This fall, we are convening exemplary business leaders, investors, and far-seeing technologists for an in-depth exploration of the innovation ecosystem and its impact on the future. Come join us at our newest interactive conference, XCON: The Xconomy Conference on Technology and Transformation. It spans three days, November 4-6, and three innovation venues in the Boston … Continue reading “Announcing XCON 2018: A Conference on Technology and Transformation”
Category: San Francisco
Retailers Need to Get Real About Security
It seems a distant memory now. In December 2013 – light years ago in technology time – the retail giant Target disclosed a massive software security breach of its point of sale systems. The bad guys fled the virtual premises with the credit card information of 40 million customers. This astounding number would later rise … Continue reading “Retailers Need to Get Real About Security”
Sanofi Backs Click Therapeutics as Digital Medicines Gain Momentum
Drug makers are making more bets on the nascent field of digital medicine. The latest example: Click Therapeutics announced Monday that it grabbed a $17 million investment led by Sanofi Ventures, the Cambridge, MA-based venture capital arm of the French pharmaceutical giant. New York-based Click Therapeutics develops mobile apps intended to be prescribed by doctors … Continue reading “Sanofi Backs Click Therapeutics as Digital Medicines Gain Momentum”
Goldman Sachs Leads $37M Investment in Cogito’s A.I. for Call Centers
Cogito, one of the startups working to enhance businesses’ call center operations with sophisticated analytics software, has scooped up $37 million from investors to try and take its business to the next level. The Series C funding round was led by Goldman Sachs’s growth equity fund, with earlier Cogito backers Salesforce Ventures and OpenView Venture … Continue reading “Goldman Sachs Leads $37M Investment in Cogito’s A.I. for Call Centers”
Empatica, Kyruus, Pear & More: Digital Trailblazer Award Finalists
Healthcare is seeing an explosion in the use of data analytics, machine learning tools, wearable devices, mobile apps, and other digital technologies. Software products are not only augmenting the capabilities of doctors—in some cases, the digital product is itself being prescribed as a treatment. In recognition of the growing impact of such technologies in healthcare, … Continue reading “Empatica, Kyruus, Pear & More: Digital Trailblazer Award Finalists”
Sangamo Bags TxCell, and a Next-Gen Cell Therapy Tech, for $84M
Sangamo Biosciences has acquired French biotech TxCell, adding an experimental technology with the potential to treat autoimmune diseases with cell therapy. Sangamo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGMO]]), of Richmond, CA, will pay €72 million ($84.31 million), or $2.58 per share, for TxCell. It expects to complete the deal later this year. The deal gives Sangamo a technology that … Continue reading “Sangamo Bags TxCell, and a Next-Gen Cell Therapy Tech, for $84M”
Best Reads for Casual Friday: Big Tech Businesses Gets Political
You’ve made it to Friday. Time to curl up in your cubicle, pop open one of these in-depth, entertaining reads, and catch up on some of what you missed during a busy week. This week we’re taking a look at all the political stories that are coming out of the tech world. And given the … Continue reading “Best Reads for Casual Friday: Big Tech Businesses Gets Political”
Bio Roundup: Drug Prices, CRISPR Caveats, Rubius IPO Pop & More
After nearly two years of all smoke, no fire around President Trump’s promise to curtail drug prices, there’s finally some glimmer of action. Pfizer said last week it would halt its price hikes, and Novartis and Merck took similar actions this week. But we still don’t know the details of the administration’s drug-pricing policy, if … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Drug Prices, CRISPR Caveats, Rubius IPO Pop & More”
San Antonio Sticks to Growth Playbook, Despite Turndowns by Startups
San Antonio—There’s plenty of scrutiny of whether it’s worthwhile for governments to offer incentive packages that aim to attract businesses and the jobs they bring. Still, city and state leaders across the nation continue to do it, among other efforts to bolster their business communities. Most arrangements aren’t gargantuan billion-dollar deals, like the tributes offered … Continue reading “San Antonio Sticks to Growth Playbook, Despite Turndowns by Startups”
If the Shoe Fits: Luxury Shoe Club Launches E-Consignment Store
One in five pairs of shoes sit unworn in the average woman’s closet. So, why not sell these unused, or slightly used, pairs to someone who will wear them? That’s the view of Scott Van Valkenburgh, co-founder of Luxury Shoe Club, a Raleigh, NC-based startup that caters to women who want to buy and sell … Continue reading “If the Shoe Fits: Luxury Shoe Club Launches E-Consignment Store”
Google Partners With Zapata on Open-Source Quantum Computing Effort
Zapata Computing, a Harvard University spinout developing software to enable quantum computers, said Wednesday it’s working with Google to advance quantum computing technologies. Zapata said it’s one of the first users of Cirq, Google’s new open-source software framework for quantum computing. The initiative is yet another example of the growing investment in quantum computing research … Continue reading “Google Partners With Zapata on Open-Source Quantum Computing Effort”
E.U. Slaps $5B Antitrust Fine on Google; Trump Blasts Back With Tweet
[Updated 7/19/18, 9:59 am. See below.] If top European leaders faced a testy President Donald Trump in a series of meetings this summer, imagine the mood when the president of the European Commission arrives at the White House next Wednesday. President Trump and the European Union’s top executive officer, Jean-Claude Juncker, are slated to discuss … Continue reading “E.U. Slaps $5B Antitrust Fine on Google; Trump Blasts Back With Tweet”
Moonshot Insights Bets on Algorithms to Address Biases in Hiring
In recent weeks, there’s been some local buzz about a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison students that’s getting set to participate in the 2018 Hyperloop Pod Competition, which will take place next week in Hawthorne, CA. This year, the team hopes to run its pod on SpaceX’s hyperloop test track, an opportunity it was denied … Continue reading “Moonshot Insights Bets on Algorithms to Address Biases in Hiring”
Inari Agriculture Sprouts with Plans to Gene Edit “Personalized Seeds”
The seeds farmers plant in their fields can carry certain desirable traits, such as drought tolerance or pest resistance. Breeding or genetic engineering can produce such traits, but ag biotech startup Inari Agriculture aims to take trait development to a new level—customizing seeds to grow best in the soil and weather at the farm where … Continue reading “Inari Agriculture Sprouts with Plans to Gene Edit “Personalized Seeds””
Edge Computing Software Startup Swim.ai Scores $10M from VCs, Arm
Swim.ai, a startup developing advanced analytics software that can process data in devices at the edge of a network—such as industrial turbines or self-driving cars—announced today it raised $10 million in a Series B funding round. The San Jose, CA-based company is part of the emerging movement toward “edge computing,” or adapting devices to handle … Continue reading “Edge Computing Software Startup Swim.ai Scores $10M from VCs, Arm”
Walmart, Microsoft Deepen Partnership as Both Grapple With Amazon
The enemy of my enemy is my friend—even in the retail and cloud computing businesses. So says retail giant Walmart (NYSE: [[ticker:WMT]]) as it announced this morning a five-year partnership with Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) to use machine learning and other technologies, deepening an existing partnership between two of Amazon’s biggest rivals. “Whether it’s combined with our … Continue reading “Walmart, Microsoft Deepen Partnership as Both Grapple With Amazon”
New Ethics Code Urges Tech Firms and Coders To Avoid Harming Society
Selling a new Web-connected thermostat or other wired gizmo to consumers without a plan to deliver the necessary security patches is not only bad business—it’s unethical. So is failing to challenge a law or tech company rule that governs work on technology products, if that rule causes unjustifiable harms to people or the environment. Those … Continue reading “New Ethics Code Urges Tech Firms and Coders To Avoid Harming Society”
Security Firm ObserveIT Grabs $33M to Get Ahead of Insider Threats
Cyber breaches caused by people within businesses and organizations, both accidental and malicious leaks, continue to multiply. Now, a Boston security startup is arming itself with more cash and enhanced technology to try and stop these insider threats. ObserveIT announced today it closed a $33 million Series B funding round from Bain Capital Ventures, Spring … Continue reading “Security Firm ObserveIT Grabs $33M to Get Ahead of Insider Threats”
With $45M, HotSpot Takes Drug Research to New Biological Real Estate
In real estate, location is key. The same holds true in the hunt for new drugs. HotSpot Therapeutics is trying to break new ground in drug discovery by hitting locations on a protein that aren’t the conventional targets of most medicines. HotSpot is now emerging from stealth with preclinical compounds that could become new treatments … Continue reading “With $45M, HotSpot Takes Drug Research to New Biological Real Estate”
High Alpha Raises $100M+ for Two New Funds, Adds Brad Feld to Board
High Alpha, an Indianapolis venture capital fund and startup “studio,” announced today that it has raised more than $100 million for two new funds called High Alpha Capital II and High Alpha Studio II. High Alpha Capital backs companies the way traditional venture firms do, while High Alpha Studio takes it a few steps further … Continue reading “High Alpha Raises $100M+ for Two New Funds, Adds Brad Feld to Board”
Pliant Picks Up $62M to Test Lung, Liver Fibrosis Drug in the Clinic
The cause of fibrosis, the hardening and thickening of connective tissue in organs, isn’t known and it has few treatments. Pliant Therapeutics aims to bring patients who have this chronic and life-threatening condition in the lungs or the liver a new treatment option—and it now has $62 million to test its lead drug in humans. … Continue reading “Pliant Picks Up $62M to Test Lung, Liver Fibrosis Drug in the Clinic”
Verge Genomics Nabs $32M For Computation-Heavy Neuro Drug Discovery
Two years after making her first-ever rounds of business meetings at the J.P. Morgan healthcare conference, Alice Zhang has steered her biotech startup, Verge Genomics, into a $32 million Series A financing. Zhang (pictured) was notable then and now for her age—few biotech CEOs are under 30—and for her career path. She walked away from … Continue reading “Verge Genomics Nabs $32M For Computation-Heavy Neuro Drug Discovery”
With New Data, Amgen Tries Again for FDA OK of Osteoporosis Drug
More than a year after the FDA rejected Amgen’s experimental osteoporosis drug due to safety concerns, the Thousand Oaks, CA, company has teed up a new application. The Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]) drug, romosozumab (Evenity), is an antibody treatment meant to strengthen bones and reduce the chance that they could break. But while romosozumab did lower … Continue reading “With New Data, Amgen Tries Again for FDA OK of Osteoporosis Drug”
Best Friday Reads: Social Media Rules Us All, and Mints Billionaires
Humans have had a drastic physical evolution recently—one that has notably taken only a few years. While the evolution from hunched primates to homo sapiens took tens of millions of years, we needed only about a decade to develop an arched neck that is perennially looking down at a smartphone—presumably one with a social media … Continue reading “Best Friday Reads: Social Media Rules Us All, and Mints Billionaires”
Bio Roundup: Pfizer’s Prices, Novartis Cuts, Gene Therapy Guide & More
Drug price changes typically happen either at the start of the calendar year or the beginning of the third quarter. Such changes are routine for many companies, but Pfizer took an unusual step this week by rolling back scheduled price increases on 40 of its drugs. The change of plan happened after Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]) … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Pfizer’s Prices, Novartis Cuts, Gene Therapy Guide & More”
Broadcom Eyes CA Technologies for $19B After Trump Axed Qualcomm Bid
Semiconductor maker Broadcom, which ended its effort to buy competitor Qualcomm earlier this year, has a new target: New York-based business software maker CA Technologies. The pair announced Wednesday that Broadcom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVGO]]), which moved its headquarters from Singapore to San Jose, CA, earlier this year, plans to pay $18.9 billion in cash for CA … Continue reading “Broadcom Eyes CA Technologies for $19B After Trump Axed Qualcomm Bid”
Zogenix Epilepsy Data Sets Up Market Battle With GW’s Cannabis Drug
Just weeks ago, the FDA approved the first ever medicine made from a derivative of marijuana, a drug from GW Pharmaceuticals for a rare form of epilepsy. Yet competition already looms from Zogenix, thanks to new data the Emeryville, CA, company reports this morning. Zogenix (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGNX]]) said that its experimental drug ZX008 succeeded in … Continue reading “Zogenix Epilepsy Data Sets Up Market Battle With GW’s Cannabis Drug”
With $112M Fund, Glasswing Looks to Drive East Coast A.I. Startups
In a sea of emerging tech venture funds, Glasswing Ventures is trying to stand out. The Boston firm announced today it has closed its debut investment fund at $112 million. That’s bigger than the “micro-VC” funds of the past decade, but much smaller than the mega-funds (often in the billion-dollar range) that have been raised … Continue reading “With $112M Fund, Glasswing Looks to Drive East Coast A.I. Startups”
E-Retail Startup Pointy Raises $12M, Helps Small Shops Be Found Online
Mark Cummins wondered why online search engines could help you locate a landmark halfway around the world in a second but couldn’t tell him whether the corner store had a craft beer he liked. That’s what led him to co-found Pointy, which makes a hardware device that enables small retailers to easily upload inventory onto … Continue reading “E-Retail Startup Pointy Raises $12M, Helps Small Shops Be Found Online”
Penrose Studios Raises $10M To Elevate AR/VR Storytelling
Penrose Studios, which has been scoring film festival awards for its early productions in virtual reality and augmented reality, announced today it raised $10 million in a Series A fundraising round. Among the new investors backing the San Francisco studio are Salesforce founder and CEO Marc Benioff and technology advocate will.i.am, a Grammy award winner … Continue reading “Penrose Studios Raises $10M To Elevate AR/VR Storytelling”
Otsuka Ramps Up Its Antibody Game with $430M Visterra Acquisition
Otsuka Pharmaceutical is expanding its pipeline and U.S. reach with an agreement to acquire Waltham, MA, clinical-stage drug developer Visterra for $430 million in cash. The deal, announced Wednesday, comes nine months after Visterra closed a $46.7 million Series C round to finance clinical development of its antibody drug programs. That financing followed Visterra’s attempt … Continue reading “Otsuka Ramps Up Its Antibody Game with $430M Visterra Acquisition”
Samsung, Google Back Tamr as Big Data Startups Try to Find Their Way
[Updated 7/11/18, 12:01 pm. See below.] Businesses have sunk a lot of money into software tools to analyze the reams of data they’re generating, in search of insights that might help them increase sales or cut costs. But analytics tools don’t work effectively unless the data can be easily retrieved from a company’s disparate systems … Continue reading “Samsung, Google Back Tamr as Big Data Startups Try to Find Their Way”
Former Celgene Exec Golumbeski Joins Grail as President
Grail has appointed George Golumbeski to serve as president of the Menlo Park, CA, cancer test developer. He has also joined Grail’s board of directors. Golumbeski was most recently executive vice president of business development at Celgene (NYSE: [[ticker:CELG]]). In May, Grail closed a $300 million Series C round of financing to continue its work … Continue reading “Former Celgene Exec Golumbeski Joins Grail as President”
Scale Venture Partners Closes $400M Fund to Invest in Tech for the Enterprise
Scale Venture Partners announced today it has closed its sixth fund, gaining $400 million in new capital to invest in companies capable of transforming business operations through advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics. Foster City, CA-based ScaleVP focuses on startups developing Web-based software sold as a subscription to businesses. The VC firm enjoyed … Continue reading “Scale Venture Partners Closes $400M Fund to Invest in Tech for the Enterprise”
Venture Funding Keeps Momentum Amid IPO Wave; Plus Q2’s Top 10 Deals
[Updated 7/12/18, 9:24 am. See below.] Last year, U.S. venture capital investments swelled to a level not seen since the dot-com era of the early 2000s. This year could be even bigger. Investors funneled $57.5 billion into U.S. companies through the first six months of 2018, according to the latest Venture Monitor report produced quarterly … Continue reading “Venture Funding Keeps Momentum Amid IPO Wave; Plus Q2’s Top 10 Deals”
From Robots to Owl Art, a Tour of Autodesk’s BUILD Space: Slideshow
As a tech journalist, most of the stories I write these days deal in algorithms, cloud computing, and other digital tools. When given the opportunity, it’s fun to explore new technologies and products you can actually see and touch. I recently escaped my desk to tour Autodesk’s offices in Boston’s Seaport neighborhood and check out … Continue reading “From Robots to Owl Art, a Tour of Autodesk’s BUILD Space: Slideshow”
Bio Roundup: Dunsire’s Danish, Price Hikes, Rare-Disease Race & More
[Corrected, 7/6/18, 1:26 pm. See below.] Xconomy was dumbstruck this week, and not by the fireworks overhead. Our friend and one of our earliest employees, San Diego editor Bruce Bigelow, died suddenly last weekend. Bruce covered everything—and everyone—in San Diego’s innovation scene, including the life sciences. Some of our favorite stories of his sprang from … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Dunsire’s Danish, Price Hikes, Rare-Disease Race & More”
The Empathy Economy: Emotional Intelligence in Customer Service
The “empathy economy” will help define the new reality of human and machine interactions in the customer service industry. A takeoff on the sharing economy, the empathy economy will grow due to brand mania and increased automation in the workplace. Consumers are inundated by brands in their day-to-day lives, and these brands sometimes create personal … Continue reading “The Empathy Economy: Emotional Intelligence in Customer Service”
PassageX, Listia Partner to Use Blockchain to Resell Tickets
Alex Linebrink is on a mission to cut out the middle man. Linebrink is the founder and CEO of Passage, a Detroit-based ticketing startup. The company’s bread and butter is servicing smaller, niche events, such as Halloween-themed tours, beer festivals, comedy shows, and minor league soccer. “Passage powers ticketing for specialty events,” Linebrink explains. “We … Continue reading “PassageX, Listia Partner to Use Blockchain to Resell Tickets”
Twist Bioscience Appoints Aaron Sato Chief Scientific Officer
Twist Bioscience has appointed Aaron Sato chief scientific officer of pharma, and vice president of protein engineering. Before joining the San Francisco-based company, Sato was chief scientific officer of LakePharma. In other moves, Jim Thorburn was named chief financial officer. Thorburn was most recently chief sales officer of Televerde. Twist makes synthetic DNA for companies … Continue reading “Twist Bioscience Appoints Aaron Sato Chief Scientific Officer”
Adicet Bio Appoints Stewart Abbot Chief Scientific Officer
Stewart Abbot has been appointed chief scientific officer of Adicet Bio. Before coming to the Menlo Park, CA-based company, Abbot was chief development officer at Fate Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FATE]]) in La Jolla, CA. Adicet launched in 2016 backed by a $51 million Series A round of financing to develop “off-the-shelf” immune cell therapies for cancer … Continue reading “Adicet Bio Appoints Stewart Abbot Chief Scientific Officer”
Automation Anywhere Scores $250M to Globalize Bot Workforce
Automation Anywhere, which supplies customers with armies of software robots to take over manual tasks such as insurance claims processing, announced today it raised $250 million in a first funding round that set its post-money valuation at $1.8 billion. The San Jose, CA-based company, begun in 2003 by four co-founders who bootstrapped its funding, has … Continue reading “Automation Anywhere Scores $250M to Globalize Bot Workforce”
In Celebration of Bruce Bigelow: Our Memories, His Playlist
[Updated, 7/5/18. See below] Bruce Victor Bigelow, editor of Xconomy San Diego, passed away Friday afternoon, June 29, at the age of 63. He had suddenly fallen ill less than a week earlier, after he returned to San Diego from a hiking trip in Utah. Our initial post about Bruce’s death is here. And the … Continue reading “In Celebration of Bruce Bigelow: Our Memories, His Playlist”
Virtual Physical Therapy Firms Reflexion and MindMaze Probe Markets
For most patients—and for many drug developers—healthcare reimbursement policies can present a daunting maze of restrictions and uncertainties. But for some tech companies, those policies can be accelerants that boost the chances that new products will be adopted. That’s the case for Reflexion Health, which benefits from U.S. insurance coverage regulations that create openings for … Continue reading “Virtual Physical Therapy Firms Reflexion and MindMaze Probe Markets”
Cyber Trend: Hackers Love to Steal Data; Now They Might Weaponize It
For years, cyber attackers’ primary aim has been to pilfer sensitive information from businesses and individuals, either to sell it in the dark corners of the Internet, hold it for ransom, or use it themselves for material gain. More recently, efforts to connect all manner of machines to the Internet has led to growing worries … Continue reading “Cyber Trend: Hackers Love to Steal Data; Now They Might Weaponize It”
Study: Blood Test for Prostate Cancer Can Guide Therapy, Extend Lives
Blood tests for cancer, known as liquid biopsies, have become available in recent years to guide treatments for people already diagnosed. But how useful are they? A paper published last week in the journal JAMA Oncology makes the case that one such test, Oncotype DX AR-V7 Nucleus Detect, might be worth its $3,980 price tag. … Continue reading “Study: Blood Test for Prostate Cancer Can Guide Therapy, Extend Lives”
Xconomy Mourns the Loss of San Diego Editor Bruce Bigelow
[Updated, 7/5/18. See below] It is with profound sadness that we at Xconomy say goodbye to our longtime friend and editor of Xconomy San Diego, Bruce Bigelow. An outstanding journalist, colleague, and friend, and a fixture of the San Diego innovation scene, Bruce passed away today at age 63 after a brief illness. We are … Continue reading “Xconomy Mourns the Loss of San Diego Editor Bruce Bigelow”
Nanotech Liquidia Hops IPO Wave as Lead Drug Faces Late-Stage Test
Liquidia Technologies focuses on the small. Its method of producing nano-scale particles improves how a drug reaches its target in the body. Now the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is aiming for something big: an IPO to finance tests of a pair of drugs that use this drug delivery technology. Research Triangle Park, NC-based Liquidia filed the … Continue reading “Nanotech Liquidia Hops IPO Wave as Lead Drug Faces Late-Stage Test”
SimpliSafe Sold to Private Equity Firm as Home Security Heats Up
[Updated 6/29/18, 3:38 pm. See below.] More deal-making in home security today: SimpliSafe has sold a majority stake in the company to private equity firm Hellman & Friedman. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed in a press release. A spokeswoman says Hellman & Friedman “made a majority investment alongside” SimpliSafe management. Founded in 2006, SimpliSafe … Continue reading “SimpliSafe Sold to Private Equity Firm as Home Security Heats Up”
Best Reads for Casual Friday: Cybersecurity (And Some Amazon, Too)
You’ve made it to Friday—it’s time to take a step back, prepare for a relaxing weekend, and read a few stories about the endless ways in which your personal information can be stolen. OK, maybe it’s better to spin it like this: Here are some of the most interesting reads from this last week on … Continue reading “Best Reads for Casual Friday: Cybersecurity (And Some Amazon, Too)”