Category: Boulder/Denver

Intel’s Diane Bryant Blazing Trail From Data Centers to Next Era of IT

In a world of apps, big data, and cloud connectivity, it can be hard to remember that there’s more to tech innovation than just software. Then you meet someone like Diane Bryant, and your worldview shifts. Bryant is senior vice president and general manager of the datacenter and connected systems group at Intel. You know, … Continue reading “Intel’s Diane Bryant Blazing Trail From Data Centers to Next Era of IT”

U.S. Venture Activity Remains Steady as IPOs Rise in Second Quarter

Venture-backed IPOs staged something of a comeback during the second quarter, as 22 VC-backed startups went public with an aggregated valuation of about $9.6 billion. Healthcare companies made up about half of those IPOs, according to the venture-data tracking firm, CB Insights. Still, it was a relatively modest period for VC activity. CB Insights says … Continue reading “U.S. Venture Activity Remains Steady as IPOs Rise in Second Quarter”

Ping Identity Secures $44,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b37863cb-cbf9-4b26-bbac-3dd3b6da4d99 Date 7/16/2013 Company Name Ping Identity Mailing Address 1001 17th Street Denver, CO 80202 Company Description Ping Identity Corporation’s market-leading sign-on management technology establishes a benchmark in the Identity Management Industry. Website http://www.pingidentity.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $44,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The latest investment signals a rapid … Continue reading “Ping Identity Secures $44,000,000 New Round”

Trendspotting: Platform Ecosystems

For big enterprise services companies, the hot new trend is having a cloud-hosted platform for third-party applications. These platforms give app developers the resources they need to build, launch, promote, and integrate their apps with other businesses. This not only creates a bundle of exceptional business tools but it also creates a hotbed of savvy … Continue reading “Trendspotting: Platform Ecosystems”

Why I Won’t Cheer If Onyx Pharma Is Sold for Megabucks

Sometime in the coming weeks, South San Francisco-based Onyx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ONXX]]) will probably be acquired by some big drugmaker for more than $10 billion. Shareholders will count their profits. Analysts will applaud. Financial media will speculate about whether this deal will spark more acquisitions in the biotech industry. But I won’t be cheering. I’ll … Continue reading “Why I Won’t Cheer If Onyx Pharma Is Sold for Megabucks”

Mile High Roundup: A Big Biofuel Moves In and New Energy for Wind

Welcome to the Mile High Roundup, a fortnightly review and recap of some of the interesting things that have happened over the past two weeks in the tech scene in Boulder, Denver, and around Colorado. It’s no secret tons of cool stuff is happening around the state, and this is a chance to catch up. … Continue reading “Mile High Roundup: A Big Biofuel Moves In and New Energy for Wind”

New Incentive Deal with Chinese City Brightens Ascent Solar’s Future

Maybe it’s an example of the old saying “if you can’t beat them, join them.” Ascent Solar Technologies, a Colorado-based designer and maker of thin-film photovoltaic technology, announced this week it has entered into an agreement with the Chinese city of Suqian that could lead to a total of $500 million in investments that would … Continue reading “New Incentive Deal with Chinese City Brightens Ascent Solar’s Future”

10 New Productivity Tricks for Your Old iPhone

As you can probably tell from my calendar (pictured in the first photo above), I’m jetting off to Michigan today for a week’s vacation with my family. For me, vacation is a time to put aside my gadgets—or at least, turn off my e-mail—and focus on sun, sailing, and cervezas. But for everyone who has … Continue reading “10 New Productivity Tricks for Your Old iPhone”

Aventura Receives $3,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=46980dc4-3a30-40ba-9e8a-aaff68c59c7b Date 7/12/2013 Company Name Aventura Mailing Address 1001 17th St. Denver, CO 80202 Company Description Aventura provides healthcare IT and workflow solutions for clinicians. Website http://www.aventurahq.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. M&A Terms Venture Investor Undisclosed

Microsoft’s Reboot: Rashid, DelBene, Mundie Reassigned or Retiring

[Updated 3:20 pm with detail] The world of Microsoft watchers knew it was coming: a major reorganization of the company around CEO Steve Ballmer’s vision of a more unified “devices and services” business. Today, we got the details from Ballmer himself, through his all-staff memo and a New York Times interview. It’s a dramatic makeover. … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Reboot: Rashid, DelBene, Mundie Reassigned or Retiring”

Seven Questions for the CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association

You may never have heard of the Consumer Electronics Association, but you’ve definitely heard of its most famous annual event: the huge Consumer Electronics Show, or International CES. The four-day extravaganza draws more than 150,000 attendees to Las Vegas each January to see keynote talks by top industry CEOs and exhibits from 3,000 companies. Interestingly, … Continue reading “Seven Questions for the CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association”

Is Crowdfunding The Future For Biomedical Research?

Microryza.com (not the catchiest of names) is a crowdfunding platform for research that raises money over the Internet from individuals who are willing to donate small amounts to fund a specific project. The average donation according to Microryza is $92. In return for a 5 percent cut of funds raised and a 3 percent credit … Continue reading “Is Crowdfunding The Future For Biomedical Research?”

Symplified Lands $6,517,909 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8527ef85-4e7e-4d9a-9160-a9a9de15f62b Date 7/10/2013 Company Name Symplified Mailing Address 1600 Pearl St Boulder, CO 80302 Company Description The company has developed breakthrough technology that addresses the complexity and cost associated with monolithic software approaches to Web identity management. Website http://www.symplified.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $6,517,909 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds … Continue reading “Symplified Lands $6,517,909 New Financing Round”

Mobile Game Developer Backflip Studios Scores $112M from Hasbro

Backflip Studios is joining forces with Hasbro, following a deal in which Hasbro paid $112 million in cash for a 70 percent stake in the Boulder, CO-based mobile game developer. Hasbro (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HAS]]) and Backflip Studios announced the deal Monday. The deal is a huge one for Backflip, which has emerged as a leading mobile … Continue reading “Mobile Game Developer Backflip Studios Scores $112M from Hasbro”

Colorado Innovation Network 2nd Annual Innovation Summit

Heavy hitters from some of Colorado’s biggest tech companies are scheduled to speak at this two-day summit, which is run by the Colorado Innovation Network, a partnership between the state and private industry. Khan Academy founder Salman Kahn, Liberty Media president and CEO Greg Maffei, and Gov. John Hickenlooper are scheduled to speak. Also, the winner … Continue reading “Colorado Innovation Network 2nd Annual Innovation Summit”

BioBoulder Networking Event

A chance for life sciences types to get out of the lab and hang out on the rooftop deck of one of downtown Boulder’s nicest restaurants. This is an opportunity to mix and mingle with colleagues and professionals from across the industry including; biotechnology, medical device, diagnostic, pharmaceutical, health care, research institutions and those businesses that … Continue reading “BioBoulder Networking Event”

Colorado Technology Association APEX Conference

Colorado’s largest conference for in-state technology companies is back with a new name. The Colorado Technology Association’s event, formerly DEMOGala, aims to give a “state of the state” view of the tech industry. This year’s keynote speaker will be Jack Dangermond, president and founder of Esri, the developer of ArcGIS software platform. Dangermond, a landscape architect … Continue reading “Colorado Technology Association APEX Conference”

Colorado Technology Association APEX Awards Dinner

Colorado’s top tech companies are celebrated at this annual event hosted by the Colorado Technology Association. Arjun Gupta of TeleSoft Partners is the featured speaker for the dinner. Gupta is “chief believer” at his Silicon Valley venture capital firm. He came to the U.S. in 1980, hase started multiple businesses, and recently became part owner … Continue reading “Colorado Technology Association APEX Awards Dinner”

Galvanize Pitches and Pitchers with Brad Feld

Informal gathering of entrepreneurs at Galvanize. Every Tuesday at 5 p.m. two Galvanize Companies present their business. Each company has 5 minutes to pitch and then a ten minute Q&A session opened up to the crowd. This week’s event is a “special edition” featuring Brad Feld and TechStars companies.

Unreasonable Climax 2013

The startups from the Unreasonable Institute, an accelerator for social entrepreneurs, get their turn on stage. The companies come from around the world to address global social and environmental issues. The event is preceded that day with free workshops. More information is available here.

Exar Snaps Up Semiconductor Designer Cadeka Microcircuits for $29M

Semiconductor products designer and manufacturer Cadeka Microcircuits has been purchased by Exar for $29 million in a cash and stock deal, the companies announced Monday. The acquisition price could go up because the deal includes earn-out provisions based on the net revenue Cadeka products generate for Exar. Cadeka makes precision analog integrated circuits and is … Continue reading “Exar Snaps Up Semiconductor Designer Cadeka Microcircuits for $29M”

Nine Observations on Leadership From North America’s Highest Peak

People are always striving to develop their leadership skills, or to find a leader worth following. But sometimes the trick is recognizing when you’re in the presence of strong leadership, and learning from it. Your normal BioBeat will return to this space next week, but lately I’ve been fixated on absorbing leadership lessons for business … Continue reading “Nine Observations on Leadership From North America’s Highest Peak”

Colorado Cleantech Companies Raised a Combined $10.4M in 2nd Quarter

A handful of Colorado cleantech and energy services companies raised a combined $10.4 million from venture capital investors during the second quarter, bringing the 2013 total raised in cleantech to $45.2 million. Cleantech has long been something of a catch-all term for very diverse industries, and that can be seen in the latest numbers, which … Continue reading “Colorado Cleantech Companies Raised a Combined $10.4M in 2nd Quarter”

The Denali Expedition: A Photo Essay

I’ve been dreaming about Denali since I started climbing mountains a decade ago with two best friends. This is the year we made it happen. As many Xconomy readers know, I just returned from a successful three-week expedition to climb Alaska’s Denali, the highest peak in North America. Many saw me grow a beard to … Continue reading “The Denali Expedition: A Photo Essay”

Rebit Obtains $175,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0f8ee0f9-c5e4-4fd3-b756-4b38d44eb49b&Preview=1 Date 7/5/2013 Company Name Rebit Mailing Address 2420 Trade Centre Ave Longmont, CO 80503 Company Description Rebit is an innovative new company all about relieving the burden of backup technology from the PC user. They just plug Rebit into a PC to get fully automated and continuous backup protection – no … Continue reading “Rebit Obtains $175,000 New Funding”

Rebit Secures $175,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0f8ee0f9-c5e4-4fd3-b756-4b38d44eb49b&Preview=1 Date 7/5/2013 Company Name Rebit Mailing Address 2420 Trade Centre Ave Longmont, CO 80503 Company Description Rebit is an innovative new company all about relieving the burden of backup technology from the PC user. They just plug Rebit into a PC to get fully automated and continuous backup protection – no … Continue reading “Rebit Secures $175,000 New Funding”

Array Starts First Phase 3 Trial, Shifts to Late-Stage Development

Array Biopharma said Tuesday it has received a $5 million milestone payment from Novartis for beginning Phase 3 testing of a drug it hopes can treat ovarian cancer. The milestone is just part of a larger transition for the Boulder, CO-based biopharmaceutical company. The event that triggered the payment was the beginning a multinational, randomized … Continue reading “Array Starts First Phase 3 Trial, Shifts to Late-Stage Development”

Baseball and Biopharma: More Alike Than You Might Realize

This may seem like a surprising observation, but it’s true. Biopharma companies and baseball teams employ similar strategies that they hope will result in either a blockbuster drug or winning the World Series. The challenges each faces are significant. Did you realize that the percentage of drugs that are put into clinical trials and successfully … Continue reading “Baseball and Biopharma: More Alike Than You Might Realize”

PharmaJet Receives $5,210,601 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0585926c-005b-460a-b7a9-b6bd567dfc41&Preview=1 Date 7/3/2013 Company Name PharmaJet Mailing Address 400 Corporate Circle Golden, CO 80401 Company Description Our product delivers pharmaceuticals – vaccines and drugs – through the skin. We accomplish this using jet injection technology. We do not use needles – big or small, or patches of any kind. Website http://www.pharmajet.com Transaction … Continue reading “PharmaJet Receives $5,210,601 New Funding”

When You Are Facing a Tsunami of Barriers, Surf Like a Woman

All entrepreneurs face roadblocks when they are starting up. It’s part of the job. For Surbhi Sarna, who founded of nVision Medical in 2012, things are more intense. NVision Medical is an early stage women’s health business focused building medical devices that help detect ovarian cancer and infertility. It recently raised over $4 million in … Continue reading “When You Are Facing a Tsunami of Barriers, Surf Like a Woman”

Rally’s $84M IPO, NexGen’s $119M Exit Made Quarter One to Remember

The Spring of 2013 will go down in the history of Colorado’s tech community as one to remember, with a breakthrough IPO, a nice exit for a leader in the historically vibrant data storage industry, major investment in two startups, and new life for one of the area’s leading biotechs. Here’s a quick recap of … Continue reading “Rally’s $84M IPO, NexGen’s $119M Exit Made Quarter One to Remember”

Wall St. Loves Biotech, Leading Venture-Backed IPOs in Q2

[Updated 6:15 pm. NVCA now says historical IPO data in its report was misstated and will be revised later. This version removes earlier references to historical deal trends.] We knew that biotech companies were lighting up the stock market this year. Today, the National Venture Capital Association has fresh numbers illustrating Wall Street’s love affair … Continue reading “Wall St. Loves Biotech, Leading Venture-Backed IPOs in Q2”

Mile High Roundup: Startup Visas, Jobs, and Entrepreneurs Take Bows

Welcome to the Mile High Roundup, a fortnightly review and recap of some of the interesting things that have happened over the past two weeks in the tech scene in Boulder, Denver, and around Colorado. It’s no secret tons of cool stuff is happening around the state, and this is a chance to catch up. … Continue reading “Mile High Roundup: Startup Visas, Jobs, and Entrepreneurs Take Bows”

PasswordBox: Strong Passwords That You Don’t Have to Remember

Leave it to tech entrepreneurs to turn bad news into good news. For most of us, our passwords are the keys to our entire digital lives. The bad news is that we’re losing the race to keep these passwords safe from hacker attacks. Making up a secure yet memorable password used to be a matter … Continue reading “PasswordBox: Strong Passwords That You Don’t Have to Remember”

Civic Hackers Must Work With Governments, Not Just Disrupt Them

I recently helped organize the National Civic Day of Hacking activities in Detroit and I was very impressed with my city’s outpouring of problems, and the hackers that came out to show support. Right now is a great time to be a technologist because our tools have advanced by leaps and bounds over the years. … Continue reading “Civic Hackers Must Work With Governments, Not Just Disrupt Them”

Small Dams Could Pump Out Big Power, Says Boulder Startup

Think of a hydroelectric project, and what comes to mind? Probably the giant Hoover Dam, or the Three Gorges megaproject in China. They’re projects that generate a lot of cheap, clean electricity at a continuous rate, but come at the cost of major disruptions to ecosystems and communities. That’s part of the reason why environmentalists … Continue reading “Small Dams Could Pump Out Big Power, Says Boulder Startup”

6 Reasons Why the MIT Blackjack Team Became Entrepreneurs

Wow. Imagine being invited to moderate a free-form discussion with the people who lived out the book “Bringing Down the House” and the movie “21.” It doesn’t get any better than this. At Xconomy’s XSITE conference last week, I had the honor of moderating a reunion panel of the MIT Blackjack Team with two of … Continue reading “6 Reasons Why the MIT Blackjack Team Became Entrepreneurs”

Strangling Innovation: Tesla vs. “Rent Seekers”

The greatest number of jobs is created when startups create a new market—one where the product or service never existed before or is radically more convenient. Yet this is where startups will run into anti-innovation opponents they may not expect. These opponents have their own name—“rent seekers”—the landlords of the status-quo. Smart startups prepare to … Continue reading “Strangling Innovation: Tesla vs. “Rent Seekers””

Orbotix’s Sphero Gets the Ball Rolling for Augmented Reality Games

When I first learned about Orbotix and its plan to build the first robot you could control with a smartphone or tablet, my reaction could pretty much be summed up as this: Shut up and take my money!!! That was less than three years ago. Orbotix, which is based in Boulder, CO, had just graduated … Continue reading “Orbotix’s Sphero Gets the Ball Rolling for Augmented Reality Games”

Constructing Innovation Supply Chains for the Pharmaceutical Industry

Competition via innovation has been recognized as essential for mid- to long-term success and even survival of science-based corporations such as pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. As such, understanding how best to innovate, and how to do it more often and efficiently, is top of mind for executives at many large corporations. Traditionally, the approach for … Continue reading “Constructing Innovation Supply Chains for the Pharmaceutical Industry”

Can’t Get No Respect? Bio-venture Issues Are Deeper Than Paper Gains

In one of his recent blogs at Life Sci VC, Atlas Venture’s Bruce Booth makes the optimists’ case for venture capital investments in the life sciences. Booth’s message is that life sciences venture capital is healthy but misunderstood, but he misses the forest for the trees in important ways. Based on my 27 years in … Continue reading “Can’t Get No Respect? Bio-venture Issues Are Deeper Than Paper Gains”

PeakColo Secures $3,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0018c96e-37e4-42d7-80fd-b4bf9aa4bb7d&Preview=1 Date 6/25/2013 Company Name PeakColo Mailing Address Undisclosed Denver, CO 80211 Company Description Established in 2006, PeakColo began and continues its focus on the Infrastructure-as-a-Service slice of cloud computing delivering public, private, Hybrid, DR, and custom solutions. As a Type II SSAE16/SOC 1 company, we focus on consistently sound operational procedures … Continue reading “PeakColo Secures $3,000,000 New Funding Round”

Gnip’s Old, New Bosses Open Up About Recent Leadership Change

Gnip, one of Boulder’s top tech companies, has reshuffled its executive team, and in an interview Friday the company’s new and old CEOs explained why. Gnip co-founder Jud Valeski is stepping aside from the CEO job and will become the company’s chief technology officer. Chris Moody, who spent about two years as Gnip’s president and … Continue reading “Gnip’s Old, New Bosses Open Up About Recent Leadership Change”

Battle of the Bluetooth Speakers: Big Sound in Small Packages

Back in 2009, Lief Storer realized he was putting his own safety in jeopardy every time he donned his big DJ headphones before biking to work. “I had a tough time picking up traffic coming at me from the rear,” he says. But he didn’t want to give up his music. So he jammed an … Continue reading “Battle of the Bluetooth Speakers: Big Sound in Small Packages”

Are Apple, Google, and Facebook Done Innovating? Readers Speak

In the world of tech journalism, the fastest way to start an argument is to say something critical about Apple. When you throw in Google and Facebook, you really know there are going to be fireworks. That’s exactly what happened over the weekend after we published my column “Don’t Panic, But We’ve Passed Peak Apple. … Continue reading “Are Apple, Google, and Facebook Done Innovating? Readers Speak”

Allergist, Vaccine Researchers Nothing to Sneeze At, UCD Judges Say

A startup that’s trying to promote a better way to treat allergy patients beat out a team of biotech researchers working on a way to protect vaccines from heat to take home the top prize Tuesday at the University of Colorado-Denver’s annual business plan competition. Allergy Solutions won the $10,000 prize for its proposal to … Continue reading “Allergist, Vaccine Researchers Nothing to Sneeze At, UCD Judges Say”