It’s been a big week for FloDesign Wind Turbine. On Monday the company placed first in the MIT Enterprise Forum’s Ignite Clean Energy Competition, winning $100,000 in cash and services. On Tuesday, the company netted an additional $200,000 in cash by winning the MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize Competition. Which means that the company, a … Continue reading “Al Gore Eyeing Big Investment in Clean Energy Prize Winner”
Category: Boston
Greenfuel Extends Funding Round, Collects $13.9 Million
Greenfuel Technologies, the Cambridge, MA-based algae farming company temporarily headed by Polaris Venture Partners general partner Bob Metcalfe, said today that it has collected an additional $13.9 million in venture capital from inside investors in an extension of its Series B funding round. The money, which will be used to retire debt and scale up … Continue reading “Greenfuel Extends Funding Round, Collects $13.9 Million”
PV Annual 2008: Shedding Light on Solar
Greentech Media sponsors a daylong conferenced focused on the global market for photovoltaic (PV) solar energy technology. Data to be presented includes: * Global PV module demand, through end of year 2007 * Solar equipment ASPs * Silicon supply issues * Polysilicon capacity growth forecasts * Silicon pricing * Concentrating PV technologies and economics * … Continue reading “PV Annual 2008: Shedding Light on Solar”
Fate Therapeutics Names Executive Chairman
Earlier this week we reported that bi-coastal biotech Fate Therapeutics had named its new CEO, Paul Grayson. Today the company officially announced Grayson, as well as the appointment of John Mendlein as executive chairman. Mendlein was most recently CEO of Boston-based Adnexus Therapeutics, which was bought by Bristol-Myers Squibb last October for more than $505 … Continue reading “Fate Therapeutics Names Executive Chairman”
Google’s Open House: Of Ping-Pong, the Gov, and Four Local Projects
It wouldn’t be a visit to Google if it didn’t include a game of some sort. In the elevator on the way up to Google’s new Kendall Square digs, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick was “talking smack” about his table-tennis prowess, according to Google’s Cambridge site director Stephen Vinter. So before allowing the governor to leave … Continue reading “Google’s Open House: Of Ping-Pong, the Gov, and Four Local Projects”
The Next Great Internet Company—Who Cares? A Few Observations from Inside the 100K Contest
What will be the next great Internet company? Will it be a firm developing technology for online video guides, or one with a new way to assess and manage Web security risks? Maybe it will be a company mining customer data for small and medium-sized businesses, one building an online ad management system for Chinese … Continue reading “The Next Great Internet Company—Who Cares? A Few Observations from Inside the 100K Contest”
We, Robot: The Greater Boston Robotics Cluster
OK, we’re big on robots around here. From iRobot’s landmark court case to Kiva’s shuffling warehouse bots, from the FIRST (For Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology) high-school robot competition to Hydroid’s Navy contract for robot submarines, we’ve been covering the business of bots in depth and on the ground since our inception. And … Continue reading “We, Robot: The Greater Boston Robotics Cluster”
FloDesign Wins 200K Energy Prize
Updated—There was a lot of energy in the room. And why not? It was the finals of the MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize competition—and five finalists were vying for the $200,000 cash grand prize. Some 150 folks attended the event last night at Le Meridien Hotel in Cambridge, MA. And when it was over, the … Continue reading “FloDesign Wins 200K Energy Prize”
BSX Meets With Much Approval, Biogen and Icahn Set the (Showdown) Date, Fate’s Fate Revealed, Win Free Stuff, & More Life Sciences News
Each week I round up the latest news from the New England life sciences cluster, but this week I also want to offer you, gentle reader, the opportunity to share your views on the cluster, as part of a survey we’re helping PricewaterhouseCoopers conduct. Participating in the survey is a great chance to help key … Continue reading “BSX Meets With Much Approval, Biogen and Icahn Set the (Showdown) Date, Fate’s Fate Revealed, Win Free Stuff, & More Life Sciences News”
Bird Flies the Coop: A Startup Social Enterprise Heads From MIT To Pakistan
Attention entrepreneurs: it isn’t always about the technology. Often the real innovation lies in the distribution or business model. Take the problem of providing clean drinking water in developing countries. The technology needed to make individual water supplies safe isn’t rocket science—it ranges from purifier packets of chlorine to special containers that use sunlight to … Continue reading “Bird Flies the Coop: A Startup Social Enterprise Heads From MIT To Pakistan”
In Defense of the Drivable Airplane—Terrafugia CEO Responds to Legions of Doubters
We know our readers love to hear about radical new technologies and the business opportunities they create. So we weren’t shocked when our article last week about the Transition, the drivable airplane from Woburn, MA-based Terrafugia, turned up on Slashdot and brought more visitors to the site than any Xconomy story since our launch last … Continue reading “In Defense of the Drivable Airplane—Terrafugia CEO Responds to Legions of Doubters”
On EveryScape, Your Memo Marks the Spot
The folks at EveryScape in Waltham, MA, have been busy trying to live up to their company’s ambitious tag line, “The Real World Online.” At the Where 2.0 conference in Burlingame, CA, today, the startup plans to announce several useful upgrades to its online catalog of street-level views of 14 world cities, including a social … Continue reading “On EveryScape, Your Memo Marks the Spot”
Greentech Media Obtains $2,750,000 Series B Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7ddd7b74-a045-461f-acb8-5b3eecb584b9&Preview=1 Date 5/13/2008 Company Name Greentech Media Mailing Address 1132 Massachusetts Ave Cambridge, MA 02138 Company Description Greentech Media was founded in January 2007 with the vision of creating a fully integrated online-media company comprised of cutting-edge news, in-depth technical research & analysis, and focused industry events. Research and analysis is an … Continue reading “Greentech Media Obtains $2,750,000 Series B Round”
Fate Therapeutics Chooses CEO—Will Be Based in San Diego
After a months-long hunt, Fate Therapeutics, the superstar-laden, bi-coastal stem cell startup backed chiefly by Waltham, MA-based Polaris Venture Partners and Arch Venture Partners of Seattle, has named its CEO, the Seattle Times reported and company sources confirmed today. The CEO choice is Paul Grayson, previously of the San Diego arm of California-based Sanderling Ventures, … Continue reading “Fate Therapeutics Chooses CEO—Will Be Based in San Diego”
Backstage at Energy Idol: A Glimpse Behind the Scenes of the 200K Energy Prize
Last Thursday, I met Chad Lovell, a first-year student at MIT, standing in a small lobby on the third floor of a State Street office building in downtown Boston. It was the day of the semifinals of MIT’s Clean Energy Entpreneurship Prize competition, which carries a $200,000 award for the best business plan. Lovell, one … Continue reading “Backstage at Energy Idol: A Glimpse Behind the Scenes of the 200K Energy Prize”
Elixir Pulls IPO, Mascoma Runs With Marathon, InnoCentive Gets an Incentive, Novartis Ups Alnylam Stake, & More Deals News
New England’s corporate attorneys must have been working overtime, because the last week saw an unusual amount of deals activity—particularly in public and private stock offerings. —Citing market conditions, Elixir Pharmaceuticals pulled its IPO. The Cambridge, MA-based firm, which is developing treatments for diabetes, obesity, and other metabolic diseases, had already postponed the offering back … Continue reading “Elixir Pulls IPO, Mascoma Runs With Marathon, InnoCentive Gets an Incentive, Novartis Ups Alnylam Stake, & More Deals News”
Skyhook and Eye-Fi Hook Up to Automatically Geotag Your Photos
“Geotagging”—a geeks-only term as recently as a year ago—is moving quickly into the mainstream. And Boston’s Skyhook Wireless is doing as much as any company to make that happen. Back in February I wrote about a collaboration between Skyhook and Locr, a German photo-sharing community designed especially for pictures that have been geotagged—that is, assigned … Continue reading “Skyhook and Eye-Fi Hook Up to Automatically Geotag Your Photos”
Corindus Inc. Garners $12,800,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c199e169-d4c5-4ec4-a5f1-62e525f1e95f&Preview=1 Date 5/12/2008 Company Name Corindus Inc. Mailing Address 2000 Commonwealth Ave. Auburndale, MA 02466 Company Description Corindus provides intuitive robotic technologies for catheterization laboratories and radiology/special procedure suites. Allowing physicians to accurately place guide wires and precisely deploy stent systems in patient’s arteries from a comfortable workstation; enabling operators to conduct … Continue reading “Corindus Inc. Garners $12,800,000 Series B Financing”
MIT 100K Entrepreneurship Competition—Awards Ceremony
Seven tracks spanning aerospace, biotech, development, energy, mobile, products, and the Web. Seven winners of at least $10,000. But which emerging business team will emerge to win the $100,000 grand prize? Find out at the gala awards ceremony in MIT’s Kresge Auditorium.
MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize—Awards Show
The five finalists have been announced. Now it’s time for the showdown. Come see which team will take home the $200,000 grand prize. The evening starts with a reception celebrating all 20 semi-finalists, followed by live presentations of the five remaining contenders. There’ll be live audience voting for the fan favorite, and the overall winner … Continue reading “MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize—Awards Show”
TiECON East 2008
The annual conference of TiE, The Indus Entrepeneurs, is back with its extreme look at entrepreneurship, innovation, and global opportunity. There’s a special entrepreneur’s forum on the opening night, followed by a big day of conferencing, networking, and more. Speakers include Craig Newmark of Craigslist fame, Sycamore Networks founder Desh Deshpande, Daniel Palestrant, CEO of … Continue reading “TiECON East 2008”
Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation Day
The challenge is bringing ideas to industry. And the Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation Day is the Bay State’s annual celebration and showcase of innovations in Massachusetts research institutions that are advacing the local life sciences industry and global healthcare. “What technologies,” the program asks, “are currently emerging which have the potential to change the industry? … Continue reading “Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation Day”
Biogen Idec Sets Date for Showdown With Icahn, Proxy Battle Begins
The meeting date has been set, the battle lines drawn, proxy salvos lobbed. And one famous Biogen Idec board member goes unnamed. That’s the latest in the struggle between Biogen Idec and Carl Icahn. Yesterday, at long last, Biogen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) set June 19 as the date for its annual meeting—where shareholders will chose between … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Sets Date for Showdown With Icahn, Proxy Battle Begins”
A Mighty Wind: Noble Environmental Power Files for $375M IPO
It’s not just pollen in the air these days. Renewable energy projects are blooming throughout New England. Now, Noble Environmental Power, a fast-growing wind-power company based in Essex, CT, has filed for an initial public offering worth up to $375 million. (On the heels of yesterday’s IPO filing by Lexington, MA-based web management services firm … Continue reading “A Mighty Wind: Noble Environmental Power Files for $375M IPO”
An Elegy for the Multimedia CD-ROM Stars
On balance, I’m a fan of all things Web. But every successful new medium disrupts or transforms the media that came before—just as the movies killed vaudeville, TV killed episodic radio, MP3s are upending the music industry, and Netflix is killing the neighborhood video store—and it’s important to recognize the value that can be lost … Continue reading “An Elegy for the Multimedia CD-ROM Stars”
New Approval for Boston Scientific—Europe Sets the Pace for FDA
Yesterday we told you that Boston Scientific (NYSE: [[ticker:BSX]]) had got its new family of advanced pacemakers approved for sale in Europe, but that these were not available in the United States. Well, that has changed overnight. Today the Natick, MA, medical device company announced that the FDA have followed in the footsteps of the … Continue reading “New Approval for Boston Scientific—Europe Sets the Pace for FDA”
With An Offering Worth Up to $80.5 Million, Gomez Could Help Revive the Moribund IPO Market
“IPOs: Back from the Dead?” BusinessWeek asked this morning—and, as if to answer, Lexington, MA-based Gomez filed for an offering worth up to $80.5 million. (And if that combination of events bizarrely fills your head with images of the dancing zombies from the “Thriller” video, well, you’re not alone.) In its filing with the SEC, … Continue reading “With An Offering Worth Up to $80.5 Million, Gomez Could Help Revive the Moribund IPO Market”
From the Runway to the Road: Terrafugia Redefines the Flying Car—Make That Drivable Airplane
Don’t call it a flying car. It’s a “roadable aircraft.” It’s named the Transition, and the first full-scale model is taking shape inside a former machine shop on an industrial back alley in Woburn, MA. Between now and late July, the 10 employees of angel-funded startup Terrafugia will be spending “a lot of long days, … Continue reading “From the Runway to the Road: Terrafugia Redefines the Flying Car—Make That Drivable Airplane”
The DNA of Entrepreneurship: Lessons Learned Across the Generations
The MIT Enterprise Forum presents a fireside chat on how entrepreneurship is born – and how it can be passed from parent to progeny and from mentor to mentee. The speakers include: George Hatsopoulos, founder and chairman emeritus of Thermo Electron Corporation (now Thermo Fisher Scientific), which he managed from inception through its growth to … Continue reading “The DNA of Entrepreneurship: Lessons Learned Across the Generations”
Concert Strikes a Chord With Investors, Abiomed Scores a Win with Medicare, Epix Snags $7.5M from GSK, & More Life Sciences News
Is it Wednesday again already? Must be time for some life sciences news… —Lexington, MA’s Concert Pharmaceuticals raised $37 million in one of this year’s biggest Series C rounds in New England biotech. The deal was led by an unnamed public equity investor and joined by Adage Capital Management, SR One, Mediphase Venture Partners, Westfield … Continue reading “Concert Strikes a Chord With Investors, Abiomed Scores a Win with Medicare, Epix Snags $7.5M from GSK, & More Life Sciences News”
Mobile Marketing: Who’s on First, What’s on Second, and I Don’t Know What’s on the Third Screen
If you still think that e-mail and Internet are things you get on your computer, then you’re probably my age. Or maybe half my age. I got a taste of the new generation gap yesterday at Boston’s Mobile Monday event, when an audience member pointed out that for people younger than himself, the mobile phone—the … Continue reading “Mobile Marketing: Who’s on First, What’s on Second, and I Don’t Know What’s on the Third Screen”
InnoCentive Raises $6.5 Million for Innovation Network: “Ready for Prime Time,” says CEO in Our Q&A
There’s endless debate about how to encourage more innovation inside technology companies. But in Waltham, MA, there’s a startup that says, in effect, don’t bother: innovation can be outsourced to a global community of freelancers. InnoCentive was set up by Eli Lilly in 2001 as an experimental way to farm out some of the giant … Continue reading “InnoCentive Raises $6.5 Million for Innovation Network: “Ready for Prime Time,” says CEO in Our Q&A”
InnoCentive Obtains $6,500,000 Series B Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=213e4fe7-f765-4964-8347-f24a2bb96939&Preview=1 Date 5/7/2008 Company Name InnoCentive Mailing Address 201 Jones Rd Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description InnoCentive is an exciting new web-based community matching top scientists to relevant R&D challenges facing leading companies from around the globe. Website http://www.innocentive.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $6,500,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “InnoCentive Obtains $6,500,000 Series B Financing Round”
Our Mascoma Math Coma
Here at Xconomy, tracking venture funding for local technology startups is one of our favorite pastimes. We don’t report on every single funding round we hear about, but when large amounts are involved we like to bring you all the facts. There’s one local startup, however, whose big Series C funding round has had us … Continue reading “Our Mascoma Math Coma”
Eons Creates New Chief Product Officer Position, Looks to the Cloud for Some Services
After losing its second chief technology officer in seven months, Eons is looking to revamp the position by creating a new chief product officer job that combines technology and product development responsibilities, according to CEO Jeff Taylor. On a related front, Taylor says the company is eyeing moving some of its storage—so far done on … Continue reading “Eons Creates New Chief Product Officer Position, Looks to the Cloud for Some Services”
How Massachusetts Gets Her Groove Back
Editor’s note: Massachusetts, in the eyes of Highland Capital Partners co-founder and general partner Paul Maeder, has three problems with its startup engine. That’s okay, because Maeder has three solutions. Maeder outlined both the problems and the solutions in a talk at the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council’s annual meeting on Feb. 27—providing a slide-by-slide analysis … Continue reading “How Massachusetts Gets Her Groove Back”
Who Knew? Take 2: More Strange-But-True Details of Boston’s Innovation Leaders
Personal insights. Conversation starters. Gossip. Whatever the excuse, it’s high time for the second installment in Xconomy’s Who Knew? series, our wildly popular roundup of little-known, offbeat facts about the New England innovation community (and a few outside innovators with ties to the local scene). In this installment, you’ll learn who runs his own indoor … Continue reading “Who Knew? Take 2: More Strange-But-True Details of Boston’s Innovation Leaders”
CHiL Semiconductor Receives $16,700,000 Series C Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5928d207-98ff-47e9-aba5-78146e7b7264&Preview=1 Date 5/6/2008 Company Name CHiL Semiconductor Mailing Address One Highwood Drive Tewskbury, MA 01876 Company Description CHiL Semiconductor Corp. is a fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops and markets intelligent mixed-signal semiconductors for the power management market, implementing unique digital control and striving to create energy efficient solutions. Website http://www.chilsemi.com Transaction … Continue reading “CHiL Semiconductor Receives $16,700,000 Series C Funding”
Mascoma Corporation Secures $61,000,000 Series C Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=85187e57-0d7a-44b0-9f2a-c3c73566f648&Preview=1 Date 5/6/2008 Company Name Mascoma Corporation Mailing Address 1380 Soldiers Field Road, Second Floor Boston, MA 02135 Company Description Recent advances in cellulosic ethanol R&D have led to the development of a new generation of enzymes, microbes and processes for economical conversion of cellulosic feedstocks into ethanol. With the combination of … Continue reading “Mascoma Corporation Secures $61,000,000 Series C Round”
Enterprise 2.0 Conference
United Business Media’s TechWeb, formerly the Business Technology Group of CMP, sponsors a four-day conference on the challenges and opportunities of running businesses in the Web 2.0 era. Topics include: Social Networking in Business Social Networks as New Media Microblogging & Twitter Enterprise Mash-ups Enterprise RSS & Syndication Developing a Next Generation Workforce Socializing Search … Continue reading “Enterprise 2.0 Conference”
Front End of Innovation
The Product Development and Management Association and the Institute for International Research co-sponsor a three-day conference on cutting-edge innovation methods and how they can benefit your company. Featured keynoters include Xconomist Dean Kamen, inventor Ray Kurzweil, and A.G. Lafley, the CEO of Procter & Gamble. Information and registration here; conference blog here.
Let the Epic Curing Begin: Epix and Curis Earn Milestone Payments
Two Boston-area biotech companies have reached clinical milestones that will earn them a total of $10.5 million from their industry partners. Epix Pharmaceuticals of Lexington, MA, announced today that it has begun phase 2b clinical trials of its new drug for treating Alzheimer’s disease. This key step will earn the firm $7.5 million from its … Continue reading “Let the Epic Curing Begin: Epix and Curis Earn Milestone Payments”
EnerNOC Buys Baltimore Firm, Expands Energy Procurement Services
As more states have deregulated their energy markets—giving corporations, city governments, and other organizations more choices about where to buy their electricity and gas—a new group of consulting companies has sprung up to help these organizations make wise decisions. And in the space of eight months, Boston-based EnerNOC has gone from being a non-player in … Continue reading “EnerNOC Buys Baltimore Firm, Expands Energy Procurement Services”
Eons Loses Another CTO in Management Split
Barely three months after it announced the hiring of new chief technology officer Eric Golin, some four months after the firm’s previous CTO Reed Sturtevant left to head a new Microsoft lab in Cambridge, Boston baby boomer and social networking site Eons has parted ways with Golin. The CTO left quietly last week, with no … Continue reading “Eons Loses Another CTO in Management Split”
Mascoma Teams with GM, Moldflow Melds with Autodesk, Concert Scores Some Heavy-Duty Cash, & More Deals News
Last week saw several very large financing deals. Perhaps those depressing Q1 numbers gave investors a little kick in the rear? —Concert Pharmaceuticals of Lexington, MA, raised a hefty $37 million to support its work on drugs incorporating deuterium, a heavier form of hydrogen. The Series C round was led by a “leading public equity … Continue reading “Mascoma Teams with GM, Moldflow Melds with Autodesk, Concert Scores Some Heavy-Duty Cash, & More Deals News”
Social Movie Rentals Premiere at Lycos; Chat Room Has Everything But the Popcorn
It turns out that old dogs can learn new tricks. For several years in the late 1990s, search company Lycos, known for its Labrador Retriever mascot, was one of the world’s most trafficked and most profitable Web portals. It scooped up other hot brands such as Wired Digital, Tripod, and Angelfire, and in 2000, Spain’s … Continue reading “Social Movie Rentals Premiere at Lycos; Chat Room Has Everything But the Popcorn”
Certica Solutions Obtains $3,300,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4671e5ab-ddfb-41ac-b208-982b624bfae8&Preview=1 Date 5/5/2008 Company Name Certica Solutions Mailing Address 301 Edgewater Place Wakefield, MA 01880 Company Description Certica Solutions is the leading provider of data certification solutions, helping corporate and government organizations address specific business challenges with a structured, systematic approach to identifying, reporting and monitoring data integrity issues. Website http://www.certicasolutions.com Transaction … Continue reading “Certica Solutions Obtains $3,300,000 New Financing”
As Y Combinator Prepares to Open Summer Camp, Paul Graham Speaks
Y Combinator bills itself as “a new kind of venture firm specializing in funding early stage startups.” The company also has a different kind of headquarters, one that alternates between Cambridge, MA, during the summer and Mountain View, CA, during the winter. And, as Wade noted a few weeks ago, Y Combinator’s summer camp for … Continue reading “As Y Combinator Prepares to Open Summer Camp, Paul Graham Speaks”
Three Luminaries, Two Third Revolutions, and One Nice Suit: An Xconomy Forum on the Future of Life Sciences in New England
Leave it to a Nobel Laureate to out-quip the famously quippy Noubar Afeyan. It happened while Bob was in the middle of his (probably unnecessary) introductions of the three luminaries who had joined us Tuesday evening to lead a discussion about the future of the life sciences in New England: Flagship Ventures co-founder Afeyan, Harvard-Partners … Continue reading “Three Luminaries, Two Third Revolutions, and One Nice Suit: An Xconomy Forum on the Future of Life Sciences in New England”
GM Chips In for Mascoma’s Cellulosic Biofuel Technology
In January General Motors announced an investment in Coskata, a Warrenville, IL, company that has backing from Advanced Technology Ventures of Waltham, MA, and is developing a chemical-thermal technology for making ethanol out of high-cellulose materials such as wood chips. But apparently GM wants to hedge its bets as it searches for ways to encourage … Continue reading “GM Chips In for Mascoma’s Cellulosic Biofuel Technology”