Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4e982260-c454-4eda-92f0-5239a52fea16 Date 6/9/2016 Company Name Preply Mailing Address 167 Corey Rd. Brighton, MA 02135 USA Company Description Preply – is a new platform for assisting in selecting an English language tutor. We help in finding the most suitable tutor for your request. You will find our recommendations for using the platform below. … Continue reading “Preply Secures $1,300,000 Seed Round”
Category: Boston
Buildium Secures $65,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b83d53f8-979b-4760-82bc-bf1e9829277b Date 6/9/2016 Company Name Buildium Mailing Address 225 Franklin St. Boston, MA 02110 USA Company Description At Buildium, we know that a solution is only as strong as the culture that nurtures it. Here are the values we believe in: Focus on customers first Website http://www.buildium.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “Buildium Secures $65,000,000 New Funding Round”
Alexandria Sets up Incubator, $25M Seed Fund For NY Bio Startups
[Updated, 1:12 pm ET, see below] It’s no secret that one of the biggest things holding New York City’s biotech ecosystem back is lack of lab space for startups. The problem will take a broad effort to solve, not just a few buildings or incubators. But one of the city’s biggest real estate players, Alexandria … Continue reading “Alexandria Sets up Incubator, $25M Seed Fund For NY Bio Startups”
How to Make Healthcare Better? Make It Easy
There’s an “easy button” in the hospital that I press a hundred times every day. With each press, I make myself a better doctor. It’s not a button on a computer. It’s not electronic at all. It’s a hand sanitizer. A decade or two ago, hospital handwashing compliance rates were in the single digits because … Continue reading “How to Make Healthcare Better? Make It Easy”
Harvard Unveils $15M Life Lab to House Biotech and Medical Startups
The next Kendall Square just might be located in Allston. The gritty Boston neighborhood, across the Charles from Harvard University’s main campus, is the site of various construction projects aimed at building up an innovation epicenter over the next five to 10 years. Just don’t tell Jodi Goldstein about the Kendall comparison. Goldstein (pictured), the … Continue reading “Harvard Unveils $15M Life Lab to House Biotech and Medical Startups”
Ginkgo Gulps $100M to Build Synthetic Food, Fragrance Business
Ginkgo Bioworks sits at the intersection of synthetic biology, software, robotics, and advanced manufacturing, making it one of the more intriguing startups in Boston. Now, a fresh round of $100 million in venture capital also makes it one of the area’s biggest technology bets. Ginkgo has raised $154 million from investors since March 2015. The … Continue reading “Ginkgo Gulps $100M to Build Synthetic Food, Fragrance Business”
Boston-Israel Connection Rising: 200-Plus Firms, 9K Jobs, $9B Sales
Anyone paying attention to high-tech businesses in Massachusetts knows there’s a strong connection between the Bay State and Israel. Over the years, dozens of Israeli entrepreneurs have started companies in the Boston area or moved here, as they try to solve problems in cybersecurity, water resources, healthcare, and more. A new study prepared for the … Continue reading “Boston-Israel Connection Rising: 200-Plus Firms, 9K Jobs, $9B Sales”
Ginkgo Bioworks Receives $100,000,000 Series C Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=af5947e4-5514-4821-a28a-ab1d300fc973 Date 6/8/2016 Company Name Ginkgo Bioworks Mailing Address 27 Drydock Ave. 8th Floor Boston, MA 02210 USA Company Description Ginkgo Bioworks is the organism company. We design custom microbes for customers across multiple markets. We build our foundries to scale the process of organism engineering using software and hardware automation. Organism … Continue reading “Ginkgo Bioworks Receives $100,000,000 Series C Round”
Pivoting Again, Catabasis Looks to NASH After Cholesterol Drug Flops
Catabasis Pharmaceuticals has done its share of strategic shuffling over the past few years, and some more changes have come today. A drug known as CAT-2054, one of two prospects Catabasis (NASDSAQ: [[ticker:CATB]]) has in clinical testing, failed a mid-stage trial in people with high cholesterol. The drug didn’t do a good enough job lowering … Continue reading “Pivoting Again, Catabasis Looks to NASH After Cholesterol Drug Flops”
Biogen’s Nerve Repair Drug Fails MS Study, Shares Fall
Under CEO George Scangos, Biogen hasn’t been shy about taking big risks on very tough to treat diseases, even announcing plans to toss out a sure revenue stream—a group of hemophilia drugs—to increase the company’s focus. One of Biogen’s major gambles in this plan has been a program meant not just to treat the symptoms … Continue reading “Biogen’s Nerve Repair Drug Fails MS Study, Shares Fall”
Pronutria Rebrands as Axcella Health, Forms “Nutrition” Subsidiary
It’s common for a startup to grow and evolve from its initial mission, and that’s why a company originally known as Pronutria has adopted a new name today: Axcella Health. A transition has been underway at the Cambridge, MA-based company for a few years now. Pronutria planned to develop medical foods, dietary supplements, and therapeutics … Continue reading “Pronutria Rebrands as Axcella Health, Forms “Nutrition” Subsidiary”
Vedanta Biosciences Receives $50,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ad28193f-0adf-4867-8525-9f939f8f4cba Date 6/7/2016 Company Name Vedanta Biosciences Mailing Address 19 Blackstone Street 3rd Floor Cambridge, MA 02139 USA Company Description Vedanta Biosciences was founded by PureTech and a team of world renowned experts in immunology and microbiology. Vedanta Biosciences is developing a class of drugs that work by modulating the human microbiome, … Continue reading “Vedanta Biosciences Receives $50,000,000 New Financing”
Groupize Garners $598,774 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d42ea12e-631c-4d60-b1ba-c3998319515c Date 6/7/2016 Company Name Groupize Mailing Address 100 Cummings Center Beverly, MA 01915 USA Company Description Group Travel Technology Evangelist. Taking on the challenge of automating Small Group Travel and Custom Group Planning. Website http://www.groupize.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $598,774 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. … Continue reading “Groupize Garners $598,774 New Financing Round”
Sober Grid Lands Seed Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2260f298-7ecc-4b8d-b76e-e4136d94524f Date 6/7/2016 Company Name Sober Grid Mailing Address 780 Boylston Street 14th Floor Boston, MA 02199 USA Company Description Sober Grid is a free mobile app that connects those in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, as well as those trying to get sober. Website http://www.sobergridapp.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “Sober Grid Lands Seed Financing”
Mautic Receives $600,000 Seed Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9d33e3c3-5bdf-4e4f-bfff-e76986b504b1 Date 6/7/2016 Company Name Mautic Mailing Address 53 State Street 10th Floor Boston, MA 02109 USA Company Description Mautic is what happens when passionate people believe there’s a better way. We began with a singular focus, community. We’re all part of a community that is passionate about what we do. A … Continue reading “Mautic Receives $600,000 Seed Financing”
Underscore.VC Looks to Align Boston Tech Community With Startups
This has been the spring of new Boston tech venture funds. While most of the area’s traditional players are still going—along with more recent firms—a new crop of investors is trying to change how companies get funded and built in this town. Venture capitalists are all wrestling with similar issues: how to identify and get … Continue reading “Underscore.VC Looks to Align Boston Tech Community With Startups”
Startups: Get Free Tickets to Influx on June 22, Thanks to NEVCA
Our big June conference Influx is just three weeks away. The event was inspired by the influx of newcomers to the Boston innovation community—and we have an amazing array of fresh faces and new companies taking part. But we’d also love to have an influx of startup companies in attendance—and now, courtesy of the New … Continue reading “Startups: Get Free Tickets to Influx on June 22, Thanks to NEVCA”
Ocular’s Shares Fall After Eye Treatment Fails Latest Test
Ocular Therapeutix could end up with an approved product when the FDA decides on its implantable, sustained-release drug delivery device next month. But even if it does, the Bedford, MA, company’s prospects to sell that device, known as OTX-DP (Dextenza), for more than just post-surgical pain took a hit this morning. Bedford, MA-based Ocular (NASDAQ: … Continue reading “Ocular’s Shares Fall After Eye Treatment Fails Latest Test”
Syros Files For IPO to Push “Gene Control” Drugs Through First Trials
Syros Pharmaceuticals has had the shareholder base of a public company for some time. But today the Cambridge, MA-based company finally took its first official steps towards the Nasdaq by outlining plans for an IPO. Syros will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “SYRS” if it completes the IPO. It’ll use the cash … Continue reading “Syros Files For IPO to Push “Gene Control” Drugs Through First Trials”
BitSight Follows FICO Model as Cybersecurity Ratings Industry Grows
As cyber threats grow more complex and damaging, an independent rating that assesses the strength of a company’s defenses could become a new kind of currency in the business world—akin to a consumer credit score that can make or break one’s financial future. That’s the vision of Stephen Boyer and his five-year-old company, BitSight Technologies, … Continue reading “BitSight Follows FICO Model as Cybersecurity Ratings Industry Grows”
No PhD, “No Fear”: Alice Zhang, 27, Aims Software At Neuro Diseases
It’s impossible to sum up a person with a word, a sentence, or even a paragraph. We all contain multitudes. But if a picture of 27-year-old biotech CEO Alice Zhang could emerge from a single line, it might be her response when asked to describe her first time through the whirlwind of the annual J.P. … Continue reading “No PhD, “No Fear”: Alice Zhang, 27, Aims Software At Neuro Diseases”
Vedanta Nabs $50M To Expand Microbiome Into Immune-Boosting Therapies
Exploration of the human microbiome has spurred countless questions about the impact the trillions of microbes in and on our bodies have on our health. Those questions have led to a growing number of new biotech companies. One of the first to launch, Vedanta Biosciences of Cambridge, MA, has raised $50 million with plans to … Continue reading “Vedanta Nabs $50M To Expand Microbiome Into Immune-Boosting Therapies”
Guardant Health Maps Cautious Plans For Blood-Based Cancer Screening
Clinicians today can analyze a cancer patient’s tumor using a blood sample, a so-called liquid biopsy. But using blood tests to screen seemingly healthy people for early signs of a host of cancers is still a largely hypothetical proposition—and turning that idea into a reality is a much bigger challenge. Grail, which is backed by … Continue reading “Guardant Health Maps Cautious Plans For Blood-Based Cancer Screening”
Boston Tech Watch: Stumbling Startups, China VC, Acquisitions & More
This week in Boston tech, we’re tracking the latest sign of a tech slowdown, an acquisition of a faltering mobile marketing startup, a Chinese firm investing in a Boston artificial intelligence startup, and more. Read on for details. —Boston-based Fiksu, once a high-flying mobile marketing startup considered an IPO candidate, was acquired for an undisclosed … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: Stumbling Startups, China VC, Acquisitions & More”
Biotech Roundup: Deals Gone Wrong, Ethical Red Flags & Bay Goodbyes
It was fitting this week that, in the lead-up to two of biomedicine’s biggest self-celebrations, we were served ample reminder of the industry’s expensive decisions gone wrong. This weekend, much of academia and industry involved in cancer will gather in Chicago for the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology conference. Thousands of others will head … Continue reading “Biotech Roundup: Deals Gone Wrong, Ethical Red Flags & Bay Goodbyes”
Celebrating Robotics—Save $70 on Robo Madness West
On June 22, Silicon Valley’s robotic masterminds will converge for Robo Madness West in San Jose. They’ll debate the technologies, design, research, development, and business issues behind robotics for half the day—and you can join them with a $70 discount by registering by midnight tonight (Friday) with the code SAVER. This ticket includes access to Sensors Expo … Continue reading “Celebrating Robotics—Save $70 on Robo Madness West”
7 Steps Online Companies Can Take to Manage Sales Tax Exposure
States have been fighting to collect sales taxes from online retailers since the dawn of the e-commerce age. But today, online companies that sell services rather than merchandise also need to be concerned about state sales taxes. Even though most services are usually not subject to sales tax, some states are now asserting that certain … Continue reading “7 Steps Online Companies Can Take to Manage Sales Tax Exposure”
Noosphere Acquires Fiksu for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7ae58f55-7752-448f-b111-74fa35543d0a Date 6/3/2016 Company Name Fiksu Mailing Address 31 Saint James Avenue Boston, MA 02116 USA Company Description Fiksu – The Leading Mobile App Marketing Platform for Acquiring Loyal App Users. Website http://www.fiksu.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms Now, Fiksu will operate as part of … Continue reading “Noosphere Acquires Fiksu for Undisclosed Sum”
Ethoplex Eyes Residential Customers for Fast Internet Service
Last month, federal antitrust regulators officially cleared the $65 billion merger between Charter Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CHTR]]) and Time Warner Cable, two of the country’s leading cable and Internet service providers (ISPs). The deal will bring some minor changes for residential Internet users in the Milwaukee area, where Time Warner had amassed significant market share. For … Continue reading “Ethoplex Eyes Residential Customers for Fast Internet Service”
A Startup CEO Visits Cuba in Transition
I just returned from several days visiting Cuba with several of my BFFs. No amount of pre-reading prepared me for the wonderful experience. Americans cannot go as “tourists,” but must go on an approved people-to-people exchange. As such, we visited schools, farms, a university, children’s programs, museums, churches, a factory and the like. I’m sharing … Continue reading “A Startup CEO Visits Cuba in Transition”
Silicon Valley Vets Aim to Shake Up Preclinical Testing With Vium
Cancer drugs have cured countless mice, only to fall short in people. It’s a well-known problem with drug development: Preclinical tests done on animals can be inaccurate, and that drives up the cost and time it takes to make a successful therapeutic. Several startups are developing technologies to improve preclinical testing—microchips that act like human … Continue reading “Silicon Valley Vets Aim to Shake Up Preclinical Testing With Vium”
Mitsubishi Electric Lab Applying Computer Vision to Driverless Cars
Add Mitsubishi Electric’s North American research group to the list of companies working on driverless car technologies in Cambridge, MA. The area around MIT has quickly asserted itself as one of the hotbeds of this emerging and increasingly competitive field. Toyota Research Institute and MIT startup NuTonomy are among the local players who have made … Continue reading “Mitsubishi Electric Lab Applying Computer Vision to Driverless Cars”
Colorado State, Meet Cognii: Artificial Intelligence in Education
Psychology students at Colorado State University will be getting a technological boost next semester, thanks to a new partnership between the Fort Collins, CO-based school and Boston-based technology startup Cognii. Founded in 2013, Cognii will work with CSU faculty members to integrate smart software into two undergraduate psychology courses centered on human development and family … Continue reading “Colorado State, Meet Cognii: Artificial Intelligence in Education”
Antera Therapeutics Lands $1,700,000 Seed Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=24133d3c-b342-4d22-8523-084545147317 Date 6/2/2016 Company Name Antera Therapeutics Mailing Address 125 Western Avenue Boston, MA 02134 USA Company Description Aralyte is an all-natural, organic food for special dietary use that makes getting your child 6g of peanut protein per week easy. Website http://www.aralyte.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,700,000 Transaction Round Seed … Continue reading “Antera Therapeutics Lands $1,700,000 Seed Funding”
EarlySense Receives $25,000,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=384680ee-d64c-47e6-a5df-1a77c1d08bb0 Date 6/2/2016 Company Name EarlySense Mailing Address 135 Beaver Street Waltham, MA 02452 USA Company Description EarlySense was founded in 2004 by an experienced medical device entrepreneurial team. EarlySense is a multi-disciplinary group of professionals working together to provide a breakthrough solution for the care of chronic patients. Website http://www.ealrysense.com Transaction … Continue reading “EarlySense Receives $25,000,000 New Funding”
Vista Equity Makes Second Deal in Two Days With Ping Identity Buyout
If you were thinking about selling your company for a couple billion dollars, now might just be the time to try it. A day after Vista Equity Partners announced it would buy marketing automation software developer Marketo for $1.79 billion, the private equity firm has announced a second deal: Vista said today it is paying an … Continue reading “Vista Equity Makes Second Deal in Two Days With Ping Identity Buyout”
Mass. Digital Health Initiative Unveils $26M Fund, Incubator Space
Massachusetts digital healthcare startups will have more resources to tap into, thanks to a new $25.8 million venture fund and an incubator space near Fenway Park unveiled today. The venture fund, dubbed the Massachusetts Innovation Catalyst Fund, will invest in digital health companies that are based in the state or have significant operations here. The … Continue reading “Mass. Digital Health Initiative Unveils $26M Fund, Incubator Space”
Saver Rate Ends Today for INFLUX—Grab Your Tickets Now
You’re already planning on attending INFLUX, so why wait any longer to buy your tickets? We’re lining up some of the most forward-thinking entrepreneurs, investors, and visionaries who are new to the Boston innovation scene—or blazing fresh trails. Join us for an afternoon of spotlight talks, fireside chats, and panel discussions that will delve into … Continue reading “Saver Rate Ends Today for INFLUX—Grab Your Tickets Now”
Salesforce Buys Demandware for $2.8B in Big E-Commerce Bet
Cloud business software giant Salesforce plans to snap up Demandware for $2.8 billion in cash, marking one of the biggest acquisitions of a Massachusetts tech company in recent memory (this side of the pending $67 billion Dell-EMC deal). In acquiring Burlington, MA-based Demandware (NYSE: [[ticker:DWRE]]), San Francisco-based Salesforce (NYSE: [[ticker:CRM]]) gains a big outpost in … Continue reading “Salesforce Buys Demandware for $2.8B in Big E-Commerce Bet”
RA Capital Seeds Peanut Allergy Prevention Startup With $1.7M
A Boston startup that aims to prevent babies from developing peanut allergies has raised $1.7 million in seed funding from RA Capital Management, a “crossover” investor that backs both public and private companies. That money will help Antera Therapeutics, which was founded in 2014, begin selling what it calls Aralyte, a liquid formula containing small … Continue reading “RA Capital Seeds Peanut Allergy Prevention Startup With $1.7M”
Romulus Revs Up $75M Fund: Drones, VR Startups Need Not Apply
If you want to know what’s hot in the startup world, talk to venture capitalist Krishna Gupta. But odds are, he’s not investing in those types of companies. And for good reason: they’re overhyped. Gupta (pictured) is the founder and general partner at Romulus Capital, a Boston-area venture firm that is announcing a new $75 … Continue reading “Romulus Revs Up $75M Fund: Drones, VR Startups Need Not Apply”
Spine Wave Secures $4,400,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f31e6c1b-fbce-422c-9e2c-174bdc04a3e3 Date 6/1/2016 Company Name Spine Wave Mailing Address Three Enterprise Drive Shelton, CT 06484 USA Company Description Spine Wave is a medical device company focused on the development and marketing of clinical solutions for three of the largest and fastest growing spinal market segments: nuclear replacement and augmentation, vertebral compression fracture … Continue reading “Spine Wave Secures $4,400,000 New Round”
Robin Lands $7,000,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=620764f5-6669-4c89-9e68-6551dc2ab6aa Date 6/1/2016 Company Name Robin Mailing Address 87 Summer St 2nd Floor Boston, MA 02110 USA Company Description Robin helps people and organizations spend more time on things they value and less on process. Let’s make the work day delightful, one room at a time. Website http://www.robinpowered.com Transaction Type Venture Equity … Continue reading “Robin Lands $7,000,000 New Funding”
Two Years After Paying $680M, BioMarin Shelves Duchenne Drug
BioMarin Pharmaceutical took a $680 million gamble when it bought Prosensa in 2014 for its experimental Duchenne muscular dystrophy treatment. Drisapersen (Kydrisa) had already failed a Phase 3 trial, but BioMarin bet it could dig through the data and win FDA approval. It lost that bet, and now BioMarin (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BMRN]]) is pulling the plug … Continue reading “Two Years After Paying $680M, BioMarin Shelves Duchenne Drug”
Is Technology Crucial for Innovation?
Technology is crucial for innovation—and innovation in technology is critical to innovation in just about every other arena. Why? Because it’s the forward march of technology that allows us to do more with less, improving our lives in the process. Just look at how we’re living right now. We communicate worldwide via email or Skype. … Continue reading “Is Technology Crucial for Innovation?”
CoachUp Founder Backs New Startup to Connect Veterans and Sports
Coming off the Memorial Day holiday, here’s an interesting new company in town. It’s called Athletes of Valor, and it’s trying to provide support for U.S. servicemen and women who are transitioning back to civilian life and want to play college sports. It may sound like a niche market. But over the next four years, … Continue reading “CoachUp Founder Backs New Startup to Connect Veterans and Sports”
Amicus Nabs First Approval as EU Gives Green Light to Fabry Drug
Amicus Therapeutics is as familiar with the ups and downs of the drugmaking business as anyone. It has dealt with clinical failures, regulatory setbacks, restructurings, and more over a roughly 15-year history. But now the Cranbury, NJ-based company’s big day has finally arrived: Regulators in Europe have approved migalastat (Galafold), the first Amicus drug to … Continue reading “Amicus Nabs First Approval as EU Gives Green Light to Fabry Drug”
Exit Interview: Lita Nelsen on MIT Tech Transfer, Startups & Culture
[Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories examining entrepreneurship on MIT’s campus and beyond.] MIT’s approach to nurturing entrepreneurship has changed a lot over the past 50 years. Lita Nelsen has seen it up close—and played a part in its evolution—from her studies there in the 1960s, to her business-school fellowship in … Continue reading “Exit Interview: Lita Nelsen on MIT Tech Transfer, Startups & Culture”
Intercept’s Liver Drug Wins FDA Approval To Treat Rare Disease
[Updated, 5/31/16, see below] The FDA ended a busy week by giving a thumbs-up late Friday to obeticholic acid as a treatment for primary biliary cirrhosis, a rare disease in which a patient’s own immune system attacks the liver. Obeticholic acid, to be marketed under the brand Ocaliva, is being developed by Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: … Continue reading “Intercept’s Liver Drug Wins FDA Approval To Treat Rare Disease”
Busy FDA Week Ends With Two Drug Approvals: Another Might Be on Way
The new FDA commissioner Robert Califf told a conference audience this week that he expected “a flood” of new treatments in the near future. Perhaps he meant the following few days. His agency approved two drugs to close out the week, and another decision is due by Sunday. The FDA announced late Friday afternoon that … Continue reading “Busy FDA Week Ends With Two Drug Approvals: Another Might Be on Way”