What do vaccines have to do with batteries? Let your mind’s eye travel to the cellular membrane, where a ligand is enveloped by a receptor, spurring a subtle change in the cell. (Bear with me.) In some respects, it’s similar to what’s happening inside a battery when electrolytes interact with engineered materials to cause a … Continue reading “The Xconversation: Vaccine Developer Meets Energy Innovator, Part I”
Category: Boston
Is Money Everything? Behind the Scenes of Tech Hiring
Have you tried to hire a software developer recently? The current job market is bananas! It’s crazy in Boston. New York City is booming with tech startups. In Silicon Valley and the Bay Area, the cost of living is exploding as salaries in the tech sector grow. It’s getting more expensive every year to hire … Continue reading “Is Money Everything? Behind the Scenes of Tech Hiring”
Kuvée Secures $6,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=66056860-247d-4e59-a1a9-2b68edd28cc5 Date 3/29/2016 Company Name Kuvée Mailing Address 125 Kingston Street 3rd Floor Boston, MA 02111 USA Company Description If you like wine as much as we do, you’ll love Kuvée: it’s the world’s first and only bottle that ensures your last glass of wine is just as great as your first. … Continue reading “Kuvée Secures $6,000,000 New Round”
VionX Energy Secures $5,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=61040eb3-5353-4e26-9b43-6e073b0c41e2 Date 3/29/2016 Company Name VionX Energy Mailing Address 12A Cabot Road Woburn, MA 01801 USA Company Description Backed by premier global partners, Vionx has a new energy storage solution for the grid that optimizes proven flow battery technology to deliver long run-time and cost-competitive 20-year operation. Website http://www.vionxenergy.com Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “VionX Energy Secures $5,000,000 New Funding Round”
Passport Systems Obtains $3,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=35d9e1dd-ead8-4c07-a681-9caad5012856 Date 3/29/2016 Company Name Passport Systems Mailing Address 70 Treble Cove Road 1st Floor Billerica, MA 01862 USA Company Description Passport was founded in December 2002 with the express purpose of commercializing NRF technology to solve one of the world’s most pressing security problems, the non-intrusive inspection of cargo containers. Website … Continue reading “Passport Systems Obtains $3,000,000 New Financing Round”
Hopper Garners $16,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fe26269a-b7d0-415b-a6df-ee616bcafecd Date 3/29/2016 Company Name Hopper Mailing Address 275 Third Street Cambridge, MA 02142 USA Company Description At Hopper, we are working hard to transform this process using big data and sophisticated algorithms. Our mission is to bring the joy and inspiration back to travel planning. Stay tuned in late 2012 for … Continue reading “Hopper Garners $16,000,000 New Financing”
Selling Former Perot Systems Means $3B in Cash For Dell’s EMC Buyout
Austin—Dell is now at least a few billion dollars closer to its $67 billion buyout of Hopkinton, MA-based EMC. The Round Rock, TX-based computing giant is selling its IT services business for more than $3 billion to NTT Data Corp., a publicly traded company that was spun out from Japanese telecom Nippon Telegraph and Telephone … Continue reading “Selling Former Perot Systems Means $3B in Cash For Dell’s EMC Buyout”
Founder Dialogues With CarGurus’ Langley Steinert
The latest event in Founder Collective’s series of “Founder Dialogues” will feature Langley Steinert, founder and CEO of CarGurus and co-founder of TripAdvisor. Founder Collective managing partner Eric Paley will moderate the discussion. For more info, click here.
Pitch In: Competing for Social Change
From the event organizer: “Please join us on May 11th for Power Launch’s inaugural social impact competition – Pitch In. Exceptional social entrepreneurs will pitch their visionary ideas to create meaningful social change. A judging panel of investors, field experts and our audience will award cash and in-kind prizes to one, or all. Join us … Continue reading “Pitch In: Competing for Social Change”
Hopper Snags $16M to Accelerate Flight-Search App’s Growth
[Updated 12/15/16, 8:06 am. See below.] Hopper spent several years building a travel discovery website powered by a gigantic trove of data, only to switch gears in favor of an app that helps consumers find and book cheap flights. It’s still early, but that decision seems to be bearing fruit. More than 3 million people have … Continue reading “Hopper Snags $16M to Accelerate Flight-Search App’s Growth”
Kuvée Gulps $6M For Smart Wine Bottle as Keurig Model Proliferates
Keurig’s popular single-serve coffee makers have inspired a host of startups trying to replicate the approach with smoothies, craft beer, cocktails, soup, and more. Convince people that purchasing your appliance will make their lives easier, the theory goes, and they won’t mind getting locked into buying a steady supply of the desired goods from your … Continue reading “Kuvée Gulps $6M For Smart Wine Bottle as Keurig Model Proliferates”
With New Data, Alder Keeps Pace in Migraine Drug Race
[Updated, 4:39 pm, see below] There aren’t many effective treatments out there for the millions of Americans who suffer from migraines. But over the past few years, a new class of drugs that might actually prevent these debilitating headaches from occurring—rather than just mute them when they happen—has been inching towards the market. One of … Continue reading “With New Data, Alder Keeps Pace in Migraine Drug Race”
Emulate Gets $28M to Roll Out “Plug and Play” Organ-on-Chip Tech
One step at a time, Emulate has been trying to use microchip systems to simulate organs and diseases for testing—a lung with asthma or dangerous fluid buildup, and perhaps someday a brain with Alzheimer’s. It’s part of an ambitious goal of helping to change preclinical drug development and improve the efficiency of drug-making. Now Emulate … Continue reading “Emulate Gets $28M to Roll Out “Plug and Play” Organ-on-Chip Tech”
How VR, AR Innovation Can Finally Fulfill Its Potential
This post was co-authored by Matt McIlwain, managing director, Madrona Venture Group, and Steve Seitz, professor of computer science and engineering at University of Washington and “teleportation lead” at Google. Virtual reality (VR), which immerses the user in the virtual world, and augmented reality (AR), which overlays digital information onto the physical world, are being … Continue reading “How VR, AR Innovation Can Finally Fulfill Its Potential”
Appthority Flags Bad Apps, Recruits Employees As Cyber Defenders
Employers shifting their operations to mobile computing have opened the door to BYOD—telling employees it’s OK to Bring Your Own Device and use it for work tasks. Employees have extended that to BYOA–Bring Your Own Apps, says San Francisco security company Appthority in its latest mobile threat report. Workers, just like consumers, download apps without … Continue reading “Appthority Flags Bad Apps, Recruits Employees As Cyber Defenders”
Emulate Secures $28,000,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=30c58fba-c9a2-4d36-984d-37165b2597b2 Date 3/28/2016 Company Name Emulate Mailing Address 27 Drydock Avenue 5th Floor Cambridge, MA 02210 USA Company Description Emulate launches to commercialize automated human Organs-on-Chips platform to accelerate drug development, detect toxicities and advance personalized medicine. Website http://www.emulatebio.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $28,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “Emulate Secures $28,000,000 Series B Financing”
Fullbridge Obtains $3,985,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=efe651b3-90f1-4b41-a081-c796046491fb Date 3/28/2016 Company Name Fullbridge Mailing Address 38 Chauncy Street Boston, MA 02111 USA Company Description The Fullbridge Program was founded in July 2010 by husband and wife team, Peter Olson (former Chairman and CEO of Random House) and Candice Carpenter Olson (former founder and CEO of iVilliage). The company is … Continue reading “Fullbridge Obtains $3,985,000 New Funding”
As Equity Crowdfunding Debuts in U.S., Will More Regulations Follow?
Ready or not, equity crowdfunding is coming to the U.S. this spring. The funding mechanism allows companies to sell shares of their firms to the general public (not just accredited investors) through online portals. The practice has already gained traction in places like the U.K. in recent years, but it has taken a while to … Continue reading “As Equity Crowdfunding Debuts in U.S., Will More Regulations Follow?”
ArthroMeda Lands $1,924,094 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b76f4bdb-2505-407a-a00b-ab0768ee7586 Date 3/25/2016 Company Name ArthroMeda Mailing Address 75 Sandy Pond Road Ayer, MA 01432 USA Company Description ArthroMeda Inc., an Ayer, Massachusetts based developer of medical devices. Co-founded by PJ Anand, Chairman, Mehran Aghazadeh, inventor of the technology, ArthroCAD focuses on developing solutions to improve surgical outcomes for patients undergoing joint … Continue reading “ArthroMeda Lands $1,924,094 New Funding Round”
Restructuring Looms for Forum as Neuro Drug Fails Key Clinical Test
Forum Pharmaceuticals has been pursuing a more than decade-long quest to develop a drug that might help people with a variety of neurological disorders to think more clearly. Unfortunately, however, it’s come up short in its biggest test to date—two large Phase 3 clinical trials in patients with schizophrenia. Waltham, MA-based Forum revealed the topline … Continue reading “Restructuring Looms for Forum as Neuro Drug Fails Key Clinical Test”
Gerngross, Singer Join “What’s Hot in Boston Biotech” on April 6
We’re now less than two weeks away from our annual biotech bash in Boston, but we’ve got a few new tidbits to share—two new speakers have come aboard to round out the program. The first new name is Tillman Gerngross, the Dartmouth College professor, founder of antibody shop Adimab, and scientist-turned-scientific businessman, as we wrote … Continue reading “Gerngross, Singer Join “What’s Hot in Boston Biotech” on April 6”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Harvard’s Haul, Patent Fights, Padlock & More
Biotech news on the East Coast runs the gamut this week, from financings to buyouts, a record licensing deal, a new startup, and some high-stakes patent fights. Let’s get right to it. —Merck (NYSE: [[ticker:MRK]]) this week paid Harvard University $20 million up front to license a group of potential cancer drugs from the labs … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Harvard’s Haul, Patent Fights, Padlock & More”
LogicSource Obtains $2,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e6e3e62f-ab49-43cd-84fd-926c2e16bd9f Date 3/24/2016 Company Name LogicSource Mailing Address 20 Marshall Street South Norwalk, CT 06854 USA Company Description LogicSource is a sourcing solutions firm serving a broad range of industries, including but not limited to, retail, consumer packaged goods, finance, insurance, travel & leisure and healthcare. Website http://www.logicsource.com Transaction Type Venture Equity … Continue reading “LogicSource Obtains $2,000,000 New Financing Round”
CRISPR And Beyond: UCSD-Doudna Work Attracts Paul Allen’s Millions
CRISPR-Cas9 is well known, by people who follow science and some who don’t, as the new DNA editing tool that one day might cure genetic diseases or lead to designer babies. Or both. Whether those headline-grabbing scenarios come true, or CRISPR-Cas9 just remains a useful tool for all kinds of biological research, one thing is … Continue reading “CRISPR And Beyond: UCSD-Doudna Work Attracts Paul Allen’s Millions”
Latest MA-NY Deals: GreatHorn, Tinkergarten, Greentown Labs, NYC ACRE
Massachusetts and New York are bitter sports rivals, but when it comes to business, the exchanges often end in handshakes, not heckling. Here are some of the latest examples of partnerships happening along the Northeast corridor: —GreatHorn, a Belmont, MA-based provider of security software for cloud communications (think Google apps and Microsoft Office 365), snagged … Continue reading “Latest MA-NY Deals: GreatHorn, Tinkergarten, Greentown Labs, NYC ACRE”
Quanterix Expands in Diagnostics With $46M in New Cash
A quick update on a life sciences company we’ve been watching for years. Lexington, MA-based Quanterix has secured $46 million in Series D financing, led by new investors Arch Overage Fund, Cormorant Asset Management, and Trinitas Capital. Some of the company’s previous investors—Arch Venture Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, Tufts University, and co-founder David Walt (a … Continue reading “Quanterix Expands in Diagnostics With $46M in New Cash”
Tarveda Formally Spins Out Placon to Advance Platinum Cancer Drugs
Blend Therapeutics rebranded at “Tarveda Therapeutics” a few months ago to reflect the strategic change the company underwent in 2015. A prospective cancer drug was spun into a new startup as part of that undertaking, and today, that company—Placon Therapeutics—has formally launched. Placon, based in Cambridge, MA, is advancing what had been Tarveda’s lead drug, … Continue reading “Tarveda Formally Spins Out Placon to Advance Platinum Cancer Drugs”
Gilman Scores for Atlas Again as Bristol Buys Padlock for up to $600M
For the second time in just over four years, former Biogen research executive Michael Gilman has steered a startup towards a buyout. This time, it’s Padlock Therapeutics, a fledgling developer of autoimmune disease drugs that’s about to join Bristol-Myers Squibb’s portfolio. Bristol (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]) has agreed to acquire Padlock in a deal that could be … Continue reading “Gilman Scores for Atlas Again as Bristol Buys Padlock for up to $600M”
Dear Biopharma: Give Us Better Therapies for Pain
The CDC released on March 15th new guidelines that advise strict limits on the prescription of opioids for pain. These guidelines respond to a stunning increase in deaths and addiction related to the prescription of opioids like OxyContin and Percocet. The CDC recommended against providing patients more than a seven-day supply of opioids for acute … Continue reading “Dear Biopharma: Give Us Better Therapies for Pain”
Mylestoned Receives $1,500,000 Seed Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=47cecb56-02c3-47a3-9d6b-280e6fe2ded8 Date 3/23/2016 Company Name Mylestoned Mailing Address 500 Harrison Ave. Boston, MA 02118 USA Company Description Mylestoned provides a beta product that enables memory submission via a conversational text-messaging interface and delivers back a collection of memories for contributors to view and share. New memories can be added at any time. … Continue reading “Mylestoned Receives $1,500,000 Seed Funding”
Quanterix Receives $46,000,000 Series D Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=071acc2f-9010-41e7-af4b-a8f914b5be8c Date 3/23/2016 Company Name Quanterix Mailing Address 113 Hartwell Avenue Lexington, MA 02421 USA Company Description At Quanterix, our principal focus is to improve human health by providing physicians, drug developers, and researchers with the ability to detect and analyze important biomolecules within complex biological samples at the level of single … Continue reading “Quanterix Receives $46,000,000 Series D Funding”
Propel Marketing Acquires ThriveHive for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b7c50ff9-ade6-44fb-bd73-63c683cf8e98 Date 3/23/2016 Company Name ThriveHive Mailing Address 1 Main St Cambridge, MA 02142 USA Company Description ThriveHive is an all-in-one marketing platform that gives local businesses a custom marketing plan and provides the tools and expertise to do it all in one place. Website http://www.thrivehive.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount Undisclosed … Continue reading “Propel Marketing Acquires ThriveHive for Undisclosed Sum”
NY Bio Startup Syntimmune Gets $10M From Baxalta, Apple Tree
New York biotech is still a ways away from the life sciences startup factories in Boston and San Francisco. But the last few months have shown that some investment firms are willing to fund and grow new biotechs in Manhattan—the latest being a company called Syntimmune. Syntimmune hadn’t made an announcement since it was formed … Continue reading “NY Bio Startup Syntimmune Gets $10M From Baxalta, Apple Tree”
Propel Buys ThriveHive as Digital Marketing Firms Consolidate
HubSpot, Marketo, and Eloqua—now part of Oracle—represent a previous generation of marketing-tech companies. Now there’s a new crop, and it’s starting to make some noise around Boston. Propel Marketing, based in Quincy, MA, says today it has acquired ThriveHive, a 25-person startup in Cambridge, MA, for $11.8 million in cash. Both companies focus on digital … Continue reading “Propel Buys ThriveHive as Digital Marketing Firms Consolidate”
GreatHorn Garners $2,250,000 Seed Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5cc248cc-cccf-40a0-a70c-581470f9ed47 Date 3/22/2016 Company Name GreatHorn Mailing Address 116 Beech St. 2nd Floor Belmont, MA 02478 USA Company Description GreatHorn was founded in 2015 with a single mission: to help organizations defend themselves against modern cyberthreats. Website http://www.greathorn.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,250,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes GreatHorn will … Continue reading “GreatHorn Garners $2,250,000 Seed Round”
DraftKings, FanDuel Cease New York Operations, Eye Legislation
DraftKings and FanDuel have stopped operating paid online fantasy sports contests in New York as part of a deal with the state’s attorney general. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been trying to shut down the daily fantasy sports sites since late last year, when he issued a cease-and-desist letter and a state court … Continue reading “DraftKings, FanDuel Cease New York Operations, Eye Legislation”
Deathtech Rising: Mylestoned Unveils Interactive Memorial Software
A startup industry around “deathtech” seems to be emerging. Last fall, Xconomy was among the first to explore new business approaches to death in the digital age. At the time, Boston serial entrepreneur Dave Balter was mum about what he was developing with one of the companies we featured, Mylestoned. That changes today with the … Continue reading “Deathtech Rising: Mylestoned Unveils Interactive Memorial Software”
BioMarin Heads to FDA With Mixed Data For Rare Disease Drug
BioMarin Pharmaceutical had a setback in January when a gamble it had made on a Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug failed. The company has been rallying around data from other drugs in its pipeline, however, and one of its most important tests was a Phase 3 study that produced results this morning. Those data are mixed. … Continue reading “BioMarin Heads to FDA With Mixed Data For Rare Disease Drug”
Maxwell Health Gets $22M More to Simplify Health Benefits
Veer Gidwaney admits that he and his brother were probably a “little bit naïve” about the complexity of the healthcare industry when they started up Maxwell Health in 2012. Their startup provides Web-based software for buying and managing health insurance plans and other benefits, and runs an online marketplace for other human resources and health-related … Continue reading “Maxwell Health Gets $22M More to Simplify Health Benefits”
Tech Megatransfer: Merck Pays Harvard $20M For “Accelerated” Cancer Drugs
Some universities are more aggressive than others in looking for ways to move life science projects out of the academic lab and into companies, what’s often known as “tech transfer.” For Harvard University, the Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator is one such tool, and today it’s brought in a rather large chunk of change. Merck (NYSE: [[ticker:MRK]]) … Continue reading “Tech Megatransfer: Merck Pays Harvard $20M For “Accelerated” Cancer Drugs”
Beware the Potential Downside of Venture Capital Relationships
Conventional wisdom has it that entrepreneurs benefit from wide networks and strong ties with other organizations. Venture capital (VC) firms, in particular, are seen as a valuable source of funding, social status, technical knowledge, and expert advice for fledgling new businesses. But what if these same relationships can also create new liabilities for entrepreneurs? As … Continue reading “Beware the Potential Downside of Venture Capital Relationships”
Maxwell Health Receives $22,000,000 Series C Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=81605f18-8a42-42d6-8d0d-57f09e8473ee Date 3/21/2016 Company Name Maxwell Health Mailing Address 101 Tremont St. 11th Floor Boston, MA 021108 USA Company Description Maxwell Health dramatically simplifies employee benefits for businesses, with a SaaS platform and service experience that reduces the cost of benefits while also improving employee health. Added benefits include a concierge service … Continue reading “Maxwell Health Receives $22,000,000 Series C Round”
Former Faster Cures, Poliwogg Exec Greg Simon To Lead Cancer Moonshot
The “cancer moonshot” initiative that Vice President Joe Biden has been promoting for several months now has an executive director. First reported in the New York Times, Biden has named Greg Simon to lead the $195 million project, which is meant to coordinate and speed up cancer research. Simon was most recently CEO of the … Continue reading “Former Faster Cures, Poliwogg Exec Greg Simon To Lead Cancer Moonshot”
Next Step Living, Once a Promising Energy Startup, Shuts Down
Next Step Living, one of Boston’s biggest bets in energy efficiency, has shut down. Greentech Media first reported the news Thursday, and Next Step Living confirmed on its website that it is ending operations, effective today. “After eight years, and tens of thousands of customers served, we are incredibly grateful to all of our team … Continue reading “Next Step Living, Once a Promising Energy Startup, Shuts Down”
Only a Few Tix and Demo Tables Left for Robo Madness—Get Yours Now
Robo Madness: The A.I. Explosion is still almost two weeks away. But time to get tickets and demo tables is running out—as we are almost sold out of both. Not only will this year’s robotics forum feature fireside chats, panel discussions, and engaging keynotes with some of Boston’s top leaders in the field, we are … Continue reading “Only a Few Tix and Demo Tables Left for Robo Madness—Get Yours Now”
Google and Boston Dynamics: Do Humanoid Robots Need an MVP?
Bloomberg reported Thursday that Google’s parent company has put Boston Dynamics, a prominent robotics division, up for sale. According to the report, which cited anonymous sources, Alphabet executives think “Boston Dynamics isn’t likely to produce a marketable product in the next few years.” Possible acquirers would include Toyota Research Institute and Amazon, the report said. … Continue reading “Google and Boston Dynamics: Do Humanoid Robots Need an MVP?”
Can You Land an IT Job If You’re Self-Taught?
The path to a successful career used to be so straightforward. You’d graduate high school, go to college, earn your undergraduate and maybe even your graduate degree, then hit the job market for a full-time job. Employers knew exactly what they were looking for: candidates with degrees from reputable colleges who could demonstrate a significant … Continue reading “Can You Land an IT Job If You’re Self-Taught?”
East Coast Bio Roundup: PCSK9 Battle, NYU Startups, Blueprint & More
Much of the East Coast is green today for St. Patrick’s Day, but overall it’s been another red week for biotech. Indexes continued to slump despite some good data from the likes of Celator Pharmaceuticals of Ewing, NJ. More on that and the rest of your East Coast news below. —The battle between rival developers … Continue reading “East Coast Bio Roundup: PCSK9 Battle, NYU Startups, Blueprint & More”
Cagnoni Joins CRISPR Tx Board, Coles Named Chairman
Cambridge, MA, and Basel-based CRISPR Therapeutics has bolstered its board of directors. Yumanity Therapeutics CEO and former Onyx Pharmaceuticals CEO Tony Coles—who was already on CRISPR’s board—was named chairman, replacing Versant Ventures managing director Brad Bolzon. Pablo Cagnoni, another Onyx veteran and currently the president and CEO of South San Francisco, CA, startup Tizona Therapeutics, … Continue reading “Cagnoni Joins CRISPR Tx Board, Coles Named Chairman”
Saver Rate Ends Today for What’s Hot in Boston Biotech
We’re just a few weeks away from What’s Hot in Boston Biotech—and we’re offering you the chance to save $75. It all takes place on Wednesday, April 6, at Biogen in Cambridge, MA. Join us for fireside chats, spotlight talks, interactive discussions, and more with some of Boston’s top entrepreneurs, investors, and leaders in the … Continue reading “Saver Rate Ends Today for What’s Hot in Boston Biotech”