It was a huge week for Hunch, the New York-based startup that’s experimenting with a new approach to answering life’s big and little questions—from “Which savings account should I use?” to “Which science fiction author would I like?” After more than two months in invitation-only preview mode, the site threw open its doors to the … Continue reading “A Hunky-Dory Week at Hunch—Questions and Answers with Caterina Fake, the Only “West Coasty” in a Roomful of MIT and Harvard Grads”
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
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EnerNOC Gains EQuilibrium
Boston-based EnerNOC (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ENOC]]), which manages demand-response programs to moderate electrical demand for large utilities, said today that it has acquired privately held energy management software company eQuilibrium Solutions. The Boston firm’s software helps businesses monitor and minimize their carbon footprints, and will be incorporated into EnerNOC’s PowerTrak software platform, helping clients meeting existing and … Continue reading “EnerNOC Gains EQuilibrium”
Sapient Takes Nitro for $50M
Boston-based Sapient, (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SAPE]]) the IT consulting, advertising, and interactive marketing firm, said today it will acquire Nitro Group, an advertising firm that has seven offices in the Americas, Europe, and Asia and is known for its work for clients such as ConAgra, Foot Locker, Mars, Nike, and Volvo. The cash and stock transaction is … Continue reading “Sapient Takes Nitro for $50M”
And the Winner Is…New England Innovation, at the MITX Technology Awards
The Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange, an organization of 7,500 New England professionals in the Internet and digital marketing and advertising fields, handed out its yearly Technology Awards for the sixth time last night. Meant to celebrate the local companies who are bringing the most innovative technologies to bear on real business problems, the awards … Continue reading “And the Winner Is…New England Innovation, at the MITX Technology Awards”
Beaumaris Networks Raises $5.3M
According to regulatory documents filed today, Waltham, MA-based Charles River Ventures has handed over $5.3 million out of a planned $6.8 million Series A venture round for Beaumaris Networks. The documents, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, list the Waltham-based stealth-mode startup as a telecommunications company. The company’s president and CEO, Conrad Clemson, is … Continue reading “Beaumaris Networks Raises $5.3M”
DDUP Rejects EMC, Suit Filed
The board of directors at Santa Clara, CA-based Data Domain (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DDUP]]) yesterday recommended that shareholders reject a $1.8 billion, $30-per-share cash tender offer from Hopkinton, MA-based EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]). The board of the data deduplication software company stuck to its earlier decision to pursue a merger with Sunnyvale, CA-based NetApp (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NTAP]]), which is … Continue reading “DDUP Rejects EMC, Suit Filed”
E Ink Investors May Try to Block Sale to Taiwanese Firm, Keep Company Independent
A group of E Ink investors with concerns about Prime View International’s move earlier this month to purchase the Cambridge, MA-based e-paper display company will likely try to prevent the sale when it comes up for a shareholder vote, according to a source familiar with the company. E Ink has roughly 100 separate shareholders; it’s … Continue reading “E Ink Investors May Try to Block Sale to Taiwanese Firm, Keep Company Independent”
LogMeIn Hopes to Raise Up to $80 Million in IPO
LogMeIn, the Woburn, MA-based startup that makes software for controlling PCs and other devices remotely, today filed updated registration documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealing how much stock it hopes to sell in its planned initial public offering, and at what price. The company plans to offer 5 million shares of common stock … Continue reading “LogMeIn Hopes to Raise Up to $80 Million in IPO”
Boston Venture Firms Dominate New Mentoring Program for New York Startups
If you want to build a program to nurture early-stage startups in New York City through regular meetings with investors, legal and financial advisors, and experienced CEOs, where do you turn for mentors and sponsors? To Boston, naturally. Of the 11 founding members of the new First Growth Venture Network, five—Battery Ventures, Charles River Ventures, … Continue reading “Boston Venture Firms Dominate New Mentoring Program for New York Startups”
Novell To Buy Back $122M in Debt
In a tender offer registered today with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Waltham, MA-based network software maker Novell said it will buy back up to $121.6 million in convertible debt notes from the debt holders. The one-for-one offer, which commences June 15 and expires July 14, covers 0.50 percent convertible senior debentures due in 2024, … Continue reading “Novell To Buy Back $122M in Debt”
EMC May Raise DDUP Bid
Hopkinton, MA-based EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]) is prepared to raise its bid for Santa Clara, CA-based Data Domain (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DDUP]]) from $30 per share to as much as $35 in order to outbid rival NetApp (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NTAP]]), Reuters reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources. The board of Data Domain, whose software is used to reduce storage … Continue reading “EMC May Raise DDUP Bid”
Getting Better Answers Faster: Providence Software Startup Dynadec Goes Way Beyond the Traveling Salesman Problem
Say you’re running an oil company and you operate dozens of offshore drilling platforms. You have a fleet of gas-guzzling helicopters to transport the hundreds of technicians who commute every day from the shore to their rig or from one rig to another—but the numbers traveling and their destinations change every day depending on what … Continue reading “Getting Better Answers Faster: Providence Software Startup Dynadec Goes Way Beyond the Traveling Salesman Problem”
BigBelly Strikes Big Agreement with Waste Management
If you’re a company that makes high-tech public waste bins and you’re looking for a partner to get them distributed nationally, there aren’t many bigger than Waste Management (NYSE: [[ticker:WMI]]), the Houston, TX-based waste hauler and environmental services company with more than 20 million commercial, residential, municipal, and industrial customers in North America. That’s why … Continue reading “BigBelly Strikes Big Agreement with Waste Management”
Exact Sciences Raises $8.2M
In a private placement of stock, Marlborough, MA-based Exact Science (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EXAS]]) has raised $8.2 in new funding, according to an announcement today. The company, which has developed a molecular screening test for colorectal cancer, also said it has licensed technology developed by cancer researcher David Ahlquist at the Mayo Clinic covering aspects of sample … Continue reading “Exact Sciences Raises $8.2M”
German Web 2.0 Clothing Retailer Spreadshirt Finds Boston Fits It to a T
When you’re a technology reporter and you stumble across the same startup two or three times in quick succession, it’s the journalism gods telling you to write a story. I first stumbled across Spreadshirt on Tax Day, April 15. (As I’d later learn, the Leipzig, Germany-based startup has been famous among Web-savvy fashionistas for years, … Continue reading “German Web 2.0 Clothing Retailer Spreadshirt Finds Boston Fits It to a T”
Going Goes to AOL
AOL, the New York-based Internet portal company soon to be spun off by Time Warner, said today that it has acquired Going, a Boston startup that publishes an online guide to nightlife, music, and cultural events in Boston and 29 other U.S. cities. The purchase is part of a strategy at AOL to invest in … Continue reading “Going Goes to AOL”
Beacon Power Gets $2M from NY
Beacon Power (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BCON]]), a Tyngsboro, MA, company that makes flywheel-based systems that help to smooth out power supplies on the electrical grid, said today that it has won a tentative contract award worth up to $2 million from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, a state agency in New York charged … Continue reading “Beacon Power Gets $2M from NY”
Governor Patrick Announces $1 Million Business Plan Competition to Draw Startups to Massachusetts
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick today announced the creation of a $1 million annual business plan competition designed to attract more high-growth startups to the state. The competition, which will get underway next year, will be modeled on similar contests at MIT and other universities, but will be open to all teams of entrepreneurs willing to … Continue reading “Governor Patrick Announces $1 Million Business Plan Competition to Draw Startups to Massachusetts”
Drastic Cuts at Dataupia—Company Lays Off Majority of Staff While Hunting for New Investors
Cambridge, MA-based data warehousing appliance maker Dataupia has laid off nearly two-thirds of its staff and scaled back its operations while it seeks new funders, Xconomy has learned. We contacted Dataupia today after hearing a rumor that the four-year-old startup had shut down—a rumor that turns out to be exaggerated but not wholly unfounded. “Dataupia … Continue reading “Drastic Cuts at Dataupia—Company Lays Off Majority of Staff While Hunting for New Investors”
Vermont Utility Signs with EnerNOC
Green Mountain Power—the Colchester, VT-based electrical utility that serves approximately one-quarter of Vermont residents—said today that it has joined the New England demand-response pool managed by Boston-based EnerNOC (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ENOC]]). Green Mountain customers who are already registered through the utility to receive payments or rate reductions in return for a commitment to roll back electrical … Continue reading “Vermont Utility Signs with EnerNOC”
EMC Appeals to DDUP Employees
In an effort to increase the pressure on the board of Data Domain (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DDUP]]) to accept EMC’s $30 per share acquisition offer and reject NetApp’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NTAP]]) competing offer, EMC CEO Joseph Tucci issued an open letter to Data Domain employees today. Under EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]), Data Domain employees would have “a great and … Continue reading “EMC Appeals to DDUP Employees”
ULocate Launches Where on Palm Pre
Most eyes in the mobile industry are on San Francisco today, where Apple unveiled the latest version of its smart phone platform, the $199 iPhone 3GS, at its Worldwide Developer Conference. But that hasn’t diminished the buzz around Palm’s newest phone, the $200 Palm Pre, which hit stores on Saturday and has already sold at … Continue reading “ULocate Launches Where on Palm Pre”
GamerDNA Launches Twitter Tool
At the E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles last week, Cambridge, MA-based GamerDNA, an online community for hard-core video gamers, launched a new service called TweetMyGaming. The site shows a real-time stream of all Twitter messages mentioning video game titles. The idea, as with GamerDNA’s other services, is to help gamers see which games are … Continue reading “GamerDNA Launches Twitter Tool”
GenArts Inks Major Visual Effects Software Deal with Lucasfilm
If you’re watching a movie, a commercial, or a TV sports promo and you see a special effect with an especially stunning glow, glint, flash, flare, light ray, starburst, sparkle, explosion, or atmospheric wave, there’s a good chance it was created using software from Cambridge, MA-based GenArts. The venture-backed startup, launched in 1996 by MIT … Continue reading “GenArts Inks Major Visual Effects Software Deal with Lucasfilm”
Data Domain Dallies with EMC
On Wednesday the board of Santa Clara, CA-based data deduplication company Data Domain (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DDUP]]) voted to accept NetApp’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NTAP]]) sweetened $1.9 billion acquisition offer, which had come in response to a $1.8 billion offer earlier this week from Hopkinton, MA-based EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]). But yesterday Data Domain said its board is “reviewing EMC’s … Continue reading “Data Domain Dallies with EMC”
Are You a Victim of On Demand Disorder?
If this column has a repeating theme, it’s the amazing new capabilities we’re all gaining as a result of the digital media explosion. Yet like all revolutions, this one is destroying old values, attitudes, and behaviors even as it creates new ones. I would never trade the Web, mobile computing, and the instant access to … Continue reading “Are You a Victim of On Demand Disorder?”
Hangout Adds $4M to Series A Round
Boston-based Hangout Industries, which runs the teen social virtual world Hangout.net, has extended its Series A financing round by $4 million, CEO Pano Anthos confirmed today after documents on the financing surfaced online yesterday. Highland Capital Partners and Polaris Venture Partners put up the funds, which bring the company’s total financing to $10 million, including … Continue reading “Hangout Adds $4M to Series A Round”
American Well’s UnitedHealth Coup: Perspective from CEO Roy Schoenberg
Boston-based American Well, in a one-two punch of advances announced this week, has added substance to its dream of giving consumers with health problems a way to consult with doctors over the Web and avoid more costly office visits. On Tuesday, the company said it was upgrading its Web-based “Online Care” platform to provide doctors … Continue reading “American Well’s UnitedHealth Coup: Perspective from CEO Roy Schoenberg”
Skyhook Evangelist Joins Twitter
Ryan Sarver, the former director of consumer products and company evangelist at Boston’s Skyhook Wireless, has been hired by San Francisco-based Twitter, according to a piece yesterday in Silicon Alley Insider. Skyhook sells a software and database system that allows Wi-Fi and hybrid Wi-Fi/GPS devices to determine their locations; Sarver’s move is seen as a … Continue reading “Skyhook Evangelist Joins Twitter”
Founder Collective Raises $30M
[[Updated: See editor’s note below.]] Founder Collective, a new seed-stage venture fund in Somerville, MA, has received total investments and commitments of $30 million from limited partner investors, Eric Paley, a general partner of the firm, told Xconomy in an e-mail. Yesterday the firm filed papers with the SEC that show that it has raised … Continue reading “Founder Collective Raises $30M”
Terrafugia Completes First Stage of Flight Testing, Releases New “Flying Car” Footage
Terrafugia, the Woburn, MA, startup whose project to commercialize a “roadable aircraft” has attracted a worldwide following, said today that it’s completed flight testing of its initial proof-of-concept vehicle and is ready to build a second, “beta” aircraft. The company also released extensive new video footage from test flights of the proof-of-concept plane by its … Continue reading “Terrafugia Completes First Stage of Flight Testing, Releases New “Flying Car” Footage”
NetApp Outbids EMC for DDUP
Data Domain (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DDUP]]) shareholders must be flying high this week. Today Sunnyvale, CA-based storage company NetApp (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NTAP]]) announced that it has increased its bid for Santa Clara, CA-based deduplication software provider Data Domain to some $1.9 billion in an effort to fend off EMC’s (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]) $1.8 billion offer, tendered Monday night. NetApp … Continue reading “NetApp Outbids EMC for DDUP”
American Well Teams with Minnesota Firm to Offer Online Medical Consultations Directly to Consumers
It’s been almost a year since Boston-based American Well unveiled its online healthcare marketplace, a system designed to allow health plan members to connect with doctors or other medical providers live over the Web without having to visit an office or clinic. It’s an idea that could simplify healthcare access and reduce costs for both … Continue reading “American Well Teams with Minnesota Firm to Offer Online Medical Consultations Directly to Consumers”
Now, a Mac Version of Zinc Video Browser from ZeeVee
Boxee, the popular Internet video browser program for Macintosh computers, has some new competition. Today Littleton, MA-based ZeeVee is releasing the Mac version of its Zinc video browser, which gives owners of desktop or laptop computers an easy-to-use interface for locating and watching TV programming on the Internet. The free software, downloadable at www.zeevee.com/zinc, is … Continue reading “Now, a Mac Version of Zinc Video Browser from ZeeVee”
Turning the iPhone Into a Universal Remote, ThinkFlood Shows Off New Gadget
The great thing about the Apple iPhone is that it’s a powerful miniature computer, with a screen that can be retasked to look like almost anything and do almost any job—it can switch in a moment from being a scientific calculator to simulating an airplane cockpit ti acting like the slide of a trombone. One … Continue reading “Turning the iPhone Into a Universal Remote, ThinkFlood Shows Off New Gadget”
Greenfuel Selling Off Assets
Greenfuel Technologies, the Cambridge, MA, biofuels startup that closed its doors last month after running out of venture cash, is trying to scrape together some money for its creditors and investors through a sale of intellectual property and other assets. In a post on its website today, the company said it’s entertaining offers for its … Continue reading “Greenfuel Selling Off Assets”
Polatis Raises $8 Million
Polatis, a startup that makes optical switches from its bases in Andover, MA, and Cambridge, England, said today that it has obtained $8 million in new venture funding from existing investors 3i Ventures, Alta-Berkeley Ventures, DFJ Esprit, Flagship Ventures, Gainesborough & Peponi Investments, JK&B Partners, and the Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation. CEO Gerald Wesel said … Continue reading “Polatis Raises $8 Million”
The Next Chapter for E Ink: Talking with CEO Russ Wilcox About Yesterday’s Acquisition News
Eight venture rounds—it’s got to be some kind of record. Yet that’s how many times 12-year-old E Ink went back to investors, raising some $150 million, before it finally arranged an exit scenario for its backers. The Cambridge, MA, company, which makes the e-paper displays used in the red-hot Amazon Kindle e-book reader, announced yesterday … Continue reading “The Next Chapter for E Ink: Talking with CEO Russ Wilcox About Yesterday’s Acquisition News”
EMC Launches $1.8 Billion Takeover Bid to Wrestle Data Domain Away from Competitor
Hopkinton, MA-based data storage giant EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]), attempted today to derail competitor NetApp‘s proposed acquisition of Data Domain, by launching its own higher-priced bid for the Santa Clara, CA-based data deduplication company. In an announcement after the close of the markets this afternoon, EMC said that it has offered to acquire all of Data … Continue reading “EMC Launches $1.8 Billion Takeover Bid to Wrestle Data Domain Away from Competitor”
Taiwanese Display Maker Buys Cambridge’s E Ink for $215 Million
[Updated 9:45 a.m. June 1, 2009 with details from this morning’s press conference.] Cambridge, MA-based E Ink, the company that makes the electronic paper display used in Amazon’s Kindle e-book reading devices as well as e-book devices from Sony and other companies, will be purchased by Hsinchu, Taiwan-based display manufacturer Prime View International for $215 … Continue reading “Taiwanese Display Maker Buys Cambridge’s E Ink for $215 Million”
Boston-Power Asks Feds for $100 Million to Build Better Batteries for Electric Vehicles; Filene’s Basement Warehouse Could Be Reborn as 600-Employee Factory
The coming generation of electric and hybrid gas-electric vehicles will need safer, longer-lasting, faster-charging batteries. Boston-Power—the Westborough, MA-based known up to now mainly for its “green” lithium-ion laptop batteries—wants to supply them, and it’s pursuing federal stimulus money to fuel its bid. At a planned media event today featuring Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, the company … Continue reading “Boston-Power Asks Feds for $100 Million to Build Better Batteries for Electric Vehicles; Filene’s Basement Warehouse Could Be Reborn as 600-Employee Factory”
RunMyErrand Wins a Trip to Facebookland
Yesterday social networking giant Facebook unveiled the winners of its first fbFund Rev competition, a contest to pick 20 organizations building Facebook-related social media applications for a 10-week company-building incubator program at the company’s Palo Alto, CA, offices. Among the winners was RunMyErrand, a Charlestown, MA-based startup we profiled in February. RunMyErrand.com is a “service … Continue reading “RunMyErrand Wins a Trip to Facebookland”
EMC Scouring Boston Today for Bone Marrow Donor for Asian-American Employee
Hopkinton, MA-based EMC is throwing its weight behind a massive social media campaign to find a bone marrow donor for one of its employees, 28-year-old Nick Glasgow. The “donor drive” arrived in the Boston area today with events at EMC locations in Cambridge, MA, and Franklin, MA, where potential donors can visit to see whether … Continue reading “EMC Scouring Boston Today for Bone Marrow Donor for Asian-American Employee”
Will Quick Hit Score Big? Behind the Scenes with Foxborough’s Newest Team
There’s a company in Foxborough, MA, not two miles away from the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium, where a crew of veteran online game developers is putting the finishing touches on a potentially groundbreaking new game about football. Now, I can tell you all about why the venture-funded startup, Quick Hit, is likely to dazzle … Continue reading “Will Quick Hit Score Big? Behind the Scenes with Foxborough’s Newest Team”
Xbox 360 Passes 30 Million Mark
Microsoft has sold more than 30 million units of its flagship console game platform, the Xbox 360, the company announced today. For the year to date, Xbox sales are up 28 percent over the same period in 2008, which is a bigger increase than those seen by Sony with its Playstation 3 and even Nintendo … Continue reading “Xbox 360 Passes 30 Million Mark”
SiCortex, Out of Cash, Powers Down
SiCortex, a six-year-old startup building energy-efficient supercomputers in Maynard, MA, has shut its doors. The company ran out of working capital and was unable to raise more from its venture investors, according to a report that surfaced yesterday in HPC Wire, a trade publication in the high-performance computing industry. Xconomy obtained confirmation of the shutdown … Continue reading “SiCortex, Out of Cash, Powers Down”
Scenic Technology Raises $1.4M
Needham, MA-based Scenic Technology has raised $1.4 million in new funding out of a planned $2.1 equity round, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company makes Microsoft .NET-based software for tracking barcodes and RFID tags on items moving through warehouses.
Crosscheck Acquires Forum Systems
Crosscheck Networks of Waltham, MA, said today that it has acquired Forum Systems, also of Waltham. Crosscheck makes a simulation environment that allows software companies to test Web-based applications before they’re deployed; Forum Systems makes a gateway appliance that provides security and authentication services for Web-based software. As a result of the acquisition (the financial … Continue reading “Crosscheck Acquires Forum Systems”
Big Huge Acquisition for 38 Studios Will Boost Its Copernicus Project
38 Studios, the Maynard, MA-based video game company founded by Boston Red Sox star Curt Schilling, has filled a gap in its lineup. The company said today that it has nearly doubled its size by acquiring Big Huge Games, a Maryland-based company that’s behind such role-playing and strategy games as Rise of Nations and Age … Continue reading “Big Huge Acquisition for 38 Studios Will Boost Its Copernicus Project”
Visible Measures Rides Susan Boyle’s Coattails to Viral Video Fame, But It’s Got Something Even Bigger Planned
If you followed news articles mentioning Visible Measures, you might get the impression that the Boston startup’s technology is devoted entirely to tracking viral Web videos. An article in Sunday’s New York Times, for example, cited Visible Measures’ statistics on singing sensation Susan Boyle; it turns out that clips of her performances on “Britain’s Got … Continue reading “Visible Measures Rides Susan Boyle’s Coattails to Viral Video Fame, But It’s Got Something Even Bigger Planned”