Boston-based Iron Mountain, the data management and protection company, said today it is selling its online backup and recovery, digital archiving, and eDiscovery businesses to San Francisco- and Cambridge, U.K.-based Autonomy for $380 million in cash. The deal is expected to close within 45 to 60 days. Iron Mountain (NYSE: [[ticker:IRM]]), founded in 1951, is … Continue reading “Iron Mountain Sells Online Backup and Other Digital Businesses to Autonomy for $380M”
Category: Boston
Will Biotech Ever Again Captivate the Public Imagination, Like Facebook or LinkedIn?
Everywhere you look this spring, there are signs of bubbly enthusiasm for technology. Microsoft just paid $8.5 billion for a company that isn’t profitable. Facebook has racked up more than 600 million members around the world. LinkedIn is teed up to go public this week at a valuation of more than $3 billion. It may … Continue reading “Will Biotech Ever Again Captivate the Public Imagination, Like Facebook or LinkedIn?”
$77M Merrimack Financing Helps April Startup Deals Soar to $306M
Things continued to warm up this spring for Massachusetts tech and life sciences startups inking investments. Last month, companies raised $306 million across 35 equity-based deals, a roughly 18 percent surge from during March. That’s according to data from our partner CB Insights’ FundingFlash, which provides a daily roundup of companies receiving venture capital, angel … Continue reading “$77M Merrimack Financing Helps April Startup Deals Soar to $306M”
Microsoft’s Online Head Qi Lu: Skype Deal Is “Key Addition” of Marquee Consumer Brand
Microsoft’s biggest acquisition to date was on display this week, in Boston. I’m not talking about Skype. I’m talking about Qi Lu. Lu, the president of Microsoft’s online services division, was in town on Wednesday to meet with employees at the firm’s New England Research and Development Center (NERD) in Cambridge, MA, and, in addition … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Online Head Qi Lu: Skype Deal Is “Key Addition” of Marquee Consumer Brand”
Oral Insulin Is Still Very Much Alive at Some New York and Boston Area Biotechs
Earlier this week, I wrote about MonoSolRx, a New Jersey company that hopes to start human trials later this year of an insulin product that’s packaged in an edible film. The film can be stuck to the side of the cheek, where it dissolves and distributes a dosage of insulin—the drug that most patients with … Continue reading “Oral Insulin Is Still Very Much Alive at Some New York and Boston Area Biotechs”
Typesafe Snaps Up $3M
Cambridge, MA-based IT startup Typesafe announced yesterday that it had pinned down $3 million in a Series A financing led by Greylock Partners, with participation from individual investors who have worked for Facebook, VMWare, Oracle, Google, and more. Typesafe offers a platform for working on the Scala programming language, which is interoperable with Java and … Continue reading “Typesafe Snaps Up $3M”
iPierian, Stem Cell Startup With Big Science & Big Bucks, Axes Group of Top Executives
The board of iPierian, the South San Francisco-based stem cell company with high-profile scientific founders from Harvard University and prominent financial backers that include GlaxoSmithKline, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Google Ventures, and Biogen Idec, has terminated several members of the company’s senior executive team as part of a shift in strategy, Xconomy has learned. … Continue reading “iPierian, Stem Cell Startup With Big Science & Big Bucks, Axes Group of Top Executives”
The iPad Finally Has a Worthy Rival: Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1
Apple may be the world’s largest electronics company as measured by market capitalization, but Samsung is the largest by sales. So it makes sense that the Seoul, Korea-based giant—not Microsoft, not HP, not Motorola, not Dell—would the first to compete seriously in the market that Apple invented last year with the introduction of the iPad. … Continue reading “The iPad Finally Has a Worthy Rival: Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1”
GSK Backs SpringLeaf, Prexa Nabs $7M from Advent & Shire, Acetylon Gets $5M Partnership, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
New England biotechs made headlines this week with partnerships and financing news. —Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, MA-based drug developer, bought back the rights to market one of its drugs in Europe and Asia from Taiwan-based PharmaEngine. Merrimack paid $10 million upfront and could pay another $210 million in milestones and royalties to develop and commercialize … Continue reading “GSK Backs SpringLeaf, Prexa Nabs $7M from Advent & Shire, Acetylon Gets $5M Partnership, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
SeeWhy Garners $667,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=207f6cf1-967d-401d-accf-34b83e0ce60b&Preview=1 Date 5/13/2011 Company Name SeeWhy Mailing Address 300 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 Company Description SeeWhy delivers breakthrough improvements in website conversion with its Abandonment Tracker family of “on demand” services. Re-marketing to abandoned visitors using the SeeWhy service re-converts up to 50% of visitors who abandon their shopping carts, online … Continue reading “SeeWhy Garners $667,000 New Funding Round”
MoMelan Technologies Closes $3.5M in Series A Financing
MoMelan Technologies, the developer of a device to treat skin disorders by expanding the surface area of skin grafts, has raised $3.5 million, according to the company’s top executive. MoMelan, based in Cambridge, MA, added KLP Enterprises and Life Science Angels to its existing list of investors, which includes LaunchCapital and Mass Medical Angels. The … Continue reading “MoMelan Technologies Closes $3.5M in Series A Financing”
Varian Invests $15M in Augmenix
Palo Alto, CA-based Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: [[ticker:VAR]]), the supplier of radiation technology for treating cancer patients, said today it has agreed to make a $15 million equity investment in Waltham, MA-based Augmenix to obtain a minority ownership stake in the startup. Varian is also getting an exclusive option to acquire Augmenix if certain milestones … Continue reading “Varian Invests $15M in Augmenix”
As IPO Market Thaws, Carbonite Files to Go Public with Growing Data-Backup Business
Han Solo was once frozen in “carbonite.” Now Boston’s namesake tech company is emerging from a different kind of deep freeze. When we last spoke this winter, David Friend said his online data backup firm, Carbonite, was in the late stages of filing for an IPO. The man is true to his word. Boston-based Carbonite … Continue reading “As IPO Market Thaws, Carbonite Files to Go Public with Growing Data-Backup Business”
Shire Finds Big Value in Rare Diseases, and a Strong Growth Path for its Boston Unit
On May 11, Shire (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SHPGY]]) CEO Angus Russell told a panel of journalists at the Reuters Health Summit in New York that the British drug giant is interested in pursuing gene therapy and stem cells. Those are two areas of science that have yet to prove they can produce effective, innovative new therapies. Still, over … Continue reading “Shire Finds Big Value in Rare Diseases, and a Strong Growth Path for its Boston Unit”
Foundation Medicine Gets New CEO
Cambridge, MA-based Foundation Medicine, the developer of genomic-based cancer diagnostics, said today it has named Michael Pellini as its new CEO. Pellini was previously the president of Clarient, a unit of GE Healthcare. He replaces Alexis Borisy, a partner at Third Rock Ventures who was Foundation’s original CEO. Borisy will remain on Foundation Medicine’s board … Continue reading “Foundation Medicine Gets New CEO”
SpringLeaf Snags $15M for New Self-Injection System for Biotech Drugs
The folks at SpringLeaf Therapeutics will not be accused of thinking too small. This quiet little company is stepping up today to declare its pursuit of a pretty bold idea—that it can deliver drugs that are not just safe and effective, but also more cost-effective for the U.S. healthcare system. SpringLeaf Therapeutics, formerly known as … Continue reading “SpringLeaf Snags $15M for New Self-Injection System for Biotech Drugs”
SpringLeaf Therapeutics Receives $15,000,000 Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4e0f70ad-a4e6-42b2-aa8b-4eef4dd77742&Preview=1 Date 5/12/2011 Company Name SpringLeaf Therapeutics Mailing Address 8 St. Mary’s Street Boston, MA 02215 Company Description SpringLeaf Therapeutics is creating innovative therapeutic modalities to address serious disease and elevate the quality of care for patients. SpringLeaf’s technology is based on the convergence of materials science and medicine and is designed … Continue reading “SpringLeaf Therapeutics Receives $15,000,000 Series A Round”
Typesafe Garners $3,000,000 Series A Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7827d54b-4848-4591-9a5f-cb3d5a11e563&Preview=1 Date 5/12/2011 Company Name Typesafe Mailing Address One Brattle Square Fourth Floor Cambridge, MA 02138 Company Description Typesafe provides an easy-to-use packaging of Scala, Akka, and developer tools via the open source Typesafe Stack, as well as commercial support and maintenance via the Typesafe Subscription. In conjunction with its partners, Typesafe … Continue reading “Typesafe Garners $3,000,000 Series A Financing”
ThredUP Lands $7,000,000 Series B Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f28ebef8-95ef-4269-abe1-171446d90728&Preview=1 Date 5/12/2011 Company Name ThredUP Mailing Address 2 Canal Park Cambridge, MA 02141 Company Description We started thredUP in January, 2009 mainly because as football loving, bike riding, beer drinking men we couldn’t be caught dead at a clothing swap. That, and the whole absurdly inefficient $2B used clothing industry felt … Continue reading “ThredUP Lands $7,000,000 Series B Funding Round”
Augmenix Secures $15,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f0adf7a0-4bf1-44dd-be3e-299c0ed232b0&Preview=1 Date 5/12/2011 Company Name Augmenix Mailing Address 204 2nd Avenue Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description Augmenix, Inc. is a privately held medical device company developing in-situ formed, space-filling hydrogels specifically for radiation oncology and cancer surgery indications. Augmenix, Inc.’s initial product will be the first synthetic tissue spacer designed and indicated … Continue reading “Augmenix Secures $15,000,000 New Financing Round”
MoMelan Technologies Secures $3,500,000 Series A Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=454e8c2c-e4f0-43a9-a8eb-eb177634ce48&Preview=1 Date 5/12/2011 Company Name MoMelan Technologies Mailing Address Undisclosed Cambridge, MA 02421 Company Description The company is developing a device to treat skin disorders by expanding the surface area of skin grafts. Website http://www.momelan.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,500,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes The company will use … Continue reading “MoMelan Technologies Secures $3,500,000 Series A Financing”
Sanergy Takes 2011 MIT $100K Prize, Audience Choice Award For Its Toilet Sanitation Technology
Sanergy gets kudos for scoring the daily double at tonight’s MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition. The team won both the $100,000 grand prize and the audience choice award, for pitching its toilet and sanitation systems that convert human waste to fertilizer and electricity in developing countries. Sanergy, the finalist in the emerging markets track of the … Continue reading “Sanergy Takes 2011 MIT $100K Prize, Audience Choice Award For Its Toilet Sanitation Technology”
Raising Money I: Angels or VCs: Who’s Driving the Regional Start-up Capital Market?
This EntreTech forum event will try to help answer a hot-button question: have angel investors or VCs played a bigger role in funding high-tech startups in the region? Speakers will represent firms such as Bain Capital Ventures, NextView Ventures, Launchpad Venture Group, and Bessemer Venture Partners. Sign up here.
MITEF Innovation Series: Offshore Wind in New England- Lessons Learned, The Way Forward
This MIT Enterprise Forum event will take a look at the challenges in developing off-shore wind farms, as seen through the lens of Cape Wind. Sign up here.
MITEF Software SIG: Entrepreneur Round Table
Audience members can grill established entrepreneurs at this informal roundtable discussion put on by the MIT Enterprise Forum’s Software SIG. Featured speakers come from Architexa and Aerva. Register here.
MITEF Start Smart Program- A 10-week Hands-On Workshop
This 10-week course for entrepreneurs aims to tackle different facets of getting a company off the ground—including developing a product, recruiting staff, managing finances, and raising capital. Register here.
At Metcalfe’s Party for MIT $100K Finalists, a Preview of Startups Presenting at Tonight’s Finale
It was high society meets tech entrepreneurship last night. The setting: Bob Metcalfe’s townhouse in the Back Bay. The occasion: an annual reception and dinner before the finale of the MIT $100K Business Plan Contest, which takes place tonight at Kresge Auditorium. The players: all the finalists and event organizers, plus a few venture capitalists … Continue reading “At Metcalfe’s Party for MIT $100K Finalists, a Preview of Startups Presenting at Tonight’s Finale”
Do You Really Need an Incubator? Join the Debate at XSITE on June 16
Although nobody seems to like the term “incubator”—mostly because of failures from the dot-com era—it’s clear that mentorship and accelerator programs like Y Combinator, TechStars, and MassChallenge have taken off in the mainstream consciousness of innovation. They provide lots of coaching, financial support, office space, and connections to investors and other startups. Yet in most … Continue reading “Do You Really Need an Incubator? Join the Debate at XSITE on June 16”
Acetylon Nabs $4.9M for Myeloma Drug
Boston-based Acetylon Pharmaceuticals said today it has formed a new alliance with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Under the deal, the nonprofit research foundation will contribute as much as $4.85 million to help Acetylon run a Phase I/II clinical trial program for an experimental drug against multiple myeloma. Acetylon’s oral drug, ACY-1215, is a histone … Continue reading “Acetylon Nabs $4.9M for Myeloma Drug”
PerkStreet Grabs $9M
PerkStreet Financial, a Boston-based online banking startup offering a debit card with cash-back rewards, has raised $9 million in funding, according to report by Scott Kirsner of the Boston Globe, which the company confirmed later this morning. The money, which brings PerkStreet’s total funding pot to about $15 million, comes from Globespan Capital Partners and … Continue reading “PerkStreet Grabs $9M”
Video Advertising for the Long Tail: Behind Blinkx’s Acquisition of Burst Media
How did Burst Media, a Burlington, MA, company that helped to invent the idea of the online advertising server at the dawn of the dot-com era, end up as part of a San Francisco-based video search company called Blinkx? And how will owning Burst’s network of niche publishing sites change the way Blinkx does business? … Continue reading “Video Advertising for the Long Tail: Behind Blinkx’s Acquisition of Burst Media”
Prexa Pulls In $7M From Advent, Shire
Prexa Pharmaceuticals, a Boston-based biotech developing experimental drugs for treating central nervous disorders, announced it wrapped up a $7 million Series B funding round from Advent Healthcare Ventures and new investor Shire Pharmaceuticals. Prexa, which previously raised $3.1 million in Series A money, was co-founded by Advent in 2006 and is working on molecules to … Continue reading “Prexa Pulls In $7M From Advent, Shire”
PeerTransfer, Inspired by Raw Deals for International Students, Rolls Out Online Tuition Payment Service
You might call it the perfect up-and-coming Boston tech startup. A mix of higher education, financial services, and a global market. The brainchild of an MIT student entrepreneur. A company with the support of a young, well-connected Boston venture capitalist and many notable angel investors. I’m talking about Cambridge, MA-based peerTransfer, which has 17 employees … Continue reading “PeerTransfer, Inspired by Raw Deals for International Students, Rolls Out Online Tuition Payment Service”
Varian Bought by Applied Materials, Nuance Picks Up Equitrac, Alkermes Pays $960M for Elan Unit, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Acquisitions headlines were big this week in New England, and spanned the semiconductor, life sciences, mobile, and software spaces. —PlumChoice, a Billierica, MA-based provider of remote IT services to businesses, nabbed $25.6 million from new backers M/C Venture Partners, Gold Hill Capital, and Eastward Capital, as well as its previous investors. —Gloucester, MA-based Varian Semiconductor … Continue reading “Varian Bought by Applied Materials, Nuance Picks Up Equitrac, Alkermes Pays $960M for Elan Unit, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Prexa Pharmaceuticals Secures $7,000,000 Series B Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=89bae812-37aa-43c5-af6e-6ef38d17daef&Preview=1 Date 5/11/2011 Company Name Prexa Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address 184 High St. Boston, MA 02110 Company Description Prexa, founded in 2006, is developing oral small molecule monoamine reuptake inhibitors that act most potently at the dopamine transporter. By safely enhancing dopamine activity and, to a lesser extent norepinephrine activity, Prexa intends to … Continue reading “Prexa Pharmaceuticals Secures $7,000,000 Series B Funding”
Wavemark Garners $2,832,506 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5b90bdb8-fba1-4e5b-bba9-6f4a64f9099b&Preview=1 Date 5/11/2011 Company Name Wavemark Mailing Address One Monarch Drive Littleton, MA 01460 Company Description WaveMark, Inc. is a leader in providing intelligent inventory management solutions to hospitals and surgery centers. Headquartered in Boxborough, Massachusetts, WaveMark is focused on providing clinical environments with an intelligent solution to managing the flow of … Continue reading “Wavemark Garners $2,832,506 New Funding Round”
Seventh Sense Biosystems Lands $4,500,000 Series A Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6579187d-e8c0-4d86-b401-da36aac00087&Preview=1 Date 5/11/2011 Company Name Seventh Sense Biosystems Mailing Address One Memorial Drive 7th Floor Cambridge, MA 02142 Company Description Seventh Sense Biosystems Inc is a medical device startup company. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,500,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes The funds will be used to advance … Continue reading “Seventh Sense Biosystems Lands $4,500,000 Series A Financing Round”
Nuance Buys Equitrac for $157M
Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]),a Burlington, MA-based maker of speech software, announced today it has agreed to acquire Equitrac for $157 million in a cash transaction expected to close in Nuance’s fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011. Equitrac is a maker of print management software and will be rolled into Nuance’s document management units.
Evening Roundtable: Understanding Clean Tech Financing – From Angel/VC to Project Finance
This event at Bingham McCutchen will spotlight cleantech investors and the entrepreneurs trying to raise capital from them. Register here.
Boston Scientific Chief to Exit the Stage, Two Years Into Turnaround Bid; Shares Tank
Boston Scientific picked Ray Elliott as the change agent less than two years ago to help turn things around for the medical device giant, and now Elliott is on his way out. The Natick, MA-based company (NYSE: [[ticker:BSX]]) said today that Elliott, 61, informed the board of directors on May 4 that he plans to … Continue reading “Boston Scientific Chief to Exit the Stage, Two Years Into Turnaround Bid; Shares Tank”
Goby, with New iPhone App, Shifts Focus from Activity Search to Mobile Recommendations
Please…not yet another recommendation engine for telling me where I should eat, what clothes to buy, or which places to visit on my trips. Didn’t StyleFeeder get acquired by Time Inc. last year? Didn’t Where just get bought by PayPal? But I guess that’s why startups keep trying to innovate with recommendations—if they do it … Continue reading “Goby, with New iPhone App, Shifts Focus from Activity Search to Mobile Recommendations”
APriori Snaps Up $4.9M
Concord, MA-based aPriori Technologies, a maker of software for managing cost for manufacturing customers, has brought in $4.9 million in equity-based funding from four investors, an SEC filing shows. Sigma Partners is a previous investor in aPriori and is reflected on the firm’s board of directors in the newest filing.
Akamai, Riverbed Team Up to Speed Cloud Applications, Wherever They May Run
This deal is all about combining Internet optimization and WAN optimization to accelerate enterprise adoption of hybrid cloud networks. Got that? Let’s try to deconstruct this considerable jargon. Cambridge, MA-based Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AKAM]]) and San Francisco-based Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RVBD]]), two big players in IT performance management, are announcing today a unique strategic alliance. … Continue reading “Akamai, Riverbed Team Up to Speed Cloud Applications, Wherever They May Run”
How Did You Start Your Company? Tell the Entrepreneurs’ Census
Are we in another tech bubble? Is all the money going to Social, Local and B2C? Any love for B2B out there? And is it true that all you need to get funded these days is a new buzzword and a flashy smile? Although startup companies produce essentially all the new jobs in the United … Continue reading “How Did You Start Your Company? Tell the Entrepreneurs’ Census”
LevelUp Joins the Deals Bandwagon with a Boost from Levi’s and American Express
Boston-based SCVNGR started out in 2008 doing exactly what its name suggests—organizing mobile-based scavenger hunts. Since then, the startup has been downright Protean, morphing into a Foursquare-like system of location-based checkins and rewards and then introducing a Groupon-like spinoff called LevelUp. But while it still isn’t clear whether 22-year-old CEO Seth Priebatsch wants to be the … Continue reading “LevelUp Joins the Deals Bandwagon with a Boost from Levi’s and American Express”
aPriori Technologies Obtains $4,860,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c7599284-7063-4268-85e0-31b368a9258f&Preview=1 Date 5/10/2011 Company Name aPriori Technologies Mailing Address 200 Baker Avenue Concord, MA 01742 Company Description aPriori is a venture-backed company developing an innovative platform of cost management software solutions for the discrete manufacturing industry. aPriori’s patent-protected Cost Management platform, originally developed in tight collaboration between the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign … Continue reading “aPriori Technologies Obtains $4,860,000 New Funding”
Molecular Imaging Research Finds New Life in Ann Arbor Thanks To $7M Investment From Baird Venture Partners and Arcus Ventures
Michganders are sensitive about jobs and by jobs I mean there are not nearly enough of them. Mention Pfizer shutting down its research and development center in Ann Arbor, MI or Becton, Dickinson pulling HandyLab’s operations out of Michigan after acquiring the local startup, and people get downright grumpy. What good is an exit if … Continue reading “Molecular Imaging Research Finds New Life in Ann Arbor Thanks To $7M Investment From Baird Venture Partners and Arcus Ventures”
Merrimack Inks $220M Deal for PharmaEngine Drug
Cambridge, MA-based drug developer Merrimack Pharmaceuticals said today that it has paid Taiwan-based PharmaEngine $10 million upfront for the rights to develop and commercialize one of its drugs in Europe and Asia. Merrimack could pay another $210 million in development, regulatory, and sales milestones and royalties tied to MM-398, a treatment for gastric, colorectal, and … Continue reading “Merrimack Inks $220M Deal for PharmaEngine Drug”
Alkermes Acquires Elan Drug Manufacturing Unit for $960M
Alkermes has struck a big acquisition deal that vaults it into the club of “Big Biotech” companies it has long yearned to join. The Waltham, MA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALKS]]) is announcing today it has agreed to acquire Elan Drug Technologies, the chemical formulation and manufacturing unit of Ireland-based Elan (NYSE: [[ticker:ELN]]) in a deal … Continue reading “Alkermes Acquires Elan Drug Manufacturing Unit for $960M”
Why Are Drugs Getting Such Weird Brand Names?
Oddball product names are one of the occupational hazards of biotech writing. Drugs in particular can be hard to spell, and often hard to pronounce. While I can practically type telaprevir, telaprevir, telaprevir in my sleep at this point, I can almost feel the reader reaction when that scientific name flows from my keyboard. ZZZ…. … Continue reading “Why Are Drugs Getting Such Weird Brand Names?”