Category: Boston

Finding Your Inner Geek: Social Media and Twitter Basics

From the website of Media Awaken, a social media consulting company founded by Maria Thurrell: “Going social in today’s online world can be overwhelming, especially for business-owners looking to reap the benefits of these new technologies. In 2008 alone, there were more than 130 million blogs documented on the web, at least 350 different social … Continue reading “Finding Your Inner Geek: Social Media and Twitter Basics”

Boston iPhone Developers Drinks and Demos 2.0

From the event website: “Want to meet other Boston area iPhone developers? Please join us on Tuesday evening, July 21st, in a private room at the Asgard, a pub restaurant in Cambridge from 6:00-10:00 PM for our second drinks and demo night. This will be an informal meetup for local iPhone developers. Come have a … Continue reading “Boston iPhone Developers Drinks and Demos 2.0”

Akamai Delivers Live, High-Quality Video to the iPhone

For a long time, watching video on the Apple iPhone meant YouTube or nothing—and it only worked if you were within range of a Wi-Fi network. But now Cambridge, MA-based content distribution firm Akamai is helping many of its customers optimize live and recorded video for direct delivery to iPhones. Which, in effect, turns Apple’s … Continue reading “Akamai Delivers Live, High-Quality Video to the iPhone”

EMC Raises Data Domain Offer

Determined not to be outbid by rival NetApp for data deduplication software maker Data Domain, Hopkinton, MA-based EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]) today increased its takeover offer to $33.50 per share. In a letter to Data Domain’s board of directors, EMC CEO Joseph Tucci said the EMC offer is “far superior” to the latest $30-per-share bid from … Continue reading “EMC Raises Data Domain Offer”

Press Ganey to Add Boston Office

Press Ganey, the South Bend, IN-based health care improvement consulting company that purchased Boston’s PatientFlow Technology in January, will open a new office outside Boston in Lexington, MA, next month, the company said today. The office, under the direction of Press Ganey vice president and chief information officer Jim Zeoli, will house staff from PatientFlow … Continue reading “Press Ganey to Add Boston Office”

Former CEO Alexis Borisy Voices Mixed Feelings on CombinatoRx Saga

Alexis Borisy stepped down from his chief executive role at drug developer CombinatoRx (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CRXX]]) last week after nine years on the job. His departure was revealed on the same day as the planned merger between Cambridge, MA-based CombinatoRx and Vancouver’s Neuromed Pharmaceuticals. I caught up with Borisy, an Xconomist, on the heels of the merger … Continue reading “Former CEO Alexis Borisy Voices Mixed Feelings on CombinatoRx Saga”

LogMeIn Pulls Off a $107 million IPO, CombinatoRx To Pair With Neuromed, CloudSwitch Turns on $8M, & More Boston-Area Deals News

Finally, an IPO! That, and the rest of the week’s deals news from New England’s tech and life sciences industries below. —Lexington, MA-based Highland Capital Partners reportedly pushed the close of its eighth venture fund back from late June until mid-July to give limited partners more time to contribute. PE Hub’s Dan Primack wrote that … Continue reading “LogMeIn Pulls Off a $107 million IPO, CombinatoRx To Pair With Neuromed, CloudSwitch Turns on $8M, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

Happy Fireworks Day; See You Next Week

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for bloggers to temporarily dissolve the bonds which have connected them with their readers, and to assume among the powers of the earth the long weekend to which the laws of nature entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they … Continue reading “Happy Fireworks Day; See You Next Week”

The Eight (Seven…Six?) Information Devices I Can’t Live Without

If you read Xconomy, chances are that digital information is a big part of your day. You spend quite a bit of time absorbing, manipulating, and repackaging it. So here are a few questions for you: How many different devices do you use to channel all those bits? Is the number going up, or down? … Continue reading “The Eight (Seven…Six?) Information Devices I Can’t Live Without”

How IT Entrepreneurs Can Profit from Healthcare Reform and Other Tips from Boston’s Health 2.0 Insiders

The healthcare industry is facing a shakeup in the way it uses information technology, and this is creating all sorts of opportunities for entrepreneurs in New England. This was the take-home message from some of the top minds in the Health 2.0 field, who we gathered together last week for a jam-packed panel discussion at … Continue reading “How IT Entrepreneurs Can Profit from Healthcare Reform and Other Tips from Boston’s Health 2.0 Insiders”

Cleantech Venture Funding Brightens for All But Solar

The clouds may be parting for cleantech startups. Venture capital funding for renewable energy and cleantech startups (which plunged from last October through March) rebounded in the second quarter—but the $1.2 billion invested in 67 countries is still down 44 percent from the same quarter in 2008. Cleantech venture investments were strongest in transportation—specifically, vehicles … Continue reading “Cleantech Venture Funding Brightens for All But Solar”

Biogen Gets Int’l Rights to Acorda’s MS Drug

Cambridge, MA drug giant Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) and Hawthorne, NY-based Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ACOR]]) announced today that Biogen Idec has acquired the rights to develop and commercialize Acorda’s multiple sclerosis drug, Fampridine-SR, in markets outside the U.S. Acorda will receive an upfront payment of $110 million and additional payments of up to $400 million, and retains … Continue reading “Biogen Gets Int’l Rights to Acorda’s MS Drug”

CombinatoRx to Combine with Neuromed, CEO Borisy Steps Down

[Updated: 5 pm EST] Big news this morning from CombinatoRx, the developer of treatments based on combinations of known drugs. The Cambridge, MA-based firm (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CRXX]]) has agreed to a merger with a privately held biotech firm called Neuromed Pharmaceuticals to beef up its product pipeline and grow its cash surplus enough to operate into 2012, … Continue reading “CombinatoRx to Combine with Neuromed, CEO Borisy Steps Down”

CloudCamp Boston

It might not have swimming lessons or horseback riding, but CloudCamp could still be the hot event of the summer. From the organizers: “CloudCamp is an unconference where early adopters of Cloud Computing technologies exchange ideas. With the rapid change occurring in the industry, we need a place we can meet to share our experiences, … Continue reading “CloudCamp Boston”

Emo Labs, Making Sound Leap Off the TV Screen, Woos Asian Electronics Makers

Thanks to ongoing advances in liquid crystal display and plasma screen technology, flat-panel TVs keep getting flatter. Sharp’s new 46-inch Aquos X model is only 1.35 inches deep—thinner than three iPhones stacked together. But while all this thinness may be sexy, it comes at the cost of decent sound: the less room a conventional loudspeaker … Continue reading “Emo Labs, Making Sound Leap Off the TV Screen, Woos Asian Electronics Makers”

New England Firms Poised for Biogeneric Future, Tobin Bids Boston Scientific Adieu, Biogen Idec Reports Tenth PML Case, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

Ryan and Luke did a couple of great in-depth stories this week—on the burgeoning business of biogenerics and on a young company out to take on the big boys of cancer with a new mouse model for the disease. —Ryan took a look at the Boston-area biotech companies that are poised to become key players … Continue reading “New England Firms Poised for Biogeneric Future, Tobin Bids Boston Scientific Adieu, Biogen Idec Reports Tenth PML Case, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

In Drought-Ending IPO, LogMeIn Logs $107 Million

In the year’s first initial public offering by a venture-backed company from New England, Woburn, MA-based remote access software maker LogMeIn has raised $80 million, according to a report late Tuesday night in the Wall Street Journal. Through lead underwriters Barclays and JP Morgan Chase, the company sold 5 million shares at $16 per share—the … Continue reading “In Drought-Ending IPO, LogMeIn Logs $107 Million”

‘Rev’ing’ it up with Facebook

After a national competition, RunMyErrand was one of 25 companies invited to be part of Facebook’s fbFund Rev 2009 incubator program this summer in Palo Alto, CA. The program will last 10 weeks, and RunMyErrand team members from the engineering and business realm will be participating. We arrived into SFO late the night of Tuesday, … Continue reading “‘Rev’ing’ it up with Facebook”

iSend LLC Obtains $2,000,000 Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f1022e7a-107c-4bc4-809b-5b557a0dbeb9&Preview=1 Date 7/1/2009 Company Name iSend LLC Mailing Address 680 Main St Watertown, CT 06795 Company Description A privately held company, iSend was founded by Steven LaBella and is located in Watertown, CT. iSend is a leading provider of international electronic payments from the United States to Mexico, Central and South America, … Continue reading “iSend LLC Obtains $2,000,000 Series A Financing Round”

ActiFio, Inc Lands $4,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c9d916e2-33a5-4d0f-b3df-5c51336c415e&Preview=1 Date 7/1/2009 Company Name ActiFio, Inc Mailing Address 19 Lanes End Weston, MA 02493 Company Description ActiFio is delivering a paradigm shift in the complexity and cost of IT storage ecosystem. Website http://actifio.appspot.com/ Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A … Continue reading “ActiFio, Inc Lands $4,000,000 New Financing”

Amag Pharmaceuticals Wins FDA Approval to Sell Iron Deficiency Drug

Amag Pharmaceuticals, the Lexington, MA-based developer of a drug for iron deficiency, said today it has received clearance from the FDA to start selling the drug on the U.S. market. The intravenous drug, feromoxytol, will be marketed under the brand name Feraheme for adult patients with iron deficiency anemia with chronic kidney disease. The company … Continue reading “Amag Pharmaceuticals Wins FDA Approval to Sell Iron Deficiency Drug”

Dell Taps Skyhook for Location-Enabled Netbooks

Dell (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DELL]]) announced today that starting next week, customers will be able to order versions of its Mini 10 netbook computer equipped with GPS hardware as well as hybrid GPS and Wi-Fi-based location-finding software from Boston’s Skyhook Wireless. It’s the first time Round Rock, TX-based Dell has licensed Skyhook’s software for its products, and … Continue reading “Dell Taps Skyhook for Location-Enabled Netbooks”

The Current Digital Market and the Outlook for What’s Next

The Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange hosts this panel, titled: “The Current Digital Market and the Outlook for What’s Next: What You Need to Know and Why Now is the Key Time to Act.” MITX writes: “The Internet business and marketing industry will contribute $28B to New England’s gross domestic product this year, a 20% … Continue reading “The Current Digital Market and the Outlook for What’s Next”

Is It All Fun & Games? Online Gaming as a Branding and Engagement Tool

“What does it take to have a successful online game? Can you make money with interactive games? How do you brand the game appropriately?” Answers to these questions and more at the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange’s latest Digital Strategy event: “Is it All Fun & Games?: Online Gaming as a Branding and Engagement Tool.” … Continue reading “Is It All Fun & Games? Online Gaming as a Branding and Engagement Tool”

Powering Cleantech to Market: Highlights from the XSITE Energy Panel

[Corrected 7/1/09] The atmosphere at last Wednesday’s XSITE energy breakout session was electric—clean electric, that is. The topic of the hour was the future and feasibility of wind, solar, and other alternative energy industries in New England. Rob Day, president of the Renewable Energy Business Network, moderated the panel, which included Jay Fiske (a VP … Continue reading “Powering Cleantech to Market: Highlights from the XSITE Energy Panel”

CloudSwitch Doubles Venture Pot, Names CEO; Startup Wants to Make Cloud Computing Safe and Simple for Enterprises

Within a few years, says John McEleney, sheer economics will force most companies to stop buying their own computer hardware and offload some or all of their processing and storage to the cloud. But at the moment, figuring out which business applications can safely be transferred to the cloud—meaning pay-as-you-go, off-premises storage and computing power—is … Continue reading “CloudSwitch Doubles Venture Pot, Names CEO; Startup Wants to Make Cloud Computing Safe and Simple for Enterprises”

Fluent Mobile’s New iPhone App—An Elegant, Multi-Source News Reader

Ah, the beauties and the pitfalls of the new mobile-software ecosystem. With ready-made distribution platforms like Apple’s iTunes App Store, it’s possible for a couple of entrepreneurs to launch a company on the cheap around a single application. But if you go that route, you’re entirely at the mercy of Apple, where the App Store … Continue reading “Fluent Mobile’s New iPhone App—An Elegant, Multi-Source News Reader”

Edimer Pharmaceuticals Receives New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4358140a-a667-4758-8bc2-1c2c9e83b68e&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name Edimer Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address 29 Newbury Street Boston, MA 02116 Company Description The company provides pharmaceutical products and services. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Third Rock Ventures

DC Devices Receives $5,014,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=26fb0b59-914a-487d-ad2e-3db4b89e75a1&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name DC Devices Mailing Address Undisclosed Andover, MA 05501 Company Description The company Manufactures direct connect (DC) devices. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,014,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor General Catalyst Partners Venture Investor Undisclosed

NEHP Lands $250,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8ae65593-fca1-410e-8185-43135602b12b&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name NEHP Mailing Address 340 Avenue D Williston, VT 05495 Company Description NEHP’s process piping solutions and modularization techniques increase the efficiency of installation by reducing design time, down-time, and installation and maintenance costs. NEHP is the holder of U.S. Patent #7.039.999 B2 for its innovative, modular installation … Continue reading “NEHP Lands $250,000 New Funding Round”

Certeon Receives $3,500,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3ba56fff-4fa5-48c9-9cce-56533065ba49&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name Certeon Mailing Address 4 Van de Graaff Drive Burlington, MA 01803 Company Description Certeon’s S-Series Application Acceleration Appliances provide the industry’s first solution for Application Intelligent Networking to deliver application acceleration, security and scalability from the desktop to the data center. Certeon’s patent-pending S-Series appliances accelerate all … Continue reading “Certeon Receives $3,500,000 New Financing Round”

OxyPlus Secures $4,507,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a7754942-b8eb-4d02-aeda-6641cf6d856f&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name OxyPlus Mailing Address 300 Market Str Boston, MA 02135 Company Description OxyPlus is a developer of small molecule compounds for the treatment of cardiovascular issues and cancer. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,507,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A … Continue reading “OxyPlus Secures $4,507,000 New Funding”

MedVentive Receives $2,010,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b49c3ae0-8240-4ed0-a122-67543091953c&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 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 Receives $2,010,000 New Funding”

CaloSyn Pharma Lands $400,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f1728e5e-66e6-48ff-b12e-78c72fc150f2&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name CaloSyn Pharma Mailing Address 26 Firebrick Road Sharon, MA 02067 Company Description The company is developing intra-articular therapeutics for osteoarthritis. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $400,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor MB Venture Partners Venture … Continue reading “CaloSyn Pharma Lands $400,000 New Funding Round”

Molecular Biometrics Garners $2,400,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8be7db4b-480e-4bff-a092-7b540d74f50d&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name Molecular Biometrics Mailing Address One Edgewater Drive Norwood, MA 02062 Company Description Molecular Biometrics, Inc. develops highly specific and sensitive analytical methodologies for molecular diagnostic and monitoring applications in medicine, and for drug discovery and development through pharmacodiagnostics. Website http://www.molecularbiometrics.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,400,000 … Continue reading “Molecular Biometrics Garners $2,400,000 New Funding Round”

Ligon Discovery Secures $500,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9f754519-a356-49b6-997d-84d12f269b05&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name Ligon Discovery Mailing Address 64 Sidney Street Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description Ligon Discovery’s primary technology platform, Small-Molecule Microarrays (SMMs), fundamentally transforms drug discovery by bringing the power of microarrays to target screening. Website http://www.ligondiscovery.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “Ligon Discovery Secures $500,000 New Funding”

Draker Laboratories Receives $150,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=89f1e239-dbbe-49af-be48-ad9b8e38d106&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name Draker Laboratories Mailing Address 22 North Street Burlington, VT 05401 Company Description Draker Solar Design, Draker Laboratories™ today provides high-performance monitoring and data management systems for green power technologies, including: PV, wind, solar thermal, and hybrid energy systems. Website http://www.drakerlabs.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $150,000 … Continue reading “Draker Laboratories Receives $150,000 New Financing Round”

Bradford Networks Lands $500,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=385bfed9-7142-4fd7-8bff-b043df5bdb6f&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name Bradford Networks Mailing Address 162 Pembroke Road Concord, NH 03301 Company Description Bradford Networks is dedicated to solving the security challenges facing institutions, enterprises and government by developing innovative network access control products and services that deliver automated security solutions by leveraging existing network infrastructures. Website http://www.bradfordnetworks.com … Continue reading “Bradford Networks Lands $500,000 New Round”

BLI Messaging Garners New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=bd6f1e3c-afeb-419f-873f-b70868a7c589&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name BLI Messaging Mailing Address 125 Whipple Street Providence, RI 02908 Company Description The company provides mass email, voice, fax and SMS marketing solutions. Website http://www.blimessaging.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Catalyst … Continue reading “BLI Messaging Garners New Round”

Marathon Technologies Corporation Secures $1,040,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b49700fa-a124-4604-83ff-c1bd1dc9900e&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name Marathon Technologies Corporation Mailing Address 295 Foster Street Littleton, MA 01460 Company Description Marathon’s everRun product family represents a dramatic breakthrough in application availability, moving the market past high availability and continuous availability solutions to what Marathon calls “Infinite Availability. Website http://www.marathontechnologies.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “Marathon Technologies Corporation Secures $1,040,000 New Financing Round”

Kalido Garners $5,200,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1f31e9a4-4781-44c7-8846-cef32aae2e83&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name Kalido Mailing Address 1 Wayside Road Burlington, MA 01803 Company Description Kalido is a fast-growing enterprise software company that provides data warehousing and master data management solutions for Global 2000 companies. Website http://www.kalido.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,200,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes … Continue reading “Kalido Garners $5,200,000 New Financing”

Envista Corporation Receives $2,500,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8b320f06-048d-4b5c-bf41-ddc74e999920&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name Envista Corporation Mailing Address 900 Cummings Center Beverly, MA 01915 Company Description Envista Corporation offers an innovative, patent-pending software solution for the management of built infrastructure assets to address the need for an integrated, enterprise-wide, best-practices approach. Envista’s products were developed by experts in asset management and … Continue reading “Envista Corporation Receives $2,500,000 New Funding”