Normally a forum title like “Seeking Radical Breakthroughs in Alternative Energy – What I Would Advise the Next President” might sound a bit presumptuous, but when Ray Kurzweil, George Church, Saul Griffith, and X PRIZE Foundation Chairman and CEO Peter Diamandis are doing the talking, it may be credible. The X PRIZE Foundation will be … Continue reading “X Prize and MIT Alternative Energy Forum”
Category: Boston
Nuance Snaps Up SNAPin for $180M
Even as one firm, Canada’s Zi, is resisting its takeover bid, Burlington, MA-based Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]) reports more success with another company. The speech recognition giant announced yesterday that it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire SNAPin, a privately held mobile software company based in Bellevue, WA, for approximately $180 million in Nuance … Continue reading “Nuance Snaps Up SNAPin for $180M”
With uTest, U Find Software Bugs, U Save
There’s no such thing as a flawless software application: the only question is how many bugs its developers had time to catch and fix before release, and how many will be discovered by customers. And with software being written today for so many different platforms and operating systems, from servers to desktops to mobile devices … Continue reading “With uTest, U Find Software Bugs, U Save”
Dyax and Vertex Drugs Move Toward Market, Taligen Moves to MA, Covidien Moves Into Venture Territory, & More Life Sciences News
Two Boston-area drug developers—Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Dyax—saw their lead drug candidates take important steps toward the market this week. And that’s not all that happened… —Luke took a peak at four-year-old Taligen Therapeutics, which last month moved its headquarters from Aurora, CO, to Cambridge, MA, when new CEO Abbie Celniker joined the firm. Celniker’s hoping … Continue reading “Dyax and Vertex Drugs Move Toward Market, Taligen Moves to MA, Covidien Moves Into Venture Territory, & More Life Sciences News”
Spark Invests Big in Startup that Helps Airline Passengers Zip Through Security Lines
Right now, if you want to zip through security lines at major airports you have three basic options: travel at weird hours when few people are in the airport; shell out big bucks for a first-class ticket (provided the airport has a separate line for first class); or sign up for a Clear pass (or … Continue reading “Spark Invests Big in Startup that Helps Airline Passengers Zip Through Security Lines”
Environmental Operating Solutions Receives $2,500,000 Series A Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6dd4cf71-4a73-4861-ad89-841778c47d9b&Preview=1 Date 8/20/2008 Company Name Environmental Operating Solutions Mailing Address 4A Colonel Drive Bourne, MA 02532 Company Description Environmental Operating Solutions, Inc. (EOS) creates agriculturally-derived products to remove the pollutant nitrogen from wastewater. Our proprietary MicroC™ technology was designed to safely and cost effectively reduce nitrogen by converting it to water and … Continue reading “Environmental Operating Solutions Receives $2,500,000 Series A Financing”
Non-Competes Could Explain Rise and Fall of Boston’s Route 128 Vs. Silicon Valley, Study Says—But Not Everyone Buys the Lessons
When it comes to non-compete clauses in employment contracts, it seems timing is everything. In the early stages of a tech industry, keeping employees from jumping ship and working for competitors might actually drive growth. But once the industry has matured, the same non-competes can hamper growth by restricting labor mobility. This might help explain … Continue reading “Non-Competes Could Explain Rise and Fall of Boston’s Route 128 Vs. Silicon Valley, Study Says—But Not Everyone Buys the Lessons”
Emerging Technologies Conference at MIT
Technology Review Magazine’s annual summit of companies and researchers working on bleeding-edge technologies promises to be as informative and exciting as the previous seven. Keynote speakers during the three-day summit will include Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft, and as always, a highlight of the conference will be the unveiling of the … Continue reading “Emerging Technologies Conference at MIT”
Xconomy Forum: How to Build a Life Sciences Company
Let’s face it, venture capital financing is in the doldrums, notoriously few new drugs are making it to market, and healthcare spending is under increasing scrutiny. But innovation is messy—and often the best innovations spring from tough times. Today’s difficult climate is breeding creative and flexible new models for launching and sustaining companies in biotech, … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum: How to Build a Life Sciences Company”
Abiomed To Sell 2.4 Million Shares of Common Stock
Abiomed, the Danvers, MA-based maker of devices to treat heart failure, said today it is offering 2.4 million shares of common stock. Morgan Stanley is the sole underwriter for the offering, which is being made through a shelf registration statement that became effective in Oct. 2006. Abiomed (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ABMD]]) has 33.7 million shares outstanding. The … Continue reading “Abiomed To Sell 2.4 Million Shares of Common Stock”
Helicos Promotes Steve Lombardi to CEO
Helicos Biosciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HLCS]]), the maker of tools for genetic researchers, said today it has promoted Steve Lombardi to CEO. Lombardi, 53, joined the company in October 2007 as president and chief operating officer. He takes over for Stan Lapidus, 59, who will remain chairman of the company’s board. We profiled Lombardi, a veteran of … Continue reading “Helicos Promotes Steve Lombardi to CEO”
Vertex Drug Poised for Pivotal Trial Among Patients Who Fail Prior Hepatitis C Treatments
Vertex Pharmaceuticals, the developer of telaprevir for hepatitis C, said today it has reached agreement with U.S. and European regulators to begin a pivotal trial for patients who failed to have their disease cured by prior therapies. The Cambridge, MA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]) said it will enroll 650 patients in the study, called Realize. Vertex … Continue reading “Vertex Drug Poised for Pivotal Trial Among Patients Who Fail Prior Hepatitis C Treatments”
Covidien Launches Venture Arm
Updated: Medical products giant Covidien (NYSE:[[ticker:COV]]) says it wants to play the venture capital game, announcing this morning that it has launched a corporate VC group to make strategic investments in startups focused on medical devices, diagnostics, and pharmaceuticals. Covidien Ventures, which operates at Covidien’s headquarters in Mansfield, MA, appears to be in sync with … Continue reading “Covidien Launches Venture Arm”
The 2008 New England IPO List: The Dead, the Aging, and the Newly Born
It seems like it’s only a matter of time before more New England tech firms with active registrations for IPOs throw in the towel due to the punishing market for public offerings. Only one area technology company, Merrimack, NH-based GT Solar (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SOLR]]), has completed an IPO this year—and it’s already feeling the pain of … Continue reading “The 2008 New England IPO List: The Dead, the Aging, and the Newly Born”
Remember Palm, Symbian, Java, and Blackberry? AT&T Dangles Incentives for Non-iPhone, Non-Android Mobile Apps
Perhaps eager to remind software developers that the Apple iPhone isn’t the only game in town—or even its only game in town— AT&T is sponsoring a contest for New England-based makers of mobile applications for competing platforms. The so-called “Fast-Pitch New England” contest, which was announced yesterday and runs through September 30, will end with … Continue reading “Remember Palm, Symbian, Java, and Blackberry? AT&T Dangles Incentives for Non-iPhone, Non-Android Mobile Apps”
BitWave Semiconductor, Inc. Obtains $10,000,000 Series B Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8b64ea72-3600-4b83-b4f2-d1e233c6e6dc&Preview=1 Date 8/19/2008 Company Name BitWave Semiconductor, Inc. Mailing Address 900 Chelmsford Street, Floor 7 Lowell, MA 01851 Company Description Since its inception, BitWave has been dedicated to the development of a universal programmable transceiver, the Softransceiver™ RFIC to meet this industry problem. The patent pending technology embodied in the product is … Continue reading “BitWave Semiconductor, Inc. Obtains $10,000,000 Series B Financing Round”
Boston Biotech R&D Conference
This one-day conference focuses on up-and-coming biotech companies in the Boston area. The conference announcement promises “Senior executives from companies include AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Genocea Biosciences, Hydra Biosciences, Magen BioSciences, Pervasis Therapeutics, Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, TheraGenetics, Trubion Pharmaceuticals and Vertex Pharmaceuticals are among the scheduled speakers for the conference.” The organizers of the … Continue reading “Boston Biotech R&D Conference”
BitWave Closes $10M Series B
BitWave Semiconductor, a Lowell, MA, maker of RFIC transceivers, announced it has closed a $10 million Series B round to commercialize its “Softtransceiver RFIC.” Participants in the round included previous investors Apex Venture Partners, TVM Capital, and ECentury Capital Partners.
Dyax Shares Climb as Lead Drug Candidate Passes Trial
Dyax looks like it may have just transformed into a commercial drug company today. Shares in the Cambridge, MA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DYAX]]) shot up 15 percent today after it said its lead drug in development, DX-88, helped patients in a late-stage clinical trial with a rare, life-threatening disease called hereditary angioedema. Investors drove Dyax shares … Continue reading “Dyax Shares Climb as Lead Drug Candidate Passes Trial”
MITX 13th Annual Interactive Awards
When Xconomy’s Wade Roush attended the 2007 MITX Interactive Awards he had a great time, and it wasn’t just the rock band. The MITX Awards celebrate “the best creative and technological accomplishments emerging from New England.” Plus this awards ceremony starts with a cocktail party and ends with an after-party. Celebrate indeed. Also, it’s not … Continue reading “MITX 13th Annual Interactive Awards”
Skyhook Gets Neighborhood Data from Urban Mapping
So, you’re at the corner of Harrison Street and Union Park Street in Boston. Are you in the South End, or in the trendier but less widely recognized SoWa (South of Washington) district? Both, technically—and if you’ve got a location-sensitive mobile device, it can be tricky for mobile data providers to know which neighborhood’s information … Continue reading “Skyhook Gets Neighborhood Data from Urban Mapping”
Canada’s Zi Corporation Hopes to Fend Off Nuance Takeover; Companies Issue Dueling Statements
Zi Corporation (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZICA]]), a struggling Calgary, Alberta-based company whose software is designed to speed text entry on mobile devices, today rejected a takeover offer from Burlington, MA-based speech recognition giant Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]). Nuance reacted angrily, calling the rejection “perplexing and inappropriate” given Zi’s financial condition. Last Thursday—the same day Zi announced widening … Continue reading “Canada’s Zi Corporation Hopes to Fend Off Nuance Takeover; Companies Issue Dueling Statements”
Ipanema Garners $7M to Fuel Expansion
Waltham, MA-based Ipanema Technologies, which develops wide area network application traffic management systems, announced today that it has received $7 million in funding Noble Venture of London, largely to boost R&D and expand its operations in Asia, the U.S., and Europe.
Novelos Raises $3M in Stock Sale
Novelos Therapuetics (OTC:[[ticker:NVLT]]), a Newton, MA, developer of treatments for cancer and hepatitis, announced today that it has raised $3 million through the private placement of 4.6 million shares of common stock for 65 cents per share. Novelos CEO Harry Palmin said in a statement that the proceeds of the private placement would fund the … Continue reading “Novelos Raises $3M in Stock Sale”
GameLogic Doubles Down with $8 Million in Series C Funding
Waltham, MA-based GameLogic, which manages online games that double as customer loyalty programs for patrons of bricks-and-mortar casinos, has collected $8 million of a $10 million Series C funding round, according to a regulatory filing cited by Private Equity Hub. Backers included existing investors Bain Capital Ventures, General Catalyst Partners and Maveron.
Hub’s Slice of J&J’s R&D Investment Pie—New Funds from the Medical-Products Giant for Harvard and CIMIT
It’d be really cool if Johnson & Johnson published a compendium of every nascent technology study it funds through its some $8 billion annual research and development budget—particularly for those of us interested to know which Boston-area institutions are on the receiving end of those J&J R&D dollars. Unfortunately no such master list is publicly … Continue reading “Hub’s Slice of J&J’s R&D Investment Pie—New Funds from the Medical-Products Giant for Harvard and CIMIT”
Segway Scooting Toward $14M, Follica Fixes on $11M, HP Hooks Up with Colubris, & More Deals News
Last week was a quiet one for New England tech and life sciences firms, but there was a steady stream of small deals nonetheless. —Boston-based Follica, which is developing a treatment for baldness, raised $11 million in a Series B round led by new investor Polaris Venture Partners and joined by existing investors Interwest Partners … Continue reading “Segway Scooting Toward $14M, Follica Fixes on $11M, HP Hooks Up with Colubris, & More Deals News”
Ipanema Technologies Lands $7,000,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e8365dad-6b91-47d6-a829-20766e0dad30&Preview=1 Date 8/18/2008 Company Name Ipanema Technologies Mailing Address 300 Fifth Avenue Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description Ipanema develops next-generation solutions for application traffic management and WAN optimization which drastically improve the quality of user experience. Ipanema’s Autonomic Networking System brings intelligence to the network enabling enterprises to dynamically align the network … Continue reading “Ipanema Technologies Lands $7,000,000 New Funding”
Segway, Inc. Garners $5,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1dd5e1ce-1c01-41ac-b1f9-e8725630a857&Preview=1 Date 8/18/2008 Company Name Segway, Inc. Mailing Address 14 Technology Drive Bedford, NH 03110 Company Description Segway is passionately devoted to moving you- easily, efficiently, intelligently simple. The company’s first product, the Segway® Personal Transporter (PT), was the first two-wheeled, self-balancing, electric transportation device to use our patented dynamic stabilization technology. … Continue reading “Segway, Inc. Garners $5,000,000 New Financing Round”
With Clean Transportation All the Rage, Segway is Reportedly on the Road to Raising $14 Million Series D Round
On the heels of closing the final tranche of a $35 million financing round that ranked as the fifth-largest New England venture deal of the second quarter, Segway is reportedly back on the financing circuit looking for $14 million more for a Series D round, according to PE Hub, which cites a regulatory filing. The … Continue reading “With Clean Transportation All the Rage, Segway is Reportedly on the Road to Raising $14 Million Series D Round”
Demo Day at Y Combinator Offers Glimpse of Web’s Future
The house was packed with investors big and small (only one limo was waiting outside, though), the food tasty, the mood upbeat, the rain hardly fell—and, most importantly, a score of very intriguing startups stood ready to present. It was Demo Day at Y Combinator, the bi-coastal incubator/venture firm that’s based in Cambridge, MA, in … Continue reading “Demo Day at Y Combinator Offers Glimpse of Web’s Future”
Is Your City or Town BioReady? Mass Biotech Council Wants to Make It Happen
I have to admit this idea made me snicker when I first heard it. The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, a trade group for state biotech companies, has set up a new program to advise cities and towns on how best to lure life sciences companies to expand into their jurisdictions. It sounded to me more than … Continue reading “Is Your City or Town BioReady? Mass Biotech Council Wants to Make It Happen”
NetGraviton Inc. Garners $4,000,000 Series A Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=428ef17a-7ae5-481c-83c4-5b116b872888&Preview=1 Date 8/15/2008 Company Name NetGraviton Inc. Mailing Address P.O. Box 391386 Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description The company is provider of search engine marketing and optimization solutions. Website http://www.netgraviton.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor … Continue reading “NetGraviton Inc. Garners $4,000,000 Series A Funding Round”
GameLogic Inc. Lands $8,000,000 Series C Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e9a074ce-63c1-4230-96ee-e4014ef7343f&Preview=1 Date 8/15/2008 Company Name GameLogic Inc. Mailing Address 411 Waverley Oaks Road Waltham, MA 02452 Company Description GameLogic innovates Virtual Play gaming entertainment platforms to help legal casinos and government-sponsored lotteries create new revenues, increase return visits and improve player loyalty. Website http://www.gamelogic.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $8,000,000 Transaction … Continue reading “GameLogic Inc. Lands $8,000,000 Series C Financing Round”
Lockheed Martin Nabs Nantero Unit
The government business unit of Nantero—a Woburn, MA-based startup developing a carbon-nanotube-based form of computer memory it calls NRAM—has been acquired by Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: [[ticker:LMT]]) for an undisclosed sum. Under the terms of the deal, some 30 Nantero employees will join Lockheed Martin, as will Brent Segal, the startup’s co-founder and Chief Operating … Continue reading “Lockheed Martin Nabs Nantero Unit”
WSJ Hits Boston Scientific Stent Data
An FDA application for a Boston Scientific (NYSE:[[ticker:BSX]]) coronary stent currently awaiting approval was supported by a flawed statistical equation, according to today’s Wall Street Journal. Citing its own review of a clinical study of the device, the paper said the Taxus Liberte stent, which is already approved for use abroad, would have been judged … Continue reading “WSJ Hits Boston Scientific Stent Data”
Backed by Washington Venture Firms, Connecticut’s InstallFree Could Help Remake the Fabric of Computing
Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about how software startups don’t need as much venture capital as they used to. But someone forgot to tell Stamford, CT-based InstallFree, which last week closed an $8.5 million financing round led by Ignition Partners and Trilogy Equity Partners, both of Bellevue, WA. It was a second-round deal to … Continue reading “Backed by Washington Venture Firms, Connecticut’s InstallFree Could Help Remake the Fabric of Computing”
Taligen CEO Aims to Develop Drugs For Inflammatory Diseases, Build Company in Cambridge
Abbie Celniker has been climbing biotech’s corporate ladder for much of her career. Higher and higher she went, in senior R&D jobs at Genentech, Wyeth Biopharma, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and most recently as global head of Novartis Biologics in Cambridge, MA. Now, at 49, she has taken a detour to become CEO of a growing startup … Continue reading “Taligen CEO Aims to Develop Drugs For Inflammatory Diseases, Build Company in Cambridge”
MariCal, Inc. Garners $2,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=51b1e3c0-1db3-4620-8422-5847578fa566&Preview=1 Date 8/14/2008 Company Name MariCal, Inc. Mailing Address 400 Commercial Street Portland, ME 04101 Company Description MariCal, headquartered in Portland, Maine USA was founded in 1996 and is a privately held aquatic life science biotechnology company with 22 full time employees and operations in Alaska, Canada, Chile, United Kingdom, and Norway. … Continue reading “MariCal, Inc. Garners $2,000,000 New Funding Round”
Y Combinator Goes Open-Source With Legal Funding Documents
If you’ve ever launched a startup with funding from a venture firm or angel group, you know the bank-account-draining toll those startup legal bills can take. I still feel the pain: an amazing $25K each from my lawyer and the lead investor’s lawyer for a simple angel deal. And guess who paid for it all? … Continue reading “Y Combinator Goes Open-Source With Legal Funding Documents”
NitroSecurity Locks up $10M VC Round
NitroSecurity, a Portsmouth, NH, provider of information-security technology, announced today that it’s raised $10 million in venture financing to fund market expansion and new product development. NewSpring Ventures of New Jersey and Pennsylvania led the round.
University of Washington, Allied Minds Team Up to Launch Biofuel Company, AXI
I first heard of a Seattle startup called Voltan Biofuel two months ago, when I talked to Jim Roberts, head of business development at UW Tech Transfer’s LaunchPad, a program to promote university spinoffs. Voltan was a LaunchPad company that won $5,000 for “best cleantech idea” in UW’s 2008 CIE Business Plan competition. Yesterday the … Continue reading “University of Washington, Allied Minds Team Up to Launch Biofuel Company, AXI”
Follica’s Fortunes Growing, Icahn’s Biogen Holdings Mounting, Genzyme’s Mipomersen Work Progressing, & More Life Sciences News
I haven’t done a careful analysis, but I have the impression that there were a few more life sciences venture financings last week than has been typical as of late. Or maybe it just seems that way because this first one made such a splash with our readers. —Fast on the heels of its $5.5 … Continue reading “Follica’s Fortunes Growing, Icahn’s Biogen Holdings Mounting, Genzyme’s Mipomersen Work Progressing, & More Life Sciences News”
NitroSecurity, Inc. Garners $10,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=80484241-9845-43a4-b983-0ca5a7150fc1&Preview=1 Date 8/13/2008 Company Name NitroSecurity, Inc. Mailing Address 230 Commerce Way Portsmouth, NH 03801 Company Description NitroSecurity is a leading provider of high-performance enterprise security solutions that deliver the industry’s first integrated network + security monitoring, analysis, and protection system. Website http://www.nitrosecurity.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $10,000,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “NitroSecurity, Inc. Garners $10,000,000 New Financing Round”
Stromedix Drug Gets Orphan Status
Cambridge, MA-based Stromedix, a startup formed around technology licensed from Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]), announced today that its lead candidate—a treatment for chronic allograft nephropathy, a leading cause of kidney-transplant failure—was granted orphan-drug status by the FDA. Stromedix is pursuing a large, untapped market for drugs that target fibrosis, a cellular process that is the … Continue reading “Stromedix Drug Gets Orphan Status”
A123 Systems Co-founder Confirms Lucky 8 Influenced Timing of IPO Filing
Turns out our hunch was correct. On Friday, Watertown, MA-based maker of advanced batteries A123 Systems filed for its long-anticipated IPO. Since the filing came on August 8, 2008—an exceedingly lucky date, according to Chinese numerology—and because A123 has big operations in China and was co-founded by Taiwan-born MIT professor Yet-Ming Chiang, we speculated that … Continue reading “A123 Systems Co-founder Confirms Lucky 8 Influenced Timing of IPO Filing”
Icahn Ups Biogen Idec Stake to 6 Percent—Bought Big on Tysabri Woes
Perhaps there was no way that Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) would see a major drop in its stock price without activist investor Carl Icahn working his way into the storyline. SEC documents filed Monday show that Icahn went on a Biogen stock-buying binge beginning on August 1, the day after Biogen and its partner, Ireland’s Elan, … Continue reading “Icahn Ups Biogen Idec Stake to 6 Percent—Bought Big on Tysabri Woes”
New Fundraising for Hair-Raising: Follica Takes in $11 Million for Baldness-Treatment Approach
If only hair could grow as fast as Follica’s pot of money. Just seven months after its $5.5 million Series A financing round, the Boston-based startup today announced it has raised an additional $11 million to bolster its efforts to develop new methods of treating male- and female-pattern baldness and other hair-follicle disorders such as … Continue reading “New Fundraising for Hair-Raising: Follica Takes in $11 Million for Baldness-Treatment Approach”
Follica Inc. Lands $11,000,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6bc02759-1592-4b18-9a7a-040199494ed2&Preview=1 Date 8/12/2008 Company Name Follica Inc. Mailing Address 222 Berkeley Street Boston, MA 02116 Company Description Follica Inc., a privately held medical device company, was co-founded by PureTech Ventures and a group of world renowned experts in hair follicle biology and medicine. In addition to hair loss, Follica has intellectual property … Continue reading “Follica Inc. Lands $11,000,000 Series B Financing”
HP to Acquire Colubris of Waltham
Colubris Networks, a privately held provider of wireless networks for large businesses in Waltham, MA, has agreed to be sold to IT powerhouse Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:[[ticker:HPQ]]), based in Palo Alto, CA. The deal, the terms of which weren’t revealed, is slated to close by October 31, 2008.