Boston – Page 328

Pangea’s Quiver of Quizzes for the Social Media and ‘Brand Hacking’ Era

Are you smarter than Paris Hilton? If you could know the exact time, date, and location of your death, would you want to know? Which Harry Potter character are you? If you could only have one home gaming system for the rest of your life, which one would you pick? It wouldn’t be hard to … Continue reading “Pangea’s Quiver of Quizzes for the Social Media and ‘Brand Hacking’ Era”

Biogen Founder Retires From Board, Biopure Goes Broke, Epix Saga Ends, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

A mixture of good news and bad for New England life sciences this week with a couple of companies closing their doors while others forged new partnerships and made acquisitions. Health IT was a particularly busy area. —Waltham, MA-based Phase Forward (NASDAQ:[[ticker:PFWD]]) acquired the interactive voice and Web-response services business of Princeton, NJ-based contract research … Continue reading “Biogen Founder Retires From Board, Biopure Goes Broke, Epix Saga Ends, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

$191M in Loans for First Wind

Newton, MA-based wind farm developer and operator First Wind said today that it has lined up two major loans totaling $191 million. The first is an 8.5-year, $115 million term loan from Canada’s Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMco), and the second is a 1-year, $76 million loan from Hamburg, Germany-based HSH Nordbank. The HSH Nordbank … Continue reading “$191M in Loans for First Wind”

Democamp Boston 2

From the event registration page: “Democamp is a networking and idea-sharing event dedicated to great new ideas. The content of the event is entirely participant-generated. Democamp is made up of two important parts: 1. The presentations from those in the community 2. The networking portion to connect you with the community Confirmed Presenters Rachel Segal, … Continue reading “Democamp Boston 2”

Azuki Systems Builds Swimsuit iPhone App for Sports Illustrated

Being neither heterosexual nor much of a sports fan, I’ve never quite understood the annual excitement generated by the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. But lots of folks out there will no doubt be glad to hear that the swimsuit models, like everything else these days, are now available as an iPhone app. Azuki Systems, the … Continue reading “Azuki Systems Builds Swimsuit iPhone App for Sports Illustrated”

$3.5M Tranche for HealthEdge Software

[Updated and corrected, 3:15 p.m., July 21, 2009] Regulatory documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday indicate that HealthEdge Software of Burlington, MA, has collected $3.5 million in venture financing. Ray Desrochers, HealthEdge’s chief operating officer, said the funds represent the third tranche of a $13 million venture round announced last year from … Continue reading “$3.5M Tranche for HealthEdge Software”

Mobile Monday Boston Summer Gathering

Mobile Monday Boston will meet for relaxed evening of drinks and demos on the deck of the Grand Canal in Boston. Information here, free registration here.

Epix Pharma Shuts Down

Epix Pharmaceuticals, the Lexington, MA-based developer of an experimental drug for Alzheimer’s disease, said yesterday it is closing its doors. The company only had enough cash to operate through August, and had been seeking other financing alternatives until it decided to close and liquidate. “It is with great disappointment that the Company must proceed with … Continue reading “Epix Pharma Shuts Down”

Go2Media Gets $3M

Boston-based mobile publisher Go2Media said yesterday that it has closed a $3 million funding round led by General Catalyst Partners of Cambridge. The company also said 2.5 million mobile phone users accessed its personalized entertainment guide in June, making it what the company called “the most visited entertainment guide on mobile.”

Akiba Raises $6.5M for Virtualization

According to regulatory documents filed yesterday, stealth Boston startup Akiba has closed a $6.53 million Series A venture capital round with participation by North Bridge Venture Partners and Foundation Capital. The company describes itself as developing a virtualization technology that makes it easier to manage relational databases in cloud-computing environments.

Aveo Nabs $20M From Extended Deal with OSI Pharma

Aveo Pharmaceuticals has insisted it can bankroll its operations this year through partnerships, not venture capital, and now its proving the point again. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company has nabbed $20 million by extending a partnership with Melville, NY-based OSI Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OSIP]]). The new deal between the two companies, which first teamed up in … Continue reading “Aveo Nabs $20M From Extended Deal with OSI Pharma”

Dicerna, Archemix Team Up to Make Souped Up RNAi Combo Drugs

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals has set its sights on silencing problematic genes using what it calls the “second doorway” of RNA interference—an approach to the burgeoning field that other RNAi companies aren’t pursuing. But to get its drugs over the transom and where they need to go in the body, the Watertown, MA-based company will need a … Continue reading “Dicerna, Archemix Team Up to Make Souped Up RNAi Combo Drugs”

New England Venture Activity Rebounds Slightly in Q2—Region’s Top 10 Deals List

New England companies raised more venture dollars and completed more VC deals in the second quarter of 2009 than they did in the first three months of this year, according to two reports on venture investment activity released recently. Still, the total number of deals and capital invested in the region during the three months … Continue reading “New England Venture Activity Rebounds Slightly in Q2—Region’s Top 10 Deals List”

VC Investing Activity Shows Some Gains in Second Quarter, But Still Well Below 2008 Levels

Venture capital invested in U.S. startups during the second quarter was roughly half the amount invested during the same quarter last year, but two venture capital surveys found encouraging signs of improvement from the abysmal first three months of 2009. VCs put $3.67 billion into 612 deals during the three months that ended June 30, … Continue reading “VC Investing Activity Shows Some Gains in Second Quarter, But Still Well Below 2008 Levels”

Revised Noncompete Legislation Doesn’t Go Far Enough

[Editor’s Note: Bijan Sabet of Spark Capital has kindly allowed us to cross-post this entry from his blog reacting to news today of a draft bill proposing compromise language on noncompete agreements in Massachusetts.] My partners and I have been pushing to end the use of employee non-compete agreements for some time now. We passionately … Continue reading “Revised Noncompete Legislation Doesn’t Go Far Enough”

Compromise Bill Would Allow, But Scale Back, Noncompete Agreements in Massachusetts

A new draft bill that would limit but not outlaw noncompete agreements in employment contracts in Massachusetts is being floated by two members of the state’s House of Representatives. The bill combines elements of separate bills introduced earlier this year by Representatives William Brownsberger of the 24th Middlesex district and Lori Ehrlich of the 8th … Continue reading “Compromise Bill Would Allow, But Scale Back, Noncompete Agreements in Massachusetts”

$8M Second Round for Acquia

Andover, MA-based Acquia, which sells a commercial version of the open-source Drupal content management system, has raised $8 million in new working capital, according to a regulatory filing published Friday. A spokesperson told Mass High Tech that investors North Bridge Venture Partners and Sigma Partners, who also participated in Acquia’s $7 million first funding round … Continue reading “$8M Second Round for Acquia”

HP Acquires Ibrix

Hewlett-Packard of Palo Alto, CA, will acquire Billerica, MA-based Ibrix, HP said in an announcement today. The nine-year-old company, with 53 employees, makes software used by large enterprises such as AOL, Pixar, and Blizzard Entertainment to manage network file servers holding petabytes of data. The financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. PE Hub reports … Continue reading “HP Acquires Ibrix”

Replacing Phil Sharp Will Be Up to Biogen’s Board

Famed scientist Phil Sharp’s retirement from the board of directors at Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) leaves the board without what was perhaps its leading scientific voice, but his departure doesn’t leave activist investor Carl Icahn with much of an opening to seize greater control over the company. When I reported last week that Sharp had stepped … Continue reading “Replacing Phil Sharp Will Be Up to Biogen’s Board”

Acquia Garners $8,000,000 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=07f15bcf-1610-4357-ac84-11b7e9d9d490&Preview=1 Date 7/20/2009 Company Name Acquia Mailing Address 200 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 Company Description Acquia is a new software company that will provide value-added software products and services for the Drupal web collaboration and publishing platform. Website http://www.acquia.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $8,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds … Continue reading “Acquia Garners $8,000,000 Series B Financing Round”

Akiba Technologies Secures $6,530,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ae232cc7-59bb-46a6-b765-ca779c3d962a&Preview=1 Date 7/20/2009 Company Name Akiba Technologies Mailing Address Undisclosed Boston, MA 02101 Company Description Akiba, Inc., a Boston-based startup, is developing a database virtualization solution that enables effortless scalability of a database across nodes, both within the enterprise and in the cloud. Based on our patent-pending Akiba Orthogonal Architecture (AOA), we … Continue reading “Akiba Technologies Secures $6,530,000 Series A Round”

IBM Top Massachusetts Official Mohamad Ali Leaves for Big Job at Avaya

Mohamad Ali, IBM’s senior state official for Massachusetts, has left Big Blue after more than 13 years to join enterprise communications equipment company Avaya, Ali announced in a personal e-mail this afternoon. Ali, who started at Avaya on Wednesday with the title of senior vice president of corporate development, has responsibility for all M&A activity … Continue reading “IBM Top Massachusetts Official Mohamad Ali Leaves for Big Job at Avaya”

Novartis Extends Alnylam Deal

Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ALNY]]) says that Swiss drug giant Novartis has opted to extend the companies’ research collaboration related to RNA interference treatments for a fifth year. The extension means that Novartis will continue to fund certain research and development efforts at Alnylam through October 2010. “We view this development as very positive for … Continue reading “Novartis Extends Alnylam Deal”

Nitro Investors Get $23M in Sapient Stock

A regulatory filing published yesterday showed that Boston, MA-based marketing and technology consultancy Sapient (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SAPE]]) had issued company shares worth $23.4 million in a private stock offering. According to the company, the shares were part of Sapient’s purchase last month of Nitro, an international advertising firm, for approximately $50 million in cash and stock. … Continue reading “Nitro Investors Get $23M in Sapient Stock”

Xconomy Boston Is On The (Very Short) Move

Posting will be light from Xconomy Boston today, as we’re busy hauling our stuff three blocks down Rogers Street to our new headquarters at 101 Rogers Street. That’s right, we’re moving form 10 Rogers St., Suite 101, to 101 Rogers St., Suite 402—let the confusion begin! I can’t tell you how lucky we feel, particularly … Continue reading “Xconomy Boston Is On The (Very Short) Move”

Biopure Files for Bankruptcy

Biopure (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BPUR]]), which has struggled financially for years while making a case to U.S. and European regulators for its blood substitute, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company announced late yesterday. The Cambridge, MA-based firm has agreed to sell its assets to OPK Biotech, but Biopure will also seek competitive bids for the assets … Continue reading “Biopure Files for Bankruptcy”

GamerDNA Reveals Ad Network

Cambridge, MA-based GamerDNA, a social network for video gamers, says that it has released an advertising network that enables game companies to deliver ads to people depending on the games they are playing and discussing online. The firm’s early customers for the ad network include big names in the game industry such as CCP Games, … Continue reading “GamerDNA Reveals Ad Network”

Art Isn’t Free: The Tragedy of the Wikimedia Commons

I came across a nice Isaac Asimov quote this week: “No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.” The copyright dispute that went public this week between the UK’s National Portrait Gallery and the Wikimedia Commons is … Continue reading “Art Isn’t Free: The Tragedy of the Wikimedia Commons”

$50M for ConforMIS, $8.2M for ConnectEDU, $7.25M for MedVentive, & More Boston-Area Deals News

I’m happy to say that the last week has provided a number of venture financings to talk about, and a few other deals as well. —Waltham, MA-based North Bridge Venture Partners committed to participating in a planned $5 million Series A round of financing for MC10. The newbie firm, formed last year and housed in … Continue reading “$50M for ConforMIS, $8.2M for ConnectEDU, $7.25M for MedVentive, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

HP Acquires IBRIX for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a5381bef-3764-4e60-bd31-18d92ad8d5e1&Preview=1 Date 7/17/2009 Company Name IBRIX Mailing Address 300 Concord Road Billerica, MA 01821 Company Description IBRIX is developing critical solutions that address the fundamental shift taking place in the enterprise compute environment from proprietary, monolithic architectures to those utilizing standards-based, commodity hardware. With software-based scalable file storage solutions able to address … Continue reading “HP Acquires IBRIX for Undisclosed Sum”

Philips Buys Kamen’s Teletrol

Royal Philips Electronics of Amsterdam announced today that it has acquired Teletrol Systems, a Manchester, NH, company that specializes in providing software that automates the management of power and lighting systems in buildings. With 37 employees, Teletrol was founded in 1985 and was wholly owned by Dean Kamen, the famed inventor and founder of DEKA … Continue reading “Philips Buys Kamen’s Teletrol”

Choicestream Nabs Yahoo, Sermo Execs

Choicestream, the Cambridge, MA, startup that helps companies create targeted, personalized online display ads, said today it has hired three new executives, including two formerly at Yahoo. The Internet portal’s former senior director of retail, Amy Vener, joins Choicestream as director of retail advertising solutions. A former Yahoo video advertising engineer, Rod Perkins, joins Choicestream … Continue reading “Choicestream Nabs Yahoo, Sermo Execs”

Biotech Pioneer Phillip Sharp Retires from Biogen Idec Board

Phillip Sharp, the MIT biologist and geneticist who co-founded Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) in 1978, has retired from the biotech powerhouse’s board of directors, according to a company statement issued this morning. Sharp, 65, has served as a director of Biogen since 1982. During his tenure on the Cambridge, MA-based company’s board, Biogen has evolved from … Continue reading “Biotech Pioneer Phillip Sharp Retires from Biogen Idec Board”

Behind Every Good Product Is a Story; The Daily Grommet Brings You One a Day

What the Sam Hill (as my grandpa used to say) is a Daily Grommet? The answer comes in two parts. “Grommet” is the word industrial designer and entrepreneur Jules Pieri has appropriated for the kind of bewitching product that you might discover in an upscale shop in Puerto Vallarta or Tuscany or Vermont—something that’s so … Continue reading “Behind Every Good Product Is a Story; The Daily Grommet Brings You One a Day”

Biogen Idec, Trying to Go Beyond Rituxan, Assembles Cancer Drug Pipeline

Biogen Idec, as avid biotech readers know, is the world’s largest maker of multiple sclerosis drugs. Not the world’s largest maker of cancer drugs. Not even close. Yet the Cambridge, MA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) has its sights on carving out a bigger niche in the fiercely competitive field of cancer drug development. It’s a … Continue reading “Biogen Idec, Trying to Go Beyond Rituxan, Assembles Cancer Drug Pipeline”

MedVentive Garners $7,250,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7208af11-db65-43e0-a87b-cd1e7e48fb7f&Preview=1 Date 7/16/2009 Company Name MedVentive Mailing Address 400 Fifth Avenue Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description MedVentive delivers a fully-integrated suite of quality intervention, pharmacy management and point of care decision support tools, all built on a solid, risk-adjusted data foundation. Our solutions identify opportunities for care improvement; manage the intervention workflow … Continue reading “MedVentive Garners $7,250,000 New Funding Round”

Of Phase Forward, MedVentive, and iMedX—Today’s New England Heath IT Deals Round-Up

[Updated at 5 pm ET on 7/16/09. Editor’s note appended] We came across a trio of healthcare IT deals this morning, which seems to be a bit more than usual even in New England, so we thought we’d provide a snapshot of each of the deals. This activity could be chalked up to the intense … Continue reading “Of Phase Forward, MedVentive, and iMedX—Today’s New England Heath IT Deals Round-Up”

Early View of Second Quarter Shows VC Investing Activity at $5.3B, Up 61 Percent

We got an early peek at second-quarter VC investing today from ChubbyBrain, a New York-based information service (and new Xconomy partner) that uses a “structured wiki” to collect data on startups, and monitors venture capital investments nationwide. ChubbyBrain says venture activity bounced back, with more than $5.3 billion invested during the three months that ended in … Continue reading “Early View of Second Quarter Shows VC Investing Activity at $5.3B, Up 61 Percent”

Reserve a Rally Fighter

Local Motors, the Wareham, MA startup building crowd-sourced cars, has announced that starting at noon Wednesday, customers can go online to get in line to buy a Rally Fighter, the company’s first production vehicle. The $50,000 car, which we’ve described in the past as “half muscle car, half dune buggy,” contains a 265-horsepower, 3.0-liter, clean … Continue reading “Reserve a Rally Fighter”

Location-Aware Apps On The Rise, But Many Are Cookie-Cutter ‘Bulk Apps,’ Report Finds

Not surprisingly, given the rush among handset makers and software developers to cash in on the mobile-software explosion, there’s a been a big uptick in the availability of mobile apps that make use of location information, according to a report published today by Boston’s Skyhook Wireless. That’s true not just for the Apple iPhone, but … Continue reading “Location-Aware Apps On The Rise, But Many Are Cookie-Cutter ‘Bulk Apps,’ Report Finds”

Designers Compete to Rethink Zink’s Pocket Printers

Today Bedford, MA-based Zink unveiled the winning designs in a $25,000 contest called “Zero Boundaries,” launched to elicit creative ideas about how Zink’s inkless printing technology might be built into devices that young people and future mobile consumers could use to capture, modify, and share digital photos. We’ve told you the story of Zink, the … Continue reading “Designers Compete to Rethink Zink’s Pocket Printers”

GreenRay Sees Green in $2M A Round

Westford, MA-based startup GreenRay has raised $2 million in a Series A round of venture capital to advance its plans to commercialize its plug-and-play solar panels, according to an announcement this morning. Venture firm Quercus Trust, of Newport Beach, CA, led the first-round financing, which included co-investor 21Ventures, based in New York. GreenRay, which has … Continue reading “GreenRay Sees Green in $2M A Round”

Tragedy of the Commons: It’s (Really) Time to Ban Non-Compete Agreements

On snowy days in certain neighborhoods of our great city it is not unusual for someone to put an old trash can in an on-street parking space that they have recently cleared. We all know there is threat implied: if you take the spot, you will regret it. Given the effort expended to clear the … Continue reading “Tragedy of the Commons: It’s (Really) Time to Ban Non-Compete Agreements”

ConforMIS Corrals $50M, Oscient Files for Bankruptcy, Vertex Peddles Rights to Milestone Payments, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

New England’s life sciences companies produced a couple of sizeable venture deals this past week, but they also faced some significant challenges. —Rapid Micro Biosystems closed a Series A financing round worth $18.6 million. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, TVM Capital, Quaker BioVentures, and VIMAC Milestone Medica Fund provided the backing for the Bedford, MA-based … Continue reading “ConforMIS Corrals $50M, Oscient Files for Bankruptcy, Vertex Peddles Rights to Milestone Payments, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

GreenRay Lands $2,000,000 Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=eebd97bc-13f9-4b64-b9ab-5d2f424bb9af&Preview=1 Date 7/15/2009 Company Name GreenRay Mailing Address 7 Littleton Road Westford, MA 01886 Company Description GreenRay is developing a solar appliance for residential homes. While today’s PV systems use discrete components and require specialized expertise to design and install, our plug and play system is fully integrated. The modular AC solar … Continue reading “GreenRay Lands $2,000,000 Series A Financing Round”

Nexage Nabs $4M, Heading to Boston

Nexage, a provider of advertising software for mobile devices, raised $4 million in a Series A round of venture capital and plans to relocate its headquarters from Fremont, CA, to Boston, according to a press release. Investors in the financing include GrandBanks Capital, of Wellesley, MA, and BlackBerry Partners Fund, a Toronto-based venture unit of … Continue reading “Nexage Nabs $4M, Heading to Boston”

Oscient Pharma Seeks Bankruptcy, Finds Buyer for No. 2 Product

Oscient Pharmaceuticals has apparently run short on options to keep its struggling drug business afloat. The Waltham, MA-based biotech firm (NASDAQ:[[ticker:OSCI]]) and its subsidiary Guardian II Acquisition Corporation have each filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and Oscient has landed a buyer for one of its two marketed products, Oscient announced late yesterday. The company … Continue reading “Oscient Pharma Seeks Bankruptcy, Finds Buyer for No. 2 Product”

Nuance Acquires Jott

Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]), the Burlington, MA-based voice technology juggernaut that has already absorbed most of its East Coast competitors, reached west today, announcing that it has acquired Seattle-based Jott. Jott, founded in 2006 by ex-Microsoft employees, started out as a free voice-to-text service that allowed users to record messages via telephone that were then … Continue reading “Nuance Acquires Jott”

The Big Idea at Springpad

Quite a few tasks in life require investigation and planning. Cooking dinner tonight? First you need to find a recipe, then you need to make a shopping list. Going on vacation? Before you can even begin to finalize your itinerary, you’ll probably collect reams of information on plane fares, local attractions, and places to stay. … Continue reading “The Big Idea at Springpad”