Category: Boston

Vlingo’s Latest App Gives Blackberrying Thumbs a Rest

Cambridge, MA, startup Vlingo announced back in February that it had built its speech recognition software into Yahoo’s oneSearch mobile search portal. Thanks to that collaboration, users of Blackberry smartphones could speak search terms into their devices rather than having to type them using the keypad. It worked great in our tests. And now Vlingo’s … Continue reading “Vlingo’s Latest App Gives Blackberrying Thumbs a Rest”

Security Innovation Raises $7.1 Million

Wilmington, MA-based Security Innovation, which consults with Fortune 500 companies on the security of their software applications, said today it has raised $7.1 million in Series A funding in a round led by Brook Venture Partners of Wakefield, MA. Founded in 2002 by software quality expert James Whittaker, the company hasn’t taken any venture investment … Continue reading “Security Innovation Raises $7.1 Million”

How EMC Turned Around Its Asia Business

Steve Leonard’s schedule for the next two weeks or so goes like this: Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai, Bangalore, Singapore, London, Paris, London, Singapore, Australia. And for him, that’s not even that unusual—Leonard logs about 30,000 miles a month on airplanes, sleeping on a plane once or twice a week. “That’s part of being … Continue reading “How EMC Turned Around Its Asia Business”

Health 2.0 Firms in the Spotlight, Biogen Board in the Clear, Alnylam in Asia, & More Life Sciences News

New England’s public life sciences firms were feeling particularly newsworthy this last week, it seems. But plenty of private firms are represented in this first item: —Wade uncovered yet another thriving New England tech cluster: The thirty-odd “Health 2.0” firms using the Web to deliver various kinds of healthcare services. The next day he profiled … Continue reading “Health 2.0 Firms in the Spotlight, Biogen Board in the Clear, Alnylam in Asia, & More Life Sciences News”

Security Innovation Obtains $7,100,000 Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e955204a-5643-458e-8267-6c6d883ce4e1&Preview=1 Date 6/25/2008 Company Name Security Innovation Mailing Address 187 Ballardvale Street Wilmington, ME 01887 Company Description Security Innovation is an authority on application security and leading independent provider of risk assessment, risk mitigation and education services to mid-size and Fortune 500 companies. Global technology vendors and enterprise IT organizations such as … Continue reading “Security Innovation Obtains $7,100,000 Series A Financing Round”

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. Lands $37,000,000 Series D Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f7a383f3-d0d5-4a24-b2c5-a85e80115a53&Preview=1 Date 6/25/2008 Company Name Aspen Aerogels, Inc. Mailing Address 30 Forbes Road Northborough, MA 01532 Company Description Aspen Aerogels is nanotechnology at work in oil pipelines, natural gas and military ships, building and construction, boots and jackets and much, much more. Website http://www.aerogel.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $37,000,000 Transaction … Continue reading “Aspen Aerogels, Inc. Lands $37,000,000 Series D Funding”

Party Like It’s 2006: Seattle Ranks #1 in Tech Job Growth (and #9 in Tech Employment); Boston Ranks #6 (and #4)

The tech scene here is on the move. In comparison to other U.S. cities, Seattle has had the largest growth in tech jobs, and has moved up to #9 (from #10) in total number of tech workers. By comparison, Boston ranks #6 in number of jobs gained and #4 in total tech employment. That’s all … Continue reading “Party Like It’s 2006: Seattle Ranks #1 in Tech Job Growth (and #9 in Tech Employment); Boston Ranks #6 (and #4)”

Genzyme, Isis Finalize Partnership For Cholesterol-Lowering Drug

Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme and Isis Pharmaceuticals said today they have modified some of the terms of their partnership to develop Isis’s mipomersen for patients with high cholesterol. The deal, originally announced with a bang in January, still provides $325 million in upfront payments to Carlsbad, CA-based Isis for the antisense RNA-based drug, although it now … Continue reading “Genzyme, Isis Finalize Partnership For Cholesterol-Lowering Drug”

North Bridge, General Catalyst Help rPath Raise $10 Million Series C Round

Boston-based North Bridge Venture Partners and Cambridge, MA-based General Catalyst Partners have contributed to a $10 million series C funding round for rPath, a Raleigh, NC, company marketing itself as a cloud computing vendor. The company’s software helps application developers turn their own software into “virtual appliances” that can run in virtualized environments such as … Continue reading “North Bridge, General Catalyst Help rPath Raise $10 Million Series C Round”

InnovationRx: Getting Patients to Take Their Own Medicine, Literally

It’s one of the paradoxes of modern medicine in the United States. At the doctor’s office and the drugstore, we say we want prescription drugs. In fact, we spend more than $200 billion on them every year. Between 1994 and 2005, a period in which the U.S. population increased by only 9 percent, the number … Continue reading “InnovationRx: Getting Patients to Take Their Own Medicine, Literally”

Seeding Labs Kickstarts Science in Developing Countries

Late last year a fire destroyed the biochemistry department at the Southern University of Chile and dealt a severe blow to its researchers. But thanks to Seeding Labs, a non-profit based in Cambridge, MA, the labs might soon be up and running again. The organization collects discarded lab equipment, sorts and packs it, and ships … Continue reading “Seeding Labs Kickstarts Science in Developing Countries”

Consortium to Bring Massachusetts-Style Clinical Research to Italy

The newly-formed Clinical Research Consortium of Massachusetts has signed an agreement with the government of the Lombardy region in northern Italy to help make the area more attractive to drug companies seeking to do clinical research. Today, Italy only has a small sliver, about two per cent, of the multibillion-dollar European market for clinical trials. … Continue reading “Consortium to Bring Massachusetts-Style Clinical Research to Italy”

ProThera Biologics Inc. Secures $500,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=23707538-fc2a-451f-b536-2b21f69ed9b1&Preview=1 Date 6/24/2008 Company Name ProThera Biologics Inc. Mailing Address 551 Warren Avenue East Providence, RI 02914 Company Description The mission of the company is to develop novel products that exploit the promise of personalized medicine by leveraging on its proprietary technology of natural serine protease inhibitor proteins. The company focuses on … Continue reading “ProThera Biologics Inc. Secures $500,000 New Funding”

Technology Transfer Center Backs Teams from BU, MIT, MGH, Harvard

The Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center announced its latest round of Technology Investigation Awards for Massachusetts researchers today. The awards of $40,000 each went to seven teams of researchers working on projects they hope to develop into commercial products. According to MTTC, the center’s awards have helped to launch more than 20 companies since 2004 based … Continue reading “Technology Transfer Center Backs Teams from BU, MIT, MGH, Harvard”

GTC Biotherapeutics Signs up Ovation as U.S. Partner in “Pharming”

GTC Biotherapeutics is gearing up to take its first “pharming” product, a drug harvested from genetically modified goats, to the U.S. market. The Framingham, MA-based company said today it signed an exclusive partnership with Ovation Pharmaceuticals to develop and market ATryn in the United States. Currently, ATryn is only sold in Europe. GTC stands to … Continue reading “GTC Biotherapeutics Signs up Ovation as U.S. Partner in “Pharming””

Web Inno West: How Seattle Does Start-Up Pitches

We’ve written several times about the Web Innovators Group meetings put on by Venrock vice president David Beisel, including this interview with Beisel himself. The monthly Web Inno get-togethers include three or four “main dish” talks by local entrepreneurs launching new Web services, coupled with three to five “side dish” presentations by firms manning tables … Continue reading “Web Inno West: How Seattle Does Start-Up Pitches”

Checkpoint Gobbles Up OATSystems

“Shrink management” may sound like an HMO for psychologists, but it’s actually the retail industry’s euphemism for measures that reduce product loss due to shoplifting, employee theft, and expired perishables. One of the leading shrink management companies makes its home in the Boston area—RFID software maker OATSystems of Waltham, MA—and lately it’s been expanding fast … Continue reading “Checkpoint Gobbles Up OATSystems”

Immunogen Sells Stock, Raises $25M

Biopharma company ImmunoGen, (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IMGN]]), of Waltham, MA, announced today that it has sold 7.8 million shares at $3.20 per share to Ziff Asset Management. ImmunoGen, which is expected to net approximately $24.7 million after expenses, has six anti-cancer drugs in clinical testing, four of them through collaborations with other pharma companies.

IRobot Hired to Make Shape-Shifting Robots, Alnylam Forges Asian Connection, Navic Scooped Up By Microsoft, More Orders for Evergreen Solar, & More Deals News

Last week was a good one for New England tech and life sciences startups trying to raise cash. But first, the shape-shifting robots. —IRobot (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]) of Burlington, MA, won a $3.3 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the U.S. Army Research Office to develop “soft, flexible” robots that can shimmy … Continue reading “IRobot Hired to Make Shape-Shifting Robots, Alnylam Forges Asian Connection, Navic Scooped Up By Microsoft, More Orders for Evergreen Solar, & More Deals News”

Wireless Sensor Networks: Promises and Challenges

The New England Chinese Information Networking Association (NECINA) sponsors presentations by professor Yannis Paschalidis, Co-Director, Center for Information and System Engineering, Boston University, and Meng Cao, Solutions Architect and Practice Manager, Lionbridge Technologies. Registration free; information here.

The Boston Health 2.0 Cluster

For the better part of a decade, advocates of computing in healthcare have fixated on the dream of paperless medicine—a new era in which every patient’s medical records would be stored digitally and every hospital, physician’s practice, pharmacy, and insurer would have access to these records, reducing paperwork costs and medical errors. But for all … Continue reading “The Boston Health 2.0 Cluster”

OwnerIQ Lands $6,000,000 Series B Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=eb9b8830-c62b-4ece-8ae9-19451caee43e&Preview=1 Date 6/23/2008 Company Name OwnerIQ Mailing Address 337 Summer Street Boston, MA 02210 Company Description OwnerIQ operates a network of consumer self-support Web sites for common household product categories. The company is pioneering the concept of Ownership Targeting, providing brand advertisers with highly customized programs to precisely target consumers based on … Continue reading “OwnerIQ Lands $6,000,000 Series B Financing”

ATV Associate Becomes Samsung VP

Gavin Kim, the young Advanced Technology Ventures associate who last November helped launch VentureNetwork.VC, a members only, business-oriented social networking website focused on the venture capital/private equity world, will be leaving ATV next week to join Samsung as VP, Content and Services. Kim says in an e-mail that he will be “leading their content and … Continue reading “ATV Associate Becomes Samsung VP”

Friday Funding Flurry: OwnerIQ, Sciformix, and Optaros Raise New Rounds

We usually get deluged with funding news on Mondays —but a small rash of venture capital rounds were announced (in one form or another) this morning, so we thought we’d wrap them up into one post. First up is OwnerIQ, which we have written about before. The two-year-old Newton, MA-based startup—which operates a network of … Continue reading “Friday Funding Flurry: OwnerIQ, Sciformix, and Optaros Raise New Rounds”

Metcalfe on Next Steps for GreenFuel: Series C and Partnership Deals Could Be Just Around Corner

With a new CEO (almost) in place, two potential term sheets on the way for a long-sought new round of financing, and another pair of partnership deals in the works, Cambridge, MA-based biofuels company GreenFuel Technologies could be on the threshold of a major new phase of its operations. That was the picture painted by … Continue reading “Metcalfe on Next Steps for GreenFuel: Series C and Partnership Deals Could Be Just Around Corner”

Space Needle Envy: A Bostonian’s Ode to Seattle

“Only one is a wanderer. Two, together, are always going somewhere.” It’s one of my favorite lines from my favorite movie—Hitchcock’s Vertigo—and now it’s true of Xconomy. By introducing our Seattle site this week, we’ve become a real network. Adding Seattle to our original Boston presence gives us the chance to show that the original … Continue reading “Space Needle Envy: A Bostonian’s Ode to Seattle”

Sciformix Corporation Obtains $3,300,000 Series A Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d7097406-8d4e-4abd-bb7c-316129dd4b50&Preview=1 Date 6/20/2008 Company Name Sciformix Corporation Mailing Address 1500 West Park Drive Westborough, MA 01581 Company Description The company intends to become a strategic partner to global life science companies by providing high quality knowledge based services for scientific data management, regulatory compliance and risk management, with the ultimate objective of … Continue reading “Sciformix Corporation Obtains $3,300,000 Series A Funding”

Massachusetts #1, Washington #5 in State Tech and Science Rankings; New England Dominates List

As if its sports teams’ bragging rights weren’t enough, Massachusetts has now topped the state rankings in science and technology prowess. Meanwhile, Washington placed a respectable #5. That’s the word today from the California-based Milken Institute’s 2008 State Technology and Science Index. The rankings are based on 77 indicators across five broad categories: R&D inputs, … Continue reading “Massachusetts #1, Washington #5 in State Tech and Science Rankings; New England Dominates List”

$600M More for Evergreen Solar

Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ESLR]]) has signed two new long-term orders, valued at approximately $600 million, bringing the company’s total contractual backlog up to $1.7 billion. The new orders, combined with two similar multiyear contracts announced last month, represent more than 65 per cent of the capacity in Evergreen’s Devens, MA, plant.

Alnylam Inks $93M Japanese Deal

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) announced it has forged an alliance with Japan’s Kyowa Hakko Kogyo to commercialize the Cambridge, MA-based firm’s RNAi-based treatment for respiratory syncytial virus in Japan and other major Asian markets. The deal calls for Kyowa Hakko to pay Alnylam $15 million upfront, with as much as $78 million in development and … Continue reading “Alnylam Inks $93M Japanese Deal”

Google, Microsoft, Akamai Join Powerhouse Speaker Lineup For Xconomy’s June 24 Cloud Computing Forum: Time’s Running Out to Register

In just a few days, Xconomy will hold its first public event of the summer, our forum on “The Promise and Reality of Cloud Computing.” Tickets for the June 24 event, which runs from 1:00 pm to 5:30 pm at Akamai headquarters at Eight Cambridge Center in Kendall Square, are going fast. But you can … Continue reading “Google, Microsoft, Akamai Join Powerhouse Speaker Lineup For Xconomy’s June 24 Cloud Computing Forum: Time’s Running Out to Register”

Icahn Nominee Concedes Defeat at Biogen Idec Annual Meeting

[Updated below.] In a major vote of confidence for current management under CEO James Mullen, shareholders at Biogen Idec’s annual meeting this morning have evidently rejected the slate of board nominees put forth by investor Carl Icahn and approved the company’s choices instead. “We think we didn’t succeed in getting onto the board of Biogen, … Continue reading “Icahn Nominee Concedes Defeat at Biogen Idec Annual Meeting”

Genzyme Seeks Dual Approval, Google Health Picks Another Massachusetts Partner, Biogen Shareholders To Provide Closure (Maybe), & More Life Science News

Seems like most of the Massachusetts life sciences industry is out in San Diego at BIO this week—along with Governor Patrick—plugging the newly signed $1 billion funding bill. But those left in town had a few bits of interesting news to share as well. —Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts became the first health insurer … Continue reading “Genzyme Seeks Dual Approval, Google Health Picks Another Massachusetts Partner, Biogen Shareholders To Provide Closure (Maybe), & More Life Science News”

Vlingo’s CEO Fires Back at Nuance Over Patent Lawsuit—Says “When they Couldn’t Win Yahoo’s Business, This Was Their Reaction”

As soon as news broke Tuesday that Burlington, MA-based Nuance Communications was suing Harvard Square startup Vlingo for allegedly infringing one of Nuance’s speech-recognition patents, I requested an interview with Dave Grannan, Vlingo’s CEO. Grannan, who came to Vlingo from Nokia last year, has spent quite a bit of time with Xconomy in the past, … Continue reading “Vlingo’s CEO Fires Back at Nuance Over Patent Lawsuit—Says “When they Couldn’t Win Yahoo’s Business, This Was Their Reaction””

American Well Partners with Microsoft, Lands Hawaii Health Plan as First Major Customer

When I wrote my post yesterday about the launch of American Well, the Boston-based startup that plans to let patients visit with doctors via a multimedia Web interface, I couldn’t tell you the whole story. That post was tied to the company’s formal debut at the AHIP Institute 2008 meeting in San Francisco Wednesday morning–which, … Continue reading “American Well Partners with Microsoft, Lands Hawaii Health Plan as First Major Customer”

Optaros Inc. Secures $12,000,000 Series C Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d1693b82-67f6-44ec-aba8-c8d2a74b110c&Preview=1 Date 6/19/2008 Company Name Optaros Inc. Mailing Address 10 Milk St, 11th Floor Boston, MA 02108 Company Description Optaros, Inc. is a venture capital-funded consulting and systems integration firm that helps large enterprises use open source software to reduce the cost of commercial software and rapidly build high-quality, cost-effective and more … Continue reading “Optaros Inc. Secures $12,000,000 Series C Funding”

Microsoft Buys Navic Networks, Deliverer of Targeted TV Ads

Microsoft said yesterday that it’s buying Waltham, MA-based Navic Networks for an undisclosed sum. Navic, founded in 2001, makes software for set-top boxes that TV advertisers can use to target ads at specific digital cable subscribers and measure their responses. Its software can also be used to add interactive features such as voting and polls—for … Continue reading “Microsoft Buys Navic Networks, Deliverer of Targeted TV Ads”

Icahn Nominee to Biogen Idec Board Pledges to Work With Current Management to Restore Research Operations to Past Greatness

With a potentially momentous shareholder vote at hand, a top Carl Icahn strategist says he and others nominated by the investor for Biogen Idec’s board would not try to oust CEO James Mullen. What’s more, he says, they would work to restore the company’s research operations to the greatness he admired when a young MIT … Continue reading “Icahn Nominee to Biogen Idec Board Pledges to Work With Current Management to Restore Research Operations to Past Greatness”

The Doctor Will See You Online: American Well Launches Web-Based Medical Consultations

Boston startup American Well lifted the veil on its ambitious and long-awaited online health care marketplace today. With its 24/7 online network—where people with medical concerns can log on and be matched within minutes with a physician who will provide a live medical consultation—the company hopes to disrupt business-as-usual in the healthcare industry, and potentially … Continue reading “The Doctor Will See You Online: American Well Launches Web-Based Medical Consultations”

Will CombinatoRx Be the Next Cambridge Biotech Put on the Block?

Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Sirtris Pharmaceuticals. Maybe Biogen Idec (or maybe not). Will CombinatoRx (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CRXX]]) be next on the list of Cambridge, MA, biotech firms scooped up by a Big Pharma buyer? That’s the question raised by Bloomberg’s Kelly Riddell, who noted on Monday that several fund managers recently boosted their holdings in the eight-year-old firm. Riddell … Continue reading “Will CombinatoRx Be the Next Cambridge Biotech Put on the Block?”

Open-Source Startup Pushes Mail to Millions of Phones

Castile Ventures of Waltham, MA, together with Nexit Ventures, Walden International, and HIG Ventures, have invested $12.5 million in Funambol, a firm based Redwood City, CA, that develops open source e-mail software for mobile phones. There are billions of cell phone users in the world, but only a tiny slice of us use our handsets … Continue reading “Open-Source Startup Pushes Mail to Millions of Phones”

$8 Million for JazzD Markets

Stealthy online directory firm JazzD Markets of Brookline, MA, completed a $8 million in Series A financing round from investors including Commonwealth Capital Ventures and Pilot House Ventures, according to PE Hub, which cites a regulatory filing.

Nuance Suit Against Vlingo Could Shut Down Yahoo’s Voice-Driven Mobile Search Service

[Story Updated 4:40 p.m. 6/18/06; see below] If a Texas district court grants an injunction sought by Burlington, MA-based Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]), it could force Yahoo to shut down the voice-enabled version of its mobile search platform. The search tool is powered by software from Vlingo, a Cambridge, MA-based startup Nuance sued yesterday for … Continue reading “Nuance Suit Against Vlingo Could Shut Down Yahoo’s Voice-Driven Mobile Search Service”

GreenFuel Announces CEO: One Step Left in Metcalfe’s Seven-Step Recovery Plan—Money

GreenFuel Technologies, the algae farming startup headed by Polaris Venture Partners (a major investor in the company) general partner Bob Metcalfe on an interim basis since last June, finally got its CEO, the Cambridge, MA-based company announced today. The new top executive, who won’t start until mid-July and was not available for direct comment, is … Continue reading “GreenFuel Announces CEO: One Step Left in Metcalfe’s Seven-Step Recovery Plan—Money”

Genzyme Applies for Approval of Stem-Cell Harvesting Drug

Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]) announced today that it has applied for approval in the United States and the European Union of a new drug, Mozobil, that would aid the treatment of lymphoma and other cancers. The company plans to launch the drug in 2009 and expects it to eventually bring in $400 million per … Continue reading “Genzyme Applies for Approval of Stem-Cell Harvesting Drug”

AT&T Offers Buzzwire’s Streaming Media Content on Mobile Phones

It’s a big week for Boston-area mobile software companies looking to leverage the reach of national telecommunications firms. Yesterday Waltham, MA-based Quattro Wireless announced that Cox Newspapers has hired it to produce mobile-friendly versions of the websites for 19 Cox newspapers. Today, AT&T announced that its wireless subscribers can access a library of video, audio, … Continue reading “AT&T Offers Buzzwire’s Streaming Media Content on Mobile Phones”