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/

RunKeeper Versus Runmeter on the iPhone: A Newbie Runner’s Review

[Corrected, see p. 2] If there’s one seductive thing about being a startup entrepreneur, it’s that you can utterly neglect exercise without feeling guilty about it. After all, doesn’t building a great company require every moment of wakefulness, every ounce of concentration? I know I’ve got a lot to show for my last three years … Continue reading “RunKeeper Versus Runmeter on the iPhone: A Newbie Runner’s Review”

We’re Hiring at Xconomy San Francisco

It’s time for Xconomy to expand its Bay Area coverage. We’ve been on the ground here since June, writing about innovation and entrepreneurship in all corners of the high-tech economy, including software and the Web, biotech and drug development, energy and cleantech, and angel and venture investing. Now we want to take it the next … Continue reading “We’re Hiring at Xconomy San Francisco”

$15M for Redwood Systems

Fremont, CA-based Redwood Systems, which makes networks for powering and controlling LED lighting systems in large buildings, said yesterday that it has closed a $15 million Series B financing round. Index Ventures led the round, which was joined by existing backers Battery Ventures and U.S. Venture Partners. Index Venture co-founder and partner Neil Rimer has … Continue reading “$15M for Redwood Systems”

A Peek Inside the Story Pipeline at Xconomy San Francisco

Journalists are usually pretty secretive about the stories they’re planning to write. The fear is that if we give away what we’re working on, some other outlet will jump on the story and beat us to it. To be honest, that prospect doesn’t bother me, because the truth is that very few others will make … Continue reading “A Peek Inside the Story Pipeline at Xconomy San Francisco”

The “Disney-Sized Imaginations” at Loveland Are Out to Reverse Detroit’s Decay with Digital Maps

It would be easy to dismiss Jerry Paffendorf and his friends as a bunch of art-nerd carpetbaggers from San Francisco who see Detroit as the latest canvas for their airy-fairy ideas about virtual communities and social entrepreneurship. In fact, that’s how some locals reacted when reports surfaced in The Detroit News last year that Paffendorf … Continue reading “The “Disney-Sized Imaginations” at Loveland Are Out to Reverse Detroit’s Decay with Digital Maps”

Zynga Expands to Seattle

San Francisco-based Zynga this week posted job openings for Web engineers in Seattle, signifying that the social games juggernaut is expanding to the Northwest, already a hotbed of game design. Though the company has been on an acquisition binge lately—buying Bonfire Studios in Dallas, Challenge Games in Austin, Conduit Labs in Cambridge, MA, Dextrose in Frankfurt, … Continue reading “Zynga Expands to Seattle”

PlayFirst Wins $9.2M

PlayFirst, the San Francisco-based maker of popular iPhone, iPad, and Facebook games such as Diner Dash and Chocolatier, said Tuesday that it has raised $9.2 million in venture and debt financing. Mayfield Fund, Trinity Partners, DCM, and Rustic Canyon Ventures provided a $5.2 million venture infusion, while Comerica Bank provided a $4 million loan. Playfirst … Continue reading “PlayFirst Wins $9.2M”

CarWoo Promises Car Buyers Hassle-Free Quotes Online, Raises $4.2 Million

The Internet was supposed to make car shopping easier, Tommy McClung is explaining. Back in the 1990s, sites like Vehix.com, Cars.com, and Autotrader.com promised a future where you wouldn’t have to haggle with a salesman, and where you didn’t have to drive from dealer to dealer just to see who could offer the best price … Continue reading “CarWoo Promises Car Buyers Hassle-Free Quotes Online, Raises $4.2 Million”

Marvell Funds OLPC Tablet, Viewdle’s Face Recognition Advances, Aneesh Chopra Speaks, & More Bay Area BizTech News

Thanks to the long Columbus Day weekend (observed at Xconomy’s Massachusetts headquarters, if not by many Californians), last week seems like it was ages ago. But not so long ago that I couldn’t scrape up our main business and technology headlines. —I scored an interview with Aneesh Chopra, the chief technology officer of the United … Continue reading “Marvell Funds OLPC Tablet, Viewdle’s Face Recognition Advances, Aneesh Chopra Speaks, & More Bay Area BizTech News”

TubeMogul Collects $10M

Emeryville, CA-based TubeMogul, which runs a platform for distributing pay-per-view video ads on the Web, said last week that it has closed a $10 million Series B venture financing round. Foundation Capital was in the lead, with existing investors Trinity Ventures and Knights Bridge Capital Partners also on board. “TubeMogul brings innovative technology and expertise … Continue reading “TubeMogul Collects $10M”

$17M for Stent Maker TriReme

TriReme Medical, a Pleasanton, CA-based developer of cardiovascular stents, catheters, and balloons, said this week that it has raised $17 million in Series D funding. The round was led by EDB Investments subsidiary Bio*One Capital of Singapore, with existing investors Three Arch Partners and Adams Street Partners also participating. “This investment will allow us to … Continue reading “$17M for Stent Maker TriReme”

Threat to VC Is from Regular Angels, Not Super Angels, CEO Survey Says

[Corrected, see below] “Mounting tensions” would be the journalistic cliche to describe recent relations between traditional Silicon Valley venture capital firms and the growing class of “super angel” investors—groups like Ron Conway’s SV Angel, Mike Maple’s Floodgate Fund, Dave McClure’s 500 Startups, Aydin Senkut’s Felicis Ventures, and Jeff Clavier’s SoftTech VC. The relationship between these … Continue reading “Threat to VC Is from Regular Angels, Not Super Angels, CEO Survey Says”

Snaptic is Now Catch

San Francisco-based Snaptic, a maker of cloud-based notekeeping apps for Android phones, iPhones, and the iPad, has officially changed its name to Catch.com, according to a blog post yesterday. The company also introduced new “Catch Notes” apps in the Android Marketplace and the iTunes App Store. “With Catch.com, our name matches our mission to help … Continue reading “Snaptic is Now Catch”

$8M Round for Involver

Involver, a San Francisco-based maker of platforms that help marketers reach audiences through Facebook, Twitter, and other social media channels, has raised $7 million out of a potential $8 million in a sale of equity, options, and warrants, according to a regulatory filing. Involver previously disclosed a $1.3 million financing round, in September; it’s not … Continue reading “$8M Round for Involver”

Just When I Was Working Up Some Sympathy for Mark Zuckerberg—Facebook Blows It Again

I was going to write an impassioned column this week attacking David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin for the hatchet job they performed on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network. I can’t remember the last time a movie made me so angry; no entrepreneur who’s created such a beloved and successful service, even if … Continue reading “Just When I Was Working Up Some Sympathy for Mark Zuckerberg—Facebook Blows It Again”

Eventbrite Makes a Date with $20M

Eventbrite, the San Francisco startup that handles online event ticket sales for thousands of other organizations, said yesterday that it has collected $20 million in Series D venture funding. Leading the round were new investors DAG Ventures and Tenaya Capital (the former Lehman Brothers Venture Capital). Eventbrite’s sole existing investor, Sequoia Capital, also participated. Eventbrite … Continue reading “Eventbrite Makes a Date with $20M”

Offerpal Becomes Tapjoy

Fremont, CA-based Offerpal Media, which provides virtual currency platforms for online games, virtual worlds, and social networks, announced yesterday that it is adopting the name of the startup it acquired in March, Tapjoy, and moving its headquarters to San Francisco. Tapjoy was known before the acquisition for its pay-per-install service for distributing apps to mobile … Continue reading “Offerpal Becomes Tapjoy”

Aneesh Chopra, Obama’s Chief Technology Officer, Talks About Health IT Geek Squads, Entrepreneurship Prizes, and “Data as a Policy Lever”

“In the Obama Administration, entrepreneurs are welcome.” So said Aneesh Chopra, chief technology officer of the United States, in a keynote speech yesterday at “DC to VC,” a summit on healthcare IT investing organized by Morgenthaler Ventures partner Rebecca Lynn in San Francisco and co-sponsored by Silicon Valley Bank and Venrock. Speaking to a group … Continue reading “Aneesh Chopra, Obama’s Chief Technology Officer, Talks About Health IT Geek Squads, Entrepreneurship Prizes, and “Data as a Policy Lever””

$10M for SocialShield

SocialShield, a San Bruno, CA-based startup that offers subscription-based Web tools that parents can use to monitor their children’s activity on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, said yesterday that it has completed a $10 million Series A financing round. Venrock, U.S. Venture Partners, and “notable Silicon Valley angels” led the round, including Russell Fradin, Larry Braitman, … Continue reading “$10M for SocialShield”

Yahoo To Buy Dapper

Dapper, a provider of customized display ads for the Web with offices in San Francisco, New York, and Tel Aviv, will be acquired by Yahoo for an undisclosed amount, the two companies announced today. Yahoo wants Dapper’s technology in order to enhance its Smart Ads targeted advertising platform. “Yahoo currently partners with Dapper, along with … Continue reading “Yahoo To Buy Dapper”

The One Percent Solution: How Innovalight’s Silicon Ink Makes Solar Panels Slightly More Efficient, and Why That’s a Huge Deal

Silicon Valley is a place defined by big numbers and rapid change. Since the 1960s, the number of transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit for the same cost has doubled every two years or so. The capacity of Flash memory chips has been increasing even faster of late, doubling every year. So … Continue reading “The One Percent Solution: How Innovalight’s Silicon Ink Makes Solar Panels Slightly More Efficient, and Why That’s a Huge Deal”

Threatmetrix Collects $12.1M

Los Altos, CA-based ThreatMetrix, which helps online businesses prevent fraud by authenticating the hardware devices people use to log in to e-commerce sites and other services, today announced the closing of a $12.1 million Series C funding round. Tenaya Capital (formerly Lehman Brothers Ventures) led the round, which also included existing investors U.S. Venture Partners, … Continue reading “Threatmetrix Collects $12.1M”

Omnicell Buys Pandora Data Systems

Mountain View, CA-based Omnicell (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OMCL]]), a maker of systems that restrict and automate access to medications and anesthesia in hospitals, said today that it has acquired Pandora Data Systems of Scotts Valley, CA. Pandora makes software that analyzes hospital records to detect “medication diversion,” i.e. theft, and meet regulatory requirements. Terms of the deal … Continue reading “Omnicell Buys Pandora Data Systems”

With $10 Million Series B Round, Viewdle Turns Its Face Recognition Technology on Consumers

Viewdle is one of those technology startups that probably should have stayed in stealth mode a lot longer. The San Jose, CA-based company created a stir around the time of its public launch back in September 2007 with demos that promised real-time facial recognition for digital video—a still-unsolved problem that, if definitively licked, could help … Continue reading “With $10 Million Series B Round, Viewdle Turns Its Face Recognition Technology on Consumers”

Truste Goes Mobile, Amyris Goes Public, EA Hires nPario, & More Bay Area BizTech News

I’m a day behind with our usual roundup of the previous week’s major business and technology stories from Xconomy San Francisco. So, without further ado: —Having driven past Box.net’s cheeky anti-Microsoft billboard on U.S. 101 many times, I finally got to meet the company’s young CEO, Aaron Levie, who told me why SharePoint is a … Continue reading “Truste Goes Mobile, Amyris Goes Public, EA Hires nPario, & More Bay Area BizTech News”

ClairMail Raises $13.8M

San Rafael, CA-based ClairMail, which makes mobile banking software for banks, credit unions, and card services companies, said today that it has raised $13.8 million in late stage funding. The round was led by Investor Growth Capital, a unit of Stockholm-based Investor AB. Joining the round were existing investors JAFCO Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners and Outlook … Continue reading “ClairMail Raises $13.8M”

LookSmart Still Isn’t Dead; Finds New Role “Mining Diamonds from the Dirt” in the World of Second-Tier Search Engines

When a public relations group in San Francisco contacted me to see if I’d be interested in meeting with an executive at LookSmart, my first reaction was “LookSmart? They’re still in business?” I’d known people at the 13-year-old company back in the dot-com era, after it went public on the NASDAQ ([[ticker:LOOK]]), won big contracts … Continue reading “LookSmart Still Isn’t Dead; Finds New Role “Mining Diamonds from the Dirt” in the World of Second-Tier Search Engines”

ClearPractice Shares EMR App for iPad

ClearPractice, based in Maryland Heights, MO, last week unveiled an electronic medical records app for the Apple iPad called Nimble. Designed for hospitals and physician practices, the app can handle appointment scheduling, patient charting, prescriptions, inpatient rounds recordkeeping, lab test ordering ordering and review, and more. It also integrates wirelessly with ClearPractice’s existing Software-as-a-Service electronic … Continue reading “ClearPractice Shares EMR App for iPad”

Boston vs. NYC vs. Silicon Valley? Forget It—The Real City of Innovation Is Everywhere

In William Gibson’s 1984 cyberpunk masterpiece Neuromancer, the hero Case lives in a near-future place called BAMA—the Boston-Atlanta Metropolitan Axis, aka the Sprawl, a giant city that has spread Coruscant-like across the whole eastern seaboard. (If it had extended to Orlando, maybe Gibson could have called it OBAMA.) But while this part of Gibson’s sci-fi … Continue reading “Boston vs. NYC vs. Silicon Valley? Forget It—The Real City of Innovation Is Everywhere”

NPario Shows EA How to Track and Target Consumers Across Web, Mobile, Social, Internet TV, and Game Consoles

It’s a big week for nPario. The young Redmond, WA- and Palo Alto, CA-based startup is using technology developed at Yahoo to help businesses study media consumers who hop incessantly between their PCs, tablet devices, smartphones, game consoles, and Internet-connected TVs, then target them with the right ads on the right platforms. It’s had one … Continue reading “NPario Shows EA How to Track and Target Consumers Across Web, Mobile, Social, Internet TV, and Game Consoles”

Ongo Collects $12M

Ongo, a Cupertino, CA-based stealth-mode startup that says it will soon launch “a consumer service for reading and sharing digital news and information from multiple publishers,” announced yesterday that it has raised $12 million in financing from strategic backers Gannett Company (NYSE: [[ticker:GCI]]), The New York Times Company (NYSE: [[ticker:NYT]]), and The Washington Post Company (NYSE: … Continue reading “Ongo Collects $12M”

Babson MBA Program Boldly Expands to San Francisco, Where Entrepreneurship Goes “90 Miles Per Hour”

If you’ve spent much time around Boston, you know that the name Babson College is pretty much synonymous with “entrepreneurship.” Centered in Babson Park, MA, adjacent to suburban Wellesley, Babson’s MBA programs seem to churn out startup founders at a rate that’s far out of proportion to the school’s size (1,600 graduate students) or its … Continue reading “Babson MBA Program Boldly Expands to San Francisco, Where Entrepreneurship Goes “90 Miles Per Hour””

Evri Expands Mobile Offerings Beyond Tech News to Sports, Music, and Celebrity Gossip

Evri is going mobile in a big way. The Seattle- and San Francisco-based information discovery website backed by Paul Allen’s Vulcan Capital introduced an Android app called EvriThing Tech back in May, taking advantage of the startup’s semantic search technology to help on-the-go tech news addicts track the latest developments on subtopics from gadgets to … Continue reading “Evri Expands Mobile Offerings Beyond Tech News to Sports, Music, and Celebrity Gossip”

Amyris Raises $85 Million in IPO

Emeryville, CA-based Amyris Biotechnologies is unusual in several respects. One of the synthetic biology company’s first big projects, back in 2005, was a non-profit venture with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to engineer microbes to produce artemisinin, an anti-malarial drug. (It handed off that work to pharmaceuticals giant Sanofi-Aventis in 2008.) Then the company … Continue reading “Amyris Raises $85 Million in IPO”

Permuto Mutates into Buysight

Palo Alto, CA-based Permuto, which runs an “intent-driven” advertising network that attempts to match online shoppers with appropriate ads, said today that it has changed its name to Buysight. The company also announced that it has raised $10 million in Series A financing from Onset Ventures, Rembrandt Venture Partners, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. “We … Continue reading “Permuto Mutates into Buysight”

Box.net Creates “News Feed” for Business Documents in the Cloud, Takes On Microsoft in Collaborative Software

If you live or work in Silicon Valley, you’ve probably driven past the Box.net billboard on U.S. 101, near the Ralston Avenue exit (aka the Oracle exit). It says “No Hardware. No Software. No SharePoint.” A brazen dig at Microsoft, the billboard makes the point that Box.net’s system for sharing business documents works in the … Continue reading “Box.net Creates “News Feed” for Business Documents in the Cloud, Takes On Microsoft in Collaborative Software”

$75M for Chegg

[Updated 9:40 a.m. September 27, 2010] Chegg, the Santa Clara, CA-based textbook rental company that’s often called the “Netflix of textbooks,” has raised $75 million in Series E funding, bringing its total venture financing to nearly $220 million. Kara Swisher of AllThingsD first reported the news this weekend, and identified Hong Kong investment firm Ace … Continue reading “$75M for Chegg”

Quantenna Tunes In $21 Million

Fremont, CA-based Quantenna Communications, which makes chipsets for broadband home networking over Wi-Fi, said today that it has collected $21 million in Series E financing, bringing its total venture pot to about $78 million. New investor DAG Ventures led the round, with, with existing investors Sequoia Capital, Sigma Partners, Southern Cross Venture Partners, and Venrock … Continue reading “Quantenna Tunes In $21 Million”

Truste, Citing Location Privacy Worries, Expands Certification Program to the Mobile World

San Francisco-based Truste, the former non-profit that provides privacy certification services for the websites of nearly 3,000 organizations, is expanding into the mobile arena. Starting today, builders of mobile websites and mobile applications can submit their sites and their iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Symbian, and Palm software apps for certification by Truste. If … Continue reading “Truste, Citing Location Privacy Worries, Expands Certification Program to the Mobile World”

Recurve Refines Energy Retrofits, Sungevity Helps Homes Go Solar, BrightSource Prepares for IPO, & More Bay Area Biztech News

Last week was an unusual one at Xconomy San Francisco: it was practically all energy news, all the time. —On Tuesday I profiled Recurve, a San Francisco startup that’s systematizing the science of home energy audits and retrofitting using its own in-house software. The company eventually hopes to conduct energy audits and retrofits on a massive … Continue reading “Recurve Refines Energy Retrofits, Sungevity Helps Homes Go Solar, BrightSource Prepares for IPO, & More Bay Area Biztech News”

Anybots, Y Combinator’s Housemate, Brings Remote-Controlled Robots to the White-Collar World

[Video included, please scroll down] Trevor Blackwell used to think that telepresence robots were all about manipulation: being able to grasp and move things from afar. So he and his colleagues at Mountain View, CA-based Anybots spent years building robots with beautifully articulated hands that users could operate over a standard Internet connection. The company’s … Continue reading “Anybots, Y Combinator’s Housemate, Brings Remote-Controlled Robots to the White-Collar World”

MerchantCircle Buys TimeBridge

Mountain View, CA-based MerchantCircle, which provides local merchants with online social networking tools, said yesterday that it has acquired TimeBridge, maker of a Web app for business meeting scheduling. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “The TimeBridge team has developed innovative scheduling technologies and we are very happy to bring them on board to … Continue reading “MerchantCircle Buys TimeBridge”

Sungevity Founder Danny Kennedy on Making a Difference With Solar

Yesterday we published Part 1 of a Q&A with Danny Kennedy, the former Greenpeace activist and administrator who founded Oakland, CA-based Sungevity in 2007. The company’s mission is to make it easier and more affordable for homeowners to reduce their monthly utility bills by installing rooftop photovoltaic panels. The main strategy: computerize as much of … Continue reading “Sungevity Founder Danny Kennedy on Making a Difference With Solar”

Sharp To Buy Recurrent

San Francisco-based Recurrent Energy, which develops distributed solar generation projects for utilities, said yesterday (PDF) that it will be acquired by Japan’s Sharp for up to $305 million in cash, subject to balance sheet adjustments. “It is essential for Sharp to function as a developer in the photovoltaic field, in order to further expand its business … Continue reading “Sharp To Buy Recurrent”