Back in July, Bob had an intriguing conversation with Rainer Fuchs, a Biogen Idec VP on a mission to find new ways for the Cambridge, MA-based biotech giant to tap into ideas that could help fill its pipeline. Fuchs’ answer was the Biogen Idec Innovation Incubator, a quirky spin on the incubator model that doesn’t … Continue reading “Biogen Idec, Vertex, and Genzyme Try Different Ways to Skin the Innovation Cat”
Category: Boston
Virtualization Player GlassHouse Registers for $100 Million IPO
GlassHouse Technologies of Framingham, MA, which provides data center management consulting services and Internet-based data backup services, registered Tuesday for an initial public offering that the company hopes will raise up to $100 million. The company is a player in the red-hot market for corporate server virtualization, helping customers to plan and manage virtualization projects … Continue reading “Virtualization Player GlassHouse Registers for $100 Million IPO”
Class-Action Lawsuit Unfolding in Boston Against Webloyalty, Fandango, Priceline, and Various Web Retailers Alleges Widespread “Coupon Click Fraud”
Updated and corrected, December 21, 2007. For details on the revisions, click here. It is every online shopper’s nightmare (that is, if you awake to know it has even happened). You’re at the computer buying movie tickets, flowers, or pet food and, after completing your purchase, an enticing pop-up comes on the screen offering a … Continue reading “Class-Action Lawsuit Unfolding in Boston Against Webloyalty, Fandango, Priceline, and Various Web Retailers Alleges Widespread “Coupon Click Fraud””
Plying Poop Power in Portsmouth
Hogs and dairy cows in the United States produce nearly 3 billion pounds of manure a day, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s over 1 trillion pounds per year—an unimaginable, truly Augean heap of waste. Unfortunately, farmers can’t simply divert a few rivers, as Hercules did, to wash it all away. But technology … Continue reading “Plying Poop Power in Portsmouth”
Calling New Contract a “Sustaining Bridge” to IRobot’s Future Plans, Exec Says Company Set to Deliver First Robots on January 8
Evidently things got a little festive over at iRobot (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]) late Friday evening, when the company learned that it had been awarded a contract worth up to $286 million to supply so-called “xBot” bomb-detection robots to the U.S. Army. “I think there might have been a beer or two,” said Joe Dyer, president of … Continue reading “Calling New Contract a “Sustaining Bridge” to IRobot’s Future Plans, Exec Says Company Set to Deliver First Robots on January 8″
Second Wind Gets a Second Wind
You can’t see the wind, but you can measure it. And if you’re thinking about building a wind farm, you’d better do a whole lot of measuring first, to make sure the location you have in mind has the right conditions. That’s where Second Wind of Somerville, MA, comes in: the company makes measuring and … Continue reading “Second Wind Gets a Second Wind”
IRobot Wins $286 Million Army Contract, Replacing Contract Previously Awarded to Robotic FX
In a dramatic turnaround that is sure to send holiday cheer echoing through its halls, Burlington, MA-based iRobot (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]) has won a multi-million-dollar contract to deliver bomb detection robots to U.S. troops; the contract was originally awarded to arch-rival Robotic FX barely two months ago. The company said in an announcement released this morning … Continue reading “IRobot Wins $286 Million Army Contract, Replacing Contract Previously Awarded to Robotic FX”
Biogen Idec-Icahn Story Likely Far From Over; History Says the Activist Investor Will Act Again
Does anyone really think Carl Icahn is done with Biogen Idec? He pushed for a sale of the company, by most reports at a price around $80 per share. But as of yesterday’s close, just three trading days after the Cambridge biotech’s announcement that it had failed to find a buyer and would remain independent, … Continue reading “Biogen Idec-Icahn Story Likely Far From Over; History Says the Activist Investor Will Act Again”
GEO2 Technologies Passes Clean-Diesel Filter Test
In Massachusetts alone, particulate-heavy diesel pollution helps cause 450 premature deaths, 700 heart attacks, 9,900 asthma attacks, and 60,000 missed work days every year, according to the Diesel Pollution Solution Coalition, a Boston-based environmental group. A bill before the state legislature would attack that problem by requiring all heavy-duty diesel vehicles owned, operated, or contracted … Continue reading “GEO2 Technologies Passes Clean-Diesel Filter Test”
The Challenge of Commercialization
The Boston Entrepreneurs’ Network sponsors a dinner and panel discussion on how companies can focus on defining customer needs while avoiding the pitfall of developing products that merely seem “cool.” Panelists include Jeffrey Bentley, CEO of CellTech Power; Michael Kuperstein, founder and CEO of Metaphor Solutions; and Edmond Walsh of specialty IP law firm Wolf, … Continue reading “The Challenge of Commercialization”
The Outlook for Technology Stocks in 2008
TIE-Boston’s Capital Markets SIG sponsors a panel with Ken Winston, technology analyst at Pioneer Investments, and Richard Lee, senior technology analyst at Westfield Capital, focusing on the major themes that will attract the interest of technology investors in 2008. Tickets $15 for TIE-Boston members. More information here.
When Startups Fail: Christopher Herot Talks Frankly About Zingdom’s Shutdown
Part of the reason high-tech entrepreneurs are attracted to Silicon Valley is the perception that it’s a place where risk-taking is encouraged. West Coast venture capital firms not only excuse failure, so this perception goes, but celebrate it: if a high-tech entrepreneur doesn’t have a couple of tanked companies on his resume, he probably wasn’t … Continue reading “When Startups Fail: Christopher Herot Talks Frankly About Zingdom’s Shutdown”
38 Studios to Boston Game Developers: Munch on This
Visitors to the 38 Studios website are greeted by an endearingly ferocious green monster called Munch, who gobbles up your cursor when you scroll over him, then proceeds to chew it up and spit it out. If Munch brings to mind the real Green Monster at Fenway Park, it’s not a coincidence; 38 Studios was … Continue reading “38 Studios to Boston Game Developers: Munch on This”
Innovation 101: Perspectives from a Humble MIT Undergrad
A couple of weeks ago, I had the great honor of attending Xconomy Forum: The Future of Innovation in New England. As I met some fantastic angel investors and shook hands with iRobot CEO Helen Greiner, I felt the strange euphoric giddiness once only reserved for Christmas mornings. What was I, a lowly and unproven … Continue reading “Innovation 101: Perspectives from a Humble MIT Undergrad”
Nuance Plans an Offering, Memsic Makes Disappointing Debut, Inverness Orders the Usual, & More
The Boston-area biz/tech news was piling up almost as fast as the snow last week, and there were a few deals we didn’t manage to plow through at the time. Here they are, along with a few of the ones we caught the first time around. —Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]), which sells speech and imaging … Continue reading “Nuance Plans an Offering, Memsic Makes Disappointing Debut, Inverness Orders the Usual, & More”
Army Cancels Robotic FX’s $280 Million Contract; Decision Could Pave the Way for IRobot to Win Award
Less than two months after setting aside a $279.9 million contract with Illinois-based Robotic FX for delivering bomb-detection robots to U.S. troops, the U.S. Army has canceled the agreement, the Boston Globe reports. The decision apparently paves the way for the contract, which was awarded to Robotic FX in September, to go to iRobot as … Continue reading “Army Cancels Robotic FX’s $280 Million Contract; Decision Could Pave the Way for IRobot to Win Award”
Hologic Contraceptive Device Gets Nod From FDA Panel
Bedford, MA-based Hologic’s $6.2 billion union with Cytyc, completed in October, seems set to bear fruit. The newly merged company, now one of Massachusetts’ largest life sciences concerns, announced today that an FDA panel has recommended that its permanent contraception device, Adiana, be approved. The device—which offers a minimally invasive alternative to tubal ligation—is an … Continue reading “Hologic Contraceptive Device Gets Nod From FDA Panel”
Third Rock Hires Three Partners—Says Team Complete to Implement Its Hands-On, Early-Stage Venture Model
Third Rock Ventures, the new Boston venture firm zeroed in on funding early stage, local life sciences companies, announced the hiring of three new partners yesterday. The company, which closed its $378 million fund in September, says it has now completed the core team needed to implement its somewhat unique model of providing top-tier operational … Continue reading “Third Rock Hires Three Partners—Says Team Complete to Implement Its Hands-On, Early-Stage Venture Model”
Microsoft Delivers Surprise Early Challenge to VMware
We’re all used to hearing from Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) that big software releases will come later than promised, so it was a bit of a shock yesterday when the company said its “Hyper-V” virtualization technology—a part of Windows Server 2008 originally expected early next year—is ready for evaluation now. The news took some of the … Continue reading “Microsoft Delivers Surprise Early Challenge to VMware”
All (User-Generated) Content Doesn’t Want to Be Free: A Q&A with Cambridge Startup RightsAgent About Its New Approach to Copyrighting
You know that little “CC” you see here and there on the Web, in the margins of blogs or attached to photos on Flickr? It stands for the Creative Commons license, and until now, it’s basically been a way for content creators to say, “I don’t approve of traditional copyrights, so I’m just going to … Continue reading “All (User-Generated) Content Doesn’t Want to Be Free: A Q&A with Cambridge Startup RightsAgent About Its New Approach to Copyrighting”
Modiv Media Inc. Receives $8,000,000 Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b00a2b3c-c552-4eb6-8566-a33238ad3e7f&Preview=1 Date 12/14/2007 Company Name Modiv Media Inc. Mailing Address 1250 Hancock Street Quincy, MA 02169 Company Description For brand marketers and retailers looking to influence consumers’ shopping habits and buying decisions, Modiv Media™ orchestrates relevant retail messages and improved shopping experiences at exactly the right moment in exactly the right place. … Continue reading “Modiv Media Inc. Receives $8,000,000 Series A Round”
NewsGator Gobbles Up $12 Million Financing Round; Masthead’s Extreme VC Levandov Raises the Bar on Tattoos
Denver-based NewsGator Technologies, which makes one of the leading RSS news feed aggregators as well as other products designed to allow users keep up with online information, announced today that it has closed a $12 million funding round. The financing was led by new investor Vista Ventures of Boulder, CO. But it includes existing investor … Continue reading “NewsGator Gobbles Up $12 Million Financing Round; Masthead’s Extreme VC Levandov Raises the Bar on Tattoos”
For Logical Therapeutics It’s a New City and a New Approach to Anti-Inflammatory Drugs; For the CEO, It’s a Whole New Career
For a company so new it still has that new-car smell (literally—the firm’s slate-and-beige carpet is still very much in off-gas mode), Logical Therapeutics has made some decent distance on the road to commercializing its first product. The Waltham, MA-based biotech startup already has a drug in clinical trials—one that could ultimately address a multibillion-dollar … Continue reading “For Logical Therapeutics It’s a New City and a New Approach to Anti-Inflammatory Drugs; For the CEO, It’s a Whole New Career”
Gamers, Grog, and GAMBIT: Singapore’s Video Game Industry Looks to MIT for Innovation
All fall I’ve been trying to free up time to attend Boston PostMortem, a gathering of Boston-area video game developers held once each month at The Skellig, an Irish pub in Waltham. When it turned out that a team from MIT’s GAMBIT video game program would be presenting at PostMortem this Tuesday, I persuaded Bob … Continue reading “Gamers, Grog, and GAMBIT: Singapore’s Video Game Industry Looks to MIT for Innovation”
IRobot Turns Packbot Into Roving Mapmaker
Military robotics powerhouse iRobot (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]) said yesterday that it’s ready to sell a version of its Packbot robot equipped with laser detectors that will help soldiers build real-time maps of hazardous terrain or buildings without sending personnel into danger. “Situational awareness” is one of the big buzz phrases in modern robotics. If it is … Continue reading “IRobot Turns Packbot Into Roving Mapmaker”
Biogen Idec Announces It Will Remain Independent—Says No “Definitive Offers” Received, Not Even From Icahn. Shares Plummet
UPDATED: 12/12/07, 4:50 p.m. and 5:40 p.m.—Was it just five or six hours ago that I advised readers not to pay too much attention to the gathering storm of rumors that Biogen Idec was about to be sold? Did I predict that nothing would happen with efforts to sell the company before the New Year? … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Announces It Will Remain Independent—Says No “Definitive Offers” Received, Not Even From Icahn. Shares Plummet”
Big Honkin’ Energy Map of New England
Energy is hot, as you might have noticed—especially clean energy. In fact, so many new energy companies are sprouting up—we like to call this the dot-clean era—that it’s tough to keep track of them all. It’s like the venture folks got hold of some sort of cleantech Miracle-Gro. But people are trying to follow the … Continue reading “Big Honkin’ Energy Map of New England”
Biogen Idec Shares Rising—But Is No News Really News?
Even as the stock market took a big swoon yesterday in the wake of a less-than-hoped-for Fed rate cut, Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) shareholders didn’t seem to be feeling the pain. The stock rose as high as $77.85 yesterday before closing at $75.39. That was still up $1.42 on a day when the Dow tanked … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Shares Rising—But Is No News Really News?”
PeerApp, Pando Collaborate to make Peer-to-Peer Palatable to ISPs
When it comes to peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing systems such as BitTorrent and Gnutella, the technology world has a like-hate-love relationship. Content owners such as TV networks tentatively like them, since they make it cheaper to get high-bandwidth content like video out to viewers over the Internet. Internet service providers (ISPs) such as Comcast hate them, … Continue reading “PeerApp, Pando Collaborate to make Peer-to-Peer Palatable to ISPs”
Look Out, EveryScape—Google Gives Users a Better Look Around Boston
I can tell you right now that Wade is not going to like this post. As many of you know, he’s a huge fan of both maps and 3-D modeling technology, and anything that puts the two together…well, forget about it. Which is why, I’m guessing, he is so intrigued by EveryScape, a Waltham, MA-based … Continue reading “Look Out, EveryScape—Google Gives Users a Better Look Around Boston”
Peddle Power: MIT Cyclocross Team Promotes Alternative Energy, Low-Power Computing
As the red, white, and black uniforms of the MIT Cycling Team bobbed up and down before me early this afternoon, I couldn’t help thinking: human abacus. Okay, the logic might be twisted (most folks here at Xconomy figure that’s a given when I start writing), but there is method to my madness. The cyclists, … Continue reading “Peddle Power: MIT Cyclocross Team Promotes Alternative Energy, Low-Power Computing”
The Akamai Protocol: Firm Rewrites Internet Rules to Speed Up its Network
Cambridge-based networking company Akamai has placed more than 28,000 of its content distribution servers around the world, creating a kind of meta-Internet atop the real Internet. And now, to make applications work across that network faster, the company is replacing the standard communications protocols that make the Internet work—namely, the Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) … Continue reading “The Akamai Protocol: Firm Rewrites Internet Rules to Speed Up its Network”
Calling All Tech Bands: It’s Time to Rock and Rule
If there’s one thing we’ve learned since launching Xconomy back in June, it’s that our readers and sources rock—often in a couple of different senses of the word. Which is to say that not only have we been overwhelmed by the technical smarts, business savvy, and plain old neighborliness of the people we’ve met over … Continue reading “Calling All Tech Bands: It’s Time to Rock and Rule”
Flavored Water Tastes Fine To New Highland Consumer Fund
In the early 1980s, Steve Jobs famously recruited Apple CEO John Sculley, then the president of Pepsi, with the question: “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life?” I can’t help thinking that if Jobs visited Highland Capital Partners and asked general partner Ted Philip the same question (replacing “sugar” … Continue reading “Flavored Water Tastes Fine To New Highland Consumer Fund”
MERL Looking Haggard: Ramesh Raskar Leaving Mitsubishi For MIT Media Lab; Two Others Also Depart
The surge of major researchers leaving Cambridge’s Mitsubushi Electric Research Laboratory, which we first reported in July, was only the beginning of what’s looking like a steady flow. Today, we have three more departures to report: • Ramesh Raskar, an expert in computational photography who will join the Media Lab in the spring of 2008 … Continue reading “MERL Looking Haggard: Ramesh Raskar Leaving Mitsubishi For MIT Media Lab; Two Others Also Depart”
Who (and Who Not) to Hire: A Napkin Sketch from Xconomist Bill Aulet
Last week Wade offered some fantastic tips on how to recruit employees in the midst of what’s shaping up to be a major staffing crunch at local information-technology firms. And it got me thinking about something that Xconomist Bill Aulet told me a few weeks ago during a power lunch at Aceituna, over near the … Continue reading “Who (and Who Not) to Hire: A Napkin Sketch from Xconomist Bill Aulet”
Finding the Money—Angel, Venture, and Beyond
Finding the money is the classic challenge—a “whohazit,” rather than a whodunit. And that’s the subject of the 2007 Boston Emerging Technologies Conference from Foley & Lardner.
Mzinga Knows Harnessing the Wisdom of Crowds Takes Wisdom—and Work
“Crowdsourcing.” It’s often discussed in the business world as if it were a cheap and easy way to get groups of online volunteers to take over once-costly functions such as customer support. But the folks at Mzinga, in Burlington, MA, understand that the story is a bit more complicated. For one thing, creating and managing … Continue reading “Mzinga Knows Harnessing the Wisdom of Crowds Takes Wisdom—and Work”
$16M for Blackwave, Memsic Sets IPO Range, Hologic Prices $1.5B Worth of Notes, and the Rest of Last Week’s Wheeling and Dealing
Last week saw a little blip in the action among companies working on aspects of fixed and mobile media delivery—or is it the beginning of a trend? Oh, and there were some life sciences deals in there as well. This is Boston, after all. —Blackwave, an Acton, MA-based maker of hardware for video streaming, raised … Continue reading “$16M for Blackwave, Memsic Sets IPO Range, Hologic Prices $1.5B Worth of Notes, and the Rest of Last Week’s Wheeling and Dealing”
Seamless: Computational Couture at the Museum of Science
From the museum’s website: “Fashionistas and techies unite at SEAMLESS, a fashion show and celebration showcasing emerging designers from around the globe and functional creations that push the boundaries of wearable technology. The Museum transforms into a catwalk for “computational couture” as models strut groundbreaking clothing to live media performances by video artists sosolimited and … Continue reading “Seamless: Computational Couture at the Museum of Science”
MIT Entrepreneurs Club
All members of the MIT, Harvard, and Wellesley communities are welcome at the weekly Tuesday night meetings of the MIT Entrepreneurs Club. Members and guests give 3-10 minute presentations on science and technology startup ideas and get 10 to 20 minutes of intense feedback. More information here.
Social Media: the Opportunities and Implications for Marketers
Larry Weber from W2 Group hosts this MITX event on how social networks, blogs and online communities are changing the ways marketers interact with consumers and business customers. More details here.
Massachusetts Conference for Women
Listen. Learn. Network. The Massachusetts Conference for Women claims the title of “the state’s premier networking and educational experience designed to help women connect and collaborate, and grow personally and professionally.” The one-day conference features keynoters Jack Welch, Suzy Welch, author Anna Quindlen, and CBS anchor and author Rene Syler. It’s not all about business … Continue reading “Massachusetts Conference for Women”
Clean Diesel—One Way to Meet Higher CAFE Standards
The House of Representatives yesterday passed an energy bill that would require automakers to raise the fleet average fuel efficiency for passenger vehicles to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. It’s unclear what parts of the bill might ultimately become law, given strong opposition in the Senate and at the White House to other provisions … Continue reading “Clean Diesel—One Way to Meet Higher CAFE Standards”
Polaris Senior Associate and GreenFuel VP Nick Sinai Joining Lehman Brothers Venture Arm in Boston
Nick Sinai, a rising senior associate star at Polaris Venture Partners, will be leaving the firm at the end of the year to become a vice president in the newly created Boston office of Lehman Brothers’ venture capital arm. Sinai, just 31 years old, will also be stepping down from his position as interim vice … Continue reading “Polaris Senior Associate and GreenFuel VP Nick Sinai Joining Lehman Brothers Venture Arm in Boston”
Boost Your Karma: Check Out MarksGuide
Cross Craigslist founder Craig Newmark with Web-networker-par-excellence Joi Ito, add blond hair and blue eyes, and plunk the result down in Boston—and you’d have Mark Doerschlag. The Mark behind the eponymous MarksGuide Boston, Doerschlag is the man to know if you want to get the word out about a local networking event in business, technology, … Continue reading “Boost Your Karma: Check Out MarksGuide”
Haseltine’s DNA Repair Company Steps Out
As I wrote in Wednesday’s post on Aveo’s deal with Eli Lilly, the biomarker business is finally having a growth spurt, at least in oncology. Another intriguing company trying to cash in on this trend is The DNA Repair Company (or DNAR), a Boston-based startup co-founded by Human Genome Sciences’ founder and former CEO Bill … Continue reading “Haseltine’s DNA Repair Company Steps Out”
Of Red Wine, Robotics, and What Folks Would Do As Governor—Xconomy’s Forum Sparks Debate on the Future of Innovation in New England
I don’t know if the cold medicine was getting to me or what, but venture capitalist Michael Greeley was sounding awfully like a socialist for a minute there last night at the Xconomy Forum. Greeley—a general partner at IDG Ventures, president of the New England Venture Capital Association, and an Xconomist—was moderating a spirited discussion … Continue reading “Of Red Wine, Robotics, and What Folks Would Do As Governor—Xconomy’s Forum Sparks Debate on the Future of Innovation in New England”
VMware’s Greene Backs Up Xconomy Readers—Says Customers Aren’t Balking at Premium Price for Company’s Virtualization Products
My, people have strong feelings about VMware (NYSE: [[ticker:VMW]]). In mid-November, when we last wrote about the virtualization company 90-percent-owned by Hopkinton-based EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]), its stock had dropped from a post-IPO high of $124 down into the $90 range. (Which is where it is again today, after diving as low as $71 on November … Continue reading “VMware’s Greene Backs Up Xconomy Readers—Says Customers Aren’t Balking at Premium Price for Company’s Virtualization Products”
Going Up Against Henri—Genzyme Not For Sale
“I’d hate to go up against Henri.” That was the view of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals CEO Christoph Westphal when asked at Xconomy’s Forum last night about recent speculation that two other Cambridge-based biotech firms, Biogen Idec and Genzyme, might be targets of takeover bids after investor Carl Icahn had taken stakes in both firms. The Henri … Continue reading “Going Up Against Henri—Genzyme Not For Sale”