With a new $32.5 million funding round, Qumulo has now raised $100 million in four years to tackle the enterprise data storage market. The Seattle company on Friday released details of the Series C investment, disclosed in an SEC filing Wednesday. New investors Allen & Company, Top Tier Capital Partners, and Tyche Partners join prior Qumulo … Continue reading “Qumulo Raises $32.5M More in Bid to Storm Data Storage Market”
Category: National
Roundup: LIFT, Walsh College, U-M, WSU, Free Prix & More
Here’s a look at recent innovation news from around Michigan: —Detroit-based Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow (LIFT), a public-private partnership focused on the development and deployment of advanced lightweight metal manufacturing technologies, has formed a team of manufacturers and universities to develop a database and computer models that better predict the way aluminum alloys deteriorate after being … Continue reading “Roundup: LIFT, Walsh College, U-M, WSU, Free Prix & More”
Silicon Valley Vets Aim to Shake Up Preclinical Testing With Vium
Cancer drugs have cured countless mice, only to fall short in people. It’s a well-known problem with drug development: Preclinical tests done on animals can be inaccurate, and that drives up the cost and time it takes to make a successful therapeutic. Several startups are developing technologies to improve preclinical testing—microchips that act like human … Continue reading “Silicon Valley Vets Aim to Shake Up Preclinical Testing With Vium”
Michigan’s Social Venture Fund Invests in Querium, Austin Edtech Firm
Austin—Edtech startup Querium has received an early stage bridge round of funds from the University of Michigan’s Social Venture Fund, among other investors. Querium, which uses artificial intelligence to provide students with step-by-step coaching in math, science, and engineering courses, raised $366,000 of a $720,000 convertible note from 10 investors. The Social Venture Fund, a … Continue reading “Michigan’s Social Venture Fund Invests in Querium, Austin Edtech Firm”
Mitsubishi Electric Lab Applying Computer Vision to Driverless Cars
Add Mitsubishi Electric’s North American research group to the list of companies working on driverless car technologies in Cambridge, MA. The area around MIT has quickly asserted itself as one of the hotbeds of this emerging and increasingly competitive field. Toyota Research Institute and MIT startup NuTonomy are among the local players who have made … Continue reading “Mitsubishi Electric Lab Applying Computer Vision to Driverless Cars”
Colorado State, Meet Cognii: Artificial Intelligence in Education
Psychology students at Colorado State University will be getting a technological boost next semester, thanks to a new partnership between the Fort Collins, CO-based school and Boston-based technology startup Cognii. Founded in 2013, Cognii will work with CSU faculty members to integrate smart software into two undergraduate psychology courses centered on human development and family … Continue reading “Colorado State, Meet Cognii: Artificial Intelligence in Education”
Vista Equity Makes Second Deal in Two Days With Ping Identity Buyout
If you were thinking about selling your company for a couple billion dollars, now might just be the time to try it. A day after Vista Equity Partners announced it would buy marketing automation software developer Marketo for $1.79 billion, the private equity firm has announced a second deal: Vista said today it is paying an … Continue reading “Vista Equity Makes Second Deal in Two Days With Ping Identity Buyout”
In First Distribution Deal, StemBioSys Teams with Funakoshi in Japan
San Antonio — StemBioSys has signed a three-year marketing and distribution deal with Funakoshi Co. Ltd to bring its stem cell production products to Japan, the San Antonio startup’s first distribution deal. Funakoshi, which is based in Tokyo, distributes both advanced and basic life science research instruments throughout the country. The deal will allow Funakoshi … Continue reading “In First Distribution Deal, StemBioSys Teams with Funakoshi in Japan”
Mass. Digital Health Initiative Unveils $26M Fund, Incubator Space
Massachusetts digital healthcare startups will have more resources to tap into, thanks to a new $25.8 million venture fund and an incubator space near Fenway Park unveiled today. The venture fund, dubbed the Massachusetts Innovation Catalyst Fund, will invest in digital health companies that are based in the state or have significant operations here. The … Continue reading “Mass. Digital Health Initiative Unveils $26M Fund, Incubator Space”
GreenStone Credit Services Joins List of Ag-Tech Incubator Sponsors
The Great Lakes Ag-Tech Business Incubator in West Michigan has scored a new sponsor: GreenStone Farm Credit Services, an East Lansing, MI-based financial institution that is the largest agricultural lender in Michigan and northeast Wisconsin. As part of the new partnership, GreenStone will contribute $25,000 to support the commercialization efforts of the incubator’s startups, along … Continue reading “GreenStone Credit Services Joins List of Ag-Tech Incubator Sponsors”
Eyeing Further Growth, Social Marketer Spredfast Nabs Another $50M
Austin—Social media marketing software company Spredfast has raised $50 million, bringing its total funding raised to $116 million. Riverwood Capital, a private equity firm based in Menlo Park, CA, led the round. Also participating were return backers Austin Ventures, Interwest Partners, OpenView Venture Partners, and Lead Edge Capital. “Social media is super dynamic in the … Continue reading “Eyeing Further Growth, Social Marketer Spredfast Nabs Another $50M”
Nektar Therapeutics Gets $20M in Daiichi Deal For Breast Cancer Drug
San Francisco-based Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NKTR]]) has gotten $20 million from a unit of Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo in exchange for European rights to an experimental cancer drug called etirinotecan pegol (Onzeald). Nektar is developing the drug for patients with advanced breast cancer whose tumors have spread to the brain, and will file an approval … Continue reading “Nektar Therapeutics Gets $20M in Daiichi Deal For Breast Cancer Drug”
Saver Rate Ends Today for INFLUX—Grab Your Tickets Now
You’re already planning on attending INFLUX, so why wait any longer to buy your tickets? We’re lining up some of the most forward-thinking entrepreneurs, investors, and visionaries who are new to the Boston innovation scene—or blazing fresh trails. Join us for an afternoon of spotlight talks, fireside chats, and panel discussions that will delve into … Continue reading “Saver Rate Ends Today for INFLUX—Grab Your Tickets Now”
Salesforce Buys Demandware for $2.8B in Big E-Commerce Bet
Cloud business software giant Salesforce plans to snap up Demandware for $2.8 billion in cash, marking one of the biggest acquisitions of a Massachusetts tech company in recent memory (this side of the pending $67 billion Dell-EMC deal). In acquiring Burlington, MA-based Demandware (NYSE: [[ticker:DWRE]]), San Francisco-based Salesforce (NYSE: [[ticker:CRM]]) gains a big outpost in … Continue reading “Salesforce Buys Demandware for $2.8B in Big E-Commerce Bet”
Flatiron School Helps Refugees; Cornell Tech Hires Ex-Yahoo Scientist
The technology education scene in the city has seen interesting moves of late—particularly at the Flatiron School and Cornell Tech. Today, New York-based Flatiron School announced it is working with Re:Coded, a humanitarian nonprofit, to provide a curriculum to Syrian refugees in Iraq to help them find work as software developers. And last week, Cornell … Continue reading “Flatiron School Helps Refugees; Cornell Tech Hires Ex-Yahoo Scientist”
RA Capital Seeds Peanut Allergy Prevention Startup With $1.7M
A Boston startup that aims to prevent babies from developing peanut allergies has raised $1.7 million in seed funding from RA Capital Management, a “crossover” investor that backs both public and private companies. That money will help Antera Therapeutics, which was founded in 2014, begin selling what it calls Aralyte, a liquid formula containing small … Continue reading “RA Capital Seeds Peanut Allergy Prevention Startup With $1.7M”
Romulus Revs Up $75M Fund: Drones, VR Startups Need Not Apply
If you want to know what’s hot in the startup world, talk to venture capitalist Krishna Gupta. But odds are, he’s not investing in those types of companies. And for good reason: they’re overhyped. Gupta (pictured) is the founder and general partner at Romulus Capital, a Boston-area venture firm that is announcing a new $75 … Continue reading “Romulus Revs Up $75M Fund: Drones, VR Startups Need Not Apply”
Two Years After Paying $680M, BioMarin Shelves Duchenne Drug
BioMarin Pharmaceutical took a $680 million gamble when it bought Prosensa in 2014 for its experimental Duchenne muscular dystrophy treatment. Drisapersen (Kydrisa) had already failed a Phase 3 trial, but BioMarin bet it could dig through the data and win FDA approval. It lost that bet, and now BioMarin (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BMRN]]) is pulling the plug … Continue reading “Two Years After Paying $680M, BioMarin Shelves Duchenne Drug”
With One Trial Shelved And Another Failed, StemCells To Shut Down
StemCells (NASDAQ: [[ticker:STEM]]) has decided to close up shop after its most advanced therapy didn’t do enough in a Phase 2 trial to improve people with spinal cord injuries. The one-time stem cell pioneer will wind down operations with $5.5 million in the bank, as of May 31, it said in a statement this morning. … Continue reading “With One Trial Shelved And Another Failed, StemCells To Shut Down”
U-M Student Fund Invests in Conversa Health’s Patient Engagement Tech
The University of Michigan’s student-run Social Venture Fund has contributed to a $3 million seed round for Conversa Health, a Bay Area heathtech company aiming to improve patient engagement. The amount of U-M’s investment was not disclosed. Conversa CEO West Shell said he started the company to try to fix the “monstrous gap” in the … Continue reading “U-M Student Fund Invests in Conversa Health’s Patient Engagement Tech”
Microsoft Venture Fund Aims to Harness Early Stage Innovation
Microsoft plans to invest more in early stage startup companies through a new corporate venture fund, headed by former Qualcomm executives. The name of the fund—which will back startups focused on cloud computing, machine learning, and security, with an emphasis on technology that complements Microsoft’s own products and services—is Microsoft Ventures. If that sounds familiar, … Continue reading “Microsoft Venture Fund Aims to Harness Early Stage Innovation”
Is Technology Crucial for Innovation?
Technology is crucial for innovation—and innovation in technology is critical to innovation in just about every other arena. Why? Because it’s the forward march of technology that allows us to do more with less, improving our lives in the process. Just look at how we’re living right now. We communicate worldwide via email or Skype. … Continue reading “Is Technology Crucial for Innovation?”
SciQuest Set to go Private in $509M Deal with Accel-KKR
Software firm SciQuest is set to go private again in a cash deal that values the company at about $509 million. Private equity firm Accel-KKR is paying $17.75 per share to acquire all of the common stock of Morrisville, NC-based SciQuest (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQI]]). The offer represents a 33.7 percent premium over Friday’s closing stock price. … Continue reading “SciQuest Set to go Private in $509M Deal with Accel-KKR”
CoachUp Founder Backs New Startup to Connect Veterans and Sports
Coming off the Memorial Day holiday, here’s an interesting new company in town. It’s called Athletes of Valor, and it’s trying to provide support for U.S. servicemen and women who are transitioning back to civilian life and want to play college sports. It may sound like a niche market. But over the next four years, … Continue reading “CoachUp Founder Backs New Startup to Connect Veterans and Sports”
Flu Research, Propeller, & Stem Cells: This Week’s WI Watchlist
Catch up on some of the latest happenings in Wisconsin’s innovation community with these recent headlines: —Writing in the journal Nature Microbiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka and colleagues describe what they believe to be a better way of predicting the evolution of seasonal influenza strains, the university said. Their approach … Continue reading “Flu Research, Propeller, & Stem Cells: This Week’s WI Watchlist”
Amicus Nabs First Approval as EU Gives Green Light to Fabry Drug
Amicus Therapeutics is as familiar with the ups and downs of the drugmaking business as anyone. It has dealt with clinical failures, regulatory setbacks, restructurings, and more over a roughly 15-year history. But now the Cranbury, NJ-based company’s big day has finally arrived: Regulators in Europe have approved migalastat (Galafold), the first Amicus drug to … Continue reading “Amicus Nabs First Approval as EU Gives Green Light to Fabry Drug”
Texas Roundup: Tech Wildcatters, Funds for eyeQ & EquipmentShare, VR
Happy unofficial start to summer! Let’s ease back into the workweek by catching up with the latest innovation headlines from Xconomy Texas. —Dallas’s Tech Wildcatters accelerator held its first pitch day since launching its new “Gauntlet” program earlier this year. Instead of a traditional accelerator model, in which startups get access to tens of thousands … Continue reading “Texas Roundup: Tech Wildcatters, Funds for eyeQ & EquipmentShare, VR”
Celator Parlays Leukemia Drug Data into $1.5B Buyout From Jazz Pharma
All it takes to become an acquisition target in biotech is some promising data. Take Ewing, NJ, and Vancouver-based Celator Pharmaceuticals, which Jazz Pharmaceuticals just agreed to buy this morning for $1.5 billion. Celator (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CPXX]]) was formed in 1999 by a team led by Lawrence Mayer and Marcel Bally, both veterans of the British … Continue reading “Celator Parlays Leukemia Drug Data into $1.5B Buyout From Jazz Pharma”
Exit Interview: Lita Nelsen on MIT Tech Transfer, Startups & Culture
[Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories examining entrepreneurship on MIT’s campus and beyond.] MIT’s approach to nurturing entrepreneurship has changed a lot over the past 50 years. Lita Nelsen has seen it up close—and played a part in its evolution—from her studies there in the 1960s, to her business-school fellowship in … Continue reading “Exit Interview: Lita Nelsen on MIT Tech Transfer, Startups & Culture”
Intercept’s Liver Drug Wins FDA Approval To Treat Rare Disease
[Updated, 5/31/16, see below] The FDA ended a busy week by giving a thumbs-up late Friday to obeticholic acid as a treatment for primary biliary cirrhosis, a rare disease in which a patient’s own immune system attacks the liver. Obeticholic acid, to be marketed under the brand Ocaliva, is being developed by Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: … Continue reading “Intercept’s Liver Drug Wins FDA Approval To Treat Rare Disease”
Busy FDA Week Ends With Two Drug Approvals: Another Might Be on Way
The new FDA commissioner Robert Califf told a conference audience this week that he expected “a flood” of new treatments in the near future. Perhaps he meant the following few days. His agency approved two drugs to close out the week, and another decision is due by Sunday. The FDA announced late Friday afternoon that … Continue reading “Busy FDA Week Ends With Two Drug Approvals: Another Might Be on Way”
Seattle Week in Review: Asteroids, Clouds, Secrets, Donuts
Xconomy Seattle did its civic duty, showing up for jury duty at Seattle Municipal Court this week (the picture above is the view from the rooftop terrace of the courthouse). I was dismissed just in time for the big power outage that struck downtown Seattle on Wednesday. We’re reviewing funding for Planetary Resources, IT layoffs … Continue reading “Seattle Week in Review: Asteroids, Clouds, Secrets, Donuts”
Planetary Resources Raises $21M for Near-Term Market: Earth Observation
The same satellite-based sensors Planetary Resources is developing to prospect for asteroids in deep space can be pointed back at Earth to help global agribusinesses and commodities traders monitor crops, and enable oil and gas drillers to find new targets. The Bellevue, WA-based space company announced a $21.1 million funding round to support work toward … Continue reading “Planetary Resources Raises $21M for Near-Term Market: Earth Observation”
With Recruits Coming, Precision Med Effort Pledges $142M For Biobank
The Obama administration’s ambitious long-term health study, dubbed the Precision Medicine Initiative, has tapped the Mayo Clinic to build a repository for biological samples collected from the study’s participants. Through the National Institutes of Health, the administration has awarded $142 million over five years to the Rochester, MN-based Mayo Clinic for the so-called “biobank,” which … Continue reading “With Recruits Coming, Precision Med Effort Pledges $142M For Biobank”
San Diego Uses Hackathon to Generate Ideas for Climate Action Plan
“Can government really help drive innovation?” That might not be the sort of question you’d want to ask the crowd at a Donald Trump rally. But it was received with more optimism than sneers when a City of San Diego official posed the question Wednesday evening at the outset of an awards dinner for the … Continue reading “San Diego Uses Hackathon to Generate Ideas for Climate Action Plan”
UW Health Surgeon’s Startup Expanding Software to Monitor Patients
[Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories on physicians at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics who have become full- or part-time entrepreneurs.] Though he now works as a neurosurgeon, there’s always been a little bit of computer geek inside Josh Medow. While growing up in Illinois during the 1980s, Medow … Continue reading “UW Health Surgeon’s Startup Expanding Software to Monitor Patients”
117M LinkedIn Passwords for Sale: What You Should Do Now
Last week, a hack many of us had forgotten about shot right back into the headlines. First, the background: in 2012, LinkedIn acknowledged it had suffered a data breach that exposed the passwords of 6.5 million of its customers. What we discovered last week, however, was that the breach was actually much bigger than anyone … Continue reading “117M LinkedIn Passwords for Sale: What You Should Do Now”
Biotech Roundup: Duchenne Delay, Forum’s Fate, Califf, Ionis & More
Memorial Day weekend may be fast approaching, but don’t fire up those grills yet: there’s plenty of headlines to dig into first in our biotech trip around the Xconomy network. In New York, the nation’s most prestigious science competition changed sponsors for just the second time in its 74-year history. In Boston, one company’s controversial … Continue reading “Biotech Roundup: Duchenne Delay, Forum’s Fate, Califf, Ionis & More”
Pro:Up Aims to Connect Kids to Life-Changing Career Opportunities
When Pro:Up CEO Justine Sheu and her co-founders were working as college guidance counselors in the troubled Detroit Public School system, they noticed how crippling the perceived lack of opportunities could be to the students they worked with. Kids from low-income families or ones that hadn’t yet sent a member to college seemed especially underexposed … Continue reading “Pro:Up Aims to Connect Kids to Life-Changing Career Opportunities”
Veering Off Topic With OwnerIQ CEO Jay Habegger
Next up in my series of offbeat chats with local tech leaders is Jay Habegger, co-founder and CEO of OwnerIQ. Habegger’s company started a decade ago as a network of websites allowing people to download free user manuals for consumer products, from digital cameras to snow blowers. OwnerIQ still offers that service, but it now … Continue reading “Veering Off Topic With OwnerIQ CEO Jay Habegger”
Boston Tech Watch: iRobot, MIT, Xura, Locus Robotics
Before everyone gets out of town for Memorial Day weekend, let’s catch up on a few recent announcements in Boston-area tech: —Xura (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MESG]]), a Wakefield, MA-based provider of digital communications products and services for businesses, is being acquired for $643 million by affiliates of Siris Capital Group, a New York private equity firm. —Locus … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: iRobot, MIT, Xura, Locus Robotics”
Strategies to Attract More Women and Minorities to Startup Accelerators
Startup incubators and accelerators represent an important avenue of advancement in the tech industry for women and underrepresented minorities. And while several high-profile accelerators are taking specific steps to recruit companies led by diverse founders, progress is slow in coming. That was evident on the stage at the end of Techstars Seattle’s latest Demo Day … Continue reading “Strategies to Attract More Women and Minorities to Startup Accelerators”
FDA Commish Califf to Big Data Crowd: Flood Of New Treatments Coming
New FDA commissioner Robert Califf said Wednesday that the recent spike in drug approvals is no temporary phenomenon, thanks to a better understanding of biology and continued adoption of sophisticated technology throughout healthcare. “I predict we’ll see of a flood of effective treatments”—not just drugs but combinations of drugs and data-enabled devices—“and we’ll have to … Continue reading “FDA Commish Califf to Big Data Crowd: Flood Of New Treatments Coming”
New Proposed Laws, Collaborations Pave Way for Driverless Future
This has been a banner week for Michigan-centric news pertaining to the development of driverless vehicles. On Wednesday, Google announced in a Google+ post that, after placing a team of employees in the metro Detroit area for “the past few years,” it would open a facility in suburban Novi, MI, to develop self-driving car technology. … Continue reading “New Proposed Laws, Collaborations Pave Way for Driverless Future”
Dallas’s Tech Wildcatters Pivots, Puts Startups Through “Gauntlet”
Dallas—How can you disrupt the accelerator? That’s the question Tech Wildcatters asked themselves following pitch day last year. “Instead of putting everybody in a one-size-fits-all program, instead of giving a trophy on day one, we decided to make it more ‘go at your own pace,’” says Gabriella Draney Zielke, the accelerator’s co-founder. So instead of … Continue reading “Dallas’s Tech Wildcatters Pivots, Puts Startups Through “Gauntlet””
San Antonio VR Headset Maker Merge Lands New Funding, Expands Sales
San Antonio — [Updated 1 p.m. See below.] Virtual reality headset maker Merge Labs has raised $10.1 million in new equity funding, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company, which sells virtual reality headsets marketed as Merge VR Goggles for $79, had previously raised about $3 million in seed … Continue reading “San Antonio VR Headset Maker Merge Lands New Funding, Expands Sales”
Magic Pens, Goliath Defiers, & More at Techstars Boston Demo Day
[Updated 6/6/16, 11:29 a.m. See below.] Beneath the carefully rehearsed pitches, corny one-liners, and overall pomp and circumstance at Techstars Boston’s 10th demo day Wednesday night, it’s clear that the startup accelerator’s local outpost continues to build solid (if not always flashy) businesses. It’s been seven years since Techstars launched in Boston, its first hub … Continue reading “Magic Pens, Goliath Defiers, & More at Techstars Boston Demo Day”
Minerva’s Shares Soar on Early Data for Schizophrenia Drug
Schizophrenia affects millions of people around the world, which is why any prospective treatment that advances garners close attention. Minerva Neurosciences jumped into the spotlight this morning when an experimental schizophrenia drug it’s developing showed some promise in a mid-stage trial, sending the company’s shares soaring. Now the Waltham, MA-based biotech has to prove that … Continue reading “Minerva’s Shares Soar on Early Data for Schizophrenia Drug”
Agenda Live For Influx—Event Welcomes Boston’s Innovation Newcomers
Every June, Xconomy holds a big Boston event looking at the region’s innovation future. This year is no different, but some big changes are in the air for the Boston tech and life sciences communities—and we retooled our event to explore them. This year’s event is called Influx. It takes place on the afternoon of … Continue reading “Agenda Live For Influx—Event Welcomes Boston’s Innovation Newcomers”
Arrivo BioVentures Lands $49M to Fuel Hunt for New Drugs
Usually when a biotech company makes a large fundraising announcement, the cash is committed to taking a specific drug through clinical trials. Arrivo BioVentures has secured $49 million in capital to first find the drugs to develop. The approach is similar to what the Morrisville, NC-based company’s management team did with three previous biotech firms, … Continue reading “Arrivo BioVentures Lands $49M to Fuel Hunt for New Drugs”