Author: Wade Roush

Between 2007 and 2014, I was a staff editor for Xconomy in Boston and San Francisco. Since 2008 I've been writing a weekly opinion/review column called VOX: The Voice of Xperience. (From 2008 to 2013 the column was known as World Wide Wade.) I've been writing about science and technology professionally since 1994. Before joining Xconomy in 2007, I was a staff member at MIT’s Technology Review from 2001 to 2006, serving as senior editor, San Francisco bureau chief, and executive editor of TechnologyReview.com. Before that, I was the Boston bureau reporter for Science, managing editor of supercomputing publications at NASA Ames Research Center, and Web editor at e-book pioneer NuvoMedia. I have a B.A. in the history of science from Harvard College and a PhD in the history and social study of science and technology from MIT. I've published articles in Science, Technology Review, IEEE Spectrum, Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Technology and Culture, Alaska Airlines Magazine, and World Business, and I've been a guest of NPR, CNN, CNBC, NECN, WGBH and the PBS NewsHour. I'm a frequent conference participant and enjoy opportunities to moderate panel discussions and on-stage chats. My personal site: waderoush.com My social media coordinates: Twitter: @wroush Facebook: facebook.com/wade.roush LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/waderoush Google+ : google.com/+WadeRoush YouTube: youtube.com/wroush1967 Flickr: flickr.com/photos/wroush/ Pinterest: pinterest.com/waderoush/

$21M for TapJoy

TapJoy, a San Francisco startup that helps developers distribute and monetize Web and mobile apps through advertising, microtransactions, and virtual currencies, said today that it has raised $21 million in new financing, bringing its total venture backing to $40 million. New investor Rho Ventures led the round, which also included existing investors InterWest Partners, North … Continue reading “$21M for TapJoy”

SoloPower Powers Up with $52M

San Jose, CA-based SoloPower, which has developed a roll-to-roll process for making thin, flexible photovoltaic cells, has collected $51.6 million in a sale of equity and securities, according to a regulatory filing. The investors in the round—12 in all, according to the filing—haven’t yet been named. The company’s last previous funding round, in December 2008, … Continue reading “SoloPower Powers Up with $52M”

Inside Google’s Age of Augmented Humanity, Part 3: Computer Vision Puts a “Bird on Your Shoulder”

It’s a staple of every film depiction of killer androids since Terminator: the moment when the audience watches through the robot’s eyes as it scans a human face, compares the person to a photo stored in its memory, and targets its unlucky victim for elimination. That’s computer vision in action—but it’s actually one of the … Continue reading “Inside Google’s Age of Augmented Humanity, Part 3: Computer Vision Puts a “Bird on Your Shoulder””

Inside Google’s Age of Augmented Humanity: Part 2, Changing the Equation in Machine Translation

When science fiction fans think about language translation, they have two main reference points. One is the Universal Translator, software built into the communicators used by Star Trek crews for simultaneous, two-way translation of alien languages. The other is the Babel fish from Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which did the same … Continue reading “Inside Google’s Age of Augmented Humanity: Part 2, Changing the Equation in Machine Translation”

$3M Assist for Assistly

San Francisco-based Assistly, a 2009-vintage startup in the “social CRM” space alongside companies like Get Satisfaction and Zendesk, said today that it has raised $3 million in new funding. The money came from Bullpen Capital, Index Ventures, Social Leverage, True Ventures, and individual investor Kenny Van Zant. The company, which offers a collaborative Web-based desktop for customer … Continue reading “$3M Assist for Assistly”

PneumRx Raises $33M

PneumRx, a Mountain View, CA-based maker of a medical device that restores elastic recoil in the damaged lung tissue of patients with emphysema, said today that it has raised $33 million in working capital from European venture firms Forbion Capital Partners and Endeavour Vision. The round was also joined by existing investors Adams Street Partners, … Continue reading “PneumRx Raises $33M”

Inside Google’s Age of Augmented Humanity: Part 1

Editor’s Note: This is Part 1 of a three-part story that we originally published on January 3, 5, and 6, 2011. We’re highlighting it today because the series was just named by Longform.org as one of its top technology stories of 2011. Already, it’s hard for anyone with a computer to get through a day … Continue reading “Inside Google’s Age of Augmented Humanity: Part 1”

Thanks for the Big Welcome, Bay Area—and See You Next Year

Like many news operations, Xconomy is going into hibernation for a well-deserved week off, starting December 24. We’ll fire up WordPress, Tweetdeck, and all of our other tools again on Monday, January 3 (which happens to be my birthday). The only exception: a series of guests posts that we’ll be publishing in our Xconomist Forum … Continue reading “Thanks for the Big Welcome, Bay Area—and See You Next Year”

Responsys Files for IPO

San Bruno, CA-based Responsys, which makes software that helps companies automate e-mail, Web, mobile, and social-media marketing campaigns, announced today that it has filed registration forms with the Securities and Exchange Commission in preparation for an initial public offering. The company hasn’t yet said how many shares of common stock it will sell, or what … Continue reading “Responsys Files for IPO”

Lookout Finds $19.5M

Lookout Mobile Security, a San Francisco startup specializing in cloud-based security for mobile phones, said today that it has raised $19.5 million in Series C financing. New investor Index Ventures led the round, which also included existing investors Accel Partners and Khosla Ventures. Index partner Mike Volpi has joined the company’s board. The company says … Continue reading “Lookout Finds $19.5M”

$1.3M for LiquidSpace

Palo Alto, CA-based LiquidSpace has raised $1.3 million toward a potential $1.8 million round of equity-based financing, according to a December 20 regulatory filing. The stealth-mode startup was founded by former VengaWorks Venture Centers CEO Mark Gilbreath and Kardia Health Systems COO Doug Marinaro and counts Floodgate Fund’s Mike Maples as a director. According to … Continue reading “$1.3M for LiquidSpace”

Marvell CEO Says ARM Chips are “Here to Stay,” With or Without Microsoft Windows

The CEO of Santa Clara, CA-based semiconductor maker Marvell, Sehat Sutardja, has downplayed the significance of rumors circulating this week that Microsoft plans to unveil a version of Windows that runs on low-power ARM chips like those made by Marvell, Qualcomm, Samsung, and many other companies. Observers are saying that such a move would be … Continue reading “Marvell CEO Says ARM Chips are “Here to Stay,” With or Without Microsoft Windows”

Path Adds Video

In a blog post this evening, San Francisco-based Path announced that it has added video capabilities to its photo sharing app for the Apple iPhone. “Wonderful personal moments can be captured and shared with a photo. But, they would be infinitely better with video,” the company writes in the post. The addition of the video … Continue reading “Path Adds Video”

Streetline Unveils iPhone Parking App, Seeks to Take Guesswork out of Finding a Spot

It’s a universal urban experience: You’re zigzagging around the crowded city streets in your car, looking for an empty parking spot. The person in the passenger seat tells you to go right. You think you’ll have better luck if you go left. An argument ensues—as pointless as it is bitter, since neither of you has … Continue reading “Streetline Unveils iPhone Parking App, Seeks to Take Guesswork out of Finding a Spot”

Exits for Two More Y Combinator Startups, Movity and Etacts

It’s been a busy month for young startups backed by the Mountain View, CA-based venture incubator Y Combinator. Salesforce.com revealed a couple of weeks ago that it had acquired Heroku, which runs a hosting platform for Ruby on Rails websites, for an eye-popping $212 million. Then Rackspace bought Cloudkick, a San Francisco cloud management startup … Continue reading “Exits for Two More Y Combinator Startups, Movity and Etacts”

Meebo Collects $27.5M

Mountain View, CA-based Meebo, which builds browser plugins and other software for instant messaging and social sharing on the Web, said yesterday that it had closed a $27.5 million Series C financing round, bringing its total venture funding to $70 million. Khosla Ventures led the new round, which was joined by existing investors Sequoia Capital, … Continue reading “Meebo Collects $27.5M”

AOL Acquires About.me

AOL (NYSE: [[ticker:AOL]]) said yesterday that it will acquire About.me, a Mountain View, CA, startup that helps consumers build personal Web pages aggregating their blogs and social media feeds. The news came just four days after About.me’s public launch. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded one year ago, the startup had raised $425,000 … Continue reading “AOL Acquires About.me”

How SunRun Applies Financial and Software Muscle to Home Solar Installation

Sometimes we tech reporters get so wrapped up in writing about cool new technologies that we overlook other, equally important forms of innovation. Recently I visited SunRun, a San Francisco startup that installs photovoltaic panels on residential buildings and charges homeowners for the electricity they generate. I was expecting to hear a lot about the … Continue reading “How SunRun Applies Financial and Software Muscle to Home Solar Installation”

Babson’s MBA Program Plants a Flag in San Francisco’s SoMa

Cementing the expansion of its entrepreneurship-focused Fast Track MBA program to the Bay Area, Babson College announced today that it has signed a seven-year lease on 7,000 square feet of space at 135 Main Street in San Francisco’s startup-saturated South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood. As we wrote in a September profile, the Massachusetts-based school is … Continue reading “Babson’s MBA Program Plants a Flag in San Francisco’s SoMa”

TechShop Opens Up Shop, mSpot Puts iTunes in the Cloud, Twitter Collects $200M, & More Bay Area BizTech News

As the holidays (you know, that breather right before CES) approached, Bay Area entrepreneurs and investors rushed to announce a series of product rollouts, openings, deliveries, and deals last week. —Palo Alto, CA-based mSpot rolled out a cloud music service catering to iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch owners, beating Apple to the punch. —Nissan delivered … Continue reading “TechShop Opens Up Shop, mSpot Puts iTunes in the Cloud, Twitter Collects $200M, & More Bay Area BizTech News”

iStocking Stuffers: The Best Apps for That iPad Under the Tree

So you know someone who’s lucky enough to be getting an Apple iPad as a Christmas present. Well, that’s just the beginning of the adventure. The next step is to get their device loaded up with great apps—and naturally, they’ll want a few that show off the iPad’s remarkable capabilities. Today I’m sharing my ideas … Continue reading “iStocking Stuffers: The Best Apps for That iPad Under the Tree”

iStocking Stuffers: The Best Apps for That iPad Under the Tree

NEXT APP >> 1. Angry Birds HD — Chillingo, $4.99 — This game has been at the top of the iPhone and iPad charts for months, but it seemed so goofy and frivolous that I resisted buying it for a long time. That was dumb. It is goofy and frivolous, but in a totally addictive … Continue reading “iStocking Stuffers: The Best Apps for That iPad Under the Tree”

Tribune Acquires CastTV

CastTV, a four-year-old video search site in San Francisco backed by investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Ron Conway, and Marc Andreessen, has been acquired by Tribune Media Services of Chicago, according to an announcement yesterday. Tribune sells access to a database of TV and movie information that’s used in media guides published by Microsoft, Google, TiVo, Comcast, Time … Continue reading “Tribune Acquires CastTV”

For Startups, Is Friction Always Bad?

There’s probably nary a Web entrepreneur who hasn’t had a forehead-slapping “Why didn’t I build Groupon?” moment at some point in 2010. Well, I had an experience like that this week, reading Devin Friedman’s superb article “The Viral Me” in the December issue of GQ. It’s all about the Y Combinator venture incubator in Mountain … Continue reading “For Startups, Is Friction Always Bad?”

Investors Pour $200M into Twitter

Twitter has collected another $200 million in financing, more than doubling its venture pot, according to a blog post yesterday from CEO Dick Costolo. New investor Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers led the large round, which was joined by existing investors. Costolo also said that Mike McCue, CEO of Kleiner Perkins portfolio company Flipboard, and … Continue reading “Investors Pour $200M into Twitter”

TechShop’s “Innovation Cathedral” Comes to San Francisco—Serving Craftsmen and Entrepreneurs on the Gold’s Gym Model

As a Web journalist, I don’t need many tools. Give me a laptop, a smartphone, and an Internet connection, and I’m basically a roving newsroom. But don’t ask me to make anything other than words: in my loft, the closest thing to a power tool is the kitchen blender. To build, say, a robot dog, … Continue reading “TechShop’s “Innovation Cathedral” Comes to San Francisco—Serving Craftsmen and Entrepreneurs on the Gold’s Gym Model”

Clustrix Collects $12M

San Francisco-based Clustrix said today that it has closed a $12 million Series B financing round, joined by existing investors U.S. Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, and ATA Ventures. The company makes database appliances that are equally capable of handling SQL, MySQL, and “NoSQL” databases. It was founded by Isilon Systems founder Paul Mikesell and has now … Continue reading “Clustrix Collects $12M”

Streaming Music for Apple iTunes Users, Courtesy of mSpot

When Apple bought streaming music company Lala a year ago, observers thought it might herald a day when Apple customers would be able to stream their iTunes music to their iPhones and iPod Touch players. That hasn’t happened yet, and if it ever does, it won’t be Lala’s engineers who do it—I’m told that what’s … Continue reading “Streaming Music for Apple iTunes Users, Courtesy of mSpot”

JiWire Launches Ad Network

Going head-to-head with other location-based advertising platforms such as Boston-based Where, San Francisco startup JiWire today unveiled a mobile ad network called Compass that’s designed to serve ads directing consumers to nearby stores where a brand’s products are available. The ads use location data from a consumer’s smartphone, tablet, or laptop to show nearby retail … Continue reading “JiWire Launches Ad Network”

Facebook Has the Nation’s Happiest Employees, Glassdoor’s Employee Survey Says

Facebook, the Palo Alto, CA-based social networking giant with half a billion users worldwide, has won the highest overall rating of any company in a 2010 survey of U.S. employees. Meanwhile, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg received a 96 percent approval rating from survey respondents, putting him among the top eight CEOs in the … Continue reading “Facebook Has the Nation’s Happiest Employees, Glassdoor’s Employee Survey Says”

Sungevity Collects $15M More

Oakland, CA-based Sungevity, which aims to become the “Amazon of solar electricity” by making it easier for homeowners to install leased solar panels, announced today that it has extended its Series C funding round by $15 million, with existing investors Greener Capital and Firelake Capital in the lead. New investor Brightpath Capital Partners also pitched … Continue reading “Sungevity Collects $15M More”

Victrio Raises $5M

Mountain View, CA-based Victrio, which helps companies reduce telephone credit-card fraud by comparing callers’ voices to a database of known fraudsters’ voiceprints, has raised $5 million in new equity-based financing, according to a regulatory filing. The investors aren’t identified, but the filing lists U.S. Venture Partners principal Rick Lewis and individual investor Steve Tran as … Continue reading “Victrio Raises $5M”

$30M for Soladigm

Milpitas, CA-based Soladigm said today (PDF) that has raised $30 million in Series C financing in order to launch high-volume commercial production of its “dynamic glass,” which is covered with an electrochromic layer that allows it to change from clear to tinted to control the amount of sunlight entering a building. DBL Investors and NanoDimension led … Continue reading “$30M for Soladigm”

At the Half-Year Mark, Looking Back at Xconomy San Francisco’s Top Stories

We launched Xconomy San Francisco six months ago today, on June 14. It’s hard to comprehend how fast that time has flown by—and how many stories we’ve published (almost 500). On this six-month-iversary, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at readers’ favorite Bay Area infotech, energy, and life sciences/healthcare stories. The … Continue reading “At the Half-Year Mark, Looking Back at Xconomy San Francisco’s Top Stories”

Judge Dismisses Paul Allen Suit

A United States District Court judge for the Western District of Washington has dismissed a broad patent infringement lawsuit filed in August by Paul Allen’s Interval Licensing against AOL, Apple, eBay, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo, and YouTube. The website Groklaw first reported the development on December 10 and published a copy … Continue reading “Judge Dismisses Paul Allen Suit”

Microsoft Opposes Google-ITA Deal

FairSearch.org, the coalition of companies claiming that Google’s proposed acquisition of Cambridge, MA-based ITA Software would give Google an unfair advantage in the travel search arena, announced today (PDF) that it has gained several new members, including Microsoft. The Redmond, WA, giant’s Bing search engine uses ITA’s QPX flight search tool to power some of … Continue reading “Microsoft Opposes Google-ITA Deal”

EmSense Picks Up $4M

EmSense, a San Francisco startup applying measurement methods from neuroscience to study how consumers respond to advertising, packaging, and content, has raised $4 million in equity-based financing in a round that could total as much as $5.43 million, according to a regulatory filing. EmSense raised $9 million in Series C funding from Technology Partners and Foundry … Continue reading “EmSense Picks Up $4M”

QuantaLife Closes $17M Round

Pleasanton, CA-based QuantaLife, which has developed a “digital PCR” method to quantify small amounts of DNA for gene expression analysis and other applications, said that it has collected $17.2 million in Series B financing. The round was led by Series A investor Paladin Capital Group and was joined by new investors Merieux Developpement and Vital … Continue reading “QuantaLife Closes $17M Round”

Can Tibion’s Bionic Leg Rewire Stroke Victims’ Brains?

The conventional wisdom about stroke victims is that after about 12 months of rehabilitation aimed at restoring motor control, recovery levels off. Patients never regain more movement, never get beyond whatever plateau they’ve reached by that time. But there’s a company in Sunnyvale, CA, that may be proving otherwise. Tibion makes a robotic, battery-powered exoskeleton—in … Continue reading “Can Tibion’s Bionic Leg Rewire Stroke Victims’ Brains?”

Google Chrome Shines, Salesforce Scoops Up Heroku, Wings Gets Clipped, & More Bay Area BizTech News

Maybe, while the rest of the country endures a jobless recovery, the Bay Area is blowing itself a new bubble. Or maybe everybody just wanted to release their year-end news before the holiday rush. Whatever the reason, the Bay Area infotech scene was packed with back-to-back news events last week. Take a deep breath: —Google … Continue reading “Google Chrome Shines, Salesforce Scoops Up Heroku, Wings Gets Clipped, & More Bay Area BizTech News”

At a Confab in Phoenix, Lamenting (and Inventing) the Future of News

What do we mean by “the news”? As recently as 20 years ago, the answer was pretty clear—it was whatever the media establishment was telling us. There were well-worn models for packaging news (in printed newspapers or half-hour broadcasts) and paying for it (through advertising and, to a lesser extent, subscriptions). There were sharply defined … Continue reading “At a Confab in Phoenix, Lamenting (and Inventing) the Future of News”

Heroic Heroku: Snapped Up By Salesforce.com for $212 Million

In the biggest exit by far for a company emerging from Mountain View’s Y Combinator venture incubator program, application platform provider Heroku is being acquired by San Francisco-based cloud giant Salesforce.com (NYSE: [[ticker:CRM]]) for a whopping $212 million in cash. The acqusition was announced yesterday during Salesforce.com’s annual Dreamforce conference, and it means Heroku customers like Best … Continue reading “Heroic Heroku: Snapped Up By Salesforce.com for $212 Million”

SnapLogic Raises $10M

San Francisco-based SnapLogic, which makes software “connectors” that help developers integrate cloud-based applications and services, said yesterday that it has raised $10 million in Series B financing in a round led by previous investor Andreessen Horowitz. General partner Ben Horowitz has joined SnapLogic’s board. The startup said in a statement that the funds would help … Continue reading “SnapLogic Raises $10M”

High-Tech Jobs Evaporate By the Thousands in Detroit and San Francisco Bay Area; Boston, San Diego, Seattle Hold Their Own

In 2009, employment at high-tech companies either declined or stayed essentially flat in all of the cities Xconomy calls home, according to a study of the nation’s top 60 “cybercities” released this week by TechAmerica, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association for the information technology industry. Though the underwhelming job data certainly accords with most people’s … Continue reading “High-Tech Jobs Evaporate By the Thousands in Detroit and San Francisco Bay Area; Boston, San Diego, Seattle Hold Their Own”

Evernote Adds Group Accounts

In a post on the company blog today, Mountain View, CA-based cloud notekeeping startup Evernote introduced a new feature aimed at businesses, school groups, and other organizations. The new “Sponsored Accounts” feature allows organizations to buy Evernote subscriptions for every team member, at $5 per account per month. Users can share content across these accounts … Continue reading “Evernote Adds Group Accounts”