Apptio is being taken private by investment firm Vista Equity Partners in a $1.94 billion acquisition. Founded in Bellevue, WA, in 2007, Apptio (NASDAQ: [[ticker:APTI]]) helps corporate leaders track and manage IT spending. The company went public in 2016 with a $96 million IPO, and has recently been acquiring other businesses. It bought FittedCloud, a … Continue reading “Apptio Sells to PE Firm Vista Equity for $1.94B Two Years After IPO”
Category: San Francisco
Nuance Goes All-in on Speech Tech, Sells Document Business to Kofax
Nuance Communications is selling its document imaging division to Kofax for $400 million in cash, as Nuance’s new CEO narrows the company’s focus on its conversational artificial intelligence products and cloud-related technologies. Nuance’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]) document imaging business provides enterprise software tools for securely capturing data from print or electronic documents, printing documents, and uploading … Continue reading “Nuance Goes All-in on Speech Tech, Sells Document Business to Kofax”
Qualtrics Skips IPO for $8B Sale to SAP
It’s hard to say no to $8 billion. Qualtrics, the enterprise software firm that was on the verge of going public, has pulled its IPO in favor of selling to German software giant SAP for $8 billion in cash. Qualtrics—which has dual headquarters in Provo, Utah (where it was founded in 2002), and Seattle—sells software … Continue reading “Qualtrics Skips IPO for $8B Sale to SAP”
Bio Roundup: Midterm Fallout, Alzheimer’s Search, Postpartum Panel
There was plenty at stake in this week’s midterm elections, and not just in terms of political wins and losses. With congress now divided—Democrats took back control of the House and Republicans extended their majority in the Senate—the implications are significant for U.S. healthcare. Just a day after the results, for instance, Senate Majority Leader … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Midterm Fallout, Alzheimer’s Search, Postpartum Panel”
Allogene, Cortexyme & RDMD Headline Xconomy’s Dec. 5 Biotech Forum
Each new technology has a story behind it. On Dec. 5, our Xchange Forum will offer a behind-the-scenes look at how some of them aim to transform healthcare. Xconomy’s San Francisco Biotech: The Next Generation, will feature three Bay Area companies, each of them tackling a different challenge in the life sciences. RDMD, for example, … Continue reading “Allogene, Cortexyme & RDMD Headline Xconomy’s Dec. 5 Biotech Forum”
Hold Your Horsepower: For Mobility Industry, “Reality Is Sinking In”
Earlier this month, GM CEO Mary Barra told the crowd at a financial conference that her company was on track to unveil a ridesharing service in 2019 that would be powered by autonomous vehicles. It sounded like pretty big news, but to understand company announcements about the commercial viability of driverless cars, one must first … Continue reading “Hold Your Horsepower: For Mobility Industry, “Reality Is Sinking In””
InCarda Breathes In $42M for Clinical Tests of Inhalable Heart Drug
Treatments for patients who have atrial fibrillation (AF), an irregular heartbeat, include pills that take time to work, or hospital-based procedures. InCarda Therapeutics aims to offer an alternative: a fast-acting inhalable drug that patients would take at home. The startup is moving ahead with mid-stage clinical testing of its drug and has raised $42 million … Continue reading “InCarda Breathes In $42M for Clinical Tests of Inhalable Heart Drug”
Mirum Pharmaceuticals Launches with $120M to Advance Liver Drugs
Serial entrepreneur Mike Grey is launching a biotech enterprise with $120 million in new funding to advance two investigational liver disease drugs—one of which he has worked to develop before. Called Mirum Pharmaceuticals, the startup is developing a compound, maralixibat, to treat Alagille syndrome (ALGS) and progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC), genetic liver disorders that … Continue reading “Mirum Pharmaceuticals Launches with $120M to Advance Liver Drugs”
Rainwater Foundation Deploys Millions Toward Rare Brain Disease, PSP
Dallas — A foundation started by a Texas billionaire announced Tuesday it will offer millions of dollars in awards to scientists who research neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and progressive supranuclear palsy. The Rainwater Charitable Foundation, which was founded in the 1990s by billionaire investor Richard Rainwater, announced it will start to offer in 2019 an … Continue reading “Rainwater Foundation Deploys Millions Toward Rare Brain Disease, PSP”
BlackThorn Names Bill Martin President & Chief Operating Officer
BlackThorn Therapeutics has promoted Bill Martin to president and chief operating officer. Martin had served as the San Francisco company’s chief scientific officer. He succeeds Greg Vontz as president. Vontz, who also held the role of CEO, has left the company. In other moves, BlackThorn appointed Paul Berns, a venture partner at ARCH Venture Partners, … Continue reading “BlackThorn Names Bill Martin President & Chief Operating Officer”
Mitek Systems Rejects ASG’s $380M Takeover Bid
Mitek Systems, which is being targeted for takeover by a subsidiary of Elliott, billionaire Paul Singer’s activist hedge fund, has unanimously rejected its $380 million offer. The Oct. 31 offer—rejected Monday—was made by ASG Technologies Group, a Florida-based software company that last year sold a controlling stake to Evergreen Coast Capital, Elliott’s Menlo Park, CA, … Continue reading “Mitek Systems Rejects ASG’s $380M Takeover Bid”
Esperanto Reaps $58M to Speed Development of Its AI Chip
Esperanto Technologies, a startup AI chip developer that has operated mostly below the radar since its founding in 2014, announced this week that it raised $58 million in a Series B fundraising round. Mountain View, CA-based Esperanto is vying with a host of competitors to create new processors for high-order tasks like machine learning and … Continue reading “Esperanto Reaps $58M to Speed Development of Its AI Chip”
Amgen’s Gabriel Vargas Joins CuraSen as Chief Medical Officer
Gabriel Vargas has been appointed chief medical officer of San Mateo, CA-based CuraSen Therapeutics. Vargas was most recently executive medical director, digital health and neuroscience therapeutic area head for early development at Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]). Last month, CuraSen closed a $54 million Series A round of financing to support its development of small molecule drugs … Continue reading “Amgen’s Gabriel Vargas Joins CuraSen as Chief Medical Officer”
Broadcom to Sell Veracode for $950M After $19B CA Technologies Deal
Broadcom is selling application security testing business Veracode for $950 million to private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Broadcom gained Veracode as a part of its blockbuster acquisition of CA Technologies. Broadcom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVGO]]) announced in June it would acquire CA Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CA]]) for $18.9 billion, and announced today it has completed that deal. New … Continue reading “Broadcom to Sell Veracode for $950M After $19B CA Technologies Deal”
MEI Pharma Inks Cancer Drug Deal with Japan’s Kyowa Hakko Kirin
The second-most advanced investigational drug in MEI Pharma’s four-asset portfolio is drawing attention from overseas as a potential treatment for several leukemias and lymphomas. Japanese life sciences company Kyowa Hakko Kirin has agreed to pay the San Diego company $10 million upfront for rights to develop and commercialize ME-401 in Japan. The Japanese company will … Continue reading “MEI Pharma Inks Cancer Drug Deal with Japan’s Kyowa Hakko Kirin”
“Don’t Go Nuts With This”: Tech CEOs on What $100M Can Buy
So, your long-scrappy tech startup cashed a nine-figure check from a gaggle of venture capital types. What now? Launch a hiring spree? Land a beachhead in Europe? Squirrel some away for a rainy day? Build all the features into your gizmo that you always wanted (and promised to customers)? By our count, at least 14 … Continue reading ““Don’t Go Nuts With This”: Tech CEOs on What $100M Can Buy”
Win $2 Million to Solve Alzheimer’s: New Prize Will Reward Fresh Ideas
San Antonio — A Texas billionaire is funding a new competition that will give $4 million to seven individuals who present promising ideas about the cause of Alzheimer’s disease and say they’ll work to prove it. Called the Oskar Fischer Project, the program will give the grand prize winner $2 million of the total, while two … Continue reading “Win $2 Million to Solve Alzheimer’s: New Prize Will Reward Fresh Ideas”
Bio Roundup: Depression Drug Dashed, Peek at ASH, CRISPR Worry & More
The gene-editing technology CRISPR-Cas9 is opening up new research avenues all the time, such as giving drug developers a cheaper, faster way to knock out genes in tumor cells. Studies of CRISPR-Cas9 to treat human disease are about to start, too. But will our immune systems, already on alert for common infections by the bacteria … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Depression Drug Dashed, Peek at ASH, CRISPR Worry & More”
Illumina Set to Acquire “Long-Read” DNA Sequencer PacBio for $1.2B
[Updated, 11/2/18, 11:09 a.m. ET. See below.] DNA sequencing giant Illumina is shoring up its position in genetic research through a cash deal to acquire Pacific Biosciences for approximately $1.2 billion. Under the agreement, Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]) will pay $8 per Pacific Biosciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PACB]]) share, a 79 percent premium to the Wednesday closing stock … Continue reading “Illumina Set to Acquire “Long-Read” DNA Sequencer PacBio for $1.2B”
Cloud Leaders Shrug at IBM’s $34B Red Hat Deal
In some ways, the biggest software acquisition of all time could be a yawner. IBM’s planned $34 billion deal to acquire open-source software maker Red Hat is a hefty price to pay to give its cloud computing business a shot in the arm. But even if the purchase ultimately boosts IBM’s bottom line, some cloud … Continue reading “Cloud Leaders Shrug at IBM’s $34B Red Hat Deal”
Intersect ENT Appoints Christine Kowalski Chief Operations Officer
Christine Kowalski has joined Intersect ENT (NASDAQ: [[ticker:XENT]]) as chief operations officer. Kowalski most recently served as vice president of supply chain strategy at Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: [[ticker:JNJ]]). Menlo Park, CA-based Intersect had previously disclosed that chief operating officer Rich Kaufman will retire in early 2019. The company said he will work with Kowalski … Continue reading “Intersect ENT Appoints Christine Kowalski Chief Operations Officer”
Sanofi Pledges $125M to Denali in Pact for Neuro, Inflammation Drugs
Sanofi sees potential in two early-stage Denali Therapeutics drugs as a way to reduce inflammation in the brain and throughout the body, and the two companies are teaming up to develop the compounds for tough-to-treat diseases including Alzheimer’s. Under the deal, Sanofi (NYSE: [[ticker:SNY]]) will pay Denali (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNLI]]) $125 million up front. South San … Continue reading “Sanofi Pledges $125M to Denali in Pact for Neuro, Inflammation Drugs”
IRobot’s Roombas to Map Households for Google Smart Homes
Autonomous vehicle developers rely heavily on navigational technology that maps the complex terrain of roads, curbs, signs, and people that their cars have to thread through. Google, as it develops its smart home systems, is turning to a company that already knows how to navigate the terrain of a household—corridors, kitchens, cat beds, cast-off shoes, … Continue reading “IRobot’s Roombas to Map Households for Google Smart Homes”
To Boost Cancer Pipeline, Gilead Bets at Least $50M on Startup Tango
Gilead Sciences is paying tiny Tango Therapeutics $50 million to tap into the startup’s cancer drug program, adding to what has been so far an expensive, but not yet lucrative, foray into cancer immunotherapy for Gilead. Cambridge, MA-based Tango is still in the early phases of looking for cancer drugs by exploiting a well-known tumor … Continue reading “To Boost Cancer Pipeline, Gilead Bets at Least $50M on Startup Tango”
Twist Bioscience IPO Hauls In $70M for DNA Synthesis Technology
Synthetic biology company Twist Bioscience has joined the long list of life science firms going public this year, raising $70 million in its stock market debut. The San Francisco company sold 5 million shares at $14 apiece, which was within the $14 to $16 per share range it had targeted. After those shares started trading … Continue reading “Twist Bioscience IPO Hauls In $70M for DNA Synthesis Technology”
Teraki Using Edge Processing to Meet Exploding Data Demands of AVs
Teraki, a Berlin-based data processing and artificial intelligence company working in the mobility sector, has had a busy fall. In late September, Teraki raised a $3 million seed round from investors including Paladin Capital Group, GPS Ventures GmbH, and Deutsche Telekom’s hub:raum incubator. Earlier this month, the company announced its software would get its first commercial deployment in microcontrollers … Continue reading “Teraki Using Edge Processing to Meet Exploding Data Demands of AVs”
Moonshots, Tough Tech, and Not Falling in Love With Your Robot
Before researchers at Google’s skunkworks labs embark on a new project, they decide when to kill it. The technical and business teams set parameters for when to walk away from the “moonshot” idea to avoid being so seduced by the technology that they forget about the underlying problem it aimed to solve. “It becomes less … Continue reading “Moonshots, Tough Tech, and Not Falling in Love With Your Robot”
Orchard, Fueled by GSK’s Ex-Gene Therapy Biz, Nets $200M in IPO
GlaxoSmithKline’s former gene therapy portfolio is at the center of a $200 million IPO, among the larger biopharma offerings on Wall Street over the last several years. Orchard Therapeutics, a London, Boston, and San Francisco-based biotech, sold 14,285,715 shares in its IPO late Tuesday at $14 apiece, raising just over $200 million before discounts due … Continue reading “Orchard, Fueled by GSK’s Ex-Gene Therapy Biz, Nets $200M in IPO”
Facebook’s 3Q Growth Suffices to Stave Off Another Stock Dive
Facebook (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FB]]) shares gained nearly 3 percent Tuesday, and ticked up further in after-hours trading following the release of a third quarter earnings report that showed some strengths as well as shortfalls. Investors have been concerned about the social media giant’s slowing growth rate in a year when it has been under scrutiny for … Continue reading “Facebook’s 3Q Growth Suffices to Stave Off Another Stock Dive”
Fundraising Startup Classy Surpasses $1B Raised on Its Platform
It took six years for Classy, a software-as-a-service company that targets nonprofit organizations looking to fundraise online, to facilitate $500 million in donations. But the next $500 million took just 14 months. The San Diego-based startup announced the $1 billion milestone on Tuesday, citing the addition to its platform of ever-larger nonprofits—including the Salvation Army—as … Continue reading “Fundraising Startup Classy Surpasses $1B Raised on Its Platform”
Harpoon Therapeutics Adds Holger Wesche, Georgia Erbez to C-Suite
Harpoon Therapeutics has promoted Holger Wesche to chief scientific officer. Wesche had been senior vice president, research, of the South San Francisco, CA-based cancer immunotherapy developer. Harpoon also named Georgia Erbez its chief financial officer. Erbez was most recently chief business officer and CFO of Zosano Pharma (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZSAN]]). The executive moves follow Harpoon’s appointment … Continue reading “Harpoon Therapeutics Adds Holger Wesche, Georgia Erbez to C-Suite”
Stantt CEO Thinks Its Approach to Selling Men’s Wear Fits Just Right
Stantt wants to make standard sizing anything but. “Traditional sizing only fits 15 percent of guys,” says Matt Hornbuckle, the startup’s founder and co-CEO. “Twins come in and get different sizes.” To connect guys with a shirt that fits well, the men’s wear startup created a database of “tens of thousands” of body scans. That … Continue reading “Stantt CEO Thinks Its Approach to Selling Men’s Wear Fits Just Right”
Pre-Existing Immunity to CRISPR Found in 96% of People in Study
[Updated October 30, 12:15pm ET with further comment, see below.] The immune systems of a large majority of people could already be primed to attack and possibly even disable a key component of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing therapeutics (which are quickly moving towards their first human tests), suggests new research published today. If this finding sounds … Continue reading “Pre-Existing Immunity to CRISPR Found in 96% of People in Study”
No Pipeline Problem: Backstage Capital’s Detroit Plans Spark Excitement
In September, Backstage Capital, a venture investment firm seeding early-stage startups led by women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community, launched a $36 million fund to help support black women founders. At the same time, managing partner Arlan Hamilton said the Los Angeles-based firm would run accelerators in four cities: London, Philadelphia, … Continue reading “No Pipeline Problem: Backstage Capital’s Detroit Plans Spark Excitement”
IBM Buying Red Hat in $34B Mega-Deal to Beat Amazon, Google in Cloud
[Updated 10/29/18, 12:53 pm, with executives’ comments.] IBM has agreed to buy open-source software maker Red Hat in a $34 billion bet aimed at helping it win the cloud computing war against Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. It’s one of the largest-ever U.S. tech acquisitions—the $67 billion Dell-EMC deal holds the top spot. Armonk, NY-based IBM … Continue reading “IBM Buying Red Hat in $34B Mega-Deal to Beat Amazon, Google in Cloud”
Free of Baggage, Dicerna Cuts Another RNAi Deal and Gets $200M
It wasn’t too long ago that pharma companies were abandoning the development of RNA interference medicines. But there are some small signs that interest has been rekindled. And Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, which recently ended a long-running legal spat with the field’s leader, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, is reaping the rewards. This morning Eli Lilly (NYSE: [[ticker:LLY]]) teamed with … Continue reading “Free of Baggage, Dicerna Cuts Another RNAi Deal and Gets $200M”
Pineapples and Bananas: Yummy to Eat, And Now Fashionable to Wear
Style trends may come and go but the apparel industry is increasingly accepting that sustainability will always be in fashion. “We have the chance to shift the environment to a cleaner, more non-toxic place,” says Greg Altman, co-founder and CEO of Silk, a Boston-area maker of a proprietary liquid silk. “That’s really our goal.” To … Continue reading “Pineapples and Bananas: Yummy to Eat, And Now Fashionable to Wear”
U.K. Slaps Maximum Fine of $645,000 on Facebook for Privacy Violations
The U.K.’s data privacy regulator fined Facebook $645,000 for violations that allowed political marketing firm Cambridge Analytica and other outside companies to extract 87 million Facebook profiles worldwide without adequate user knowledge or consent. The purpose of the U.K.’s enforcement actions is to change the behavior of organizations that mishandle the sensitive private information of … Continue reading “U.K. Slaps Maximum Fine of $645,000 on Facebook for Privacy Violations”
Bio Roundup: Alzheimer’s Puzzle, ESMO Assessed, Drug Prices & More
In the biotech investment and research communities this week, much of the attention was turned to Europe. Munich, Germany, hosted the annual conference of the European Society for Medical Oncology, where cancer drug developers unveiled the latest clinical data for experimental immunotherapies and drugs that treat the disease based on a tumor’s genetic signature. Also … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Alzheimer’s Puzzle, ESMO Assessed, Drug Prices & More”
Startup Developing Opioid Alternative Takes Top ‘Quick Pitch’ Honors
The winner of the largest-ever startup pitch contest in San Diego is aiming to solve a problem that is weighing heavily on the national consciousness. The same day President Trump signed a bipartisan package of measures to address the opioid epidemic, San Diego startup NeuraLace Medical won $50,000 on Wednesday at the annual John G. … Continue reading “Startup Developing Opioid Alternative Takes Top ‘Quick Pitch’ Honors”
Trump Plan Ties Medicare Drug Prices to Cheaper Foreign Ones
[Updated 5:41pm ET with analyst note, see below.] When the Trump administration announced its blueprint for lowering prescription drug prices in May, many observers said it was too soft on the biopharma industry and didn’t contain concrete initiatives that could truly cut costs. But with the U.S. midterm elections fast approaching and the high cost … Continue reading “Trump Plan Ties Medicare Drug Prices to Cheaper Foreign Ones”
89Bio Joins NASH Chase with a Teva Drug and $60M in Funding
[Corrected 10/25/18, 5:26 p.m. See below.] The competition to develop a treatment for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, a serious liver disorder, has another player. 89Bio launched Thursday with $60 million in financing and a lead compound originally developed by Teva Pharmaceutical. [Paragraph updated to correct dollar amount.] San Francisco-based 89Bio says that it has acquired a pipeline of … Continue reading “89Bio Joins NASH Chase with a Teva Drug and $60M in Funding”
Berkeley’s SkyDeck Offers Chip Design Support Worth Millions to Startups
The current land rush in chip development, spurred as new technologies such as artificial intelligence create new needs, is pitting established semiconductor companies like Intel and Nvidia against tech titans like Facebook that are building their own chips. A wave of next-generation chip companies has also entered the fray. So how much room remains for … Continue reading “Berkeley’s SkyDeck Offers Chip Design Support Worth Millions to Startups”
In E-Commerce Marketing Race, Privy Aims to Democratize Online Tools
The push by Boston e-commerce tech startup Privy to become a marketing Swiss army knife for online merchants has fueled a new $4.25 million funding round for the company. The money will be used to double its headcount and help it move into more spacious digs from its current scrappy office quarters. Founder and CEO … Continue reading “In E-Commerce Marketing Race, Privy Aims to Democratize Online Tools”
Amgen Slashes Cholesterol Drug Price 60% to Match Rival Regeneron
[Updated, 10/25/18, 12:15 a.m. See below.] Amgen is cutting the list price of its new cholesterol-lowering drug by nearly 60 percent, a move the company says is intended to make the product more affordable for more patients. The move is a shot across the bow of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:REGN]]]). The Tarrytown, NY firm recently … Continue reading “Amgen Slashes Cholesterol Drug Price 60% to Match Rival Regeneron”
Ford Mobility News: Self-Driving Car Tests in DC, Avis App Deal
Ford made a couple of announcements this week regarding mobility and its efforts to get self-driving cars on the road. According to a blog post published Monday by Sherif Marakby, CEO of Ford’s autonomous vehicle division, the automaker will expand testing of driverless cars to Washington, DC. “Not only do self-driving vehicles need to operate … Continue reading “Ford Mobility News: Self-Driving Car Tests in DC, Avis App Deal”
Machine Learning Firm DataRobot Gets $100M to Automate Data Science
Boston startup DataRobot wrapped up a new $100 million funding round, injecting more cash into what was already one of the region’s biggest bets on machine learning and artificial intelligence. Palo Alto, CA-based venture firms Meritech and Sapphire Ventures led the Series D investment, with DFJ Growth, New Enterprise Associates, and IA Ventures also participating … Continue reading “Machine Learning Firm DataRobot Gets $100M to Automate Data Science”
Medisafe to Get Paid For Health App’s Performance
More technology startups are embracing the healthcare industry’s increasing willingness to pay for products based on how much they improve health. One of the latest examples comes from Medisafe, a Boston company that has developed an app-based system intended to help patients manage their medications. The company offers both a free and a paid version … Continue reading “Medisafe to Get Paid For Health App’s Performance”
Sangamo Exec Gary Lee Joins Senti Bio as Chief Scientific Officer
Senti Biosciences has appointed Gary Lee to serve as chief scientific officer. Lee comes to the South San Francisco, CA, biotech from Sangamo Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGMO]]), where he was vice president of cell therapy. Senti emerged in February with $53 million in Series A financing to support its cell therapy research.
Blockchain Startup Algorand Bags $62M, Hires Fuze & LogMeIn Execs
[Updated 2/22/19, 2:14 pm ET. See below.] The blockchain and cryptocurrency industry has produced a lot of hype, but it is still working to deliver practical applications that are widely used by businesses. One of the startups trying to change that, Boston-based Algorand, said today it has scooped up $62 million in venture funding from … Continue reading “Blockchain Startup Algorand Bags $62M, Hires Fuze & LogMeIn Execs”