[Editor’s Note: Chris Sheehan is a managing director of CommonAngels, which is an investor in Xconomy. This post also appears on Sheehan’s blog.] I was recently asked by a couple of early stage entrepreneurs to talk about angel investing in Boston. The angel market around town has always been fairly active and cuts across many … Continue reading “The Boston Angel Market”
Category: Boston
$12M Series D for Brightcove
Brightcove, the Cambridge, MA-based online video hosting company, has pulled in a $12 million Series D funding round, led by Accel Partners and General Catalyst Partners, the company confirmed in its corporate blog today. Existing Brightcove investors, including AOL, Hearst, AllianceBernstein, Maverick Capital, and Brookside Capital, participated in the financing round, which will go toward new … Continue reading “$12M Series D for Brightcove”
The Apple iPad: Lightning Strikes Cupertino Again
How do you sell 300,000 of anything on the first day it’s in stores? By convincing people that it’s going to be even cooler than the last incredible thing you built. Steve Jobs and his crew pulled that off with the iPad, which has been breaking the sales records set by the iPhone in 2007. … Continue reading “The Apple iPad: Lightning Strikes Cupertino Again”
Vitality’s Internet-Connected GlowCap Targets Behavior Change to Remind You to Stay on Meds
Some people feel guilty when evading their doctor’s recommendations; others need a logical reason to follow an instruction. Cambridge, MA-based Vitality tries to factor in these differences in motivations and psychological makeup to spur patients toward a common goal: to make sure they take their medications as prescribed. On its most basic level, Vitality’s GlowCap … Continue reading “Vitality’s Internet-Connected GlowCap Targets Behavior Change to Remind You to Stay on Meds”
Brighter Planet, Founded in Vermont, Sees Brighter Future in Bay Area
It’s another win for the Bay Area’s formidable social networking cluster. Brighter Planet, a provider of online and offline products that aim to help people and businesses reduce their carbon footprints, is downsizing its Vermont offices and expanding in San Francisco, company CEO Pattie Prairie says. The startup, which was formed by students and a … Continue reading “Brighter Planet, Founded in Vermont, Sees Brighter Future in Bay Area”
Yankee Group Obtains $10,000,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=072b66d3-6107-4395-a1d5-25de67fe7815&Preview=1 Date 4/6/2010 Company Name Yankee Group Mailing Address One Liberty Square 7th Floor Boston, MA 02109-4868 Company Description Yankee Group predicts demand for connectivity will create an Anywhere Economy of close to U.S.$1 trillion by 2013. These funds represent revenue associated with building and powering the Anywhere Network, and value created … Continue reading “Yankee Group Obtains $10,000,000 New Funding”
Recruiting.com Sells Jobster Business to Zapoint
[Updated 4/6/10, 7:05 pm. See below.] Seattle-based Recruiting.com has sold its Jobster business to Boston-area-based talent management firm Zapoint for an undisclosed sum. I confirmed the acquisition this afternoon with Kate Gerber, director of sales and marketing for Recruiting.com, formerly called Jobster, which makes online software for recruiters and search tools for job seekers. The … Continue reading “Recruiting.com Sells Jobster Business to Zapoint”
Another $8M for Dyax in Stock Deal
Dyax (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DYAX]]), a Cambridge, MA-based developer of a drug for an inflammatory disease, has raised $59.6 million in a stock deal. Last month the company raised $51.8 million through the sale of 17 million shares at $3.25 per share, and raised an additional $8 million when underwriter Jefferies & Company exercised its over-allotment option … Continue reading “Another $8M for Dyax in Stock Deal”
Polaris Ventures Doubling Capacity at Dogpatch Labs in Cambridge
Polaris Venture Partners of Waltham, MA, opened its first Dogpatch Labs startup incubator space in San Francisco in late 2007. A Cambridge, MA, version opened last September, followed by a New York edition in December, and together the three locations are now home to about 100 entrepreneurs, according to Polaris general partner David Barrett. But … Continue reading “Polaris Ventures Doubling Capacity at Dogpatch Labs in Cambridge”
$2M, New CEO for Crimson Hexagon
Cambridge, MA-based Crimson Hexagon, a 2007 Harvard spinoff specializing in brand reputation monitoring on the Web and social media, announced today that it has completed a $2 million Series A-2 funding round, and appointed a new CEO, Scott Centurino. The funding came from Golden Seeds, Beacon Angels, New York Angels, CT Angel Investor Forum and … Continue reading “$2M, New CEO for Crimson Hexagon”
Apperian Readying “Enterprise App Store” for iPhones and iPads
In the 15 months since its launch, Boston-based Apperian has won a reputation as a leading creator of sophisticated business-to-consumer iPhone apps such as Timberland Expedition, Intuit’s TurboTax TaxCaster, and American Greetings’ e-card app. But the startup didn’t set out to be just another mobile app studio: the real vision of founder and CEO Chuck … Continue reading “Apperian Readying “Enterprise App Store” for iPhones and iPads”
Selecta Biosciences, a Bob Langer Creation, Raises $15M For Nanoparticle Vaccines
Boston’s prolific bioengineering professor, Bob Langer, is at it again. Selecta Biosciences, the Watertown, MA-based vaccine developer with ties to the Langer lab at MIT, has raised another $15 million in venture capital to make nanoparticles that it says are the key ingredients in a new generation of more effective vaccines. Selecta collected the cash, … Continue reading “Selecta Biosciences, a Bob Langer Creation, Raises $15M For Nanoparticle Vaccines”
Where Bytes, Bio, and Healthcare Converge: Introducing Xconomy’s Health IT News Channel
We’re not much in favor of rigidly categorizing news by industry here at Xconomy, in part because we follow exciting companies that often transcend conventional definitions of what is a software, energy, or biotechnology business. But we do try our best to deliver breaking news and in-depth coverage to communities of readers, and one such … Continue reading “Where Bytes, Bio, and Healthcare Converge: Introducing Xconomy’s Health IT News Channel”
Selecta Biosciences Secures $15,000,000 Series C Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4453f921-a4fb-4392-9cb3-060c55122763&Preview=1 Date 4/5/2010 Company Name Selecta Biosciences Mailing Address 480 Arsenal St. Building One Watertown, MA 02472 Company Description The company provides unspecified biotechnologies. Website http://www.selectabio.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $15,000,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes All this cash means that Selecta now has enough money to run through … Continue reading “Selecta Biosciences Secures $15,000,000 Series C Funding”
Crimson Hexagon Obtains $2,000,000 Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=151bfd26-9421-4781-89d3-3407ad9e8d24&Preview=1 Date 4/5/2010 Company Name Crimson Hexagon Mailing Address 130 Bishop Allen Drive Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description The company is developing semantic-search software. Website http://www.crimsonhexagon.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Beacon Angels Venture Investor … Continue reading “Crimson Hexagon Obtains $2,000,000 Series A Round”
Brightcove Receives $12,000,000 Series D Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2137a547-287b-4af2-b892-8c2122155815&Preview=1 Date 4/5/2010 Company Name Brightcove Mailing Address One Cambridge Center Cambridge, MA 02142 Company Description Brightcove is an Internet TV service. We’re dedicated to harnessing the inherent power of the Internet to transform the distribution and consumption of media. Website http://www.brightcove.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $12,000,000 Transaction Round Series … Continue reading “Brightcove Receives $12,000,000 Series D Financing”
My Victorious Apple Store Experience, and a Glimpse at Boston’s First iPad MPG
I’ve returned home victorious after my morning adventure at the Apple Store in Boston’s Back Bay. As I write this, my new iPad is synching with iTunes–a process that takes some time, if you have a lot of apps, music, and photos that you want to transfer over to your iPad. So I haven’t yet … Continue reading “My Victorious Apple Store Experience, and a Glimpse at Boston’s First iPad MPG”
Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Cloud: How Cloud Services Power New Company Innovation and Growth
Here’s the latest in a string of springtime cloud computing-focused events. This event showcases young companies that are built on cloud services, and highlights how other entrepreneurs can use the cloud to successfully deliver their technologies. You can register online for this one.
State of the Cloud Executive Conference
This conference aims to educate top-level executives on where and how cloud computing could play a part in their companies. Industry experts will explore the business potential in migrating to the cloud, the cost in converting, and how it all affects company workflow. Register here.
$2.9M for Brightleaf
Westwood, MA-based Brightleaf, a provider of software for assembling and managing legal documents, has pulled in $2.9 million of a planned $3 million round of equity funding, according to an SEC filing. Foundry Group, a returning investor, led the round, Brightleaf VP of strategy Luke O’Brien said. The company had already raised $3 million in … Continue reading “$2.9M for Brightleaf”
R&D IT Best Practices for Growing Small & Mid-Sized Biopharmas
Calling growing biotech companies: learn how to shift the information technology behind your operation’s research and development machine. Industry leaders will speak on the shift from ad-hoc, spreadsheet-focused systems to larger enterprise platforms. Members from Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Biorelix, and Archemix will present at this roundtable discussion, put on by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council. Sign … Continue reading “R&D IT Best Practices for Growing Small & Mid-Sized Biopharmas”
RoboTuesday: Hiring Here
This networking event unites executives of fast-growing, local robotics companies with students looking to live and work in Massachusetts. Some of the featured companies include iRobot, QinetiQ North America, and North End Technologies. Sign up for the event here.
How Secure is the Cloud?
Executives from cloud computing-based companies such as CloudSwitch and OfficeDrop will explore the security in cloud computing at this event, hosted by SYSTEM@TIC & Hubtech21. Sign up for the free panel and networking event here.
New England Semiconductor Networking
This event brings together members of semiconductor companies in New England for networking and refreshments. Norm Armour, a VP at semiconductor company GLOBALFOUNDRIES, will be speaking. The event is free, but be sure to sign up on this Linkedin page.
Revolutionary or Evolutionary? The Results from Xconomy’s iPad Survey
More newsprint and pixels have been sacrificed to iPad punditry than to any other tech subject in recent memory. I’m responsible for a good deal of the carnage myself (here, here, here, and here). With the device finally hitting stores tomorrow, though, there was no way my column today would be about anything else. The … Continue reading “Revolutionary or Evolutionary? The Results from Xconomy’s iPad Survey”
Avila Gets Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Funding, Dicerna Unites with Ipsen, Rhythmia to Test Heart Mapping Technology, Amag Licenses to Takeda, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
Looks like the region’s massive flooding didn’t get in the way of everything this week. We saw lots of headlines of partnerships for area drugmakers. —Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, a Watertown, MA, developer of drugs designed to silence disease-related genes using RNA interference, announced its second big partnership this year, this time with the French biotech Ipsen. … Continue reading “Avila Gets Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Funding, Dicerna Unites with Ipsen, Rhythmia to Test Heart Mapping Technology, Amag Licenses to Takeda, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Reflexis Systems Garners $3,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8d86b679-86f0-4673-b09a-66c00ca67c00&Preview=1 Date 4/2/2010 Company Name Reflexis Systems Mailing Address 3 Allied Drive Dedham, MA 02026 Company Description Reflexis helps major retailers turn strategy into action with the integrated RetailActions – a suite of next-generation Retail Execution Management solutions. Website http://www.reflexisinc.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $3,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds … Continue reading “Reflexis Systems Garners $3,000,000 New Funding Round”
Brightleaf Lands $2,900,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d75203a0-c301-4673-abd4-7e3c00a44370&Preview=1 Date 4/2/2010 Company Name Brightleaf Mailing Address 200 Lowder Brook Drive Westwood, MA 02090 Company Description Brightleaf Corporation is a venture-backed technology company focused on bringing intelligent document automation to law firms and legal departments. Based outside Boston, our cluster of proprietary technologies — advanced, inline document assembly, integrated document management, … Continue reading “Brightleaf Lands $2,900,000 New Financing”
MDRNA and Cequent Pharma in $46M Merger Deal
MDRNA, the Bothell, WA-based developer of gene-silencing drugs, could give itself a longer cash runway in a proposed merger with Cequent Pharmaceuticals, of Cambridge, MA. The companies announced plans this morning to combine in an all-stock deal worth about $46 million. Last week, MDRNA (NASDAQ:[[ticker:MRNA]]) said its cash would keep the company afloat only into … Continue reading “MDRNA and Cequent Pharma in $46M Merger Deal”
Amag Pharma Gets $60M Upfront in Licensing Deal with Takeda
[Updated, 4/01/10, 4:40 pm] Amag Pharmaceuticals has struck a deal to expand global marketing of its best-selling drug. The Lexington, MA-based company (NASDAQ:[[ticker:AMAG]]) reports this morning that it has licensed its iron deficiency anemia drug to Japanese drug giant Takeda Pharmaceutical Company in a deal that includes $60 million in initial fees. The deal gives … Continue reading “Amag Pharma Gets $60M Upfront in Licensing Deal with Takeda”
Skyhook Wireless Working to Make More Mobile Apps Location-Aware
Executives at Boston’s Skyhook Wireless, which supplies the GPS- and Wi-Fi-based location-finding technology used by dozens of mobile device makers, are convinced that mobile app developers have only begun to explore the uses of location data. To help that process along, they’re about to introduce a software toolkit called “Local Faves” intended to help iPhone … Continue reading “Skyhook Wireless Working to Make More Mobile Apps Location-Aware”
The Next Policy Battle For Biotech After Healthcare Reform
With a new healthcare bill (and its “fixes”) signed into law, one might think that the biotech industry could shift its attention away from Washington DC and get back to work in the labs. That would be wrong. Starting this month, we begin a two-year project that will culminate, if things go according to plan, … Continue reading “The Next Policy Battle For Biotech After Healthcare Reform”
Rhythmia, with Harvard and MIT Roots, Ready to Prove Heart-Mapping System Works
Here’s where the rubber hits the road for Leon Amariglio, Doron Harlev, and the startup they co-founded, Rhythmia Medical. After spending years to create an advanced system for mapping hearts during cardiac procedures, Rhythmia plans to test its technology in humans for the first time this year, Amariglio tells Xconomy. The Burlington, MA-based company’s investors … Continue reading “Rhythmia, with Harvard and MIT Roots, Ready to Prove Heart-Mapping System Works”
MDRNA Acquires Cequent Pharmaceuticals for $46,000,000
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fd8b024b-935a-4607-b913-1ad953e40e79&Preview=1 Date 4/1/2010 Company Name Cequent Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address One Kendall Square Building 700 First Floor Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description Cequent Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an early-stage biopharmaceutical company developing new clinically compatible therapies based on RNA interference (RNAi). Cequent is focusing its efforts on the pre-clinical development of products to treat … Continue reading “MDRNA Acquires Cequent Pharmaceuticals for $46,000,000”
Hangout Hooks Another $2M
Hangout Industries, the Boston-based creator of a software platform for teen-oriented social games such as Fashion City, has raised an additional $2 million in venture funding, according to a regulatory filing published yesterday. Hangout CEO Pano Anthos told Mass High Tech that the money came from the company’s existing backers, who include Highland Capital Partners … Continue reading “Hangout Hooks Another $2M”
SS&C Prices IPO
Windsor, CT’s SS&C Technologies Holdings, a financial services software provider, has priced its initial public offering of 10.725 million shares at $15 a share, the high end of the range it proposed earlier this month. The company, which will trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market as SSNC, sold 8.225 million shares and certain stockholders … Continue reading “SS&C Prices IPO”
Litl Lays Plans for Channel Store to Offer New Kinds of Webbook Content
Litl made a big splash last November when it launched the Webbook. The home Internet appliance may look like a laptop, but it’s actually designed as a delivery platform for Flash-based “channels” that put useful information up front and hide details such as files, applications, windows, and operating systems. One of the clearest signs that … Continue reading “Litl Lays Plans for Channel Store to Offer New Kinds of Webbook Content”
MIT’s NextLab: Designing Technology for the Next Billion Mobile Phone Owners
Fighting illiteracy in Indian villages; facilitating local health reporting in Mexico; creating a mobile logistics app for truck drivers in Colombia. These may sound like projects run by a big non-governmental organization like the United Nations Development Program, but in fact they are three examples of MIT NextLab projects run mainly by MIT students and … Continue reading “MIT’s NextLab: Designing Technology for the Next Billion Mobile Phone Owners”
Boston Takes Her Place in the Video Game World
PAX East sold out months early. Attendance was twice what the committee had planned for the first game industry convention on the east coast in 10 years—more, if Atlanta isn’t your idea of “East Coast.” We filled the Hynes to capacity with 60,000 gamers, developers, press, and game company representatives. The show floor was jammed. … Continue reading “Boston Takes Her Place in the Video Game World”
$10M for Akorri, $52M for Dyax, A New Partner for Dicerna, & More Boston-Area Deals News
The precipitation in New England may have reached near-biblical proportions this past week, but tech and life sciences deal making was more modest. —Investors poured $10.1 million into Littleton, MA-based software maker Akorri Networks, according to an SEC filing. The filing did not reveal the identity of the 13 backers involved in the equity-based round, … Continue reading “$10M for Akorri, $52M for Dyax, A New Partner for Dicerna, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Hangout Industries Obtains $2,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=90799038-f3b4-4365-b289-6ff815d1c8e3&Preview=1 Date 3/31/2010 Company Name Hangout Industries Mailing Address 110 Chauncy Street Boston, MA 02111 Company Description Now you can customize your own room, fully interact with friends and your favorite brands, and share media experiences in an immersive 3D environment. Hangout helps My Space become My Place and offers:Fully customizable rooms- … Continue reading “Hangout Industries Obtains $2,000,000 New Financing Round”
TimeTrade Systems Obtains $5,600,000 Series D Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=376fc1ad-7e0f-4b5d-886a-fd7935bd903c&Preview=1 Date 3/31/2010 Company Name TimeTrade Systems Mailing Address 3 Highwood Drive Tewksbury, MA 01876 Company Description TimeTrade is the leader in rules-based appointment scheduling solutions. We offer highly-configurable turnkey solutions that are quick to implement right off the shelf, as well as embeddable solutions for organizations who want to integrate appointment … Continue reading “TimeTrade Systems Obtains $5,600,000 Series D Funding”
What’s Your Take on the iPad? An Xconomy Survey
With the Apple iPad set to hit stores at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, you can probably guess what my digital media column, World Wide Wade, is going to be about this Friday. But this time I want to leaven the punditry with some populism—so I’ve put together a quick, 9-question survey at SurveyMonkey. Please head … Continue reading “What’s Your Take on the iPad? An Xconomy Survey”
Ascent Changes to Anchor
Ascent Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA-based pre-clinical stage drug development company, announced today that it has changed its name to Anchor Therapeutics to better reflect its technology. The company is developing drugs based on “pepducins,” which anchor in cell membranes to target molecules called G protein coupled receptors that are involved in ailments such as cancers, … Continue reading “Ascent Changes to Anchor”
$1M for CardStar Loyalty App
Canton, CT-based CardStar, which makes an application that consolidates consumer reward and loyalty card numbers on mobile phones, announced March 28 that it has raised $1 million in Series A venture funding. The lead funder was Mclean, VA-based Amplifier Ventures, with participation by Acta Wireless and LaunchCapital. CardStar received seed funding from Amplifier Ventures in … Continue reading “$1M for CardStar Loyalty App”
FIRST Robotics Regionals Bring Sports Fervor to Engineering
I’m a Boston University alum, so Saturday wasn’t the first time I’ve witnessed two teams battling it out on Agganis Arena’s court, shooting with finesse and aggressively blocking, as fans cheered loudly from the stands. Well, it was a little different than what I had previously witnessed, to be completely honest. The members of said … Continue reading “FIRST Robotics Regionals Bring Sports Fervor to Engineering”
QD Vision’s Quantum Dots Warm Up the Market for LED Lighting
Everyone knows that traditional incandescent lamps are inefficient and energy-wasting. But LEDs, one of the technologies vying to take their place, produce light that feels harsh and cold by comparison, leading many customers to shy away from them. Watertown, MA-based QD Vision thinks it can use its “quantum dot” technology to solve both problems—energy waste … Continue reading “QD Vision’s Quantum Dots Warm Up the Market for LED Lighting”
Dicerna Inks Deal With Ipsen, Second RNAi Partnership of 2010
Dicerna Pharmaceuticals kicked off the New Year with a splashy partnership, and it didn’t have to wait long for an encore. The Watertown, MA-based developer of RNA interference drugs is announcing today it has formed a new alliance with Paris-based Ipsen. Financial terms of the deal aren’t being disclosed, although it ends up being “net-neutral” … Continue reading “Dicerna Inks Deal With Ipsen, Second RNAi Partnership of 2010”
CardStar Garners $1,000,000 Series A Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d22b9f8d-67df-4fd7-9455-80106020003a&Preview=1 Date 3/30/2010 Company Name CardStar Mailing Address 220 Albany Turnpike Canton, CT 06019 Company Description CardStar lets you easily store and quickly retrieve loyalty, reward and club membership cards, where they can be scanned directly from your screen at most merchants. Website http://www.mycardstar.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,000,000 Transaction … Continue reading “CardStar Garners $1,000,000 Series A Financing Round”
$25M for Holyoke Computing Center
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced today that the state will provide up to $25 million to further construction of the Holyoke High Performance Computing Center, a project designed to advance green computing and boost business in western Massachusetts. Patrick also designated the Holyoke area as an innovation district, and said that the computing center, which … Continue reading “$25M for Holyoke Computing Center”