Category: Boston

Biotech Vet Gerngross Dishes Out More Details On Latest VC-Backed Startup Arsanis

Our immune systems churn out antibodies to fight infections, so perhaps it’s about time that some biotech companies started getting in on the action. Arsanis, co-founded late last year by successful biotech entrepreneur Tillman Gerngross, is using the antibody discovery technology from another of Gerngross’s startups, Lebanon, NH-based Adimab, to find antibody drugs that might … Continue reading “Biotech Vet Gerngross Dishes Out More Details On Latest VC-Backed Startup Arsanis”

New CEO for Datawatch

Chelmsford, MA-based Datawatch (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DWCH]]), an analytics products and services provider, announced today that it has hired IBM and Cognos veteran Michael Morrison as its president and chief executive, replacing previous CEO Ken Bero. Morrison, who will also sit on the Datawatch board of directors, was IBM’s vice president of financial performance management and held a … Continue reading “New CEO for Datawatch”

Skyhook Signs Up Intel, Citysearch

Boston-based Skyhook, a wireless technology firm, said today that Intel (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INTC]]) has licensed its location-finding software and will make the technology available on Intel chip-based devices. Skyhook also announced that Citysearch, the online local guide, has integrated Skyhook’s technology into its mobile and deals apps for Android devices. Financial details of the two agreements … Continue reading “Skyhook Signs Up Intel, Citysearch”

Mok Oh, Founder of EveryScape, Joins Where in New Innovation Role

The one thing Mok Oh was afraid of getting last month was an offer he couldn’t refuse. As it turns out, that’s exactly what happened. Oh, the founder and former chief technology officer of Newton, MA-based EveryScape, had just left the company and was looking at his options for what to do next. He wanted … Continue reading “Mok Oh, Founder of EveryScape, Joins Where in New Innovation Role”

CashStar Lands $5,000,000 Series B Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=95c8f7be-14f6-477f-a02a-68d457fd8cb3&Preview=1 Date 2/15/2011 Company Name CashStar Mailing Address 129 Middle Street 2nd Floor Portland, ME 04101 Company Description CashStar is leading the multi-channel payments evolution as the only digital gifting and incentives company for top brands. The company works with national retailers to offer highly-personalized eGift Cards delivered to consumers via email. … Continue reading “CashStar Lands $5,000,000 Series B Funding Round”

Invented Here!

This evening event aims to spotlight the region’s most innovative technologies, by recognizing three key innovators and the stories behind their products. You can purchase tickets for the event, which is being hosted by WBUR’s Robin Young, online here.

Vertica Acquisition by HP Signals a Business Intelligence Battle in the Bay State

Don’t look now, but there’s a “big data” war brewing in our backyard—one that involves several technology giants. Vertica, a database management and analytics software company based in Billerica, MA, confirmed today it is being acquired by Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: [[ticker:HPQ]]). Financial terms of the deal haven’t been released, but I’m hearing that the price could … Continue reading “Vertica Acquisition by HP Signals a Business Intelligence Battle in the Bay State”

Sepaton Replaces CEO

Marlborough, MA-based Sepaton, a provider of disk-based data protection services for enterprise customers, announced today that it has promoted Mike Thompson from the role of executive vice president of worldwide sales and marketing to the position of CEO. He replaces Mike Worhach, who will stay on as vice chairman of the Sepaton board of directors. … Continue reading “Sepaton Replaces CEO”

Biogen Board OK’s 20M Share Buyback

Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) said on February 11 that its board of directors has given the Weston, MA-based company permission to repurchase 20 million shares of its common stock to offset stock issuances under its share-based compensation plans. The company, the world’s largest provider of multiple sclerosis drugs, said that there is no experation date on … Continue reading “Biogen Board OK’s 20M Share Buyback”

Hologic Gets FDA Nod for 3-D Mammography

Bedford, MA-based Hologic said on Friday it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its 3-D imaging system for doing breast cancer screening and diagnosis. The company’s X-ray mammography device, called the Selenia Dimensions System, is the first of its kind to provide 3-D images of the breast, according to the … Continue reading “Hologic Gets FDA Nod for 3-D Mammography”

Eisai, with Oncology Group H3 Biomedicine, Doubles Down on Boston

H3 Biomedicine is one of the latest experiments that hopes to revamp the way biotech drugs get developed, to save both time and money. Japanese drugmaker Eisai, which is bankrolling Cambridge, MA-based H3, is betting that a combination of $200 million in cash, access to scientific luminaries, and the support of Eisai’s global research and … Continue reading “Eisai, with Oncology Group H3 Biomedicine, Doubles Down on Boston”

David Cancel: I Want Performable to Be the Salesforce.com of Online Marketing

Performable is one of those startups that sounds cool, but who really understands what it does? Until recently, not that many people outside the Cambridge, MA-based marketing technology company. To learn more, I met with David Cancel, Performable’s founder and CEO, at the startup’s cavernous new digs near Central Square. As he admits, marketing technology … Continue reading “David Cancel: I Want Performable to Be the Salesforce.com of Online Marketing”

TwinStrata Garners $750,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=572c7e78-a577-407e-a203-b5c9c95c072b&Preview=1 Date 2/14/2011 Company Name TwinStrata Mailing Address 24 Prime Pkwy. Natick, MA 01760 Company Description To help companies address the challenges related to protecting and managing the growth of business application data, TwinStrata is delivering on its vision for intelligent storage clouds (ISC) solutions. ISC focus on key business needs for … Continue reading “TwinStrata Garners $750,000 New Round”

HP Acquires Vertica Systems for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=188c3010-4adf-441b-af5b-807142243b41&Preview=1 Date 2/14/2011 Company Name Vertica Systems Mailing Address 8 Federal Street First Floor Billerica, MA 01821 Company Description Co-founded by database research and technology pioneer Dr. Michael Stonebraker and startup veteran Andy Palmer, Vertica has developed ultra-fast database technology for storing and querying very large databases using industry-standard hardware. With its … Continue reading “HP Acquires Vertica Systems for Undisclosed Sum”

Xconomy’s Todd Park and Friends on the Future of Health IT Event: Photos, Ideas, and Thanks

I learned a bunch during Wednesday’s Xconomy Xchange, which featured Todd Park, chief technology officer of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, and other luminaries discussing the future of health IT. The sold-out event in Cambridge, MA, brought to light lots of intriguing ideas about how to improve the healthcare system. Below are … Continue reading “Xconomy’s Todd Park and Friends on the Future of Health IT Event: Photos, Ideas, and Thanks”

Todd Park’s Slides From February 9 Xconomy Xchange

Todd Park, chief technology officer of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, delivered a fascinating keynote talk at an Xconomy Xchange event about health IT held on February 9, 2011, at the Microsoft New England R&D Center in Cambridge, MA. Several attendees asked us for Todd’s slides, so here there are. Click the … Continue reading “Todd Park’s Slides From February 9 Xconomy Xchange”

Oneforty Moves Beyond Twitter App Store Into Big, Bad World of Social Business

You might think that someone with 75,000 Twitter followers would be just plain annoying. But Laura Fitton (@pistachio) has some very useful things to share—on Twitter and elsewhere. What she’s saying today is that oneforty, the Cambridge, MA-based tech startup she founded in 2009, has expanded beyond its original focus on building a Twitter app … Continue reading “Oneforty Moves Beyond Twitter App Store Into Big, Bad World of Social Business”

Cartoon Raccoons Lampoon Startup Life

I was too busy to write a regular column this week. Or maybe I’ve simply run out of weighty things to say about mobile gadgets, digital media, the future of journalism, and the like. In any case, I thought I’d entertain you instead with a few of my favorite startup cartoons. These animated shorts all … Continue reading “Cartoon Raccoons Lampoon Startup Life”

Stromedix Adds Debt to Finance Clinical Trial, Eliza and Google Team Up for Health IT Website, Arsanis Gets $10M, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

We saw headlines from health IT firms and drug developers in New England this week. —Cambridge, MA-based drug developer Stromedix is looking to kick off a mid-stage clinical trial of its lead drug, and has attracted some debt-based financing to cover the costs, Ryan wrote. CEO Michael Gilman says the firm has also gotten interest … Continue reading “Stromedix Adds Debt to Finance Clinical Trial, Eliza and Google Team Up for Health IT Website, Arsanis Gets $10M, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

Gen9 Receives $1,655,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=feda4800-1ef4-4111-9c41-87989ced8bf3&Preview=1 Date 2/11/2011 Company Name Gen9 Mailing Address 500 Technology Sq. Cambridge, MA 01239 Company Description The company is developing synthetic biology technologies. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $1,655,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. M&A Terms Venture Investor Undisclosed

Adriana Jenkins, Boston Biotech PR Maven, Dies from Breast Cancer at 41

The New England biotech community has lost one of its well-known members way too early. Adriana Jenkins, a public relations specialist for numerous biotech companies, has died from breast cancer. She was 41. Jenkins worked the last several years with The Yates Network, an independent PR firm that represents quite a few of the Boston … Continue reading “Adriana Jenkins, Boston Biotech PR Maven, Dies from Breast Cancer at 41”

TechStars Boston Raising $2M

Startup incubator program TechStars Boston revealed in a regulatory filing today that it has brought in $501,250 of a $2 million funding round. The money will go to supporting the program, which will kick off its 2011 installment next month, through 2014, according to a report in Mass High Tech.

Kauffman Labs Inaugural Incubator Program Brings In Education-Focused Entrepreneurs from Massachusetts, Michigan, and Bay Area

Surprise: we’re writing about an incubator. (OK, it might not come as a surprise. There’s been no shortage of news surrounding programs designed to create and accelerate tech startups across the nation, as my colleague Greg recently noted.) The Education Ventures Program, which will kick off later this month, is a bit different, though. It’s … Continue reading “Kauffman Labs Inaugural Incubator Program Brings In Education-Focused Entrepreneurs from Massachusetts, Michigan, and Bay Area”

Stephen Wolfram Joins Xconomy’s Mobile Madness Lineup on March 9: Here’s the Agenda

We’re coming off a fantastic health IT event last night at Microsoft New England Research & Development Center (more on that soon), but I wanted to take a minute to give our readers an update on Mobile Madness 2011, our next forum, which is just under a month away. It’s Xconomy’s third annual mobile event, … Continue reading “Stephen Wolfram Joins Xconomy’s Mobile Madness Lineup on March 9: Here’s the Agenda”

Amgen Pushes Ahead With ‘Son of Dmab’ For Treating Broken, Frail Bones

Folks who follow Amgen closely know there’s really been one main theme to this story the past couple years—Dmab, Dmab, Dmab. Also know as denosumab, this is the targeted antibody drug Amgen developed for bone disorders that is supposed to be biggest thing to emerge from its internal R&D pipeline in about 20 years (although … Continue reading “Amgen Pushes Ahead With ‘Son of Dmab’ For Treating Broken, Frail Bones”

See You at Microsoft NERD for Xconomy Health IT Xchange This Evening

Bring an open mind and an extra business card or two. That’s what I’m planning to do as I gear up for today’s Xconony Xchange: HHS CTO Todd Park and Friends on the Future of Health IT. Xconomy is fortunate that the event is sold out, and there’s little doubt in my mind that the … Continue reading “See You at Microsoft NERD for Xconomy Health IT Xchange This Evening”

Vlingo Sees Big Future in Searching Mobile Content and Enabling Functions On The Fly

Cambridge, MA-based Vlingo came out of stealth mode in 2007 with technology that enabled users to search and call businesses from their mobile phones, and ultimately sought to give users the power to use their voice for the mobile functions that previously required a keyboard. But now it’s looking to go far beyond that, to … Continue reading “Vlingo Sees Big Future in Searching Mobile Content and Enabling Functions On The Fly”

NaviSite Bought By Time Warner, BG Medicine Goes Public, Omnicom Gets Communispace, & More Boston-Area Deals News

Startup financings and acquisitions news have poured into the New England area at roughly the same rate the precipitation has in the last week. —Andover, MA-based IT services provider NaviSite was bought by Time Warner Cable for $5.50 per share in cash, for a total equity value of $230 million.  The Time Warner (NYSE: [[ticker:TWC]]) … Continue reading “NaviSite Bought By Time Warner, BG Medicine Goes Public, Omnicom Gets Communispace, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

Harmonix Lays Off 12-15 Percent of Staff

Cambridge, MA-based music gaming firm Harmonix has laid off 12 to 15 percent of its full-time staff of about 240, according to a report in the gaming blog Joystiq. Harmonix, the developer of the Rock Band, Dance Central, and original Guitar Hero franchises, was sold by Viacom (NYSE: [[ticker:VIA]]) to private equity firm Columbus Nova … Continue reading “Harmonix Lays Off 12-15 Percent of Staff”

Remembering Ken Olsen (1926-2011): A Sense of Pride and a Sense of Humor

While we are remembering Ken, I couldn’t help sending this picture of a poster that appeared in my office one Monday morning about 30 years ago that illustrated Ken’s sense of humor that most people never saw (see photo at bottom of this post). This is something we shared, along with the concern about wanting … Continue reading “Remembering Ken Olsen (1926-2011): A Sense of Pride and a Sense of Humor”

Secretive Biotech Arsanis Raises $9.6M

Arsanis, a mysterious biotech firm based in Lebanon, NH, has raised $9.6 million in equity financing, according to an SEC filing. Tillman Gerngross, the co-founder and CEO of the Lebanon-based antibody discovery firm Adimab, is listed as an executive and director of Arsanis. Arsanis’s board also includes some of Gerngross’s previous Adimab backers, among them … Continue reading “Secretive Biotech Arsanis Raises $9.6M”

Basho Brings in Half of $7.5M Round

Cambridge, MA-based Basho Technologies, a provider of open source database software, has brought in roughly half of a $7.5 million funding round, according to a report today in Mass High Tech. The money comes from private equity firm Georgetown Partners, and Trifork AS, a Danish systems integrator that has also come on board as the … Continue reading “Basho Brings in Half of $7.5M Round”

Ken Olsen, Founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, Leaves Behind Route 128 Legacy

[Updated 5:15 pm. See below] Ken Olsen, the co-founder and former CEO of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), died on Sunday. He was 84. The news was confirmed yesterday by Gordon College in Wenham, MA, where Olsen was a longtime trustee. There has been an outpouring of commentary about Olsen’s career and the impact of DEC … Continue reading “Ken Olsen, Founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, Leaves Behind Route 128 Legacy”

MindShift Rounds Up Orbit

Waltham, MA-headquartered IT and cloud services firm MindShift Technologies announced today that it has acquired Orbit Systems, a managed services provider based in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, for an undisclosed sum. Orbit Systems’ 54 employees will remain as a result of the acquisition, which helps MindShift expand its reach across North America, according to the announcement. This … Continue reading “MindShift Rounds Up Orbit”

$1.7M for Ecochlor

Ecochlor, an Acton, MA-based provider of chlorine dioxide systems for killing off invasive species and pathogens from the large quantities of ballast water ships carry from port to port, has raised $1.7 million in an equity funding round, according to an SEC filing. My colleague Erin Kutz reported that the company took in $681,543 in … Continue reading “$1.7M for Ecochlor”

Seduce Health: What A Google Guy and Health IT Exec Are Saying to Put the Spark Back into Your Health Life

[Updated and corrected. 02/08/11 at 12 pm ET] Stern lectures about taking your heart pill as prescribed, eating right, or exercising regularly—or else—can be a real turnoff. Some people simply tune out, perhaps while eating fried chicken sandwiches with extra pickles. But might there be a way to seduce people with medical advice, tailoring the … Continue reading “Seduce Health: What A Google Guy and Health IT Exec Are Saying to Put the Spark Back into Your Health Life”

Ernst & Young Says IPOs Continue to Gain Steam in 2011

The IPO pipeline, which slowed to a trickle in 2008 (when just six companies went public), rebounded significantly during the last three months of 2010, as 57 companies went public and 56 others registered for IPOs, according to a report from the Ernst & Young accounting firm. The rate of replenishment represents a healthy balance … Continue reading “Ernst & Young Says IPOs Continue to Gain Steam in 2011”

What’s With All the Mass Customization Startups in Boston? One Investor’s Opinion

The Boston-area technology scene is known for several mini-clusters: companies in mobile software, music software, robotics, online video, data storage, e-commerce, and Internet marketing, to name a few. But “mass customization” might be the most broadly interesting sector in town. The term refers to online companies that offer consumers personalized, custom-made goods—everything from clothing and … Continue reading “What’s With All the Mass Customization Startups in Boston? One Investor’s Opinion”

Arsanis Garners $9,600,002 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=529dd2a7-57e2-4a2a-978c-ef1bba32abc6&Preview=1 Date 2/8/2011 Company Name Arsanis Mailing Address 16 Cavendish Court Lebanon, NH 03766 Company Description The company operates in the biotechnology industry. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $9,600,002 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. M&A Terms Venture Investor Undisclosed

Basho Technologies Secures $7,500,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9a9ea645-abfd-432e-bfcb-fb8c7aacc941&Preview=1 Date 2/8/2011 Company Name Basho Technologies Mailing Address 196 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description Basho produces Riak, a distributed datastore that combines high availability, easily-scalable capacity and throughput, and ease of use. Riak’s complete availability means that applications built using Riak remain both read- and write-available under almost any operational … Continue reading “Basho Technologies Secures $7,500,000 New Funding”

Omnicom Buys Communispace to Connect with Consumers

[Updated 2/08/11 9:25 am. See below.] Omnicom Group (NYSE: [[ticker:OMC]]) announced today that its Diversified Agency Services business has bought Communispace, a Watertown, MA-based company that powers online communities that help marketers test ideas and gain consumer feedback. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in the press release, but Communispace CEO Diane Hessan … Continue reading “Omnicom Buys Communispace to Connect with Consumers”

EnterpriseDB Adds Another $6M

Bedford, MA-based EnterpriseDB, a provider of database management software that can run on cloud computing systems, has added another $6.1 million to its most recent equity- and rights-based based funding round, bringing the financing’s total to $13.6 million, accorded to an amended regulatory document. EnterpriseDB revealed it had raised the first $7.5 million of the … Continue reading “EnterpriseDB Adds Another $6M”

Regulus, the MicroRNA Child of Alnylam and Isis, Offers Litmus Test for Biotech Hope in 2011

The notion that Regulus Therapeutics might go public in 2011 sounds like nonsense at first blush. The San Diego-based startup doesn’t have a shred of evidence that says its experimental drugs are safe, or even a little effective, in human beings. And it will be at least another year before the company enters the vital … Continue reading “Regulus, the MicroRNA Child of Alnylam and Isis, Offers Litmus Test for Biotech Hope in 2011”

Stromedix Chief, After Reloading the Company Treasury, Sets Sight on Trial for Deadly Lung Disease

Cambridge, MA-based Stromedix is planning to begin a mid-stage trial of its lead drug in patients with a chronic lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis before the end of June, CEO Michael Gilman tells me. And the firm’s investors have committed as much as $15.5 million in debt to cover the costs the trial. Debt … Continue reading “Stromedix Chief, After Reloading the Company Treasury, Sets Sight on Trial for Deadly Lung Disease”

How Sanofi Could Start Off on the Right Foot in Cambridge

To: Chris Viehbacher, CEO, Sanofi Aventis From: The Boston Biotech Community Re: Making the Most of the Impending Merger Dear Mr. Viehbacher, In the heat of the discussions regarding an acquisition of Genzyme that now look like they are on track for rapid completion, you may not have had much time to think about exactly … Continue reading “How Sanofi Could Start Off on the Right Foot in Cambridge”

EnterpriseDB Lands $13,610,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3badfe68-bcd6-4871-91dd-b0e3ba094022&Preview=1 Date 2/7/2011 Company Name EnterpriseDB Mailing Address 235 Littleton Road Westford, MA 01886 Company Description EnterpriseDB provides and supports enterprise-class database products that are based on time-tested open source, that are broadly compatible with proprietary databases and that are robustly reliable and scalable. Website http://www.enterprisedb.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “EnterpriseDB Lands $13,610,000 New Round”

Viximo Founder Brian Balfour Steps Back from Full-Time Role; Company Doing “Extremely Well”

It’s usually noteworthy when a founder leaves a startup. I heard this week that Brian Balfour, the founder of Cambridge, MA-based Viximo, has stepped back from his full-time role at the virtual-goods technology company where he served as vice president of product marketing. Balfour has been a fixture in the Boston-area tech startup scene for … Continue reading “Viximo Founder Brian Balfour Steps Back from Full-Time Role; Company Doing “Extremely Well””

Incubators ‘R’ Us: Kauffman Labs, Highland Capital, Betaspring, & Other Startup Accelerators Round Out Busy Week

I don’t know about you, but I’m incubatored out. With all the news and PR this week about Startup America, MassChallenge, TechStars Network, Y Combinator, and other programs across the nation, startup incubators/accelerators have suddenly gone mainstream. Which, just like when alternative rock became mainstream in the early ‘90s (always a key analogy), makes me … Continue reading “Incubators ‘R’ Us: Kauffman Labs, Highland Capital, Betaspring, & Other Startup Accelerators Round Out Busy Week”

BG Medicine Goes Public at $7 Per Share

Waltham, MA-based BG Medicine (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BGMD]]) started trading publicly today at $7 per share. After indicating earlier in the week that it had planned to offer 4.75 million shares in its initial public offering, the diagnostics company sold 5 million shares. Lazard Capital Markets acted as sole book-running manager for the deal, and underwriters will have … Continue reading “BG Medicine Goes Public at $7 Per Share”