Last Halloween, a Boston startup called Untravel Media published a multimedia walking tour called “Boston’s Little Lanes and Alleyways” that guides listeners through some of the city’s oddest secret passageways and back streets. I took the tour myself, and found that its dramatic combination of photography, music, and narration taught me about a side of … Continue reading “Unbuilt Boston: The Ghost Cloverleaf of Canton”
Category: Boston
Take Two Blueberry Jelly Beans and Call Me in the Morning: Cambridge Biotech’s Best and Brightest on Show (or Not)
I went to the Museum of Science yesterday, to see “Cambridge’s premier companies show-off their latest research and products, revealing what makes them world leaders in science!” At least, that was what the program for the city’s ongoing science festival touted. Evidently, though, just three companies reckon themselves to be among the city’s best and … Continue reading “Take Two Blueberry Jelly Beans and Call Me in the Morning: Cambridge Biotech’s Best and Brightest on Show (or Not)”
Mascoma Corporation Lands New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=710754c9-417b-4601-85ad-9d7647d60a9d&Preview=1 Date 5/2/2008 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 Lands New Financing”
Leostream Corp. Receives $3,000,000 Series A Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f4997f2d-70e5-4dd5-b701-bd53e3305da5&Preview=1 Date 5/2/2008 Company Name Leostream Corp. Mailing Address 411 Waverley Oaks Road Waltham, MA 02452 Company Description The Leostream Connection Broker dynamically assigns users to Terminal Services or Hosted Desktops – running on virtual or physical machines (including Blades). Website http://www.leostream.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,000,000 Transaction Round Series … Continue reading “Leostream Corp. Receives $3,000,000 Series A Financing”
Heavyweight Hydrogen Takes $37 Million Prize for Concert Pharmaceuticals
Concert Pharmaceuticals may have found a way to help established drug substances pack a better punch. By substituting a few normal hydrogen atoms with the heavier form, deuterium, the company believes it is possible to create new chemical entities with greater efficacy and fewer side effects. And since these entities are based on proven drugs, … Continue reading “Heavyweight Hydrogen Takes $37 Million Prize for Concert Pharmaceuticals”
Mozy Releases Mac Version of Online Backup Service
MozyHome for Mac, a program that backs up your personal files online, went into full production today after a long period in beta testing. For several weeks now, I’ve been using the service—which, for the moment, represents one of the only ways everyday computer users can tap into the emerging “cloud computing” phenomenon—and I’ve found … Continue reading “Mozy Releases Mac Version of Online Backup Service”
Just Turned 25, Pegasystems See Big Ride Ahead
In 1975, at age 19, former New England junior chess champion and then Dartmouth College student Alan Trefler decided to enter the World Open chess tournament in New York—and play for all the marbles against the best players of any age. The kid from Brookline, MA, lost his first game but then won eight straight, … Continue reading “Just Turned 25, Pegasystems See Big Ride Ahead”
ZeeVee Makes Watching Your PC on Your HDTV EeZee
It’s one of those strange ironies in consumer technology. Now that it’s possible to buy a flat-screen HDTV for under $1,000, millions of American homes boast huge, beautiful high-definition displays. But as anyone who has invested in an HDTV knows, only a fraction of the content available from broadcasters and cable systems is in high … Continue reading “ZeeVee Makes Watching Your PC on Your HDTV EeZee”
“Lord of the Rings Online” Publisher Turbine Reported to Raise $40 Million
According to a report yesterday at the financial news site PE Hub, Westwood, MA-based Turbine, publisher of graphically rich online role playing games such Lord of the Rings Online, has nearly doubled its venture capital pot through a $40 million Series C influx from Granite Global Ventures and partners. PE Hub said its report was … Continue reading ““Lord of the Rings Online” Publisher Turbine Reported to Raise $40 Million”
InfraReDx Gets FDA Nod for Artery-Imaging Tool
Ten-year-old InfraReDx of Burlington, MA, has gotten clearance from the FDA to market a catheter-based tool that lets doctors peer into the plaques on the walls of coronary arteries and determine which ones have lipid cores. Such fatty plaques may be more prone to rupture and form blood clots, a common cause of heart attacks, … Continue reading “InfraReDx Gets FDA Nod for Artery-Imaging Tool”
UNDERGROUND 2008
This open-invitation conference is designed for student entrepreneurs, by student entrepreneurs—including Xconomist Forum contributor Albert Park—and Xconomy is proud to be a sponsor. As the event material states, “It’s time that we students improve support and collaboration amongst our community. Come represent your school and meet future teammates and friends from MIT, Harvard, Babson, BU, … Continue reading “UNDERGROUND 2008”
TrustPlus Out to Build Its Rep with eBay Data
Trust is a funny thing. I first interviewed Shawn Broderick, founder and CEO of TrustPlus, last September. But I didn’t write a story about the startup, mainly because there was something about the interview that didn’t feel right. Maybe I didn’t ask the right questions. Maybe it was the way TrustPlus’s marketing video was such … Continue reading “TrustPlus Out to Build Its Rep with eBay Data”
ZS Genetics Enters the X Prize Fray, Biogen Falls on Rituxan News, Acusphere Takes a Step Toward Clinical Finish Line, & More Life Sciences News
While we were gearing up to discuss the future of life sciences in New England (more on that soon), here’s what was happening in the present. —Cambridge, MA-based Constellation Pharmaceuticals picked up $32 million in a Series A financing round co-led by Third Rock Ventures, The Column Group, and Venrock. Third Rock and Millennium Pharmaceuticals … Continue reading “ZS Genetics Enters the X Prize Fray, Biogen Falls on Rituxan News, Acusphere Takes a Step Toward Clinical Finish Line, & More Life Sciences News”
Concert Pharmaceuticals Garners $37,000,000 Series C Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=99d7c5fd-86fd-429f-8441-833564ee286a&Preview=1 Date 4/30/2008 Company Name Concert Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address 99 Hayden Avenue Lexington, MA 02421 Company Description Concert Pharmaceuticals, a privately held pharmaceutical company, is focused on developing novel small molecule drugs for unmet medical needs. Concert utilizes its advanced methodology to rapidly create potent bioavailable drug candidates. Website http://www.concertpharma.com/ Transaction Type … Continue reading “Concert Pharmaceuticals Garners $37,000,000 Series C Funding”
TVeez Receives $15,000,000 Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=18838a4a-e983-4cc5-aa63-f4c2b9ac12f4&Preview=1 Date 4/30/2008 Company Name TVeez Mailing Address 600 W Cummings Park Woburn, MA 01801 Company Description TVeez envisions a retail world of Total Real-time Communication where retailers are able to communicate their sales, marketing, and service strategies to their end customers at the point of purchase in an effective and motivating … Continue reading “TVeez Receives $15,000,000 Series A Round”
Constellation Off to a Stellar $32 Million Start, Helmed (For Now) By Ex Millennium Boss
Constellation Pharmaceuticals, a new drug-discovery company based in Cambridge, MA, today announced that it has raised $32 million in Series A financing. One of the lead investors in the deal is Boston’s Third Rock Ventures, which was launched last year by former Millennium boss Mark Levin. The Newbury Street firm is focusing on early stage … Continue reading “Constellation Off to a Stellar $32 Million Start, Helmed (For Now) By Ex Millennium Boss”
iRobot v. Robotic FX, Redux
Mine-detecting robots, Delorean-driving trade-secret-swiping engineers, dumpster-diving detectives. Ring any bells? When last we wrote about the iRobot-Robotic FX case, just before Christmas, Burlington, MA-based iRobot (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]) was riding off into the sunset with a $286 million Army contract, a bunch of assets handed over by its vanquished Alsip, IL-based rival, and a promise that … Continue reading “iRobot v. Robotic FX, Redux”
VMware’s R&D Lab: A Little Piece of Palo Alto in the Heart of Kendall Square
When Xconomy set up shop in Kendall Square, Cambridge, last year, we knew it was the innovation hub of New England, but we still didn’t realize just how deep the bench is here. Practically every week we learn about a new startup or an established technology firm with an office near ours. My most recent … Continue reading “VMware’s R&D Lab: A Little Piece of Palo Alto in the Heart of Kendall Square”
Workshop Tackles the $64M Question: Is Boston’s Venture Ecosystem Losing More Ground to Silicon Valley?
Is the Boston venture capital community losing some of its edge? Vinit Nijhawan is concerned it might be. Starting at noon today, a select group of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, venture fund investors, and others will join the Xconomist for an invitation-only workshop at Boston University’s School of Management to take a critical look at the … Continue reading “Workshop Tackles the $64M Question: Is Boston’s Venture Ecosystem Losing More Ground to Silicon Valley?”
Netezza Boosts Data Warehouse Capacity
Netezza (NYSE: [[ticker:NZ]]) sells high-performance data warehousing appliances to companies such as Neiman Marcus, Amazon, and TJX that need to analyze terabytes of customer data quickly to detect fraud or help with marketing decisions. Thanks to new compression techniques being rolled out next month as part of the latest software upgrade for Netezza’s appliances, they’ll … Continue reading “Netezza Boosts Data Warehouse Capacity”
PlumChoice Lands $2,800,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d4b3fc83-3d2e-4634-83ec-20725d40eab6&Preview=1 Date 4/29/2008 Company Name PlumChoice Mailing Address 5 Federal Street Billerica, MA 01821 Company Description PlumChoice’s premium remote computer and technology service is available to home and business PC users, business travelers, telecommuters, college students, persons with limited mobility and any PC user with Internet access. The company’s remote services include … Continue reading “PlumChoice Lands $2,800,000 New Financing Round”
Constellation Pharmaceuticals Secures $32,000,000 Series A Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8f932f7a-3428-4a59-bd11-741c6668ed46&Preview=1 Date 4/29/2008 Company Name Constellation Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address 148 Sidney Street Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description Constellation Pharmaceuticals is the first biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of novel therapeutics in the emerging field of Epigenetics, a new field of science which is focused on selective regulators of epigenetic function, which … Continue reading “Constellation Pharmaceuticals Secures $32,000,000 Series A Funding”
Cortera Lands $8,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9ca8876b-2113-4eb8-a45d-de33da437066&Preview=1 Date 4/29/2008 Company Name Cortera Mailing Address One Pine Hill Drive Quincy, MA 02169 Company Description Cortera’s mission is to give you better, more actionable insights into the companies you deal with, without the hassle or high prices. It’s what we call Fresh Perspective. Website http://www.cortera.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “Cortera Lands $8,000,000 New Financing Round”
Venture Performance Strong in 2007—Questions Raised About New Year
The data are in on fourth quarter 2007 venture capital returns, and it was a very good year for venture funds. They returned 19.5 percent for the year, far outstripping the stock market. That’s the good news in figures released today by Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association. But the picture is more … Continue reading “Venture Performance Strong in 2007—Questions Raised About New Year”
Cambridge Science Festival
The Cambridge Science Festival, nine days of celebrating Cambridge’s science and technology leadership, is out to make science “accessible, interactive and fun” via a pot-pourri of activities that include lectures, debates, exhibitions, concerts, plays, workshops, and more. Here’s the schedule of events.
Black Duck Swallows Up Koders Code Search Engine
Waltham, MA-based Black Duck Software, whose products help companies manage big software projects that incorporate open-source code and other third-party software, said today that it has acquired Santa Monica, CA-based Koders, proprietor of the Web’s leading open-source code search engine. Black Duck paddled up to software developers in 2004 with the promise of helping them … Continue reading “Black Duck Swallows Up Koders Code Search Engine”
Retail Convergence Meets Up With Some Cash, TheStreet Takes to Geezeo, GSK Lifts a Glass to Sirtris, & More Deals News
It was a big week for Boston-area life sciences (especially for Sirtris and Resolvyx), but a couple of local Internet firms closed some sweet deals as well. —Newly formed Boston-based e-commerce firm Retail Convergence—which owns bargain retailers Smart Bargains and RueLala—raised $25 million from New England Development, Breakaway Ventures, Mugar Enterprises, General Catalyst, and other … Continue reading “Retail Convergence Meets Up With Some Cash, TheStreet Takes to Geezeo, GSK Lifts a Glass to Sirtris, & More Deals News”
Harnessing Nanotechnology to Drive the New Global Economy
Last Thursday, April 24, nanotechnology entrepreneur Anita Goel, founder of Medford, MA-based Nanobiosym, testified on the National Nanotechnology Initiative, a hearing held by the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation. Following is an adaptation of Goel’s testimony. Nanotechnology to me is the ability to probe and control matter and systems on increasingly finer … Continue reading “Harnessing Nanotechnology to Drive the New Global Economy”
GamerDNA Targets Xbox Community
GamerDNA, the social network for video gamers that just 10 days ago announced a new name, a broader mission, and a new pot of venture money from Flybridge Capital Partners, is continuing its expansion streak. CEO Jon Radoff said today the company has acquired Chicago-based It Can Talk Inc., which owns an Xbox community website … Continue reading “GamerDNA Targets Xbox Community”
Turn Your HDTV into a Digital Art Canvas
You no longer need to be a multi-billionaire to have large-scale digital art in your home. When Bill Gates built his 40,000-square-foot mansion on Lake Washington in the early 1990s, one of the most talked-about features was a 22-foot-wide, rear-projection video wall in the reception hall, showing digitized versions of fine art, historic photographs, and … Continue reading “Turn Your HDTV into a Digital Art Canvas”
Startup Seals Deal With MIT on Wound-Sealing, Self-Assembling, Nanoscale Technology
A super-stealthy MIT spinoff is poking its head out today to announce that it has finalized a licensing agreement with the Institute. The pact gives Arch Therapeutics rights to a family of clear liquids developed by research scientist Rutledge Ellis-Behnke that stanch or prevent bleeding after an injury or during surgery. Ellis-Behnke and his colleagues … Continue reading “Startup Seals Deal With MIT on Wound-Sealing, Self-Assembling, Nanoscale Technology”
Geezeo Receives $1,200,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=99f53ddd-807f-444b-8853-83f840667e4f&Preview=1 Date 4/25/2008 Company Name Geezeo Mailing Address 35 Tripp St, Studio Framingham, MA 01702 Company Description Geezeo combines free, easy-to-use online personal finance tools with the power of social networking to provide the resources and motivation consumers need to achieve their financial goals. Geezeo allows users to instantly and automatically track … Continue reading “Geezeo Receives $1,200,000 New Round”
One Laptop Per Child Foundation No Longer a Disruptive Force, Bender Fears; Q&A on His Plans for “Sugar” Interface
Walter Bender, the former president of software and content for the One Laptop Per Child Foundation, says he left his post last week because of a growing split with founder Nicholas Negroponte over whether the foundation should continue in its gadfly role in the computing world. Negroponte—who told BusinessWeek in March that OLPC has been … Continue reading “One Laptop Per Child Foundation No Longer a Disruptive Force, Bender Fears; Q&A on His Plans for “Sugar” Interface”
$25 Million Raised for Bargain Shopping
Retail Convergence, an e-commerce corporation based in Boston, today announced it has raised $25 Million from a number of investors, including New England Development, Breakaway Ventures, Mugar Enterprises, and General Catalyst. The newly formed corporation owns two online bargain retailers, both with headquarters in Boston: SmartBargains and RueLaLa. The latter, which launched just two weeks … Continue reading “$25 Million Raised for Bargain Shopping”
Geezeo Takes a Walk on The Sunny Side of TheStreet.com
TheStreet.com, the investment news site headlined by famously loud-mouthed CNBC host Jim Cramer, said today that it’s making a strategic investment of its own in Framingham, MA-based Geezeo, the personal-finance website we profiled last August. TheStreet.com is putting $1.2 million into Geezeo in return for a 13 percent stake in the company, and has the … Continue reading “Geezeo Takes a Walk on The Sunny Side of TheStreet.com”
Independent Film Festival Boston
Now in its seventh year, Independent Film Festival Boston is a week-long bonanza of great new feature, documentary, and short films from independent producers. We particularly recommend two technology-oriented films: Nerdcore Rising: East Coast premire of a film documenting the world of geeksta rap with a focus on Damian Hess, aka MC Frontalot. The premiere, … Continue reading “Independent Film Festival Boston”
Are You, Were You, Will You Be Ready for IPO?
Late last January, on the heels of BG Medicine and Elixir Pharmaceuticals pulling their planned initial public offerings, I moderated a panel at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium examining the IPO climate and separating myth from reality (IPOs, for instance, are NOT exit events). The panel was offered by the MIT Enterprise Forum. My knowledgeable, and entertaining … Continue reading “Are You, Were You, Will You Be Ready for IPO?”
ZS Genetics Enters Race for Genomics X Prize
A gang of outsiders just arrived in town. Yesterday, at a conference in San Diego, ZS Genetics announced that it is the seventh team to be accepted into the race for the $10 million Archon X Prize for Genomics. “We have been thinking about this for a while and started talking to the X Prize … Continue reading “ZS Genetics Enters Race for Genomics X Prize”
Retail Convergence Secures $25,000,000 Series A Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d070336d-5c9d-4c4d-ba36-cccaae77e47f&Preview=1 Date 4/24/2008 Company Name Retail Convergence Mailing Address 10 Milk St Boston, MA 02108 Company Description Retail Convergence is a newly formed corporation that is comprised of e-commerce companies including SmartBargains.com and RueLaLa.com, which officially launched on April 9th. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $25,000,000 Transaction Round Series … Continue reading “Retail Convergence Secures $25,000,000 Series A Financing Round”
Mobile Marketing and Advertising
It’s almost time for the next Mobile Monday Boston meetup. May’s session will focus on the market for advertising on mobile platforms, which happens to be the focus of several Boston-area companies, such as ThirdScreen Media. A panel of experts will ask whether mobile advertising is a real business yet. Panelists will include:Phuc Truong – … Continue reading “Mobile Marketing and Advertising”
TV and the Web: Can Backchannelmedia Make You Lean Forward?
Back in November, we covered a Boston company called Backchannelmedia that’s giving broadcasters and advertisers a new marketing channel by adding a Web bookmarking function to TV programming. I stopped by Backchannelmedia’s office for a demo of the latest version of its system a couple of weeks ago, and I’ll be sharing a few of … Continue reading “TV and the Web: Can Backchannelmedia Make You Lean Forward?”
The Growth of College Entrepreneurship
Collegiate entrepreneurship is indisputably on the rise. More students seem to value the growth of their own assets over assisting the growth of others’ and are as a result seeking ventures in lieu of jobs. In support of this trend, universities are becoming increasingly encouraging of entrepreneurial activity, launching new programs, competitions, organizations, and other … Continue reading “The Growth of College Entrepreneurship”
Top First Quarter New England Venture Investments
Updated: It wasn’t a pretty quarter—Q1 2008, that is—for venture deals, particularly in New England. But the 11 area firms listed below didn’t seem to be complaining, as all received venture investments of $10 million or more. Topping the diverse list is Boston’s Mascoma, which is researching genetically engineered bacteria that speed up the conversion … Continue reading “Top First Quarter New England Venture Investments”
Artaic Pieces Together a Robot Revolution in Mosaic-Making
Mosaic has been a popular form of public art since Roman times, but the techniques behind it haven’t advanced much over the millennia. Assembling the glass, stone, or marble pieces of a mosaic, called tesserae, is still a manual process that takes even experienced craftspeople two to three hours per square foot. (If the artist … Continue reading “Artaic Pieces Together a Robot Revolution in Mosaic-Making”
GSK Takes Sirtris and Taps Alnylam Venture, FDA Deals Genzyme Drug a Blow, Resolvyx Finances Fish-Oil Drugs, & More Life Sciences News
Spring has definitely sprung for New England life sciences firms—there are new financings, partnerships, acquisitions, and the like cropping up all over. Let’s start with the big one. —Sirtris Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SIRT]]) of Cambridge, MA, was snapped up for a cool $720 million by pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: [[ticker:GSK]]). The company will continue to operate … Continue reading “GSK Takes Sirtris and Taps Alnylam Venture, FDA Deals Genzyme Drug a Blow, Resolvyx Finances Fish-Oil Drugs, & More Life Sciences News”
Play Hard Sports, Inc. Obtains $5,000,000 Series A Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1a15e52c-f9e0-46e1-9e66-e899b4bfb376&Preview=1 Date 4/23/2008 Company Name Play Hard Sports, Inc. Mailing Address 16 Chestnut Street Foxboro, MA 02035 Company Description Play Hard Sports, Inc. (Play Hard) is the first casual sports network in North America focused exclusively on developing, publishing and distributing exceptional sports games and entertainment across the Internet. Play Hard is … Continue reading “Play Hard Sports, Inc. Obtains $5,000,000 Series A Financing”
Collaboration and Competition in a Globalised World
In case you hadn’t heard, the world is flat, and innovation is the steamroller. This event, put on by Boston University School of Management, features The Right Honorable John Denham, Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills. Denham will be speaking on Innovation Nation, a white paper “establishing a comprehensive roadmap to … Continue reading “Collaboration and Competition in a Globalised World”
Sirtris Exec Says Acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline is “Great for Boston”
After financial markets closed today, news broke that pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: [[ticker:GSK]]) will pay $720 million to acquire Cambridge, MA-based Sirtris Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SIRT]]), which is researching and testing drugs for ageing-related conditions such as diabetes and cancer. A few minutes ago I spoke with Michelle Dipp, Sirtris’s corporate development director, about the acquisition. … Continue reading “Sirtris Exec Says Acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline is “Great for Boston””
GlaxoSmithKline Scoops Up Sirtris
Zhoop! It’s the sound of another prominent local biotech company being acquired by a far-away pharmaceutical giant. Last week it was Millennium, which was snapped up by Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceuticals for $8.8 billion. This time it’s Cambridge, MA-based Sirtris Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:SIRT]]), a company we’ve covered regularly, which is about to become part of London and … Continue reading “GlaxoSmithKline Scoops Up Sirtris”
Resolvyx gets $25 Million in Financing to Turn Fish-Oil Science into New Drugs
Back in November, David Stipp wrote about how Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals of Bedford, MA, is aiming to turn the science of fish oil into treatments for a host of inflammatory diseases, from rheumatoid arthritis to dry eyes. Today, the company announced that is has received $25 million in new financing from both existing and new investors, … Continue reading “Resolvyx gets $25 Million in Financing to Turn Fish-Oil Science into New Drugs”