Category: Boston

My Speech in Second Life: Moshing with Metaverse-Molders

Note to self: Next time you give a keynote speech in Second Life, tickle your avatar every once in a while to keep it awake. I was slightly embarrassed yesterday at Life 2.0, a virtual conference organized inside the virtual world Second Life by multimedia publisher CMP, when I realized that I’d been lecturing for … Continue reading “My Speech in Second Life: Moshing with Metaverse-Molders”

New MIT Center Seeks to Spark Entrepreneurship in the Developing World

Would-be entrepreneurs interested in creating new technologies and businesses for the developing world got a piece of good news today: International investment group Legatum is donating $50 million to MIT to establish a new center to support just that sort of entrepreneurship. The new Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship will provide fellowships for graduate … Continue reading “New MIT Center Seeks to Spark Entrepreneurship in the Developing World”

IRobot Stock Plummets on Word That Former Employee’s Firm Won $280 Million Military Contract

Shares of iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT) fell sharply today after word spread that Alsip, IL-based Robotic FX—a rival firm led by a former iRobot employee—had beat the company out for a $280 million contract to provide improvised explosive devise (IED)-detection robots for the U.S. Army. Last month, iRobot filed a pair of lawsuits against Robotic FX, … Continue reading “IRobot Stock Plummets on Word That Former Employee’s Firm Won $280 Million Military Contract”

Nokia Assimilates Boston Mobile-Marketing Firm

Enpocket, a privately held Boston multimedia advertising firm that has created mobile websites and text-messaging-based marketing campaigns for the likes of CNBC, Ford, and MTV, will be acquired by Finnish mobile technology giant Nokia (NYSE: NOK), the two companies announced today. Enpocket was formed in September 2001 as a spinoff of U.S.-based online media technology … Continue reading “Nokia Assimilates Boston Mobile-Marketing Firm”

Blogging from Walden Woods with Utterz

Would Henry David Thoreau have been a blogger? I think he might have been. And if he’d had a cell phone and a voice blogging service like Utterz—launched today by Maynard, MA, startup RPM Communications—he could have blogged all of Walden right from his little cabin in the woods. Thoreau is on my brain because … Continue reading “Blogging from Walden Woods with Utterz”

The Best of Bad Times

Could the recent meltdown of the subprime lending market be good for tech? Let me argue a domino effect: subprime markets crater, which precipitates a pull-back on banks financing mid-tier debt for private equity, which means lower returns. The allocation of money to private equity slows, but there is a wave of money that must … Continue reading “The Best of Bad Times”

Good News and Bad News for University Endowments, ImClone and Repligen Reach Settlement, Venture Deals, Mergers, Acquisitions, and More

Last week left us with lots to talk about, so let’s get right to it. —In venture news, RFID infrastructure firm Tagsys of Cambridge, MA, closed a $16 million second tranche of a Series C round totaling $35 million. Investors included J.P. Morgan, DFJ Esprit, Endeavour, Elliott Associates, Saffron Hill Ventures, and Add Partners. Shelton, … Continue reading “Good News and Bad News for University Endowments, ImClone and Repligen Reach Settlement, Venture Deals, Mergers, Acquisitions, and More”

Xconomy Correspondent to Keynote Life 2.0 Summit in Second Life

Xconomy chief correspondent Wade Roush will give the opening keynote talk for this week’s Life 2.0 Summit inside the virtual world Second Life. Produced by CMP Technology/Dr. Dobb’s Journal, Life 2.0 is a quarterly virtual conference on metaverse technology and best-practice for software developers and business stakeholders seeking to understand and use Second Life and … Continue reading “Xconomy Correspondent to Keynote Life 2.0 Summit in Second Life”

With PicoCricket, MIT Spinoff is Out to Prove Computer Toys Aren’t Just for Boys

As a boy growing up in the early 1970s, I owned my share of plastic space toys, robots, ray guns, and construction sets. But one of the toys I remember most fondly was my grandmother’s “Make-It Box,” a picnic basket full of household items such as empty oatmeal cartons, egg crates, paper-towel rolls, pipe cleaners, … Continue reading “With PicoCricket, MIT Spinoff is Out to Prove Computer Toys Aren’t Just for Boys”

Just Launched into the Boston VC Orbit: Third Rock Ventures

After months of sparking rumors and fending off the press (me, anyway), Boston’s newest venture capital firm lifted its veil today with the announcement that it is launching its first fund. One glitch: the partners—who include Mark Levin and other veterans of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, among others—evidently didn’t let their media team know before it issued … Continue reading “Just Launched into the Boston VC Orbit: Third Rock Ventures”

Extreme VC: The Tale of the Tacoda Tattoo

Some entrepreneurs complain that their venture-capital backers aren’t good for much beyond forking over the cash. But, of course, many VCs stand staunchly by their portfolio companies, joining them in the trenches when the going gets tough. And when Rich Levandov, a general partner of Cambridge-based Masthead Venture Partners, journeys to the Big Apple in … Continue reading “Extreme VC: The Tale of the Tacoda Tattoo”

Constant Contact Updates IPO Filings, Acknowledges Employees’ Bad Blog Behavior

Seeking to raise nearly $70 million, Waltham-based e-mail marketing firm Constant Contact yesterday outlined terms for its upcoming IPO. Today, in response to our queries, the company acknowledged a bit of bad blogging behavior on the part of some current and former employees during the run-up to the IPO. Constant Contact outlined its expected terms … Continue reading “Constant Contact Updates IPO Filings, Acknowledges Employees’ Bad Blog Behavior”

Fine Art on your Phone: Boston Museum Goes Mobile

You don’t have to go to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to appreciate its amazing array of paintings, prints, sculptures, and artifacts: thanks to an aggressive digital-capture effort, the MFA has the largest image database of any art museum in the world, all freely browsable on the Web. And now, you can even … Continue reading “Fine Art on your Phone: Boston Museum Goes Mobile”

Transforming Celebrity Blog Gossip into the Stuff of Fantasy

First there was fantasy baseball: competitions where participants buy rosters of athletes at the beginning of the season and watch their imaginary teams rise and fall in the “standings” based on the real players’ statistics. Then came fantasy football, fantasy basketball, fantasy name-your-sport, fantasy investing (e.g. The UpDown) and even Fantasy Congress—in short, a fantasy … Continue reading “Transforming Celebrity Blog Gossip into the Stuff of Fantasy”

Saying Bioenvision is Poised for a “Home Run,” Investor Files New Challenge to Genzyme Takeover Bid

New York-based Bioenvision today reported a big jump in revenues, and the leading minority shareholder opposed to the company’s proposed merger with Genzyme pointed to this surge as an indication Genzyme’s offer price far undervalues the company—and filed a letter with the SEC that showcases his strategy to block the deal. Steven Rouhandeh, chairman of … Continue reading “Saying Bioenvision is Poised for a “Home Run,” Investor Files New Challenge to Genzyme Takeover Bid”

EMC Facing Lawsuits Charging Bias Against Women

Data storage leader EMC (NYSE: EMC) came under heavy fire today amidst news that it was facing at least six sexual discrimination lawsuits filed since 2003 by women who previously worked in the company’s sales offices. A front-page story by William M. Bulkeley of the Wall Street Journal, drawn from the lawsuits and interviews with … Continue reading “EMC Facing Lawsuits Charging Bias Against Women”

Eons Announces Big Layoffs as Company Refocuses on Social Networking: “It Was Kind of Like Survivor.”

It was a dramatic, sobering, but ultimately healthy and air-clearing scene on Monday when Eons founder Jeff Taylor called together his remaining staff and engaged in a moment of remembrance for the 24 colleagues he had just laid off. That was the word from one of those present, a person who still has his or … Continue reading “Eons Announces Big Layoffs as Company Refocuses on Social Networking: “It Was Kind of Like Survivor.””

Sermo: All Cashed Up and Ready to Grow

Turns out I was at least partly right back in July when I wrote that something was up at Sermo, the Kendall Square startup that launched its physicians-only online community a year ago this month. Sermo CEO Daniel Palestrant had to duck out of our interview for a suspiciously impromptu call with his board and … Continue reading “Sermo: All Cashed Up and Ready to Grow”

VMware Snaps Up Swiss Software Suite, Sees Stock Swell

Stock in VMware (NYSE: VMW), the skyrocketing subsidiary of Hopkinton-based storage-systems giant EMC (NYSE: EMC), blew past analysts’ expected ceiling today after the company announced the acquisition of Dunes Technologies, a Swiss startup that makes software that automates the management of virtualized computing systems. VMware stock briefly peaked at about $82 per share—well above the … Continue reading “VMware Snaps Up Swiss Software Suite, Sees Stock Swell”

Rich Stew at Web Innovators Bash

If you’re hungry for a taste of Web 2.0 technology, Boston style, just attend one of the Web Innovators Group meetings, hosted every other month or so by David Beisel, a vice president in the Cambridge office of Menlo Park, CA-based venture firm Venrock. Last night’s gathering, the 14th in the series, filled the second-floor … Continue reading “Rich Stew at Web Innovators Bash”

Tiny Massachusetts Agency Seeks to Leverage State’s $5.5 Billion in Federal Research Funds-Can it Succeed?

With its bevy of top-flight universities and hospitals, Massachusetts boasts a fire-hydrant-like flow of some $5.5 billion in federal research dollars pumping into the state annually. How can the state best help commercialize some of that research to further boost the Bay State economy? That’s the daunting mission of the three-year-old Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center … Continue reading “Tiny Massachusetts Agency Seeks to Leverage State’s $5.5 Billion in Federal Research Funds-Can it Succeed?”

The Fourth Screen: Frame Media Turns Digital Picture Frames into Information Portals

When content producers want to brag about their multimedia strategies, they often say they’re getting their material out to “all three screens,” meaning TV networks, Internet video sites, and Internet-enabled mobile phones. But while it might not be on your radar screen yet, there’s an emerging “fourth screen” showing up in some homes and offices: … Continue reading “The Fourth Screen: Frame Media Turns Digital Picture Frames into Information Portals”

VC Varsity: The Best Athletes on Boston’s Private-Equity Circuit

[Executive editor’s note: Bob’s about to wax philosophical about sports. It could take a while. To cut to the chase and see the roster, click here.] The hoops game is serious. Invitation only. Two “runs” a week, at 6 a.m.—when it can be tough to get the juices flowing. And if I told you the … Continue reading “VC Varsity: The Best Athletes on Boston’s Private-Equity Circuit”

Court Documents Detail Lead-Up to Genzyme’s Controversial Repurchase of its Biosurgery Division

Just-unsealed federal court documents detail the events leading up to Genzyme’s 2003 repurchase of its biosurgery division, the Boston Globe reports today on its front page. The deal was the subject of a class-action lawsuit filed by shareholders of the biosurgery division who alleged that Genzyme timed the transaction to undervalue the division; Genzyme settled … Continue reading “Court Documents Detail Lead-Up to Genzyme’s Controversial Repurchase of its Biosurgery Division”

Second-Order Effects of Research Funding Sources: Is the U.S. Innovation Pipeline Headed for a Hiccup?

Back in the good old days we academic-lab or research directors used to worry that the sources of research funding for our faculty and their research groups might bias their research in ways that were not scientifically pure. Nowadays we have something new to worry about. Today we need to worry about whether the research … Continue reading “Second-Order Effects of Research Funding Sources: Is the U.S. Innovation Pipeline Headed for a Hiccup?”

Mass Biotech Council’s Image Troubles, Boston Scientific’s Mixed Bag, Another Big IPO in the Offing, and More

The summertime business damper has definitely been lifted. So much was happening at the end of last week that we ran out of time for a Friday round up. But fear not–here are the most interesting developments. —The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council’s image troubles continued, with several members expressing “dismay” over the trade group’s recent direction … Continue reading “Mass Biotech Council’s Image Troubles, Boston Scientific’s Mixed Bag, Another Big IPO in the Offing, and More”

Apple and Starbucks to Boston: Drop Dead (When it Comes to Music)

My, Apple makes life fun. Every week there’s something new to awe at, or argue about; something kindly or incredibly innovative that the company has done, and something crazy-making. Today I’m feeling grateful to Mr. Jobs for offering $100 in store credit to people like myself who bought the 8-gigabyte iPhone for $599 two months … Continue reading “Apple and Starbucks to Boston: Drop Dead (When it Comes to Music)”

Tech Networking Nirvana on Lansdowne Street

My ears are still ringing from the din last night at Tequila Rain, where hundreds of local digerati gathered for the first TECH Cocktail Boston. Aside from the the Nintendo Wii boxing matches sponsored by Waltham-based search company ZoomInfo and the free vodka-and-Red-Bulls, the most head-pounding thing about the gathering was its sheer size and … Continue reading “Tech Networking Nirvana on Lansdowne Street”

Biogen Idec Shares Enjoy Nice Pop; Forget Rumors of Being Acquired, Company Hasn’t Given Up on a Major Acquisition of Its Own

Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) stock surged nearly 6 percent yesterday, rising $3.66 to $66.53, as CEO Jim Mullen predicted strong growth throughout the decade at a major healthcare conference. But overshadowded by these main remarks was an interesting comment that Mullen made about Biogen’s future acquisition plans. Yesterday I wrote about Mullen’s talk at the … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Shares Enjoy Nice Pop; Forget Rumors of Being Acquired, Company Hasn’t Given Up on a Major Acquisition of Its Own”

That Dinner You Charged on Your iCache at Hamersley’s: $360. Not Having to Worry About Stolen Credit Cards: Priceless.

If you live inside a Norman Rockwell painting or a Frank Capra movie, then perhaps everyone you interact with knows you by sight and can vouch for your identity. But in the real world, we tote around all sorts of digitally encoded data to verify that we’re entitled to carry out our daily business: the … Continue reading “That Dinner You Charged on Your iCache at Hamersley’s: $360. Not Having to Worry About Stolen Credit Cards: Priceless.”

Another Voice Heard in the Genzyme-Bioenvision Takeover Debate: Elliot Associates is “Extremely Dissatisfied”

Shareholders of New York-based Bioenvision (NASDAQ: BIVN) have yet to vote on Genzyme’s (NASDAQ: GENZ) much-maligned $5.60-per-share offer for the firm, but one of them is making its intentions clear now. In a scathing letter to the Bioenvision board dated yesterday, Hedge fund Elliott Associates wrote that it is “extremely dissatisfied with the proposed Genzyme … Continue reading “Another Voice Heard in the Genzyme-Bioenvision Takeover Debate: Elliot Associates is “Extremely Dissatisfied””

Bullish Biogen Idec CEO Forecasts 15 Percent Revenue Growth While Fending Off Talk of Icahn Plans

Riding a year of solid earnings and strong stock market gains, Biogen Idec CEO James Mullen today provided an upbeat outlook for the next few years, basically saying the good times for the biotech company were far from over. Foreseeing vigorous international expansion and a healthy pipeline that would enable Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB) to expand … Continue reading “Bullish Biogen Idec CEO Forecasts 15 Percent Revenue Growth While Fending Off Talk of Icahn Plans”

Boston’s New Generation of University Spinoffs

You can’t spend much time in Kendall Square without realizing how critical universities are to the local innovation ecosystem. One way to look at the role they play is to look at the startup companies formed around technology invented in academia. That’s exactly what I’m about to do—and if you want to cut to the … Continue reading “Boston’s New Generation of University Spinoffs”

The UpDown: Fantasy Stock Investing with Real Money at Stake

A handful of websites have turned user-generated content into figurative gold: think YouTube, which started with $11.5 million in venture capital, convinced a few hundred thousand amateurs to upload their home videos, and got purchased by Google for $1.65 billion. But now a trio of Harvard Business School students has launched a Web business designed … Continue reading “The UpDown: Fantasy Stock Investing with Real Money at Stake”

IRobot Founder to be Inducted into Women’s Technology Hall of Fame

We’ve all clapped robotically at some boring function or other. Now it’s time to clap for a roboticist. Helen Greiner, chairman and co-founder of iRobot and a charismatic champion of a new generation of commercial and military robots, will be inducted into the Women in Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame, the professional group announced … Continue reading “IRobot Founder to be Inducted into Women’s Technology Hall of Fame”

$12.3 Million Second Round for Quattro Wireless

As more content migrates to the mobile Web—websites customized for the smaller screens of cell phones and other mobile devices—all of the Web’s usual mechanisms for monetizing that content are also migrating, or being recreated. Waltham, MA, startup Quattro Wireless is one of the companies in this space, helping publishers create websites customized for mobile … Continue reading “$12.3 Million Second Round for Quattro Wireless”

Go East, Young Man: How Clean Tech Drew Two Venture Insiders from the Bay Area to the Bay State

If there is a central incubator for “clean-tech” businesses, it’s California. Stiff environmental regulations, generous tax incentives, top-ranked research universities and national labs, abundant capital, a huge potential market, and a Governator who takes global warming for real make the Golden State the nation’s undisputed leader in renewable energy innovation. Of the 10 investment firms … Continue reading “Go East, Young Man: How Clean Tech Drew Two Venture Insiders from the Bay Area to the Bay State”

Clean Energy Market Research and News Site Launches

It’s not every day a digital media news site opens in Kendall Square. But lately it seems like it’s every month or two. In yet another sign of the explosion of activity in the clean-energy sector, Greentech Media—a Cambridge-based market research, news, and events company devoted to alternative energy investment and technology information—announced its launch … Continue reading “Clean Energy Market Research and News Site Launches”

Two Patent-Related Scourges Addressed

After years of relative neglect, the courts, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and even Congress have taken important steps over the past several months to correct some of the patent system’s most glaring problems. (For one example, see this post from July.) The latest changes attempt to deal with dreaded “submarine patents” and the … Continue reading “Two Patent-Related Scourges Addressed”

On the Creation, Protection, and Delivery of Shareholder Value—Lessons from the Color Kinetics Experience

Entrepreneurship and innovation are powerful forces that, when combined, can lead to the creation of great value. Last week, the local startup community saw one of its finest recent examples of entrepreneurial innovation, Color Kinetics (CK), deliver nearly $800 million in cash to its shareholders—myself among them—upon the completion of its merger with Royal Philips … Continue reading “On the Creation, Protection, and Delivery of Shareholder Value—Lessons from the Color Kinetics Experience”

MIT Plans to Win DARPA Robot Car Challenge

Driving in urban traffic is a stupendously tricky task demanding a constant stream of split-second, almost subconscious decisions. In fact, if you give it too much thought—Am I driving inside the lane markers? How much space should I give the car ahead of me? Who got to this intersection first? Is that old lady going … Continue reading “MIT Plans to Win DARPA Robot Car Challenge”

Happy Labor Day! We’re De-laboring. As Xconomy Completes Its Second Month, Here are Some Things You Might Have Missed

Xconomy has just wrapped up its second month of covering the New England business, technology, and innovation scene. The paparazzi have thinned out. The VCs still aren’t throwing money at us (repeat after me, “It’s not a venture deal.”). But we have secured our funding, and we’ve had a lot of fun, met a multitude … Continue reading “Happy Labor Day! We’re De-laboring. As Xconomy Completes Its Second Month, Here are Some Things You Might Have Missed”

GlassHouse Garners Funds, Boston Scientific Settles, Akamai Speeds Up, and More

Just in time for the long weekend, a bumper crop of news briefs. Enjoy, but don’t leave the laptop too close to the barbeque. —Framingham firm GlassHouse, which competes with the likes of EMC and IBM Global Services in the data storage and consulting services sector, is supplementing the $64 million it has already raised … Continue reading “GlassHouse Garners Funds, Boston Scientific Settles, Akamai Speeds Up, and More”

Rubbing Elbows and Dodging Bees With Synthetic Biology Pioneer George Church

On Monday I had the privilege of hanging out with Xconomist George Church and a few other distinguished scientists—Craig Venter, Freeman Dyson, Robert Shapiro, Dimitar Sasselov, and Seth Lloyd—as they discussed some deep topics like the origin of life, the end of Darwinian evolution, and what will come next on our planet. It all took … Continue reading “Rubbing Elbows and Dodging Bees With Synthetic Biology Pioneer George Church”

CEO Tucci and Other EMC Execs Also Sell Shares in Firm

New filings posted at the SEC show that several more key officials of EMC (NYSE: EMC)—including CEO and chairman Joe Tucci—have exercised options and/or sold shares of the company’s stock. Two days ago, we reported that six key company officials, including five executive vice presidents, had sold shares last Friday in what appeared to be … Continue reading “CEO Tucci and Other EMC Execs Also Sell Shares in Firm”

Adobe Snatches Up Stars from Crumbling Mitsubishi Lab—Creates Boston Research Outpost

Adobe Systems, the San Jose, CA-based company whose graphics and visual design programs are used by millions of people every day, has hired at least three prominent Boston-area computer scientists away from Cambridge’s troubled Mitsubushi Electric Research Laboratory (MERL) to form Adobe’s first significant research outpost outside the West Coast. And more MERL researchers could … Continue reading “Adobe Snatches Up Stars from Crumbling Mitsubishi Lab—Creates Boston Research Outpost”