Category: Detroit

Intellihot Green Technologies Receives Series A Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=49d509a0-7243-473a-8934-75aa2e8baf56&Preview=1 Date 10/4/2012 Company Name Intellihot Green Technologies Mailing Address 2900 W. Main Street Galesburg, IL 61401 Company Description Intellihot Green Technologies Inc. manufactures tankless water heater systems for residential and commercial applications. The system developed after several years of extensive research and development has been recognized for its innovative design and … Continue reading “Intellihot Green Technologies Receives Series A Funding”

Bringing Fantasy Sports to the Bar With MyInteractiveVision

“Come on, girls,” my mom said with a heavy sigh. “This is getting ridiculous.” It was a beautiful Sunday in September, and she was talking to my sister and me. We were sitting in a Montauk, NY, hotel room on a ladies weekend vacation/wedding-venue search mission. My mom was miffed because we were late to … Continue reading “Bringing Fantasy Sports to the Bar With MyInteractiveVision”

LanzaTech Garners $15,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b34b7807-f9b9-42e0-a842-32ec14c35e2f&Preview=1 Date 10/3/2012 Company Name LanzaTech Mailing Address 725-C E. Irving Park Road Roselle, IL 60172 Company Description The Illinois-based company exploits a species of bacteria–discovered in the intestinal tract of rabbits–that breaks down carbon monoxide and reassembles the atoms into ethanol. Website http://www.lanzatech.co.nz Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $15,000,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “LanzaTech Garners $15,000,000 New Funding”

Mainstay Medical Secures $2,519,493 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d8a3e39f-ae78-4b2c-828c-cd0299bf5f84&Preview=1 Date 10/3/2012 Company Name Mainstay Medical Mailing Address 100 South Fifth Street 19th Floor Minneapolis, MN 55402 Company Description The company provides products and services of medical devices and equipment. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,519,493 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory … Continue reading “Mainstay Medical Secures $2,519,493 New Financing Round”

The Reproducibility Initiative: A Good Idea in Theory that Won’t Work in Practice

The failure of scientists to independently confirm much of the data contained in “hot” academic publications is casting a long shadow over the biopharmaceutical industry. Research groups at Amgen and Bayer reported that the data in a significant percentage of published “breakthrough” papers from academic scientists could not be confirmed in their labs. Given that … Continue reading “The Reproducibility Initiative: A Good Idea in Theory that Won’t Work in Practice”

Fusion Coolant Systems Grows, Opens Detroit Tech Center

The University of Michigan has a good reputation for spinning out technology developed and pioneered at the university into successful startups, and cleantech startup Fusion Coolant Systems is no exception. The company, which was based in Ann Arbor before opening a tech center on the west side of Detroit, was launched in 2010 to commercialize an … Continue reading “Fusion Coolant Systems Grows, Opens Detroit Tech Center”

Betting on Biotech to Catalyze U.S. Job Growth? Don’t Count On It

The big national conversation this election year is about jobs. The number of unemployed, underemployed, and discouraged workers in the U.S. has been scary-high for a few years now. Everyone wants to know in the wake of the Great Recession how to create more jobs, more high-wage jobs, and train more Americans to get those … Continue reading “Betting on Biotech to Catalyze U.S. Job Growth? Don’t Count On It”

Tactile Systems Technology Obtains $9,100,272 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=36afba01-198a-4481-b2d3-2abcc44f0f7e&Preview=1 Date 9/28/2012 Company Name Tactile Systems Technology Mailing Address 1331 Tyler Street NE Minneapolis, MN 55413 Company Description Tactile Systems Technology, Inc. was founded in 1995 to develop and market a medical device for the effective treatment of lymphedema and venous insufficiencies. The Flexitouch Lymphedema System, Tactile System’s patented 2-Phase Lymph … Continue reading “Tactile Systems Technology Obtains $9,100,272 New Round”

Bongotones Launches 3.0 Version, Mobile Apps, Detroit Location

Metro Detroit-based startup Bongotones, which sells customized ringtones, wallpaper, MP3s, games and more to a global customer base, recently launched its overhauled platform. Meant to be more appealing to users, Bongotones’ 3.0 version has a cleaner interface. On Monday, Bongotones will launch the mobile version of its site, followed by iPhone and Android apps a … Continue reading “Bongotones Launches 3.0 Version, Mobile Apps, Detroit Location”

Kinsella Redux: Charting a Way Back for Life Sciences Startups

As a man of many talents, Avalon Ventures’ Kevin Kinsella has a tendency to apply a term from one of his fields of interests in a conversation about another. Kinsella’s career as a biotech venture investor has spanned nearly 30 years and more than 100 financings. These include early stage bets on San Francisco-based Onyx … Continue reading “Kinsella Redux: Charting a Way Back for Life Sciences Startups”

U-M Grad Program in Entrepreneurship Ranked No. 2 in Nation

The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine have named University of Michigan’s graduate program in entrepreneurship one of the best in the nation, the university announced this week. Coming in at the No. 2 spot—the highest it’s ever been ranked—this is the third year in a row that the Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for … Continue reading “U-M Grad Program in Entrepreneurship Ranked No. 2 in Nation”

WellFount Lands $600,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=58ff0a4c-3119-4f30-af6b-2062d501bd53&Preview=1 Date 9/26/2012 Company Name WellFount Mailing Address 5751 W 73rd St Indianapolis, IN 46278 Company Description The InSite Remote Dispensing System is the first medication management system designed to meet the unique challenges of long-term care facilities like yours. It enables timely, pharmacist-approved, on-demand medication dispensing right at your facility. Website … Continue reading “WellFount Lands $600,000 New Financing”

Secure-24 Garners New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fd97f90e-6598-4541-b296-1c29d7cf8379&Preview=1 Date 9/26/2012 Company Name Secure-24 Mailing Address 26955 Northwestern Highway Southfield, MI 48033 Company Description Many industries. Countless solutions. One belief. At Secure-24, we stand by the belief that your success is our success. From health care to automotive, we serve a large variety of industries with customized IT solutions – … Continue reading “Secure-24 Garners New Funding”

Genomes-R-Us: Is BGI now Complete?

The sad endgame in the acquisition of Complete Genomics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GNOM]]) came last week: having failed to create a sustainable business, CGI was put up for sale in June of this year, culminating in a takeover by sequencing powerhouse BGI for $117.6 million in cash plus $30 million in bridge financing. Behind that headline is … Continue reading “Genomes-R-Us: Is BGI now Complete?”

Detroit Leading U.S. Development of New Vehicle-to-Grid Technology

It’s no secret that auto manufacturers, battery manufacturers, government officials, and champions of renewable energy everywhere are disappointed by the slow rate of consumer adoption when it comes to electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf. But imagine how that might change if consumers could earn money from their electric cars. That concept, … Continue reading “Detroit Leading U.S. Development of New Vehicle-to-Grid Technology”

Covidien Acquires CNS Therapeutics for $100,000,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4f5ba081-416d-47f5-8fae-955ebcbb6268&Preview=1 Date 9/25/2012 Company Name CNS Therapeutics Mailing Address 332 Minnesota Street Saint Paul, MN 55101 Company Description CNS Therapeutics develops and brings to market safe, high-quality pharmaceuticals for site-specific delivery to the central nervous system. Gablofen (baclofen injection) marks first breakthrough for CNS Therapeutics. Website http://www.gablofen.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Covidien Acquires CNS Therapeutics for $100,000,000”

Social News Reader Flud Expands to Serve Businesses

Flud, creator of a social news reader that delivers visually appealing, shareable news streams to consumers’ mobile and tablet devices, has pivoted slightly to offer a version of its platform tailored to businesses. The San Diego and Detroit-based startup wants to disrupt the current intranet and inter-office email mode of conversation, with all those annoying … Continue reading “Social News Reader Flud Expands to Serve Businesses”

Who Should Life Science Pros Follow on Twitter?

[Updated: 6:45 pm ET] Last week, I made a case that Twitter has begun to come of age in biotech, and it’s now a must-read source of real-time industry news and information. But one helpful reader (on Twitter, of course) pointed out something was missing in that column: a list of people in the biotech … Continue reading “Who Should Life Science Pros Follow on Twitter?”

String Enterprises Obtains $1,101,084 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=998fe1d1-0d15-463f-bf61-4cef34160488&Preview=1 Date 9/24/2012 Company Name String Enterprises Mailing Address 3266 N Arsenal Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46218 Company Description While the name of String Enterprises Inc. was taken from a high-level concept in modern physics, the current focus of the company is on the eminently practical idea to make software to help manage … Continue reading “String Enterprises Obtains $1,101,084 New Financing Round”

Apnex Medical Receives $10,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7ba892db-9800-4baa-a5f6-ba7dd6013851&Preview=1 Date 9/24/2012 Company Name Apnex Medical Mailing Address 2890 Centre Pointe Drive St. Paul, MN 55113 Company Description APNEX Medical is the second spin-out company of Prospex Medical, Inc., a medical device incubator founded in 2005 by Michael Berman, Robert Atkinson, and Chad Kugler. The company is developing a medical device … Continue reading “Apnex Medical Receives $10,000,000 New Financing Round”

Detroit’s LocalData Wins Knight Foundation Funding

LocalData, a digital information-gathering and sharing platform born out of the work done by three Code for America fellows deployed to Detroit, has just been awarded funding from the Knight Foundation. The $300,000 grant was announced this week at San Francisco’s Online News Association conference as part of Knight’s News Challenge competition. Knight, along with the … Continue reading “Detroit’s LocalData Wins Knight Foundation Funding”

National Encore Entrepreneur Day

TechTown hosts this workshop for entrepreneurs age 50 and older. No matter what kind of business you’re interested in starting, this workshop will offer tips on planning and resources. Registration required; call (877) 926-8300 no later than Sept. 27 to confirm attendance.

WellnessFX Offers Insights—But Are Americans Ready to Be Healthy?

“It says here you drink four or more cups of coffee a day. Do you feel like you really need that much?” Yes. Yes, I do, thank you very much. I’m on the phone with a doctor in Sacramento. He’s looking at the results of the blood-chemistry tests I recently commissioned through WellnessFX, along with … Continue reading “WellnessFX Offers Insights—But Are Americans Ready to Be Healthy?”

Former LinkedIn Researcher Starts Meritful, a Network for Students

While teaching high school as he was pursuing his phD at the University of Michigan, Azarias Reda spent a lot of time with kids. However, something always bothered him: These students were always online, but what were they telling the world about themselves? “They’re actively generating content, except not a lot of it is useful … Continue reading “Former LinkedIn Researcher Starts Meritful, a Network for Students”

Corporate Venture Activity Rebounds After Slump in Deals and Dollars

Corporate venture capital investments started strong and stayed high during the second quarter, with $2.1 billion invested in innovative startups throughout the United States during the three months that ended in June, according to a survey released today. That’s a 16 percent gain over the $1.8 billion that corporate VCs invested during the same quarter … Continue reading “Corporate Venture Activity Rebounds After Slump in Deals and Dollars”

Boston Scientific Acquires BridgePoint Medical for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=14791070-9bff-48b1-a84a-2cfad73c741f&Preview=1 Date 9/20/2012 Company Name BridgePoint Medical Mailing Address 1335 10th Ave. N Plymouth, MN 55441 Company Description BridgePoint Medical, a private company with headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is focused on developing innovative and proprietary technology in the field of interventional cardiology for access to and treatment of chronic total occlusions. Website … Continue reading “Boston Scientific Acquires BridgePoint Medical for Undisclosed Sum”

Detroit Lions Pledge $500K to Support Local Entrepreneurs

The entrepreneurial momentum in Detroit these days has apparently touched even our reborn NFL team, the Detroit Lions. The team announced a new philanthropic initiative yesterday called Living for the City, part of which involves a partnership between the Lions and Hatch Detroit, a popular local business plan competition, to help entrepreneurs in neighborhoods outside … Continue reading “Detroit Lions Pledge $500K to Support Local Entrepreneurs”

Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition

This international business competition is designed to bring entrepreneurs from later stage companies and investors together. This year, the competition will be held at multiple locations throughout Detroit, including the Guardian Building, Orchestra Hall, and the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel. For details and registration, click here.

Open Pitch Night

Detroit entrepreneurs who want to refine their idea-pitching skills are invited to attend this TechTown event. Those  interesed in pitching will be entered into a drawing upon arrival. A TechTown representative will draw 15 names from the pool; each will get three minutes to pitch followed by two minutes of open Q&A. Presenters must pitch a Detroit-based … Continue reading “Open Pitch Night”

SI Detroit

This quarterly meeting for software and Internet entrepreneurs will focus on opportunities in the automotive industry. Panelists include John Hater, GM Ventures; Chris Stallman, Fontinalis Partners; Massimo Baldini, Livio Connect; Joel Hoffmann, Intel Automotive Division and GENIVI Aliance; and Ralph Mueller, the Eclipse Foundation (Germany). For details and registration, click here.

Ensuring TPP Doesn’t Derail Innovation

From e-commerce and the iPad to new medical devices and cutting edge manufacturing breakthroughs, American innovation has been on hyper drive over the last decade and has dynamically altered the ways in which we work and live in today’s modern economy. Yet, now there are questions as to whether the United States will continue to … Continue reading “Ensuring TPP Doesn’t Derail Innovation”

Torax Medical Garners $30,000,000 Series D Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d97d7974-cc15-4b44-b771-6ede5888e76e&Preview=1 Date 9/19/2012 Company Name Torax Medical Mailing Address 6901 East Fish Lake Road Maple Grove, MN 55369 Company Description Torax Medical, a clinical-stage medical device company founded in 2002 Website http://www.tm-partners.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $30,000,000 Transaction Round Series D Proceeds Purposes The proceeds will be used to expand … Continue reading “Torax Medical Garners $30,000,000 Series D Financing”

Stik.com Relocates From San Francisco to Downtown Detroit

Stik.com, a website that allows users to seek and provide business referrals via Facebook, announced today that it’s relocating operations from San Francisco to Detroit. It’s the first time we know of that a Bay Area startup has decided to pick up and move to join the Motor City’s burgeoning tech hub. Co-founders Nathan Labenz … Continue reading “Stik.com Relocates From San Francisco to Downtown Detroit”

Biotech Begins to Come of Age on Twitter

Two years ago, most everybody in biotech had heard of Twitter but most people were looking for reasons to ignore it. A year ago, people in the industry began realizing that even though they’re busy, it’s not a fad, and maybe they should see what the fuss was about. Now we’re just beginning to see … Continue reading “Biotech Begins to Come of Age on Twitter”

BigMachines Garners New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3dc5d98c-d073-435b-b67e-41e3b90c860a&Preview=1 Date 9/17/2012 Company Name BigMachines Mailing Address 570 Lake Cook Road Deerfield, IL 60015 Company Description BigMachines, the global leader in Configure, Price, Quote; enables businesses to sell more, faster with a suite of on-demand products. Whether your company is big or small, sells silicon chips or potato chips, has sales … Continue reading “BigMachines Garners New Funding Round”

Lessons from Techonomy Detroit: Thought Leaders Must Push City Hall

On Wednesday, Detroit served as the host city for Techonomy, the annual national confab billed by its organizers as “a one-day convergence of today’s brightest minds, gathered to reignite U.S. competitiveness, job creation, and urban revitalization in a technologized age.” Held at Wayne State University, Techonomy was crawling with “thought leaders,” including Jack Dorsey, creator … Continue reading “Lessons from Techonomy Detroit: Thought Leaders Must Push City Hall”

Why Journalists Shouldn’t Try to Think Like Investors

There are way more Bay Area tech companies than I can possibly cover, so I have to say no to a lot of story pitches. When I do that, I sometimes trot out the investor analogy. It goes like this: “I’m sort of like an angel or venture investor. Except I’m investing my time rather … Continue reading “Why Journalists Shouldn’t Try to Think Like Investors”

Xconomist of the Week: Sean MacLeod Says Stop Trying to Be SF

One of the most popular parlor games in Seattle, and every other city that isn’t in the center of the technology universe, starts with people asking themselves this: How can we become more like the San Francisco Bay Area? Sean MacLeod, president of Seattle’s Stratos Product Development and one of our Xconomists, says he’s heard … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Sean MacLeod Says Stop Trying to Be SF”

Amplifinity Secures $1,500,000 Seed Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f355801c-ca64-4173-860d-7ef0b7a4a397&Preview=1 Date 9/13/2012 Company Name Amplifinity Mailing Address 912 North Main Street Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Company Description Building a consumer-to-consumer marketing channel takes two things: Knowing what motivates advocates to talk about your brand, and the technology to make the channel effective and measureable; Amplifinity offers both. Website http://www.amplifinity.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “Amplifinity Secures $1,500,000 Seed Financing Round”

PackBots, Roombas, and Now, Healthcare: The iRobot Story

Robots are in the air these days. They are also quite literally on the ground, in the water, and in many homes, businesses, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities. And they are making lots of money for their creators—something that would have been hard to believe just a few years ago. One company, arguably, has done more … Continue reading “PackBots, Roombas, and Now, Healthcare: The iRobot Story”

Ifbyphone Receives $4,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=534925e2-3017-4240-b45a-077b93c6b3be&Preview=1 Date 9/12/2012 Company Name Ifbyphone Mailing Address 300 West Adams Chicago, IL 60606 Company Description Ifbyphone is a hosted voice application and platform company with a simplified approach to the deployment of stand-alone and web-integrated voice services for small and medium sized businesses (SMB). Combining advanced telephony and web services, ifbyphone’s … Continue reading “Ifbyphone Receives $4,000,000 New Financing”

Detroit Bus Company: Disrupting Old Models in a Transit-Starved City

Gail Lanzon is clearly having the time of her life. Though she drives a school bus in tiny Clintondale, MI, during the week, her weekend nights belong to Detroit. It’s the last Friday of summer, and downtown is a zoo. The International Jazz Festival is going on in Hart Plaza, and the Tigers game has … Continue reading “Detroit Bus Company: Disrupting Old Models in a Transit-Starved City”

Romney Disses Green Jobs, But Republican Governors Love Them

If you only listened to the speeches of candidates running for federal office, you might think that there’s a stark partisan divide over federal support for cleantech innovation, and that all Republicans see the idea of “green jobs” as a mirage concocted by the Obama Administration. And you wouldn’t be misreading the campaign statements: Mitt Romney’s … Continue reading “Romney Disses Green Jobs, But Republican Governors Love Them”

BidPal Network Lands $250,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6735e710-829b-4dac-a765-d0060348c1fa&Preview=1 Date 9/11/2012 Company Name BidPal Network Mailing Address 8425 Woodfield Crossing Indianapolis, IL 46240 Company Description BidPal Network has developed an innovative solution that wirelessly automates and accelerates the auction process. BidPal’s system enables guests to place bids on silent auction items at any time and from anywhere during the event. … Continue reading “BidPal Network Lands $250,000 New Funding Round”

General Dynamics Acquires Open Kernel Labs for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=60701d88-e810-4c48-83f2-6d5f4e173cd4&Preview=1 Date 9/11/2012 Company Name Open Kernel Labs Mailing Address 200 South Wacker Drive 15th Floor Chicago, IL 60606 Company Description OK’s open-source microkernel operating system, OKL4, offers the highest proven performance plus IP rights protection in order to provide developers with a robust, open-source platform for building secure, differentiated embedded applications. … Continue reading “General Dynamics Acquires Open Kernel Labs for Undisclosed Sum”

U.S. CTO Todd Park Out to Spur Entrepreneurship With Data “Jujitsu”

The chief technology officer of a company can have a wide range of responsibilities—from overseeing development of innovative new products to making sure servers stay up. But what about the chief technology officer of the United States of America? The position is barely three years old, created by President Obama in 2009, and is evolving … Continue reading “U.S. CTO Todd Park Out to Spur Entrepreneurship With Data “Jujitsu””

The FDA Turns Friendly Toward Pharma in 2012

The FDA, for most of the past 10 years, was the regulatory agency that many people in biotech and pharma loved to hate. Critics have long complained about bureaucratic foot-dragging, byzantine organization, poor communication, excessive aversion to risk, and arbitrary decisions around whether to approve new drugs for sale in the U.S. But FDA bashers, … Continue reading “The FDA Turns Friendly Toward Pharma in 2012”