Want to make a few extra (thousand) bucks? For software developers, it’s possible if you add a few trending programming languages to your resume, according to Seattle-based PayScale, a crowdsourcing and data analytics company that seeks out and provides salary information. Developers and programmers who learn the Go or Scala computer programming languages will make … Continue reading “Learn These Tech Skills & Get a Raise, PayScale Report Says”
Category: Boston
Allurion Technologies Receives $6,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=77cfbfeb-299d-4c31-b1fc-631860a9861b Date 5/17/2016 Company Name Allurion Technologies Mailing Address 888 Worcester Street Wellesley, MA 02482 USA Company Description Developers of the Elipse: the world’s first procedureless gastric balloon for weight loss. Website http://www.allurion.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $6,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed by the … Continue reading “Allurion Technologies Receives $6,000,000 New Funding Round”
Mitralign Garners $39,800,000 Series E Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5d11890b-d5d0-40bd-8510-a531cea9cf3e Date 5/17/2016 Company Name Mitralign Mailing Address 3 Highwood Drive Tewksbury, MA 01876 USA Company Description We are currently developing an innovative, catheter- based mitral valve repair system that not only provides an alternative to open heart surgery but emulates the traditional surgical repair technique. The condition treated,mitral valve regurgitation (MR), … Continue reading “Mitralign Garners $39,800,000 Series E Funding”
CarGurus CEO on Profitable Tech Startups, and Why Uber Is Road Kill
CarGurus might be the biggest Boston-area consumer tech company you’ve never heard of, but founder and CEO Langley Steinert is ready to change that. Based in Cambridge, MA, the decade-old firm has grown to more than $100 million in annual revenue and around 300 employees, with much of that growth coming in the past couple … Continue reading “CarGurus CEO on Profitable Tech Startups, and Why Uber Is Road Kill”
Boston Ride-Hailing Service Fasten Seeks Inroads to Austin Market
Austin—In the wake of Uber and Lyft’s departure from Austin, a Boston-based ride-hailing service said it will launch its service later this month. The company has said it will comply with the city’s regulations regarding background checks of drivers. Uber and Lyft had fought against those rules, saying they were an unnecessary infringement on their … Continue reading “Boston Ride-Hailing Service Fasten Seeks Inroads to Austin Market”
Biogen Turns To UPenn Gene Therapy Pioneers in Wide-Ranging Alliance
Even though it recently decided to unload a gene therapy for hemophilia into a yet-to-be-named spin-out company, Biogen, one of biotech’s most risk-taking firms, is doubling down on gene therapy for other diseases. The Cambridge, MA-based company said today it is forming an alliance that could be worth $2 billion with two of the field’s … Continue reading “Biogen Turns To UPenn Gene Therapy Pioneers in Wide-Ranging Alliance”
Internal Threats: 10 Ways to Protect Your Business
The topic of cybercriminals can invoke the image of a scruffy-looking hacker glaring at a computer screen from a mysterious location. But the most serious threats to your business’s information security could be much closer than you think. A growing number of small and midsize businesses consider internal security breaches—accidental and malicious—from employees a bigger … Continue reading “Internal Threats: 10 Ways to Protect Your Business”
EnBiotix Obtains Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=da35cd84-1121-44c9-a7f7-7687aab9bb6d Date 5/16/2016 Company Name EnBiotix Mailing Address Undisclosed Cambridge, MA 98032 USA Company Description EnBiotix is a product-focused bioengineering company commercializing anti-infective inventions of EnBiotix co-founder and SAB Chair Professor James J. Collins. Website http://www.enbiotix.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were … Continue reading “EnBiotix Obtains Series A Round”
White House Wants to Spend $121M on National Microbiome Initiative
The Obama administration announced this morning a public-private initiative to study the collections of microorganisms that live on or in humans and practically everywhere else on Earth. More than 100 other institutions are joining the administration with funding and resources in what’s being billed as the National Microbiome Initiative. The microbiome has become a subject … Continue reading “White House Wants to Spend $121M on National Microbiome Initiative”
See the Future of Robotics and A.I. at Robo Madness West, 6/22
Calling all robot lovers: The time is now to book June 22 on your calendar. That’s the day of Robo Madness West, a celebration of (and critical look at) the exploding fields of robotics and artificial intelligence among startups and big companies alike. Our fifth annual Bay Area robotics event is being held in partnership … Continue reading “See the Future of Robotics and A.I. at Robo Madness West, 6/22”
Wall Street Bids Up Acacia in 2nd Tech IPO of 2016, 1st in MA
The tech IPO drought has momentarily subsided. Acacia Communications raised $103.5 million in its stock market debut today, marking the first Massachusetts tech firm, and second nationwide, to go public this year. Wall Street may be showing it prefers substance over flash, bidding up the stock price of the profitable (if unsexy) company in early … Continue reading “Wall Street Bids Up Acacia in 2nd Tech IPO of 2016, 1st in MA”
Series A for Accion: Space Tech Startup Gets $7.5M
Accion Systems, a space-technology startup led by MIT graduates, has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding. The news was reported by TechCrunch. The lead investor is Shasta Ventures, with RRE Ventures, Founder Collective, and Slow Ventures also participating in the round, according to the report. Accion had previously raised seed money from investors including … Continue reading “Series A for Accion: Space Tech Startup Gets $7.5M”
Amazon, Mitsubishi Advancing Speech Technology in Boston
[Updated 5/13/16, 9:56 a.m. See below.] Computer scientists have been trying to train software-powered machines to reliably understand and respond to human speech for years. They seem to have turned a corner recently. Two of the latest examples were highlighted Thursday in Boston, as researchers from Amazon and Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL) briefly discussed … Continue reading “Amazon, Mitsubishi Advancing Speech Technology in Boston”
Cogito Garners $1,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=917bd1f0-5804-443f-a3c1-6113dfbec57e Date 5/13/2016 Company Name Cogito Mailing Address 7 Water Street Boston, MA 02109 USA Company Description Cogito delivers human behavior analytics, enabling better customer acquisition, engagement and retention for enterprise clients. Website http://www.cogitocorp.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. 1 … Continue reading “Cogito Garners $1,000,000 New Financing”
Umbie DentalCare Lands $2,581,469 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fa714a2b-5c15-4296-b19d-e44ede18b207 Date 5/13/2016 Company Name Umbie DentalCare Mailing Address 222 Pitkin St. East Hartford, CT 06108 USA Company Description Umbie has developed dental office practice management software. Website http://www.umbiedentalcare.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,581,469 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. 17 investors participated in the offering. … Continue reading “Umbie DentalCare Lands $2,581,469 New Round”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: NY Bio, Gender Gap, Zafgen, PureTech & More
Biotech clusters aren’t built overnight. It takes years of work, a bit of luck, a collaborative atmosphere, and the wherewithal to keep plugging away through the ups and downs. New York is in the early stages of its life sciences quest, but it has arrived at a critical point in its growth that could make … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: NY Bio, Gender Gap, Zafgen, PureTech & More”
MIT’s Renovated Martin Trust Center Mimics Startup Offices: Photos
Step into the newly renovated Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship on MIT’s campus, and you might think you’ve mistakenly wandered into the office of a startup or co-working space. That’s the point. “A lot of our students want to start companies out of school,” says Tommy Long, the center’s chief of staff. “We wanted … Continue reading “MIT’s Renovated Martin Trust Center Mimics Startup Offices: Photos”
Amid Leadership Changes, NY Biotech Braces For its “Pivotal Moment”
Over the past five years, the narrative has changed for life sciences in New York. Biotech investors are, at long last, on the ground in the city looking for deals. High-profile startups have emerged. Yet the city’s biotech leaders know there are still challenges ahead. “This is a pivotal moment,” said Susan Solomon, the CEO of … Continue reading “Amid Leadership Changes, NY Biotech Braces For its “Pivotal Moment””
Hitchcock Out, Baum In at Dyn After Private Equity Takeover
The big thing that Dyn CEO Jeremy Hitchcock didn’t tell me (or anyone in the press) at the time of his company’s $50 million funding announcement Tuesday is that he’s stepping down. The timing is not all that surprising, except for the PR omission. From the outside at least, the company’s growth round from Pamplona … Continue reading “Hitchcock Out, Baum In at Dyn After Private Equity Takeover”
Accion Systems Obtains $6,000,783 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3c0db3db-2192-456a-99df-ca3789b7e3ce Date 5/12/2016 Company Name Accion Systems Mailing Address 56 Roland St. Boston, MA 02129 USA Company Description Accion Systems is printing propulsion systems for satellites based on proprietary technology developed at MIT. Our systems address an industry-wide issue: there are no suitable in-space propulsion options for small satellites, and systems designed … Continue reading “Accion Systems Obtains $6,000,783 New Financing”
Danny Hillis on Boston vs. CA, Last Days With Minsky, and His New Co
Danny Hillis co-founded the famous parallel computing company Thinking Machines in 1983, while doing his doctoral work at MIT under artificial intelligence pioneer Marvin Minsky. The company boasted one of the great corporate slogans of all time: “We’re building a machine that will be proud of us.” Thinking Machines might not have worked out (its … Continue reading “Danny Hillis on Boston vs. CA, Last Days With Minsky, and His New Co”
Pwnie Express Rides Off With $12.9M to Hunt Rogue Devices
Warning: everything you thought you knew about corporate cybersecurity is about to change. That’s according to Paul Paget, the CEO of Pwnie Express, a Boston-based startup that makes software and hardware for detecting unauthorized devices in the vicinity of a corporate network. Paget came up through IBM and Lotus before heading up two previous companies, … Continue reading “Pwnie Express Rides Off With $12.9M to Hunt Rogue Devices”
Investigation Finds Recyclers Ship E-Waste Overseas
Despite assurances otherwise, electronic waste dropped at collection sites around the U.S. is winding up in junkyards in Hong Kong, and elsewhere in Asia, where handling practices are imperiling workers and the surrounding environment, according to an investigation by the Seattle-based Basel Action Network. Recyclers tied to overseas shipments of e-waste include Total Reclaim, the largest e-waste handler serving the Pacific … Continue reading “Investigation Finds Recyclers Ship E-Waste Overseas”
Purple Carrot Obtains $5,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=13106611-2e6d-4cb4-a62f-808f3e24ff8f Date 5/11/2016 Company Name Purple Carrot Mailing Address 460 Hillside Ave Needham, MA 02494 USA Company Description Purple Carrot, founded in 2014, is the first plant-based meal kit delivery service that makes it possible for people to simply and conveniently create delicious, plant-based meals at home. Website http://www.thepurplecarrot.com Transaction Type Debt … Continue reading “Purple Carrot Obtains $5,000,000 New Financing Round”
Acer Therapeutics Lands $8,150,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c1e3e3b1-bcd4-4625-80b6-89685bba39f1 Date 5/11/2016 Company Name Acer Therapeutics Mailing Address 222 Third Street Cambridge, MA 02142 USA Company Description Acer Therapeutics is developing therapies with established clinical proof-of-concept for the treatment of serious, ultra-rare diseases with critical unmet medical need. Website http://www.acertx.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $8,150,000 Transaction Round Series B … Continue reading “Acer Therapeutics Lands $8,150,000 Series B Financing”
eTouches Garners $20,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0ef5c590-3bca-47d5-b963-8ad8fce3564a Date 5/11/2016 Company Name eTouches Mailing Address 13 Marshall Street Norwalk, CT 06854 USA Company Description Event management software platform that is the preferred solution for innovative event professionals. Website http://www.etouches.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $20,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. 9 investors participated … Continue reading “eTouches Garners $20,000,000 New Financing Round”
Pwnie Express Receives $12,900,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b44d9d6f-784e-4988-9147-feaa329ef952 Date 5/11/2016 Company Name Pwnie Express Mailing Address 268 Summer Street 2nd Floor Boston, MA 02210 USA Company Description Pwnie Express is the premier global provider of innovative, cost effective, rapid deployment penetration testing products. Their products have been incorporated into the cyber-security toolboxes of over one thousand security service providers, … Continue reading “Pwnie Express Receives $12,900,000 Series B Financing”
Stemina Gives Update on Autism Study, Tweaks Business Structure
Stemina Biomarker Discovery, a Madison, WI-based startup that is developing a blood-based test for diagnosing autism spectrum disorder (ASD), announced a trio of updates about its business on Tuesday: —More than 200 patients have enrolled in Stemina’s study of its experimental autism test that measures residues in the blood called metabolites. Early data from the … Continue reading “Stemina Gives Update on Autism Study, Tweaks Business Structure”
MGH Goes Epic: What I Learned in the Trenches
On April 2 at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the green charts went away. Every morning around 6:30 am since starting residency, my co-interns and I had frantically scrambled around the halls searching for these plastic binders, which contained the sole record of our patients’ vital signs. It was a ritual that blended equal parts anxiety, … Continue reading “MGH Goes Epic: What I Learned in the Trenches”
Watching the Web: Dyn Goes Big With $50M Growth Round
In one of the year’s largest funding rounds for New England tech, Dyn said today it has raised $50 million in new growth financing. The deal says a lot about where the Manchester, NH-based company is heading, along with the world of Internet traffic and performance monitoring—particularly in an era of increasingly complex IT tools … Continue reading “Watching the Web: Dyn Goes Big With $50M Growth Round”
Across The Board: Ideas To Narrow Biotech’s Gender Gap
The evidence is piling up. Companies with more women in charge are better businesses. So why are so many biotechs still led mainly by men? Saira Ramasastry, a former Merrill Lynch analyst, is now a Bay Area consultant on the boards of three biotechs, including Sangamo Biosciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGMO]]). Having benefited from female mentors such … Continue reading “Across The Board: Ideas To Narrow Biotech’s Gender Gap”
PureTech’s Alivio Debuts With Drug-Delivery Gel for Inflammation
Biotech company creator PureTech Health is celebrating Mother’s Day with twins. Hours after announcing its newest spinout, a cell therapy-focused startup, the company says it is launching Alivio Therapeutics to develop a therapy for chronic and acute inflammation. Alivio has a hydrogel material that it said is designed to adhere to inflamed tissue and deliver … Continue reading “PureTech’s Alivio Debuts With Drug-Delivery Gel for Inflammation”
Dyn Obtains $50,000,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=336fdfce-8342-42a1-904e-7b2f7ed20d0e Date 5/10/2016 Company Name Dyn Mailing Address 150 Dow Street – Tower Two Manchester, NH 03101 USA Company Description Dyn is a cloud-based Internet Performance company. Dyn helps companies monitor, control, and optimize online infrastructure using a best-in-class anycast DNS network and peerless network performance monitoring to provide managed DNS services, … Continue reading “Dyn Obtains $50,000,000 Series B Financing”
“Silicon Valley” Tech Actually Made by Massachusetts Companies
The Boston tech community thinks of itself as a net exporter of innovation—and that includes to places like Hollywood. Those of you watching this season’s “Silicon Valley” TV show will be interested to learn that “the box” product being made by the fictional startup Pied Piper is based on a Massachusetts company’s design. That would … Continue reading ““Silicon Valley” Tech Actually Made by Massachusetts Companies”
PureTech Gets into Cell Therapy With Vor Bio, But Keeps Details Close
PureTech Health tends to form companies at the nexus of a few different disciplines, like music as a therapy or video games to help diagnose neurological disease. But today it’s gone the more traditional biotech route and formed an oncology company—specifically, a startup called Vor BioPharma trying to stand out in the competitive, fast-moving field … Continue reading “PureTech Gets into Cell Therapy With Vor Bio, But Keeps Details Close”
Ariad Sells Off Europe Hub, Drug Rights in $140M Incyte Deal
Ariad Pharmaceuticals has been in the midst of a strategic overhaul under a new management regime, and today that effort has resulted in a big transaction. Incyte has just cut a deal to acquire all of Ariad’s assets in Europe, and some rights to the Cambridge, MA-based company’s flagship drug as well. Incyte (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INCY]]) … Continue reading “Ariad Sells Off Europe Hub, Drug Rights in $140M Incyte Deal”
Veering Off Topic With CloudLock CEO Gil Zimmermann
[Updated 5/10/16, 4:18 p.m. See below.] Next up in my series of meandering conversations with tech leaders: CloudLock CEO Gil Zimmermann. Zimmermann co-founded the cloud security software company in 2007 as Aprigo and shifted it to its current name and product focus in 2011. The firm, based in Waltham, MA, has raised some $35 million … Continue reading “Veering Off Topic With CloudLock CEO Gil Zimmermann”
Mary Lou Jepsen on Life Post-Facebook and New Startup, “Open Water”
I had long planned a phone call with Mary Lou Jepsen for this afternoon—a prep session for a chat I will be doing with her a week from Monday night at Xconomy’s Napa Summit, where she is the featured dinner speaker. It was to be a normal prep chat until I got to work this morning … Continue reading “Mary Lou Jepsen on Life Post-Facebook and New Startup, “Open Water””
Mary Lou Jepsen: A Timeline of Her Career in Advanced Display Tech
Mary Lou Jepsen’s plans for her new startup, Open Water, are quite ambitious. But if anyone can figure out a way to deliver powerful MRI technology via an affordable wearable device, it’s probably her. For over 20 years, Jepsen has been working on device displays and related technologies for some of the biggest names in tech. … Continue reading “Mary Lou Jepsen: A Timeline of Her Career in Advanced Display Tech”
How a Mobile Device Can Reduce Distracted Driving
Distracted driving is a major problem. In 2014, more than 30,000 people were killed and more than 430,000 injured in car crashes involving distracted drivers. Ironically, it may just be that the root of the problem – a smartphone – could actually be the solution. People know they shouldn’t, but they do. In a survey … Continue reading “How a Mobile Device Can Reduce Distracted Driving”
Epizyme Names Sanofi Cancer Exec New COO
Cambridge, MA-based Epizyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EPZM]]) has named Matthew Ros its new chief operating officer. Ros most recently ran Sanofi’s oncology business, and led Genzyme’s franchise in pompe disease before that.
Ford Expands Mobility Play with $182.2M Pivotal Investment
[Updated, 11:56am. See below] When Pivotal launched in 2013 with 1,250 employees and a valuation of over $1 billion, my colleague Wade Roush wrote that the cloud computing infrastructure firm “isn’t your typical startup.” Further proof of that came yesterday when Ford announced it was plunking down more than $182 million to continue its collaboration with Pivotal. Alan … Continue reading “Ford Expands Mobility Play with $182.2M Pivotal Investment”
Robo Madness West on June 22: Early Bird Rate Ends Today
Grab your ticket to attend Xconomy’s fifth annual robotics event in the Bay Area, held in partnership with the 2016 Sensors Expo & Conference. Leaders in robotics and artificial intelligence will discuss the opportunities and pitfalls, emerging technologies, and new business models in the industry. Join us on June 22 at the McEnery Convention Center … Continue reading “Robo Madness West on June 22: Early Bird Rate Ends Today”
Rockefeller Taps Yale Genetics Chief Richard Lifton As New President
Rockefeller University has named a replacement for its outgoing president Marc Tessier-Lavigne. Will the newcomer, famed Yale University geneticist Richard Lifton, be a ringleader for New York biotech like his predecessor? Late yesterday, Rockefeller filled the void left by Tessier-Lavigne, who is heading west to run Palo Alto, CA-based Stanford University in September. Rockefeller, based … Continue reading “Rockefeller Taps Yale Genetics Chief Richard Lifton As New President”
Vetting Cloud Security Companies: Scale VC Sets The Scene
[Corrected 5/11/16, 12:59 pm. See below.] When Ariel Tseitlin joined Netflix in 2011 to help it transition from a movie DVD rental company to a Web-based streaming entertainment service, his team had to build Netflix’s cloud architecture. There was nothing out there to buy, Tseitlin says. The cybersecurity industry was also a fraction of its … Continue reading “Vetting Cloud Security Companies: Scale VC Sets The Scene”
Boston Tech Watch: Wayfair, EMC, PillPack, Adult Beverages, & More
This week in Boston tech, we’re tracking the latest venture capital deals, office relocations, the future of the EMC brand, and updates on local alcohol-related tech startups. Kick off your weekend the right way, by reading on: New venture funding —1366 Technologies, a Bedford, MA-based developer and manufacturer of solar power components, has tacked $10 … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: Wayfair, EMC, PillPack, Adult Beverages, & More”
Humanyze Secures $4,000,000 Series A Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=bbe96994-16b8-4533-b356-3b1be3c5749e Date 5/6/2016 Company Name Humanyze Mailing Address 18 Tremont St. Boston, MA 02108 USA Company Description Humanyze was born out of a passion for helping organizations by uncovering and understanding communication networks. Our social sensing and analytics platform, developed at MIT, enables companies to quantify social interactions that were previously unmeasurable … Continue reading “Humanyze Secures $4,000,000 Series A Funding”
Intarcia Therapeutics Garners $75,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6b1aebf2-476c-46d6-83f3-df1e3595401b Date 5/6/2016 Company Name Intarcia Therapeutics Mailing Address 155 Seaport Boulevard 11th Floor Boston, MA 02210 USA Company Description Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc., is a rapidly emerging biopharmaceutical company committed to developing innovative therapies that merge medicine with technology, and have the potential to transform therapeutic categories. Website http://www.intarcia.com Transaction Type Debt … Continue reading “Intarcia Therapeutics Garners $75,000,000 New Round”
CRISPR Drug Maker Intellia Therapeutics Sells $108M In IPO Shares
The latest biopharmaceutical company testing Wall Street’s belief in the promise of gene modification has gone public. Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NTLA]]) of Cambridge, MA, which owns rights to an important but disputed piece of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology, sold 6 million shares at $18 each this evening to raise $108 million. Its stock will … Continue reading “CRISPR Drug Maker Intellia Therapeutics Sells $108M In IPO Shares”
Humanyze Snags $4M to Push Wearable “Fitbit For Your Career”
Smartphones and wearable devices enable people to monitor health metrics like heart rate and how many steps they take in a day, information that can help them take charge of their physical well-being. Humanyze is trying to accomplish something similar with devices and software that track work habits and, in theory, boost job performance and … Continue reading “Humanyze Snags $4M to Push Wearable “Fitbit For Your Career””