EduCanon Obtains $18,000 Seed Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a9a4ab19-4bb8-4f2c-90ec-702d17bfafca Date 9/19/2013 Company Name EduCanon Mailing Address Undisclosed Boston, MA 02210 Company Description eduCanon seeks to improve student outcomes in disadvantaged communities and beyond by harnessing the potential of technology. Website http://www.alpha.educanon.com Transaction Type Accelerator Transaction Amount $18,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes The company will use the proceeds to accelerate … Continue reading “EduCanon Obtains $18,000 Seed Funding”

Listen Edition Receives $18,000 Seed Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=dd75b681-e723-4142-b851-813bb3740d44 Date 9/19/2013 Company Name Listen Edition Mailing Address Undisclosed Boston, MA 02210 Company Description Listen Edition curates public radio stories and builds custom lesson plans round them that are written to the Common Core and aligned with state standards. The lesson plans include class activities, homework, links to additional resources and … Continue reading “Listen Edition Receives $18,000 Seed Funding Round”

Countdown Obtains $18,000 Seed Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=211c888b-ff6d-4b9f-915f-ca0a5fd67488 Date 9/19/2013 Company Name Countdown Mailing Address Undisclosed Boston, MA 02210 Company Description We know that one size doesn’t fit the needs of all of your students. That’s why we allow you to edit your district’s pacing guide in real-time or create your own curriculum map from scratch using the Common … Continue reading “Countdown Obtains $18,000 Seed Funding”

Sales Software Startup Yesware Adds $13.5M Led by Battery Ventures

Boston-based Yesware, which makes e-mail software for salespeople, has raised $13.5 million in a bid to accelerate its growth. Battery Ventures led the investment, which also featured Yesware’s existing backers: Google Ventures, Foundry Group, Golden Venture Partners, and IDG Ventures. With the new cash, Yesware has raised a total of $18.5 million in venture investments. … Continue reading “Sales Software Startup Yesware Adds $13.5M Led by Battery Ventures”

No Titles, No Problem: Stackdriver Scores $10M for Cloud Monitoring

Stackdriver. Love the name. Love the concept, though it’s kind of technical. Bear with me. You know how every Web company seems to run its business on Amazon Web Services or Rackspace? That means every Web company also needs to monitor its IT environment—its application performance, website speed, and so forth—in the public cloud. Or … Continue reading “No Titles, No Problem: Stackdriver Scores $10M for Cloud Monitoring”

How Did Newspapers Blow It? Not Enough Engineers, NYT Publisher Says

It would be hard to single out just one mistake from the news industry’s fumbled transition to the Internet era. But the most important newspaper publisher in America—Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. of the New York Times—says one stumble sticks out among the rest. “Engineers. That’s what we didn’t focus on fast enough,” Sulzberger says. “The need … Continue reading “How Did Newspapers Blow It? Not Enough Engineers, NYT Publisher Says”

Stackdriver Lands $10,000,000 Series B Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=03d63220-44ef-4f61-b5d5-08cb94ea866b Date 9/18/2013 Company Name Stackdriver Mailing Address 77 Summer Street 7th Floor Boston, MA 02110 Company Description Stackdriver is a Boston-based startup that wants to help companies run and manage their applications on and across public cloud infrastructure. Website http://www.stackdriver.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $10,000,000 Transaction Round Series B … Continue reading “Stackdriver Lands $10,000,000 Series B Financing”

Yesware Receives $13,500,000 Series B Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=df020b97-e759-4360-8649-37429861b5e4 Date 9/18/2013 Company Name Yesware Mailing Address 109 Kingston St. Boston, MA 02111 Company Description The company provides an online e-mail service optimized for the sales process. Website http://www.yesware.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $13,500,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes The new funds will be used to accelerate the … Continue reading “Yesware Receives $13,500,000 Series B Funding”

Cognii Chasing “Siri for Education” at LearnLaunchX & TiE Challenge

This is a story about one entrepreneur, two accelerators, and three big ideas. The first idea is how to make money at an education-tech startup. The second is how to do automated assessment of students’ written responses. The third is how the technology is aiming to become something like “Siri for education.” All of the … Continue reading “Cognii Chasing “Siri for Education” at LearnLaunchX & TiE Challenge”

PushPage Obtains $1,700,000 Seed Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=73592bb2-2811-41b8-9036-d6fb6b09a542 Date 9/17/2013 Company Name PushPage Mailing Address Undisclosed Cambridge, MA 02142 Company Description PushPage is your up-close-and-personal interview — just like when you see stars do interviews on Conan or Oprah, or read their Q&A in Cosmo or Sports Illustrated… except now you’re in the hot seat. Website http://www.pushpage.me Transaction Type … Continue reading “PushPage Obtains $1,700,000 Seed Financing”

Slow Down to Speed Up: Startup Advice from Feld, Miner, & Yesware

It was April Fool’s Day, 2011. Matthew Bellows walked into a board meeting for his startup, Yesware. In the room were Brad Feld and Rich Miner, prominent venture capitalists from Foundry Group and Google Ventures, respectively, who had just led seed investments in Yesware. Bellows, the startup’s CEO, had previously started WGR Media and sold … Continue reading “Slow Down to Speed Up: Startup Advice from Feld, Miner, & Yesware”

Don’t Be Naïve: 7 Things to Know Before Taking a Biotech Startup Job

You’ve spent years working hard to hone your skills in science, medicine, or business. You’ve accomplished things, and you have the talent and desire to do more. You may be bored, or stuck at a dead end job in academia, Big Biotech, or Big Pharma. You are intrigued by a job posting you just saw … Continue reading “Don’t Be Naïve: 7 Things to Know Before Taking a Biotech Startup Job”

DataRobot Lands $699,999 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d6de18f5-2d10-473c-a3f2-464e5c38422b Date 9/15/2013 Company Name DataRobot Mailing Address 61-63 Chatham Street 5th Floor Boston, MA 02109 Company Description We’re creating a cloud platform to help teams of data scientists create the most accurate predictive models the world has ever seen. We have a vision of how Data Science will be done 15 … Continue reading “DataRobot Lands $699,999 New Funding”

Mentoring Startups is Hard: Five Ways to Be a Better Mentor

Mentoring has become a more significant part of the economy today than since, perhaps, apprenticeships in the Craftsman Age. Why? The rise of entrepreneurship and our expanding freelance economy are driving massive transformation, and workers are increasingly required to find their own means of making a living. During the Industrial age, most labor was focused … Continue reading “Mentoring Startups is Hard: Five Ways to Be a Better Mentor”

East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Genocea, Biogen, OvaScience, & More

[Updated, 8:45 am ET] Summer, it’s sad to say, is clearly in the rear-view mirror. No surprise, then, that biotech activity was flying this week. Partnerships, financings, data releases, IPO rumblings and more dot the news below: —Cambridge, MA-based Genocea Biosciences revealed the first piece of clinical data it has collected to date, unveiling interim … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Genocea, Biogen, OvaScience, & More”

The iPhone 5S and 5C: Everything Is Amazing and Nobody Is Happy

Our expectations about how fast personal technology should evolve have come totally unglued from reality.  That was all I could think this week as I surveyed media and consumer commentary about the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C, which Apple unveiled at a Sept. 10 press event. From any reasonable point of view, these new … Continue reading “The iPhone 5S and 5C: Everything Is Amazing and Nobody Is Happy”

Salsify Obtains $8,000,000 Series A Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f9f9c88d-6060-4ba7-ac74-18357e1326cc Date 9/13/2013 Company Name Salsify Mailing Address 115 Broad St. 2nd Floor Boston, MA 02110 Company Description Salsify provides cloud-based product content management solutions that make it easy for manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to exchange high-quality content that drives online results. The company was founded in late 2012 by a team … Continue reading “Salsify Obtains $8,000,000 Series A Funding Round”

Clinical Future Garners $1,499,999 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c489e1e2-dc1a-4fd9-9ae8-3f3841634410 Date 9/13/2013 Company Name Clinical Future Mailing Address 332 Congress Street 4th Floor Boston, MA 02210 Company Description Clinical Future is transforming genomics with the Arvados platform. Website http://www.clinicalfuture.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,499,999 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. Not a … Continue reading “Clinical Future Garners $1,499,999 New Financing Round”

HourlyNerd Secures $750,000 Seed Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=80959034-83b4-4d1a-90d1-e6d98e8bf47b Date 9/13/2013 Company Name HourlyNerd Mailing Address 123 Western Avenue Boston, MA 02134 Company Description HourlyNerd was started by a team of Harvard Business School students with a passion for helping small businesses. Our team has spent years working with small businesses and we have experience in private equity, consulting, and … Continue reading “HourlyNerd Secures $750,000 Seed Round”

Genocea’s Herpes Vaccine Heads For Critical Proving Ground

No one has made an effective vaccine for herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2), better known as genital herpes. That’s because no one has been able to harness the immune system to attack the virus while it’s hiding out, dormant, inside cells. While there’s a long road ahead, Genocea Biosciences says it has a shot to … Continue reading “Genocea’s Herpes Vaccine Heads For Critical Proving Ground”

“Tech Tax” Repeal Coming, Lawmakers Say, After Last-Minute Lobbying

The Massachusetts technology sector saw its hastily flexed political muscle pay off this week, as legislative leaders pledged to repeal a new sales tax on certain kinds of software development. The “tech tax,” as it became known, was passed earlier this year as part of a major state transportation financing package. It extended the state’s … Continue reading ““Tech Tax” Repeal Coming, Lawmakers Say, After Last-Minute Lobbying”

Salsify Blooms With $8M in Skok Brothers’ First VC Deal

One of the most intriguing young Boston startups is having its coming-out party this week. Salsify, named after a plant that is “beautiful, low maintenance, and spreads like wildfire,” is trying to reinvent the fundamental data flow that is crucial to e-commerce businesses. Salsify is announcing it has raised an $8 million Series A round … Continue reading “Salsify Blooms With $8M in Skok Brothers’ First VC Deal”

Bluebird, Moderna, Genocea to Share Their Stories on Oct. 2

It’s just a few weeks to go until our next Boston-area biotech extravaganza, so it’s time to give you an update on what’s in store if you join us at “Xconomy Xchange: Boston’s Life Science Disruptors” at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in Cambridge on the evening of Oct. 2. The basic theme here … Continue reading “Bluebird, Moderna, Genocea to Share Their Stories on Oct. 2”

Kauffman Report: It Takes Decades to Build a Startup Hub

The Kauffman Foundation caused a stir in economic-development circles last month with a report showing that high-tech startups are more evenly spread across the United States than many people assume. When researcher Ian Hathaway, an economic advisor with the advocacy group Engine, ranked metropolitan areas in terms of their per-capita density of high-tech startups, his … Continue reading “Kauffman Report: It Takes Decades to Build a Startup Hub”

Civitas Scores $38M Series B For Parkinson’s Drug Push

Civitas Therapeutics’ Parkinson’s disease drug got a second vote of confidence from the Michael J. Fox Foundation earlier this year. Now the startup has added a big batch of cash to help push that drug—an inhalable version of a long used, but flawed treatment for the disorder—through a key mid-stage clinical trial. Chelsea, MA-based Civitas … Continue reading “Civitas Scores $38M Series B For Parkinson’s Drug Push”

Xconomy is Looking for Detroit Innovation Champions

In 2010, Xconomy opened its fourth news bureau in Detroit, joining Boston, Seattle, and San Diego. Even though this was a time when record numbers of global media were parachuting into town and writing stories showcasing “ruin porn” and what they deemed as the hopelessness of the Motor City’s plight, Xconomy had a different mission … Continue reading “Xconomy is Looking for Detroit Innovation Champions”

Boston Roundup: Gov. Patrick, Benu, iZotope, Dorm Room Fund, edX

We’ve got some significant tech-industry political news this week, along with fundraising announcements, VC expansions, and a new online education product: —Gov. Deval Patrick is suddenly championing the causes of many in the Massachusetts tech sector. In separate announcements yesterday, Patrick said he wants to make non-compete agreements unenforceable in the state and also wants … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: Gov. Patrick, Benu, iZotope, Dorm Room Fund, edX”

FDA Concerns Cause OvaScience To Halt U.S. Trial Of Souped-Up IVF Procedure

[Updated, 9:15 am ET] Shares of OvaScience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OVAS]]) were sent spiraling downward late Tuesday after the company revealed that the FDA wants it to seek regulatory approval for its lead product, Augment, a procedure designed to boost the success rate of in vitro fertilization. Cambridge, MA-based OvaScience received a letter from the FDA questioning … Continue reading “FDA Concerns Cause OvaScience To Halt U.S. Trial Of Souped-Up IVF Procedure”

Broad Institute Joins up with Bayer to Find Targeted Cancer Drugs

The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, MA, has scored its latest big industry partnership—this time with Bayer. Broad, the non-profit biomedical and genomics institute staffed by Harvard and MIT scientists, said today that will team with the German pharma giant’s U.S. arm, Bayer Healthcare, on a five-year pact to discover targeted cancer … Continue reading “Broad Institute Joins up with Bayer to Find Targeted Cancer Drugs”

Juan Enriquez, Mark Levin, Phil Sharp to Speak at Healthcare Summit Oct. 15

October 15 is shaping up to be an incredible day. School will have settled into a rhythm, the leaves will be changing, and we are convening a killer group of healthcare experts for our first-ever Xconomy Healthcare Summit. This is an invitation-only event that features the world’s leading innovators, entrepreneurs, scientists, practitioners, and investors in … Continue reading “Juan Enriquez, Mark Levin, Phil Sharp to Speak at Healthcare Summit Oct. 15”

5 Reasons You Should Drop Everything and Start Growing Bugs

Around the world, since the dawn of time, humans have eaten insects. The Western aversion to the idea is a recent phenomenon. With feed conversion ratios double that of chicken, and nearly six times that of beef, edible species like the common house cricket are a popular food source worldwide. In countries such as Thailand, … Continue reading “5 Reasons You Should Drop Everything and Start Growing Bugs”

Amicus, Biogen Team Up on Parkinson’s Drug Deal

When Amicus Therapeutics’ (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FOLD]]) stock tanked a few months ago following a regulatory delay for its lead drug, CEO John Crowley promised there would be some business development moves coming to raise some cash. The Cranbury, NJ-based company followed through this morning, striking a deal with Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) on a preclinical program … Continue reading “Amicus, Biogen Team Up on Parkinson’s Drug Deal”

Paydiant Banks $15M, Shows Patience in Mobile Payments

You hear a lot about the Series A funding crunch for startups these days. But just as telling, maybe even more so, is the Series B crunch. And the Series C crunch. For New England tech startups, there’s a fair bit of seed funding going around—and growth capital, too—but less money seems to be flowing … Continue reading “Paydiant Banks $15M, Shows Patience in Mobile Payments”

Variation Biotechnologies Obtains $250,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d2176d24-3093-4f5d-a9e8-21c29e29fb7d Date 9/10/2013 Company Name Variation Biotechnologies Mailing Address 222 Third Street Cambridge, MA 02142 Company Description Variation Biotechnologies, Inc. (VBI) creates intelligent vaccines that learn from nature. Our management and scientific team consists of industry-leading experts that have increased our product pipeline and partnerships. Website http://www.variationbiotech.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Variation Biotechnologies Obtains $250,000 New Round”

ReadyDock Secures $200,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=786c88c9-9fd4-4656-b4af-282168442728 Date 9/10/2013 Company Name ReadyDock Mailing Address 10 Grassmere Avenue West Hartford, CT 06110 Company Description ReadyDock has provided tablet docking solutions for over 100 hospitals worldwide that support healthcare’s unique workflow. Pooled tablets, BYOD, Patients as users, adapting to Nurse shifts; our solutions are designed with clinicians and patients in … Continue reading “ReadyDock Secures $200,000 New Funding Round”

CaroGen Garners $150,000 Seed Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=92f05b49-221f-4e97-9426-31bff37f0897 Date 9/10/2013 Company Name CaroGen Mailing Address 295 Washington Ave Hamden, CT 06518 Company Description CaroGen Corporation is an emerging biopharmaceutical company with an entirely new platform technology developed by Professor John Rose at Yale University School of Medicine. We are dedicated to creating recombinant and replication proficient-virus like vesicle (VLV)-based … Continue reading “CaroGen Garners $150,000 Seed Funding”

American Oil Solutions Garners $150,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0c45a23f-3b26-41a6-a50f-905c842d00ec Date 9/10/2013 Company Name American Oil Solutions Mailing Address 330 Pine St Bridgeport, CT 06605 Company Description American Oil Solutions (AOS) is a Bridgeport, Connecticut based green technology company that recycles used hydrocarbon products such as tires into oil and other products through a closed-loop pollution-free process. The company seeks to … Continue reading “American Oil Solutions Garners $150,000 New Financing Round”

Paydiant Receives $15,191,615 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c1b66a85-ecdc-406e-85d1-abd4e0480a4d Date 9/10/2013 Company Name Paydiant Mailing Address 40 Walnut Street Wellesley, MA 02481 Company Description The company operates an online service that facilitates online payments via mobile phones. Website http://www.paydiant.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $15,191,615 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. Not … Continue reading “Paydiant Receives $15,191,615 New Financing”

Biogen Idec Strikes $100M Upfront Deal With Isis for Neurology

Biogen Idec has been working with Isis Pharmaceuticals on neurological disorders for a while, and today it’s making an even bigger bet on the company and its antisense technology. Weston, MA-based Biogen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]), the world’s largest maker of multiple sclerosis drugs, said today it has agreed to pay $100 million upfront to Carlsbad, CA-based … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Strikes $100M Upfront Deal With Isis for Neurology”

Are Some Degrees Better than Others for Big Pharma Leaders?

Biopharmaceutical companies are under a great deal of financial pressure these days, and many are tinkering with long established business models. There can be no doubt that the industry is in flux as a result of pricing pressures from insurance companies, changing patent regulations and expirations, healthcare reform, and an increased focus on proving significant … Continue reading “Are Some Degrees Better than Others for Big Pharma Leaders?”

Which VCs Are Poised to Profit From the Biotech IPO Boom?

Biotech venture capitalists, as a group, haven’t had much to cheer about the past few years. But this is shaping up to be the year the storyline changes, thanks to the ripple effect from the biotech IPO class of 2013. The story of biotech venture capital over the past few years, as many readers know … Continue reading “Which VCs Are Poised to Profit From the Biotech IPO Boom?”

Brightleaf Secures $1,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=18891720-bf6c-4c45-a033-886fe9dbbb41 Date 9/9/2013 Company Name Brightleaf Mailing Address 200 Lowder Brook Drive Westwood , MA 02090 Company Description Brightleaf Corporation is a venture-backed technology company focused on bringing intelligent document automation to law firms and legal departments. Website http://www.brightleaf.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $1,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes A portion … Continue reading “Brightleaf Secures $1,000,000 New Funding”

East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Aileron, Enzymatics, Acton, & More

[Updated, 8:15 a.m. ET] Labor Day has come and gone, and that means one thing: football season is finally upon us. But before the pigskins start flying en masse on Sunday, make sure to catch up on all your East Coast biotech news below: —Many drugmakers have tried, and failed, to find ways to protect … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Aileron, Enzymatics, Acton, & More”

Enzymatics Snares Boulder-based ArcherDx For Diagnostics Play

Beverly, MA-based Enzymatics has grown into a 100-employee company in seven years thanks to the rapidly evolving use of DNA sequencing machines. Now, it’s taking some of the cash it has hoarded away to make its first acquisition: a nine-month-old startup named ArcherDx. Enzymatics is announcing today that it has snapped up the Boulder, CO-based … Continue reading “Enzymatics Snares Boulder-based ArcherDx For Diagnostics Play”

Get Your Own Personal NPR Station with Swell

We’ve hit the time of year dreaded by all public radio fans: pledge drive season, when stations hold your favorite NPR and American Public Media programs hostage until enough listeners pay up. Until recently, there’s only been one way around this semiannual torture ritual, and it’s only been available to listeners of KQED here in … Continue reading “Get Your Own Personal NPR Station with Swell”

iZotope Lands $12,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2a9341cb-ec59-43a4-88b0-36d45c619d61 Date 9/6/2013 Company Name iZotope Mailing Address 700 Technology Square Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description iZotope is a research-driven audio technology company based in Boston, Massachusetts. Its award-winning products and audio technologies are used by millions of people in over 50 countries, from consumers to musicians to major film, TV, and … Continue reading “iZotope Lands $12,000,000 New Funding”

MarketMeSuite Secures $1,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fe02a440-6351-43f7-a162-a3b3b01dadc8 Date 9/6/2013 Company Name MarketMeSuite Mailing Address 1 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02141 Company Description Launched in 2009, MarketMeSuite is a unique end-to-end social media solution, providing a platform for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to engage, manage, curate and measure the ROI of their social marketing activity. Website http://www.marketmesuite.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “MarketMeSuite Secures $1,000,000 New Round”

ZappRx Receives $1,000,000 Seed Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4d6e0e17-6887-46c0-b2db-b7332d28220a Date 9/6/2013 Company Name ZappRx Mailing Address Undisclosed Boston, MA 02210 Company Description ZappRx is a prescription management system that allows healthcare providers, patients, and pharmacists to more easily interact and communicate. When a provider writes an e-prescription using ZappRx, the patient instantly receives the prescription on their smartphone and can … Continue reading “ZappRx Receives $1,000,000 Seed Funding”