Local Motors, a Wareham, MA, startup that has incorporated Web-based community collaboration into its unconventional new process for designing consumer automobiles, today announced the winner of its latest online auto design competition, which challenged community members to come up with a design fit for Boston’s narrow streets and urban lifestyles. Mihai Panaitescu, a Romanian who … Continue reading ““Boston Bullet” Wins Local Motors Design Competition”
Category: Boston
Local Motors Tackles Carbon Crisis with Lightweight, Crowdsourced Cars
While capitalist systems are, in theory, open to any entrepreneur with an idea for a better mousetrap, most investors are pragmatists. They aren’t likely to pony up for a garage tinkerer with a way to build passenger jets better than Boeing’s or supercomputers better than Cray’s. The reality, in other words, is that certain high-tech … Continue reading “Local Motors Tackles Carbon Crisis with Lightweight, Crowdsourced Cars”
Biotech Veteran Talks of Hedge Fund Investing, Boston Celtics, and Hot Companies
The first thing I noticed when I sat down in the office of biotech investor Rich Aldrich was a shelved paperback copy of Barbarians at the Gate, the book about the legendary leveraged buyout of R.J.R Nabisco. It reminded me that Aldrich is a main character in a somewhat similar book about the biotech industry, … Continue reading “Biotech Veteran Talks of Hedge Fund Investing, Boston Celtics, and Hot Companies”
Entra Pharmaceuticals Inc Obtains $4,230,000 Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=98cb0fdd-0f3f-4eab-93d0-aad51e24d22b&Preview=1 Date 12/18/2008 Company Name Entra Pharmaceuticals Inc Mailing Address 950 Winter Street Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description The company is developing various drug delivery technologies. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,230,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Flybridge Capital … Continue reading “Entra Pharmaceuticals Inc Obtains $4,230,000 Series A Round”
SellMyTimeshareNow Raises $8.5M
Sell My Timeshare Now, the Dover, NH-based operator of timeshare resale and rental Web site SellMyTimeshareNow.com, says it has raised $8.5 million in expansion capital. The company says that Edison Venture Fund, which has offices in Needham, MA and elsewhere, is the company’s only institutional investor.
Venture Survey Forecasts A Big Chill, With Solar Bright Spot, in 2009
More gloomy forecasts from private investors in high-tech sectors. U.S. venture capitalists see a cooling trend in the investment climate for the year ahead. One of the only bright spots I saw in the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) Predictions Survey is that a majority of VCs are optimistic that the market for initial public … Continue reading “Venture Survey Forecasts A Big Chill, With Solar Bright Spot, in 2009”
Yale Endowment Down 25 Percent
Yale University president Richard Levin revealed in this letter yesterday that the New Haven, CT, university’s endowment was valued at an estimated $17 billion, down an about 25 percent from June 30, 2008. The letter follows Harvard University’s announcement earlier this month that its endowment lost more than $8 billion, or 22 percent, of its … Continue reading “Yale Endowment Down 25 Percent”
Genzyme and Boston Scientific Get Good News From the FDA; Acusphere and Targanta Not So Much; TransMedics Pulls IPO Plug; & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
New England’s life sciences firms got a lot of news from the FDA this past week—not all of it good. Here’s more on that, and the rest of the week’s news from the sector. —Ryan caught up with the CEO of Targanta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:[[ticker:TARG]]) the day after the FDA has decided to not to approve … Continue reading “Genzyme and Boston Scientific Get Good News From the FDA; Acusphere and Targanta Not So Much; TransMedics Pulls IPO Plug; & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
ITA Software: The Travel Company Everyone Uses and No One Knows Reinvents Airline Reservations, Again
In the heart of Cambridge, MA, a few blocks from the MIT campus and across the street from the missile-guidance labs at Draper Laboratories, there’s a 10-story brick office building with a brand-new corporate logo near its crown. It’s the ITA Software building, and the LED-backed logo, with its distinctive airplane-tailed @ sign, was switched … Continue reading “ITA Software: The Travel Company Everyone Uses and No One Knows Reinvents Airline Reservations, Again”
Seventh Sense Biosystems Raises $4.75M Series A, Board Attracts MIT’s Langer and Other Big Names
Cambridge, MA-based Flagship Ventures has managed to keep the existence of one of the companies it has been incubating, Seventh Sense Biosystems, a secret for about a year. But the closing of the startup’s Series A round of financing put some information about the firm in the public domain this week. (PE Hub had this … Continue reading “Seventh Sense Biosystems Raises $4.75M Series A, Board Attracts MIT’s Langer and Other Big Names”
SellMyTimeshareNOW Obtains $8,500,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=da51aec8-2012-4b50-9c86-2fa373b12b71&Preview=1 Date 12/17/2008 Company Name SellMyTimeshareNOW Mailing Address 383 Central Ave Dover, NH 03820 Company Description Sell My Timeshare NOW is the global leader in connecting timeshare buyers, sellers, and renters! Our Expert Staff intimately understands what it takes to make the rental or sale of a timeshare quick and hassle free. … Continue reading “SellMyTimeshareNOW Obtains $8,500,000 New Financing Round”
ExaGrid Systems Obtains $12,000,000 Series D Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=89813037-54ce-4900-aba1-371defb06bca&Preview=1 Date 12/17/2008 Company Name ExaGrid Systems Mailing Address 2000 West Park Drive Westborough, MA 01581 Company Description ExaGrid Systems, an innovator in Self-Protecting Storage, provides the industry’s most comprehensive integrated storage and data protection solutions. Website http://www.exagrid.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $12,000,000 Transaction Round Series D Proceeds Purposes Proceeds … Continue reading “ExaGrid Systems Obtains $12,000,000 Series D Funding Round”
India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 4: Of Hyper-Competition and Corruption
Bangalore, December 15—For 45 years after independence, Indian companies for all practical purposes operated without competition. Monopolies were granted by the government for extended periods. Many fortunes were made, both by industrialists and corrupt politicians. Consumers had to wait years for “luxury” goods such as cars and telephones. This began to change in 1992, when … Continue reading “India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 4: Of Hyper-Competition and Corruption”
Amgen’s Bid to Make Cancer Drug “Personalized” Lacks Data, FDA Panel Says
Amgen, the world’s largest biotechnology company, with operations in Seattle and Cambridge, MA, came up short in its bid to make its colorectal cancer drug personalized today in front of a panel of expert advisers to the FDA. The panel said Amgen and Eli Lilly will have to run more clinical trials to gather enough … Continue reading “Amgen’s Bid to Make Cancer Drug “Personalized” Lacks Data, FDA Panel Says”
Mass Life Sciences Center Attracts J&J Matching Funds, Awards $3.7M in Industry-Academic Grants
It’s a big day for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the quasi-public agency that manages the state’s plan to invest $1 billion in its life sciences industry over the next 10 years. New Jersey-based medical products giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:[[ticker:JNJ]]) has become the first company to join the agency’s new Corporate Consortium intended to … Continue reading “Mass Life Sciences Center Attracts J&J Matching Funds, Awards $3.7M in Industry-Academic Grants”
Axeda Buys Questra
Foxborough, MA-based Axeda announced today that it has acquired Questra of Redwood City, CA. Both companies make software-as-a-service systems that allow software administrators to remotely upgrade and service enterprise IT systems and software. The terms of the acquisition were not published.
EMC Appoints Leader for Decho, Cloud Services
Storage giant EMC (NYSC: [[ticker:EMC]]) of Hopkinton, MA, said today that veteran software executive Harel Kodesh has been appointed president of the company’s Cloud Infrastructure division and CEO of Decho, a new subsidiary formed in November from the combination of EMC’s Mozy and Pi divisions. Kodesh is the former chief products officer at Missouri-based telecommunications … Continue reading “EMC Appoints Leader for Decho, Cloud Services”
Legislator Drafting Bill to Outlaw Non-Compete Agreements in Massachusetts
Many Massachusetts companies require new employees to sign agreements saying that if they leave, they won’t go to work for a competitor for at least a year. The idea behind these non-compete agreements is to prevent a company’s competitors from gaining access to trade secrets and key personnel. But there’s a growing chorus of entrepreneurs, … Continue reading “Legislator Drafting Bill to Outlaw Non-Compete Agreements in Massachusetts”
ATV Promotes Energy Leader Friendly
Waltham, MA-based Advanced Technology Ventures has promoted New England clean energy maven Andrew Friendly to principal, the firm announced today. Friendly co-heads the Renewable Energy Business Network and serves on the New England Clean Energy Council’s advisory board. He also represents ATV on the boards of AltaRock Energy and Solar Junction. His promotion came as … Continue reading “ATV Promotes Energy Leader Friendly”
Flybridge Unveils Scholarship Program to Help Students Network and Stay in MA
Massachusetts is home to perhaps the world’s greatest concentration of top colleges and universities, many of them rich in the science and engineering education that forms the backbone of our high-tech economy. But one rap the Bay State has taken is that many graduates leave for jobs on the West Coast and other places rather … Continue reading “Flybridge Unveils Scholarship Program to Help Students Network and Stay in MA”
BlueKai Makes Splash with $10.5M Round, Wants Advertisers to Understand Consumer Intentions
BlueKai, an online-marketing startup in Bellevue, WA, has nailed down one of the bigger tech venture deals of the past few months. The company is announcing today it has closed a $10.5 million Series B investment led by Battery Ventures, based in Waltham, MA, and Menlo Park, CA. The round also includes returning investor Redpoint … Continue reading “BlueKai Makes Splash with $10.5M Round, Wants Advertisers to Understand Consumer Intentions”
Seventh Sense Biosystems Inc Receives $4,180,000 Series A Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=bed7ea6a-aefa-4d64-8745-c8f382dd3c7a&Preview=1 Date 12/16/2008 Company Name Seventh Sense Biosystems Inc Mailing Address One Memorial Drive 7th Floor Cambridge, MA 02142 Company Description Seventh Sense Biosystems Inc is a medical device startup company. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,180,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A … Continue reading “Seventh Sense Biosystems Inc Receives $4,180,000 Series A Financing Round”
Genzyme Wins FDA Approval of Mozobil
Genzyme won FDA approval today of a new drug for patients with blood cancers. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]) said it has gotten clearance to sell plerixafor (Mozobil) as an injectable drug for patients with a pair of deadly blood malignancies, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma, who need transplants of blood-forming stem cells. … Continue reading “Genzyme Wins FDA Approval of Mozobil”
TransMedics Pulls IPO
TransMedics has nixed plans for an IPO worth up to $86 million, citing unfavorable market conditions. The Andover, MA-based firm, which first filed for the offering in September 2007, develops systems for transporting organs for transplant.
Boston Hedge Fund Lashes Northstar Neuroscience, Urges Liquidation
Pressure is mounting once again on Northstar Neuroscience to fold up its tent and go home. The Seattle-based medical device company got hit today with an angry letter from one of its largest shareholders, Boston-based RA Capital, which urges the board to shut down the company and distribute all of its remaining cash and assets … Continue reading “Boston Hedge Fund Lashes Northstar Neuroscience, Urges Liquidation”
Everypoint Introduces Slick Mobile Apps for the Non-iPhone Crowd
There’s a reason why the excitement in the mobile application development world has shifted to new platforms such as the Apple iPhone and Google’s Android operating system. It’s because it’s relatively easy to write and disseminate cool software for these systems, which offer a) lots of support for powerful graphics and communications, b) access to … Continue reading “Everypoint Introduces Slick Mobile Apps for the Non-iPhone Crowd”
Ignite Clean Energy Team Building
The Ignite Clean Energy (ICE) competition could be a great way to jump-start a new venture in this hot field. The 30 semi-finalist teams will get access to mentors in finance, business development, operations, and technology. The ICE Team Building events are set up to inform and encourage potential competitors. If you want to compete … Continue reading “Ignite Clean Energy Team Building”
MITX Video Series: Planning Your Online Video Strategy for 2009
Xconomy has dabbled in online video, so we believe it — “online video will be an integral part of the communication mix moving forward.” Join a panel of industry experts at this MITX event to hear about video initiatives, innovations, market needs and consumer demand.
Konarka Gets $45M from Total
Lowell, MA-based Konarka, which is developing a process for making solar photovoltaic cells on flexible plastic, said today that it has secured a $45 million investment from Total, a Paris-based international oil and gas conglomerate. Konarka also said it has signed a bilateral R&D agreement with Total, which will become its single largest shareholder (owning … Continue reading “Konarka Gets $45M from Total”
Tysabri Patient Diagnosed With PML
Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) said today that a patient has been diagnosed with a rare, and often fatal brain infection called PML while taking natalizumab (Tysabri). The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company, which markets the drug along with its partner, Ireland-based Elan, said the patient was in Europe, has a history of taking other immune-suppressors for … Continue reading “Tysabri Patient Diagnosed With PML”
Fairchild Slashes 1,100 Jobs
Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: [[ticker:FCS]]) of South Portland, ME, said last week that it will cut its worldwide employee base by 1,100 jobs, or about 12 percent, as part of a restructuring plan intended to help the chipmaker weather the economic downturn. There was no word on how many of the layoffs will affect Fairchild employees … Continue reading “Fairchild Slashes 1,100 Jobs”
FDA Approves BSX Renal Stent
Boston Scientific (NYSE:[[ticker:BSX]]), the Natick, MA-based medical devices giant, says that the FDA has approved its stent for certain patients who undergo surgeries to remove plaques from their renal arteries. The stent is designed to prop open renal arteries, which are the main source of blood to the kidneys.
Amgen Cancer Drug Getting Personal, Which May Be a Good Thing for Patients—and Sales
Amgen is preparing to make an unusual argument to an FDA advisory panel tomorrow. The world’s largest biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]), with research operations in Seattle and Cambridge, MA, plans to make a case that one of its drugs should be used by just a subgroup of patients with colorectal cancer who appear to be … Continue reading “Amgen Cancer Drug Getting Personal, Which May Be a Good Thing for Patients—and Sales”
Economy Makes Disease Foundations Get Choosier
The biotech industry is always on the lookout for cash, so one of the more positive developments of recent years has been the entrance of disease foundations into the pool of potential investors. Cambridge, MA-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:VRTX]]), for one, has said that their efforts to develop VX-770 for treating cystic fibrosis wouldn’t be possible … Continue reading “Economy Makes Disease Foundations Get Choosier”
Scallop Imaging Security Cameras Give New Meaning to All-Seeing
With only two eyes apiece, spanning a mere 180-degree field of view, humans have an innately limited understanding of what it means to see. Some insects have compound eyes with hundreds or thousands of facets that can form a nearly 360-degree picture of the world around them. The shells of many scallop species are rimmed … Continue reading “Scallop Imaging Security Cameras Give New Meaning to All-Seeing”
Konarka Technologies Garners $45,000,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e1581356-935a-4a27-9f5a-9aaa9f925a70&Preview=1 Date 12/15/2008 Company Name Konarka Technologies Mailing Address 116 John Street Lowell, MA 01852 Company Description Konarka builds power plastic that converts light to energy anywhere. The company develops and manufactures light-activated power plastic that is inexpensive, lightweight, flexible and versatile. Website http://www.konarka.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $45,000,000 Transaction … Continue reading “Konarka Technologies Garners $45,000,000 New Funding”
128 Innovation Capital Group
The latest speaker in the 128 Innovation Capital Group’s regular breakfast meetings is Luis Barros, Senior Vice President Industry Relations, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. According to the billing, which you can see all of here, “Mr. Barros will share the plans the Center has to invest in innovative companies in the Life Sciences.” Coffee and … Continue reading “128 Innovation Capital Group”
Start-up Clinic
Chinese food and startups. That’s the combination the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge uses for its regular Start-up clinics held at the Royal East restaurant near Central Square in Cambridge. At each meeting, attendees get to hear first-hand from a few startup CEOs about their businesses. This one is scheduled, but speakers haven’t been announced … Continue reading “Start-up Clinic”
MIT Enterprise Forum Concept Clinic
The Technology Concept Clinics offered by the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge are designed to offer insights into what it takes to take cool technology ideas or concepts and turn them into successful products or companies. The subject of this upcoming clinice hadn’t been announced as of this writing, but registration is here.
Semprus BioSciences Secures $8,000,000 Series A Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=24c711d8-4ae0-4fff-a92d-af6606c063e9&Preview=1 Date 12/14/2008 Company Name Semprus BioSciences Mailing Address One Kendall Street Building 1400, 1st Floor Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description Semprus BioSciences is a venture-backed biotechnology company developing functional surfaces to prevent medical device complications. Our initial product development efforts are focused on the first implantable and permanently antimicrobial surface technology. … Continue reading “Semprus BioSciences Secures $8,000,000 Series A Funding”
TechTarget Cuts 76, Shutters Two Magazines
Needham, MA-based technology media publisher TechTarget (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TTGT]]) said in an SEC filing Thursday that it plans to cut costs by laying off 76 employees, or about 12 percent of its total workforce. The company also said it will shut down its two print publications, Storage Magazine and Information Security Magazine. We’ve updated the Boston … Continue reading “TechTarget Cuts 76, Shutters Two Magazines”
25 Workers Let Go at GT Solar
GT Solar (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SOLR]]), a maker of equipment for manufacturing photovoltaic solar cells, said today that it will lay off 25 production workers at its Merrimack, NH, plant. The cuts, a reaction to requests from GT Solar’s customers for delayed shipment of solar furnaces, represent just over 8 percent of the company’s work force. We’ve … Continue reading “25 Workers Let Go at GT Solar”
Tick Tock. The Deadline to Enter the Battle of The Tech Bands is Midnight Tonight
Just a friendly reminder to all of you who trade pipettes, protractors, and powerpoints for whammy bars and hi hats at the end of the day: The deadline to enter Xconomy’s second annual Battle of the Tech Bands is midnight tonight. It’s shaping up to be a spectacular show and the prizes are pretty sweet, … Continue reading “Tick Tock. The Deadline to Enter the Battle of The Tech Bands is Midnight Tonight”
Sonus Networks Cuts 50 Employees
Westford, MA-based Sonus Networks (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SONS]]), which makes servers, switches, and software for Internet-based residential and business telephony, said yesterday that it will lay off 50 employees, or roughly 5 percent of its global workforce, as part of a cost-management plan. The company did not say how many of the affected employees worked from the … Continue reading “Sonus Networks Cuts 50 Employees”
GSK Pays Synta $15M
Lexington, MA-based cancer drug developer Synta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SNTA]]) announced it has earned a $15 million milestone payment from GlaxoSmithKline. The pyament is part of a deal inked last October and worth up to $1.1 billion that focuses on Synta’s elesclomol, which is currently in Phase 3 testing as a treatment for metastatic melanoma.
Momenta Raises $24.1M From Select Investors
Momenta Pharmaceuticals, the Cambridge, MA-based developer of generic versions of complex drugs, said today it has received commitments from investors to bet another $24.1 million on the company. The investors are buying 2.8 million shares at $9 a share. The money will be used for manufacturing, clinical trial costs, and potential acquisitions of companies and … Continue reading “Momenta Raises $24.1M From Select Investors”
Energy Innovation and the Economy: New England Speaks Out on Video
During the networking-and-refreshments portion of Xconomy’s forum on Energy Innovation at the British Consulate General in Cambridge, MA, last week, we pulled aside a few volunteers to share their personal thoughts about energy innovation on camera. We’ve rolled the most interesting responses together into the 10-minute video at the end of this post. Xconomy’s business … Continue reading “Energy Innovation and the Economy: New England Speaks Out on Video”
Lightwave Power Closes Series A Round
Lightwave Power, a Cambridge, MA, startup developing a roll-to-roll process for manufacturing solar cells on flexible substrates, said today that it has closed a Series A financing round led by Quercus Trust, a stealthy Southern California investment group. 21Ventures of New York was named as a co-investor. Lightwave’s announcement did not disclose the amount of … Continue reading “Lightwave Power Closes Series A Round”
Biogen Idec VC Group Sees Opportunity in Tough Market, Has $100M New Allocation to Invest in Biotech Firms
It’s tough times for biotech entrepreneurs in search of new funds to launch startups, with early-stage investors conserving capital for their existing portfolio companies. Yet one venture group that isn’t hurting for capital nowadays is Biogen Idec New Ventures, the San Diego-based VC arm of big biotech company Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]). Biogen this year committed … Continue reading “Biogen Idec VC Group Sees Opportunity in Tough Market, Has $100M New Allocation to Invest in Biotech Firms”
Boston-Power Gets a Charge Out of HP, Semprus Seizes $8M, Alnylam Expands Patent Position, & More Boston-Area Deals News
How about half a dozen venture deals to brighten a dreary New England week? Those, and the rest of the Boston-area deals news, below. —Several Boston-area firms helped funnel $40 million into cellulosic ethanol startup Coskata of Warrenville, IL. The Series C round was led by the new Cleantech Venture Fund of Blackstone Group, which … Continue reading “Boston-Power Gets a Charge Out of HP, Semprus Seizes $8M, Alnylam Expands Patent Position, & More Boston-Area Deals News”