tags, which are designed to provide hospitals real time location tracking information about patients and medical equipment. The tests, which simulated clinical use, were done to show that Awarepoint’s battery-powered Radio Frequency Identity tags can be repeatedly cleaned, disinfected, and … Continue reading “Sterilizable RFID Tags Validated”
San Diego’s KESDEE Prepares to Move to mLearning
KESDEE calls itself world’s largest eLearning company for money managers. The San Diego company provides state-of-the-art financial education and training for professionals, and it is taking its digital headstart to new levels. KESDEE plans to move its courses to mLearning—as in mobile learning—which means its 700 accredited eLearning courses on such topics as banking, insurance, … Continue reading “San Diego’s KESDEE Prepares to Move to mLearning”
Latest Metabasis Cutbacks Leave Just Seven Employees
San Diego-based diabetes drug developer Metabasis Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MBRX]]) laid off 35 of its 125 employees in November, and another 38 in January. Those cutbacks amounted to 28 percent and 43 percent of the biotech’s workforce, respectively. At that time, new CEO Mark Erion said he was optimistic the diabetes drug, MB07803, would lead to … Continue reading “Latest Metabasis Cutbacks Leave Just Seven Employees”
Good Technology Acquires Intercasting
San Diego-based mobile social networking firm Intercasting has been acquired by Redwood City, CA-based push mobility firm Good Technology. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Intercasting’s Anthem platform is used by numerous carriers, including Alltel, AT&T, Boost Mobile, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, and Virgin Mobile USA.
Ophthonix Raises $25.9M for Vision-Correction Technology
Vista, CA-based vision correction company Ophthonix has closed a $25.9 million “Series AA” financing round. According to a press release the company’s current investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Enterprise Partners, DAG Ventures, Gund Investment Corporation, InterWest Partners, Trex Enterprises, and Wasath Advisors’ Cross Creek Capital Fund participated, in addition to a new, undisclosed investor. … Continue reading “Ophthonix Raises $25.9M for Vision-Correction Technology”
Shareholder Showdown at Amylin Headquarters
A battle for control of Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]]) that began last year will come to a final showdown tomorrow at the company’s annual shareholder meeting. Challenging Amylin’s leadership in the proxy fight is Carl Icahn, the billionaire New York investor, who owns approximately 10.5 percent of Amylin’s stock, and Eastbourne Capital Management, a hedge … Continue reading “Shareholder Showdown at Amylin Headquarters”
Pure Bioscience Gets $3M
San Diego-based Pure Bioscience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PURE]]) says it has raised up to $3 million by selling its stock and warrants to institutional investors in a direct offering. The net proceeds will be used for working capital. Pure, which has a line of antimicrobial products based on its proprietary silver dihydrogen citrate formula, announced plans in … Continue reading “Pure Bioscience Gets $3M”
Concerro and Hospitals: How Job-Bidding Software Enables Savings
“Healthcare is such a mess,” sighs Graham Barnes, the CEO of San Diego-based Concerro. “It was supposed to be recession-proof. It wasn’t. But we can save them a lot of money, as we have a great story also in this economy.” Concerro was founded in 2002 as BidShift, a software developer that specializes in Web … Continue reading “Concerro and Hospitals: How Job-Bidding Software Enables Savings”
ID Analytics Offers Consumers Free Online Check-Up for Identity Theft
San Diego-based ID Analytics is launching a free online test that measures the vulnerability of individual consumers to identity theft. The test, called My ID Score, makes use of the same huge database and analytical software technology that ID Analytics uses to rank the probability that credit card purchases and other transactions are authentic. The … Continue reading “ID Analytics Offers Consumers Free Online Check-Up for Identity Theft”
Benchmark Gets Cash Infusion
San Diego-based healthcare administration technology provider Benchmark Revenue Management said today it has raised additional capital in what it called a Series A funding round that was led by David Barach of the Tech Coast Angels. CEO Tyson McDowell says the round will enable the company to achieve positive cash flow, but he declined to … Continue reading “Benchmark Gets Cash Infusion”
Altair Therapeutics Changes CEO
San Diego’s Altair Therapeutics today named former Forward Ventures partner Joel Martin as president and CEO. Martin, who left the San Diego life sciences VC firm in October, was previously a co-founder of Avant BioVentures. Altair’s current CEO Paul Brennan will continue working with the company. Privately held Altair, which was founded in 2007, develops … Continue reading “Altair Therapeutics Changes CEO”
Anaphore Gets Extra $13M
San Diego-based Anaphore said today it has raised $13 million in a second closing of its Series A preferred stock financing, bringing the round to a total of $38 million. Anaphore, founded in 2008, is developing a new class of protein therapeutics for life-threatening diseases. The company’s investors are the SR One venture unit of … Continue reading “Anaphore Gets Extra $13M”
BakBone buys ColdSpark for $15.9M
San Diego-based data backup and recovery firm BakBone has acquired Broomfield, CO-based ColdSpark, a provider of enterprise email solutions. According to a press release, BakBone will pay $15.9 million for the company in cash and common shares. ColdSpark’s co-founder and chief technologist Scott Brown will become GM of BakBone’s new Message Management Division. This month, … Continue reading “BakBone buys ColdSpark for $15.9M”
For Nirvanix, Bliss is a Number Followed by Fifteen Zeros in a Cloud
San Diego’s cloud storage provider Nirvanix has raised eyebrows by claiming to be 200 percent faster than the great storage pioneer, Amazon’s Simple Storage Service. Cloud storage is a current hot topic many find hard to understand, but it all comes down to this: Nirvanix and similar companies store your computer’s archives on the Internet. … Continue reading “For Nirvanix, Bliss is a Number Followed by Fifteen Zeros in a Cloud”
San Diego’s BlackBall Finds the Files from Unstructured Data
“How many of us have lost a file sometimes?” BlackBall CEO Bob Brown’s first question to his audience is a killer. Hasn’t everyone lost or missed a file in their computer? We’re all storing more and more files in unremembered places all over our computers, where they become “unstructured data” instead of organized in some supposed folders. And … Continue reading “San Diego’s BlackBall Finds the Files from Unstructured Data”
Amylin Co-Founder Sides with Rebels in Proxy Fight
Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]]) co-founder and original CEO Howard Greene is urging shareholders to vote for Carl Icahn’s or Eastbourne Capital Management’s proposed slate of directors, the Associated Press is reporting today. Greene’s support for dissident nominees adds new twist to a hot proxy fight at the diabetes drug maker. In a letter to shareholders … Continue reading “Amylin Co-Founder Sides with Rebels in Proxy Fight”
Q&A With Slacker Founder: The Demand for Free Online Music Just Won’t Quit
Two years ago, Dennis Mudd summoned his team of former Internet music executives and started Slacker, an online music service that offers personalized radio stations. The big idea was to mix the streaming music from Internet radio stations with personalized content according to listeners’ liking. When you want to listen to Led Zeppelin only, Slacker … Continue reading “Q&A With Slacker Founder: The Demand for Free Online Music Just Won’t Quit”
Amylin Urges Shareholders to Vote Blue
In a letter to shareholders today, San Diego’s Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALMN]]) urges them to vote for the company’s slate of directors on a blue proxy card. Amylin’s annual meeting will be held on May 27th. The diabetes drug developer asks shareholders to discard gold or white proxy cards with board candidates nominated by billionaire … Continue reading “Amylin Urges Shareholders to Vote Blue”
Sorenson Wants to Become King of High-Quality Internet Video
At a time when Internet video is shifting increasingly to high-resolution images and towards professional-quality production, Sorenson Media is going through a transition of its own. The private online video codec company that was founded in Salt Lake City, UT, is joining the move to high-quality delivery with the Sorenson 360 video-publishing platform for serious … Continue reading “Sorenson Wants to Become King of High-Quality Internet Video”
Ardea Lays Off Half of Employees
San Diego-based Ardea Biosciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RDEA]]) says it has started a corporate restructuring that will reduce its workforce by 47 percent. The company says in their Q1 news release that they are now focused on clinical-stage programs. Ardea had approximately 90 employees. Ardea announced a partnership with Bayer last week in which Ardea takes responsibility … Continue reading “Ardea Lays Off Half of Employees”
Vical Within Days of Prototype H1N1 Vaccine
San Diego’s Vical (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VICL]]) said today it has the necessary genetic sequence and plans to produce a prototype vaccine for the H1N1 influenza, aka Swine Flu, “within the next few days.” Yesterday, Vical announced it has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC), a biomedical research organization within the … Continue reading “Vical Within Days of Prototype H1N1 Vaccine”
Qualcomm Launches QPrize Competition
Joining in the latest wave of funding innovation, San Diego’s Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) today launched a new international business plan competition called the QPrize. In a short announcement, the wireless chipmaker said its corporate venture fund has created a pool of $550,000 to provide early stage funding to the most-promising plans submitted by entrepreneurs “who … Continue reading “Qualcomm Launches QPrize Competition”
BakBone Gets a Bargain in $3M Purchase of Asempra’s Technologies
It looked like a small deal when San Diego-based data backup and recovery company BakBone Software acquired the assets of Santa Clara, CA-based Asempra Technologies earlier this week. BakBone shares trade over-the-counter, and the company’s press release mentioned that only $350,000 in cash changed hands. In fact, the value of the overall, cash-and-stock transaction was approximately $3 … Continue reading “BakBone Gets a Bargain in $3M Purchase of Asempra’s Technologies”
Take My Wallet, Just Leave My SSN!
Americans are more concerned about someone stealing their Social Security Number (SSN) than their wallet, laptop, or purse, according to a survey released today by Ipsos and San Diego-based ID Analytics. Three in five Americans identified their SSN as the personal item they are most concerned about if someone breaks into their home. Almost 60 … Continue reading “Take My Wallet, Just Leave My SSN!”
NextWave Changes Management
San Diego’s NextWave Wireless (NASDAQ: [[ticker:WAVE]]) said today its Chairman, CEO, and President Allen Salmasi “has transferred the day-to-day operating role” of CEO and President to James Brailean, who heads NextWave’s PacketVideo subsidiary. The company’s COO and CFO have both resigned. NextWave Wireless, founded in 2005, develops embedded multimedia software for mobile devices,and has had … Continue reading “NextWave Changes Management”
Illumina Sues Affymetrix for Patent Infringement of Genetic Analysis Technology
Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]), the San Diego-based developer of genetic analysis systems, said today it has filed a patent infringement suit in federal court in Madison, WI, against Affymetrix (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AFFX]]), the Santa Clara, CA-based maker of semiconductor-based “GeneChip” technology. The suit asserts that a variety of array plate products and a related scanner sold by … Continue reading “Illumina Sues Affymetrix for Patent Infringement of Genetic Analysis Technology”
Diabetes Drug Application May Be New Factor in Amylin Proxy Battle
Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]]), which is engaged in a proxy fight, has submitted a new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for exenatide, its once weekly drug for type 2 diabetes. The San Diego biotech made the announcement today with Eli Lilly (NYSE: [[ticker:LLY]]), its marketing partner, and Cambridge, MA-based drug developing … Continue reading “Diabetes Drug Application May Be New Factor in Amylin Proxy Battle”
A Big Convergence: Wireless Health Care, Information Technologies, and Serial Entrepreneur James Sweeney
San Diego’s James Sweeney is a big-time health-care innovator and entrepreneur. Although he’s relatively unknown to the general public, Sweeney has founded and created eight successful health-care companies—Caremark, CarePartners, CareGivers, Central Admixture Pharmacy Services, or CAPS, McGaw, Coram, Bridge Medical, and CardioNet. Sweeney founded his first company in 1979 as Home Health Care of America, … Continue reading “A Big Convergence: Wireless Health Care, Information Technologies, and Serial Entrepreneur James Sweeney”
Avalon Ventures’ Kevin Kinsella Sees a Way Through the Recession
San Diego’s Avalon Ventures is among a handful of homegrown VC firms that remains an active investor in early stage companies in the region, even though overall venture funding is anemic right now. But Avalon founder Kevin Kinsella sees a healthy resurgence of venture activities—and even some IPOs on the horizon. “The situation is what … Continue reading “Avalon Ventures’ Kevin Kinsella Sees a Way Through the Recession”
TweetPhoto Shows Where That Pic Came From
San Diego-based TweetPhoto is taking social media a little bit further towards “Web 3.0” time. TweetPhoto today launched a social-networking photo-sharing service, which uses Twitter and Facebook and automatically geo-tags photos sent from GPS-enabled cell phones. You can check my TweetPhoto of Bird Rock in La Jolla here. The service also provides information on who … Continue reading “TweetPhoto Shows Where That Pic Came From”
Amylin Allows Talks Between Carl Icahn and Eastbourne
In a filing with the SEC today, San Diego’s diabetes drug developer Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMLN) says it has agreed to let affiliates of billionaire investor Carl Icahn and Eastbourne Capital Management “engage in discussions with the other for the sole purpose of facilitating a settlement of the proxy contest.” The two dissident shareholder groups, which … Continue reading “Amylin Allows Talks Between Carl Icahn and Eastbourne”
Era of Over-the-Counter DNA Diagnostic Test Arrives in San Diego
A suburban healthcare group began selling personal DNA testing kits in San Diego this week, enabling ordinary people to buy an over-the-counter test to determine their predispositon to genetic disease. The Personal Genome Service packages, which retail for $399, were previously only available online. The first DNA kits ordered by San Diego’s Palomar Pomerado Health … Continue reading “Era of Over-the-Counter DNA Diagnostic Test Arrives in San Diego”