Category: Detroit

Social Patient Receives New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e71a1115-a349-480e-b179-eea96fc65f38&Preview=1 Date 10/30/2012 Company Name Social Patient Mailing Address Undisclosed Rochester Hills, MI 48307 Company Description Rochester Hills-based Social Patient (formerly myHygia) is commercializing its cloud-based health technology platform that improves access to care through technology that rewards treatment compliance and social engagement. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed … Continue reading “Social Patient Receives New Financing”

Seven Tech Startups Snag $232,000 in State Microloans

Seven early-stage tech startups have received loans from the Michigan Microloan Fund Program, the state announced earlier this month. The funding, dispersed quarterly, this time amounted to a total of $232,000. To date, the microloan fund program has lent $2.8 million to Michigan companies that are on the brink of being revenue-ready. “The criteria is … Continue reading “Seven Tech Startups Snag $232,000 in State Microloans”

The New Power Players in Drug R&D Are Wearing Bright T-Shirts

See all those people signing up for the 10K charity run/walk in your hometown this weekend? Those folks in your Facebook photo album, decked out with colorful T-shirts and uplifting messages about fighting some disease? You could easily have written off many of these nonprofit fundraisers a few years ago as well-intended, but ultimately ineffective, … Continue reading “The New Power Players in Drug R&D Are Wearing Bright T-Shirts”

How the Larklife Wristband Could Turn Us All Into Quantified-Selfers

If you’re willing to to walk around all day wearing sensors that record your activity and compile the data into fancy reports and graphs, you must be either a pretty big geek, or a fanatical athlete training for an ultramarathon-style event, or both. At least, that’s been the conventional wisdom. And there’s some truth in … Continue reading “How the Larklife Wristband Could Turn Us All Into Quantified-Selfers”

RIIS On Android Security (And Why Consumers Should Be Worried)

Nolan Godfrey, founder and president of a Southfield, MI-based IT company called RIIS, has the soul of a writer.  An early expert on Java security, he eventually fell in love with the written word and only reluctantly came back to computers after realizing he wrote “too slowly to make any money.” But he also has … Continue reading “RIIS On Android Security (And Why Consumers Should Be Worried)”

Xconomist of the Week: NPS’s Francois Nader Shares Lessons Learned

NPS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NPSP]]) is gearing up for its first FDA approval, a mere 26 years after the company was founded. It is also six years since CEO Francois Nader joined the Bedminster, NJ, firm to engineer a dramatic structural overhaul, turning a fully integrated pharmaceutical company, which had spent decades developing drugs for osteoporosis, … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: NPS’s Francois Nader Shares Lessons Learned”

Llamasoft Lands $6,000,000 Series A Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=25c9e955-8a5b-4068-affa-3a118bd4cf0c&Preview=1 Date 10/25/2012 Company Name Llamasoft Mailing Address 201 South Main St. 4th Floor Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Company Description LLamasoft provides software and expertise to help large organizations design and improve their supply chain network operations. Supply Chain Guru® is the leading Supply Chain Design and predictive analytics application available in … Continue reading “Llamasoft Lands $6,000,000 Series A Funding Round”

TiE Detroit Establishes New Angel Investment Group

TiE Detroit, the local chapter of the global entrepreneurial network, announced it has established an angel investment group to leverage the skills, capital, and connections of its members in an effort to bolster up-and-coming Michigan startups. Sonali Vijayavargiya, chair of the TiE Detroit Angels and managing director at Ann Arbor, MI-based Augment Ventures, says the group … Continue reading “TiE Detroit Establishes New Angel Investment Group”

Scale Computing Obtains $12,000,000 Series D Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8ae1e4c1-47b0-48dd-a632-0a2bed5b3de9&Preview=1 Date 10/23/2012 Company Name Scale Computing Mailing Address 5225 Exploration Drive Indianapolis, IN 46241 Company Description Scale Computing was founded to reduce storage costs, increase your control, and make managing storage much more convenient. We call it the Three Cs. Others call it the emergence of Third Generation storage. Our customers … Continue reading “Scale Computing Obtains $12,000,000 Series D Financing”

Credit Suisse, State Investment Funds Parting Ways

Back in July, Credit Suisse, the global banking giant, announced that is was selling off its Customized Fund Investment Group (CFIG). Since the CFIG administers more than than $500 million in capital spread across the state government’s various investment funds—one of the largest pools of private equity capital in Michigan—there are potentially big ramifications if the CFIG is sold. Now, … Continue reading “Credit Suisse, State Investment Funds Parting Ways”

TechArb Student Venture Showcase

More than 20 student-led ventures from TechArb, the University of Michigan incubator, will present their startups to area venture capitalists and members of the local entrepreneurial community at this event, which is open to the public. Registration required; click here.

Who Will Survive the Biotech VC Downturn? The Young and the Proven

[Updated: 10:10 am PT, 12/10/12] Most people, if they’re being honest, don’t have a clear plan for what they’ll be doing in their careers five years from now. But career planning is serious, high-stakes business for biotech venture capitalists. When a firm raises a new fund to invest in biotechnology, the partners have to personally … Continue reading “Who Will Survive the Biotech VC Downturn? The Young and the Proven”

Job Growth Malarkey: Avoid the Mermaid Strategy

Last week’s presidential debate once again focused on the need to create new jobs in the United States. And yet with barely two weeks to go until the election, neither candidate presented a convincing or nuanced understanding of the dynamics of job creation. Together the two candidates referred to “small business” 21 times during the … Continue reading “Job Growth Malarkey: Avoid the Mermaid Strategy”

CrowdSource Lands $12,500,000 Series A Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0357a479-8fb4-4a6c-ad7b-507c115b3941&Preview=1 Date 10/22/2012 Company Name CrowdSource Mailing Address 33 Bronze Pointe Swansea, IL 62226 Company Description CrowdSource delivers highly scalable solutions to enterprise clients worldwide. Using a distributed workforce, CrowdSource provides clients with high-quality, cost-effective results at unprecedented speed. By leveraging pre-qualified groups of skilled workers, breaking complex tasks into microtasks and … Continue reading “CrowdSource Lands $12,500,000 Series A Funding Round”

MoneyTree Report: Q3 Venture Activity in Detroit Strongest Ever

According to MoneyTree Report data released today by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and PricewaterhouseCoopers, Detroit had its strongest quarter in venture activity since the firm began tracking the data in 1995. In the third quarter of 2012, there were five deals worth a whopping $106.3 million, according to the report. One has to … Continue reading “MoneyTree Report: Q3 Venture Activity in Detroit Strongest Ever”

Moleskine Goes Digital: The Story Behind Evernote’s Smart Notebook

Certain pairings make the world a better place. Peanut butter and jelly. Fred and Ginger. Pinot Noir and chocolate. Evernote and Moleskine. That last one might not be familiar to you, yet. But a few weeks ago, the Milan, Italy-based publisher Moleskine introduced a new line of “Smart Notebooks” designed to be used in conjunction … Continue reading “Moleskine Goes Digital: The Story Behind Evernote’s Smart Notebook”

Dear Members of Congress: Don’t Gut the NIH Budget

In 1973, research spearheaded by Herbert Boyer at the University of California San Francisco and Stanley Cohen at Stanford University led to the discovery of recombinant DNA technology and, in turn, genetic engineering. That basic scientific investigation, supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), ultimately spawned an entire industry. What we now … Continue reading “Dear Members of Congress: Don’t Gut the NIH Budget”

Some Q3 Megadeals Amid Decline in U.S. VC Activity: Behold the Top 10

Venture firms invested $6.48 billion in 890 deals throughout the United States during the three months that ended September 30, according to the MoneyTree Report being released today by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Venture activity remained strong during the third quarter in the software sector, but funding for life sciences and … Continue reading “Some Q3 Megadeals Amid Decline in U.S. VC Activity: Behold the Top 10”

BuyerCurious Receives $1,750,000 Series A Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7a34fbe8-40fb-494a-a5c9-fbc26f802132&Preview=1 Date 10/19/2012 Company Name BuyerCurious Mailing Address 339 Second Street Excelsior, MN 55331 Company Description At DealCurious, our mission is to reinvent the home buying and selling experience through the use of technology. In so doing, we will deliver unsurpassed value to Buyers and Sellers. Our research tells us that customers … Continue reading “BuyerCurious Receives $1,750,000 Series A Funding”

Xconomist of the Week: Angel John Landry Says No to Consumer Apps, Couples

[Updated, October 18, 2012–see below] A few weeks ago, Xconomy posted a slide-show extravaganza called Top Angel Investors of New England that featured short profiles of 34 of the region’s leading individual investors. To help choose the candidates, we culled through editors’ knowledge banks, and surveyed entrepreneurs and investors alike. One name on nearly everyone’s … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Angel John Landry Says No to Consumer Apps, Couples”

Jaitly Leaving Knight Foundation to Lead Twitter’s Efforts In India

Xconomist Rishi Jaitly, who has led the Knight Foundation‘s efforts in Detroit for nearly the past two years, announced yesterday in an email to local grantees that he’s leaving Knight to take a job leading Twitter‘s efforts in India. This represents a return to big tech companies—prior to taking the position at Knight, Jaitly worked … Continue reading “Jaitly Leaving Knight Foundation to Lead Twitter’s Efforts In India”

U-M Announces Venture Shaping, Dare to Dream Grant Recipients

The University of Michigan’s Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies has awarded nearly $30,000 in grants to student startups as part of its Mayleben Venture Shaping and Dare to Dream programs. Each year, the programs award up to $100,000 to student companies semi-annually. This round’s funded entrepreneurs are working in a wide range of sectors, … Continue reading “U-M Announces Venture Shaping, Dare to Dream Grant Recipients”

Deal Count Rises, But Third Quarter VC Funding Lags Behind ’11 Pace

Venture capital activity continued apace during the third quarter, with $7.5 billion invested in 835 deals nationwide—the highest deals tally since the dot-com era. But the overall funding total for 2012 is expected to decline from the $30.7 billion invested in 2011, according to a report today from New York financial data firm CB Insights. … Continue reading “Deal Count Rises, But Third Quarter VC Funding Lags Behind ’11 Pace”

Braintree Garners $35,000,000 Series B Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=08b5fd94-0e7b-43a0-aba3-9a9fd1006803&Preview=1 Date 10/17/2012 Company Name Braintree Mailing Address 833 W. Jackson Chicago, IL 60607 Company Description We help businesses process credit card payments by providing a merchant account, payment gateway, recurring billing and credit card storage. We work with companies primarily based in the U.S. but do have several large international customers. … Continue reading “Braintree Garners $35,000,000 Series B Round”

A123 Files for Bankruptcy, Sells Off Auto Business

[Updated 4:20pm ET. See below] It’s a dark day for A123 Systems and U.S. cleantech. The struggling Waltham, MA, lithium-ion battery maker (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AONE]]) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is selling its automotive business to industrial tech company Johnson Controls (NYSE: [[ticker:JCI]]) for $125 million. That means A123’s plants in Livonia and Romulus, MI, … Continue reading “A123 Files for Bankruptcy, Sells Off Auto Business”

Course Hack Lets Students Automatically Organize Assignments

When Course Hack co- founder and CEO Chris Roszell was attending Michigan State University, he spent a lot of time transcribing what was on his syllabi into iCal, the native calendar app on iPhones. “It took a lot of time,” he explains. “I knew if I could come up with some kind of script [to … Continue reading “Course Hack Lets Students Automatically Organize Assignments”

Ask the Investors Roundtable (Ann Arbor)

Remos Lenio from Hartwick Capital and Ken Kousky from BlueWater Angels will lead a workshop and panel discussion where participants will be able to ask investors what kinds of businesses they like to put money into. The workshop will cover crowdfunding strategies. To register, click here.

Which VCs Are Poised to Cash In On the Biotech IPOs of 2012?

There’s a story going on in biotech venture capital, and it’s about a slow and painful death. Four years after the start of the Great Recession, and after a decade of too much promising and too little delivering, the majority of biotech VCs are struggling to stay afloat. Firms are shutting their doors, forcing partners … Continue reading “Which VCs Are Poised to Cash In On the Biotech IPOs of 2012?”

Accelerate Michigan Announces 2012 Semi-Finalists

The 53 semi-finalists competing in Accelerate Michigan, the busi­ness-plan com­pe­ti­tion tar­geting mid-to-late-stage startups located in the state, have been announced. At stake is more than $1 mil­lion in cash prizes, plus in-kind awards of ser­vices, staffing, and software. More than that, Accelerate Michigan winners are usually considered among Michigan’s most promising startps and companies to watch. Winners … Continue reading “Accelerate Michigan Announces 2012 Semi-Finalists”

I Won’t Buy an iPad Mini—But Parents and Schools Will

Until recently, I was an iPad Mini denier. A tablet with a 7- or 8-inch screen feels like the worst of both worlds to me—too big for simple e-reading, too small for serious Web browsing, games, and photos. And Apple has historically been a creator, not a joiner, so the idea that the company would … Continue reading “I Won’t Buy an iPad Mini—But Parents and Schools Will”

Hygieia’s Insulin Guidance System Approved for European Use

Ann Arbor, MI-based Hygieia announced this week that its d-Nav Diabetes Insulin Guidance System (DIGS) has received a CE Mark, which is the European equivalent of FDA approval. This fall, two diabetes treatment centers in England and Ireland plan to start using the d-Nav DIGS, which was developed with technology from the University of Michigan. … Continue reading “Hygieia’s Insulin Guidance System Approved for European Use”

Xconomist of the Week: Bill Warner’s Rules for Angel Investing

First, a word to the wise. These investment rules may work for Bill Warner, but they’re not for everyone. Because Warner is one of a kind. The renowned Boston-area techie founded Avid Technology (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVID]]) in video production and Wildfire Communications in voice-based systems, back in the day. In recent years he has dedicated his … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Bill Warner’s Rules for Angel Investing”

InXpo Obtains $1,313,287 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f8e26db1-faf4-4c4c-b58d-049b42a5f436&Preview=1 Date 10/10/2012 Company Name InXpo Mailing Address 770 N Halsted Street Chicago, IL 60642 Company Description InXpo is the leading provider of privately-branded virtual events, including Virtual Trade Shows, Virtual Career Fairs and Virtual Corporate Events, as well as Audio and Video Webcasts. These virtual solutions dramatically reduce travel time and … Continue reading “InXpo Obtains $1,313,287 New Round”

Life Technologies Acquires Compendia Bioscience for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=707e4d35-e5cc-45e6-9541-6de2fe350b2b&Preview=1 Date 10/10/2012 Company Name Compendia Bioscience Mailing Address 110 Miller Avenue Floor 2 Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Company Description Compendia Bioscience is dedicated to applying the global collection of cancer genomic data to impact patient treatment by enabling the discovery and development and better cancer diagnostics and treatments. Website http://www.compendiabio.com Transaction … Continue reading “Life Technologies Acquires Compendia Bioscience for Undisclosed Sum”

Appirio Acquires Knowledge Infusion for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=90ae9caf-0859-49d8-a714-8becf0d806f0&Preview=1 Date 10/10/2012 Company Name Knowledge Infusion Mailing Address 7760 France Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55435 Company Description Knowledge Infusion is an HR and human capital consulting firm that guides enterprise organizations through HR and technology transformations. Our unique approach, proven methodologies and in-depth experience help us drive change and deliver value … Continue reading “Appirio Acquires Knowledge Infusion for Undisclosed Sum”

Ann Arbor’s Compendia Bioscience Acquired by Life Technologies

Compendia Bioscience, an Ann Arbor, MI, startup spun out of technology developed at the University of Michigan, announced today that it has been acquired by California-based Life Technologies Corp. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Compendia, which has 34 employees, was started in 2006 to commercialize Oncomine, a cancer genomics research database that pharmaceutical companies … Continue reading “Ann Arbor’s Compendia Bioscience Acquired by Life Technologies”

My Health Direct Secures $1,500,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=45c48184-e82c-4421-ad4e-0a91e8464800&Preview=1 Date 10/9/2012 Company Name My Health Direct Mailing Address 150 N Sunnyslope Rd Brookfield, WI 53005 Company Description My Health Direct provides an easy to use web tool for clinicians in the ER to re-direct non-emergent patients to the appropriate setting in the community with a confirmed appointment based on the … Continue reading “My Health Direct Secures $1,500,000 New Financing”

Diary of an Entrepreneur

TechTown hosts this event where Vince Thomas, founder and CEO of Troy-based Billhighway, will offer lessons and cautionary tales from his journey to creating a successful startup. A Q&A session will follow the presentation. To register, click here.

TechCrunch Detroit Meet Up

TechCrunch stops in Detroit as part of its Northern Tour in search of compelling startups. The organizers invite founders, investors, dreamers, students, and more for an evening of food, drink, and “geeky conversation.” For details and registration, click here.

Watch Out SF, Boston Is Turning Into Biotech’s No. 1 Cluster

Biotech has never concentrated in just one place. This industry tends to grow up in geographic clusters, but it will always be spread across the map, partly because great science comes from hundreds of academic hotspots around the world. But there have always been two places—San Francisco and Boston—that have stood out far above all … Continue reading “Watch Out SF, Boston Is Turning Into Biotech’s No. 1 Cluster”

Velocent Systems Garners $726,000 Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f80b416e-7bf9-4b2e-96c5-008f096fe10b&Preview=1 Date 10/8/2012 Company Name Velocent Systems Mailing Address 1250 E. Diehl Rd. Naperville, IL 60563 Company Description Velocent assists mobile operators in delivering superior quality service by identifying and helping resolve hidden problems that hinder mobile network performance and degrade customer experience. Deep packet inspection (DPI) technology provides high granularity service … Continue reading “Velocent Systems Garners $726,000 Series A Financing Round”

Tolera Therapeutics Receives $5,406,298 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b42cf5b2-a4fe-42f2-a2fc-271ffaa0d4e9&Preview=1 Date 10/8/2012 Company Name Tolera Therapeutics Mailing Address 350 E. Michigan Avenue Kalamazoo, MI 49007 Company Description Building upon research done at the University of Kentucky and the Cleveland Clinic, Tolera Therapeutics is developing and commercializing therapies for the immune suppression / modulation market with the goal of addressing unmet medical … Continue reading “Tolera Therapeutics Receives $5,406,298 New Round”

Traycer Diagnostic Systems Obtains $505,037 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=72099abc-99cf-4a68-ac71-d48c44bd8a72&Preview=1 Date 10/5/2012 Company Name Traycer Diagnostic Systems Mailing Address 1275 Kinnear Rd Columbus, OH 43212 Company Description Traycer Systems, Inc. has been a leader in terahertz (THz) knowledge since 2008, developing unique IP for the detection, imaging, & creation of THz light while gaining the attention of organizations such as Ohio … Continue reading “Traycer Diagnostic Systems Obtains $505,037 New Financing Round”

New Kiva Zip Program Lets Detroiters Lend Directly to Entrepreneurs

At the end of September, the microfinance initiative Kiva Detroit announced it was launching Kiva Zip to allow Detroiters to lend directly to small-business entrepreneurs using digital tools like PayPal. Similar to the Kickstarter model, any resident can nominate a local entrepreneur for community support as well as contribute directly to a crowd-funded, interest-free loan. Lenders … Continue reading “New Kiva Zip Program Lets Detroiters Lend Directly to Entrepreneurs”

Xconomist of the Week: SRI’s Curt Carlson on 7 Rules for Creating Jobs

“This all comes down to job growth,” Curt Carlson says, considering the future of the U.S. economy. “Budget cuts and changes to tax policies and regulations are necessary. But whether they lower rates for some people, increase revenue by taxing the rich, or close corporate loopholes, they aren’t remotely enough to offset the deficit we face. … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: SRI’s Curt Carlson on 7 Rules for Creating Jobs”