Computers can beat humans at games like chess and Go. They are obviously faster than us at calculations and numerical analysis. But they can’t read people’s emotions as well as we can, or do much of anything useful with that information. Not yet, anyway. But researchers and companies have been trying to close that gap. … Continue reading “Advancing “Emotion A.I.” for Ads and Gaming: Affectiva Adds $14M”
Category: National
After Failed Trial, Forum CEO Dunsire Leaves, Company’s Fate Unclear
Deborah Dunsire, the former head of Millennium Pharmaceuticals and a well-known Boston biotech veteran, is no longer the CEO of Forum Pharmaceuticals, Xconomy has learned. Dunsire’s last day at Waltham, MA-based Forum was on Friday. She told Xconomy she’s formed a biotech consulting company called Southern Cross Biotech Consulting—it isn’t a full-time business, she said—and … Continue reading “After Failed Trial, Forum CEO Dunsire Leaves, Company’s Fate Unclear”
Local Ties Lead to Partnership Between Fetch Rewards and Kraft Heinz
Wes Schroll, the founder and CEO of Fetch Rewards, says that in early 2015, his startup received a call from a man who worked at Oscar Mayer, the meat producer known for its hot dogs, bologna, and Wienermobile. Schroll says the caller lived just outside of Madison, WI—where Fetch Rewards is based and also where … Continue reading “Local Ties Lead to Partnership Between Fetch Rewards and Kraft Heinz”
InCube, Pitt Building Device to Restore Bladder After Spinal Injury
San Antonio — There are obvious physical difficulties that people with spinal-cord injuries face. One that may not be top of mind, but can be both physically and emotionally taxing, is the inability to control their bladders, says Pratap Khanwilkar of San Antonio’s InCube Labs. InCube Labs is working with a researcher from the University … Continue reading “InCube, Pitt Building Device to Restore Bladder After Spinal Injury”
Verizon’s “Multicast” Aims to Put Indy 500 Fans in the Driver’s Seat
Racecar driver Simon Pagenaud started the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis from the pole and led 57 of its 82 laps on his way to Victory Circle earlier this month. And Verizon Wireless subscribers across the world were invited along for the ride, thanks to streaming video from in-car cameras delivered via the carrier’s … Continue reading “Verizon’s “Multicast” Aims to Put Indy 500 Fans in the Driver’s Seat”
Spero Rolls up More Antibiotics With Vertex Deal
Spero Therapeutics continues to accumulate assets through acquisitions. This morning, the Cambridge, MA-based startup announced a deal to grab rights to a group of experimental antibiotic compounds from Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:VRTX]]), among them a drug called VXc-486/VXc-100. Spero didn’t disclose the financial terms, just that it will make an upfront payment to Vertex and promise … Continue reading “Spero Rolls up More Antibiotics With Vertex Deal”
Meet the Bad Guys After Your Data
Cyber attacks make news headlines virtually every day; businesses and organizations know the threats are out there and that they need to take action quickly because threats are growing in both number and scope of complexity. The reality is, however, that the “bad guys” are likely already on your network and endpoints, poised to steal … Continue reading “Meet the Bad Guys After Your Data”
EquipmentShare Snags $5.5M for “Airbnb” of Construction Machinery
Dallas—EquipmentShare, an online marketplace for construction equipment, has raised $5.5 million in a Series A funding round. Boston’s Romulus Capital is providing the funding. EquipmentShare essentially works to bring the construction site into the digital age. The company’s website works as its name suggests: contractors, construction firms, and the like with idle equipment—forklifts, cranes, bulldozers—can … Continue reading “EquipmentShare Snags $5.5M for “Airbnb” of Construction Machinery”
Sarepta Saga Drags On as FDA Delays Decision on Duchenne Drug
The multi-year saga of eteplirsen, a Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug from Cambridge, MA-based Sarepta Therapeutics, will continue to drag on. Sarepta (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SRPT]]) said today that the FDA won’t complete its review of its drug, eteplirsen, by the established May 26 deadline. As a result, rather than approve or reject eteplirsen—which has the chance to … Continue reading “Sarepta Saga Drags On as FDA Delays Decision on Duchenne Drug”
A Front Row 5,000 Rows Deep in AltspaceVR’s Virtual Theater
Can a concert in a virtual auditorium sell out? To get the best seat, does your avatar have to camp out overnight at the virtual ticket booth? The questions that come up as virtual reality works its way into the real consumer world are often as mind-bending as Zen koans. But entrepreneurs have already cooked … Continue reading “A Front Row 5,000 Rows Deep in AltspaceVR’s Virtual Theater”
Sophiris Streamlines Operations, Weighs Options on Prostate Drug
[Updated 5/25/16 2:35 pm with analyst comments. See below.] After advancing its experimental prostate drug to late-stage clinical trials, San Diego-based Sophiris Bio (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SPHS]]) has been assessing its strategic options before choosing the best way to continue the clinical trials and seek FDA approval. In the past few weeks, Sophiris has raised additional capital … Continue reading “Sophiris Streamlines Operations, Weighs Options on Prostate Drug”
Retooled Selecta Bio Takes Crossover Cash to IPO Queue
Selecta Biosciences became a candidate to go public when a group of crossover investors—institutions that back both public and private companies—piled $38 million into the company in September. Nine months later, the Watertown, MA-based company is ready to take the leap. Selecta filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Tuesday outlining plans for … Continue reading “Retooled Selecta Bio Takes Crossover Cash to IPO Queue”
Austin Tech Entrepreneurs Develop Non-Profit Ride-Hailing Service
Austin—A group of Austin, TX, tech leaders have announced a new ride-hailing service for the city. RideAustin is pulling up to the curb about two weeks after voters rejected a referendum item that would have nullified the city’s fingerprinting rules for ride-hailing companies’ drivers. Two days after losing that vote, Uber and Lyft—which spent $8 … Continue reading “Austin Tech Entrepreneurs Develop Non-Profit Ride-Hailing Service”
San Antonio Bootcamp Codeup Promotes Ex-Rackspace Employee to CEO
San Antonio — Web developer bootcamp Codeup has a new CEO: Kay Jones, a longtime Rackspace employee, is taking over the helm from co-founder Michael Girdley. Jones joined San Antonio-based Codeup in February as chief operating officer, coming off of more than a decade in various roles at Rackspace (NYSE: [[ticker:RAX]]). Her most recent position … Continue reading “San Antonio Bootcamp Codeup Promotes Ex-Rackspace Employee to CEO”
Lee Newspaper Chain Takes Stake in Milwaukee Adtech Startup Okanjo
The rise of the Internet has had a drastic effect on print media, and there seems to be no going back. For today’s journalists, that means nightly or weekly deadlines often don’t loom as large as they did before newspapers gained the ability to publish at all hours. Their business-side colleagues have also had to … Continue reading “Lee Newspaper Chain Takes Stake in Milwaukee Adtech Startup Okanjo”
NuTonomy, Optimus Lead Pack of Self-Driving Vehicle Startups
Here comes the blind fury of autonomous vehicle startups. We knew it was coming, since everyone from Google and Uber to GM and Tesla is working on the technology. Boston-area startup NuTonomy, founded by a pair of MIT scientists in 2013, is the latest to make a splash. The company announced on Tuesday a Series … Continue reading “NuTonomy, Optimus Lead Pack of Self-Driving Vehicle Startups”
Cybersecurity Company Agari Raises $22M For E-Mail Shield
Cybersecurity company Agari, which guards against hacker attacks initiated through fraudulent e-mails, announced today it has raised $22 million in a Series D fundraising round lead by Norwest Venture Partners. Scale Venture Partners and other previous investors joined in the round, which brings San Mateo, CA-based Agari’s total fundraising to $44.7 million. Agari CEO Patrick … Continue reading “Cybersecurity Company Agari Raises $22M For E-Mail Shield”
Join GE, Watson Health, Akamai, and More at INFLUX on June 22
Big companies and innovative startups call Boston home. That’s pretty much always been the case. But now we’re about to see a step change. With GE moving into the Seaport, IBM Watson Health moving into Kendall Square, Dell mega-merging with EMC, and other giants setting up R&D operations (or otherwise expanding their presence), Boston’s profile … Continue reading “Join GE, Watson Health, Akamai, and More at INFLUX on June 22”
Personalized Shopping Startup eyeQ Gets $3.5M to Recommend Products
Austin—EyeQ, which makes software to help retailers provide “personalized shopping” experiences to customers, said Tuesday the company has raised $3.5 million in a Series A funding round. The investment is led by Austin’s Align Capital, a new investor in the company, one that joins previous backers such as the Houston Angel Network and DreamIt Ventures. … Continue reading “Personalized Shopping Startup eyeQ Gets $3.5M to Recommend Products”
Steve Blank Hails NYU Engineering Grads, Talks Building Businesses
Make the most of the days to come while ignoring a few rules along the way was some of the advice Steve Blank shared Monday in a commencement speech for this year’s graduates at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Known for his methodologies that helped drive the lean startup movement, Blank is a former serial entrepreneur who … Continue reading “Steve Blank Hails NYU Engineering Grads, Talks Building Businesses”
Indico CEO on the Existential Crisis in A.I. and Finding One’s Path
Slater Victoroff’s hands were bleeding, several of his fingernails were chipped and broken, and there was dust in his eyes. He was exhausted. If he stopped moving, he would likely die. As he climbed up the mountain in the eastern Himalayas, he reached a particularly treacherous section. “I actually had the decision laid out in … Continue reading “Indico CEO on the Existential Crisis in A.I. and Finding One’s Path”
Roundup: NextChallenge, Ranker, QuantumShift, Comcast, MBDA & More
Here’s a look at news from around Michigan’s innovation hubs: —NextEnergy, Denso, Wells Fargo, and DTE Energy are seeking hardware and software solutions to unmet challenges facing urban areas for NextChallenge: Smart Cities, a global competition designed to inspire innovative technology in smart parking, smart transportation, smart infrastructure, and smart buildings. Submissions will be accepted … Continue reading “Roundup: NextChallenge, Ranker, QuantumShift, Comcast, MBDA & More”
Tour of Texas: Ride-Hailing, CPRIT, Deep Space, Dean Kamen, START
Let’s get caught up with the latest innovation news in Texas. Austin —BeSomebody, an Austin, TX-based, app that connects people seeking experiences with experts in those experiences, is moving to Boston. Founder Kash Shaikh, a former social media marketing executive at Procter & Gamble and GoPro, has created essentially an online self-improvement network that encourages … Continue reading “Tour of Texas: Ride-Hailing, CPRIT, Deep Space, Dean Kamen, START”
Software Robots Are Transforming Old Guard Industries
Everyone’s talking about robots and automation. Do you imagine having a “Rosie” cleaning your home, or the next industrial revolution of automation putting millions out of work? Neither is quite reality, but there is a highly valuable virtual workforce of “software robots” working in today’s offices. They aren’t rolling around like BB-8 delivering the mail, … Continue reading “Software Robots Are Transforming Old Guard Industries”
Arbor Pharma Pays $467M for Struggling XenoPort, Restless Legs Drug
Over the past year, struggling XenoPort has restructured, changed its strategic direction, and reportedly started courting buyers in January. That search looks to have ended today: Arbor Pharmaceuticals has agreed to buy Santa Clara, CA-based XenoPort for $467 million. Arbor, a specialty pharma company based in Atlanta, GA, has agreed to pay $7.03 per share … Continue reading “Arbor Pharma Pays $467M for Struggling XenoPort, Restless Legs Drug”
Magnomics Mastitis Diagnostic Lands Prize, Finds Potential NC Partner
While the financial costs of mastitis are clear, the diagnostic options for this dairy cow infection are muddled. Laboratory tests take days to return to farmers any useful information, time that eats into a dairy farm’s milk production. Magnomics aims to improve mastitis detection with a diagnostic device designed for farm use. The Cantanhede, Portugal-based … Continue reading “Magnomics Mastitis Diagnostic Lands Prize, Finds Potential NC Partner”
Localytics Pushes Toward Profits After Layoffs and Market Slowdown
The tech startup maxim of putting growth before profits has started to reverse itself, as the venture capital boom of the past few years slows down and public investors reward companies with healthy balance sheets. The latest example of the shifting mindset is Localytics. The mobile analytics and marketing software firm has raised $60 million … Continue reading “Localytics Pushes Toward Profits After Layoffs and Market Slowdown”
In Connected Toys, Edwin the Duck Appeals to Consumers, Investors
Edwin the Duck flew onto retailers’ shelves in late November, and within six weeks he’d nested in about 14,000 homes across the country. Now the $100 tech-enhanced rubber ducky is making waves overseas. Introduced in Apple stores throughout Europe last month, Edwin’s early success there has its Indiana-based creators contemplating an international outpost to focus … Continue reading “In Connected Toys, Edwin the Duck Appeals to Consumers, Investors”
A Year Later, Northwestern Mutual, LearnVest Reflect on Acquisition
Slightly over a year ago, Milwaukee-based life insurance giant Northwestern Mutual acquired LearnVest, a New York-based fintech startup. Northwestern Mutual didn’t have a record of buying many early-stage companies, making the purchase a surprise to some observers. (At the time, CEO John Schlifske told Forbes that the insurer, which manages nearly $90 billion in assets, wasn’t … Continue reading “A Year Later, Northwestern Mutual, LearnVest Reflect on Acquisition”
Seattle Week in Review: Don’t Sleep on These Techstars
This week, we’re reviewing the latest batch of startups to emerge from Techstars Seattle; an ambitious renewable energy commitment from Microsoft; an artificial intelligence-powered legal research assistant; top stories from around Xconomy’s network on mobility, enterprise search, and entrepreneurship education at MIT; and a dire warning about earthquake safety for those living and working in … Continue reading “Seattle Week in Review: Don’t Sleep on These Techstars”
StartingBlock, Cellectar & 500 Startups: This Week’s WI Watchlist
—StartingBlock Madison, an entrepreneurial center that would be located within a proposed $69 million building project just east of the city’s downtown, no longer plans to feature Sector67 as an anchor tenant, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. Sector67, a maker space in Madison, reportedly decided it couldn’t agree to the terms of a contract it … Continue reading “StartingBlock, Cellectar & 500 Startups: This Week’s WI Watchlist”
Dean Kamen Talks Houston & Building Robotics “Super Bowl” For Kids
Houston—Dean Kamen’s inventions include the iBot, a powered wheelchair that can “walk;” the first portable insulin delivery system; and a robotic prosthetic arm made for the military as he built his firm Deka Research and Development. (Also, you may have heard of this other invention he had: the Segway.) Houston played a pivotal role in … Continue reading “Dean Kamen Talks Houston & Building Robotics “Super Bowl” For Kids”
Early Stage San Antonio Drug Trial Firm START Opens Taiwan Outpost
San Antonio — With the number of scientists, researchers, executives, and patients involved in any given drug approval process, it’s easy to gloss over the early work that goes into clinical testing, especially when most patient awareness about a drug comes after it gains FDA approval. For a company like South Texas Accelerated Research Therapeutics … Continue reading “Early Stage San Antonio Drug Trial Firm START Opens Taiwan Outpost”
Badger State Initiative Launches Startup Funds in La Crosse, Neenah
A program supported in part by the state of Wisconsin that’s aimed at providing capital to early-stage companies appears to be coming to fruition at last. The Badger Fund of Funds, an initiative more than five years in the making, launched its first two “recipient” funds earlier this month. The announcements mark a key step … Continue reading “Badger State Initiative Launches Startup Funds in La Crosse, Neenah”
Four Years After Neuronex Buyout, Acorda Dumps Epilepsy Drug
Back in 2012, Acorda Therapeutics bought a Morrisville, NC, company called Neuronex as part of a plan to branch out beyond its flagship multiple sclerosis drug dalfampridine (Ampyra). Unfortunately, the drug, a nasal spray form of the old seizure control drug diazepam, never lived up to expectations, leading Acorda today to shelve it altogether. Ardsley, … Continue reading “Four Years After Neuronex Buyout, Acorda Dumps Epilepsy Drug”
The Biotech Roundup: Immunotherapy Ups And Downs, Gene Deals & More
A quick housekeeping note: Starting this week, we are combining our East Coast and West Coast biotech roundups into a single weekly post that will also include highlights from our other cities and regions, including Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Xconomy’s latest bureau, Indiana. As with our bygone coastal roundups, this new national roundup is not … Continue reading “The Biotech Roundup: Immunotherapy Ups And Downs, Gene Deals & More”
As the Mobility Sector Revs Up, Startups and Dealerships Respond
Mobility, in case you haven’t heard, is the up-and-coming tech buzzword driving the future of transportation. As defined by the auto industry, mobility refers to moving goods and people from point A to point B. This encompasses vehicles for personal use, fleet vehicles, public transit, ridesharing, bicycles, car-sharing, self-driving cars, planes, trains, and essentially any … Continue reading “As the Mobility Sector Revs Up, Startups and Dealerships Respond”
Health Analytics Startup Springbuk Lands $3.75M Venture Round
Springbuk, a year-old Indianapolis health analytics firm that serves mid- to large-size employers, said Thursday that it raised $3.75 million in a Series A funding round led by St. Louis-based Lewis & Clark Ventures. The company plans to use the capital to fuel product innovation and strategic hiring. Springbuk’s cloud-based analytics product is used by … Continue reading “Health Analytics Startup Springbuk Lands $3.75M Venture Round”
Spark Adds To Early But Promising Data For Hemophilia Gene Therapy
The race to develop a gene therapy for hemophilia just moved another few feet forward. Spark Therapeutics, which is one of several companies developing a treatment, is the latest to provide its first glimpse of clinical data in human patients. As with other snippets from rivals like UniQure, of Amsterdam, and BioMarin Pharmaceutical, of San … Continue reading “Spark Adds To Early But Promising Data For Hemophilia Gene Therapy”
Agenda for Robo Madness West: PARC, iRobot, Fetch & More
We’re a little over a month away from our fifth annual Bay Area robotics conference. This year’s Robo Madness West has a new spin: it’s happening as part of the 2016 Sensors Expo & Conference at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, CA, on the afternoon of June 22. Here’s the agenda for the … Continue reading “Agenda for Robo Madness West: PARC, iRobot, Fetch & More”
General Assembly Brings Tech Training Event to San Antonio Saturday
San Antonio—General Assembly and San Antonio co-working space Geekdom are hosting a day of free tech workshops and training in San Antonio this weekend. The event is being held Saturday at the Geekdom Event Centre starting at 2 p.m. and is open to the public, though the hosts are asking for online RSVPs here. The … Continue reading “General Assembly Brings Tech Training Event to San Antonio Saturday”
Dallas’s Deep Space Ventures Targets Business-Focused Startups
Dallas—Deep Space Ventures has big plans for the North Texas venture scene. “We’ll spend $20 to $30 million; it’ll take us three to five years to do it,” says co-founder Stephen Hays. “And then we’ll go from there.” “We” is Hays and an unnamed partner, an energy entrepreneur who is providing the funding for Deep … Continue reading “Dallas’s Deep Space Ventures Targets Business-Focused Startups”
ThoughtSpot Raises $50M for Business Data Search Engine
“The consumption of data by humans has increased maybe millions of times compared to what we used to use,” Ajeet Singh says. “This is possible because of search.” By that, serial entrepreneur Singh means search engines like Google and Microsoft’s Bing, which instantly scour websites to find us a restaurant, an audiobook, or the name … Continue reading “ThoughtSpot Raises $50M for Business Data Search Engine”
MIT Boosts Resources for Entrepreneurs as Startup “Fever” Rages
[Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories examining entrepreneurship on MIT’s campus and beyond.] [Corrected 10/4/16, 9:33 am. See below.] In 1901, 40 years after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was founded, alumnus and inventor William Nickerson co-founded the company that would become Gillette. MIT graduate William Shockley co-invented the transistor in … Continue reading “MIT Boosts Resources for Entrepreneurs as Startup “Fever” Rages”
Make Exits, Not Unicorns: Voyager Charts the Early Stage VC Course
Elemental Technologies and Blue Box Group were acquired by Amazon and IBM, respectively, in two of the Northwest’s most prominent technology deals of 2015. Both received initial venture capital investments from Voyager Capital. With these successful exits behind them and the firm’s 20-year anniversary ahead next year, Voyager partners Bill McAleer and Erik Benson sat … Continue reading “Make Exits, Not Unicorns: Voyager Charts the Early Stage VC Course”
In Immuno-Oncology’s Latest Win, FDA OK’s Genentech Drug
South San Francisco, CA-based Genentech, a division of international health giant Roche, announced today the U.S. approval of its drug atezolizumab (Tecentriq) for the most common form of bladder cancer. Nearly 77,000 new cases of the cancer, called urothelial carcinoma, will occur in the U.S. this year, and it will cause more than 16,000 deaths, … Continue reading “In Immuno-Oncology’s Latest Win, FDA OK’s Genentech Drug”
Agenovir Gets $10.6M To Take on Viral Infections With CRISPR
The gene editing system known as CRISPR-Cas9 has electrified the world of science and led to a slew of startups, including two—Editas Medicine and Intellia Therapeutics—that have already gone public. The latest to join the fray is Agenovir, a company incubated at Johnson & Johnson’s JLABS accelerator in South San Francisco that aims to use … Continue reading “Agenovir Gets $10.6M To Take on Viral Infections With CRISPR”
Desai Accelerator Basks in Success of 2015 as New Cohort Starts
The University of Michigan’s Desai Accelerator, a joint venture between the school’s College of Engineering and Ross School of Business that is open to anyone regardless of university affiliation, has chosen its 2016 cohort. Six tech startups were selected from the more than 80 that applied; 83 percent are Michigan-based, 33 percent have female founders, … Continue reading “Desai Accelerator Basks in Success of 2015 as New Cohort Starts”
Indiana’s SpeechVive Nabs $2M for Parkinson’s Speech Devices
SpeechVive, an Indianapolis startup that’s building medical devices for people with Parkinson’s disease, has received nearly $2.3 million in grant money and venture capital to design and build a method for programming its devices. Based on 15 years of research from Purdue University professor Jessica Huber, the company has received $1.3 million from the National … Continue reading “Indiana’s SpeechVive Nabs $2M for Parkinson’s Speech Devices”
HealthDecision Founder Hangs Up the White Coat to Focus on Startup
[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.] Out with “doctor’s orders,” and in with “shared decision-making.” The U.S. healthcare system has witnessed sweeping reforms in recent years. The passage and implementation of the Affordable Care … Continue reading “HealthDecision Founder Hangs Up the White Coat to Focus on Startup”