Category: Detroit

Techonomy Detroit

This one-day multidisciplinary event gathers local and national leaders to discuss reigniting U.S. competitiveness and economic growth, creating jobs, and revitalizing cities in a technological age. The event includes keynote speakers, panels, and breakout groups. For more information, click here.

OptiMine Software Garners $250,000 Series B Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b01d1a41-2559-4703-81c8-e46fd0ce57fd&Preview=1 Date 8/9/2012 Company Name OptiMine Software Mailing Address 1804 W. 7th Street St. Paul, MN 55116 Company Description OptiMine Software was founded by experienced software executives, including Rob Cooley and Doug Bryan, experts in marketing applications based on data mining. Website http://www.optimine.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $250,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “OptiMine Software Garners $250,000 Series B Round”

Starting Your Own Business

This forum teaches potential business owners about personality traits that impact entrepreneurialism, creating a marketing plan for your business, legal, accounting, and risk considerations, product development, business plans, and financing options. The cost is $25. To learn more, click here.

Bizdom Demo Day

Bizdom accelerator start-ups will pitch their company ideas and, afterward, attendees will have a chance to mix and mingle on the rooftop deck at the Madison Building. This is a good way to meet Detroit’s up-and-coming tech companies. To register, click here.

Ann Arbor Open Coffee

This is a networking event hosted by Ann Arbor SPARK is for inventors, entrepreneurs, and those who work in innovative sectors like cleantech, life sciences, and IT.

Innovate Michigan Summit

The MSU EDA University Center for Regional Economic Innovation hosts this event featuring presentations on innovative economic development tools, models, policies, practices, student technical assistance projects, and Michigan inventions. To learn more, click here.

Wayne State Offers Free Patent Clinic to Detroit Entrepreneurs

On the heels of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office opening up its first-ever satellite location in Detroit, Wayne State’s law school has announced it will offer a free patent procurement clinic to qualifying local entrepreneurs. It’s the only pro bono patent law procurement clinic in Michigan. The clinic, located in Midtown at 471 Palmer, … Continue reading “Wayne State Offers Free Patent Clinic to Detroit Entrepreneurs”

Connected Cars Show New Signs of Life, and Seattle Companies Benefit

For years, it seemed that most car owners were nowhere near the computer-laden machines of the future promised back in the days of “Knight Rider.” Sure, a rich guy could get a savvy computer system in his ride. But for your average Joe, an iPod connection was a feature to brag about. Today, that’s changing—and … Continue reading “Connected Cars Show New Signs of Life, and Seattle Companies Benefit”

Battery Maker A123 Takes Big China Investment, Averts Disaster

The Chinese takeover of U.S. cleantech interests continues. Today A123 Systems (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AONE]]), the Waltham, MA-based battery maker with plants in Michigan, said it has signed an agreement with China-based Wanxiang Group, a big automotive and energy firm, whereby Wanxiang could invest as much as $450 million in A123, starting with up to $75 million … Continue reading “Battery Maker A123 Takes Big China Investment, Averts Disaster”

Xconomist of the Week Christina Lampe-Onnerud Talks Cleantech

It’s been less than a year since Boston-Power, a lithium-ion battery maker, announced it had raised a whopping $125 million Series F funding round from Beijing-based GSR Ventures—and was moving most of its operations to China to chase down the electric vehicle market in that country. It’s seeing the first big payoff from that decision. … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week Christina Lampe-Onnerud Talks Cleantech”

Respicardia Garners $6,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=31dc627e-bedb-4d57-a060-5d97942ae091&Preview=1 Date 8/8/2012 Company Name Respicardia Mailing Address 12400 Whitewater Dr Minnetonka, MN 55343 Company Description Founded in 2006 and headquartered near Minneapolis, Minnesota, Respicardia is dedicated to improving the lives of heart failure patients by developing implantable therapies designed to improve respiratory rhythm management and cardiovascular health. Website http://www.respicardia.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “Respicardia Garners $6,000,000 New Funding Round”

GM Ventures Leads $12M Series C Round for NanoSteel

GM Ventures, the Detroit-based venture fund run by General Motors, announced it has made an investment in Providence, RI-based NanoSteel. David Paratore, CEO of NanoSteel, says GM Ventures was “one of the largest investors” in a $12 million Series C round, which also included investment from EnerTech Capital and Fairhaven Capital Partners. “GM brings to … Continue reading “GM Ventures Leads $12M Series C Round for NanoSteel”

Atterocor Lands $16M Series A Round For Cancer Therapy

Ann Arbor, MI-based Atterocor announced Friday that it has raised $16 million in a Series A round led by Frazier, based in Seattle and Menlo Park, CA, and 5am Ventures, based in Waltham, MA and Menlo Park. The funding will go toward developing the company’s adrenal cancer therapy. Atterocor was founded in 2012 by Julia Owens, Raili Kerppola, … Continue reading “Atterocor Lands $16M Series A Round For Cancer Therapy”

Mayo and Myriad: Can Two Patent Rulings Chill Innovation?

Two recent patent cases have engendered considerable uncertainty regarding the ability of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to patent their commercial products and methods. The first case, Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., relates to the patent eligibility of certain diagnostic methods. On March 20th, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the personalized medicine … Continue reading “Mayo and Myriad: Can Two Patent Rulings Chill Innovation?”

U.S. Biotech Clusters Are Losing Their Anchor Tenants, and It Hurts

Every industry needs its anchors, the companies that everyone looks up to as models of success. Think Apple, GE, Boeing. Biotech is no different, as it has been defined by trailblazers like Genentech, Genzyme, and more. But if you look around, biotech is clearly losing its anchors. And this worrisome trend isn’t just happening in … Continue reading “U.S. Biotech Clusters Are Losing Their Anchor Tenants, and It Hurts”

NeuWave Medical Secures $14,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6503e8ed-6f45-40a4-8f6c-473065673b90&Preview=1 Date 8/6/2012 Company Name NeuWave Medical Mailing Address 3529 Anderson Street Madison, WI 53704 Company Description NeuWave Medical Inc., is a company that develops tools that deliver energy to the human body to treat a variety of serious medical conditions. Website http://www.neuwavemedical.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $14,000,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “NeuWave Medical Secures $14,000,000 New Funding”

Atterocor Receives $16,000,000 Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fd160b91-91e2-44a8-87f5-89a9b0f3ebc7&Preview=1 Date 8/6/2012 Company Name Atterocor Mailing Address 820 Heatherway Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Company Description Atterocor is an innovative company focused on the accelerated development of a treatment for adrenal cancer. Founded in 2012 and backed by top-tier life sciences investors, Atterocor is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Website http://www.atterocor.com Transaction … Continue reading “Atterocor Receives $16,000,000 Series A Financing Round”

TruMarx Data Partners Secures $500,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=90f07717-6f46-426f-9d4b-bcf9b2532378&Preview=1 Date 8/6/2012 Company Name TruMarx Data Partners Mailing Address 200 W. Monroe Chicago, IL 60606 Company Description TruMarx Data Partners is an experienced team of energy professionals known to deliver powerful technology solutions for today’s energy market challenges. Website http://www.trumarx.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds … Continue reading “TruMarx Data Partners Secures $500,000 New Funding”

Procured Health Garners $1,100,000 Seed Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=54b41fd2-c3e2-47fa-83f7-5d6814a50402&Preview=1 Date 8/4/2012 Company Name Procured Health Mailing Address 321 North Clark Street Chicago, IL 60654 Company Description Procured Health is a web-based application that helps hospitals discover and evaluate medical devices in order drive much-needed savings. A comparison engine for devices, clinicians and administrators are able to examine options based on … Continue reading “Procured Health Garners $1,100,000 Seed Round”

D:Hive, Rock Ventures Partner to Lure Entrepreneurs to Detroit

Rock Ventures, Dan Gilbert’s umbrella company that oversees nearly all of his efforts in downtown Detroit, announced this week that it will partner with D:Hive to help enliven downtown by drawing entrepreneurs and young professionals to the city. We introduced you to D:Hive, which functions as a welcome center/resource hub to new Detroit arrivals, a … Continue reading “D:Hive, Rock Ventures Partner to Lure Entrepreneurs to Detroit”

SportStream’s App Bottles the Social Media Explosion in Sports

I don’t have much of a head for sports. If you said “ERA” my first thought would be Equal Rights Amendment, not Earned Run Average. And being a cable TV cord-cutter, I never watch televised games. But I do know about iPads, social media, and next-generation-TV technologies. So at the risk of sounding like a … Continue reading “SportStream’s App Bottles the Social Media Explosion in Sports”

Xconomist of the Week: John Reed on Sanford-Burnham’s Drug Pipeline

In the decade since John Reed stepped in as chief executive, San Diego’s Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute has basically doubled in size. The nonprofit research facility has added a campus in Orlando, FL, the full-time faculty has grown from 52 to 89, and the overall staff has increased from 520 to 1,200. Today the institute … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: John Reed on Sanford-Burnham’s Drug Pipeline”

Power Panel Brings Solar Manufacturing to Detroit

Solar panel manufacturing in Detroit? I didn’t know it either until I received an e-mail from Adam Stratton, Power Panel‘s vice president of business development. An affable Canadian, he invited me out to the company’s manufacturing facility on the far western edge of the city, in a corner of Detroit I had yet to visit. … Continue reading “Power Panel Brings Solar Manufacturing to Detroit”

SenseAide: Digital Eldercare Coming to a Computer Near You

Sri Rao, founder of the Rochester Hills, MI-based startup SenseAide, knows firsthand how challenging it can be to care for an aging loved one, especially from a remote location. After his mother-in-law had a stroke, Rao saw the delicate balance in play that comes after someone suffers a health setback and needs a bit of … Continue reading “SenseAide: Digital Eldercare Coming to a Computer Near You”

Gladstone, Sage Bionetworks Top ‘Best Places to Work’ List

A couple of small West Coast research centers, the J. David Gladstone Research Institutes in San Francisco, and Sage Bionetworks in Seattle, have gotten kudos as the “Best Places to Work” in academia by The Scientist magazine. The 10th annual survey by the magazine found that the Gladstone Institutes, composed of 27 researchers affiliated with … Continue reading “Gladstone, Sage Bionetworks Top ‘Best Places to Work’ List”

The Case for Including Investors on Conference Calls

We are in the middle of a busy earnings season on Wall Street, which for an independent investor like me means listening to a lot of company conference calls. While that admittedly is not always the most exciting way to spend your days and evenings, I would like to relate a story about a novel … Continue reading “The Case for Including Investors on Conference Calls”

Enforcer eCoaching Lands $250,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5a24dd0f-095b-4ef8-9a7f-085eed6808cd&Preview=1 Date 7/31/2012 Company Name Enforcer eCoaching Mailing Address 1820 Country Line Road Gates Mills, OH 44040 Company Description Enforcer eCoaching Inc., a Cleveland start-up that offers email-based health coaching and wellness programs. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $250,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Enforcer plans to use the … Continue reading “Enforcer eCoaching Lands $250,000 New Round”

BringMeTheNews Garners $3,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=99d3d745-1100-461f-9b37-12cb29a8a8e9&Preview=1 Date 7/31/2012 Company Name BringMeTheNews Mailing Address Undisclosed Minneapolis, MN 55402 Company Description Developed by award-winning Twin Cities investigative journalist and TV news anchor, Rick Kupchella, BringMeTheNews delivers the most relevant stories around the state. We filter through hundreds of news stories every day and link to some of the best … Continue reading “BringMeTheNews Garners $3,000,000 New Financing”

State Launches Pure Michigan Venture Fund

Last month, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) announced it was accepting applications for the newly created Pure Michigan Venture Fund (PMVF). The fund, which has $5 million to invest and will seek an additional $4 million from the legislature, is targeting first- and second-generation venture capital firms that have raised at least $1 million … Continue reading “State Launches Pure Michigan Venture Fund”

The 4G Security Threat for Mobile Developers

We are accustomed to thinking that smartphone safety depends on the habits of the user, but that’s likely to change with the transition to Long-Term Evolution (LTE) architecture, popularly known as 4G. Even the most careful user who never loses a phone, installs security software, and never uses suspicious apps might be more vulnerable than … Continue reading “The 4G Security Threat for Mobile Developers”

A Lonely Voice Asking Tough Questions on Cancer Cost-Effectiveness

If a new cancer drug comes out at a price of $100,000 per person, how many patients likely to benefit will actually get it? How many will drain their entire life savings just to make the insurance co-pays? How many people will go bankrupt to stay alive a few more months? How many people will … Continue reading “A Lonely Voice Asking Tough Questions on Cancer Cost-Effectiveness”

Detroit’s UpTo Talks Traction, New Expanded Features

Detroit-based mobile startup UpTo, which aims to fill the “future void” by taking the appointment calendar and making it social, announced this week that users can now share third-party event streams with their Twitter and Facebook networks. To showcase its new functionality, UpTo launched an events stream from British shopping center Westfield, which sits in the … Continue reading “Detroit’s UpTo Talks Traction, New Expanded Features”

A Mouse and Keyboard Don’t Make a Hardware Company

Microsoft is not, and never will be, a hardware company. Please don’t go off saying “what about Xbox or mice and keyboards?” Microsoft does not really want to build and sell hardware. Surface is akin to Google’s Nexus; a ‘north star’ product intended to lead OEMs in the right direction. “With Surface we wanted to … Continue reading “A Mouse and Keyboard Don’t Make a Hardware Company”

Not All E-Mails Are Created Equal; SaneBox Knows the Difference

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a column on ways we can work together to restore e-mail sanity. I argued that e-mail overload has a simple cause that’s often overlooked: we’re all sending each other too many messages. We can try all the time-management tricks and software plugins in the book to deal with … Continue reading “Not All E-Mails Are Created Equal; SaneBox Knows the Difference”

TermSync Garners $2,200,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=54dec2b6-fe32-4b1a-a2b2-fe6e6aa1ec32&Preview=1 Date 7/27/2012 Company Name TermSync Mailing Address 2960 Triverton Pike Fitchburg, WI 53711 Company Description TermSync, Inc. is an accounts receivable automation platform that ensures businesses get paid faster and receive more visibility from customers without having to make a collection call. Founder Mark Wilson, CPA, experienced firsthand the pains companies … Continue reading “TermSync Garners $2,200,000 New Funding Round”

Detroit’s Savorfull Applies Birchbox Model to “Free-From” Food

Who doesn’t love getting a box of surprises shipped to them? Birchbox, the subscription service that sends members a box of beauty samples each month based on their preferences, pioneered the model. Now, Detroit-based startup Savorfull is taking that model and applying it to “free-from food” (as in dairy-free, gluten-free, etc.) as a way to … Continue reading “Detroit’s Savorfull Applies Birchbox Model to “Free-From” Food”

Coskata Garners $8,894,253 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d565cc06-7ddd-451d-9deb-28d7e8e760db&Preview=1 Date 7/26/2012 Company Name Coskata Mailing Address 4575 Weaver Parkway Warrenville, IL 60555 Company Description Coskata is a biology-based renewable energy company that is commercializing technology to produce biofuels from a wide variety of feedstocks. Using proprietary microorganisms and transformative bioreactor designs, the company projects that it will be able to … Continue reading “Coskata Garners $8,894,253 New Funding Round”

GiveForward Obtains $2,000,000 Series A Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ab7f95ce-57e3-46f5-82b2-6149ea12bd7c&Preview=1 Date 7/26/2012 Company Name GiveForward Mailing Address 211 West Wacker Drive 18th Floor Chicago, IL 60606 Company Description At GiveForward we’re passionate about empowering people to help those in need. We provide easy to use fundraising pages so you can raise money for the people and causes that need it most. … Continue reading “GiveForward Obtains $2,000,000 Series A Funding”

Accio Energy Garners $1,275,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ddf19c42-4c64-44bd-9f90-c8ab650d151f&Preview=1 Date 7/25/2012 Company Name Accio Energy Mailing Address 704 Airport Boulevard Ann Arbor, MI 48108 Company Description A wind technology that requires no moving parts, will easily scale from small communities up to the largest offshore wind farm, and will offer all of these benefits at utility competitive costs. Accio Energy’s … Continue reading “Accio Energy Garners $1,275,000 New Funding Round”

Auto Supplier Faurecia Delves Into Social Media Marketing

French auto supplier Faurecia, which has its North American base of operations in Auburn Hills, MI, is taking a page out of the social media marketing playbook that has served its automaker clients so well. Last week, the company announced a new car interior-design contest open to Pinterest users. It represents one of the fist … Continue reading “Auto Supplier Faurecia Delves Into Social Media Marketing”

Detroit Venture Investments Down, U.S. Investments Up in Second Quarter

According to a new report from the analysts at CB Insights, VCs invested $8.1 billion in more than 800 deals in the second quarter of 2012, the highest total since the dot-com era. The findings were generally confirmed by the latest MoneyTree survey, which reported that venture firms invested just over $7 billion in 898 deals across … Continue reading “Detroit Venture Investments Down, U.S. Investments Up in Second Quarter”

Woeful Websites: How to Guarantee Your Startup Won’t Get Funding

You don’t have to work in venture capital to know that many biotech startups are having a difficult time raising money. The economy remains in the tank, and the former Olympic-sized pool of accessible cash now more closely resembles a wading pool. There are an enormous number of reasons why a company will have difficulty … Continue reading “Woeful Websites: How to Guarantee Your Startup Won’t Get Funding”

Scarcity of Samples Threatens Personalized Medicine

Plenty of factors can conspire to slow down progress in molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine. There’s never enough money to run all the experiments scientists can imagine, it’s hard to gather data that squares with traditional medical evidence standards, and society is willing to pay a lot more money for drugs than diagnostics. But there’s … Continue reading “Scarcity of Samples Threatens Personalized Medicine”

Food Tech Startup Trend Takes Hold in Michigan

As concerns about the effects of globalization on the food supply and genetically modified “frankenfood” grow, locavores are having their moment in the spotlight. More and more, consumers want to know where their food comes from, and they want it to be fresh, local, and free of harmful chemicals. They’re also willing to pay a premium … Continue reading “Food Tech Startup Trend Takes Hold in Michigan”

Can Anyone Catch Khan Academy? The Fate of the U in the YouTube Era

Traditional American universities are suddenly running scared of the Internet, and for good reason. They successfully weathered the rise of online, open-enrollment degree programs like the University of Phoenix, but now they’re confronting a much more terrifying enemy: YouTube. Not just YouTube, of course—there’s also Vimeo and 5min and iTunes U and TED and the … Continue reading “Can Anyone Catch Khan Academy? The Fate of the U in the YouTube Era”

Software Surge Drives Up U.S. Venture Activity—and Top 10 Deals

Overall venture capital activity turned up sharply during the three months that ended June 30, with venture firms investing just over $7 billion in 898 deals throughout the United States, according to the latest MoneyTree survey. The study generally confirms the improving trend in VC activity that was highlighted in the quick take from CB … Continue reading “Software Surge Drives Up U.S. Venture Activity—and Top 10 Deals”

GM, RelayRides, OnStar Partner in New Car Sharing Program

On Tuesday, GM, OnStar, and peer-to-peer car-sharing service RelayRides teamed up to give 6 million OnStar subscribers the ability to instantly rent out their vehicles through the RelayRides marketplace. RelayRides users will be able to access their reserved cars using any mobile device. “It’s very exciting,” Shelby Clark, RelayRides founder and chief community officer, says of the … Continue reading “GM, RelayRides, OnStar Partner in New Car Sharing Program”