This morning panel will focus on how to make a software-as-a-service business boom. Executives and investors already in the field will talk about the business models and strategies that best worked for them. Register here.
Category: Boston
Syndax Pharma Study Offers Clues that Lung Cancer Treatment Could Benefit Subset of Patients
Waltham, MA-based Syndax Pharmaceuticals is reporting data from a mid-stage clinical trial that indicate its lead compound might improve the effectiveness of an existing lung cancer drug, at least for a subpopulation of patients. The company, co-founded by members of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA, in 2005, conducted a double-blind, … Continue reading “Syndax Pharma Study Offers Clues that Lung Cancer Treatment Could Benefit Subset of Patients”
Peering Over the Valley of Death at the MIT Sloan Energy Finance Forum
The second annual MIT Sloan Energy Finance Forum, which focused on the lifecycle of energy finance, was held last Friday at the Sloan School of Management at MIT. I am not someone interested in working in finance, but I decided to walk across campus to get a sense of the state of the sector in … Continue reading “Peering Over the Valley of Death at the MIT Sloan Energy Finance Forum”
Alnylam CEO Looks to the Future, Dicerna Plumps Up Kyowa Hakko Pact, Momenta Sells $57.4M Stock Offering, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
Health IT and RNA interference were big themes we saw in this week’s coverage of New England area life sciences companies. —Ryan took a look at SmartCells, shortly after the Beverly, MA-based biotech revealed it was being acquired by drug giant Merck (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MRK]]) a in a deal potentially worth more than $500 million. The … Continue reading “Alnylam CEO Looks to the Future, Dicerna Plumps Up Kyowa Hakko Pact, Momenta Sells $57.4M Stock Offering, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
8D World Receives $5,250,000 Series B Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=147d28e0-c61b-45a8-abe9-18c7ada55ce0&Preview=1 Date 12/10/2010 Company Name 8D World Mailing Address 500 W. Cummings Park Woburn, MA 01801 Company Description 8D World is the creator of Wiz World Online, the world’s first virtual world dedicated for global English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners to improve their spoken English in a highly motivating environment. Website http://www.8dworld.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “8D World Receives $5,250,000 Series B Round”
Krush Lands Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c37f29b9-d5ec-4006-8254-6d09e1974b50&Preview=1 Date 12/10/2010 Company Name Krush Mailing Address Undisclosed Boston, MA 02109 Company Description The company aims to provide a digital experience geared to shoppers who have grown up using the Internet. Website http://www.Krush.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes The company intends to use … Continue reading “Krush Lands Series A Round”
Apperian Obtains $500,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8c89f29a-acee-451f-b16a-bd69eacfba07&Preview=1 Date 12/10/2010 Company Name Apperian Mailing Address 27-43 Wormwood St. Boston, MA 02210 Company Description Apperian currently makes enterprise-class iPhone applications for large companies seeking to engage consumers in new, innovative ways and enhance productivity among their employees and partners. Website http://www.apperian.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $500,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “Apperian Obtains $500,000 New Financing Round”
PacBio, Harvard Use Fast Gene Sequencer to Crack DNA Code of Haitian Cholera Strain
Epidemics can travel around the world in a matter of hours on airplanes, killing people before anyone really knows what hit them. But now that DNA sequencing has gotten so cheap and so fast, researchers are finding ways to precisely identify the bugs in real-time to find out where they came from, and how to … Continue reading “PacBio, Harvard Use Fast Gene Sequencer to Crack DNA Code of Haitian Cholera Strain”
Bob Metcalfe Isn’t Leaving, Bill Warner Turns the Tables, Kiva Is Profitable, and Other Takeaways From 5×5
We had such a great time at our “5×5” Xconomy Forum yesterday, I just wanted to share a few thoughts from the talks and discussions. I think it was very useful and entertaining stuff, especially for entrepreneurs and investors. First, a note of thanks to all our participants, several of whom flew into frigid Boston … Continue reading “Bob Metcalfe Isn’t Leaving, Bill Warner Turns the Tables, Kiva Is Profitable, and Other Takeaways From 5×5”
High-Tech Jobs Evaporate By the Thousands in Detroit and San Francisco Bay Area; Boston, San Diego, Seattle Hold Their Own
In 2009, employment at high-tech companies either declined or stayed essentially flat in all of the cities Xconomy calls home, according to a study of the nation’s top 60 “cybercities” released this week by TechAmerica, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association for the information technology industry. Though the underwhelming job data certainly accords with most people’s … Continue reading “High-Tech Jobs Evaporate By the Thousands in Detroit and San Francisco Bay Area; Boston, San Diego, Seattle Hold Their Own”
Sonian Pulls In $4M
Needham, MA-based Sonian, a provider of cloud-powered technology for e-mail hosting, has raised $4 million of an equity offering that could total $9 million, according to an SEC filing. The firm previously raised a $5.6 million Series A round of funding, with investments from Prism VentureWorks and Summerhill Venture Partners.
MedNetworks Taps UCSD’s James Fowler and Other Experts for New Scientific Board
MedNetworks has significantly enhanced its brain trust as it sets out to conquer the emerging field of social networks analytics in healthcare. The Newton, MA-based startup has announced the creation of a scientific advisory board, which is headlined by the authors of the highly acclaimed book on social networks, “Connected,” Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler. … Continue reading “MedNetworks Taps UCSD’s James Fowler and Other Experts for New Scientific Board”
SmartCells Finds Potential $500M+ Exit, EnerNOC Acquires Global Energy Partners, Azuki Adds $4M, & More Boston-Area Deals News
New England’s tech and life sciences companies were busy this week. Here are some of the deals they inked. —Waltham, MA-based research tools and services provider Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:[[ticker:TMO]]) announced plans to buy Lomb Scientific—an Australian maker of lab chemicals, consumables, and instruments—for an undisclosed sum. —LineSider Technologies, a Danvers, MA-based maker of network management … Continue reading “SmartCells Finds Potential $500M+ Exit, EnerNOC Acquires Global Energy Partners, Azuki Adds $4M, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Tripleseat Software Garners $500,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=02d9ad42-fab7-4268-bebe-607040312f83&Preview=1 Date 12/9/2010 Company Name Tripleseat Software Mailing Address 42 Davis Rd. Acton, MA 01720 Company Description The company has developed software that enables sales managers, owners and event planners to capture leads via telephone and existing websites to streamlined booking and planning process. Website http://www.tripleseat.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Tripleseat Software Garners $500,000 New Financing Round”
NetProspex Wraps Up $5.5M
NetProspex, a Waltham, MA-based maker of business-to-business software for lead generation, said yesterday that it closed a $5.5 million Series B financing, led by Edison Venture Fund. Some angel investors from the company’s $2 million Series A round participated in the newest funding round, which brings NetProspex’s total amount raised to $7.5 million.
Launchpad Venture Group and Race Point Merge to Form New Angel Investor Group
There’s a new organization of angel investors in town. Well, sort of. The new entity is being announced today as the merger of two existing Boston-area angel groups—Launchpad Venture Group and Race Point Capital Group, which are headed up by tech investors Hambleton Lord and Christopher Mirabile, respectively. Lord and Mirabile will co-lead the combined … Continue reading “Launchpad Venture Group and Race Point Merge to Form New Angel Investor Group”
At American Eagle, Prysm’s Laser Displays Banish the Bezel; Startup to Present at Tonight’s 5×5 Event
Prysm is trying to reinvent large video displays. American Eagle Outfitters is trying to reinvent the shopping experience in its retail stores. So it makes sense that first place you can see Prysm’s laser phosphor displays (LPDs) in public is the new American Eagle flagship store at Broadway and Houston in New York City’s Soho … Continue reading “At American Eagle, Prysm’s Laser Displays Banish the Bezel; Startup to Present at Tonight’s 5×5 Event”
Momenta Nabs $57.4M in Stock Offering
Cambridge, MA-based Momenta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MNTA]]) said today it has raised $57.4 million through a stock offering. The company sold 4 million new shares of common stock at $14.35 apiece, about a 5.5 percent discount to yesterday’s closing stock price of $15.18. UBS was the lead underwriter of the deal, while Cowen & Company and … Continue reading “Momenta Nabs $57.4M in Stock Offering”
Beyond 5×5: Five More Boston Startups You Should Know
We’re all gearing up for one of Xconomy’s biggest events of the year—today’s “5×5: Five Cities, Five Big Tech Ideas” forum, which is sold out. But I wanted to shine a little light on five other Boston-area companies I’ve been hearing about lately in my discussions with entrepreneurs and investors around town. Frankly, it’s impossible … Continue reading “Beyond 5×5: Five More Boston Startups You Should Know”
How Health IT Firms Can Open VC Vault at OpenView Venture Partners
Boston-based OpenView Venture Partners has become more active in backing companies in the healthcare IT arena over the past several months, announcing two significant investments since September. Because this sector is so hungry for capital to fund new ideas, I thought it would make sense to chat with OpenView partner George Roberts about what it … Continue reading “How Health IT Firms Can Open VC Vault at OpenView Venture Partners”
Sonian Receives $4,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=15983264-1168-4ee0-9a52-c2b974cfbcad&Preview=1 Date 12/8/2010 Company Name Sonian Mailing Address 100 Crescent Rd Needham, MA 02494 Company Description Sonian is a technology platform and hosted services company on a mission to help millions of organizations world-wide manage their critical IT functions such as archiving, search, compliance, e-discovery and storage management. The Sonian platform is … Continue reading “Sonian Receives $4,000,000 New Financing Round”
Google’s News: E-Books and Android and Chrome, Oh My
Sometimes Google gives the appearance of being a loose confederation rather than a single company, as if its product units are all vying to make news at the same time. That’s definitely the case this week. Monday saw three big developments at the Googleplex in Mountain View. First came the launch of the Google eBookstore, … Continue reading “Google’s News: E-Books and Android and Chrome, Oh My”
Healthrageous Releases Mobile Health App
Boston-based Healthrageous said today that it has launched a mobile app called “h!GO,” which is available to participants of the company’s employer-sponsored online health management plans. The app presents a user with his or her individual health measurements on a handheld device, based on data collected from monitoring devices like wireless blood pressure cuffs and … Continue reading “Healthrageous Releases Mobile Health App”
Dicerna Expands Kyowa Hakko Pact
Watertown, MA-based Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, a developer of second-generation RNA-interference drugs, said today it is expanding its collaboration with the Japanese drug-maker Kyowa Hakko Kirin to include research of gene-silencing treatments for immunologic and inflammatory diseases. The firms announced their original collaboration, worth up to $1.4 billion, in January 2010 to focus on treatments for cancer. … Continue reading “Dicerna Expands Kyowa Hakko Pact”
Why It’s Noble to Be An Innovator
Many Xconomy readers have spent their careers in the innovation field. How important is our work? We all have friends who are doctors, teachers, firemen, journalists… people who make the world better somehow. How about us? Does our work stack up as meaningful? If you are an innovator, what follows is a primer on why … Continue reading “Why It’s Noble to Be An Innovator”
Seattle Genetics, Millennium’s Encore: Souped-Up Antibody Looks Better in 2nd Trial
Seattle Genetics generated buzz at a medical meeting over the weekend with its new souped-up antibody drug for Hodgkin’s disease, and today it is coming out with an encore that tops the original performance. The biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) and its partner, Cambridge, MA-based Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, are presenting results today from a … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics, Millennium’s Encore: Souped-Up Antibody Looks Better in 2nd Trial”
Onyx Unveils Results for Myeloma Drug, Raising Stakes in Rivalry with Millennium
Onyx Pharmaceuticals is betting that it can keep growing on the strength of a new cancer drug that’s supposed to compete with a blockbuster from Cambridge, MA-based Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company. Today, Onyx is presenting key data to gird for the market battle. Onyx, the Emeryville, CA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ONXX]]), is reporting today … Continue reading “Onyx Unveils Results for Myeloma Drug, Raising Stakes in Rivalry with Millennium”
Fluent Mobile Garners $5,498,880 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=17f625d4-9ab4-4e5b-9bf3-5f2e1a1f3f66&Preview=1 Date 12/7/2010 Company Name Fluent Mobile Mailing Address Ten Post Office Square 8th Floor Boston, MA 02109 Company Description Fluent Mobile, a pioneer in mobile content organization and delivery, develops applications that bring the speed, reliability and convenience of desktop Web browsing to handheld devices. By applying proprietary content relevancy and … Continue reading “Fluent Mobile Garners $5,498,880 New Round”
Zendesk Secures $19,000,000 Series C Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ece223aa-dcc3-4c41-9746-6449f70a8319&Preview=1 Date 12/7/2010 Company Name Zendesk Mailing Address 107 South Street Boston, MA 02211 Company Description Zendesk is inspiring the help desk 2.0 movement through a focus on enlightened customer support. By leveraging the benefits of Web-based communications and social media, Zendesk extends good help desk karma to any company looking to … Continue reading “Zendesk Secures $19,000,000 Series C Financing Round”
NetProspex Garners $5,500,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=67cf0b63-96f0-4a5d-a22c-ab0185904b9a&Preview=1 Date 12/7/2010 Company Name NetProspex Mailing Address 318 Bear Hill Road Waltham, ME 02451 Company Description Get accurate, targeted contacts for your sales and marketing needs. Find the right person, or people, at a target company who will respond to your message. NetProspex was founded with the mission to provide leads … Continue reading “NetProspex Garners $5,500,000 Series B Financing”
Fluent Mobile Grabs $5.5M
Fluent Mobile, a Boston startup that makes an iPhone news-aggregating app called Fluent News, said today in an SEC filing that it has raised $5.5 million in a funding round. The firm previously raised $1.25 million in February 2010. Its board of directors, according to the SEC filing, includes Jon Auerbach, a general partner at … Continue reading “Fluent Mobile Grabs $5.5M”
FleetMatics Finds $68M From IVP
FleetMatics, a developer of GPS technology for tracking commercial fleets, said today it has received a growth equity financing worth $68 million, led by Menlo Park, CA-based Institutional Venture Partners and Investcorp Technology Partners, a FleetMatics majority owner. The company, which has offices in Boston, said the funding will help it pursue growth as a … Continue reading “FleetMatics Finds $68M From IVP”
NaviNet Buys Prematics
Cambridge, MA-based NaviNet, which says it has the country’s largest real-time healthcare communications network, said today that it has acquired Prematics of McLean, VA. “Prematics’ mobile clinical messaging and e-prescribing solutions will be integrated with NaviNet Insurer Connect, the industry-leading multi-payer portal, and NaviNet EMR and NaviNet PM,” the buyer said in a press release. … Continue reading “NaviNet Buys Prematics”
Dijipop Scores $1M
Providence, RI-based Dijipop, a maker of software for e-commerce marketing, announced today that it has raised a $1 million financing, led by angel investor Bill Cesare. Angel Street Capital and other Rhode Island-based private investors participated in the round, which brings Dijipop’s total funding pot to $2 million. The startup is an alum of technology … Continue reading “Dijipop Scores $1M”
Google, Amazon Play Catch-Up in Group Buying: Analysis and Reactions from BuyWithMe, Tippr
In the Wild West of group-buying and daily-deals sites, there’s about to be a major showdown. Investors have been talking about consolidation in this sector for a while now—and it looks like that’s where things are headed. But not without a few curveballs first. Last week, Google (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GOOG]]) was widely reported to be pursuing … Continue reading “Google, Amazon Play Catch-Up in Group Buying: Analysis and Reactions from BuyWithMe, Tippr”
EnerNOC Buys Global Energy Partners, Gains West Coast Access
Boston-based EnerNOC (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ENOC]]), a provider of support services and programs for electrical utilities, said today that it has made its biggest acquisition to date, with the purchase of Global Energy Partners of Walnut Creek, CA. The addition of the West Coast company, which has 55 employees and provides energy and environmental engineering and services … Continue reading “EnerNOC Buys Global Energy Partners, Gains West Coast Access”
Laser Displays, Mobile Payments, Video Collaboration, Innovation Furniture, & More Demos Set for Wednesday’s 5X5 Forum
We’re really pleased to have a slew of disruption-minded companies from around the Xconomy network lined up for our 5X5: Five Cities, Five Big Tech Ideas conference this Wednesday afternoon in downtown Boston. But that’s just the main event—there’s a lot more going on after the speakers strut their stuff. For the first time, Xconomy … Continue reading “Laser Displays, Mobile Payments, Video Collaboration, Innovation Furniture, & More Demos Set for Wednesday’s 5X5 Forum”
How to Raise Money for an Honest-to-God Innovative Biotech Startup: Highlights from Convergence
[Update: 1:15 pm Eastern] Lots of people in biotech think they are doing innovative things, even when they are really doing something pretty conservative, like testing a proven drug for some new use, or crafting some new way to deliver a therapy with more efficiency or convenience. But how, especially in today’s sluggish economy, do … Continue reading “How to Raise Money for an Honest-to-God Innovative Biotech Startup: Highlights from Convergence”
Alnylam CEO John Maraganore On Corporate Near-Termism, and Restoring Faith in RNAi
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, one of the bright lights on the Boston biotech scene, has suddenly found itself getting almost zero value for its technology on Wall Street. It’s a shocking thing to say about the Cambridge, MA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]), considered to be a leader in RNA interference technology. This, after all, is a hot field … Continue reading “Alnylam CEO John Maraganore On Corporate Near-Termism, and Restoring Faith in RNAi”
dijipop Secures $2,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e4c13a5e-a0e0-4d4e-8bfb-0505b60c3f53&Preview=1 Date 12/6/2010 Company Name dijipop Mailing Address 206 Waterman St. Providence, RI 02906 Company Description We are a platform and sales solution that targets shoppers at the point-of-purchase. We connect brand marketing dollars with digital shelf space resulting in new revenue for retailers and higher sales for brands. Website http://www.dijipop.com Transaction … Continue reading “dijipop Secures $2,000,000 New Financing”
Seattle Genetics, Millennium Report Groundbreaking Results With Drug for Hodgkin’s
Seattle Genetics is reporting today on a batch of clinical trial results that represent a watershed moment for the company, its technology for creating “empowered antibodies” against cancer, and which could provide a new source of hope for patients with Hodgkin’s disease. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) and its partner, Cambridge, MA-based Millennium: The Takeda Oncology … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics, Millennium Report Groundbreaking Results With Drug for Hodgkin’s”
Get Radical, Practically—And Before Almost Everybody Else, With Special Ticket Offer for Xconomy’s 5X5 Forum
How do successful innovators define new industries and transform existing ones? How do successful companies maintain their dominance when conditions get tougher? The key, argues Fast Company co-founder William C. Taylor, is change. Of course, mastering change is no small feat. “The work of deep-seated, sustainable change remains the hardest work there is,” writes Taylor. … Continue reading “Get Radical, Practically—And Before Almost Everybody Else, With Special Ticket Offer for Xconomy’s 5X5 Forum”
The Xconomy 2010 Gadget Gift Guide
If the people on your holiday gift lists have asked for clothes, sports equipment, beauty products, or fancy food, I can’t help you. But I do know electronics, and this week I want to point you toward a few of the products that I think are among the most enticing on the market this year. … Continue reading “The Xconomy 2010 Gadget Gift Guide”
Punchbowl Throws a Punch, Checking In Is Out, TechStars Boston Changes Guard—Some Tech Tidbits
Another busy week in Boston-area tech news. Here are a few items I didn’t have a chance to properly digest yet: —Startup wars: Punchbowl founder and CEO Matt Douglas stirred the pot a little with a blog post calling out SCVNGR founder Seth Priebatsch for what Douglas considers his self-promotional bravado and unhealthy work-life balance, … Continue reading “Punchbowl Throws a Punch, Checking In Is Out, TechStars Boston Changes Guard—Some Tech Tidbits”
SmartCells CEO Reflects on Strategy Leading to $500M Exit with Merck
Beverly, MA-based SmartCells has kept a relatively low profile since it was founded seven years ago, quietly working on a potential blockbuster drug for diabetes with technology from MIT. But yesterday the drug giant Merck (NASDAQ:[[ticker:MRK]]) made headlines with its plans to buy the biotech startup for upfront and potential milestone payments of more than … Continue reading “SmartCells CEO Reflects on Strategy Leading to $500M Exit with Merck”
Aveo Gets Money from OSI, Merck Buys SmartCells, Glaxo Cancels Resveratrol Drug Trial, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
This week we took an in-depth look at several New England area biotechs, and saw some interesting developments from bigger drugmakers. —I checked in with Holden, MA-based Hygeia Therapeutics, a startup developing topically delivered synthetic hormone treatments, using technology licensed from Yale University. The biotech has gathered pre-clinical data on a synthetic estrogen product for … Continue reading “Aveo Gets Money from OSI, Merck Buys SmartCells, Glaxo Cancels Resveratrol Drug Trial, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
GnuBio Garners $3,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=02dc69f5-54e9-4871-a97b-522204843ba3&Preview=1 Date 12/3/2010 Company Name GnuBio Mailing Address 35 Twin Diamond Dr. Bridgewater, MA 02324 Company Description The company is a spin out from Harvard University and aims to become the eBay of biomarkers. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not … Continue reading “GnuBio Garners $3,000,000 New Financing”
Terrafugia, Aurora Flight Sciences, Metis Design Take Wing in $65M DARPA Program to Design Flying Humvee
OK, a flying Humvee doesn’t sound like a very green vehicle—but the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency isn’t interested in green. DARPA is interested in improving the safety and lethality of U.S. troops in dangerous environments. And it is willing to pay handsomely for it—to the tune of a five-year, $65 million research program … Continue reading “Terrafugia, Aurora Flight Sciences, Metis Design Take Wing in $65M DARPA Program to Design Flying Humvee”
MassTLC Mobility Summit: Ubiquitous Connectivity – The Impact of Mobile
Mobile carriers, technology developers, users, and advisors will gather for this half-day summit, hosted by the Mass. Technology Leadership Council. Check out demonstrations from 10 mobile technology startups. And come learn about how to develop mobile products to best reach consumers. Register here.
Sage Science Gets $2M
Sage Science, a Beverly, MA-based provider of genetic research tools, has raised $2 million in an equity funding round, according to an SEC filing. The filing does not name the investors in the financing. The firm’s systems are used for DNA sample preparation with next-generation sequencing platforms. Last month, the company announced its agreement to … Continue reading “Sage Science Gets $2M”