The Greater Boston Internet Video Cluster

Boston may take a back seat to Los Angeles and New York as a locus for TV, film, and video production, but it’s front and center when it comes to the array of technologies that go into publishing and monetizing video content on the Internet. Not so long ago, video lovers were pretty much limited … Continue reading “The Greater Boston Internet Video Cluster”

Coveo Solutions Inc. Lands $2,500,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=85089d4b-ff0e-475c-b28f-c515e7edc3f2&Preview=1 Date 3/6/2008 Company Name Coveo Solutions Inc. Mailing Address 120 Hawthorne Avenue Palo Alto, MA 94301 Company Description Coveo develops award winning enterprise secure search engine applications that deliver secure, accurate access to structured and unstructured information across the enterprise. Website http://www.coveo.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,500,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “Coveo Solutions Inc. Lands $2,500,000 New Funding Round”

TriHealix, Inc. Receives $7,000,000 Series C Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=edd1363c-ddb0-4a95-bb11-dbf058583cbe&Preview=1 Date 3/6/2008 Company Name TriHealix, Inc. Mailing Address 15 Oakwood Avenue, 2nd Floor Norwalk, CT 06850 Company Description TriHealix provides an integrated healthcare and financial transaction platform designed to administer complex health insurance products and streamline the settlement process between payors and providers, including dental, medical, pharmacy, and vision practitioners. The … Continue reading “TriHealix, Inc. Receives $7,000,000 Series C Funding”

OurStage: A New Opening Act for AOL Music

At Boston-based music website OurStage, independent bands can upload music and videos and compete for a monthly grand prize of $5,000, with site members voting for the winners. But perhaps just as valuable as the monthly prize is the pure exposure bands can get through the judging process, as well as the site’s non-monetary prizes, … Continue reading “OurStage: A New Opening Act for AOL Music”

.406 Ventures Caps First Fund at $167 Million; Focused on Massachusetts IT Firms

Dan Primack of Private Equity Hub is reporting today that .406 Ventures, the Boston-based early stage venture capital firm founded in 2005 by local entrepreneurs Maria Cirino, Larry Begley, and Liam Donohue, has finished raising its first investment fund. The firm gathered $167 million altogether, mostly from institutional investors such as Parish Capital. Primack (one … Continue reading “.406 Ventures Caps First Fund at $167 Million; Focused on Massachusetts IT Firms”

Biogen’s Busy Week, Alnylam’s Big Announcement, Targanta’s and Momenta’s Growing Executive Ranks, & More Life Sciences News

Regular readers of Xconomy will have noticed that for a while now we’ve been doing (almost) regular roundups of the previous week’s news, focusing on financings, M&A, and other deals. But Boston being such a key hub for life sciences, we thought a separate, bio-centric roundup was in order. So welcome to Life Sciences Wednesday. … Continue reading “Biogen’s Busy Week, Alnylam’s Big Announcement, Targanta’s and Momenta’s Growing Executive Ranks, & More Life Sciences News”

Invention Machine and the Case of the Boxed-Up Box Spring

If you’ve ever tried to wrestle a box spring up a stairway or down a narrow hall into your bedroom, then you can imagine how comically awkward and expensive it would be to ship one via UPS or FedEx. Which explains why box springs (otherwise known as mattress foundations) aren’t exactly big sellers on e-commerce … Continue reading “Invention Machine and the Case of the Boxed-Up Box Spring”

New $7 Million Funding Round Will Help EveryScape Add Scope to Its Scape

The number-one customer complaint coming into Waltham, MA-based EveryScape, says CEO Jim Schoonmaker, is “Give us more.” So far, EveryScape’s Web-based collection of pannable street-level photographs is limited to Boston and environs, New York, Miami, Laguna Beach, and four Colorado ski resorts—Aspen, Breckenridge, Snowmass Village, and Steamboat Springs. (Oh, there’s also Beijing, China—which is a … Continue reading “New $7 Million Funding Round Will Help EveryScape Add Scope to Its Scape”

NoblePeak Vision Corporation Obtains $12,000,000 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=83f9ba43-6901-4bd4-a70f-1843f934f065&Preview=1 Date 3/5/2008 Company Name NoblePeak Vision Corporation Mailing Address 500 Edgewater Drive Wakefield, MA 01880 Company Description NoblePeak Vision provides imaging products that are sensitive over the visible to short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectrum and which enable breakthrough night vision performance with applications in the commercial security, transportation, and defense markets. At … Continue reading “NoblePeak Vision Corporation Obtains $12,000,000 Series B Financing Round”

A123Systems Receives $20,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3cef2f11-4258-4829-88f6-26c083dae52c&Preview=1 Date 3/5/2008 Company Name A123Systems Mailing Address 321 Arsenal Street Watertown, MA 02472 Company Description A123Systems is the developer of a new generation of Lithium-ion batteries that deliver previously unattainable power levels, safety and life to a wide range of applications. Website http://www.a123systems.com/ Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $20,000,000 Transaction … Continue reading “A123Systems Receives $20,000,000 New Financing Round”

Eastman Kodak Company Acquires Design2Launch, Inc. for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=83d53b0a-db4d-4c57-b5d1-ba1703ad8169&Preview=1 Date 3/5/2008 Company Name Design2Launch, Inc. Mailing Address One Dock Street Stamford, CT 06902 Company Description Design2Launch (“D2L”) is a pioneer in Graphics Lifecycle Management providing an end-to-end digital workflow solution to marketing and creative teams in the Pharmaceutical, Food & Beverage, Automotive and Consumer Package marketplaces. Website http://www.design2launch.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “Eastman Kodak Company Acquires Design2Launch, Inc. for Undisclosed Sum”

An Insider’s View of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Industry

The Cambridge Chamber of Commerce High Tech and Science Committee has organized an interactive discussion with Jon Mahoney, the industry director for life sciences, for the state Office of Business Development. Join Mahoney as he chats with Xconomy founder Bob Buderi about Governor Deval Patrick’s $1 billion life sciences initiative and the general state of … Continue reading “An Insider’s View of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Industry”

Much to Chat About—From the $1B Life Sciences Bill to Homeland Security

Tomorrow is turning out to be an unofficial get-to-know-your government day here in Cambridge. Two top officials (one state, one federal) will be in town for a pair of events addressing two core issues affecting the innovation community and beyond: Governor Deval Patrick’s $1 billion life sciences initiative, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s … Continue reading “Much to Chat About—From the $1B Life Sciences Bill to Homeland Security”

Latest Signals from iRobot: One If By Land, Two If By Pool

Burlington, MA-based iRobot (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]) has made two announcements in as many days, touching on both sides of its business, military robots and home robots. On the military side, iRobot said Monday that it has received an award to design and develop robots for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s LANdroids program. LANdroids (the LAN … Continue reading “Latest Signals from iRobot: One If By Land, Two If By Pool”

Angel Groups Give a Tentative Thumbs Up to 2008 Outlook

Greater Boston ranks as a startup haven. And there are few, if any, places in the country where more and better-organized angel investor groups exist. So the news that even with a recession looming (or already here), angels around the country are expressing cautious optimism about the startup scene for 2008 should perk up some … Continue reading “Angel Groups Give a Tentative Thumbs Up to 2008 Outlook”

EveryScape Obtains $7,000,000 Series B Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=02a7cdd3-a7dc-4001-8e7f-22b1551946e1&Preview=1 Date 3/4/2008 Company Name EveryScape Mailing Address 716 Main Street, 2nd Floor Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description EveryScape, Inc. is creating The Real World Online through a visual platform for local search that creates a virtual experience of all metropolitan, suburban and rural areas. EveryScape will ultimately let users share their … Continue reading “EveryScape Obtains $7,000,000 Series B Round”

Boston’s Compete Bought by UK Market Research Firm for Up to $150 Million

With more and more users, transactions, and advertising dollars moving to the Web, the ability to understand exactly what people do online is at an unprecedented premium. Which probably played no small part in U.K.-based market research behemoth Taylor Nelson Sofres’s (TNS) decision, announced today, to acquire Boston’s Compete for up to $150 million. Compete … Continue reading “Boston’s Compete Bought by UK Market Research Firm for Up to $150 Million”

Mzinga’s Tempest of Growth Sweeps Up Prospero

Mzinga, the Burlington, MA, online community management company we profiled in December, announced today that it has raised $32.5 million in new venture financing and acquired Littleton, MA-based Prospero. Like Mzinga, Prospero sells online community applications such as message boards, blogs, wikis, polls, and chat interfaces that are used by a growing number of companies … Continue reading “Mzinga’s Tempest of Growth Sweeps Up Prospero”

Driving Innovation in Greater Boston: It’s All About the Bump and Connect

In studying why Boston has been a center of innovation for nearly four centuries, the Boston History & Innovation Collaborative has identified a set of drivers which came up in all eras, in all types of innovation (technical, medical, and social). Deep historical research on more than 60 cases, conducted with funding from the Massachusetts … Continue reading “Driving Innovation in Greater Boston: It’s All About the Bump and Connect”

With Kalido’s Drag-and-Drop Data Warehouse Customization, “Business Intelligence” Is No Longer an Oxymoron

I’d like to explain what’s cool about Kalido, a Burlington, MA, software company spun off five years ago by Royal Dutch Shell, but let’s start with a story about beer. Labatt Breweries is Canada’s largest beer producer, brewing 60 brands of ale and distributing them in stores, bars, and restaurants across the great North. Because … Continue reading “With Kalido’s Drag-and-Drop Data Warehouse Customization, “Business Intelligence” Is No Longer an Oxymoron”

Novell Gets Into Virtualization, 38 Studios Gets Into Virtual Worlds, Mascoma Raises Some Real Money, & More

Things have been eerily quiet on the venture front lately—and then there was the Mascoma deal. Dare we dream that that, combined with Clarus Venture’s juicy new life sciences fund, bodes better for the coming months? More on those, and the rest of last week’s deals, below. —East Coast/West Coast Life sciences venture firm Clarus … Continue reading “Novell Gets Into Virtualization, 38 Studios Gets Into Virtual Worlds, Mascoma Raises Some Real Money, & More”

Mzinga Obtains $32,500,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0dd80802-0f1e-4a3e-b969-62542a902cba&Preview=1 Date 3/3/2008 Company Name Mzinga Mailing Address 154 Middlesex Turnpike Burlington, ME 01803 Company Description Mzinga is the leading provider of business social media solutions to drive growth, innovation, and learning. Its combination of highly scalable technology, rich domain expertise, and moderation services enables businesses to harness the collective intelligence of … Continue reading “Mzinga Obtains $32,500,000 New Financing Round”

Taylor Nelson Sofres Acquires Compete Inc. for $75,000,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=aecffd02-d180-498e-9c85-c15972c4d2df&Preview=1 Date 3/3/2008 Company Name Compete Inc. Mailing Address Four Copley Place Boston, MA 02116 Company Description Compete extends online market research to transform the way consumers and brands communicate. Website http://www.compete.com/ Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount $75,000,000 Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms The acquisition will be paid for with all … Continue reading “Taylor Nelson Sofres Acquires Compete Inc. for $75,000,000”

Mzinga Acquires Prospero Technologies, LLC for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1b2382aa-a403-46f6-a117-fbcf5db99cbe&Preview=1 Date 3/3/2008 Company Name Prospero Technologies, LLC Mailing Address 25 Porter Road Littleton, MA 01460 Company Description ProsperoTechnologies is the leading provider of community content management solutions for the online publishing industry. We enable organizations to easily, quickly, and cost-effectively develop branded, integrated communities and social networks comprised of message boards, … Continue reading “Mzinga Acquires Prospero Technologies, LLC for Undisclosed Sum”

Akamai Wins $45 Million in Patent Fight Against Limelight—Had Hoped for Much Bigger Award

A federal jury in Boston ruled today that Limelight Networks of Tempe, AZ, infringed on a key MIT patent licensed to Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AKAM]]) of Cambridge, MA. Akamai also won a damage award totaling more than $45 million. But the verdict was not the huge win Akamai hoped it would be, as much of … Continue reading “Akamai Wins $45 Million in Patent Fight Against Limelight—Had Hoped for Much Bigger Award”

Alnylam Touts Early Evidence of RNAi Drug Efficacy

In 2006, the Nobel Prize in medicine went to two American biologists, Stanford’s Andrew Fire and UMass Medical School’s Craig Mello, who had discovered a way to shut off individual genes by blocking key RNA molecules in the cell. But while the technique, called RNA interference or RNAi, immediately became a powerful research tool, it … Continue reading “Alnylam Touts Early Evidence of RNAi Drug Efficacy”

Google Supporting George Church’s Personal Genome Project

The Personal Genome Project, led by Harvard Medical School professor George Church, got a boost from Google late last year, according to a report today from Bloomberg. One of several academic and commercial efforts that Church, an Xconomist, is leading to develop tools and practices for sequencing and interpreting individual people’s DNA, the PGP is … Continue reading “Google Supporting George Church’s Personal Genome Project”

Who Knew? Xconomy Uncovers the Strange-But-True Details of Boston’s Innovation Leaders

Sure, they might be technological visionaries, multi-millionaire entrepreneurs, imposing CEOs, legendary venture capitalists, and the like. Everyone around them knows what they do professionally. But did you know one of them was also a Top Gun fighter pilot? Or that another accompanied Yo-Yo Ma on piano at the wedding of Bill Nye the Science Guy? … Continue reading “Who Knew? Xconomy Uncovers the Strange-But-True Details of Boston’s Innovation Leaders”

Cleantech Venture Investment Soared in 2007—Bay State a Distant Second to California

Even as the economy slowed in the second half of 2007, U.S. venture capital firms continued to pump money into clean technology deals—bringing the total invested in cleantech for the year to $2.5 billion, up 79 percent from 2006. Deal volume also skyrocketed some 54 percent, and overall the field accounted for more than 8 … Continue reading “Cleantech Venture Investment Soared in 2007—Bay State a Distant Second to California”

Arthrosurface, Inc. Secures $3,000,000 Series F Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ec2aebbf-5d85-40da-a8c3-86c53ecf2312&Preview=1 Date 2/29/2008 Company Name Arthrosurface, Inc. Mailing Address 28 Forge Parkway Franklin, MA 02038 Company Description Arthrosurface, headquartered in Franklin, MA, develops minimally invasive joint resurfacing systems. The company’s HemiCAP™ system is a platform technology providing a surgical alternative to conventional treatment methods. Website http://www.arthrosurface.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Arthrosurface, Inc. Secures $3,000,000 Series F Funding Round”

Mascoma Reportedly Raises $50 Million for Ethanol Production

(Updated, Feb. 28—This report now confirmed) According to an unconfirmed report this morning from Private Equity Hub, Boston-based Mascoma has arranged a sizable funding round that could help the company accelerate its research on genetically engineered bacteria that speed up the conversion of cellulosic biomass such as wood chips into ethanol. According to Private Equity … Continue reading “Mascoma Reportedly Raises $50 Million for Ethanol Production”

Biogen Bouncing Back From Tysabri Warning News

Shares of Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) are climbing back up today after taking a dip yesterday on news that Tysabri, which Biogen markets in partnership with Ireland’s Elan, may cause liver damage. The stock closed down a couple of percent yesterday, at $60.13, but was trading back up around $61 at noon. To be clear—and … Continue reading “Biogen Bouncing Back From Tysabri Warning News”

Skyhook and Locr Collaborate on Easier Geotagging for Digital Photos

Say you’re looking at somebody’s vacation pictures. Chances are you have three questions right off the bat about each photograph: When was it taken? Where was it taken? And who’s in it? Digital cameras automatically handle the first question, embedding a time code for every photograph in the so-called “EXIF header” that prefaces the actual … Continue reading “Skyhook and Locr Collaborate on Easier Geotagging for Digital Photos”

EveryZing’s Platform Opens Search-Friendly Side Doors to Multimedia Websites

Xconomy is reaching a milestone of sorts: some of the startups we profiled last summer when we were just getting started have now had time to evolve through at least one major generation of their technology, giving us the opportunity to come back and see where things stand. That’s definitely the case with Cambridge, MA-based … Continue reading “EveryZing’s Platform Opens Search-Friendly Side Doors to Multimedia Websites”

Renewable Energy Happy Hour

Advanced Technology Ventures and the Renewable Energy Business Network—East sponsor another in REBN’s regular series of informal happy hours. This time the festivities are at John Harvard’s Brew House at 33 Dunster Street in Harvard Square.

Caliper and Anticancer Bench Attorneys to End Patent Suit, Strike Cross Licensing Deal

Caliper Life Sciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CALP]]) of Hopkinton, MA, yesterday announced it had ended a long-standing patent dispute with San Diego’s AntiCancer. As part of the agreement, each firm will get a royalty-free license to various of the other’s optical imaging patents, as well as certain rights to sublicense the technology to third parties. The companies … Continue reading “Caliper and Anticancer Bench Attorneys to End Patent Suit, Strike Cross Licensing Deal”

Are You Someone Else’s Intellectual Property?

Bijan Sabet is continuing his crusade against non-compete clauses. Sabet, a partner at Boston’s Spark Capital, caused a stir back in December, when he wrote on his blog that Spark would no longer require its portfolio companies to include non-compete clauses in their employee contracts. “The non-compete clause is a significant barrier to startups and … Continue reading “Are You Someone Else’s Intellectual Property?”

VMware Flaw Shows Virtualized Systems Aren’t Necessarily More Secure, Boston Firm Argues

Companies rushing to adopt virtualization technology have been eager to spread computing loads across fewer machines and thereby reduce IT costs. But many have also been drawn by the widely held belief that virtualization makes IT systems more secure, by isolating a physical host from the virtualized or “guest” operating systems and applications running on … Continue reading “VMware Flaw Shows Virtualized Systems Aren’t Necessarily More Secure, Boston Firm Argues”

Was Alexander Graham Bell an Idea Thief? This Afternoon’s a Good Time to Find Out

There’s nothing like a good detective story to brighten up a gray day, and boy does Xconomy contributing writer Seth Shulman have a good detective story to tell. The central mystery: Did Alexander Graham Bell steal the idea for the telephone from rival inventor Elisha Gray? Seth spent several years poring over Bell’s notebooks and … Continue reading “Was Alexander Graham Bell an Idea Thief? This Afternoon’s a Good Time to Find Out”

Clean Energy for High Tech

The Massachusetts High Technology Council and the New England Clean Energy Council co-sponsor a conference designed to help high-tech CFOs, facilities executives, and sustainability officers understand and manage the energy challenges confronting their organizations. Philip Giudice, commissioner of the Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources, will be the opening speaker. Attendance is free but space is … Continue reading “Clean Energy for High Tech”

Automattic Connection: How an East Coast VC Got Behind WordPress, the West Coast’s Hottest Blog Platform

The party was pretty geeky—people were actually sitting around writing code. Mike Hirshland, who’d played football at Harvard (earning him an Honorable Mention on Xconomy’s VC Varsity roster), was having a hard time finding a beer. That’s when he gazed around the small San Francisco apartment and saw the laptop sitting on a counter—and on … Continue reading “Automattic Connection: How an East Coast VC Got Behind WordPress, the West Coast’s Hottest Blog Platform”

Proficiency, Inc. Receives $4,250,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5e8496b0-fffb-4c31-b116-dc7a8774dc8c&Preview=1 Date 2/26/2008 Company Name Proficiency, Inc. Mailing Address 33 Boston Post Road West Marlborough, MA 01752 Company Description Computer-aided design firm Proficiency, which helps manufacturers and their suppliers to collaborate during the product development process Website http://www.proficiency.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,250,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proficiency, with … Continue reading “Proficiency, Inc. Receives $4,250,000 New Financing Round”

Novell Coughs Up $205 Million for Canadian Virtualization Startup PlateSpin

Virtualization of server resources—allowing corporate IT managers to consolidate workloads onto fewer machines—is the big technology wave sweeping the corporate data-center market. Waltham, MA-based Novell (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NOVL]]) is an important player in that market, but its products are focused around identity management (a legacy of the company’s original focus on server operating systems and directory … Continue reading “Novell Coughs Up $205 Million for Canadian Virtualization Startup PlateSpin”

Three FDA Approvals for Boston Scientific Cardiac Division

Boston Scientific (NYSE: [[ticker:BSX]]) announced today that the FDA has approved three of its cardiac products. The news is a bit of a bright spot amidst an ongoing restructuring effort expected to cut some 2,300 jobs at the Natick, MA-based firm, and follows on the heels of the news that it had lost a $431 … Continue reading “Three FDA Approvals for Boston Scientific Cardiac Division”

Clarus Ventures Raises $660 Million Life Sciences Fund

Clarus Ventures, a venture firm specializing in life sciences investments with offices in Cambridge, MA, and South San Francisco, announced today that it has raised a $660 million fund—the company’s second fund since its founding barely two years ago by a group of former partners of MPM Capital. Clarus said it plans to invest between … Continue reading “Clarus Ventures Raises $660 Million Life Sciences Fund”

So You Have a Good Idea…Now What?

The Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council sponsors a morning meeting on the keys to converting a good idea into a great company. McCarter & English counsel Jeffrey Stoller moderates a panel including ViaCell president Cynthia Fisher, Fletcher Spaght CEO John Fletcher, Carbonite CEO David Friend, and Progress Partners CEO Nicholas MacShane. Members $40, non-members $80. Information … Continue reading “So You Have a Good Idea…Now What?”

Good2Gether: A Web Widget That Connects Donors to Causes

They say one good deed begets another. Apparently one good charity story also begets another. The day after Rebecca published her piece last week on Givvy, the Framingham, MA, startup planning to offer online tools to help people track their charitable donations—and the very same day I wrote about Newton, MA, startup Jackpot Rewards, which … Continue reading “Good2Gether: A Web Widget That Connects Donors to Causes”

Universities: An Entrepreneur’s Ecosystem

Universities offer a thriving ecosystem that lends itself particularly well to entrepreneurship among students, faculty, and staff. My belief in the ability of the institution of higher education to foster entrepreneurship comes first hand from my experiences as a student entrepreneur at the University of Toronto, as well as my work with Young Inventors International, … Continue reading “Universities: An Entrepreneur’s Ecosystem”