Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0631c09d-172b-4422-b572-c56b1896a9d8&Preview=1 Date 7/21/2011 Company Name Gazelle Mailing Address 61 North Beacon St. Boston, MA 02134 Company Description Second Rotation is the destination for simplified selling of consumer electronics and gadgets online. The process is easy: Second Rotation determines the value of the item online, arranges pickup and shipping, and pays the seller … Continue reading “Gazelle Lands New Funding Round”
Category: Boston
Amag Makes Good on Acquisition Promise, But Wall Street Balks
Amag Pharmaceuticals CEO Brian Pereira recently told Xconomy he was shopping for acquisitions to round out the Lexington, MA-based company’s pipeline. Today Amag (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMAG]]) delivered on that vow by announcing it would merge with Allos Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALTH]]) in an all-stock deal worth $686 million. Allos, based in Westminster, CO, makes pralatrexate injection (Folotyn), … Continue reading “Amag Makes Good on Acquisition Promise, But Wall Street Balks”
BuyWithMe Gets Edhance, LogMeIn Picks Up Pachube, Polaris Backs Two MA Companies, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Acquisitions were big again this week, but we saw a range of financings and transactions across energy, biotech, and IT sectors. —Waltham, MA-based Tecogen, a maker of natural-gas-fueled, engine-driven combined heat and power systems, inked a $500,000 investment from Southern California Gas. —Verastem, a Boston-based oncology startup founded by MIT biologists Robert Weinberg and Eric Lander, … Continue reading “BuyWithMe Gets Edhance, LogMeIn Picks Up Pachube, Polaris Backs Two MA Companies, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Biogen Idec Moving HQ Back to Cambridge, Constructing Two New Buildings at Kendall Square
Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) has confirmed what the biotech community has been buzzing about for a couple months—it is moving its headquarters back to Cambridge, MA. The company is now planning to build two new buildings in Cambridge to house 530 employees who will move from the current headquarters in Weston, MA, according to a … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Moving HQ Back to Cambridge, Constructing Two New Buildings at Kendall Square”
How a VC-Style Investment System Can Support a More Just and Humane World
If you were to look under the hood of any big-name IPO these days – such as LinkedIn, Pandora, and someday, Facebook – you’d see a highly sophisticated coordination of capital sources that fueled each to that highly coveted spot: Seed or “Angel” money that got the idea off the ground was followed by early-stage … Continue reading “How a VC-Style Investment System Can Support a More Just and Humane World”
Highland Capital Announces 10 Startup Teams
Highland Capital Partners has announced the 10 college startup teams participating in its 10-week Summer@Highland mentorship program in Cambridge, MA, and the San Francisco Bay Area. The venture firm provides coaching, networking, office space, and a $15,000 stipend; the teams don’t give up any equity stake and are under no obligation to Highland afterwards, the … Continue reading “Highland Capital Announces 10 Startup Teams”
Acquia Scores $15M for Social Publishing
Woburn, MA-based Acquia, a social publishing software firm, has raised a $15 million Series D round from Tenaya Capital, North Bridge Venture Partners, and Sigma Partners, according to a report in All Things D. Acquia started in 2007 and, among other things, helps organizations build community sites using Drupal, an open-source content management system. Its … Continue reading “Acquia Scores $15M for Social Publishing”
VC Dollars Rise Above Pre-Recession Level in MoneyTree’s Second-Quarter Survey
Venture capital activity improved slightly year-over-year, with a total of $7.5 billion invested in 966 new companies nationwide during the quarter that ended June 30th, according to the MoneyTree Report released today. Investment levels represented the highest quarterly total since the pre-recessionary second quarter of 2008, according the report, which is prepared by the National … Continue reading “VC Dollars Rise Above Pre-Recession Level in MoneyTree’s Second-Quarter Survey”
Constant Contact Opens NY Office, Makes Big Shift in Tech for Creating Marketing Tools
If there is anything constant about Constant Contact, it is change. The online marketing company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTCT]]), based in the Boston area, is announcing today it has opened a new office in New York City. That by itself isn’t big news, but it’s part of a larger strategic shift in the firm’s technology approach—what is … Continue reading “Constant Contact Opens NY Office, Makes Big Shift in Tech for Creating Marketing Tools”
Advanced Cell Technology Starts Human Trials of Embryonic Stem Cells Under Strict FDA Supervision
On July 14, Advanced Cell Technology (ACT)—a long-struggling developer of therapies derived from human embryonic stem cells—started its first human trials, by treating two patients suffering from blinding eye diseases. The company’s chief scientific officer, Robert Lanza, was still on a high when reached by phone in his Marlborough, MA, office a few days later. … Continue reading “Advanced Cell Technology Starts Human Trials of Embryonic Stem Cells Under Strict FDA Supervision”
Acquia Lands $15,000,000 Series D Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=40dc8047-5223-4218-9f0d-fc860f900a3c&Preview=1 Date 7/20/2011 Company Name Acquia Mailing Address 150 Presidential Way Woburn, MA 01810 Company Description Acquia is a new software company that will provide value-added software products and services for the Drupal web collaboration and publishing platform. Website http://www.acquia.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $15,000,000 Transaction Round Series D Proceeds … Continue reading “Acquia Lands $15,000,000 Series D Funding Round”
Inotek Snags $9.3M
Inotek Pharmaceuticals of Lexington, MA, has bumped its latest financing up to $23.6 million, with nearly $10 million in new funding, according to an SEC filing. The drug developer raised $14.3 million last summer from investors such as Devon Park Bioventures, Care Capital, Rho Ventures, MedImmune Ventures, and Bio*One Capital.
LogMeIn Pays $15M for Pachube
Woburn, MA-based LogMeIn (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LOGM]]), a maker of software for remote access on Internet-connected devices, said today it acquired Pachube in a $15 million cash deal. Pachube (pronounced Patch Bay) offers a Web service for connecting sensor-enabled devices and sharing data among that network. The acquisition is designed to strengthen LogMeIn’s connectivity and data sharing … Continue reading “LogMeIn Pays $15M for Pachube”
With New Funding, Eliza Plans To Tackle Less Tangible Aspects of Healthcare with Speech Recognition Tech
[Corrected 7/19/11, 5:45 pm. See below.] Last month, Beverly, MA-based Eliza took in its first-ever outside investment, with an undisclosed equity financing from Parthenon Capital Partners, a private equity firm with offices in Boston and San Francisco. Founded in 1999, Eliza offers speech recognition technology that powers automated phone calls to patients on behalf of … Continue reading “With New Funding, Eliza Plans To Tackle Less Tangible Aspects of Healthcare with Speech Recognition Tech”
Affectiva Adds $5.7M to Recognize Emotions
Waltham, MA-based Affectiva, an MIT Media Lab spinout, said today it has raised $5.7 million in Series B financing led by Kantar (WPP) and Myrian Capital. The company says it will use the money to develop and market its various software products for emotion recognition. Its technology includes computer vision and machine learning algorithms that … Continue reading “Affectiva Adds $5.7M to Recognize Emotions”
From Dot Bomb to Great Recession to $30M Acquisition: The Eversave Story
By some counts, the Boston area is home to two of the top four local deals sites in the U.S. I’m talking about BuyWithMe (based in Boston and New York) and Eversave, which is based in Wakefield, MA. The big boys in the field, Groupon and LivingSocial, certainly have a strong presence in Boston, but … Continue reading “From Dot Bomb to Great Recession to $30M Acquisition: The Eversave Story”
Ensemble Therapeutics Builds Super-Sized Library of Mid-Sized Drugs
The pharmaceutical business tends to split into a couple of camps: Either molecules ought to be small, or large. But some interesting work these days is happening in the middle, where Cambridge, MA-based Ensemble Therapeutics has been carving out its niche. Ensemble has been toiling away since 2004, based on work in David Liu’s lab … Continue reading “Ensemble Therapeutics Builds Super-Sized Library of Mid-Sized Drugs”
Inotek Pharmaceuticals Garners $5,600,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=845397e7-9cc1-4a3a-a09a-89abd061f291&Preview=1 Date 7/19/2011 Company Name Inotek Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address 33 Hayden Avenue 2nd Floor Lexington, MA 02421 Company Description Inotek Pharmaceuticals Corporation is a private, high-growth, development-stage pharmaceutical company founded in 1996. The Company has leveraged its small molecule chemistry expertise to discover and develop a deep pipeline of therapeutics targeting cell … Continue reading “Inotek Pharmaceuticals Garners $5,600,000 New Round”
Affectiva Garners $5,700,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=91603cb7-50a2-4597-988a-45bc931b6a60&Preview=1 Date 7/19/2011 Company Name Affectiva Mailing Address 411 Waverley Oaks Road Waltham, MA 02452 Company Description Affectiva grew out of collaborative research at the MIT Media Lab to help people on the autism spectrum. We apply innovations in affective computing to help solve difficult problems that stem from misunderstanding how people … Continue reading “Affectiva Garners $5,700,000 Series B Financing”
Happy Cloud Hits the Mainstream, Tries to Make PC Video Games Faster to Download and Play
This morning was a busy one for Eric Gastfriend, but he made time to chat about his Cambridge, MA-based startup’s coming out of beta. Its goal: to make high-quality PC video games as fast and easy to access as the social-network and casual games that have swept the country over the past few years (think … Continue reading “Happy Cloud Hits the Mainstream, Tries to Make PC Video Games Faster to Download and Play”
Some Future Secrets Revealed: An Update on Recorded Future
The future for most of us is a totally uncharted territory. The noble art of divining doesn’t seem to have made much progress since the days of the Delphic oracle more than 2,000 years ago. But Recorded Future, an American-Scandinavian startup founded by Swedish entrepreneur Christopher Ahlberg and headquartered in the Boston area, claims to … Continue reading “Some Future Secrets Revealed: An Update on Recorded Future”
BuyWithMe Buys Edhance for Loyalty Programs
Boston and New York-based BuyWithMe, a local deals startup, said today it has acquired Edhance, a Cambridge, MA, company that provides card-linked offers and customer loyalty programs (cash back and other deals). Terms of the acquisition weren’t given. Edhance founder Bjorn Larsen is now BuyWithMe’s vice president of loyalty and card-linked offers, so it sounds … Continue reading “BuyWithMe Buys Edhance for Loyalty Programs”
Loffles Looks to Revamp Online Raffle Tickets With Targeted Ads
Loffles, a Providence, RI-based Web startup, is looking to put a spin on classic entries to raffles, and simultaneously give online advertisers a shot at targeting the consumers they’re actually interested in. Consumers buy into a contest on Loffles not with cash, but with about 45 seconds of their time. Raffle entrants select a prize … Continue reading “Loffles Looks to Revamp Online Raffle Tickets With Targeted Ads”
Stop the M&A Obsession: Biotech Needs More Companies to Stay Independent
Given what investment bankers did to the financial system just a couple years ago, it surprises me how many people still accept what they have to say at face value. But quite a few people in biotech are still lapping up all sorts of short-sighted, destructive advice from the financial powers that be. The latest … Continue reading “Stop the M&A Obsession: Biotech Needs More Companies to Stay Independent”
Xtuit Obtains New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=62fd6039-1c99-4b34-a9c1-c67b1bed008b&Preview=1 Date 7/18/2011 Company Name Xtuit Mailing Address 1000 Winter Street Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description The company is pursuing a novel approach to improving existing drug therapy through technology that has the potential to dramatically improve the translation of cancer drugs from animal models to human studies. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type … Continue reading “Xtuit Obtains New Financing”
Biff Labs Garners New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2a338555-b808-437f-957c-fa6d77a0acf1&Preview=1 Date 7/18/2011 Company Name Biff Labs Mailing Address Undisclosed Cambridge, MA 02138 Company Description The company is a technology startup that is focused on structuring social data. Website http://www.bifflabs.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Polaris … Continue reading “Biff Labs Garners New Funding Round”
Demandware Files for IPO
Burlington, MA-based Demandware, a digital- and mobile-commerce software company, has filed paperwork for an IPO with a proposed maximum offering of $100 million. The offering is being underwritten by Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. The company plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under “DWRE.” Demandware was founded in 2004 and … Continue reading “Demandware Files for IPO”
Polaris Funds 2 MA Companies With 6th Fund
Waltham, MA-based Polaris Venture Partners announced yesterday that it had invested in its first set of companies from its $375 million sixth fund, including two Massachusetts companies. Biff Labs is a Cambridge, MA-based stealthy startup that is focusing on structuring social data. Xtuit, which the Boston Business Journal reported as also located in the Boston area, is … Continue reading “Polaris Funds 2 MA Companies With 6th Fund”
LetterMPress: An iPad App That Brings New Meaning to Movable Type
If you’re a follower of this column, you know that I write a lot about apps for the iPhone and iPad. It’s not just because I’m an Apple fan. It’s also because these revolutionary touchscreen-based devices are attracting some of today’s most creative developers, who are writing software unlike anything we’ve ever seen on other … Continue reading “LetterMPress: An iPad App That Brings New Meaning to Movable Type”
Microsoft President Qi Lu on Web Strategy in a Brave New Digital Society: The Video
Attention, techies. Want a deep dive into the future of the Web, search, and online services? Then sit down with Qi Lu, the president of Microsoft’s online services division, if you ever get an opportunity. In the meantime, you can check out this video from Lu’s talk at Microsoft New England Research & Development Center … Continue reading “Microsoft President Qi Lu on Web Strategy in a Brave New Digital Society: The Video”
Amag Eyes Rebound, Idera Surges On Despite Merck KGaA Drop, Verastem Snags $32M, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
This week was full of meaty analysis of drug development programs at New England-area biotechs. —Waltham, MA-based Avedro took in $25 million, which it will use to expand commercial operations internationally and to seek FDA clearance in the U.S of its technology that uses the pulse in microwave energy to correct vision. The deal was … Continue reading “Amag Eyes Rebound, Idera Surges On Despite Merck KGaA Drop, Verastem Snags $32M, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Variation Biotechnologies Lands $7,831,932 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e74228c1-5b2c-431f-ad8a-482075ab8fcb&Preview=1 Date 7/15/2011 Company Name Variation Biotechnologies Mailing Address 245 First St. 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 Lands $7,831,932 New Round”
SocMetrics Leads Growing Cluster of Boston Startups Trying to Cash In on Social Media Tech
Who are the most influential people on Twitter and Facebook? Who has the most friends and followers across the various social media platforms? Who cares? Advertisers and brands, that’s who—and an increasing number of businesses of all types. (Not to mention all the narcissists and self-promoters out there, but let’s forget about them while we … Continue reading “SocMetrics Leads Growing Cluster of Boston Startups Trying to Cash In on Social Media Tech”
Prospectiv Picked Up by Affinion for $30M
Affinion Group, a marketing and customer engagement company based in Stamford, CT, said today it is acquiring Wakefield, MA-based Prospectiv Direct, an online marketing firm that owns Eversave, a daily-deals website that’s active in 20 U.S. metro areas. The price of the acquisition is $30 million plus earn-outs over the next two years; the deal … Continue reading “Prospectiv Picked Up by Affinion for $30M”
Verastem, Rooted at MIT, Raises $32 Million and Adds ATV and Astellas to Slate of Investors
Boston-based oncology startup Verastem, which was founded by MIT biologists Robert Weinberg and Eric Lander, has raised $32 million in a Series B financing, the company announced today. Verastem is developing drugs that target cancer stem cells, and it previously raised $16 million from a group led by former Sirtris CEO Christoph Westphal’s Longwood Founders … Continue reading “Verastem, Rooted at MIT, Raises $32 Million and Adds ATV and Astellas to Slate of Investors”
Tecogen Gets $500K
Tecogen, a Waltham, MA-based provider of natural-gas-fueled, engine-driven combined heat and power systems, nabbed a $500,000 investment from Southern California Gas, SoCalGas announced today.The deal comes as a strategic addition to SoCalGas’ cleantech portfolio. Tecogen, whose systems provide electric power or cooling while heat from the engine is recovered and used at a facility, originally dates … Continue reading “Tecogen Gets $500K”
Seattle’s Ground Truth Merges with Boston’s Umber Systems to Become NYC-Based Mobile Intelligence Solutions
Consumers who gobble up smartphones and tablets are getting revolutionary tools for work and play. An ever-growing forest of app developers is targeting the devices as a juicy new business platform. But for mobile carriers and marketing pros, it’s all about the data—who’s consuming the bandwidth, what they’re doing online, and what else they might … Continue reading “Seattle’s Ground Truth Merges with Boston’s Umber Systems to Become NYC-Based Mobile Intelligence Solutions”
Institutes Of Medicine Pain Report May Aid Medical Device Makers
When the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its report on chronic pain late last month, medical device makers cheered. “A landmark report,” a Boston Scientific press release gushed. “Chronic pain is a major public health issue, and we applaud Congress [and] the IOM…for their thoughtful recommendations,” Medtronic senior vice president Tom Tefft said in a … Continue reading “Institutes Of Medicine Pain Report May Aid Medical Device Makers”
Second-Quarter VC Activity: Wish They All Could Be California Deals
Venture capital activity that surged during the first three months of 2011 continued to rise through the second quarter, as funding for Internet startups soared by 69 percent over the same quarter last year, according to CB Insights, a New York information and data services firm. In its quarterly venture capital activity report, CB Insights … Continue reading “Second-Quarter VC Activity: Wish They All Could Be California Deals”
Verastem Obtains $32,000,000 Series B Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e47831cf-50e8-4c81-8a33-843dd08286dc&Preview=1 Date 7/14/2011 Company Name Verastem Mailing Address 215 First Street Cambridge, MA 02142 Company Description Verastem, Inc. is a private biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel drugs that selectively target cancer stem cells. Website http://www.Verastem.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $32,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes Proceeds … Continue reading “Verastem Obtains $32,000,000 Series B Financing Round”
Mobile Intelligence Solutions Acquires Umber Systems for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=63a07ecb-04ae-4901-b773-a671f6e189f5&Preview=1 Date 7/14/2011 Company Name Umber Systems Mailing Address 200 Baker Avenue Concord, MA 01742 Company Description The Mobile Analytics Challenge: As mobile data usage proliferates, carriers, content providers, and advertisers are faced with a key challenge in extracting revenue from data usage – lack of visibility and targeting. What are mobile … Continue reading “Mobile Intelligence Solutions Acquires Umber Systems for Undisclosed Sum”
Spark Capital’s Todd Dagres on NY vs. Boston, What’s Beyond Social Media, and Why Tech Investing Is Better Than Making Movies
“The time to invest in social media was two years ago.” That was a quote—or the gist of it, anyway—from Todd Dagres, co-founder and general partner of Spark Capital, during the venture panel at XSITE, Xconomy’s innovation summit last month. Dagres ought to know, since Spark is an investor in both Twitter and Tumblr, the … Continue reading “Spark Capital’s Todd Dagres on NY vs. Boston, What’s Beyond Social Media, and Why Tech Investing Is Better Than Making Movies”
Idera Takes Beating on Loss of Merck KGaA Cancer Collaboration, But Remains Committed to Toll-Like Receptors
On July 7, shares of Cambridge, MA-based Idera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IDRA]]) plummeted 16% to $1.73 after it announced that Germany’s Merck KGaA had decided to halt development of a cancer drug the two companies had been working on together. When Idera’s drug, called IMO-2055, was given in combination with two commonly used chemo drugs and … Continue reading “Idera Takes Beating on Loss of Merck KGaA Cancer Collaboration, But Remains Committed to Toll-Like Receptors”
Yesware’s E-mail Plug-In Works “Down In The Trenches” With Salespeople to Close Deals and Kill Data Entry
Cambridge, MA-based Yesware kicked off late last year with the aim of building an entirely new e-mail system, one that would help salespeople close their deals and help enterprises actually understand their sales forces, says CEO and founder Matthew Bellows. It even raised $1 million on this premise. Then the company’s board spoke up. You … Continue reading “Yesware’s E-mail Plug-In Works “Down In The Trenches” With Salespeople to Close Deals and Kill Data Entry”
Compuware Scoops Up DynaTrace, Medtronic Buys Salient Surgical, Avedro Snaps Up $25M, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Boston-area IT, energy, and life sciences firms are making up for a short week last week with plenty of headlines on acquisitions and venture investments this time around. —Waltham,MA-based business software maker DynaTrace was bought by Detroit-based Compuware (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CPWR]]) for $256 million in cash, a deal that closed on July 1. DynaTrace, whose technology … Continue reading “Compuware Scoops Up DynaTrace, Medtronic Buys Salient Surgical, Avedro Snaps Up $25M, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Abine Lands $5.2M A Round
Cambridge, MA-based Abine, an online privacy startup, said today it has raised a $5.2 million Series A financing round co-led by Atlas Venture and General Catalyst Partners. Abine, founded in 2008, is led by CEO Bill Kerrigan. The company is developing online privacy and security software for consumers.
CyPhy Scores More Cash
CyPhy Works, the Boston-area robotics startup led by iRobot co-founder Helen Greiner, has raised an additional $1.2 million in equity financing, according to a regulatory filing. The investors in the round weren’t disclosed, but John Simon and Anita Jones are listed on the form as directors of the company, which was originally called The Droid … Continue reading “CyPhy Scores More Cash”
2011 Babson College Summer Venture Program Demo Day
Ten undergraduate and MBA teams will show off what they’ve done in the past 10 weeks at Babson’s Summer Venture Program. Register here to attend and check out their products and progress.
There is a New Clinical Trial of a Novel Drug for African Sleeping Sickness. Who Cares?
I do. Millions of Africans do. Two of the world’s wealthiest people do. And against all odds, two U.S. biotech companies do too. The story starts in Africa where about 7,000 new cases of sleeping sickness happen each year. If diseases could be classified as cruel and unusual, sleeping sickness would be at the top … Continue reading “There is a New Clinical Trial of a Novel Drug for African Sleeping Sickness. Who Cares?”
Amag Rebounds from FDA Handwringing, Looks To Stock Pipeline Through Acquisitions
Exactly two years ago, Lexington, MA-based Amag Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMAG]]) took a giant step forward in its effort to morph from a manufacturer of diagnostic-imaging products to a developer of cutting-edge drugs. The company introduced its first therapeutic product, ferumoxytol (Feraheme), an intravenous injection to treat iron deficiency in patients with chronic kidney disease. Investors … Continue reading “Amag Rebounds from FDA Handwringing, Looks To Stock Pipeline Through Acquisitions”