The University of Michigan will help direct a country-wide big data research and commercialization effort as part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) initiative announced earlier this month. U-M will lead the new Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub, one of four hubs the NSF has set up across the United States, with the University of … Continue reading “U-M to Help Lead NSF-Funded Regional Big Data Center”
Category: Detroit
Small Molecules: The Silent Majority of Pharmaceutical Pipelines
The pharmaceutical industry is constantly evolving. There always seem to be new, innovative therapeutic approaches emerging that capture our imagination and advance our ability to make a difference in the lives of patients. Take, for example, T-cell therapy for cancer, microbiome therapies, and CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, each of which could potentially have a significant impact … Continue reading “Small Molecules: The Silent Majority of Pharmaceutical Pipelines”
Paris Rampage Rekindles Conflict Over Government-Proof Encryption
The recent terrorist attacks in Paris were executed with guns and bombs in the physical terrain of city streets and cafe terraces. But the horrific incident is reviving government calls for greater control of the cyber environment. A host of top U.S. officials including the directors of the CIA and FBI, Senator Dianne Feinstein, New … Continue reading “Paris Rampage Rekindles Conflict Over Government-Proof Encryption”
Join Xconomy for an Unconference and Reception Dec. 10
Though it takes less than an hour to travel from Detroit to Ann Arbor, the distance between the two communities can sometimes seem daunting. Gerry Roston, CEO of Civionics and TechTown Detroit’s Executive-In-Residence, refers to the psychological barrier between the two cities as an invisible forcefield buttressed by the economic and social upheavals of the … Continue reading “Join Xconomy for an Unconference and Reception Dec. 10”
MI Apps Make Splash in Mobileys, & Other Recent Tech News
Here’s a look at recent news from around Michigan’s innovation hubs: —Mobile Future recently announced the 12 finalists in its national Mobileys competition honoring innovative mobile apps, products, and services. This year, four Michigan-based companies were among the finalists: Companion, an app developed by University of Michigan students that allows users to keep an eye … Continue reading “MI Apps Make Splash in Mobileys, & Other Recent Tech News”
Slowing the Global Spread of Climate-Sensitive Infectious Diseases
Climate change is already suspected of causing legions of deaths every year as a result of extreme weather events: heat waves and floods; degradation of water supplies and sanitation with negative impacts on agriculture; and air pollution, which, in 2012, was responsible for 7 million deaths—one in eight deaths worldwide. But climate change is also … Continue reading “Slowing the Global Spread of Climate-Sensitive Infectious Diseases”
RetroSense Therapeutics Closes $6M Series B, Begins Clinical Trials
Ann Arbor, MI-based biopharmaceutical startup RetroSense Therapeutics announced Monday that it has raised $6 million in a Series B round. Participating investors include Blue Water Angels, RBV Capital, ExSight Capital, and Santen Pharmaceutical. RetroSense has raised a total of $13 million since it licensed its lead technology from Wayne State University in 2011. Sean Ainsworth, … Continue reading “RetroSense Therapeutics Closes $6M Series B, Begins Clinical Trials”
Keeping Score, Clinical Watchdogs Push Drugmakers For More Open Data
Should drug companies publicly release all data from the tests they conduct on human volunteers? A growing number of parties say yes, and last week, a group of academics unveiled a scorecard to spotlight companies that have recently kept their clinical data hidden from public view—and those that have made the data available. As with … Continue reading “Keeping Score, Clinical Watchdogs Push Drugmakers For More Open Data”
DTE Harnesses SPLT’s Ride-Sharing App for New Commuter Program
SPLT, the Detroit-based ride-sharing app designed to connect people traveling similar routes so they can split taxi fare or the cost of gas, kicked off its first large-scale commuter program last week with DTE Energy. SPLT, which recently finished a stint in Detroit’s Techstars incubator, is exploring mobility as a service with the DTE program, … Continue reading “DTE Harnesses SPLT’s Ride-Sharing App for New Commuter Program”
RetroSense Therapeutics Lands $6,000,000 Series B Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a3a45d3b-4fe2-47bc-928b-9a715c02b53a Date 11/16/2015 Company Name RetroSense Therapeutics Mailing Address 330 East Liberty Street LL Ann Arbor, MI 48104 USA Company Description Led by a team of seasoned veterans, RetroSense Therapeutics was founded in 2009 to develop a novel gene therapy approach to vision restoration. Website http://www.retro-sense.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “RetroSense Therapeutics Lands $6,000,000 Series B Round”
Deliv Acquires Delivery Startup Zipments, Expands National Footprint
This week, Bay Area-based Deliv announced it has acquired Zipments, the same-day delivery and crowdsourced courier startup based in Grand Rapids, MI, and operating primarily in New York City. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The entire six-person Zipments staff will join the Deliv team but remain in Michigan. Garrick Pohl, founder and … Continue reading “Deliv Acquires Delivery Startup Zipments, Expands National Footprint”
Motown Unplugged
TechTown Detroit and the Motown Museum are partnering on this interactive panel discussion about music entrepreneurship. Participating in the panel are Paul Riser Sr., Motown musician and father of TechTown director Paul Riser Jr.; Mike Grace, Ed Wolfrum; and James Jameson Jr. This event is free and open to the public; click here to register.
How Foreign-Born Workers Spark Employment and Innovation
The way critics tell it—including presidential hopefuls as varied as Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump—high-skilled foreign workers are job stealers. If these candidates have their way, living and working in the U.S. will become harder, not easier, for foreign talent. This protectionism, the theory goes, will positively impact the quantity and quality of American jobs: … Continue reading “How Foreign-Born Workers Spark Employment and Innovation”
SkySpecs Takes Flight with $3 Million Series A, UpWind Partnership
SkySpecs, the Ann Arbor-based drone startup, announced this week that it raised $3 million in a Series A round. Venture Investors led the investment, with participation from Huron River Ventures, Amherst Fund II, the Michigan Angel Fund, and Invest Michigan. To date, the company has raised a total of $4.3 million, said SkySpecs CEO Danny … Continue reading “SkySpecs Takes Flight with $3 Million Series A, UpWind Partnership”
Ablative Solutions Lands $2,460,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b7327df7-5eb7-4366-843d-81f211230677 Date 11/12/2015 Company Name Ablative Solutions Mailing Address 350 East Michigan Avenue Kalamazoo, MI 49007 USA Company Description Ablative Solutions’ technology involves endovascular catheters to provide an efficacious, durable, cost-effective and safe alternative to surgical renal denervation for the treatment of hypertension and other diseases caused by an overactive sympathetic nervous … Continue reading “Ablative Solutions Lands $2,460,000 New Funding Round”
Big Changes Coming to Bizdom’s Detroit Accelerator
I was at a gathering last week when I first heard the rumors: Bizdom, Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert’s startup accelerator in downtown Detroit, was supposedly closing its doors. Details were scarce among partygoers, but more than one journalist I talked to said the incubator was going to wind down operations, a plan seemingly confirmed … Continue reading “Big Changes Coming to Bizdom’s Detroit Accelerator”
ContentOro Secures $450,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=10b788bb-e103-4987-a2d8-824feec8b996 Date 11/11/2015 Company Name ContentOro Mailing Address 201 South Division Ann Arbor, MI 48104 USA Company Description ContentOro provides a platform to support a new channel for publishers to sell their book content for use on the web. It is a core value of ContentOro to improve the quality of information … Continue reading “ContentOro Secures $450,000 New Round”
U-M Program Takes Transportation Innovations from Lab to Marketplace
University of Michigan researchers and faculty developing innovations that address transportation and mobility challenges have a path from the lab to the marketplace thanks to the Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) Transportation program, which received $1 million to advance university startups in 2015, the program’s second year. MTRAC is a statewide program to move … Continue reading “U-M Program Takes Transportation Innovations from Lab to Marketplace”
Innovate State Speaker Series: Nathan Bashaw
Michigan State University’s Innovation Center presents the next installment of its Innovate State speaker series, this time with MSU alum Nathan Bashaw, co-creator of ProductHunt and Dash. Bashaw will discuss successful coding and his latest venture, Hardbound. For details and registration, click here.
Detroit Revitalization and Business Initiative
This 6th annual conference—this year, the theme is “Bankruptcy to Bankability: A City in Transition”—will examine what’s happening in Detroit as it emerges from financial turmoil. Community and business leaders will share highlights from their work. Click here for registration and more information.
Milestones of Innovation 11: Blackouts and the Safety of the Grid
While we party upstairs in our micro-age of whirling electrons and dancing apps, there’s some rumbling down in the basement. In a new book called Lights Out, the television journalist Ted Koppel has been reminding us to be very worried about the reliability of one of the central innovations of modernity. He’s talking about our … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 11: Blackouts and the Safety of the Grid”
SkySpecs Secures $3,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ce83ed54-9a52-4001-bd10-cdf365816ee6 Date 11/9/2015 Company Name SkySpecs Mailing Address 3744 Plaza Dr. Ann Arbor, MI 48108 USA Company Description The SkySpecs WingMan technologies provide tools to simplify the experience of piloting a drone. By automating the complexities of flight, WingMan allows pilots to focus on the mission objectives instead of flight safety. These … Continue reading “SkySpecs Secures $3,000,000 New Round”
Seven Major Cancer Centers To Pool Patients’ Gene, Health Data
Here and there, the genetic information of a cancer patient has helped a doctor find that person the right drug or steer her away from the wrong one. But the use of genetic knowledge to improve people’s health is in its infancy. That’s why seven major cancer treatment centers in North America and Europe are … Continue reading “Seven Major Cancer Centers To Pool Patients’ Gene, Health Data”
Banza’s Chickpea Pasta Wins Top $500K Prize at Accelerate Michigan
The last time we wrote about Banza, the Detroit-based startup producing protein-heavy pasta made from chickpeas, the company was so new it didn’t have a website yet. What a difference 18 months makes. Last night, Banza took home the $500,000 grand prize in the annual Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. As a first-of-its-kind product, Banza, the … Continue reading “Banza’s Chickpea Pasta Wins Top $500K Prize at Accelerate Michigan”
Four Strategies for Startups to Finish the Year Strong
It’s that time of the year again. While many are looking forward to the holiday season and counting down to the end of the year, businesses are engaged in the planning process for next year. No matter the size of your business, now is a great time to reflect on the past year, evaluate what … Continue reading “Four Strategies for Startups to Finish the Year Strong”
To Be or Not To Be An Equity Crowdfunding Portal?
After the pioneering crowdfunding sites Indiegogo and Kickstarter set up shop roughly seven years ago, other entrepreneurs were saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Those fundraising platforms quickly scaled up, offering inventors, artists, and others an online meeting place where they could appeal for contributions to get their projects off the ground. The fundraising … Continue reading “To Be or Not To Be An Equity Crowdfunding Portal?”
Local Motors Debuts $53K 3D-Printed Car Due to Be Road-Ready by 2017
Local Motors, the Chandler, AZ-based startup aiming to disrupt the auto industry’s traditional manufacturing cycle through crowdsourcing, micromanufacturing, and other technologies, has launched a new vehicle—and the company hopes to crash-test it and get it on the road by 2017. The LM3D Swim is the second of its crowd-designed vehicles to go from concept car … Continue reading “Local Motors Debuts $53K 3D-Printed Car Due to Be Road-Ready by 2017”
App Startup Golfler Scores Early Birdies With Funding, Awards
A Detroit-based startup’s golfing app, released in August, is already scoring major accolades: Google named it the second-best sports app for 2015, and the company beat out more than 200 exhibitors to win the top buyers’ choice award at a PGA conference two weeks after it launched. Golfler co-founder Jason Pearsall says his company’s app … Continue reading “App Startup Golfler Scores Early Birdies With Funding, Awards”
In On-Demand Era, Grove Wants to Help You Grow Your Own Food
Consumers have grown used to the ability to order food at the push of a button and have it delivered to their doorstep within the hour. Will they be interested in using technology to grow it themselves at home, especially if it means more work and waiting several weeks to eat the food (which is … Continue reading “In On-Demand Era, Grove Wants to Help You Grow Your Own Food”
Even With New Crowdfunding Rules, No Easy Path Forward For Biotechs
[Corrected 11/3/15, 1:18pm. See below.] As Xconomy reported Friday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has finally filled in the missing pieces in the equity crowdfunding puzzle, giving private startups clearer rules about selling equity to the investor masses through Internet portals. In her opening remarks before the SEC commissioners voted 3-1 to approve nationwide … Continue reading “Even With New Crowdfunding Rules, No Easy Path Forward For Biotechs”
NEI Awards $300K to Small Businesses, Starts Search for New Leader
The New Economy Initiative (NEI) today announced the 2015 batch of NEIdeas Challenge winners; 30 small businesses grossing less than $750,000 annually received $10,000 each to grow their operations. The competition was open to any business in Detroit, Hamtramck, or Highland Park that is at least three years old. Part two of the competition, which … Continue reading “NEI Awards $300K to Small Businesses, Starts Search for New Leader”
What’s Next for Storage?
The evolution of business technology is constant, but not uniform. Sometimes the changes are revolutionary, such as the word processor replacing the typewriter or the 1991 debut of the World Wide Web. Other changes are iterative, such as new versions of word processing software or Web browsers. After decades of only experiencing iterative changes, the … Continue reading “What’s Next for Storage?”
At Long Last, SEC Provides Final Equity Crowdfunding Rules
[Corrected 11/2/15, 12:30 pm. See below.] Mom and Pop, you can now buy shares in the bakery down the street, or in your son’s girlfriend’s sister’s tech startup. That, in effect, was the message the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sent today, voting to give retail investors the right to buy shares in tiny private … Continue reading “At Long Last, SEC Provides Final Equity Crowdfunding Rules”
Walshpreneur Fair
Walsh College’s LaunchPad celebrates its fifth anniversary with this event, which also highlights startups that have gone through the LaunchPad program. Jack Aronson of Garden Fresh Salsa will be on hand to tell the story of how he turned a five-gallon bucket of homemade salsa into a multi-million-dollar business that was recently acquired by Campbell … Continue reading “Walshpreneur Fair”
Innovate Ypsilanti Downtown Office Space Tour
Hosted by Ann Arbor SPARK and the Ypsilanti Commercial Space Team, this event features networking and tours of available commercial spaces that are move-in ready in downtown Ypsilanti. The tour, which starts at Back Office Studio on 13 N. Washington, will also include information about incentives and programs available for companies looking to locate in Ypsilanti. Click … Continue reading “Innovate Ypsilanti Downtown Office Space Tour”
Akadeum Aims to Disrupt Cell-Sorting Technology with Microbubbles
Akadeum Life Sciences is doing something that most biotechs don’t, says CEO Brandon McNaugton: practicing the lean startup method, which puts a heavy focus on customer discovery and feedback. It was this process of talking to customers that inspired Ann Arbor, MI-based Akadeum to develop the Application Discovery Program, a tool it uses to help … Continue reading “Akadeum Aims to Disrupt Cell-Sorting Technology with Microbubbles”
Ambassador Helps Companies Manage Word-of-Mouth Marketing Online
Royal Oak, MI-based Ambassador came into being the way startups sometimes do—after its founder grew disillusioned with practicing law and took up full-time entrepreneurship instead. “I grew up in Southeast Michigan and went to law school in Chicago,” Ambassador CEO Jeff Epstein says. “I stumbled into affiliate marketing through online poker in the early 2000s, … Continue reading “Ambassador Helps Companies Manage Word-of-Mouth Marketing Online”
Cengage Snaps Up ePortfolio Tool from SF Startup Pathbrite
In a continuing drive to assemble a comprehensive suite of online learning tools for schools, Boston-based edtech company Cengage Learning is adding San Francisco-based startup Pathbrite’s student portfolio feature to its repertoire of acquisitions. Pathbrite’s product, the Portfolio Learning Platform, allows students to store their completed course assignments, such as essays, artwork, and videos, in … Continue reading “Cengage Snaps Up ePortfolio Tool from SF Startup Pathbrite”
Why Passion and Preparedness Matter to Urban-Focused Investors
Detroit is considered by many to be the ultimate proving ground for social entrepreneurs, a place where they can test solutions to homelessness, lack of functioning public transit, and other major problems. Capitalizing on that reputation, the Urban Entrepreneurship Symposium—held Friday at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies and co-hosted by Michigan State University, Wayne State … Continue reading “Why Passion and Preparedness Matter to Urban-Focused Investors”
Roundup: Macomb Community College, Weyn, Wayne Med-Direct & More
Here’s a look at innovation news from around Michigan: —Macomb Community College announced it will use a $700,000 gift from a donor’s estate to fund programs meant to foster innovation and startups. The gift will support a $50,000 endowed scholarship for accounting students and a $100,000 endowed fund to be used to pay for the … Continue reading “Roundup: Macomb Community College, Weyn, Wayne Med-Direct & More”
Sakti3’s Sastry on Dyson Acquisition, What’s Next for the Company
This week, Ann Arbor, MI-based battery startup, Sakti3, announced it had been acquired by Dyson, a past investor, for $90 million. Dyson, known for its high-end, sleekly designed vacuum cleaners, is interested in Sakti3’s solid-state lithium battery technology. We traded e-mails with Xconomist Ann Marie Sastry, Sakti3’s CEO and co-founder, to find out more about … Continue reading “Sakti3’s Sastry on Dyson Acquisition, What’s Next for the Company”
$90M Acquisition of Sakti3 One of Year’s Biggest Cleantech Deals
Last year, Dyson—the global manufacturer of vacuum cleaners, fans, hand dryers, and other products—announced it had invested $15 million in Ann Arbor, MI-based advanced battery company Sakti3. Wednesday, the University of Michigan announced the spinout startup has been acquired by Dyson for $90 million. Makers of consumer goods are hungry for more powerful battery technology … Continue reading “$90M Acquisition of Sakti3 One of Year’s Biggest Cleantech Deals”
Michigan Budget Battle Pits Startups Against Road Infrastructure
On Oct. 7, the entire staff of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), the state office in charge of tourism and economic development, gathered for the first time in months. Big changes are coming to the department—it recently announced layoffs as well as a 27 percent cut in its overall operating budget—and its leadership wanted … Continue reading “Michigan Budget Battle Pits Startups Against Road Infrastructure”
What’s Your DNA Worth? The Scramble To Cash In On the Genome
The consumer genome. You’ll hear that phrase enough the next couple years that it will gain both the weight and lightness of inevitability. It will feel inevitable because, as we’ve been hearing for years now, DNA is just another long string of crunchable, malleable, transportable code, so it’s just the next destination for the digital … Continue reading “What’s Your DNA Worth? The Scramble To Cash In On the Genome”
Mimecast Adds to (Slight) Tech IPO Momentum in Down Year
The tech IPO pipeline has a pulse after all. Last week, a burst of tech companies going public, or announcing plans to do so, brought a bit of excitement in a slow year for tech IPOs. The headline grabbers were Square filing for a $275 million initial public offering and First Data raising $2.6 billion … Continue reading “Mimecast Adds to (Slight) Tech IPO Momentum in Down Year”
Ag-Tech Incubator Lures Sponsors, Startups With Unusual Model
A West Michigan incubator that helps farmers and entrepreneurs turn their ag-tech ideas into businesses is trying to get the word out about the program’s first year in hopes of attracting more sponsors. In the past year, the Great Lakes Ag-Tech Business Incubator launched a handful of startups and hammered out an unusual financing model … Continue reading “Ag-Tech Incubator Lures Sponsors, Startups With Unusual Model”
Broadband Health Tech Forum
TechTown and the FCC’s Connect2Health Task Force host this forum that aims to bring together policymakers, healthcare providers, academia, entrepreneurs, and investors to discuss broadband- and wireless-enabled healthcare technologies. For more information, click here.
Tax Symposium
Walsh College hosts its third annual tax symposium, which will examine five topics as they relate to taxes: crowdfunding, immigration, death, the Internet, and troubled entities. Click here for details and registration.
As SEC Mulls Equity Crowdfunding, CA Entrepreneurs Test Other Options
California is one of the dominant U.S. producers of fruits, nuts, vegetables—and tech startups. In the Silicon Valley, the startups sprouting up each season are nurtured by a host of accelerators and incubators as well as VCs and angel investors providing seed funding. That still leaves some startups hungry for cash, but California is not … Continue reading “As SEC Mulls Equity Crowdfunding, CA Entrepreneurs Test Other Options”
Discovery Over Dogma at Today’s Innovative University
There’s a rich and often controversial conversation going on right now about the role that colleges and universities should play in preparing students—and our society—for the future. One of the most provocative voices in this discussion belongs to David Brooks, the always-thoughtful and always sensitive columnist for The New York Times. Recently, Brooks advanced the … Continue reading “Discovery Over Dogma at Today’s Innovative University”