Category: Boston

EMC and Microsoft Expand Partnership

EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]), the Hopkinton, MA-based IT storage company, announced a new partnership between Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) and EMC security division RSA to improve data security for the companies’ customers across networks and data centers. The partnership will combine RSA’s and Redmond, WA-based Microsoft’s resources and technologies to, among other things, integrate RSA data-protection software … Continue reading “EMC and Microsoft Expand Partnership”

GlassHouse Raises $9.8M in Series F Round

GlassHouse Technologies, a Framingham, MA-based provider of data center management and Internet-based data backup services, has raised $9.8 million in a Series F financing round led by Cisco Systems, PE Hub reports. GlassHouse, which we included in our list of tech companies with “aging” bids for initial public offerings, has been in registration for a … Continue reading “GlassHouse Raises $9.8M in Series F Round”

Calling All Bands and Music Fans—Xconomy’s Battle of the Tech Bands 2 Is Approaching

January can be a cold, dark, cruel month around Boston. But Xconomy plans to liven it up—at least for one very loud evening—with our second annual Battle of the Tech Bands, planned for January 22 at the Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub here in Cambridge, MA. If you’re a musician and at least one member … Continue reading “Calling All Bands and Music Fans—Xconomy’s Battle of the Tech Bands 2 Is Approaching”

Boston Loses Mobile Internet World Conference to San Francisco

The Mobile Internet World trade show, produced in Boston in 2007 and 2008 by the Trendsmedia events division of Boston-based market research firm Yankee Group, will be transplanted to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2009 and revamped as a “more intimate” conference focused on networking and education, according to a Trendsmedia announcement. The announcement, … Continue reading “Boston Loses Mobile Internet World Conference to San Francisco”

Catalyst Biosciences Raises $40M from Boston-Area Backers and Other Firms

Cambridge, MA-based venture firm HealthCare Ventures and several other backers have invested $40.4 million in a Series C round of financing for Catalyst Biosciences, a South San Francisco developer of protein-based drugs for diseases such as hemophilia and cancer, according to a company statement. Morgenthaler Ventures, a Menlo Park, CA-based firm which says it has … Continue reading “Catalyst Biosciences Raises $40M from Boston-Area Backers and Other Firms”

BeatThat Founder: Holiday Discounts Unimpressive So Far

Both traffic to online retailers and actual sales appear to have been up moderately on Cyber Monday, the Internet equivalent of last week’s Black Friday bricks-and-mortar shopping binge. But it wasn’t because of the big discounts allegedly being offered by e-retailers as a way to get recession-stung consumers to open their wallets, according to an … Continue reading “BeatThat Founder: Holiday Discounts Unimpressive So Far”

Boston Biotechs Seek Scarce Funds Amid Market Famine at Annual Pitch Event

Many biotech firms in the Boston area and elsewhere are starved for capital, and initial public offerings appear to be off the table due to the economic recession. These harsh realities are likely to flavor the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council’s (MBC) annual MassBio Investors Forum next week, when 17 biotech outfits (including a new regenerative medicine … Continue reading “Boston Biotechs Seek Scarce Funds Amid Market Famine at Annual Pitch Event”

Re-energizing Energy Innovation: Experts Spar (Lightly) at Xconomy Forum

The role of technology entrepreneurs in rebuilding the U.S. energy economy was the main theme at Xconomy’s latest forum Tuesday night. Topping the agenda was an all-star panel of local entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and academic analysts, who shared their thoughts with a sold-out crowd of some 125 attendees at the British Consulate General in Cambridge, … Continue reading “Re-energizing Energy Innovation: Experts Spar (Lightly) at Xconomy Forum”

Innovation Will Set America Back on Track

Most Americans are depressed about the economy. But if we pull back and try to rise above the clouds, there are real reasons for hope. The combination of a “Yes We Can” administration headed to the White House, along with our country’s established leadership in innovation, has us standing at the crest of a trail … Continue reading “Innovation Will Set America Back on Track”

Xconomy’s Top 9 List of How to Deal With the Downturn Now Up to 12 As More Good Advice Pours In

A few weeks ago we ran a story called How to Handle the Downturn: Xconomy’s Top 9 List of Top 10 Lists. We’d been combing the Web looking for an even ten Top 10 advice lists—but came up one short. Since that time, the advice has continued to flow. One list of particular note, from … Continue reading “Xconomy’s Top 9 List of How to Deal With the Downturn Now Up to 12 As More Good Advice Pours In”

GlassHouse Technologies Inc. Obtains $9,800,000 Series F Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8d701b28-335e-4283-ba5e-ba379c37c6be&Preview=1 Date 12/4/2008 Company Name GlassHouse Technologies Inc. Mailing Address 200 Crossing Boulevard Framingham, MA 01702 Company Description GlassHouse Technologies, Inc. provides services that help organizations solve the business problems of enterprise storage. From strategy through deployment and support, GlassHouse partners with clients to transform storage into a strategic advantage. GlassHouse clients … Continue reading “GlassHouse Technologies Inc. Obtains $9,800,000 Series F Financing”

Glaxo Promotes Sirtris’ Christoph Westphal to Drug Discovery Leadership Role

Christoph Westphal is not only sticking around at Cambridge, MA-based Sirtris after the biotech company was acquired by drug giant GlaxoSmithKline, he’s just accepted a promotion. Westphal, one of the region’s top life sciences entrepreneurs, agreed to take on a new responsibility as senior vice president of Glaxo’s Center of Excellence for External Drug Discovery, … Continue reading “Glaxo Promotes Sirtris’ Christoph Westphal to Drug Discovery Leadership Role”

Videré Acquired by Providea

Quincy, MA-based Videré Conferencing, which outfits companies with high-definition videoconferencing facilities, announced today that it has been acquired by a West Coast competitor, Camarillo, CA-based Providea Conferencing. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Back in July, Providea received a venture infusion from Boston-based Westview Capital Partners.

PerkinElmer Buys Gas Analyzer Firm

PerkinElmer (NYSE:[[ticker:PKI]]), a Waltham, MA-based provider of products and services in the health-care, analytical sciences and photonics industries, announced it has acquired gas analyzer supplier Arnel, headquartered in Parlin, NJ. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The buyout of Arnel, which has served as a supplier to PerkinElmer for 18 years, is expected to enhance … Continue reading “PerkinElmer Buys Gas Analyzer Firm”

Harvard Endowment Down $8B, Further Losses Expected

Harvard University’s endowment, the largest in higher education and historically a major investor in venture capital funds, has dropped a scary 22 percent, or $8 billion, from its $36.9 billion value on June 30, the Harvard Crimson student newspaper reports. The impact of the big decline is already being felt. The Crimson reports that university … Continue reading “Harvard Endowment Down $8B, Further Losses Expected”

Polaris Co-Leads Infinite Power Solutions Series B Round

Waltham, MA-based Polaris Venture Partners and D.E. Shaw Ventures of New York are the lead investors in a $13 million Series B investment round for Infinite Power Solutions of Littleton, CO, the startup announced today. Existing investors Core Capital Partners, Applied Ventures, and In-Q-Tel also joined the round, which brings the company’s total venture pot … Continue reading “Polaris Co-Leads Infinite Power Solutions Series B Round”

An Energetic Thank You to Our Energy Innovation Forum Speakers and Sponsors

The British consulate on Memorial Drive was hopping last night as roughly 125 people gathered for our Energy Innovation forum, which featured a great panel led by Xconomist Bill Aulet of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center—and an incredible chat between Paul “Charlie Rose” Maeder of Highland Capital Partners and energy-efficiency guru Amory Lovins, co-founder and chairman … Continue reading “An Energetic Thank You to Our Energy Innovation Forum Speakers and Sponsors”

Speech Recognition on the iPhone, Via Vlingo

Back in June, Cambridge, MA speech-recognition startup Vlingo rolled out software that lets Blackberry owners run their devices using voice commands instead of their thumbs—opening applications, dictating e-mails, entering terms into Web search engines, and the like. CEO Dave Grannan said at the time that Vlingo engineers were working on similar software for other devices, … Continue reading “Speech Recognition on the iPhone, Via Vlingo”

The Obama Presidency: Some Needed Changes Likely Coming in the Life Sciences

For months and months, we heard the mantra of “Obama: the change we need; change we can believe in.” The election is finally over. The people have spoken. Now that Senator Barack Obama is president-elect, it is my hope that certain “changes” supported by the president-elect will help jump-start two areas of focus in the … Continue reading “The Obama Presidency: Some Needed Changes Likely Coming in the Life Sciences”

Alkermes Regains Vivitrol Rights, Biogen Idec Heads for the Burbs, A Peek at Partners Innovation Fund’s Portfolio, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

Several of the Boston area’s public life sciences companies were making news this week. But first… —Ryan delved into the strategy and portfolio of Partners Innovation Fund, which was launched last year by Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals to invest exclusively in startups with science from the two Harvard-affiliated hospitals. Among the startups … Continue reading “Alkermes Regains Vivitrol Rights, Biogen Idec Heads for the Burbs, A Peek at Partners Innovation Fund’s Portfolio, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

Globant Garners $13,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=af118e21-3837-43db-85ff-2b8f4db5471f&Preview=1 Date 12/3/2008 Company Name Globant Mailing Address 34 Hayden Rowe Street Hopkinton, MA 01748 Company Description Globant is the Latin American leader in Software Product Development and Maintenance outsourcing, enabling a faster time to market at the lowest total cost. At Globant, our main strategy is to proactively invest in initiatives … Continue reading “Globant Garners $13,000,000 New Financing Round”

38 Studios Goes National with Student Game Challenge

38 Studios, the Maynard, MA-based game development house founded by Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, announced today that it’s repeating the “Massachusetts Game Challenge” it launched last year. But the company is extending eligibility beyond New England this time to all U.S. and Canadian college and university students. The contest is designed to cultivate and … Continue reading “38 Studios Goes National with Student Game Challenge”

Vestas Wind Picks Mass. R&D Site

Vestas Wind Systems, a Danish wind turbine maker, reports that it plans to open an R&D center at an undisclosed location in the western suburbs of Boston, where it will develop generators, converters, and control technologies for future wind turbines. The company says that the core staff of the R&D hub will come from ePower, … Continue reading “Vestas Wind Picks Mass. R&D Site”

Venom-Derived Drug Trial Gets FDA OK

Transmolecular, a Cambridge, MA-based biotech firm, reports that the FDA has agreed to consider a filing for approval of its lead anti-cancer drug (TM601) if the molecule meets goals of a late-stage clinical trial, under the agency’s so-called Special Protocol Assessment process. The trial will test the molecule—derived from yellow scorpion venom—as a treatment for … Continue reading “Venom-Derived Drug Trial Gets FDA OK”

Helicos Shuffles CEOs, Names Lowy to Top Job

Helicos Biosciences, (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HLCS]]) the Cambridge, MA-based maker of genetic analysis tools, said it has hired Ronald Lowy as CEO, replacing Steve Lombardi, who was promoted to the top job in August. Lombardi will continue working at the company as president and as a member of the board, while concentrating on commercializing the HeliScope product … Continue reading “Helicos Shuffles CEOs, Names Lowy to Top Job”

Biogen Confirms HQ Move from Cambridge to Suburbs

Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) confirmed yesterday that the biotech company plans to move its corporate headquarters from Cambridge, MA, to a site in Weston, MA, in 2010, the Boston Business Journal reports. A company spokeswoman told the BBJ that the firm has recently inked a lease on 350,000 square feet of office space in the Boston … Continue reading “Biogen Confirms HQ Move from Cambridge to Suburbs”

FeedRoom Swallows Clearstory

Clearstory Systems, a maker of digital asset management software in Westborough, MA, said today that it has been acquired by The FeedRoom, a New York-based Web video management company. Clearstory’s price was not disclosed.

UTest Raises $5M Series B Round

UTest, the Boston-based software quality assurance outsourcing startup we profiled back in August, said today that it has raised a $5 million Series B funding round. The funds, which come on top of a $2.23 million Series A round announced in March, are from new investors Longworth Venture Partners and Egan-Managed Capital, both located in … Continue reading “UTest Raises $5M Series B Round”

Boston Scientific in $11M Funding for Estech

Natick, MA-based medical devices giant Boston Scientific (NYSE:[[ticker:BSX]]) has invested in an $11 million closing of a second-round financing for Endoscopic Technologies (Estech), a privately held provider of minimally invasive devices for heart surgeries headquartered in San Ramon, CA, VentureBeat reported today, citing a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. VentureBeat says that other investors … Continue reading “Boston Scientific in $11M Funding for Estech”

Hospital-Backed Partners VC Fund Finds Deals Close to Home—Here’s the Early List

It occurred to me that Partners Innovation Fund, unlike all other venture investors I can think of, knows exactly where it will find its future deals. That’s because the fund, launched by Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals last year, invests exclusively in startups with science from the two Harvard-affiliated hospitals. And given that … Continue reading “Hospital-Backed Partners VC Fund Finds Deals Close to Home—Here’s the Early List”

Can Tiny Insect Planes Survive Collisions? The Air Force Wants to Know

Here at Xconomy we usually focus on technologies already hitting the marketplace rather than laboratory-stage investigations. But last week we got wind of a project that’s so cool we just had to write about it: an effort to build tiny robot planes with flexible structures and built-in reflexes that would allow them to ricochet off … Continue reading “Can Tiny Insect Planes Survive Collisions? The Air Force Wants to Know”

uTest, Inc. Lands $5,000,000 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=92ce67e3-a085-4e9c-9320-4254ccb9f21e&Preview=1 Date 12/2/2008 Company Name uTest, Inc. Mailing Address 153 Cordaville Rd Southborough, MA 01772 Company Description uTestTM is revolutionizing traditional software testing by introducing the first global marketplace for software application testing coupled with a Pay Per Bug business model. Website http://www.utest.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,000,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “uTest, Inc. Lands $5,000,000 Series B Financing Round”

BEZ Systems Garners Series D Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4cb48aba-293c-4e41-90fc-17d7f628a9df&Preview=1 Date 12/2/2008 Company Name BEZ Systems Mailing Address 345A Summer Street Boston, MA 02210 Company Description BEZ Systems is an emerging, venture-backed software company that offers innovative Predictive Performance Management (PPM) solutions that provide a line-of-business view of application resource utilization that allows the enterprise to accurately profile application performance, compare … Continue reading “BEZ Systems Garners Series D Funding Round”

Venture Rounds at Energetiq, ExtendMedia, Viridity

It’s time for a trio of local funding announcements by way of Private Equity Hub, whose parent company Thomson Reuters has an arrangement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to receive copies of Regulation D filings disclosing changes in stock ownership at privately held companies (a complicated subject unto itself). Frequently, the information on these … Continue reading “Venture Rounds at Energetiq, ExtendMedia, Viridity”

Obama’s Victory and Stem Cell Research: A New Era?

“I am frustrated…that we are preventing the advancement of important science that could potentially impact millions of suffering Americans…My hope, and the hope of so many in this country, is to provide our researchers with the means to explore the uses of embryonic stem cells so that we can begin to turn the tide on … Continue reading “Obama’s Victory and Stem Cell Research: A New Era?”

Cyber Monday Breaking Records So Far, Akamai Says

Today is Cyber Monday—the Internet sequel to the Black Friday retailing rush. And according to Cambridge, MA-based Akamai, whose global network of content servers is used by hundreds of large e-commerce sites to accelerate website performance, traffic to e-retail sites is approaching record-breaking levels today as consumers try to complete their holiday gift-giving online. Akamai’s … Continue reading “Cyber Monday Breaking Records So Far, Akamai Says”

Fairchild Sues Infineon

Fairchild Semiconductor, based in South Portland, ME, said in an announcement Friday that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against German chipmaker Infineon Technologies. The two companies have been attempting to negotiate cross-licensing arrangements regarding Infineon switches and power converters using technology that Fairchild believes it has patented; the negotiations broke down and Fairchild … Continue reading “Fairchild Sues Infineon”

Oak Puts $25M into Huffington Post

Westport, CT- and Palo Alto, CA-based Oak Investment Partners is the sole participant in a $25 million financing round for the Huffington Post, the news and politics site co-founded by Arianna Huffington, according to a report today in the Wall Street Journal‘s technology news site AllThingsD. Earlier reports in the Times of London and other … Continue reading “Oak Puts $25M into Huffington Post”

Alkermes Gets Alcohol Drug Rights From Cephalon

Cambridge, MA-based Alkermes is getting full commercial rights to a drug for alcohol dependence after its partner, Frazer, PA-based Cephalon, relinquished its share of the product. Alkermes (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALKS]]) will receive an $11 million payment from Cephalon to cover estimated losses from commercializing naltrexone for extended release injectable suspension (Vivitrol), while Alkermes will pay Cephalon about … Continue reading “Alkermes Gets Alcohol Drug Rights From Cephalon”

Never Mind That Bailout: Venture Funding for Auto Innovation Accelerates As Startups Race to Leave Detroit in its Own Dust

Tomorrow, Detroit’s automakers are expected to give Congress a detailed plan that explains exactly how they intend to use $25 billion in taxpayer funding to engineer a turnaround—no doubt refueling the nationwide debate over the auto industry bailout. Meanwhile, venture capital funding for innovative automotive technologies has accelerated dramatically over the past five years. Investment … Continue reading “Never Mind That Bailout: Venture Funding for Auto Innovation Accelerates As Startups Race to Leave Detroit in its Own Dust”

Having Vanquished Hair Frizz, Living Proof Looks to Skin Care and Cosmetics

Since I wrote about Living Proof this summer, we’ve had a flurry of comments and questions about the Cambridge, MA-based firm’s biotech-inspired products for combating frizzy hair. And my Xconomy colleagues and I have had some questions of our own about the company and its wares, so I recently caught up with Living Proof CEO … Continue reading “Having Vanquished Hair Frizz, Living Proof Looks to Skin Care and Cosmetics”

Pocket Communications Pockets $100M From Battery Ventures And Others, Nuance Makes New Bid for Zi, Xconomy Closes Second Round, & More Boston-Area Deals News

Dealmaking ebbed last week as the gravy flowed, but Boston-area tech and life sciences companies still managed to serve up a few morsels of news. —Waltham, MA- and Menlo Park, CA-based Battery Ventures led a $100 million venture round for San Antonio, TX-based Pocket Communications Northeast. Pocket is putting together a new cellular network that … Continue reading “Pocket Communications Pockets $100M From Battery Ventures And Others, Nuance Makes New Bid for Zi, Xconomy Closes Second Round, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

ExtendMedia Corp. Lands $10,000,000 Series C Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=164cec24-8647-4369-920a-caad20d8ca6f&Preview=1 Date 12/1/2008 Company Name ExtendMedia Corp. Mailing Address 199 Wells Ave Newton, MA 02459 Company Description ExtendMedia provides software and media services that enable content providers and distributors to quickly and securely create, deliver, manage & monetize online content offerings over many devices. Our flagship product, OpenCASE, is a trusted foundation … Continue reading “ExtendMedia Corp. Lands $10,000,000 Series C Funding”

Viridity Inc Secures $7,000,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=511261f6-2cf2-495d-bbff-ee6cfc25c933&Preview=1 Date 12/1/2008 Company Name Viridity Inc Mailing Address 14 Estes Street Amesbury, ME 01913 Company Description Viridity is delivering a new way to dynamically manage and control these next generation data centers, and to do so holistically across all pillars of the operation: power, space, cooling, application performance, reliability and risk. … Continue reading “Viridity Inc Secures $7,000,000 Series A Round”

TCN Expert Lunch: Angel & Venture Term Sheets

Need help with your homework? This TCN (The Capital Network) Event is a follow-up to the breakfast roundtable presentation on 12/3. At this lunch event, some of Boston’s most experienced attorneys will provide 2 hours of deep instruction to entrepreneurs struggling to understand the complexity of high growth investments. Sample terms sheets will be provided … Continue reading “TCN Expert Lunch: Angel & Venture Term Sheets”