As more K-12 schools adopt technologies meant to help deliver an education customized to each student, the methods for coaching teachers are becoming more digital and personalized, too. The latest sign comes from BetterLesson, a Cambridge, MA-based edtech company that today announced it raised a $10 million Series B funding round to expand the use … Continue reading “BetterLesson Collects $10M to Push Teacher Development Software”
Category: San Francisco
Agenda Posted for Xconomy’s What’s Hot in Bay Area Biotech on Dec. 6
Next month, Xconomy will convene an elite group of biotech executives, researchers, and investors from the San Francisco Bay Area to discuss how they are building new organizations and bringing new projects and products forward to address major healthcare challenges. We have a full roster of speakers for the Dec. 6 event. The full agenda … Continue reading “Agenda Posted for Xconomy’s What’s Hot in Bay Area Biotech on Dec. 6”
As AMD Race Tightens, Regeneron’s Second Eye Drug Combo Falls Short
Another attempt to use a combination of drugs to improve upon the current treatments for age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss in the elderly, has failed. The news is a setback for Tarrytown, NY-based Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:REGN]]), which is trying to fend off the competition for its most successful drug, a … Continue reading “As AMD Race Tightens, Regeneron’s Second Eye Drug Combo Falls Short”
After Successful Pilot, Apprenti Expands Tech Training Program
Those of us who keep tabs on the tech world hear a lot about the challenges of hiring and retaining IT talent. According to a forecast by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 1.3 million new computer programming and computer support specialist jobs will be created across the country by 2022, and as businesses … Continue reading “After Successful Pilot, Apprenti Expands Tech Training Program”
ClimaCell Bags $15M to Predict Weather from Wireless Network Signals
Local meteorologists might avoid being the butt of so many jokes, if the latest crop of weather technology startups have their way. A number of young companies are trying to improve the methods for tracking and predicting the weather. Some are tackling the problem from space, like Spire Global, whose network of small satellites gather … Continue reading “ClimaCell Bags $15M to Predict Weather from Wireless Network Signals”
Cytokinetics Pivots to Another ALS Drug After Phase 3 Failure
Cytokinetics’ bid to offer a new drug for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was dealt a setback after the company’s lead experimental treatment for the disease failed in a late-stage clinical trial. The results mean the end for tirasemtiv, one of the drugs furthest along in clinical development for the muscle-weakening condition also known as Lou … Continue reading “Cytokinetics Pivots to Another ALS Drug After Phase 3 Failure”
Locus Robotics Gets $25M to Help Warehouse Owners Compete With Amazon
As we head into holiday shopping season, here’s some news on the e-commerce warehouse front. Locus Robotics, based in Wilmington, MA, says it has secured $25 million in Series B funding led by Scale Venture Partners. The new money brings Locus Robotics’ total venture haul to at least $33 million. Founded in 2015, Locus Robotics makes … Continue reading “Locus Robotics Gets $25M to Help Warehouse Owners Compete With Amazon”
Lacking Details, Roche Touts Drug Combo’s Success in Lung Cancer
[Corrected 10:15 a.m., 11/20/17. See below.] Roche’s Genentech division reported this morning that its cancer immunotherapy drug, atezolizumab (Tecentriq), has succeeded in a clinical study that could help change the standard of care for people with a certain type of lung cancer. The South San Francisco, CA-based Genentech said late Sunday night that in a … Continue reading “Lacking Details, Roche Touts Drug Combo’s Success in Lung Cancer”
Ed Kaye on Sarepta’s Duchenne Quest, Rising to CEO & His New Startup
[Updated, 2:45 pm ET, see below] Ed Kaye never thought he’d run a biotech —until waking up one day in 2015 realizing not only that he could, but that Sarepta Therapeutics, where he was chief medical officer at the time, may fall apart if he didn’t. In March 2015, Kaye (pictured) was one of many … Continue reading “Ed Kaye on Sarepta’s Duchenne Quest, Rising to CEO & His New Startup”
Cengage Defends Value of Digital Course Materials Amid Print Decline
Textbook publishers are making progress on shifting their businesses from print to mostly digital products. Now comes the hard part: figuring out how to reverse revenue declines when your business is built on digital course offerings that are generally much cheaper than books. Take Cengage, one of the largest education publishers. Digital products now comprise … Continue reading “Cengage Defends Value of Digital Course Materials Amid Print Decline”
Stratim CEO Sees Future with Costly Driverless Cars, but Low Ride Fares
Like many tech entrepreneurs, Sean Behr had a young business that was popular with consumers, but was also losing money. So in February of 2016, he decided to refocus his San Francisco startup on the small, but unexpectedly profitable aspect of his service that could operate in the black. That pivot put Behr in a … Continue reading “Stratim CEO Sees Future with Costly Driverless Cars, but Low Ride Fares”
Bio Roundup: ICER Eyes Cost, Azar at HHS, Gates’s ALZ Cash & More
In our roundup this week, Alzheimer’s disease is in the news, thanks to billionaire Bill Gates and his personal pledge of $100 million toward R&D. That could equal the amount one startup hopes to raise in an IPO to develop drugs for Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases. If a treatment became available, could our health … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: ICER Eyes Cost, Azar at HHS, Gates’s ALZ Cash & More”
FDA Approves Genentech Hemophilia Drug, But Adds Safety Warning
The FDA has approved a Genentech drug meant to prevent or reduce bleeding in hemophilia A patients who have developed an immune response to currently available treatments for the condition. But Thursday’s approval of emicizumab-kxwh (Hemlibra) comes with a warning about severe blood clots. In clinical trials testing the drug from Genentech, the South San … Continue reading “FDA Approves Genentech Hemophilia Drug, But Adds Safety Warning”
Self-Driving Stampede: Why Mobility Startup Prices Keep Going Up
When automotive supplier Delphi forked over approximately $450 million to buy Boston-based software startup NuTonomy last month, it was the latest in a spate of high-dollar acquisitions involving companies that develop self-driving technologies. NuTonomy, founded by MIT researchers, was only four years old and had raised $16 million in a Series A round the previous … Continue reading “Self-Driving Stampede: Why Mobility Startup Prices Keep Going Up”
SendGrid Goes Public for $131M in First Techstars Accelerator IPO
Something rare happened this morning: A company that has gone through an accelerator program, SendGrid, has hit the public markets. SendGrid raised $131 million by selling 8.2 million shares for $16 apiece, according to research firm Renaissance Capital. Both figures were higher than expected for the Denver, CO-based company, which is now trading on the … Continue reading “SendGrid Goes Public for $131M in First Techstars Accelerator IPO”
Acorda Takes Another Hit, Reports Patient Deaths in Parkinson’s Study
Acorda Therapeutics’ rebuilding plan just suffered another setback, leaving the fate of one of the experimental Parkinson’s disease drugs that is closest to market unclear. Ardsley, NY-based Acorda (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACOR]]) said Wednesday morning that it has seen troubling safety problems in a Phase 3 trial of its experimental Parkinson’s disease drug tozadenant. Acorda reported cases … Continue reading “Acorda Takes Another Hit, Reports Patient Deaths in Parkinson’s Study”
Autodesk Leads $12M Round for Assemble Systems in Latest Boston Deal
Autodesk, the 3D design and engineering software giant, is continuing its investing spree in Boston-area technology startups. The latest beneficiary is Assemble Systems, which on Tuesday announced it received a $12 million Series A funding round led by Autodesk’s Forge Fund. Earlier backers Satterfield Vintage Investments and Assemble Investments also chipped in, according to a … Continue reading “Autodesk Leads $12M Round for Assemble Systems in Latest Boston Deal”
Locus Bio Raises $19M for CRISPR-Cas3 Antimicrobial “Smart Bombs”
A growing number of companies are using CRISPR technology to try and develop more precise treatments for a wide range of diseases, and Locus Biosciences is joining the mix, embracing the platform to tackle drug-resistant bacteria. Now the startup has $19 million to test its “precision antimicrobial” tech in humans. ARTIS Ventures, a San Francisco-based … Continue reading “Locus Bio Raises $19M for CRISPR-Cas3 Antimicrobial “Smart Bombs””
Poshmark Picks Up $87.5M to Power the Social, Digital Wardrobe
Poshmark, a social media e-retail company, has raised $87.5 million in a Series D investment round led by Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek. That brings the total funding raised by the Redwood City, CA-based company to $160 million. Other investors in the firm include Mayfield, Menlo Ventures, GGV Capital, Inventus Capital, SoftTech VC, Union Grove … Continue reading “Poshmark Picks Up $87.5M to Power the Social, Digital Wardrobe”
In a Precision Step, Bayer Writes Loxo $400M Check for Two Cancer Drugs
The latest evidence of the progress of targeted cancer drugs came this morning in the form of a $400 million check. That’s what Bayer will pay, up front, to Loxo Oncology, a company that has the chance to be the second, following Merck, to win approval of a drug for tumors with a specific genetic … Continue reading “In a Precision Step, Bayer Writes Loxo $400M Check for Two Cancer Drugs”
Campaign Against Killer Robots Depicts Bleak Future as Nations Meet
This video is the stuff of nightmares. It depicts A.I.-directed drones loaded with small amounts of explosive, seeking out and killing targets autonomously. A slick tech executive makes his (for now) fictional pitch of this “improvement” on the large, Predator-style military drones that are familiar today. He shows a bomber flying over a city, dropping … Continue reading “Campaign Against Killer Robots Depicts Bleak Future as Nations Meet”
DFJ Co-Founder Jurvetson Exits Firm Amid Harassment Charges
[Updated 11/15/17, 11:10 am. See below.] One of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capital firm founders has joined the list of VCs who departed from their positions this year in the wake of sexual harassment allegations. Steve Jurvetson, co-founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), confirmed via a Twitter post Monday that he has left the … Continue reading “DFJ Co-Founder Jurvetson Exits Firm Amid Harassment Charges”
IPO to Fuel Denali’s Drugs for Alzheimer’s, Other Brain Diseases
One of biotech’s richest private companies, Denali Therapeutics, has set its sights on an IPO to push ahead with treatments for Alzheimer’s and other confounding brain diseases. The filing marks $100 million as its IPO target, but market conditions often shift a company’s sights in the run-up to a debut. Denali’s disclosure comes on the … Continue reading “IPO to Fuel Denali’s Drugs for Alzheimer’s, Other Brain Diseases”
Acquia Taps Former Autonomy and HP Exec Sullivan to Be Next CEO
[Updated 11/13/17, 3:37 pm, with comments from executives.] There’s about to be a new leader at Acquia, one of the Boston area’s more closely watched enterprise tech companies. On Monday, the Web content management software company named Michael Sullivan as its CEO, effective next month. The 52-year-old, pictured at right, has spent more than 25 … Continue reading “Acquia Taps Former Autonomy and HP Exec Sullivan to Be Next CEO”
First Star Ventures Pushes Deeper Into Genomic Data & Blockchain
First Star Ventures might be Boston’s most interesting early-stage startup investor you’ve never heard of. The venture firm has flown somewhat under the radar since it launched three years ago as Procyon Ventures. But it’s starting to make more noise. First Star announced its new moniker last month. “We got tired of people mispronouncing Procyon,” … Continue reading “First Star Ventures Pushes Deeper Into Genomic Data & Blockchain”
Milestones of Innovation 14: The Biggest Damn Firecracker I Ever Saw
At exactly 7 a.m. on Nov. 9, 1967, the roof of the press viewing stand at Cape Canaveral began shaking from what was happening more than three miles from us. The sky seemed to be cracking as a gleaming 363-foot tall rocket began pushing up from Launch Pad 39 and eastward over the Atlantic. As … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 14: The Biggest Damn Firecracker I Ever Saw”
Bio Roundup: Barron Joins GSK, Sage Bounces Back, Valeant Dumps Addyi
Call it a week of second chances. Multiple biotechs breathed new life into drugs sorely in need of it. Sage Therapeutics proved a drug that had failed a trial a rare form of epilepsy could be the first ever approved therapy for postpartum depression. Otonomy, reviving a hearing loss drug thought to be on the … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Barron Joins GSK, Sage Bounces Back, Valeant Dumps Addyi”
What Sean Parker Shares with Einstein and the Labradoodle’s Inventor
Sean Parker, Facebook’s first president, just joined a group that’s a favorite topic of history listicles: He’s an innovator who has become abashed by the breakthrough he helped to create. Parker, in an interview with Axios on Wednesday, said Facebook’s founders consciously exploited “a vulnerability in human psychology,” by luring users into an addictive engagement … Continue reading “What Sean Parker Shares with Einstein and the Labradoodle’s Inventor”
Aquam Raises $26M to Expand Tech, Services for Aging Infrastructure
Aquam, a San Diego company with technology for cleaning out and re-lining aging utility pipelines, has raised $26 million in a growth capital round led by NewWorld Capital Group, a New York private equity firm that makes investments in sustainable energy and natural-resources related deals. As municipalities and utilities confront intractable infrastructure problems that range … Continue reading “Aquam Raises $26M to Expand Tech, Services for Aging Infrastructure”
Enview Raises $6M Series A to Monitor Safety of Energy Infrastructure
Silicon Valley residents are unlikely to forget the deadly 2010 explosion and fireball in San Bruno, CA, which was caused by the breakdown of a gas pipeline that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. was later convicted of failing to identify as high-risk. Now, San Francisco startup Enview is using artificial intelligence and 3D computer vision … Continue reading “Enview Raises $6M Series A to Monitor Safety of Energy Infrastructure”
Microsoft’s Strategy for Finding What’s Next in Healthcare A.I.
[Updated 11/10/17, 10:25 a.m. See below.] Microsoft is applying the same model it used to launch its quantum computing and chatbot efforts to innovation in healthcare, signaling the company’s ambition and optimism about the transformative potential of artificial intelligence technologies in this enormous endeavor. Peter Lee is the Microsoft Research executive in charge of the … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Strategy for Finding What’s Next in Healthcare A.I.”
Waymo, Global Firms Start Their Engines For Self-Driving Future
In a pile-up of news about self-driving vehicles early this week, Alphabet unit Waymo led the pack by announcing that its autonomous fleet, operating in an area of Phoenix, is now without humans in the driver’s seat. Soon, Waymo will be testing a business model for its driverless cars, while it continues to test its … Continue reading “Waymo, Global Firms Start Their Engines For Self-Driving Future”
Five Prime Shares Dive on Latest Hiccup For Cancer Immunotherapy Combos
Another prospective combination of cancer immunotherapy drugs has shown its warts in clinical testing. The latest example: an experimental treatment from Five Prime Therapeutics fell short of expectations when combined with one of the leading immunotherapy drugs, nivolumab (Opdivo), from Bristol-Myers Squibb, in a small study. In a Phase 1 clinical trial of pancreatic cancer … Continue reading “Five Prime Shares Dive on Latest Hiccup For Cancer Immunotherapy Combos”
Panorama Education Gets $16M for “Social-Emotional Learning” Tools
Panorama Education announced Tuesday that it raised $16 million from several high-profile tech investors to accelerate the adoption of its software tools aimed at boosting K-12 students’ social and emotional skills and college readiness. The Series B funding round was led by Emerson Collective, whose founder and president is Laurene Powell Jobs, the billionaire entrepreneur … Continue reading “Panorama Education Gets $16M for “Social-Emotional Learning” Tools”
At First Summit, 7CTOs Takes Baby Step to San Diego Tech Buildup
A lot of ink has been spilled on the subject of building tech startups and creating entrepreneurial communities for tech innovation. But to Etienne de Bruin, a disproportionate amount of attention has focused on the tech founder as CEO, and what it takes for a CEO to build a tech business. Search for “CEO books” … Continue reading “At First Summit, 7CTOs Takes Baby Step to San Diego Tech Buildup”
ThirdChannel Collects $7M to Boost Analytics for Physical Stores
Despite talk that e-commerce is killing brick-and-mortar retail, the vast majority of shopping still takes place in physical stores. But it’s often easier to monitor inventory, analyze consumer spending habits, and make on-the-fly adjustments for digital storefronts than it is for their real-world counterparts. A Boston-area startup called ThirdChannel wants to help change that, aiming … Continue reading “ThirdChannel Collects $7M to Boost Analytics for Physical Stores”
Rightpoint Buys Mobile Firm Raizlabs to Form “Agency of the Future”
Raizlabs, one of the Boston area’s best-known mobile app development shops, has been acquired by Rightpoint, a Chicago-based consulting firm. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed. With the addition of Raizlabs, the combined companies employ 400 people across nine U.S. offices. The two firms’ Boston offices will consolidate, while Raizlabs’ Oakland, CA, office adds a new … Continue reading “Rightpoint Buys Mobile Firm Raizlabs to Form “Agency of the Future””
FDA Lifts Hold on Cellectis’s “Off the Shelf” CAR-T, With Caveats
The FDA has cleared Cellectis to resume testing an experimental “off the shelf” type of cell therapy, so long as it follows a new set of measures meant to quell the safety concerns that caused the company to halt a pair of clinical trials. Cellectis (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLLS]]) said late Monday night that the agency will … Continue reading “FDA Lifts Hold on Cellectis’s “Off the Shelf” CAR-T, With Caveats”
Lunar Aims to Offer Budget Phone Service, Premium User Experience
Most of us can’t imagine going back to a time without smartphones. Having an Internet-enabled phone on one’s person makes life easier, and many of us would feel a bit naked without one. Paying for them, however, is another matter. The prices keep going up as the phones get more sophisticated, and with myriad fees … Continue reading “Lunar Aims to Offer Budget Phone Service, Premium User Experience”
OncoMed’s Tim Hoey Joins Tenaya Tx as Chief Scientific Officer
Tenaya Therapeutics has appointed Tim Hoey chief scientific officer of the South San Francisco, CA, biotech. Before joining Tenaya, Hoey was senior vice president of cancer biology and co-chief scientific officer of Redwood City, CA-based OncoMed (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OMED]]). Tenaya spun out of the Gladstone Institutes last year backed by a $50 million Series A investment … Continue reading “OncoMed’s Tim Hoey Joins Tenaya Tx as Chief Scientific Officer”
Is Your Company Independent or Co-Dependent?
Steve Jobs was once famously quoted stating, “the secret of my success is that we have gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world.” Employees are a critical part of any company’s backbone, no matter the size or industry of the business. They are the driving force that executes the company … Continue reading “Is Your Company Independent or Co-Dependent?”
Broadcom-Qualcomm M&A: Layers of Complexity Cloud Biggest Tech Deal
One thing to bear in mind with today’s news that Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVGO]]) has made an unsolicited offer of about $105 billion to acquire San Diego-based Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) is that this deal, if it happens, is going to take time. Aside from the complications involved with combining the global operations of two Fortune … Continue reading “Broadcom-Qualcomm M&A: Layers of Complexity Cloud Biggest Tech Deal”
Black Duck Aims to “Build a Powerful Company” Under Wing of Synopsys
Synopsys thinks it has found a beautiful swan in Black Duck Software. While the 14-year-old Boston-area company was by no means an “ugly duckling” before, it has transformed several times on the way to its half-billion-dollar sale to Synopsys—and it will likely continue to grow and change under its new parent company. Mountain View, CA-based … Continue reading “Black Duck Aims to “Build a Powerful Company” Under Wing of Synopsys”
Biotech Roundup: Opioid News, ASH Preview, Boston Bio IPOs & More
The rising death toll from opioids has prompted policymakers to try various ways to take on the problem. President Trump’s opioid commission released its final report this week, calling for expansion of drug courts, better physician training, and penalties for insurers that don’t cover treatment. But the commission did not say how much its recommendations … Continue reading “Biotech Roundup: Opioid News, ASH Preview, Boston Bio IPOs & More”
Congress Urges Tech Firms to Control Content—But With Qualms
At Congressional hearings this week on Russia’s use of social media to interfere with the 2016 U.S. election, lawmakers pressed Facebook, Twitter, and Google to take exhaustive measures to stop the same thing from happening again. Lawmakers urged the companies to scour their networks to root out foreign advertisers, trolls, and bots; to eliminate messages … Continue reading “Congress Urges Tech Firms to Control Content—But With Qualms”
Black Duck Software to Be Acquired by Synopsys for $565M
Over the summer, Black Duck Software CEO Lou Shipley told Xconomy that a potential acquirer would have to propose a “really good deal” for his company to agree to a sale. Apparently, Black Duck got that offer. The Burlington, MA-based cybersecurity company announced Thursday it has agreed to be acquired by Mountain View, CA-based Synopsys … Continue reading “Black Duck Software to Be Acquired by Synopsys for $565M”
Scangos Heats Up Xconomy’s What’s Hot in Bay Area Biotech Lineup
To biopharmaceutical companies, FDA approval of a new drug brings the opportunity to sell a product in the biggest pharmaceutical market in the world. But disease knows no borders, and many treatments launched in the U.S. market could also have global applications. George Scangos says he joined Vir Biotechnology to bring new infectious disease therapies … Continue reading “Scangos Heats Up Xconomy’s What’s Hot in Bay Area Biotech Lineup”
Pitchbook Report: SXSW Accelerator Investments, Exits Since 2007
Austin—The South by Southwest technology conference draws executives from countless companies worth billions of dollars to Austin every year and, with them, investors that want a piece of their equity. But the companies that often get the most attention are the ones that aren’t worth much at all—yet. One way SXSW attendees get to see … Continue reading “Pitchbook Report: SXSW Accelerator Investments, Exits Since 2007”
Few Opioid Alternatives In Sight as Crisis Gains Political Attention
As opioid-related deaths skyrocket across the U.S., momentum to combat the epidemic has been mounting in Washington. But the crisis has also highlighted a glaring problem that no amount of politics or policymaking will solve soon: The lack of non-addictive pain medicines. “What is disappointing over the last half-century is that we haven’t really created … Continue reading “Few Opioid Alternatives In Sight as Crisis Gains Political Attention”
ASH Sneak Peeks: Novartis, Juno Update CAR-T Lymphoma Competition
[Corrected, 11/1/17, 5:20 p.m. ET. See below.] The annual American Society of Hematology meeting is next month. But previews of the big data presentations are out today, yielding more insight into what promises to be the first major competition in CAR-T cell therapy: Treatments for people with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) who have run out of … Continue reading “ASH Sneak Peeks: Novartis, Juno Update CAR-T Lymphoma Competition”