Category: Boston

Where Do You Want to Go Today? uLocate Can Help You Decide

Though it was more or less accidental, it’s been Location-Based Computing Week at Xconomy. We kicked off the week with a story Monday about EveryScape, which has introduced a database of amazing 360-degree views of streetscapes and building interiors from four U.S. cities. On Wednesday we told you about Untravel Media, which sells a series … Continue reading “Where Do You Want to Go Today? uLocate Can Help You Decide”

$44 Million in Venture Deals for Massachusetts Firms; HemaQuest and Virtual Iron Lead the Way

It’s a big day for Massachusetts startups, with the news that four local companies have secured some $44 million in venture financing. Three were biotech firms, and virtualization specialist Virtual Iron, perhaps riding the wave of VMware’s big IPO, was the lone IT firm. Topping the list of fund-raisers was HemaQuest Pharmaceuticals of Newton. The … Continue reading “$44 Million in Venture Deals for Massachusetts Firms; HemaQuest and Virtual Iron Lead the Way”

Xconomy Gala Launch Fete Rips It Up at the Broad Institute; Staff Parties So Hard We Forgot to Write This Morning’s Story

A crowd of nearly 300 people from all walks of innovation sashayed through the Broad Institute lobby and auditorium for Xconomy’s Gala Launch party last night. Founders of billion-dollar corporations, Nobel Prize winners, CEOs of public companies and startups alike, angel investors, venture capitalists, professors, students, legal and management execs, and scores of entrepreneurs in … Continue reading “Xconomy Gala Launch Fete Rips It Up at the Broad Institute; Staff Parties So Hard We Forgot to Write This Morning’s Story”

Team MIT Squeaks Into Robot Car Finals

It wasn’t a shoo-in, according to MIT professor of aeronautics and astronautics Jonathan How. But Team MIT learned this afternoon that it has won a qualifying berth in the DARPA Urban Challenge finals on Saturday, when observers will learn which competing institution’s autonomous vehicle is best at navigating a complex mock-city environment replete with moving … Continue reading “Team MIT Squeaks Into Robot Car Finals”

Glaxo Wins Round One in Lawsuit Against the U.S. Patent Office—Early Victory for Biotech and Pharma

Talk about the eleventh hour. At the last possible moment, a federal district court in Alexandria, VA, handed down a ruling yesterday evening that—at least for now—blocks new U.S. Patent Office rules that had been scheduled to take effect today: November 1, 2007. The new rules would have, among other things, made it harder for … Continue reading “Glaxo Wins Round One in Lawsuit Against the U.S. Patent Office—Early Victory for Biotech and Pharma”

SoundBite Prices IPO Well Below Expectations in Wake of Patent Claims

Just a couple weeks after an eleventh-hour patent-infringement claim delayed its planned IPO, SoundBite Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SDBT]]) has priced the deal well below initial projections. Expectations of the offering had been high, with the Bedford, MA, automated voice messaging firm projecting a price of $12-14 for 6 million shares and observers looking for the deal … Continue reading “SoundBite Prices IPO Well Below Expectations in Wake of Patent Claims”

E Ink’s Electronic Paper Displays See Gradual Growth, New Competition

The digital revolution hasn’t changed the fact that new printing technology spreads slowly. Johannes Gutenberg, for example, first used metal movable type to publish his famous Bible in 1455, but it wasn’t until 1480 or so that letterpress printing became widespread in Europe, and England didn’t get its first printing press until 1489. The folks … Continue reading “E Ink’s Electronic Paper Displays See Gradual Growth, New Competition”

Nomir to Microbes: We’re Out to Get You

In a town like Boston, where so many new companies are churned out, assembly-line style, by the same universities, serial entrepreneurs, consulting firms, and venture investors, it’s refreshing to find a startup that hews more closely to the classic (if largely mythical) formula of lone inventor plus fortuitous discovery plus cash from some wealthy individuals … Continue reading “Nomir to Microbes: We’re Out to Get You”

Click and Clack Say Technology is Poised to Meet 35 MPG Fuel Standards, Urge Congress Not to Heed Auto Industry’s “Fuel-Mongering Bull-Feathers”

Boston doesn’t have an auto technology cluster, but it’s big on cleantech—and it also has Tom and Ray Magliozzi, better known as Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers. And who should know how cleantech and cars come together better than the proprietors of Cambridge’s Good News Garage and hosts of NPR’s Car Talk show? Not … Continue reading “Click and Clack Say Technology is Poised to Meet 35 MPG Fuel Standards, Urge Congress Not to Heed Auto Industry’s “Fuel-Mongering Bull-Feathers””

EMC and Voyence: Swallowing a Spider to Catch A Fly

EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]), the Hopkinton, MA-based provider of networked storage hardware and software, needs to focus on internal innovation rather than acquiring outside companies to grow its product lines, insider Mark Lewis argued in a keynote speech at EMC’s inaugural innovation conference earlier this month. But as Lewis also informed his audience, EMC’s acquisition quest … Continue reading “EMC and Voyence: Swallowing a Spider to Catch A Fly”

Local Companies Push to Save GINA and Advance Personalized Medicine

It passed the House by a vote of 420 to 3, President Bush is for it, and it has fervent supporters on both sides of the political aisle—but even that didn’t save the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA or S. 358) from unexpectedly stalling in the Senate last spring. Now, to try and get it … Continue reading “Local Companies Push to Save GINA and Advance Personalized Medicine”

Mobile and Interactive in Boston: On the Run with Untravel and Urban Interactive

For a high-tech Halloween treat, check out three new multimedia walking tours of Boston and Salem, MA, set to be published today by Untravel Media. The “Creeping Through Boston” tours, which can be downloaded to iPhones, video iPods, and most smart phones, include a walk through the dark back alleys and hidden passageways of downtown … Continue reading “Mobile and Interactive in Boston: On the Run with Untravel and Urban Interactive”

Robotic FX Fires Back—Says iRobot’s “Secrets” Aren’t Secret

First, a warning. If you are looking for closure—an answer to the question of whether iRobot will get its requested preliminary injunction against Robotic FX—you’re out of luck. Although witness testimony ended on October 3, and ostensibly the filing period for further arguments was over the following week (or so), Judge Nancy Gertner of U.S. … Continue reading “Robotic FX Fires Back—Says iRobot’s “Secrets” Aren’t Secret”

MIT Venture Capital Conference

The MIT Venture Capital Conference is one of the premier VC conferences in the region. Organized by MIT Sloan Venture Capital Club, it brings together over 400 entrepreneurs, innovators, and venture capital professionals to discuss all aspects of the venture business. Register here.

MITX Awards Ceremony

The Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange hosts its 12th annual awards for the best Web and interactive media projects of 2007. Tickets $90 for members, $175 for non-members; information and registration here.

Another Big Venture Round for Acceleron Pharma

Acceleron Pharma’s $25 million Series A financing round was the biggest Boston-area venture deal of 2004. The Cambridge, MA-based firm’s $30 million Series B was the seventh largest New England biotech/pharma deal of 2006. No telling yet exactly how the firm’s Series C, announced today, will rank, but it’s another big one: $31 million in … Continue reading “Another Big Venture Round for Acceleron Pharma”

Virtual Iron “An Alternative to the Juggernaut Called VMware,” New CEO Says

Part of the investor optimism driving the stock price of VMware (NYSE: [[ticker:VMW]]) ever higher since its August IPO is based on the size of the market yet to be tapped by it and other virtualization software makers. Analysts say that only 5 to 7 percent of business servers have been equipped to run virtualization … Continue reading “Virtual Iron “An Alternative to the Juggernaut Called VMware,” New CEO Says”

The Coming New Face of Eons—All About Social Networking

Eons, the upbeat web portal for those on the “flip side of 50,” has been feeling the vagaries of age—young age, that is. Despite amassing $32 million in venture capital, the 15-month-old (depending on how you count) startup has experienced severe growing pains and in September was forced to lay off a third of its … Continue reading “The Coming New Face of Eons—All About Social Networking”

The Exponential Economy

A decade ago, economists and investors began referring to the “New Economy” to describe the revolution in economic affairs that they expected the Internet and other computer technologies would launch. Even at the time, it wasn’t clear what exactly was so new about the New Economy that it would suspend the conventional laws of economics. … Continue reading “The Exponential Economy”

Genzyme Forges Chinese Connection to Speed Gene Therapy to World Market

Genzyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]) and China are probably the world’s biggest players in gene therapy, and now the two are working together, thanks to a deal announced last Friday around Genzyme’s lead gene therapy candidate. The deal—with Shanghai Sunway Biotech—should put Genzyme’s gene therapy program on the fast track, but also into the midst of some … Continue reading “Genzyme Forges Chinese Connection to Speed Gene Therapy to World Market”

Angel Funding Rivaling Venture Investments By Picking Up Slack in Early-Stage Ventures, But Slowdown is Foreseen

A growing body of professional angel investor organizations poured $11.9 billion into 24,000 deals in the first half of 2007, not too far off the 14.5 billion invested by venture firms. A large portion of the angel funds went into early stage ventures, partially filling a hole left by larger venture funds, which have increasingly … Continue reading “Angel Funding Rivaling Venture Investments By Picking Up Slack in Early-Stage Ventures, But Slowdown is Foreseen”

EveryScape: Street-Level Views That Go Behind Closed Doors

The race is on to create an immersive, photorealistic online model of the real world. Such an environment could ultimately serve not just as navigation tool or a kind of 3-D yellow pages, but as a canvas for an endless variety of advertising, business intelligence, scientific and environmental data, and user-generated content such as photographs, … Continue reading “EveryScape: Street-Level Views That Go Behind Closed Doors”

GAO Dismisses IRobot Protest—Calls It Moot as Army Reassesses Robotic FX

In the latest episode of the iRobot-Robotic FX drama, the Government Accountability Office has dismissed iRobot’s protest of the $279.9 million military contract awarded last month to its rival. The GAO says the protest no longer applies in light of the Army’s decision earlier this week to set aside the contract as it reassesses Robotic … Continue reading “GAO Dismisses IRobot Protest—Calls It Moot as Army Reassesses Robotic FX”

Boston Blogtoberfest 2007—Beer, Bloggers, and Community-Building

Boston-area bloggers met up to celebrate their craft and watch Game 2 of the World Series (or rather, the endless pre-game show) last night in The Pour House’s basement “dungeon” on Boylston Street. It was the second annual Boston Blogtoberfest, expertly organized by local Web designer Jenny Frazier. From culture pundits to experts on identify-theft … Continue reading “Boston Blogtoberfest 2007—Beer, Bloggers, and Community-Building”

Bidding for Biogen Idec Could Begin in Early November, Report Says

Biogen Idec, which has put itself up for sale under pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn, could receive its initial bids for the company in the first 10 days of November, the Financial Times reported today. Pfizer (NYSE:[[ticker:PFE]]) and Novartis (NYSE:[[ticker:NVS]]) are reportedly the two leading contenders to purchase the pioneering Cambridge biotech, according to … Continue reading “Bidding for Biogen Idec Could Begin in Early November, Report Says”

Linear Air on Verge of FAA Approval for Very Light Jet Service; Backlog Already Brewing

When it comes to business travel within the Northeast, there’s nothing more satisfying than climbing into your vehicle, turning the ignition key, pulling out, and then zipping past all the traffic at 160 miles per hour. Of course, I’m assuming that your vehicle, like the one I’ve depended on for many of my regional trips, … Continue reading “Linear Air on Verge of FAA Approval for Very Light Jet Service; Backlog Already Brewing”

GreatPoint Previews Demo Facility for Coal-to-Gas Technology

In the shadow of the New England’s largest coal-fired power plant, the Brayton Point station in Somerset, MA, Governor Deval Patrick presided yesterday over a ceremony heralding a future in which coal can be inexpensively converted into cleaner-burning natural gas before being used to generate electricity. The ceremony marked an agreement between Cambridge-based clean-energy startup … Continue reading “GreatPoint Previews Demo Facility for Coal-to-Gas Technology”

Big Gains for Akamai, EMC, Monster, VMware

Investors responded to rosy earnings reports from Cambridge networking leader Akamai, Hopkinton-based storage giant EMC, and EMC subsidiary VMware with rare enthusiasm today. All three companies saw gains of at least 8 percent in their share values, with Akamai soaring more than 12 percent. Job site Monster (which has offices in Maynard) was also a … Continue reading “Big Gains for Akamai, EMC, Monster, VMware”

One Laptop Organization to World: Chill!

If you aren’t on a schedule, you can’t be late. That was the gist of a conversation I had last night with Mary Lou Jepsen, chief technology officer at the One Laptop Per Child organization here in Cambridge. Jepsen says that a Reuters report yesterday asserting that production delays will cause the organization to miss … Continue reading “One Laptop Organization to World: Chill!”

Making Games into Communities—Q&A with Turbine’s Jeff Anderson

Computer gaming is a big business—and a growing force in the Boston economy. Cambridge’s Harmonix Music Systems makes the popular game Guitar Hero II, and 2K Games in Quincy built BioShock, one of the best-selling console games in the world. Even Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling is in the act—he’s formed a company called 38 … Continue reading “Making Games into Communities—Q&A with Turbine’s Jeff Anderson”

Army Is Prepared to Award “XBot” Contract to IRobot If Robotic FX Fails New Assessment

The U.S. Army will cancel Robotic FX’s $279.9 million contract for bomb-detection robots and award it to iRobot as the next-lowest bidder if a new assessment of Robotic FX finds it is not a “responsible” government contractor, according to a letter from an Army contracts officer. IRobot, which received the letter yesterday, passed on the … Continue reading “Army Is Prepared to Award “XBot” Contract to IRobot If Robotic FX Fails New Assessment”

Robotic FX Contract Set Aside, IRobot Says

Looks like iRobot has caught a break in its effort to stop Robotic FX from selling its Negotiator robots, as the Burlington, MA-based company announced moments ago that the Army has set aside a $279.9 million contract awarded to its rival in September. IRobot contends in two ongoing lawsuits against Robotic FX that the Negotiator … Continue reading “Robotic FX Contract Set Aside, IRobot Says”

A Pair of $20 Million Research Initiatives

How much does it take to jumpstart a serious academic research initiative these days? Apparently the answer is $20 million. That’s the amount pledged for two different projects announced this week. One is an initiative at MIT to study major psychiatric diseases including bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia, and the other is an agreement between … Continue reading “A Pair of $20 Million Research Initiatives”

Biogen-Icahn? Pfiz-ogen or Pfiz-zyme? Is All of Cambridge Biotech Suddenly Up For Sale?

Thank you Carl Icahn. Thanks for stirring the pot by purchasing a few million shares in the local economy. In just the last 12 days, you’ve raised the market cap of Cambridge’s biotech giants by, oh, I don’t know, a few billion dollars. It’s nice work if you can get it, this activist investing. But … Continue reading “Biogen-Icahn? Pfiz-ogen or Pfiz-zyme? Is All of Cambridge Biotech Suddenly Up For Sale?”

Vertica: Getting Its Ducks in a Column

At Vertica, the company blog has a plain, seemingly straightforward name: The Database Column. But it’s actually an inside joke—and one that hints at the fundamental innovation that the Andover, MA, startup hopes will catapult it into the ranks of established database makers like Oracle, IBM, and Sybase. Vertica’s software stores data in the form … Continue reading “Vertica: Getting Its Ducks in a Column”

A123 Raises $30 Million to Expand Battery Production Capacity

A123 Systems is like some sort of entrepreneurial Energizer bunny: it just keeps on marching through investment rounds and deals. In the latest news, the Watertown, MA, supplier of high-power lithium ion batteries announced today that it had received $30 million in new venture financing. The money will be used to scale up production capacity … Continue reading “A123 Raises $30 Million to Expand Battery Production Capacity”

Tolerx and GSK Ink Deal Worth Up to $760 Million

In perhaps the biggest vindication to date of a field that torpedoed a couple of Boston-area firms years ago, Cambridge, MA’s Tolerx announced today that is has signed an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) that could be worth up to $760 million. Tolerx is developing treatments for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including type 1 diabetes, … Continue reading “Tolerx and GSK Ink Deal Worth Up to $760 Million”

Buzzword Brings Beauty, Flash to Word Processing for Adobe

It’s showtime at Virtual Ubiquity. In the conference room at the start-up’s Waltham, MA, office, a band of engineers gathers to see the latest tweaks to the way Buzzword, their new word processor, organizes documents. “This is the alphabetical view,” says Dave Coletta, a programmer who’s one of the company’s 11 employees. Projected on one … Continue reading “Buzzword Brings Beauty, Flash to Word Processing for Adobe”

Solar Market Outlook

Greentech Media and the Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development sponsor a day of discussions about the future of the solar industry, with an emphasis on data, market research, analysis, and forecasts. Aimed at investors, stock analysts, and financial and legal professionals. Registration $795. More information here.

New England Venture Investments Showed Robust Growth in Q3

Two just-released reports showed strong venture capital activity in New England in the third quarter. The surveys, though, differed a bit on overall growth patterns and regional standings. One showed New England in second place nationwide to the Bay Area, while the other put Southern California in the No. 2 spot, ahead of New England … Continue reading “New England Venture Investments Showed Robust Growth in Q3”

Avant and Celldex to Merge

A new company focused on products that harness the immune system will be formed through the merger of Needham, MA-based Avant Immunotherapeutics (NASDAQ: AVAN) and privately held, Phillipsburg, NJ-based Celldex Therapeutics. The resulting firm, to be called Avant, will be worth some $115 million, according to a press release. Both Avant Immunotherapeutics and Celldex have … Continue reading “Avant and Celldex to Merge”

Genzyme Comes Back to Win Bioenvision Vote—Disputed Merger to Go Forward

Bioenvision shareholders have voted to approve Genzyme’s takeover offer, paving the way for the controversial merger to move forward, the two companies announced late this afternoon. If it closes as planned, the deal—which passed after months of dispute that saw the shareholder vote extended several times—will win Cambridge-based Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) worldwide rights to the … Continue reading “Genzyme Comes Back to Win Bioenvision Vote—Disputed Merger to Go Forward”

Deshpande Center Backs 10 Big Ideas for the Developing World

Today MIT’s Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation announced grants totaling $1.03 million to MIT researchers working on ten different projects with potential repercussions for the developing world, ranging from “nanosprings” that could store power without batteries to ways of making clean-burning propane from cellulose and other forms of biomass. The center’s semiannual Ignition Grants and … Continue reading “Deshpande Center Backs 10 Big Ideas for the Developing World”

HBS Energy Symposium

The Energy Club of Harvard Business School presents its annual energy symposium — an afternoon of discussions with thought leaders in the energy industry, hitting on topics from clean energy to carbon emissions trading, with sponsorship from McKinsey & Co., Schlumberger, Cameron Corporation, Boston Consulting Group, Cambridge Energy Research Associates, the Northbridge Group, and Kleiner … Continue reading “HBS Energy Symposium”

IRobot Counters U.S. Attorney’s Office Arguments Supporting Robotic FX

In the latest salvo in the iRobot-Robotic FX legal battle, iRobot attorneys late last week took the U.S. Attorney’s office to task for its arguments in support of Robotic FX. This part of the complicated case (in which iRobot alleges, essentially, that Robotic FX’s Negotiator robot is a knock-off of its PackBot—click here for a … Continue reading “IRobot Counters U.S. Attorney’s Office Arguments Supporting Robotic FX”

Why Is It So Hard For Innovators to Keep It Simple?

I’m just back from Providence, Rhode Island, and a stimulating two days co-hosting BIF-3, the third annual summit of the Business Innovation Factory. Presenter after presenter, from all walks of life, told remarkable stories about reinventing a police department, rethinking national security, even redesigning the lowly nail, to make it more resistant to hurricanes. If … Continue reading “Why Is It So Hard For Innovators to Keep It Simple?”

All Sorts of Acquisitions, An Approval for Millennium, Venture Deals, and More

There was a lot of acquisition activity last week (not even counting the Biogen Idec excitement). Here’s more on that, along with the rest of the week’s news. —Lexington, MA-based Cubist Pharmaceuticals announced it will pay $4.7 million, plus another $1 million in research and operating costs, for an exclusive option to buy Seattle’s Illumigen … Continue reading “All Sorts of Acquisitions, An Approval for Millennium, Venture Deals, and More”

SoundBite IPO Up in the Air After “Mugging” by Competitor

There’s no new word today on the fate of SoundBite Communications’ IPO. The Bedford, MA-based voice messaging firm was expected to price the deal Wednesday. Instead, according to an SEC filing, the company received a letter written on behalf of Universal Recovery Systems (URS) claiming that SoundBite’s technology may violate some of URS’s issued patents … Continue reading “SoundBite IPO Up in the Air After “Mugging” by Competitor”