A high-stakes biotech turf war is about to break out over a very lucrative market, and at the same time, a big check is on its way to Watertown, MA-based Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ENTA]]). The FDA today approved a double-pill regimen for hepatitis C to be sold by Chicago-area pharma giant AbbVie (NYSE: [[ticker:ABBV]]), for … Continue reading “Enanta Pockets $75M As AbbVie, Gilead Hep C Battle Begins”
Category: National
Seattle Roundup: Skytap, Mercent, AnswerDash, FlowVella, Impinj
Seattle deal makers got busy in the last full work-week of the year, with a major funding round announced for Skytap, an acquisition for Mercent, a technology integration for AnswerDash, and more. That’s on top of $70.9 million raised by Redfin; Juno Therapeutics’ $264 million IPO, less expenses; and a $15 million investment from Bill … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Skytap, Mercent, AnswerDash, FlowVella, Impinj”
Acme Packet Vets Raise $12M for Stealthy Startup, 128 Technology
The entrepreneurs behind one of the biggest corporate buyouts in Boston’s technology sector are getting their team back together with a new startup whose name hints at the region’s critical role in an earlier computing revolution. Andy Ory and Patrick MeLampy, co-founders of the former IP communication tech company Acme Packet, are listed respectively as … Continue reading “Acme Packet Vets Raise $12M for Stealthy Startup, 128 Technology”
Colorado Roundup: Missile Batteries, Blue Ocean, and Funding News
Here are a few bits of recent news from startups around Colorado: Solid Power goes ballistic: Solid Power, a Louisville, CO-based startup spun out of the University of Colorado-Boulder, announced a unique partnership earlier this month. It’s working with the Air Force to make batteries for the intercontinental ballistic missiles that carry nuclear warheads. The … Continue reading “Colorado Roundup: Missile Batteries, Blue Ocean, and Funding News”
Arborlight: LED-Based Skylights and Sunshine in Real Time
Cubicle World, that mythical place where many of today’s office workers dwell, can be very dreary. These cramped little warrens are often marked by a lack of windows, harsh lighting, stale air, and screwy temperatures—the air conditioning blasts in the winter; the heat roars in the summer. Functionality and affordability rule, and somewhere much farther … Continue reading “Arborlight: LED-Based Skylights and Sunshine in Real Time”
Arrowhead, Despite Ailing Stock, Reloads in RNAi Hepatitis B Fight
Arrowhead Research has had a rough couple of months, but that hasn’t put CEO Christopher Anzalone in panic mode—far from it. The Pasadena, CA-based biotech company’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARWR]]) stock price has fallen off a cliff, largely a result of investors getting spooked by some early data in the company’s ongoing Phase 2a study of its … Continue reading “Arrowhead, Despite Ailing Stock, Reloads in RNAi Hepatitis B Fight”
Boston Tech Roundup: Freight Farms, Autodesk, Mavrck, Atlas
Startups are raising money, a small developer shop has been acquired, and the split-up of a venture capital firm motors along in this collection of recent deals around the Boston-area tech sector: —Freight Farms, a Boston-based startup that sells hydroponic vegetable-growing systems housed in shipping containers, has raised $3.7 million in new investment led by Spark Capital. … Continue reading “Boston Tech Roundup: Freight Farms, Autodesk, Mavrck, Atlas”
Metamaterials Moguls: Gates, Allen Back New Radar Startup Echodyne
Microsoft’s co-founders are backing a Seattle-area startup that wants to apply proprietary metamaterials technology to radar. Bill Gates is co-leader with Madrona Venture Group of a $15 million Series A funding round for Echodyne, which will seek to commercialize the metamaterials technology portfolio of Intellectual Ventures “for a wide range of new radar applications,” Gates … Continue reading “Metamaterials Moguls: Gates, Allen Back New Radar Startup Echodyne”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Yumanity, Padlock, CAR-T Fever, & More
One lesson from this week: Regardless how hard biotech is, entrepreneurs will always come back for more. As Tony Coles told me this week after he announced his new company, retirement “never sounded very appealing.” Michael Gilman similarly returned to biotech after selling Stromedix to Biogen Idec, and is moving ahead with his own new … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Yumanity, Padlock, CAR-T Fever, & More”
Cybersecurity Startup Area 1 Aims to Stop Attacks Like Sony’s
If venture firms still had any doubt about the cybersecurity field as a good prospect for investors, the ongoing wreckage inflicted by hackers on entertainment giant Sony over the past month may put those doubts to rest. Sony has seen everything from corporate salaries to its executives’ snide e-mail comments about President Obama and Angelina … Continue reading “Cybersecurity Startup Area 1 Aims to Stop Attacks Like Sony’s”
With $2B Market Cap and New Shareholder Rules, Juno Ready for Debut
Juno Therapeutics of Seattle set the price late Thursday for its initial public offering. It is selling 11 million shares at $24 each, which is where shares will start trading tomorrow morning on the Nasdaq. That puts $264 million into Juno’s bank account, minus fees to bankers and others, for Juno to use as it … Continue reading “With $2B Market Cap and New Shareholder Rules, Juno Ready for Debut”
Olympics, NFL Lessons Guide Integrate’s Bloom in First Year as CEO
A lot of entrepreneurs have circuitous career paths before becoming a first-time CEO. Few have the Olympics or the National Football League on their resumes. But that’s the case for Jeremy Bloom, co-founder and CEO of Integrate, a venture-backed marketing software company. Bloom has been in the top spot for about eight months as the … Continue reading “Olympics, NFL Lessons Guide Integrate’s Bloom in First Year as CEO”
Snyder Creates New State Dept. of Talent and Economic Development
As its economy recovers from a decade-long slump, Michigan has become a place where the need for talent far outpaces the local workforce available to fill all of the open positions—nearly 82,000 job openings are currently listed on the state’s Pure Michigan Talent Connect website. The need for tech talent is particularly keen, and it’s … Continue reading “Snyder Creates New State Dept. of Talent and Economic Development”
YouTube Buys Vidmaker, a Collaborative Video Editing Tool
YouTube has acquired Vidmaker, a Madison, WI-based startup that makes online video-editing software. Vidmaker announced the deal on its website. No financial terms were disclosed, and Vidmaker CEO Dale Emmons said he can’t share any details. “We’re really excited to be joining YouTube,” Emmons said in an e-mail message. Vidmaker was co-founded in 2011 by Emmons, … Continue reading “YouTube Buys Vidmaker, a Collaborative Video Editing Tool”
Redfin Raises $70.9M to Accelerate National Expansion
Seattle-based online real estate broker Redfin has raised $70.9 million in one of the Northwest’s largest funding rounds this year. The investment was led by Wellington Management, at the head of a lengthy list of institutional investors. Additional investors in the round—which follows a $50 million funding in November 2013 and brings total capital raised … Continue reading “Redfin Raises $70.9M to Accelerate National Expansion”
Startups Race to Solve Looming Medical Radioisotope Crisis
There’s a shortage of radioactive material that few people outside the medical community know about. And the best hope for solving the problem—and reduce nuclear proliferation risks linked to it—rests in the hands of a handful of startups operating on a mix of government and private money. The medical isotope technetium-99 is injected into tens … Continue reading “Startups Race to Solve Looming Medical Radioisotope Crisis”
With Big Funding, Phononic CEO Targets New Cooling Applications
Semiconductor startup Phononic entered 2014 with a $21 million funding round to bring the company’s new cooling technology into refrigerator production lines. Phononic is still on track to break into home refrigeration. But the company is closing the year with an additional $44.5 million in funding as it stakes out opportunities to cool other devices … Continue reading “With Big Funding, Phononic CEO Targets New Cooling Applications”
Déjà Vu For Gilman as New Immunology Startup, Padlock, Gets $23M
Michael Gilman has been in this position before. About 10 years ago, he left an executive research position at Biogen Idec, hooked up with Atlas Venture, and formed a startup called Stromedix—one that got funded, developed a drug, and incidentally was later sold to the big biotech, bringing Gilman back into the Biogen fold. Now … Continue reading “Déjà Vu For Gilman as New Immunology Startup, Padlock, Gets $23M”
Houston’s Bellicum Pharma Rides T-Cell Therapy Wave to $140M IPO
Bellicum Pharmaceuticals has made a little bit of Houston history. In becoming the latest in a new wave of cancer immunotherapy companies to go public, Bellicum has managed another feat—it’s the first Houston biotech to make it to the Nasdaq in nearly 15 years. Bellicum priced 7.35 million shares Wednesday night at $19 apiece, raising $139.65 million before … Continue reading “Houston’s Bellicum Pharma Rides T-Cell Therapy Wave to $140M IPO”
CAMX Power Quietly Develops 200-Mile Electric Car Battery
Claims of a breakthrough in battery performance are fairly commonplace—and often disappointing. A little-known startup has been toiling on a material that isn’t a radical break with today’s batteries. But by improving on materials that are already widely used, it could be a commercial success nonetheless. CAMX Power, based in Lexington, MA, has only existed … Continue reading “CAMX Power Quietly Develops 200-Mile Electric Car Battery”
New Funding for Texas Software, Cleantech, & Health IT Startups
There’s just over a week until Christmas. How is your shopping going? As you wait in checkout lines or for e-retailers to process your orders, catch up with the latest innovation news from Xconomy’s Texas bureau, such as funding news and new startup partnerships in Houston. —Rebellion Photonics, a Houston energy startup, has received $4.25 … Continue reading “New Funding for Texas Software, Cleantech, & Health IT Startups”
Phononic Raises a Cool $44.5M for Refrigerator Technology
Phononic, a startup that’s trying to shake up the refrigerator industry with a semiconductor cooling technology, has raised $44.5 million to help the company expand into more cooling applications. Eastwood Capital Corp. and the Wellcome Trust led the Series D round for the Durham, NC-based company. Phononic’s technology replaces refrigerator compressors, the pumps that move … Continue reading “Phononic Raises a Cool $44.5M for Refrigerator Technology”
From American Well to Venture Capitalists, Health IT on the Rise
Companies in healthcare IT have been percolating for the past five-plus years. Now, with the regulatory climate evolving and big companies like Apple getting more serious about health and wellness, it looks like 2015 could be when it’s all going to pop. Let’s connect a few dots: —American Well has raised $80 million in Series … Continue reading “From American Well to Venture Capitalists, Health IT on the Rise”
CoInvent Summit Triggers Debate About Passion for Entrepreneurship
At the CoInvent Startup Summit held on Tuesday in New York, differing opinions on some founders’ intentions emerged among the discussions. (The slideshow above offers a taste of the investors and entrepreneurs who spoke at the daylong conference.) During the panel on “Getting Star Investors for Your Startup,” Brian Cohen, chairman of New York Angels, … Continue reading “CoInvent Summit Triggers Debate About Passion for Entrepreneurship”
EdgeWave Adds $2M to Extend Overhaul of Enterprise Cybersecurity
San Diego-based EdgeWave, which raised $6 million in equity funding in July (and arranged a $5 million credit facility), says today it has raised another $2 million in equity from three investors in an extension of its Series A round. The cybersecurity company, known previously as St. Bernard Software, a public company, has been moving … Continue reading “EdgeWave Adds $2M to Extend Overhaul of Enterprise Cybersecurity”
SmartUQ Raises $1.8M For Simulation Analytics Software
SmartUQ, a Madison, WI-based startup that has developed software to speed up the design of a variety of products, has raised nearly $1.8 million in seed funding, according to a new filing with the SEC. The money comes from 21 Wisconsin investors, most of them individuals, according to the document and the company. SmartUQ, previously … Continue reading “SmartUQ Raises $1.8M For Simulation Analytics Software”
In New Era of Cyber Threats, Rapid7 Reloads With $30M
Cyber attacks and data breaches aren’t going away anytime soon. Neither are the technology companies trying to protect against them—nor the venture investors looking to cash in. Rapid7, a Boston-based company, says today it has raised $30 million more from previous investors Bain Capital Ventures and Technology Crossover Ventures. The deal brings its total funding … Continue reading “In New Era of Cyber Threats, Rapid7 Reloads With $30M”
Adelphic Advancing Mobile Ads With Apple Deal, New Funding
The field of mobile advertising has been evolving steadily but fairly quietly in the past year. Now startups are ready to make more noise, thanks in part to the world’s biggest tech company. Boston-area startup Adelphic says today it has raised $11 million in Series B venture money, which brings its total funding to $23 … Continue reading “Adelphic Advancing Mobile Ads With Apple Deal, New Funding”
Austin’s Wisegate Raises $4M to Further Develop IT Brain Trust
An Austin startup creating what it calls “a gated brain trust of the wisest in IT” has raised $4 million. Wisegate announced Tuesday it has closed a Series B round led by new investor Arcus Capital Partners. Prior investors the Central Texas Angel Network, Atlanta Technology Angels, Golden Seeds, and Cowtown Angels also participated. The … Continue reading “Austin’s Wisegate Raises $4M to Further Develop IT Brain Trust”
Ann Arbor’s FarmLogs Closes $10M Series B, Plans New Premium Features
The Ann Arbor, MI-based ag tech startup FarmLogs announced today that it has raised a $10 million Series B round of funding. The round included repeat investors Huron River Ventures, Hyde Park Ventures, and Drive Capital, as well as new investment from Sam Altman, president of Y Combinator, and SV Angel. “It’s very exciting,” Vollmar … Continue reading “Ann Arbor’s FarmLogs Closes $10M Series B, Plans New Premium Features”
Auspex Shares Soar on Late-Stage Results from Huntington’s Study
San Diego-based Auspex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ASPX]]) says it plans to file a new drug application by mid-2015 after reporting today that its lead drug candidate curbed involuntary movements associated with Huntington’s disease in a late-stage clinical trial. The price of Auspex shares gained about 65 percent, leaping by more than $16 to $41.21 a share … Continue reading “Auspex Shares Soar on Late-Stage Results from Huntington’s Study”
MCWT Aims to Make Michigan the Top State for Women in Technology
The tech industry has a well-known gender diversity problem, but in Michigan, there’s a group working to make the Great Lakes state a leader in terms of recruiting and inspiring women working in technology. The Michigan Council of Women in Technology (MCWT) began in 2000 as a networking organization for working women. Since then, it … Continue reading “MCWT Aims to Make Michigan the Top State for Women in Technology”
SunPower’s $20M Investment Latest Sign of Tendril’s Turnaround
Just two years ago, Tendril Networks was like many other formerly high-flying cleantech startups struggling to stay alive. But now Tendril is back, according to CEO Adrian Tuck—and one of the leading renewable energy companies in the world agrees. Solar panel manufacturer SunPower and Tendril announced Monday that SunPower (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SPWR]]) has invested $20 million … Continue reading “SunPower’s $20M Investment Latest Sign of Tendril’s Turnaround”
Coming Soon to a Theater Near You: Magnovision?
When the ads for Mars vacations came on the TV, Doug Quaid couldn’t turn away. He thought about Mars at work, dreamed about it at night, badgered his wife about going there. She reminded him that they couldn’t afford it—and anyway, Saturn is much nicer. But he could not get Mars out of his head. … Continue reading “Coming Soon to a Theater Near You: Magnovision?”
Wagepoint Raises $2M As Competition Mounts in Payroll Software Scene
Cloud-based software for doling out payroll seems to be the flavor of the season with some investors. This month, New York-based Wagepoint raised a $2 million seed round led by Extreme Venture Partners, and with participation from Businesses Development Bank of Canada, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and angel investors. The startup was born from a … Continue reading “Wagepoint Raises $2M As Competition Mounts in Payroll Software Scene”
Accelerate LI’s Latest Startup Aims to Rewire Viruses With Software
Accelerate Long Island seeded its first batch of startups earlier this year, and today it has circled back with its latest investment—a company purporting to use computer tools to whip up synthetic viruses and create new vaccines. Accelerate LI and its strategic funding partner, the Long Island Emerging Technologies Fund, have invested $100,000 total—$50,000 apiece—in … Continue reading “Accelerate LI’s Latest Startup Aims to Rewire Viruses With Software”
App Quality Study Shows No-Names Beating Some Big Brands in Mobile
Ask any app developer about their most soul-crushing experience, and you’re likely to get a story about user reviews. No matter how powerful or elegant you think the product is, a few minutes in the hands of real-life users are enough to turn even small flaws into major headaches. Once the bad reviews start to … Continue reading “App Quality Study Shows No-Names Beating Some Big Brands in Mobile”
Intrigue and Outdated Rules Complicate Big Biotech Patent Fight
How’s this for strange? What’s likely the most important biotech patent battle of the decade is now being fought under outmoded rules that the U.S. Congress, in a rare spasm of common purpose three years ago, agreed roundly were due for a once-in-a-lifetime overhaul. The fight is over CRISPR/Cas9, a potential Nobel-winning biotech discovery, and … Continue reading “Intrigue and Outdated Rules Complicate Big Biotech Patent Fight”
From Healthtech to Beer Tech, Xconomy Wisconsin’s 1st Year in Review
With 2014 coming to a close, it’s an appropriate time to reflect on the past year. That’s especially true for me today, as Xconomy celebrates the one-year anniversary of our launch in Wisconsin. It’s been an eventful 12 months, with plenty of big news—both exciting and discouraging developments for advocates of Wisconsin’s innovation and startup … Continue reading “From Healthtech to Beer Tech, Xconomy Wisconsin’s 1st Year in Review”
Techstars Hires Startup Vet to Run Qualcomm Robotics Accelerator
Ryan Kuder, a San Diego startup veteran who left the mobile device recycler EcoATM earlier this year, has been hired to lead the new robotics startup accelerator that Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) is establishing under a deal with Techstars. Boulder, CO-based Techstars, which just announced its 16th startup program last week in Detroit, named Kuder as … Continue reading “Techstars Hires Startup Vet to Run Qualcomm Robotics Accelerator”
Déjà Vu? Elan Alumni Start Antibody Firm to Fight Neurodegeneration
Former employees of Elan, the Irish-American drug company that grabbed plenty of headlines before it was broken into parts, have launched a company to develop monoclonal antibodies to treat neurodegenerative disease. The company is Annexon Bioscience of Redwood City, CA, and it has $34 million in Series A backing from Novartis’s venture group and others. … Continue reading “Déjà Vu? Elan Alumni Start Antibody Firm to Fight Neurodegeneration”
Great Lakes Ag Tech Business Incubator Seeks Farmer-Entrepreneurs
Michigan is the second-most agriculturally diverse state in the nation after California, producing everything from blueberries to black beans to begonias. Now, organizers of a new startup accelerator want to add ag-tech software and equipment to that bounty. Called the Great Lakes Ag Technology Business Incubator, the non-profit program will be overseen by officials from … Continue reading “Great Lakes Ag Tech Business Incubator Seeks Farmer-Entrepreneurs”
Austin’s Cratejoy Helps Local E-tailers Manage Subscriptions
Eileen Griffith realized that she and her husband were in a rut—and so were her friends. “Everyone was having the same conversation: What do you want to do?” she recalls. “Everyone was so busy to plan something so it always ends up with take out and Netflix.” Seeking alternative social excursions, Griffith in September of … Continue reading “Austin’s Cratejoy Helps Local E-tailers Manage Subscriptions”
Famed Geneticist Altshuler Bolts Broad Institute for Vertex
How alluring is the pull of industry these days? Vertex Pharmaceuticals just got one of the world’s top geneticists, a founder of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, to make the switch. David Altshuler has left his post as the Broad’s deputy director and chief academic officer. He’s been named the chief scientific officer … Continue reading “Famed Geneticist Altshuler Bolts Broad Institute for Vertex”
Takeover Target Carbonite Acquiring MailStore for $19.8M
[Updated paragraph with more details, 11:10am] A new week, a new deal involving Carbonite. The Boston-based cloud backup company says it’s acquiring German e-mail archiving firm MailStore Software for 15.95 million euros, or about $19.8 million, in cash. The deal is expected to close this month and will add 20 employees to Carbonite, whose total … Continue reading “Takeover Target Carbonite Acquiring MailStore for $19.8M”
After Spinning Onyx into Gold, Coles Returns to Lead a CNS Startup
Tony Coles could easily be on a beach sipping mai tais right now. You can plan for an early retirement in biotech when you turn two different companies around and steer the latest one of them into a $10 billion buyout. But the 54-year-old Coles, who helped restructure NPS Pharmaceuticals and then lead Onyx Pharmaceuticals … Continue reading “After Spinning Onyx into Gold, Coles Returns to Lead a CNS Startup”
Phytonix Turns Photosynthetic Bacteria Into Tiny Chemical Factories
Ambitions for biologically sourced fuels bump up against the reality that making chemicals and fuels from organic material is still generally more expensive. One company is hoping to overcome that obstacle by tapping into the built-in way that plants make their own energy. Plants use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into food with … Continue reading “Phytonix Turns Photosynthetic Bacteria Into Tiny Chemical Factories”
Texas Medical Center, Village Capital Look to Boost Health Startups
The Texas Medical Center hosted a dozen digital health startups this week as part of a program with Village Capital, a Washington, DC-based venture firm. The program, called VilCapUSA, marks the debut of the medical center’s new accelerator space, TMCx, which will unveil its own inaugural class of healthcare startups in March. “Working with Village … Continue reading “Texas Medical Center, Village Capital Look to Boost Health Startups”
CDS Snaps Up Gener8tor Grad Optyn to Expand its Software Services
Central Data Storage (CDS) has purchased Chicago online marketing startup Optyn, a 2013 graduate of Gener8tor’s accelerator program, for an undisclosed price, the companies announced today. The deal provides some early validation for Gener8tor, a Wisconsin accelerator that has invested in 28 companies since its 2012 founding and recently raised $2.1 million for its second … Continue reading “CDS Snaps Up Gener8tor Grad Optyn to Expand its Software Services”
Oncothyreon Pays $20M for Array BioPharma’s Breast Cancer Drug
Oncothyreon and Array BioPharma announced today that they have updated their development agreement around a breast cancer drug invented by Array. Oncothyreon, based in Seattle, will pay Boulder, CO-based Array (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARRY]]) a $20 million upfront fee and take full responsibility for the development and commercialization of the drug, known as ONT-380. If it manages … Continue reading “Oncothyreon Pays $20M for Array BioPharma’s Breast Cancer Drug”