When it comes to writing in-depth, daily stories about the business of high technology—in tech, life sciences, and beyond—we at Xconomy believe there are few news organizations that can match our editorial team. We feature many of these stories—and the people behind them—at our events as well. Now, right here in Boston and also in … Continue reading “Xconomy Is Seeking Great Sales People in Boston and San Francisco”
Category: Detroit
Techstars Closes $150M Seed and Early Stage Fund
Techstars has closed a $150 million third fund to make seed and early stage investments, the Boulder, CO-based startup accelerator announced Wednesday. Techstars co-founder and CEO David Cohen said the fund will be focused on investing on startups that have graduated from the accelerator or have other ties to the program. According to its website, … Continue reading “Techstars Closes $150M Seed and Early Stage Fund”
The Venture Funding Gap is Widening; What Does it Mean?
The National Venture Capital Association has just released the latest MoneyTree data on venture industry fund-raising, which always makes me sit up straight and take notice—it’s kind of an industry scorecard. In addition to being baffled by the fact that the amount the U.S. venture industry invests outstrips how much we raise (see below), I … Continue reading “The Venture Funding Gap is Widening; What Does it Mean?”
LevelEleven, AdAdapted, and Genomenon Win Google’s Detroit Demo Day
Three Detroit-area startups will vie for a spot in a pitch contest at Google’s California headquarters this spring, after winning the second annual Google Demo Day in downtown Detroit last Thursday. The winners, announced Monday, were LevelEleven, AdAdapted, and Genomenon. Of the three finalists, one company will be chosen in mid-February to head to Mountain … Continue reading “LevelEleven, AdAdapted, and Genomenon Win Google’s Detroit Demo Day”
$75M in Real Cash Helps Coinbase Launch First U.S. Bitcoin Exchange
Bitcoin took a potentially big step toward legitimacy in the U.S. today with the launch of the nation’s first licensed exchange for the virtual currency. Now, it’s up to San Francisco startup Coinbase to convince would-be traders that its platform is a safe and preferable place to put their money. Founded in 2012, Coinbase has … Continue reading “$75M in Real Cash Helps Coinbase Launch First U.S. Bitcoin Exchange”
Ford’s Silicon Valley Center Looks to Hire 125, Catalyze Company
Ford officially opened its Research and Innovation Center in Palo Alto, CA, on Friday. Although the automaker first announced the center two years ago, its mission has since solidified. In addition to building relationships with Silicon Valley “thought leaders,” says Ken Washington, Ford’s vice president of research and advanced engineering, the company’s researchers in Palo … Continue reading “Ford’s Silicon Valley Center Looks to Hire 125, Catalyze Company”
Innovation Outlook for 2015: Tackling Big Data Variety
In 2015, look for the innovation community to be talking about Big Data Variety: the problem, how to fix it, how to make money off of it. Companies have invested roughly $3-4 trillion on enterprise software over the last 20 years, with Gartner forecasting $320 billion in 2014 alone. A lot of that investment has … Continue reading “Innovation Outlook for 2015: Tackling Big Data Variety”
Fontinalis Invests in Cloud-Based Air Cargo Startup SmartKargo
Fontinalis Partners, the Detroit-based venture capital firm focused on next-generation mobility and transportation startups, announced this week that it has invested in SmartKargo, headquartered in Cambridge, MA. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. SmartKargo was founded by MIT grads in 2013 to harness cloud computing, data analytics, and mobile devices in the management … Continue reading “Fontinalis Invests in Cloud-Based Air Cargo Startup SmartKargo”
Innovation Hub: Who Needs Talent?
How many articles have been written about the innate business acumen of Steve Jobs, the brilliant coding abilities of Mark Zuckerberg, the extraordinary gifts of Yo Yo Ma? And what if they were all wrong? Geoff Colvin has combed through the research, and he argues that, again and again, scholars have almost completely discounted the … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Who Needs Talent?”
Local Motors Looks to Disrupt Manufacturing with 3D-Printed Car
At this year’s edition of the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), going on right now in Detroit, I saw a few things I hadn’t seen in previous years. One was the presence of bomb-sniffing dogs, thanks to a suspicious package left across the street from the auto show that was later determined to be … Continue reading “Local Motors Looks to Disrupt Manufacturing with 3D-Printed Car”
Two Generations of Geneticists, Two “Precision Medicine” Wish Lists
In late 2012, President Obama awarded Leroy “Lee” Hood the National Medal of Science for a lifetime of achievements, including the invention of machines that made the historic Human Genome Project possible. So when Obama announced yesterday a “precision medicine initiative”—something that would surely require ever-deeper knowledge about the personal genetic differences that influence health … Continue reading “Two Generations of Geneticists, Two “Precision Medicine” Wish Lists”
VC Activity in MI Nearly Doubled in 2014, Beating National Trend
Venture capital activity in Michigan nearly doubled in 2014, according to the MoneyTree report released last week by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). There was $219 million in venture capital invested in Michigan startups last year, compared with $111 million in 2013. Michigan’s rate of increase far exceeds the national average: 97 … Continue reading “VC Activity in MI Nearly Doubled in 2014, Beating National Trend”
Crowdfunding is Banging on Biotech’s Door. Will We Let It In?
In the summer of 2013, the medical device startup Scanadu made headlines around the world when Scout, its handheld medical diagnostic tool for consumers, raked in an astounding $1.6 million on the popular crowdfunding platform Indiegogo. That’s all well and good for a medical device, but most biotech veterans remain skeptical that crowdfunding can make … Continue reading “Crowdfunding is Banging on Biotech’s Door. Will We Let It In?”
In the Jiu-Jitsu Match of Biotech Risk, a Reminder of Other Paths
Risk makes for great headlines. I’m guilty as charged. My first column for Xconomy questioned whether biotech venture capitalists were losing relevance, running away from risk in an inherently risky business. Heading full steam into the new year, there will be plenty of headlines and stories from us and our peers about the brave and … Continue reading “In the Jiu-Jitsu Match of Biotech Risk, a Reminder of Other Paths”
Ventris Learning Aims to Close the Educational Achievement Gap
In the United States, a third of all fourth graders score below the basic level in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests, a standardized test that assesses students in their knowledge of a variety of subjects, including reading, writing, math, history, and civics. Scoring particularly low were students in socioeconomically challenged urban school … Continue reading “Ventris Learning Aims to Close the Educational Achievement Gap”
J.P. Morgan 2015: Notes, Thoughts, And Conversations From the Vortex
The word “story” gets ill treatment at events like the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. It often means an elevator pitch from a harried CEO to a distracted investor, or a few observations a journalist strings together with a headline, or Twitter snark trying to pass for insight. But we heard a real story on Sunday … Continue reading “J.P. Morgan 2015: Notes, Thoughts, And Conversations From the Vortex”
It Had to be You: Why Roche Was The Lone Suitor For Foundation
The buzz from day one of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco earlier this week was the announcement on Sunday night by Roche that it was acquiring a majority interest in Foundation Medicine (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FMI]]) for a bit more than $1 billion in cash, which translates into $50 a share. Those were just … Continue reading “It Had to be You: Why Roche Was The Lone Suitor For Foundation”
Failure:Lab Offers Empowerment Through Personal Tales of Woe
Failure: We’ve all experienced it, and, in the startup world, failure is often seen as a necessary step on the path to success. But if it’s such a universal experience, why are we so reluctant to talk about it? Wouldn’t we all feel a little better if we knew our friends and neighbors struggle just … Continue reading “Failure:Lab Offers Empowerment Through Personal Tales of Woe”
MIT MBA Students Tour Silicon Valley As Tech Campuses Expand
It’s easy to catch the technology bug. After all, tech companies are pretty much everywhere. I became hooked when I worked as an IT consultant at Accenture after college, and plan to work at a technology company after I finish my MBA. So when I had the opportunity to participate in a Technology Trek at … Continue reading “MIT MBA Students Tour Silicon Valley As Tech Campuses Expand”
Ideas for Diversity, Education, and Computer Science
On December 24 2009, Xconomy published a column in which I reflected on the preceding decade and predicted for the coming one. I still quote that column in talks, because it’s the one time I can remember when I was actually right: I said that this would be the decade in which computer scientists put … Continue reading “Ideas for Diversity, Education, and Computer Science”
Uber-Size Deals Dominate Mega Year in U.S. Venture Activity
Venture capital firms invested more than $47.3 billion in U.S. startups in 2014, marking the highest funding level of VC funding since 2001, according to data being released today by CB Insights, the New York-based venture capital database. The $47.3 billion was 62 percent more than the $29.2 billion that venture firms invested in 2013. … Continue reading “Uber-Size Deals Dominate Mega Year in U.S. Venture Activity”
Secure Beginnings Offers Air-Permeable Crib Mattress to Combat SIDS
My first, adorable-beyond-words niece was born November 30, and since then I’ve gotten a crash course on the modern rules of safe sleeping for infants. These days, they tell you to take all pillows and blankets out of the crib, lay newborns on their backs, and avoid letting them get too warm. It’s understandable why … Continue reading “Secure Beginnings Offers Air-Permeable Crib Mattress to Combat SIDS”
Houston, Austin, Raleigh, Denver Tops in U.S. for STEM Workers
All metro areas are not created equal. If you’re looking at job markets in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)—a major indicator of economic growth and innovation—the U.S. is a study in contrasts. That’s according to a survey by WalletHub, a financial information site based in Washington, DC. The analysis looked at metrics such as … Continue reading “Houston, Austin, Raleigh, Denver Tops in U.S. for STEM Workers”
Colleges Must Mix Entrepreneurial Skills, Traditional Liberal Arts
The great challenge facing higher education is to prepare students to navigate a world of accelerating uncertainty and faster churn. Training students to re-invent themselves every few years, as is already required in the world today, is an objective that legacy approaches to higher education is not optimized for. I’m convinced, however, that the University … Continue reading “Colleges Must Mix Entrepreneurial Skills, Traditional Liberal Arts”
In Search of a Better Approach to Breast Cancer Screening
As a venture investor in the healthcare sector, I see a lot of new medical technologies that promise improvement over the current standard of care. Opportunities that represent truly transformational change in medicine are rare, and those that address a major clinical challenge affecting tens of millions of lives are rarer still. Breast cancer screening … Continue reading “In Search of a Better Approach to Breast Cancer Screening”
Invest Michigan Awards $375K to Four Tech Startups
Invest Michigan announced this week that it has invested $375,000 in four early-stage tech startups through the Michigan Pre-Seed Fund 2.0. Invest Michigan is funded by the Michigan Strategic Fund and has $5.8 million earmarked for investment in high-tech startups with an additional $1 million dedicated to help universities transfer technology to the marketplace. “These … Continue reading “Invest Michigan Awards $375K to Four Tech Startups”
Schools Should Nurture Kids’ Natural Knack for Entrepreneurship
I think the most important change we could make in education would be to put more emphasis on exposing kids to entrepreneurship, starting very early on. I’ve found that kids have a natural inclination towards entrepreneurship—we just need to give them the opportunity to learn and practice the skills they need to act on their … Continue reading “Schools Should Nurture Kids’ Natural Knack for Entrepreneurship”
Seven Surprises About Convertible Notes That Founders Should Know
Over the past two years, there has been an explosion of the use of convertible notes for seed rounds. It used to be these debt instruments that convert to equity later at a discount to the price of the next round were only for small initial financings of, say, $250,000 for a company to get … Continue reading “Seven Surprises About Convertible Notes That Founders Should Know”
RetroSense Therapeutics Receives $6,000,000 Series A Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=43be5801-b784-4fdc-918a-9fb5b49c9259 Date 1/10/2015 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 Receives $6,000,000 Series A Funding Round”
Vineyard Capital, Detroit Venture Partners Lead $5M Round for Reach Influence
Royal Oak, MI-based retail analytics firm Reach Influence announced yesterday that it has closed a $5 million funding round led by Vineyard Capital Group, which is based in Bloomfield Hills, MI. Detroit Venture Partners also participated in the round. Eric Green, CEO of Reach Influence, says the investment comes with an invitation to locate in … Continue reading “Vineyard Capital, Detroit Venture Partners Lead $5M Round for Reach Influence”
Milestones of Innovation 1: Hamilton’s 1790 Report on the Public Credit
Today is the 225th anniversary of a milestone in the history of American innovation. On January 9, 1790, the 35-year-old secretary of the Treasury of the United States sent the House of Representatives a 40,000-word blueprint for the new nation’s financial system. The report was produced just four months after Congress commissioned it. Proposing the … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 1: Hamilton’s 1790 Report on the Public Credit”
reach | influence Lands $5,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=236cde37-7829-4a1e-aca8-dc026048149d Date 1/9/2015 Company Name reach | influence Mailing Address 302 S. Main St. Royal Oak, MI 48067 USA Company Description [ri] is committed to continuously expanding and improving our services and product offering for current and future clients. Partnering with strategic companies allows us to offer more technology and exceptional service … Continue reading “reach | influence Lands $5,000,000 New Round”
Wisely Expands Mission to Help Businesses Serve Their Best Customers
As I was driving through the Poconos on my way home from a holiday vacation last week, I flipped on NPR just in time to hear a Marketplace report on Wisely, the Ann Arbor-based startup that is on a new mission to cultivate relationships between customers and merchants. Wisely has been through a few iterations … Continue reading “Wisely Expands Mission to Help Businesses Serve Their Best Customers”
Even When Money is Easy, Rules of Biotech Finance Still Apply
Last month Juno Therapeutics closed a $250 million IPO, bringing the total raised since it was founded in Seattle in 2013 to close to $600 million. The money is earmarked to support more than ten clinical trials over the next 12 months. Last year, 133 biotech companies around the world raised $11 billion in initial … Continue reading “Even When Money is Easy, Rules of Biotech Finance Still Apply”
Don’t Get Comfortable: 5 Biopharma Flashpoints to Consider in 2015
The annual J.P. Morgan healthcare conference starts this weekend in San Francisco. Pundits are predicting a much higher tally of shoulder injuries than usual. You know, from all the people patting themselves on the back. After a year filled with medical promise and cash raining down from everywhere, the self-congratulation could be thicker than the … Continue reading “Don’t Get Comfortable: 5 Biopharma Flashpoints to Consider in 2015”
U-M Spinout 3D Biomatrix Secures U.S. Patent for Cell Culture Product
3D Biomatrix, the Ann Arbor, MI-based life science startup spun out of the University of Michigan in 2010, has finally secured a U.S. patent for the technology behind its hanging drop plates, which are used by researchers to grow cells in culture. It’s the first and only drop plate patent of its kind issued in … Continue reading “U-M Spinout 3D Biomatrix Secures U.S. Patent for Cell Culture Product”
Technology Upgrades: Welcome to My Nightmare (Yours Too?)
I was having coffee with a friend recently and the subject of word processing software came up. My friend related how he was happily using WordStar. WordStar? I hadn’t thought about it in years, but it was the first computer program I ever used, way back in 1984. I was surprised to find that not … Continue reading “Technology Upgrades: Welcome to My Nightmare (Yours Too?)”
Birdhouse Aims to Be Go-To App for Families Coping with Autism
[Corrected 1/5/15, 2:35 pm. See below.] Ben Chutz and Dani Gillman, co-founders of the Detroit-based startup Birdhouse for Autism, launched their company in 2012 because they were struggling to manage their daughter’s autism with the current tools available. For years, Gillman relied on paper notebooks, then a table she designed in Microsoft Word and printed … Continue reading “Birdhouse Aims to Be Go-To App for Families Coping with Autism”
Implications of the Oil Price Collapse
Instead of developing a warmed over list of “Top 10 Predictions for 2015,” over the past few months I have been most interested in the implications from the collapse of oil prices around the world. We will see the obvious and direct benefit to the U.S. consumer (November retail sales were up a surprising 0.7 … Continue reading “Implications of the Oil Price Collapse”
How Should the Innovation Community Solve Its Gender and Diversity Problems?
It’s been one of the hottest-button topics of the past year—and it’s not going away anytime soon. The under-representation of women and minorities in technology and innovation jobs is a real issue, particularly at the highest levels of organizations. The question, as I see it, is what to do about it. But not everyone sees … Continue reading “How Should the Innovation Community Solve Its Gender and Diversity Problems?”
So You Want to Be an Early Stage Investor?
I absolutely love what I do—running a seed-stage venture fund (Founders’ Co-op) and startup accelerator (Techstars Seattle)—but neither is a job with a well-defined career path. Unlike later-stage or public market investing, where finance and quantitative analysis is a big part of the job, effective early-stage investing requires a combination of human, strategic, and operational … Continue reading “So You Want to Be an Early Stage Investor?”
Teach More Business in School
Science, medicine and information technology have become intimately entangled with business on all levels. Whether in academic settings or business settings, success in these areas increasingly requires involvement with basic business concepts and principles that aren’t taught in college. Undergraduates in science and engineering disciplines graduate from universities and enter positions in biotechnology and technology … Continue reading “Teach More Business in School”
Dallas Entrepreneur Center Aims to Bridge Tech’s Diversity Divide
The issue of gender and diversity is not a new challenge but one that has recently come to the forefront in a lot of our communities. There seems to be an awareness of the issues and an inherent need to address, but many are still conflicted how to best move forward. I think the best … Continue reading “Dallas Entrepreneur Center Aims to Bridge Tech’s Diversity Divide”
Hepatitis C Commercial Game Theory
Anyone either celebrating or fearing the start of a Hepatitis C drug price war should take a break from the excitement to consider that a far more nuanced and profound game is at hand, one where the rules of tacit collusion (the legal kind) constrain price erosion—and each new entrant with a “good enough” drug … Continue reading “Hepatitis C Commercial Game Theory”
The Small Business Revolution Will Be Measured
In 2015 I predict we will see a rise in the number of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that collect and analyze data for improving operational efficiencies, reducing risk, and better meeting customer needs. People tend to think of big data and business intelligence as living mostly in the realm of the big enterprise. Large … Continue reading “The Small Business Revolution Will Be Measured”
What Was the Biggest Surprise of 2014?
As we close out the year, we at Xconomy have been asking our network of sources and informal advisors (the Xconomists) a series of questions. An obvious but telling one was to inquire about the biggest surprise of 2014, from their point of view. We’ve been posting their answers on a variety of topics as … Continue reading “What Was the Biggest Surprise of 2014?”
HDL Therapeutics Secures $2,045,000 Series B Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d76583e9-1bac-4df9-8b73-efb4f3663874 Date 12/31/2014 Company Name HDL Therapeutics Mailing Address 46701 Commerce Center Drive Plymouth, MI 48170 USA Company Description The company is developing various biotechnologies. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,045,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. Contact technology company for … Continue reading “HDL Therapeutics Secures $2,045,000 Series B Funding”
Improve Education with Great Expectations for All Students
If I could change one thing about our K-12 education system, it would be to end the curse of low expectations in Washington’s public schools. Numerous studies have shown that teacher and principal expectations have a profound effect on school culture and student performance. A student treated as if she or he can accomplish anything … Continue reading “Improve Education with Great Expectations for All Students”
Attracting, Retaining Talent Key to Driving Economy Forward
A major issue continues to be how to attract and train the necessary talent to drive forward both individual businesses and the economy as a whole. This issue is being addressed in pockets (such as some nascent, innovative programs in Michigan), but not nearly at the scope that is needed. Among other things, it involves … Continue reading “Attracting, Retaining Talent Key to Driving Economy Forward”
5 Tips for Students to Get Ahead in Technology and Business
What advice would you give students interested in your field? That’s a question we posed to our network of Xconomists around the country. They range from academic leaders to startup founders to venture capitalists. What we found was that their answers were generally bigger than their particular field of expertise. Taken together, the tips provide … Continue reading “5 Tips for Students to Get Ahead in Technology and Business”