Category: Boston

Athenahealth, iTriage Link More Patients, Docs on Mobile

A couple of companies trying to make mobile applications more useful for doctors and patients are linking up. Watertown, MA-based Athenahealth (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ATHN]]) says today that it’s partnering with iTriage, a consumer healthcare app company based in Denver. The deal essentially puts the Athenahealth roster of some 40,000 healthcare professionals in front of what iTriage … Continue reading “Athenahealth, iTriage Link More Patients, Docs on Mobile”

EverTrue Lands $5.25M to Build Out Alumni-Relations Mobile Tech

Anyone making it through the Series A crunch these days? EverTrue is. The Boston-based alumni-networking software startup has raised $5.25 million in Series A funding led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from previous investors Boston Seed Capital, TechStars’ David Cohen, Andy Dunn, and Brian Spaly. Bain Capital Ventures has been busy lately, bringing on … Continue reading “EverTrue Lands $5.25M to Build Out Alumni-Relations Mobile Tech”

AstraZeneca Shells Out $240M Upfront For Moderna mRNA Drugs

The new CEO of AstraZeneca, Pascal Soriot, has just written a huge check, worth $240 million in upfront cash. It’s going to a little biotech startup in Cambridge, MA, that started a couple years ago with a far-out idea for making drugs in a fast, cheap, and completely unorthodox way. London-based AstraZeneca (NYSE: [[ticker:AZN]]) is … Continue reading “AstraZeneca Shells Out $240M Upfront For Moderna mRNA Drugs”

ProfitBricks Secures $19,500,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=972317fc-42b3-468c-ba38-0b3252e6f245&Preview=1 Date 3/21/2013 Company Name ProfitBricks Mailing Address 15 Tudor Street Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description ProfitBricks is a cloud computing company that provides high-end infrastructure as a service (IaaS) for companies and IT professionals. We offer fast and stable virtual data centers that are based on high standard virtualization technology, which … Continue reading “ProfitBricks Secures $19,500,000 New Funding”

QPID Obtains $4,000,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=bb1a123d-f12a-47c5-b78f-472c2c1b639e&Preview=1 Date 3/21/2013 Company Name QPID Mailing Address Undisclosed Boston, MA 02108 Company Description QPID Inc., an electronic health records startup based in Boston’s Financial District. Website http://www.qpid.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes The investment will go toward hiring, marketing and commercialization of software … Continue reading “QPID Obtains $4,000,000 Series A Round”

Wentworth Technology Secures $1,054,840 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2c207190-f95e-435d-bf6b-e46f9f1e2447&Preview=1 Date 3/21/2013 Company Name Wentworth Technology Mailing Address 77 Industrial Park Road Saco, ME 04072 Company Description Our team of wireless communications professionals have over 60 years of combined experience providing full-featured wireless communications solutions to the most demanding industries. Our company is built on the principles of making quality products … Continue reading “Wentworth Technology Secures $1,054,840 New Financing”

Kydaemos Lands $20,000 Seed Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d03692cf-e5d9-4a9b-a5df-01dfcb73cf3a&Preview=1 Date 3/21/2013 Company Name Kydaemos Mailing Address Undisclosed Boston, MA 02108 Company Description Kydaemos is an exciting new provider of games and developer platforms for mobile devices including phones and tablets. Mobile is an emerging field and Kydaemos is breaking new ground in games and entertainment. Website http://www.kydaemos.com Transaction Type Accelerator … Continue reading “Kydaemos Lands $20,000 Seed Funding Round”

10 Takeaways from Mobile Madness 2013: Ads, Games, M2M, and More

Before I even have time to thank everyone involved in yesterday’s Mobile Madness conference, I wanted to share some of the highlights that were etched in my brain. Here are my top 10 quotes and takeaways from the day (it’s not comprehensive): 1. Jonathan Bush, CEO of Athenahealth: “We’re the best in healthcare, but we … Continue reading “10 Takeaways from Mobile Madness 2013: Ads, Games, M2M, and More”

Boston Roundup: Zipcar, HubSpot, Hack/Reduce, QPID, Billaway

People getting new jobs leads this roundup of news bits from around the Boston-area innovation sector, with a few small fundraising deals thrown in for good measure: —Scott Griffith quit as CEO of Zipcar, coinciding with Avis Budget Group formally completing its acquisition of the rent-by-the-hour car company headquartered in Cambridge. There wasn’t any mention … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: Zipcar, HubSpot, Hack/Reduce, QPID, Billaway”

Blueprint Medicines Combs Through Genome for the Next Gleevec(s)

Gleevec is like the proverbial shining city on the hill in the pharmaceutical business. When it was first approved in 2001, it beat the long odds of drug development, becoming one of the first targeted cancer therapies. It lived up to the hype, turning a deadly form of cancer into a chronic illness. Even though … Continue reading “Blueprint Medicines Combs Through Genome for the Next Gleevec(s)”

Fighting a Global War on Rare Diseases

Are we winning the war against rare, or “orphan,” diseases? A casual observer could be forgiven for thinking so, given the drumroll of news. The crescendo came in 2011, when the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved 26 drugs in this category, meaning for illnesses that afflict fewer than 200,000 people. It was the … Continue reading “Fighting a Global War on Rare Diseases”

A Call for the 113th Congress to Support an Innovation Agenda

While the 113th Congress addresses hot-button issues like gun control, comprehensive immigration reform, sequester spending cuts and the federal budget, a critical issue that greatly impacts our economy and global competitiveness is being overlooked—innovation. Washington’s approach to innovation policy has been fragmented and detached from other prevalent issues, which led CONNECT to develop an innovation … Continue reading “A Call for the 113th Congress to Support an Innovation Agenda”

Excess Healthcare Spending Is Undermining Innovation

I read Luke Timmerman’s article yesterday on ProCure with mixed emotions. My first emotion was that of deep gratitude for the men and women who commit their lives to the science of improving healthcare. I continue to be inspired by these professionals and their incredible contributions to a healthcare industry that is very slow to … Continue reading “Excess Healthcare Spending Is Undermining Innovation”

Miguel de Icaza: From “Anti-Apple” to Xamarin, Helping Windows Devs Go iOS

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that some of the world’s most prominent techies live in Boston. One of those is Miguel de Icaza, who will be in the audience today at Mobile Madness 2013 at Microsoft NERD in Cambridge, MA. De Icaza (pictured) is the open-source software guru who started the GNOME project in the … Continue reading “Miguel de Icaza: From “Anti-Apple” to Xamarin, Helping Windows Devs Go iOS”

TeloMe Turns to Crowdfunding to Promote Telomere Testing

You may take a bit of convincing to send a few dollars to filmmaker Denver Jackson, who’s seeking funds to complete his animated short “Cloudrise” through the crowdfunding site Indiegogo. But at least Jackson has this one advantage—you know what an animated film is. Imagine pitching the Indiegogo crowd for money to pay for “telomere … Continue reading “TeloMe Turns to Crowdfunding to Promote Telomere Testing”

F5’s Terenzoni Takes CEO Helm at Big Data Startup Sqrrl

One of the Boston area’s most intriguing tech startups has hired a new CEO, and he’s from a big company. The startup is Cambridge, MA-based Sqrrl, and the CEO is Mark Terenzoni, formerly senior vice president of global manufacturing at Seattle-based F5 Networks (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FFIV]]). Terenzoni, a longtime Boston techie, came to F5 in the … Continue reading “F5’s Terenzoni Takes CEO Helm at Big Data Startup Sqrrl”

Should Big Data Businesses Be Forced to Prevent Hacking?

Earlier this year, Twitter admitted they lost personal information on 250,000 or so users to hackers. Other organizations, including the New York Times and the Federal Reserve, reported hackers had been inside their systems. The list of high profile hackings is so long that perhaps the day has come when companies should expect they will … Continue reading “Should Big Data Businesses Be Forced to Prevent Hacking?”

Echo Global Logistics Acquires Open Mile for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1ec47716-ac81-4b26-84fc-d35528045225&Preview=1 Date 3/19/2013 Company Name Open Mile Mailing Address 100 N. Washington Boston, MA 02114 Company Description Our business utilizes the best aspects of web and mobile technology to empower shippers and carriers to interact, collect market intelligence and match demand with capacity all in real-time. Website http://www.openmile.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction … Continue reading “Echo Global Logistics Acquires Open Mile for Undisclosed Sum”

Women, Success, and Corporate Culture: Are These the Values We Want?

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In, is probably right. What it takes to be successful in a U.S. company and what we define as success in America requires the kind of singular focus on developing leadership skills and a strong power base that Sandberg discusses in her book. These are the hard facts of … Continue reading “Women, Success, and Corporate Culture: Are These the Values We Want?”

Mobile Madness Is Tomorrow: 8 Tickets Left

We are coming down the home stretch for Mobile Madness 2013: The Next Revolution. Xconomy’s fifth annual mobile tech conference is tomorrow, March 19, at Microsoft NERD in Kendall Square. The agenda runs from 1:30-5:30 pm, with plenty of time for networking (and a reception afterwards). There are 8 tickets left as of this writing…so … Continue reading “Mobile Madness Is Tomorrow: 8 Tickets Left”

AppNeta Adds $16M as IT Performance Management Heats Up

Some new venture money for a Boston business software company that’s been around the block—but might just be hitting its stride. Boston-based AppNeta, an IT performance management firm, has pulled in $16 million in new financing led by previous investors Bain Capital Ventures, Egan-Managed Capital, JMI Equity, and Business Development Bank of Canada. The company … Continue reading “AppNeta Adds $16M as IT Performance Management Heats Up”

Why Are Healthcare Costs Exploding? See Proton Cancer Therapy

Whenever a new medical technology comes out in the U.S., a few things happen. Doctors, hospitals, the media, and, of course, the drug and device makers cheer. Newer technology must always be better, right? Never mind if it costs a little extra. We’re talking about a patient’s life and well-being, after all. But when we … Continue reading “Why Are Healthcare Costs Exploding? See Proton Cancer Therapy”

MIT Sloan CIO Symposium

The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium is a community of CEOs, CIOs and senior IT executives who connect with academic thought leaders, their practicing peers and IT partners in an annual one-day conference, held on the MIT campus, as well as through online conversations and educational webcasts. These CIOs and other senior business executives from around … Continue reading “MIT Sloan CIO Symposium”

Where Have All the Gadgets Gone?

A remarkable shift is taking place right under our noses. The universe of electronic devices in our homes and offices has stopped expanding, and has in fact begun to shrink. At the same time, our productivity continues to rise and our information, entertainment, and learning options keep exploding. In other words, we’re getting more stuff … Continue reading “Where Have All the Gadgets Gone?”

How Google Glass, Indoor Location, & Mobile Shopping Can Save Retail

Retail is changing. Roughly $3.7 trillion in annual U.S. spending is up for grabs. That’s a lot of money. Some technology theorists, including Marc Andreessen, believe the change will be revolutionary in nature—predicting the outright death of brick-and-mortar retail. The theory is that soon enough, visiting a physical store will be as archaic as reading … Continue reading “How Google Glass, Indoor Location, & Mobile Shopping Can Save Retail”

East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: GSK, Protein Sciences, IMS Health

One big East Coast pharmaceutical firm abandoned work on a hepatitis C drug this week, while another shuttered a young company that had cost it $720 million to acquire. But new ideas continue to burst forth, and investors pitched in $20 million for another hopeful startup. The Connecticut company that figured out how to make … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: GSK, Protein Sciences, IMS Health”

Tumblr, Warby Parker, Everyday Health Set for Xconomy April 25 Forum

The more New York makes its presence known on the venture landscape, the more this community faces questions about its sustainability. Xconomy will host a half-day forum on April 25 to delve into what some of New York’s leading entrepreneurs, and the venture capitalists who back them, can do to ensure that the current surge … Continue reading “Tumblr, Warby Parker, Everyday Health Set for Xconomy April 25 Forum”

Attention Startups: The Automotive Industry Isn’t a Rust Belt Monolith

What do you think about when you hear the phrase “online advertising”  or “big data”?  How about “social network”?  Do visions of hoodie-wearing young entrepreneurs dance through your head? Each of these are massive parts of the startup tech sector.  In 2012, online display advertising was $12 billion; big data has become the new hot … Continue reading “Attention Startups: The Automotive Industry Isn’t a Rust Belt Monolith”

Has The Pendulum Swung Too Far in Favor of Rare Diseases?

As a politician, one of the worst things you can be accused of is being a flip-flopper, a person who changes their mind on one or more issues. Another way of looking at this character trait is to say one has thoughtfully wrestled with an issue and changed one’s mind, as President Obama recently did … Continue reading “Has The Pendulum Swung Too Far in Favor of Rare Diseases?”

Boston Roundup: NABsys, Zeo, CommonAngels, Wiggio

Raising money, shutting down, hiring people and getting acquired—four different entities just about covering all the bases of early stage business and investing news: —NABsys, a Providence, RI-based gene sequencing startup, says it has raised $20 million in a Series D venture financing. The company says the money will help pay for a commercial introduction … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: NABsys, Zeo, CommonAngels, Wiggio”

Pattern Genomics Lands $150,000 Seed Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=805b2629-eaf1-42ef-a8e7-4198209626f3&Preview=1 Date 3/14/2013 Company Name Pattern Genomics Mailing Address Undisclosed Madison, CT 06443 Company Description The goal of Pattern Genomics is to use sophisticated bioinformatics and next-generation sequencing to make molecular assay design a simple, efficient process for a wide range of applications. Large amounts of sequence, such as whole genomes of … Continue reading “Pattern Genomics Lands $150,000 Seed Financing Round”

Ancera Obtains $150,000 Seed Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=dc267eed-810c-4ad8-af77-71a14ffb88ce&Preview=1 Date 3/14/2013 Company Name Ancera Mailing Address 21 Business Park Drive Branford, CT 06405 Company Description The company is developing a rapid, portable technology platform for the separation, quantitative detection and identification of minute concentrations of various pathogens from whole blood or other bodily fluids. Ancera’s platform is based on technology … Continue reading “Ancera Obtains $150,000 Seed Financing”

RPM Sustainable Technologies Lands $150,000 Seed Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8c04713a-c276-42b8-a56e-7d368b1706b9&Preview=1 Date 3/14/2013 Company Name RPM Sustainable Technologies Mailing Address 800 Village Walk Guilford, CT 06443 Company Description RPM Sustainable Technologies, Inc. is a chemical process development and equipment marketing company for the biofuels and biochemicals industries. We have a patented continuous flow reactor to produce ASTM/EN quality biodiesel and when combined … Continue reading “RPM Sustainable Technologies Lands $150,000 Seed Financing Round”

BriefCam Receives New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5e93756e-7ea9-4e5f-b748-b4941fc898ea&Preview=1 Date 3/14/2013 Company Name BriefCam Mailing Address 406 Farmington Ave Farmington, CT 06032 Company Description BriefCam for efficient, timely and effective video review. Right now, millions of cameras around the world are recording video. To date, most video could never be reviewed. With BriefCam, users can browse hours of video in … Continue reading “BriefCam Receives New Funding”

XL Hybrids Recharges with $4M to Expand Vehicle Powertrain Tech

The broader American clean energy tech sector has been a real bummer over the past few years, with shrinking government support and big-name flameouts like A123 Systems. Tod Hynes, president and founder of Boston’s XL Hybrids, wants you to know that those ills haven’t been affecting his slice of the business. The company, founded by a … Continue reading “XL Hybrids Recharges with $4M to Expand Vehicle Powertrain Tech”

Crowdsourced Workforces Rising

Crowdsourcing is a growing trend in the tech startup industry, and one that has the potential to address pressing needs in various markets. In particular, crowdsourcing of workforces is seeing tremendous uptick. At 1M/1M we’ve encountered several startups that are applying the model on different problem domains related to hiring and staffing. CrowdFlower founder Lukas … Continue reading “Crowdsourced Workforces Rising”

Pfizer Yields to Rivals in Hep C Drug Race

As flashy new entries piled into the race to create an injection-free hepatitis C drug about a year ago, Xconomy’s national biotech editor, Luke Timmerman, likened the contest to the Daytona 500 of the pharmaceutical world. Now Pfizer, the world’s biggest drug company, has scratched itself from the starting lineup. The New York pharmaceutical giant … Continue reading “Pfizer Yields to Rivals in Hep C Drug Race”

Uber Sued in Boston; Case Could Wind up in Federal Court

[Updated 5:40 pm Eastern with comment] Uber, the smartphone-based car-for-hire service that has been running into taxi industry opposition around the country, has just landed in court again. And the case is a doozy. Two of Boston’s largest cab companies are suing San Francisco-based Uber in a local court, arguing that the heavily financed startup … Continue reading “Uber Sued in Boston; Case Could Wind up in Federal Court”

GlaxoSmithKline Shuts Down Sirtris, Five Years After $720M Buyout

[Updated 2:25 pm ET, 3/13/13] GlaxoSmithKline is closing down Cambridge, MA-based Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, almost five years after it paid $720 million to acquire the hot biotech with a plan to fight diseases of aging. London-based Glaxo (NYSE: [[ticker:GSK]]) is shutting the Cambridge, MA Sirtris facility, and plans to offer transfers to the Philadelphia area for … Continue reading “GlaxoSmithKline Shuts Down Sirtris, Five Years After $720M Buyout”

Mobile Madness 2013: One Week to Go (Here Are Some Questions)

In case you aren’t conferenced out yet, Xconomy Boston is convening a pretty special group of tech leaders a week from today, on Tuesday, March 19. It’s our fifth annual Mobile Madness event in Boston, and it’s all going down at Microsoft NERD in Kendall Square. I’m told there are just a few tickets left; … Continue reading “Mobile Madness 2013: One Week to Go (Here Are Some Questions)”

CloudHealth, $4.5M in Tow, Looks to Run Networking Playbook on the Cloud

Let’s get the name question out of the way first. CloudHealth Technologies is not a health IT company. It is a cloud infrastructure and analytics startup, aimed at helping software companies manage their business. Not sure that’s much clearer, but we’ll explain why they chose that name in a minute. Boston-based CloudHealth, a young startup, … Continue reading “CloudHealth, $4.5M in Tow, Looks to Run Networking Playbook on the Cloud”

How Zynga Boston’s Shutdown Birthed Proletariat, a New Mobile Studio

They don’t look any different from the other people packed into this buzzing shared work loft, just a few blocks from MIT in the heart of the Boston area’s startup scene. Amid the funky couches, bright-colored walls, two-liters of soda, and Nerf guns awaiting battle, they’re just another five guys sitting at a long table, … Continue reading “How Zynga Boston’s Shutdown Birthed Proletariat, a New Mobile Studio”

Four Things I Learned From Studying Innovation in 3 U.S. Cities

I’ve spent most of my career studying how key regions around the world have harnessed their indigenous research capabilities, entrepreneurial spirit, and industrial prowess to realize the economic and employment returns many innovative technologies promise. I’m particularly intrigued by the differences that make some places engines for innovation. If we are to be successful in … Continue reading “Four Things I Learned From Studying Innovation in 3 U.S. Cities”

MA to Pay Half the Cost of Tech Company Interns

Cheap labor just got cheaper in Massachusetts—if you’re a relatively small tech company, anyway. Today, the state government is kicking off its new MassTech Intern Partnership, which promises to reimburse qualifying companies for half the cost of their interns’ salaries. The program also gives prospective interns a place to sign up for gigs with smaller tech … Continue reading “MA to Pay Half the Cost of Tech Company Interns”

Nipendo CEO Talks $8M VC Round, Supply Chains, and Move to Boston

Nipendo is the latest Israeli startup to expand to the Boston area. The 50-person company, which makes software to connect large enterprises with suppliers, has just raised $8 million in Series B funding led by Horizons Ventures, and it is setting up new headquarters in Burlington, MA. Horizons is known for its investments in Facebook, … Continue reading “Nipendo CEO Talks $8M VC Round, Supply Chains, and Move to Boston”

Protein Sciences’ Pitch: a “Pure” Flu Vaccine Alternative

The small private company Protein Sciences skirted bankruptcy, fought off a hostile takeover bid, spent three years angling for a sorely-needed government contract, and survived a four-year dialogue with the FDA before winning approval this year for the first influenza vaccine made with genetic engineering and without eggs. Now comes the hard part. The 115-employee … Continue reading “Protein Sciences’ Pitch: a “Pure” Flu Vaccine Alternative”

Some Bold Baseball and Biotech Picks for the 2013 Season

Spring training is here. That means I get to spend days thinking and writing about biotech and nights dreaming about hard-throwing setup men with decent walks-plus-hits-allowed per inning pitched (WHIP) ratios who have a shot at becoming a closer. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which obsession is the greater malady. Kidding aside, … Continue reading “Some Bold Baseball and Biotech Picks for the 2013 Season”