Luminus Devices, a Billerica, MA-based maker of LED-based lighting equipment, announced today that Udi Meirav, CEO since 2003, has become executive vice-chairman of the company’s board of directors and will be replaced by Keith Ward, who also takes on the title of president. Ward is a veteran of EYE Lighting International and General Electric.
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.
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Carbon Design Systems Raised $7.5M
Amended documents filed with federal regulators last week show that a 2007 Series E financing round for Acton, MA-based Carbon Design Systems, which sells a software platform used by designers of combined hardware and software systems to build virtual prototypes, brought in $7.5 million rather than the $6 million reported in a filing that year. … Continue reading “Carbon Design Systems Raised $7.5M”
Making the Smart Grid Smarter Through Instant Messaging: A Talk with EnerNOC’s David Brewster
Late last month, Boston-based smart grid company EnerNOC (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ENOC]]) revealed that it’s looking to the consumer Internet for a new way of managing its “demand response” pools. These are the groups of companies and municipalities that, in return for cash payments from EnerNOC, sign up to have their electrical consumption dialed back remotely in … Continue reading “Making the Smart Grid Smarter Through Instant Messaging: A Talk with EnerNOC’s David Brewster”
People Doing Strange Things With Soldering Irons: A Visit to Hackerspace
You might think that all of the engineering brainpower in cities like Boston, San Diego, and Seattle is sucked up by high-voltage startups or by giant employers in the software, server, or semiconductor businesses. But proof that there’s plenty of surplus technological creativity in these regions is popping up in odd places like Willoughby & … Continue reading “People Doing Strange Things With Soldering Irons: A Visit to Hackerspace”
BigBelly Digests $3.2 Million
Needham, MA-based BigBelly Solar, a maker of solar-powered, trash-compacting public waste bins that we profiled in December, has raised $3.2 million in additional funding from undisclosed investors, according to documents filed this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. BigBelly, formerly known as Seahorse Power, had previously raised at least $1.1 million, according to a … Continue reading “BigBelly Digests $3.2 Million”
Axcelis Cuts 20% of Workforce
Beverly, MA-based Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACLS]]), which makes ion implantation equipment for semiconductor manufacturers, said yesterday that it will lay off 235 workers, or about 20 percent of its global workforce. The company said the decision, which comes after a series of other cost-cutting moves, will save it $25 million in the coming year. “This … Continue reading “Axcelis Cuts 20% of Workforce”
MIT, E8 Pharmaceuticals Sue Second California Firm over Genotyping Patent
The stellar plaintiffs in a patent lawsuit over genotyping technology developed at MIT are raising the stakes by dragging a second California company into the dispute. In 2008, MIT and E8 Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, MA-based startup created by MIT biologist David Housman and Harvard biologist Richard Mulligan, sued Santa Clara, CA-based Affymetrix for allegedly including … Continue reading “MIT, E8 Pharmaceuticals Sue Second California Firm over Genotyping Patent”
Stylefeeder Raises $500K
Cambridge, MA-based Stylefeeder, which runs an online personalized shopping recommendation service, has raised $500,000 in additional venture capital, founder Philip Jacob confirmed today after word of the funding surfaced in regulatory documents published May 12. Stylefeeder’s existing investors, Highland Capital Partners and Schooner Capital, provided the funding, which brings the company’s total venture pot to … Continue reading “Stylefeeder Raises $500K”
Texting on Road Still Epidemic in MA
A year ago this week, Cambridge, MA-based speech software company Vlingo released its first study of the texting-while-driving phenomenon, finding that 28 percent of all survey respondents admitted to sending text messages while behind the wheels of their cars. It’s a hazardous habits that, with the recent Green Line trolley accident in Boston (linked to … Continue reading “Texting on Road Still Epidemic in MA”
MortgageReport.com Launches
A new startup in Newton, MA, MortgageReport.com, unveiled a Web-based service today designed to help homeowners with mortgages better understand their financial situation. The site provides users with data such as the current estimated value of their homes, advises them on whether to refinance, and directs them to available loan options. MortgageReport.com is a sister … Continue reading “MortgageReport.com Launches”
MocoSpace’s Winning Formula for Feature-Phone Social Networking
MocoSpace is one of Boston’s hidden technology success stories. The four-year-old startup, located on the second floor of a classic old office building near Boston’s South Station, has built what is probably the world’s largest standalone social network for mobile phone owners (that is, one that isn’t merely the mobile counterpart of a primarily Web-based … Continue reading “MocoSpace’s Winning Formula for Feature-Phone Social Networking”
RunMyErrand Is fbFund Finalist
RunMyErrand, a Boston-based “service networking” startup profiled here in February, is among an initial group of 25 finalists announced by Facebook yesterday for the company’s annual fbFund competition. The fbFund program is designed to provide seed funding for Web startups whose applications or services connect to the Facebook platform. As a finalist, RunMyErrand will receive … Continue reading “RunMyErrand Is fbFund Finalist”
With Depeche Mode iPhone App, Cambridge’s iZotope Boosts the Mobile Drumbeat
Last week I learned about a local music software company, iZotope, whose existence somehow escaped me back in 2007 when I was writing my story “Boston: The Hidden Hub of Music and Technology.” But the Cambridge, MA-based company has been making professional audio production software and digital signal processing hardware since 2001, and has gained … Continue reading “With Depeche Mode iPhone App, Cambridge’s iZotope Boosts the Mobile Drumbeat”
Nuance Debuts Scan-to-Kindle Feature
OmniPage 17, the latest version of a Windows document version program from Burlington, MA-based Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]), has the ability to upload scanned documents directly to Amazon Kindle 2 reading devices, Nuance announced today. The new feature is part of an overall push by Nuance to help offices go paperless. The Kindle conversion process … Continue reading “Nuance Debuts Scan-to-Kindle Feature”
No Recession in WeeWorld: Teen Socializing Drives Growing Virtual Goods Revenues
Dinner party conversations with Celia Francis don’t go down the usual paths. “When people ask ‘What do you do?” she says, “I have to say ‘I sell animated ferrets.’” Francis is the Harvard- and MIT-educated CEO of WeeWorld, a transatlantic virtual goods company with its U.S. headquarters in Concord, MA, and its European headquarters in … Continue reading “No Recession in WeeWorld: Teen Socializing Drives Growing Virtual Goods Revenues”
GreenFuel Runs Out of Fuel, Shuts Down; Algae-to-Biofuel Technology for Sale
[Updated 7:30 p.m., 5/13/09, with input from former GreenFuel interim CEO Bob Metcalfe, see below.] Cambridge, MA-based GreenFuel Technologies, which struggled for eight years to commercialize an industrial-scale process for growing algae that could be turned into biofuels or food, is closing down for lack of financing and selling off its technologies. Greentech Media broke … Continue reading “GreenFuel Runs Out of Fuel, Shuts Down; Algae-to-Biofuel Technology for Sale”
Prism’s Latest Fund Hibernates
Prism VentureWorks in Needham, MA, has given up for now on fundraising for its sixth venture fund, PE Hub reported this morning. The firm had hoped to raise $275 million for the fund, but expected commitments from large institutional investors such as the New York School Teachers’ Retirement System and the New York City pension … Continue reading “Prism’s Latest Fund Hibernates”
Oracle Scoops Up Virtual Iron, Bolsters Virtualization Capabilities
Database giant Oracle (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ORCL]]) has scaled up its presence in Massachusetts—and placed itself in more direct competition with Hopkinton, MA-based EMC’s VMware subsidiary—by announcing its intention to acquire Virtual Iron, a maker of data center virtualization software in Lowell, MA. Redwood Shores, CA-based Oracle already has its own virtualization technology, called Oracle VM. The … Continue reading “Oracle Scoops Up Virtual Iron, Bolsters Virtualization Capabilities”
Husk Insulation Wins $200,000 MIT Clean Energy Prize: Building Better Refrigerators from Rice Husks
In a ceremony attended by the state secretary of energy and environmental affairs, the director of energy initiatives at Google, and the CEO of NSTAR, the state’s largest utility, the $200,000 MIT Clean Energy Prize was awarded yesterday to a Michigan startup, Husk Insulation, whose innovations could help make refrigerators far more efficient—and roomier to … Continue reading “Husk Insulation Wins $200,000 MIT Clean Energy Prize: Building Better Refrigerators from Rice Husks”
uTest Site Revamped for Collaboration
Southborough, MA-based uTest, a Web-based service that helps software companies crowdsource their quality assurance processes to freelance testers, relaunched its website today with an emphasis on collaboration tools for its community of more than 16,000 testers. A new forum area allows testers to create personal profiles, exchange private messages, and share their best practices, while … Continue reading “uTest Site Revamped for Collaboration”
MA to Get $25M for Wind Testing
The Boston Globe is reporting today that Massachusetts is in line for $25 million in funding for a wind turbine testing facility to be located on the Mystic River in Charlestown. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu was expected to announce the funding, which is part of the Obama Administration’s economic stimulus package, during a visit … Continue reading “MA to Get $25M for Wind Testing”
$910K Debt Deal for MetaCarta
Documents filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicate that Cambridge, MA-based MetaCarta, whose software plots Web news items on digital maps by extracting metadata about locations mentioned in the items, has raised $910,000 in convertible debt. Sevin Rosen Funds, FA Technology, and Hunt Ventures were listed as participants in the financing. MetaCarta raised … Continue reading “$910K Debt Deal for MetaCarta”
MyVu Raises $3.25 Million
MyVu, a Westwood, MA-based maker of wearable video displays, has raised $3.25 million in new funding, according to documents filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission. MyVu raised $11.5 million in Series B capital in January 2006; investors in that round included Atlas Venture, Hillman Capital, and Intel Capital. Representatives of Atlas and Hillman … Continue reading “MyVu Raises $3.25 Million”
iloverewards.com Is Rewarded
Toronto-based iloverewards.com, which runs an online product catalog that offers corporate employees rewards as performance incentives, has closed a Series B venture funding round led by GrandBanks Capital of Newton Center, MA. There are conflicting reports about the amount of the round: a press release from iloverewards.com put it at $6.9 million, while a GrandBanks … Continue reading “iloverewards.com Is Rewarded”
Geezeo Goes White Label, Partners with Stanford Credit Union
Hartford, CT-based Geezeo—which was one of the first New England Internet startups Xconomy ever profiled, back in August 2007—announced late Monday that it’s found the first customer for its new institutional service, a personal financial management suite it unveiled in February. Geezeo has focused up to now on providing financial management tools directly to consumers … Continue reading “Geezeo Goes White Label, Partners with Stanford Credit Union”
Wistia Retargets Video Sharing and Measurement Technology for Small Business
I last wrote about Lexington, MA-based Wistia in September 2008, which, I’m sure you’ll remember, was approximately when the economy went all to hell. CEO Chris Savage said it was clear by October that Wistia’s original business model—licensing its Web-based video-sharing platform to large enterprises—was insufficient. So this week the startup is launching a reconfigured … Continue reading “Wistia Retargets Video Sharing and Measurement Technology for Small Business”
J&J Funds Deshpande Center
Johnson & Johnson Services, a subsidiary of global healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson, will donate $750,000 to MIT’s Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation over the next five years, the center announced today. As a new member of the center’s Corporate Program, J&J’s Corporate Office of Science and Technology will also advise projects and grantees at … Continue reading “J&J Funds Deshpande Center”
NBC Universal Invests in EveryZing; CEO Says Media Companies Have Gotten Religion About Search
EveryZing, the Cambridge, MA-based maker of search-related software for media companies, announced today that it has raised $8.25 million in Series C funding, including $3 million from Peacock Equity Fund, the venture investing wing of General Electric and NBC Universal. At the same time, EveryZing said NBC Universal will deploy its search technology across all … Continue reading “NBC Universal Invests in EveryZing; CEO Says Media Companies Have Gotten Religion About Search”
So You *Really* Want a Kindle DX? Get One This Month from E Ink for Only $4,000
E Ink, the Cambridge, MA, company that invented the electronic paper technology behind Amazon’s Kindle e-book devices and Sony’s PRS-500 line, announced today that the same 9.7-inch screen going into the new Kindle DX will be available as part of prototype kit that will go on sale this month, before Amazon ships its own device. … Continue reading “So You *Really* Want a Kindle DX? Get One This Month from E Ink for Only $4,000”
Why Kindle 2 is the Goldilocks of E-Book Readers
Fans of this column know that I spent months dithering over whether to buy Amazon’s Kindle 2 e-book reader. I had mercilessly panned the original Kindle, mainly for its ungainly looks. And while I was much more impressed by the Kindle 2 when it came out in February, I was put off by the $359 … Continue reading “Why Kindle 2 is the Goldilocks of E-Book Readers”
Kalido Collects $5.1 Million for Data Warehouse Management
Burlington, MA-based Kalido, which makes software that helps companies make better use of historical business data, has secured $5.15 million in Series E venture funding, according to documents filed yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Existing investors Atlas Venture and Matrix Venture Partners led the round, $3.1 million of which has been collected so … Continue reading “Kalido Collects $5.1 Million for Data Warehouse Management”
SeeWhy Raises $4.5M, Launches Free Tool
Andover, MA-based SeeWhy makes “abandonment tracking” tools that websites can use to reconnect with Web visitors who leave before consummating a purchase or finishing an online form, application, or registration. Today the company announced that it has connected with new investor Scottish Enterprise and existing investors Logispring, Pentech Ventures, and Delta Partners to add $4.5 … Continue reading “SeeWhy Raises $4.5M, Launches Free Tool”
VKernel Raises $7.1M B Round
Portsmouth, NH-based VKernel, which makes software that helps companies extract better performance from virtualized servers, has raised $7.06 million in Series B venture funding, according to documents filed yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New investor Longworth Venture Partners led the round, which was joined by existing investors Polaris Venture Partners and Hummer Winblad … Continue reading “VKernel Raises $7.1M B Round”
A New Nexus for Nomadic Entrepreneurs at the Cambridge Innovation Center
As any freelancer or self-employed person will tell you, working alone can be isolating—but the alternative, hanging out at Starbucks all day, can drain your wallet and lead to overcaffeination. Fortunately, if you’re the type who needs a little company, collaboration, and commotion to get real work done, there are a few new places to … Continue reading “A New Nexus for Nomadic Entrepreneurs at the Cambridge Innovation Center”
Take a Deep Breath, Collect Cash: Zendesk Wins Venture Financing for Help-Desk Software
Almost by definition, anyone who gets to the point of submitting an online help request to a software or services company is frustrated, possibly even angry. Responding to a flood of help requests constructively takes calmness and strength—and that’s what Zendesk, a help desk management outsourcing company, tries to supply to its own customers, including … Continue reading “Take a Deep Breath, Collect Cash: Zendesk Wins Venture Financing for Help-Desk Software”
Group Names IBM, Zeemote, Infinity, Wolfe Executives as Leading Women Entrepreneurs
A study last year by Cristian Dezsö, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland’s business school, found that the more women a company has as senior managers, the better it performs financially—and that the advantage comes from a “female management style” that emphasizes teamwork, collaboration, and innovation. To highlight women executives in Massachusetts who … Continue reading “Group Names IBM, Zeemote, Infinity, Wolfe Executives as Leading Women Entrepreneurs”
Innovating Through the Downturn: The View from the Nantucket Conference
At the Nantucket Conference, an invitation-only gathering of New England-area CEOs, entrepreneurs, venture partners, and select others, first-time attendees get a single blue dot on their nametags. Alumni get another dot for every year they’ve attended, and veterans of five or more conferences get a gold starfish pin. About a third of the participants at … Continue reading “Innovating Through the Downturn: The View from the Nantucket Conference”
Second Group of Clean Energy Council Fellows Unveiled
As we reported in February, the New England Clean Energy Council extensively revised its executive retraining fellowship program in preparation for its second year. Most notably, the council decided to recruit twice as many people as last year. But it also said it would expand its focus beyond former CEOs to people from other levels … Continue reading “Second Group of Clean Energy Council Fellows Unveiled”
Currensee: A Support Network for Traders Risking their Personal Fortunes on the Foreign Exchange Market
If following the stock market’s swoon hasn’t been enough to sink your confidence in capitalism and the financial industry, you may want to try your hand at currency trading on the foreign exchange market. Enormous amounts of money slosh from border to border on the “forex” market, as it’s called—the equivalent of several trillion dollars … Continue reading “Currensee: A Support Network for Traders Risking their Personal Fortunes on the Foreign Exchange Market”
Clean Harbors Buys Eveready for $387M
In a major acquisition that expands its reach across North America, Norwell, MA-based waste management company Clean Harbors (NYSE: [[ticker:CLH]]) said today that it has agreed to acquire Edmonton, Alberta-based Eveready Inc. The Canadian firm provides maintenance, lodging, and exploration services to a range of companies in the oil and gas, chemicals, paper, manufacturing, and … Continue reading “Clean Harbors Buys Eveready for $387M”
$5M for Active Endpoints
Active Endpoints, a Waltham, MA, company that helps enterprises and developers automate business processes, announced today that it has added $5 million to its Series B financing round. Waltham’s North Bridge Venture Partners was the main investor.
Isis, Alnylam to Collaborate on Single-Stranded RNA Drugs; Deal Could Add Up to $31 Million to Isis’ Coffers
Biotech stalwarts in two of Xconomy’s home regions, Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ISIS]]) of Carlsbad, CA, and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) of Cambridge, MA, said today that they’ve agreed to share techniques devised by Isis for using single-stranded RNA interference (ssRNAi) to silence genes in the body that cause disease. Under the agreement, Alnylam will owe … Continue reading “Isis, Alnylam to Collaborate on Single-Stranded RNA Drugs; Deal Could Add Up to $31 Million to Isis’ Coffers”
Sverica Raises $265M for PE Fund
Boston- and San Francisco-based Sverica International, a private equity fund that invests in service-oriented businesses and light manufacturing companies, said today it surpassed its $250 million target for its third fund, closing the fund at $265 million last November. The company said its current areas of investment interest include wind energy, enterprise software, and healthcare … Continue reading “Sverica Raises $265M for PE Fund”
Stylefeeder’s Execs on How to Do A Lot with A Little—Part 2
Yesterday we published Part 1 of our interview with Philip Jacob, founder of Cambridge, MA-based StyleFeeder, and Shergul Arshad, the startup’s vice president of business development. The two men talked about the remarkable growth of the personalized shopping site, which has taken in $3.5 million in venture capital since 2007 and is already profitable. In … Continue reading “Stylefeeder’s Execs on How to Do A Lot with A Little—Part 2”
Kiva’s Robots Serve Smaller Companies at Andover’s Quiet Logistics
Visiting a warehouse equipped with Kiva Systems‘ robotic fulfillment technology is a spooky experience: the little orange robots scoot about in busy silence, toting shelves full of products to human pickers who move the right products into boxes for shipping. There are no grinding, beeping forklifts, and not even much conversation, since there are so … Continue reading “Kiva’s Robots Serve Smaller Companies at Andover’s Quiet Logistics”
SnapMyLife Joins Blackberry App World
Needham, MA-based SnapMyLife, which runs a photo-sharing community for mobile phone users, said today that it has released two new applications for RIM Blackberry smartphones. The apps, available from the Blackberry App World (launched by RIM this month), include a straightforward camera app that lets users take photos and upload them to SnapMyLife’s mobile site, … Continue reading “SnapMyLife Joins Blackberry App World”
StyleFeeder’s Execs on How to Do A Lot With A Little
StyleFeeder is that rarest of animals: a profitable Web 2.0 company, and on the East Coast to boot. It may also have one of the largest ratios of users to employees of any Web business: more than a million registered members, served by a grand total of only six full-time employees. I met all six … Continue reading “StyleFeeder’s Execs on How to Do A Lot With A Little”
World Energy Joins NASDAQ
Worcester, MA-based World Energy, which runs online auctions for energy contracts as well as carbon emissions allowances, said today that its stock will be listed on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol XWES. Since its 2006 IPO, the company has traded only on the Toronto Stock Exchange, under the system XWE. “Gaining increased exposure … Continue reading “World Energy Joins NASDAQ”
Cleaner Water Through Biotech? 349Q Kills Water-Borne Microbes with RNAi
“Biotechnology” and “water purification” aren’t usually themes that you hear mentioned in the same sentence. There are plenty of biotech startups aiming to use cutting-edge molecular approaches like RNA interference (RNAi) to develop profitable new drugs—but fewer people, if any, talk about how these technologies might help people in developing countries where safe drinking water … Continue reading “Cleaner Water Through Biotech? 349Q Kills Water-Borne Microbes with RNAi”
Akamai Appeals Limelight Damage Reversal
On Friday a judge in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts overturned a February 2008 jury verdict that had ordered Tempe, AZ-based content distribution network Limelight Networks to pay Cambridge, MA-based Akamai Technologies $45 million in damages for patent infringement. Limelight successfully challenged the jury award based on new case law. Akamai immediately said it … Continue reading “Akamai Appeals Limelight Damage Reversal”