Category: Boston

Google’s Rich Miner Says Timing Is Everything for Android: Three Thoughts from Mobile Monday

Rich Miner was no Billie Joe Armstrong. But I can’t say I’m too sad to have missed Green Day’s concert at Great Woods (Comcast Center) to attend Mobile Monday at Google in Kendall Square last night. OK, maybe I can. But I did pull out a few interesting nuggets from the presentations and demos, which … Continue reading “Google’s Rich Miner Says Timing Is Everything for Android: Three Thoughts from Mobile Monday”

Susan Windham-Bannister on the State of the State’s $1B Life Sciences Initiative, Part I

It’s been more than two years since Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed the bill for the state’s plan to invest $1 billion in its life sciences sector over a 10-year period. Susan Windham-Bannister, who started work as chief executive of the quasi-public Massachusetts Life Sciences Center around the time the bill was signed, has since … Continue reading “Susan Windham-Bannister on the State of the State’s $1B Life Sciences Initiative, Part I”

Next Step Living Gets $2.6M Series B, Steps Out Into Green Retrofitting and Remodeling Sector

Boston-based energy efficiency startup Next Step Living announced it has pulled in $2.6 million in a first close of its Series B financing round, led by entrepreneur John McQuillan, who is president and CEO of environmental consulting firm Triumvirate Environmental. Existing investors Black Coral Capital and the Clean Energy Venture Group also participated in the … Continue reading “Next Step Living Gets $2.6M Series B, Steps Out Into Green Retrofitting and Remodeling Sector”

Next Step Living Secures $2,600,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7f066d09-3317-4d83-9324-1d627068c5b8&Preview=1 Date 8/17/2010 Company Name Next Step Living Mailing Address Undisclosed Boston, MA 02140 Company Description Next Step Living is a residential energy efficiency company, providing home energy diagnostics and improvements to the greater New England area. We are a socially-conscious, environmentally focused, results-driven organization dedicated to helping our customers lower their … Continue reading “Next Step Living Secures $2,600,000 Series A Round”

Precyse Technologies Receives $9,500,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3e6b93be-277a-4cdf-a91b-8a471930b5c1&Preview=1 Date 8/17/2010 Company Name Precyse Technologies Mailing Address 1700 E. Putnam Ave. Old Greenwich, CT 06870 Company Description Precyse is driving the global adoption of asset networks and the Internet of Things with a new breed of wireless asset network solutions that are intelligent, reliable and secure. The Precyse asset networks … Continue reading “Precyse Technologies Receives $9,500,000 New Financing”

Zynga Game Network Acquires Conduit Labs for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7d80c2aa-0d85-488f-9064-0508b3a7efbb&Preview=1 Date 8/17/2010 Company Name Conduit Labs Mailing Address 614 Massachusetts Avenue 4th Floor Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description We’re building cool social entertainment destinations for you and your friends. We are bored of the same old social networks, virtual worlds, and MMOs. We’ve been doing this kind of thing for a … Continue reading “Zynga Game Network Acquires Conduit Labs for Undisclosed Sum”

Life Technologies Acquires Ion Torrent Systems for $725,000,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a0a3e75d-a72a-463e-9b48-0cd432af0540&Preview=1 Date 8/17/2010 Company Name Ion Torrent Systems Mailing Address 37 Soundview Road Guilford, CT 06437 Company Description Ion Torrent has pioneered an entirely new approach to sequencing that enables a direct connection between chemical and digital information. Ion Torrent™ technology doesn’t use light—it’s the first commercial PostLight™ sequencing technology. Website http://www.iontorrent.com … Continue reading “Life Technologies Acquires Ion Torrent Systems for $725,000,000”

Boston VCs Back Smooth-Stone

Three Boston-area venture capital firms have led a new $48 million financing round for Smooth-Stone, a chip startup based in Austin, TX. Battery Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, and Highland Capital Partners were joined in the investment deal by ARM, Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC), and Texas Instruments. The financing news was announced in a press … Continue reading “Boston VCs Back Smooth-Stone”

New CEO for NaviSite

Andover, MA-based NaviSite (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NAVI]]), a provider of IT services such as data hosting, announced today that its CEO Arthur Becker has stepped down and will be replaced by NaviSite president R. Brooks Borcherding. Becker will remain on the company’s board and Borcherding, who joined NaviSite in 2009 from Cisco Systems, will occupy both the … Continue reading “New CEO for NaviSite”

A123 Spinoff, 24M Technologies, Raises $10M to Develop Energy Storage Systems for Utilities, Electric Vehicles

There’s a new cleantech player in town. As we and other media outlets reported last week, Watertown, MA-based A123Systems (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AONE]]) has spun out a new company called 24M Technologies, which is developing a new kind of energy storage system that combines aspects of lithium-ion and flow battery technologies. The company announced today it has … Continue reading “A123 Spinoff, 24M Technologies, Raises $10M to Develop Energy Storage Systems for Utilities, Electric Vehicles”

Lycos Bought for $36M

Lycos, a Waltham, MA-based maker of online search and media tools, was bought for $36 million by Ybrant Digital, the companies announced today. Ybrant, a digital marketing company headquartered in India, purchased Lycos from Daum Communications, a Korea-based company that in 2009 reorganized Lycos, which had been one of the most trafficked and most profitable … Continue reading “Lycos Bought for $36M”

Former Solvay Pharma Chief Takes Lead Role at Startup Selecta Biosciences

A former pharmaceutical chief has taken the top job at Watertown, MA-based biotech startup Selecta Biosciences, a developer of nanoparticle vaccine technology. Werner Cautreels began work as chief executive of the startup in recent weeks, just months after leading one of the larger acquisition deals in the pharma industry this year. At the same time, … Continue reading “Former Solvay Pharma Chief Takes Lead Role at Startup Selecta Biosciences”

Ayeah Games, With New Seed Capital in Hand, Looks to Create “Social Reality” Games

When it comes to social games, there isn’t all that much going on around Boston—at least compared to places like the San Francisco Bay Area, Germany and Eastern Europe, or Buenos Aires. But that might be about to change. Ayeah Games, a stealthy Boston startup, is working on what it calls a “social reality” game, … Continue reading “Ayeah Games, With New Seed Capital in Hand, Looks to Create “Social Reality” Games”

Ayeah Games Receives New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=dfbc12ac-bd2c-4c0a-ab12-013bc79a5c8c&Preview=1 Date 8/16/2010 Company Name Ayeah Games Mailing Address Undisclosed Boston, MA 02109 Company Description Ayeah Games was founded on the idea that social games should be highly graphical, very social and very entertaining. Website http://www.ayeahgames.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not … Continue reading “Ayeah Games Receives New Funding”

24M Technologies Secures $10,000,000 Series A Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=36592bc1-e33a-4820-944e-704df85450c7&Preview=1 Date 8/16/2010 Company Name 24M Technologies Mailing Address Undisclosed Boston, MA 02109 Company Description 24M will commercialize a novel technology that originated with A123 and was further developed at MIT. This technological advance combines attributes of rechargeable batteries, fuel cells, and flow batteries to enable scalable cost-effective, high-energy storage systems for … Continue reading “24M Technologies Secures $10,000,000 Series A Funding”

Shape Up The Nation Lands $5,000,000 Series A Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=99034607-eac6-4849-b3af-97cea21cf888&Preview=1 Date 8/16/2010 Company Name Shape Up The Nation Mailing Address 111 Chestnut St. Providence, RI 02903 Company Description Shape Up The Nation is the first wellness company focused on leveraging the power of trusted social networks to promote healthy living. Website http://www.shapeupthenation.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,000,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “Shape Up The Nation Lands $5,000,000 Series A Funding Round”

Avantra Biosciences Garners $7,008,402 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=24770aa0-820e-4536-be28-0e030c412e1b&Preview=1 Date 8/16/2010 Company Name Avantra Biosciences Mailing Address 12 Gill Street Woburn, MA 01801 Company Description Avantra Biosciences, formerly Decision Biomarkers has pioneered the development of the next-generation technology for protein biomarker analysis.ABS designed an integrated system of hardware, software and biology, enabling scientists and clinicians not specialized in immunoassays to … Continue reading “Avantra Biosciences Garners $7,008,402 New Funding Round”

Are Casual Games Dead? Viximo and Z2Live Founders Weigh In Coast-to-Coast on Social Gaming Movement

There’s a little East Coast-West Coast brouhaha going on in the world of video games. I just spent a couple years in one of the casual gaming (and core gaming) epicenters of the world—Seattle. Little did I know the city might be becoming a graveyard of companies stuck in the past. At least, that could … Continue reading “Are Casual Games Dead? Viximo and Z2Live Founders Weigh In Coast-to-Coast on Social Gaming Movement”

IBM Buys Unica for $480M, Moves Deeper Into Marketing and E-Commerce

It’s one of New England’s biggest tech acquisitions of the year. Waltham, MA-based Unica Corporation (NASDAQ: [[ticker:UNCA]]) announced today it is being bought by IBM (NYSE: [[ticker:IBM]]) for about $480 million in cash. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010. Unica makes marketing and Web analytics software for big companies … Continue reading “IBM Buys Unica for $480M, Moves Deeper Into Marketing and E-Commerce”

Lighting Up the World’s Text: A Talk with Vook Founder Brad Inman

The San Francisco Bay Area is one of those places where the new is always coming up against the old, with strange and often delightful results. You’d think, for example, that anyone who has an iPad would want to show it off. But in the Potrero Hill neighborhood, not far from my office, there’s a … Continue reading “Lighting Up the World’s Text: A Talk with Vook Founder Brad Inman”

How to Avoid Common Pitfalls in Your Mobile Strategy

Mobile presents an enormous opportunity. Pick your supporting statistic—from 2013 as the tipping point for mobile to eclipse the desktop (comScore) to Gartner’s prediction that 2010 will see the mobile advertising market grow to $1.6 billion. However you want to look at it, mobile is an opportunity that can’t be missed. Unfortunately, mobile is also … Continue reading “How to Avoid Common Pitfalls in Your Mobile Strategy”

Report: Former Sirtris Execs Ordered to Stop Selling Resveratrol Dietary Supplement Online

[Updated: 12:03 pm Eastern] The former executives of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals have apparently gone off the resveratrol reservation. GlaxoSmithKline, the U.K.-based pharmaceutical giant, has ordered Christoph Westphal and Michelle Dipp to stop online sales of their dietary supplement version of resveratrol through their nonprofit venture, according to a report in TheStreet.com. Glaxo called for an end … Continue reading “Report: Former Sirtris Execs Ordered to Stop Selling Resveratrol Dietary Supplement Online”

Former Sirtris Execs Sell Resveratrol Via New Nonprofit, Dicerna Closes $25M Deal, ViThera Combats Gut Disease With Engineered Bacteria, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

[Updated 8/13/2010 9:30 EST. See below.] New England’s biotech and healthcare sector yielded a number of interesting stories this week. —Joanna Horobin, CEO of Syndax Pharmaceuticals, confirmed that the Waltham, MA-based cancer-drug developer has raised $6 million in a convertible debt financing round planned to total $7 million. The new funds will support a clinical … Continue reading “Former Sirtris Execs Sell Resveratrol Via New Nonprofit, Dicerna Closes $25M Deal, ViThera Combats Gut Disease With Engineered Bacteria, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

Highland Capital Leads $7.5 Million Series B Round for Group Payments Startup WePay

Lexington, MA-based Highland Capital Partners is the lead investor in a $7.5 million series B round for WePay, the group payments startup that emerged from the Mountain View, CA-based Y Combinator startup incubator last year. WePay co-founders Rich Aberman and Bill Clerico confirmed news of the funding round, which was first reported tonight by the … Continue reading “Highland Capital Leads $7.5 Million Series B Round for Group Payments Startup WePay”

Third Rock Ventures, Firm With Hunger for Audacious Biotech Ideas, Sets up SF Shop

Boston’s Third Rock Ventures, the relatively young firm with an appetite for investing in some of the most disruptive ideas in biotech, is opening up a new office in San Francisco’s Mission Bay district. Third Rock principal Jake Bauer is moving to San Francisco, and will be joined by another partner at the firm. The … Continue reading “Third Rock Ventures, Firm With Hunger for Audacious Biotech Ideas, Sets up SF Shop”

Mobile Monday: An Evening with Google and Android

Info and registration here. Join us for Mobile Monday at the Google offices in Cambridge. We’ll have short presentations by Rich Miner, Steve Vinter, and Adam Compain from the Google team, followed by demos by local app developers. Please note: Because of the limited space at this venue, we are restricting the number of tickets. … Continue reading “Mobile Monday: An Evening with Google and Android”

Mass Innovation Nights: Build and Perfect Your Pitch

Information and registration here. Communications! Everyone calls it a, many call it the, key to business success. Yet how well prepared are you to make your business case to your key audiences? • If you call your slides “The Presentation”, • If you think the presentation is about you or your company, If you sometimes … Continue reading “Mass Innovation Nights: Build and Perfect Your Pitch”

American Tower to Raise $700M for Acquisitions

Boston-based American Tower, an owner and operator of wireless towers and other communications sites, said today it plans to raise $700 million in a registered public offering of senior unsecured notes due September 2020. The company says the net proceeds of the sale, expected to be about $693.8 million, will be used to finance the … Continue reading “American Tower to Raise $700M for Acquisitions”

$2.5M for TransEngen

TransEngen, a Norwalk, CT-based provider of healthcare payment software, has raised $2.5 million in a round of equity financing, according to an SEC filing. Carlson Capital of Dallas, TX, is represented on the company’s board, according to its website. Company spokeswoman Alexa Krasnickas declined to comment on the funding round beyond saying that it included … Continue reading “$2.5M for TransEngen”

Former Sirtris Execs’ Nonprofit Starts Selling Resveratrol with Potential Anti-Aging Effects Online

[Updated and clarified. 8/12/10, 7:25 pm Eastern time. See below.] Cambridge, MA-based Sirtris Pharmaceuticals made international headlines over the past few years for developing drugs based on the anti-aging effects of the red wine chemical resveratrol. Now that the company has been part of London-based drug giant GlaxoSmithKline for more than two years, former Sirtris … Continue reading “Former Sirtris Execs’ Nonprofit Starts Selling Resveratrol with Potential Anti-Aging Effects Online”

TradeStone’s Software Helps Retailers Pump Out Product Lines More Rapidly, Looks to Help Add Consumers to the Design Process

Boston is well known for its cluster of companies developing software for computer-aided design (CAD), and managing the lifecycle of a particular product (PLM). But Sue Welch says there’s a need for companies managing the development of not just individual products, but entire lines of merchandise. That’s the hole she’s looked to fill with her … Continue reading “TradeStone’s Software Helps Retailers Pump Out Product Lines More Rapidly, Looks to Help Add Consumers to the Design Process”

Inside the Babson College Summer Venture Program—A Student’s Perspective

For 10 weeks this summer, I was a student participant in the Summer Venture Program (SVP) at Babson College. When I brought my company, Insite Motion Media, into the program, I was convinced I had a well-established, linear path to travel to continue building it successfully. What I found instead were many elements of my … Continue reading “Inside the Babson College Summer Venture Program—A Student’s Perspective”

Arbor Networks Acquisition Is a Tale of Two Cities—and a Strategic Move Into Wider World of Wireless

If Arbor Networks were a tree, its roots would be in Michigan. Its branches and leaves (and some of its caretakers) would be in Massachusetts. And its proud new owners would be in Texas and Washington, DC—with a lot to live up to. Earlier this week, Chelmsford, MA-based Arbor Networks, a maker of software for … Continue reading “Arbor Networks Acquisition Is a Tale of Two Cities—and a Strategic Move Into Wider World of Wireless”

TransEngin Obtains $2,500,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=38445122-0e4f-4472-9804-c08a8dc50e92&Preview=1 Date 8/12/2010 Company Name TransEngin Mailing Address 15 Oakwood Avenue 2nd Floor Norwalk, CT 06850 Company Description The TransEngen is a ground breaking, intelligent transaction-based platform. The unique capabilities of the TransEngen enable us to design, develop and execute innovative and compelling solutions that are responsive to the shifting needs of … Continue reading “TransEngin Obtains $2,500,000 New Financing Round”

Marginize, a TechStars Firm, Raises $650K to Show What People Are Saying About Websites

Score one for the social Web. Cambridge, MA-based Marginize, an Internet startup led by entrepreneur Ziad Sultan, has closed its first round of venture funding, worth $650,000, to pursue a rather intriguing idea. The company wants to create a parallel, “augmented” version of the Web that lets you see what everyone is saying about any … Continue reading “Marginize, a TechStars Firm, Raises $650K to Show What People Are Saying About Websites”

TechPicnic

Greenhorn Connect is billing this as a flashmob-style tech picnic for the Boston/Cambridge tech community. Flashy or not, it should be a good excuse to get together, enjoy a mid-August evening along the river, and meet some like-minded techies. The rain date is August 25. More details on the Greenhorn Connect listing.

A123Systems Spins Off New Battery Firm, Drops Out of Chrysler Deal, Posts Quarterly Loss

A123Systems’ $370 million IPO last September was the shot heard around the world—at least the alternative-energy world. I can personally attest to the fact that energy storage and electric vehicle companies from coast to coast were following the Watertown, MA-based battery maker’s performance very closely. Now they have some new things to chew on. Late … Continue reading “A123Systems Spins Off New Battery Firm, Drops Out of Chrysler Deal, Posts Quarterly Loss”

Stealthy Mercator, Founded by Biogen Idec Veterans, Raises $2M to Attack Cancer

[Updated, 8/12/10, 10:15 am Eastern time. See below] Mercator Therapeutics has emerged from stealth mode, but just a bit. The Wellesley, MA-based biotech startup has raised $2 million in seed funding from angel backers to gain a license to its technology and do early research in cancer, CEO Chris Guiffre told me this morning via … Continue reading “Stealthy Mercator, Founded by Biogen Idec Veterans, Raises $2M to Attack Cancer”

Dicerna Pharma Gets $25M Boost to Develop Next-Gen Gene Silencing Drugs

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals has replenished its war chest. The Watertown, MA-based developer of gene-silencing drugs has raised $25 million in its Series B round of financing to advance its research. It’s a touchdown for Doug Fambrough, who said he made closing this funding round his first major priority when he took over as the firm’s chief … Continue reading “Dicerna Pharma Gets $25M Boost to Develop Next-Gen Gene Silencing Drugs”

Kendall Square Wants an Entrepreneurial Walk of Fame—and So Should Every Innovation Hub

Local legends Matt Damon and Ben Affleck rose from the bowels of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (the high school’s drama department really is in the basement) to become international movie stars—and Damon was chosen three years ago to get a star along the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. But the business leaders who have … Continue reading “Kendall Square Wants an Entrepreneurial Walk of Fame—and So Should Every Innovation Hub”

Blue Cod and Viridity Bag $8M Apiece, Aprendica and Arbor Networks Acquired, & More Boston-Area Deals News

New England’s tech and life sciences firms had a busy week raising money and inking acquisition deals. So much for the summer slow-down! —Blue Cod Technologies announced it has raised $8 million in a follow-on financing led by General Electric Pension Trust. Edison Venture Fund, a previous investor in the Marlborough, MA-based provider of outsourcing … Continue reading “Blue Cod and Viridity Bag $8M Apiece, Aprendica and Arbor Networks Acquired, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Garners $25,000,000 Series B Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=00d5c047-0394-48cb-89fd-08f14c82ec83&Preview=1 Date 8/11/2010 Company Name Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address 480 Arsenal Street Building 1 Watertown, MA 02472 Company Description Dicerna Pharmaceuticals is a venture-backed startup developing novel therapeutics in multiple therapeutic areas based on Dicer substrate technology, which makes use of the RNA interference mechanism. Website http://www.dicerna.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Garners $25,000,000 Series B Funding”

TwinStrata Receives $500,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=11512241-96cd-42d8-9387-43ba896108d3&Preview=1 Date 8/11/2010 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 Receives $500,000 New Round”

Mercator Therapeutics Lands $2,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a36761dc-8835-409d-8b36-4be59992c28b&Preview=1 Date 8/11/2010 Company Name Mercator Therapeutics Mailing Address 22 Auburn Rd. Wellesley, MA 02481 Company Description The company is focused on early-stage cancer research. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Undisclosed M&A Terms Venture Investor Undisclosed

Urban Interactions Garners $455,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=82414735-adee-4484-827a-7f7d56a16ad7&Preview=1 Date 8/11/2010 Company Name Urban Interactions Mailing Address 1056 Cambridge St. Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description We specialize in learning about workers and matching them with the jobs that suit them best. Website http://www.urbaninteractions.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $455,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. … Continue reading “Urban Interactions Garners $455,000 New Financing”

Photos from the Xconomy H-O-R-S-E Tourney, and Our First Champion (*)

All in all, I’d say the first Xconomy H-O-R-S-E basketball tournament, held last Friday afternoon, was an unqualified success. Not for my Xconomy team (Xconomy I), which flamed out in the first round—some guy with the initials GH couldn’t buy a bucket—but rather for the couple dozen folks who showed up from the local startup … Continue reading “Photos from the Xconomy H-O-R-S-E Tourney, and Our First Champion (*)”

Zeo Gets $1M Debt Deal

Zeo, a Newton, MA-based provider of sleep coaching devices and software, has raised $1 million of a proposed $1.5 million round of debt financing, according to an SEC filing. The company, formerly known as Axon Labs, plans to use the funding for new product development, additional customer service, and operational expenses, Jason Donahue, the company’s … Continue reading “Zeo Gets $1M Debt Deal”