Westport, CT-based Oak Investment Partners is the sole investor in a $30 million Series B venture round for San Francisco cleantech startup Greenvolts, the company announced today. Greenvolts is developing solar energy farms in which vast arrays of reflectors concentrate the sun’s rays on high-efficiency photovoltaic cells.
Category: Boston
Doors Open at Microsoft Research New England
Microsoft is celebrating the official opening of its newest research lab in Cambridge, MA, today with a day-long symposium at MIT on the intersection of computer science and the social sciences. That’s also where the lab itself —the company’s fifth research outpost outside its Redmond, WA, home base—will focus its efforts, at least initially, says … Continue reading “Doors Open at Microsoft Research New England”
Vertex Offering Up To $220M
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]) announced that the underwriters of its stock offering have exercised their option to purchase 1.1 million additional shares, bringing the overall size of the deal to 8.6 million shares worth a total of $220.0 million. The Cambridge, MA-based developer of the hepatitis C drug telaprevir last week priced 7.5 million shares … Continue reading “Vertex Offering Up To $220M”
How to Build a Life Sciences Company: Xconomy Forum Tomorrow
We’re looking forward to a great morning tomorrow at our half-day conference, How to Build a Life Sciences Company. In addition to the keynote chat with legendary MIT inventor and entrepreneur Bob Langer and Polaris Venture Partners co-founder Terry McGuire (Xconomy chief correspondent Wade Roush will moderate), we have five case studies of recent startups … Continue reading “How to Build a Life Sciences Company: Xconomy Forum Tomorrow”
Ariad Loses Patent Case Against Amgen
Ariad Pharmaceuticals said today it lost a patent lawsuit filed against Amgen, the world’s largest biotechnology company. Cambridge, MA-based Ariad (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARIA]]) the U.S. District Court in Delaware said Amgen’s rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel doesn’t infringe on Ariad’s patent on reducing NF-(kappa) B activity. Ariad holds an exclusive license on the patent, called ‘516, from … Continue reading “Ariad Loses Patent Case Against Amgen”
Targanta Aims to “Simplifi” Treatment of Deadly Bugs With Single-Shot Antibiotic
Plenty of investors have been skeptical about Targanta Therapeutics’ claim that it has an antibiotic that can kill drug-resistant pathogens like MRSA with a single shot. That’s what the Cambridge, MA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TARG]]) claimed in a press release on Sept. 2, when the stock closed at $7.46. Since then, it’s dropped to $6.83 at … Continue reading “Targanta Aims to “Simplifi” Treatment of Deadly Bugs With Single-Shot Antibiotic”
Vertex Prices Stock Offering, $7M for Rapid7, Global Insight and NextPoint Acquired, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Last week saw the announcement of a number of venture financings for New England technology and life sciences firms. I’m guessing a similar number of startups are feeling awfully glad they closed their deals ahead of the week’s stock-market madness. —The consumer-oriented fund of Highland Capital Partners reportedly led a $6 million Series D financing … Continue reading “Vertex Prices Stock Offering, $7M for Rapid7, Global Insight and NextPoint Acquired, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
CityVoter, Inc. Secures $2,600,000 Series B Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0d315106-2dc4-40e2-9773-cdd5c9b5ac45&Preview=1 Date 9/22/2008 Company Name CityVoter, Inc. Mailing Address 84 Hamilton Street Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description CityVoter is a technology and market research company that builds image-based city guides for leading media companies. Website http://www.cityvoter.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,600,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were … Continue reading “CityVoter, Inc. Secures $2,600,000 Series B Round”
Soteira Collects $12 Million
PE Week Wire reports today, based on a regulatory filing, that stealth-mode medical device startup Soteira has closed a Series B financing round amounting to $12 million. Investors include Delphi Ventures, Federated Kaufman Fund, HLM Venture Partners, Partech International, and Prism VentureWorks, according to the report. Soteira, which is listed as having offices in either … Continue reading “Soteira Collects $12 Million”
Nexus Leads Aethon Investment
Nexus Medical Partners of Quincy, MA, is the lead investor in a $14 million financing round for Pittsburgh-based Aethon, a maker of RFID systems for tracking hospital equipment, the startup said yesterday. New York, NY-based Radius Ventures co-led the round, which was also joined by existing investors Trident Capital, Pacific Venture Group, Salix Ventures, Draper … Continue reading “Nexus Leads Aethon Investment”
Global Insight Gobbled Up by IHS
Lexington, MA-based economic forecasting firm Global Insight said yesterday that it will be acquired by IHS (NYSE: [[ticker:IHS]]) of Englewood, CO. Global Insight’s 700 employees, including 325 analysts, provide business analyses and risk assessments for regions around the world to industrial, financial, and government clients, while IHS specializes in analysis energy, security, environemental, and product … Continue reading “Global Insight Gobbled Up by IHS”
GI Dynamics Looks to Tackle Two Global Epidemics with Single Device, Reveals Seedling Roots
GI Dynamics has ambitious plans to gain regulatory approvals to treat two global epidemics—obesity and type 2 diabetes—with its experimental intestinal liner. The reversible, minimally invasive procedure to place the device in patients could appeal to an even wider market than permanent surgeries such as gastric bypass that are currently popular options. The Lexington, MA, … Continue reading “GI Dynamics Looks to Tackle Two Global Epidemics with Single Device, Reveals Seedling Roots”
Alnylam, RXi On Collision Course Over Intellectual Property From Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals may have to be careful what it wishes for. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) supported Gov. Deval Patrick’s 10-year, $1 billion initiative to boost the life sciences industry in the state, and now that it’s become law, the company says the initiative might give one of its competitors an unfair advantage. … Continue reading “Alnylam, RXi On Collision Course Over Intellectual Property From Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative”
GPS Treasure Hunting with Your iPhone 3G
If you had to name the companies that stand to lose the most from Apple’s latest smartphone, released July 11, you might say Microsoft, Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, or Verizon. But I have a different list: Garmin, Magellan, and TomTom. That’s because new third-party apps available for the iPhone 3G make it into a wholly credible … Continue reading “GPS Treasure Hunting with Your iPhone 3G”
Vertex Raises $191 Million in Stock Offering
Vertex Pharmaceuticals, the Cambridge, MA-based developer of telaprevir for hepatitis C, raised $191.3 million from the sale of 7.5 million shares at $25.50 apiece, the company said. Goldman Sachs & Co. is serving as the sole book runner for the offering, and it has an option to buy another 1.1 million shares at the same … Continue reading “Vertex Raises $191 Million in Stock Offering”
Sirtris’ Westphal Enjoying Life Under GSK Ownership; Hints at Positive Human Data on Next-Gen Drugs to Extend Healthy Life (and Still Partying on Fridays)
Sirtris is now part of pharmaceutical behemoth GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:[[ticker:GSK]]), but the British giant has allowed its acquisition a unique dose of autonomy since it bought the small, Cambridge, MA-based biotech in June for $720 million. For those who still haven’t heard, Sirtris is known around the world for the dazzling potential of its drugs to … Continue reading “Sirtris’ Westphal Enjoying Life Under GSK Ownership; Hints at Positive Human Data on Next-Gen Drugs to Extend Healthy Life (and Still Partying on Fridays)”
Back into the Cauldron: Patent Suit Renews Bitter Dispute Between Gasification Rivals Quantum Catalytics and Ze-gen
Boston clean-energy startup Ze-gen is building a pilot plant where waste materials are vaporized in a giant vat of molten iron, producing “syngas” that can then be burned to make electricity. When a federal judge in Texas dismissed a patent-infringement lawsuit against the company last month, Ze-gen had cause to hope that its recent legal … Continue reading “Back into the Cauldron: Patent Suit Renews Bitter Dispute Between Gasification Rivals Quantum Catalytics and Ze-gen”
Pulmatrix, Emerging From Stealth Mode, Makes Aerosols to Kill Flu and Bacterial Bugs in the Lungs
If a global flu pandemic strikes, public health officials might someday turn to a company emerging from stealth mode called Pulmatrix. The Lexington, MA-based biotech firm is gearing up for its next steps, hoping to show in clinical trials that its inhalable aerosols can prevent any number of viral and bacterial invaders from making people … Continue reading “Pulmatrix, Emerging From Stealth Mode, Makes Aerosols to Kill Flu and Bacterial Bugs in the Lungs”
Soteira, Inc. Secures $12,000,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9442772b-9bc7-4cea-a372-54f52c7c46dd&Preview=1 Date 9/18/2008 Company Name Soteira, Inc. Mailing Address 14 Tech Circle Natick, MA 01760 Company Description Soteira, Inc. is developing a system for treatment of vertebral compression fractures in patients with osteoporosis, cancer or traumatic injuries. Soteira’s design provides a superior biomechanical structure and better control of cement flow than other … Continue reading “Soteira, Inc. Secures $12,000,000 Series B Financing”
Vertex To Sell 7 Million Shares of Stock
Vertex Pharmaceuticals, the developer of telaprevir for hepatitis C, said today it is planning to sell 7 million new shares of stock. Goldman, Sachs & Co. is serving as the sole book-runner for the offering. Cambridge, MA-based Vertex (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]) closed at $26.57 yesterday, down 5.6 percent on the day. The company had $832 million … Continue reading “Vertex To Sell 7 Million Shares of Stock”
Boston VCs: Counting the Billions of Dollars Raised
This is a revised version of an essay that Microsoft’s Don Dodge published today in his personal blog and contributed simultaneously to Xconomy. Commonwealth Capital Ventures held their annual open house this week at their Winter Street offices on “VC Hill” in Waltham. VC Hill is to Boston/Waltham what Sand Hill Road is to Silicon … Continue reading “Boston VCs: Counting the Billions of Dollars Raised”
Health 2.0 Northeast: What’s Next?
Entrepreneurs, investors, technologists, health care professionals, insurers and otherswill gather at Health 2.0 Northeast to discuss the current state and future of the industry. Registration is $25 now, $35 at the event. More information at the event web site.
4th Conference on Clean Energy (CCE)
At the Conference on Clean Energy — theme: “The Pathway to Greenovation” — more than 20 innovative clean energy companies will get to strut their stuff for potential investors. Add in panels of successful CEOs, Seed, VC and Project Finance panels, and an Exhibit Hall featuring clean energy businesses, and you’ve got one energetic energy … Continue reading “4th Conference on Clean Energy (CCE)”
GenBand Buys NextPoint
Billerica, MA-based NextPoint Networks, the telecommunications equipment maker just formed last December from the merger of Billerica’s Reef Point Systems and Gaithersburg, MD-based NexTone Communications, has been acquired by Plano, TX-based GenBand, the company announced yesterday. GenBand, which is paying an undisclosed sum for NextPoint, makes devices called session border controllers (SBCs) that are used … Continue reading “GenBand Buys NextPoint”
Kiva Robots Deliver Diapers
It may still be a while before robots can actually change diapers, but at least they can help move them around inside warehouses. That’s the word today from Kiva Systems, the Woburn, MA-based maker of “automated fulfillment systems”—i.e. fleets of squat orange robots designed to move shelves to human order pickers, rather than forcing workers … Continue reading “Kiva Robots Deliver Diapers”
Bain Pours $7M Into Rapid7’s Security Software
Watching the financial markets during a week like this one might make putting your money into “vulnerability management” technology sound pretty attractive. At least that seems to be the thinking at a few local investment firms. Yesterday, we reported that Greylock Partners and Commonweath Capital Ventures have provided $7.5 million in expansion capital for Waltham, … Continue reading “Bain Pours $7M Into Rapid7’s Security Software”
Bessemer Leads $30M Recharge for PowerGenix
Bessemer Venture Partners, which has offices in Wellesley Hills, MA, is the leader in a $30 million Series D financing round announced today for PowerGenix. The San Diego company makes rechargeable nickel-zinc batteries, which are lighter, smaller, and less toxic than batteries using competing chemistries, such as lithium ion and nickel-metal-hydride. Existing investors Advent International, … Continue reading “Bessemer Leads $30M Recharge for PowerGenix”
Todd Dagres on the Media Trends Taking Spark Capital Way Beyond Boston
Boston venture firm Spark Capital launched three years ago with a relatively small $260 million fund mainly targeting early-stage investments at the “conflux of the media, entertainment, and technology industries.” Small funds typically focus on a given geographical region, in addition to their specialty areas. But on Monday, when Spark announced the hiring of former … Continue reading “Todd Dagres on the Media Trends Taking Spark Capital Way Beyond Boston”
Millennium Enjoying New Era, Novartis Boosting Vaccine Effort, Living Proof Offering Frizz Fighters Online, & More Life Sciences News
This week it was insanely humid in the Boston area, so we were relieved to learn that Living Proof had begun selling its frizz-fighting hair products online. That, and the rest of the week’s (perhaps more weighty) life sciences news, below. —Luke caught up with Millennium Pharmaceuticals CEO Deborah Dunsire four months after her Cambridge, … Continue reading “Millennium Enjoying New Era, Novartis Boosting Vaccine Effort, Living Proof Offering Frizz Fighters Online, & More Life Sciences News”
IBM Opens Social Software Research Center in Cambridge
The personal and professional connections that people make over computer networks can be at least as important to business as the actual work they do using those networks. To capitalize on that fact, IBM is setting up a new Center for Social Software in Cambridge, MA, where researchers and product developers from inside and outside … Continue reading “IBM Opens Social Software Research Center in Cambridge”
Rapid7 Secures $7,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b3e26e28-bc12-43a4-a810-5152d655df39&Preview=1 Date 9/17/2008 Company Name Rapid7 Mailing Address 545 Boylston Street Boston, ME 02116 Company Description Rapid7 is the leading provider of NeXpose Unified Vulnerability Management (UVM) Solutions. Website http://www.rapid7.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $7,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Rapid7 will use the funds to broaden global sales channels, … Continue reading “Rapid7 Secures $7,000,000 New Financing”
Amgen’s Dmab Cuts Fracture Risk for Osteoporosis Patients, Just What Investors Wanted to See
Amgen finally has something emerging from its pipeline to thrill investors. The world’s largest biotech company, with research centers in Seattle and Cambridge, MA, is reporting today that its lead drug in development reduced the risk of spinal fractures for women with osteoporosis by a whopping 68 percent. On another dismal day in the markets, … Continue reading “Amgen’s Dmab Cuts Fracture Risk for Osteoporosis Patients, Just What Investors Wanted to See”
GE Shoots $4M Investment to Advanced Electron Beams
Advanced Electron Beams (AEB) of Wilmington, MA, has boosted its “green” credentials with technology that enables industry to sterilize or cure products without the energy costs and chemical waste of other solutions. General Electric (NYSE:[[ticker:GE]]) says it likes how AEB’s energy-efficient electron beam emitters complement GE’s “ecomagination” initiative to use more clean technologies, and now … Continue reading “GE Shoots $4M Investment to Advanced Electron Beams”
Ounce Labs Raises A Ton of New Funding
Waltham, MA-based Ounce Labs, whose software automatically scans the source code of enterprise applications for security flaws, said today that it has raised $7.5 million in Series D financing. A group led by Greylock Partners and Commonweath Capital Ventures, which both have offices in Waltham, contributed the funds, which will be used mainly to “accelerate … Continue reading “Ounce Labs Raises A Ton of New Funding”
Punchbowl Spiked With an Extra $2.1 Million
Punchbowl Software, the Framingham, MA, startup that runs the Web 2.0 party planning service MyPunchbowl (profiled here last October), has obtained its first major round of venture financing. The company raised $2.1 million from a group of investors including New York-based Contour Venture Partners and seed-round participants Intel Capital and eCoast Angels. MyPunchbowl is designed … Continue reading “Punchbowl Spiked With an Extra $2.1 Million”
North Shore Web Geeks
The September meeting of the North Shore Web Geeks slips to the fourth Thursday in September (not the usual third Thursday). To make the wait worthwhile, sponsor iMarc.net will give a free drink to the first 30 arrivals. From the North Shore Web Geeks web site: “A monthly meetup for web folks north of Boston, … Continue reading “North Shore Web Geeks”
GI Dynamics’ Gut-Lining Device Combats Diabetes, Obesity in Small Trial
Patients battling obesity and Type 2 diabetes will sometimes go to great lengths to reduce the amount of food reaching their bloodstream, including having their gastrointestinal tracts rearranged in a procedure known as gastric bypass. But GI Dynamics may soon be able to offer a less drastic alternative—a two-foot-long flexible sleeve slipped into the GI … Continue reading “GI Dynamics’ Gut-Lining Device Combats Diabetes, Obesity in Small Trial”
Sirtris Gains SIRT3 Licenses from Harvard
Sirtris announced today that it has gained two exclusive licenses to Harvard University patents related to SIRT3, an enzyme believed to protect against cellular damage. The Cambridge, MA, biotech firm—which was acquired by British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: [[ticker:GSK]]) in June for $720 million—says the licenses cover assays that may identify SIRT3 activators for diseases … Continue reading “Sirtris Gains SIRT3 Licenses from Harvard”
Netezza Finds Its Way with Spatial Data
Marlborough, MA-based Netezza (NYSE: [[ticker:NZ]]) will today unveil a feature for which users of its data warehouse appliances have long been clamoring: location. The firm raised more than $100 million in a July 2007 IPO, based largely on the perceived strength of its appliances, which are designed to speed up the complex queries that business … Continue reading “Netezza Finds Its Way with Spatial Data”
Advanced Electron Beams Garners $4,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=83e00e49-3f7d-4c98-8798-018e0aa325e9&Preview=1 Date 9/16/2008 Company Name Advanced Electron Beams Mailing Address 301 Ballardvale Street Wilmington, MA 01887 Company Description Advanced Electron Beams has developed one of the world’s most efficient and clean forms of industrial energy: the AEB Emitter. Conceived and developed by company founder Tovi Avnery, the AEB Emitter captures the power … Continue reading “Advanced Electron Beams Garners $4,000,000 New Funding Round”
Punchbowl Software, Inc. Obtains $2,100,000 Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8cd71157-bcdf-4791-8f6a-a9a9cf1d30a9&Preview=1 Date 9/16/2008 Company Name Punchbowl Software, Inc. Mailing Address 873 Concord Street Framingham, MA 01701 Company Description At Punchbowl Software, we believe that planning an event or party should be enjoyable and easy. Website http://www.mypunchbowl.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,100,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes The new funding … Continue reading “Punchbowl Software, Inc. Obtains $2,100,000 Series A Round”
Ounce Labs Inc. Obtains $7,500,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=52d3a1a2-e3c9-47c0-bd1c-e4100c116d72&Preview=1 Date 9/16/2008 Company Name Ounce Labs Inc. Mailing Address 100 Fifth Avenue Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description Ounce Labs delivers actionable metrics to help organizations understand and manage the vulnerabilities in their critical applications. Customers use this information to assess risk and prioritize security investments, to comply with regulatory demands, and … Continue reading “Ounce Labs Inc. Obtains $7,500,000 New Funding Round”
Mobile Monday Boston
The theme of this month’s student-oriented Mobile Monday Boston event is “Boston’s Most Successful Mobile Entrepreneurs.” On deck is a panel of founder-entrepreneurs including m-Qube founder and CTO Eswar Priyadarshan, Enpocket founder and CEO Jeremy Wright, and VoiceSignal founder and CEO Dan Roth, with moderator Shikhar Ghosh, founder and CEO of Appex and OpenMarket. Entrepreneurship-focused … Continue reading “Mobile Monday Boston”
.406 Invests in Ambient Devices
Boston’s .406 Ventures said today that it has “entered into an equity partnership” with Cambridge, MA-based Ambient Devices, known for its Ambient Orb, Ambient Umbrella, and other wireless displays designed to convey useful information at a glance. The two companies did not disclose the size of the investment (which is Ambient’s first from an institutional … Continue reading “.406 Invests in Ambient Devices”
GateRocket Blasts Off with $3 Million Series A Round
Bedford, MA-based GateRocket, which makes testing, verification, and debugging equipment for specialized microprocessors called field-programmable gate arrays or FPGAs, said today that it has closed a $3 million Series A financing round led by New Atlantic Ventures of Cambridge, MA and Reston, VA, the Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) of Boston, and Long River Ventures, … Continue reading “GateRocket Blasts Off with $3 Million Series A Round”
Skyhook, Centrix Collaborate on New Mac Software
Boston-based Skyhook Wireless and Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Centrix.ca announced today that Skyhook’s Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS), which allows wireless devices to determine their geographic location based on the identities of nearby Wi-Fi networks, has been incorporated into the latest version of Centrix’s popular NetworkLocation software. The program automatically adjusts user settings on a Macintosh computer—for instance, … Continue reading “Skyhook, Centrix Collaborate on New Mac Software”
Swedish Cleantech Venture Day
The Swedish-American Chambers of Commerce, New England, sponsors a full-day event featuring presentations by Swedish cleantech entrepreneurs seeking international venture funding, along with networking opportunities and educational sessions about the cleantech industry in Sweden. Keynote speakers include Swedish Ambassador and Consul General to New York Ulf Hjertonsson and Flagship Ventures general partner Jim Matheson. $300 … Continue reading “Swedish Cleantech Venture Day”
O Beverages Sips $6M More From Highland
Highland Capital Partners’ consumer fund led a $6 million Series D financing round for Cambridge, MA-based O Beverages, according to peHUB. Bob wrote about the fund’s earlier investment in the maker of nutrient-and flavor-infused waters (founded by Tom First of Nantucket Nectars fame), as well as the other firms in its consumer-oriented portfolio, back in … Continue reading “O Beverages Sips $6M More From Highland”
Enanta Pharmaceuticals Starts Clinical Trial of Antibiotic for Drug Resistant Bacteria
Enanta Pharmaceuticals, a Watertown, MA-based developer of anti-infection drugs, said today it has started an early stage clinical of an oral antibiotic for drug-resistant bacteria. The drug, EDP-322, is being tested for hospital and community-acquired infections, including drug-resistant MRSA. In previous animal tests, the drug showed activity against MRSA strains that resist other potent antibiotics … Continue reading “Enanta Pharmaceuticals Starts Clinical Trial of Antibiotic for Drug Resistant Bacteria”
Spark Capital Gains ‘Mo,’ as It Pushes Deeper Into NY Media and Entertainment Scene
Spark Capital today announced it has hired media and technology executive Moshe “Mo” Koyfman as a principal—making him a central part of the Boston-based venture firm’s deeper push into the New York (and national) media and entertainment technology space. With some $620 million under management through two funds, Spark focuses its investments on the intersection … Continue reading “Spark Capital Gains ‘Mo,’ as It Pushes Deeper Into NY Media and Entertainment Scene”