Category: Boston

New Tech Clusters, Energy Boom, and VC Survival: Some Early Themes to Watch

Every so often, we like to step back and take stock of the bigger innovation trends we’re seeing across our network of cities. Though I haven’t quite landed permanently in Boston yet (glad to miss those flash floods), a few themes have caught my eye that I want to explore in more depth. They have … Continue reading “New Tech Clusters, Energy Boom, and VC Survival: Some Early Themes to Watch”

Biofuels Reboot: Verenium Sells Cellulosic Biofuels Business to BP for $98M, Includes San Diego R&D Facilities

[[Updated: 2:15 pm, 7/15/10]] Looking to get out from under ongoing financial losses and focus on new growth opportunities, Cambridge, MA-based Verenium has struck a deal to sells its cellulosic biofuels business for $98.3 million in cash to BP, the energy giant at the center of the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. … Continue reading “Biofuels Reboot: Verenium Sells Cellulosic Biofuels Business to BP for $98M, Includes San Diego R&D Facilities”

Glaxo’s Tempero Pharma Advances on Hot Niche of Immunology

Hold onto your lab coats and safety goggles. Big drug companies and venture firms are engaging in a scientific land grab in the Boston area and beyond to gain rights to new discoveries about what are known as adaptive immune responses. They’re jockeying for the best technology and help from top brains at Harvard, MIT, … Continue reading “Glaxo’s Tempero Pharma Advances on Hot Niche of Immunology”

In Facebook Experiment, Microsoft Works to Deliver Shared Documents and Connect with Consumers Online

Quick, what’s the world’s most popular photo-sharing application? It’s not Photobucket or Flickr or Picasa. It’s Facebook, where users share billions of new photos every month. “The Facebook Photos application may or may not be the best, but it is the most popular, by an absurd factor,” notes Pat Kinsel. “More photos are uploaded to … Continue reading “In Facebook Experiment, Microsoft Works to Deliver Shared Documents and Connect with Consumers Online”

Location, Inc. Releases New Kind of Real Estate Reports, With Aims to Be the Carfax of Neighborhoods

Location, Inc., a provider of online real estate research tools, launched in 2002 with the intent to objectively measure which neighborhoods are the best fit for a particular customer, based on criteria such as school quality, crime rates, home appreciation values, and the prominence of upwardly mobile singles. The housing matchmaker service has been available … Continue reading “Location, Inc. Releases New Kind of Real Estate Reports, With Aims to Be the Carfax of Neighborhoods”

Crocodoc Raises Cash, Upgrades Web-based Document Review Service

Today, many documents are not only born digital, they’re also born social. Companies like Adobe, Microsoft, and Google provide online tools where documents of many different types can be collaboratively generated and edited. The problem is that online editing is still a fragmented affair: If you want to mark up an Adobe PDF document with … Continue reading “Crocodoc Raises Cash, Upgrades Web-based Document Review Service”

Bain Announces Virtual Innovation Center

Boston-based Bain Capital Ventures said today it has rolled out a new outreach and resource site for early-stage entrepreneurs. The Bain Capital Ventures Innovation Center is a virtual center geared toward helping startups do things like network, build their teams, get introductions to partners and service providers, find local events, and attend office hours with … Continue reading “Bain Announces Virtual Innovation Center”

Translational Science Grants Include Awards for San Diego, New England

A program to accelerate the transformation of biomedical discoveries into patient treatments has awarded $37.2 million to a consortium headed by UC San Diego Health Sciences and its Clinical and Translational Research Institute (CTRI). A $20 million grant also was awarded for a similar consortium in New England, headed by the University of Massachusetts Center … Continue reading “Translational Science Grants Include Awards for San Diego, New England”

The Name Game: Our Rebranding Poll Asks Readers to Weigh in On Recent Startup Name Changes

What’s in a name? Well, an awful lot, of course, and perhaps especially when it comes to companies and their brands. A good name evokes what the company does, and it is memorable—creating a virtuous cycle that reinforces the brand and leads to increased sales and other good things. I got thinking about this, specifically … Continue reading “The Name Game: Our Rebranding Poll Asks Readers to Weigh in On Recent Startup Name Changes”

XL Hybrids Ups Investment Round to $1.8M, Plans to Convert Commercial Vehicles to Hybrids

This is one of the stealthiest and most intriguing cleantech companies in New England. XL Hybrids, based in Somerville, MA, has just received $300,000 in investment from an undisclosed professional fund, which brings its total seed funding to just over $1.8 million. The company previously had raised a little more than $1.5 million in angel … Continue reading “XL Hybrids Ups Investment Round to $1.8M, Plans to Convert Commercial Vehicles to Hybrids”

Concert Pharma Riding Potential $1B Glaxo Deal, Looks Ahead to Human Data on HIV Drug

Concert Pharmaceuticals climbed the charts of the Boston area’s hottest biotechs last year when it revealed an incentive-laden deal with the drug giant GlaxoSmithKline potentially worth more than $1 billion. Roger Tung, the CEO of Concert, met with me last week at the biotech startup’s Lexington, MA, headquarters and talked about the work his firm … Continue reading “Concert Pharma Riding Potential $1B Glaxo Deal, Looks Ahead to Human Data on HIV Drug”

ThredUP Funded by New Micro VC Firm, Visterra Grabs $6M, Vivox Gets $2M From Peacock Equity, & More Boston-Area Deals News

It was another busy week with news of funding rounds for young startups, especially in the e-commerce and drug spaces. —Woburn, MA-based Bio2 Technologies sold $1.1 million of an equity offering that could total $2 million. The company is developing tissue-engineering scaffolds for applications in orthopedics, and has licensed its technology from Geo2 Technologies, another … Continue reading “ThredUP Funded by New Micro VC Firm, Visterra Grabs $6M, Vivox Gets $2M From Peacock Equity, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

EnterpriseDB Corporation Secures $7,500,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=008a1b97-5a51-4ebb-93db-5233fa61351a&Preview=1 Date 7/14/2010 Company Name EnterpriseDB Corporation 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 … Continue reading “EnterpriseDB Corporation Secures $7,500,000 New Funding Round”

XL Hybrids Receives $300,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3250a8f0-f162-44e7-931b-fb8c30a68316&Preview=1 Date 7/14/2010 Company Name XL Hybrids Mailing Address 47 Webster Avenue Somerville, MA 02143 Company Description Headquartered in Massachusetts, XL Hybrids provides hybrid vehicle solutions for commercial fleet owners. XL Hybrids delivers value to our customers by improving fleet fuel economy, reducing maintenance costs and significantly lowering emissions. Website http://www.xlhybrids.com Transaction … Continue reading “XL Hybrids Receives $300,000 New Round”

Metamark Genetics Lands $22,000,000 Series B Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5d00a945-fbbc-4a0b-9f27-fdeab64a4bef&Preview=1 Date 7/14/2010 Company Name Metamark Genetics Mailing Address Undisclosed Cambridge, MA 02138 Company Description Metamark is a privately held oncology company focused on the development of function-based prognostic assays for early staged cancers. The MetamarkDx Prognostic Assays under development are based on Metamark’s proprietary Prognosis Determinants, genes discovered through leading edge … Continue reading “Metamark Genetics Lands $22,000,000 Series B Financing”

Metamark Genetics Raises $22M to Find Genetic Signs of Tumor Progression

Metamark Genetics has new funding to find which tumors are deadly and poised to spread out of control. The startup, which is commercializing technology discovered at Harvard Medical School, said today it has closed a $22 million Series B round of financing. Its lead investor in the round has agreed to chip in an additional … Continue reading “Metamark Genetics Raises $22M to Find Genetic Signs of Tumor Progression”

General Electric, Venture Firms Unveil $200M Investment and Prize Program to Promote Smart Grid Technologies

At a glitz-filled press event in San Francisco’s financial district today, General Electric announced an “innovation challenge” designed to promote smarter, more efficient electric grid technologies. It pledged to invest $200 million in proposals from entrants in three areas—renewable energy, smart grid technologies, and “eco homes/eco buildings”—and said it would collaborate on the program with … Continue reading “General Electric, Venture Firms Unveil $200M Investment and Prize Program to Promote Smart Grid Technologies”

Voice Chat Firm Vivox Lands $2M from Peacock Equity

Vivox, the Natick, MA-based voice software startup, said today it has received a $2 million equity investment from Peacock Equity, a fund that is run jointly by GE Capital’s Media, Communications & Entertainment business and NBC Universal. The company says the money will be used to fuel its growth, expand into new markets, and enhance … Continue reading “Voice Chat Firm Vivox Lands $2M from Peacock Equity”

Aprigo, Incubated by Cedar Fund, Leads Charge in Data Security and Storage for Google Docs

With more companies putting more of their data and services in the Internet cloud, someone has to help them manage all those bits in an efficient and controllable way. Now a Waltham, MA, startup called Aprigo is trying to position itself as the leader when it comes to important challenges in data security and storage. … Continue reading “Aprigo, Incubated by Cedar Fund, Leads Charge in Data Security and Storage for Google Docs”

How Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics Turned Around the Ship it Got From Chiron

Matthew Stober had a dramatic story to tell when he came through San Diego to speak to pharma manufacturing executives at last month’s annual Vaccine Production Summit. As the global head of technical operations for Cambridge, MA-based Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics, Stober was closely involved in the corporate turnaround that enabled Novartis to ship more … Continue reading “How Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics Turned Around the Ship it Got From Chiron”

A Newly Candid FDA on the Future Of Medical Device Regulation

We all know the Food and Drug Administration is one of the most important entities for those who develop drugs and medical devices, but for the public, and even many of the people in industry, it remains a notoriously mysterious organization. So I was very excited about the opportunity to have an in-depth phone conversation … Continue reading “A Newly Candid FDA on the Future Of Medical Device Regulation”

Vivox Garners $2,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=87e61f4f-b673-4037-8f22-482dc6e9edcc&Preview=1 Date 7/13/2010 Company Name Vivox Mailing Address 2 Mercer Rd Natick, MA 01760 Company Description Vivox managed services generate natural and engaging online interactions that reflect the intelligence, power and nuance of the physical world. Website http://www.vivox.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The company … Continue reading “Vivox Garners $2,000,000 New Funding”

MTLC Seminar: The Mobile Data Deluge: What it Means for Users, Apps, Carriers, and the Future of Wireless

As data is surpassing voice communications when it comes to mobile network activity, this seminar explores how consumers, device makers, and application developers can expect to adjust. A team of experts in the mobile and networking industries—representing firms such as Cisco Systems, Where.Com, Castile Ventures, and AT&T—will discuss how the shifts may affect the mobile … Continue reading “MTLC Seminar: The Mobile Data Deluge: What it Means for Users, Apps, Carriers, and the Future of Wireless”

Visterra, Previously Parasol, Expands with $6M

Visterra, a Cambridge, MA-based developer of therapies and diagnostics for flu and other viruses, has raised a $6 million round of venture funding from Flagship Ventures, Lux Capital, and Polaris Venture Partners. The news was reported earlier by PE Hub and Mass High Tech. Visterra, formerly called Parasol Therapeutics, was spun out of the MIT … Continue reading “Visterra, Previously Parasol, Expands with $6M”

Backupify Moves to Boston, Shifts Focus to Help Businesses Manage Google Apps Data

This is the story of a little tech startup that recently has relocated to Boston. The company started in late 2008 by focusing on a consumer problem: helping people back up their e-mail and social media data from Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and so on. Now it has adjusted its strategy to sell the technology to … Continue reading “Backupify Moves to Boston, Shifts Focus to Help Businesses Manage Google Apps Data”

Gtrot, Looking to Create Social Travel Guides, Better Maps Friends’ Globetrotting Plans

While on his college spring break in Cancun in 2009, Zachary Smith ran into about a dozen other friends he didn’t know would be there. “The ability to coordinate that ahead of time would have really enriched my travel experience,” says Smith, who graduated from Harvard University last year. That experience provided the inspiration for … Continue reading “Gtrot, Looking to Create Social Travel Guides, Better Maps Friends’ Globetrotting Plans”

After the Meltdown: Synta Pharma CEO Trumpets New Top Cancer Drug

Synta Pharmaceuticals has been climbing back from one of the Boston area’s highest-profile clinical trial failures of 2009. And a big part of the Lexington, MA-based company’s recovery has been to learn from the failure and advance other drug candidates in its pipeline. After Synta (NASDAQ:[[ticker:SNTA]]) halted its pivotal trial of the drug elesclomol for … Continue reading “After the Meltdown: Synta Pharma CEO Trumpets New Top Cancer Drug”

NuOrtho Surgical Obtains $250,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f0decfba-f432-4be4-ae75-ffe6a6c16350&Preview=1 Date 7/12/2010 Company Name NuOrtho Surgical Mailing Address 151 Martine Street Fall River, MA 02723 Company Description We are creating an exciting and dynamic team to deliver our technology platform of Tissue Preservation to physicians for their patients. Our effort is the culmination of the combined vision and work of patients, … Continue reading “NuOrtho Surgical Obtains $250,000 New Financing Round”

Sex, Power, and Money: Dave McClure Tells Web Startups to Tap Into Consumers’ ‘Reptilian Psyche’

Dave McClure is a dynamic guy. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak to a small audience of tech startup founders in Seattle earlier this week. His impassioned message to entrepreneurs was, first of all, to take risks and be ambitious, and second, to build something that people really, really care about. That sounds … Continue reading “Sex, Power, and Money: Dave McClure Tells Web Startups to Tap Into Consumers’ ‘Reptilian Psyche’”

Adventures in YouTube-Land: The Making of “World Wide Wade Goes West”

It’s one of the cardinal rules of startup life: stick to your knitting. Don’t get distracted by all the cool things you could do, at the expense of the thing you already do well. At Xconomy, we’ve followed that rule pretty well: We’re journalists who write about technology and entrepreneurship for a living, and we … Continue reading “Adventures in YouTube-Land: The Making of “World Wide Wade Goes West””

The Role the State of Massachusetts Should Play in Cleantech

Governor Deval Patrick had good intentions of wanting to grow the cleantech space when Ian Bowles consolidated all of the available money the state had slated for solar initiatives into a new group called the Clean Energy Center (CEC). This group essentially places bets on which startups will make it big and then provides them … Continue reading “The Role the State of Massachusetts Should Play in Cleantech”

Novartis Test Drives Biotech Startup Adimab’s Drug Discovery Engine

Lebanon, NH-based biotech startup Adimab has grown the ranks of its Big Pharma collaborators, which are coveted for their deep pockets and other resources they bring to smaller firms. Swiss drug giant Novartis has inked a research agreement with Adimab to access the startup’s synthetic immune system of sorts that churns out potential antibody drugs. … Continue reading “Novartis Test Drives Biotech Startup Adimab’s Drug Discovery Engine”

AlloCure Arrives in New England, Merck Shutters Cambridge Research Site, Infinity Cuts Deal With Intellikine, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

It was a shorter week, but we had a heavy volume of headlines on acquisitions, partnerships, job cuts, and company strategies for New England-area biotech names. —Cambridge’s Alnara Pharmaceuticals kicked off the holiday weekend last Friday with news that it been acquired by Indianapolis-based pharma giant Eli Lilly. The companies didn’t disclose the purchase price … Continue reading “AlloCure Arrives in New England, Merck Shutters Cambridge Research Site, Infinity Cuts Deal With Intellikine, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

Azuki Systems Receives $3,000,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8c3f0521-64d0-4a98-8fd9-ca83a2dd40d3&Preview=1 Date 7/9/2010 Company Name Azuki Systems Mailing Address 43 Nagog Park Acton, MA 01720 Company Description Leveraging the growing proliferation of digitized content, Web 2.0 enabled services and new wireless technologies, Azuki is leading the charge into a new era of mobile innovation and user experiences. We are changing the way … Continue reading “Azuki Systems Receives $3,000,000 Series A Round”

Visterra Lands $6,000,000 Series A Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5cf6a9aa-03a8-453b-ae4c-586311b2b7c5&Preview=1 Date 7/9/2010 Company Name Visterra Mailing Address 76 Rogers Street Cambridge, MA 02142 Company Description Visterra, Inc. is dedicated to the discovery and development of innovative products for the prevention, treatment and diagnosis of infectious diseases. The Company focuses on technologies that can interrogate how pathogens interact with human cells, a … Continue reading “Visterra Lands $6,000,000 Series A Financing”

Merck to Close Kendall Site

Merck (NYSE: [[ticker:MRK]]) announced plans to shutter its research site in Cambridge, MA’s Kendall Square neighborhood alongside seven other research facilities worldwide over the next two years. It will also phase out another eight manufacturing sites, as part a restructuring plan that follows its November 2009 merger with Schering-Plough. Some of the Kendall Square research … Continue reading “Merck to Close Kendall Site”

Innovating Where Banks Won’t: Talking with Rich Aberman About WePay’s Vision for Group Payments

It’s too bad the economic collapse of 2008-2009 gave “financial innovation” a bad name, because the online banking and payments sector could actually use a lot more of it. When’s the last time your bank’s website surprised you with a cool new feature or service? For that matter, when’s the last time PayPal rolled out … Continue reading “Innovating Where Banks Won’t: Talking with Rich Aberman About WePay’s Vision for Group Payments”

Infinity Pharma, Intellikine Strike Deal to Make Cancer Drugs Against Hot Target

Cambridge, MA-based Infinity Pharmaceuticals seeks to stay on the leading edge of cancer research, and today it has found something it likes in San Diego. Infinity (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INFI]]) has struck a global development and commercialization deal with San Diego-based Intellikine to pursue drugs aimed at one of the emerging hot targets in  biology of cancer … Continue reading “Infinity Pharma, Intellikine Strike Deal to Make Cancer Drugs Against Hot Target”

Cambridge Semantics, Looking to Put Microsoft Excel “On Steroids,” Brings Intelligent Data Sorting to Non-Techies

Semantic technology—a broad term in the software industry for adding meaning to pieces of information so they can more efficiently interact with each other—is seen as a useful vehicle for helping businesses sort through data relevant to their everyday operations. The problem is, IT guys are typically those who have the most access to and … Continue reading “Cambridge Semantics, Looking to Put Microsoft Excel “On Steroids,” Brings Intelligent Data Sorting to Non-Techies”

Gail Maderis, the Boston Biotech Exec Who Came Home to SF, Seeks to Give Back at BayBio

Gail Maderis built a career as a biotech executive in Boston, where she got involved early enough to help shape the rules of the industry that companies live under today. But after more than two decades in New England, Maderis has become one of the key players in the San Francisco Bay Area, the place … Continue reading “Gail Maderis, the Boston Biotech Exec Who Came Home to SF, Seeks to Give Back at BayBio”

Alnara Pharma Used “Flexible” Strategy on Road to Eli Lilly Deal

Cambridge, MA-based Alnara Pharmaceuticals made headlines before Fourth of July weekend when the drug giant Eli Lilly agreed to buy the startup and its late-stage drug for pancreatic insufficiency for an undisclosed sum. But what might have been lost in all the hoopla about the deal was that there are only 21 full-time employees at … Continue reading “Alnara Pharma Used “Flexible” Strategy on Road to Eli Lilly Deal”

Mall Networks Lands $6.6M More to Push Online Shopping and Rewards Platform

Online shopping—and rewards programs in particular—seem to be on the rise. Mall Networks, a promoter of online customer loyalty programs, has closed a new $6.6 million round of venture funding, according to a regulatory filing with the SEC. Attempts to reach the company, which is headquartered in Lexington, MA, and has an office in Silicon … Continue reading “Mall Networks Lands $6.6M More to Push Online Shopping and Rewards Platform”