Whether on the ski slopes or outside shops, it’s going to be a busy next few days for a lot of people in Colorado. Shoppers will be lining up for Black Friday bargains or surfing for Cyber Monday steals. Up in the high country, skiers and snowboarders from around the world will be flocking to … Continue reading “Denver E-Commerce Startup Active Junky Preps for Holidays, Big 2015”
Category: National
Soci Raises $1.5M to Expand Social Media Management System
As marketers become more sophisticated about the use of social media, Afif Khoury says it’s clear that increasing the size of your fan base can be a misleading statistic. It’s not enough to just sign up fans online. Instead, the goal for social media marketing has shifted to building an audience that is engaged, and … Continue reading “Soci Raises $1.5M to Expand Social Media Management System”
LexShares, Out of Stealth, Brings Crowdfunding to Litigation Financing
There may be money to be made in the courtroom, and not just by the parties facing off. That is the proposition from a New York-based startup that recently came out of stealth mode. LexShares developed a crowdfunding platform for financing commercial lawsuits. The idea is to help plaintiffs with limited resources—but a potentially lucrative case … Continue reading “LexShares, Out of Stealth, Brings Crowdfunding to Litigation Financing”
Intel’s Year-End Holiday Push Wraps Up Big Bet On Tablets
The start of the holiday season, which celebrates generosity and selflessness, also kicks off a frenzy of TV ad campaigns that combine the merciless combat of business competitors with a cheery soundtrack of festive music. Tablet makers seem to have snapped up a hefty share of the prime-time TV spots as they vie for the … Continue reading “Intel’s Year-End Holiday Push Wraps Up Big Bet On Tablets”
Venture Local Teaches Investors, Businesses About MI’s New Laws
Angela Barbash, the founder of Reconsider and Revalue, has made it her mission to help investors back small businesses in their own communities. Now, thanks to legislation enacted in October, Barbash has a new tool in her “locavesting” arsenal: A first-in-the-nation local stock exchange. Though details are still pretty sparse, House Bill 5273, which was … Continue reading “Venture Local Teaches Investors, Businesses About MI’s New Laws”
Exact Sciences Gets Medicare Reimbursement, Pursues Private Insurers
In another important step for Exact Sciences, the Madison, WI-based company said today that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will reimburse the use of its colon cancer diagnostic at $502 per test. Exact’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EXAS]]) stock closed at $24.90 per share today, up more than 2 percent from yesterday’s close. CMS had … Continue reading “Exact Sciences Gets Medicare Reimbursement, Pursues Private Insurers”
Spot On Sciences Aims to Take Pain, Hassle Out of Blood Tests
Take four years of work, some complicated scientific and medical research, and condense into 25-second nuggets that you will present before judges and a lively crowd as you “do battle” with nine other startups from around the world. That was the challenge Jeanette Hill, founder and CEO of Austin, TX-based Spot On Sciences, faced at … Continue reading “Spot On Sciences Aims to Take Pain, Hassle Out of Blood Tests”
Big Data’s Cousin—Artificial Intelligence—Is Growing Up
In a not-so-quiet way, the tech industry is placing new bets on artificial intelligence, reviving a long-sought technology by using massive data sets and powerful computers. San Francisco-based Sentient Technologies on Monday said it raised a $103.5 million Series C round, bringing its total financing to $143 million. The funding came from Access Industries and … Continue reading “Big Data’s Cousin—Artificial Intelligence—Is Growing Up”
Startups and 13 States Jumpstart Equity Crowdfunding Without SEC
Ever wanted to own your own little piece of a startup, but found you don’t quite have the money to do it? Well, now you can buy a stake in a local brewery, restaurant, or software company—at least if you live in Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington, Colorado, or other states with new laws that let companies … Continue reading “Startups and 13 States Jumpstart Equity Crowdfunding Without SEC”
How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Tap the Ways
These days you can post updates about your life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many other social media sites. You can send e-mails for private or targeted messages. You can text someone if it’s urgent (God forbid you actually talk to them). Indeed, we seem better connected to people we care about than ever before. … Continue reading “How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Tap the Ways”
The Healthcare Summit 2014: The Photos
It was a beautiful, brisk fall day last Tuesday at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, MA. Xconomy took over the entire museum for the day for our second, invitation-only Healthcare Summit. The day featured a series of chats and interactive panels with leaders from around the country in everything from genomics to … Continue reading “The Healthcare Summit 2014: The Photos”
E-mail Clutter Killer Unroll.Me Acquired by Rakuten’s Slice
New York-based startup Unroll.Me, which helps people unsubscribe from unwanted e-mails, said Monday it was acquired by Slice, a Palo Alto-based developer of an e-commerce and package tracking app. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Unroll.Me, founded in 2011 by Jojo Hedaya and Josh Rosenwald, is a service that lets people see all … Continue reading “E-mail Clutter Killer Unroll.Me Acquired by Rakuten’s Slice”
Edison DC Systems, Backed by Energy Foundry, Moves Closer to Market
Edison DC Systems, an energy storage startup that graduated Gener8tor’s accelerator program in April, has raised nearly $1.4 million from investors. The round was led by Chicago-based Energy Foundry, with participation by angel investors in Wisconsin, Illinois, and New York, Edison co-founder and CEO John Meinecke said. “This is a great opportunity for them and … Continue reading “Edison DC Systems, Backed by Energy Foundry, Moves Closer to Market”
Patient Deaths Move Amgen To Pull Drug From Stomach Cancer Trials
[Corrected 11/25/14, 3:00 pm. See below.] Thousand Oaks, CA-based Amgen said Monday it has halted all use of its experimental antibody therapy rilotumumab. [A previous version of this story said rilotumumab was developed at Immunex, which Amgen acquired in 2002. The drug was in fact developed at Amgen’s main campus. We regret the error.] An … Continue reading “Patient Deaths Move Amgen To Pull Drug From Stomach Cancer Trials”
Dallas Startups Pitch for Better Living at Health Wildcatters Day
Hosting the second annual Health Wildcatters pitch day at the 1920s-era Majestic Theater in Dallas made sense, said the accelerator’s co-founder Carl Soderstrom, as he asked the crowd to consider the innovators who had previously graced the stage. Soderstrom gestured to a photo of Harry Houdini, wrapped in locks and chains. “The only person who … Continue reading “Dallas Startups Pitch for Better Living at Health Wildcatters Day”
Polaris Partners Adds $450M for Seventh Fund
Polaris Partners, a Boston-based venture capital firm with heavy historical ties to MIT’s biotech research labs, has raised $450 million for a seventh fund. The new fund is slightly larger than the $400 million targeted in initial SEC filings earlier this year, likely buoyed by a string of recent portfolio company IPOs in the healthcare … Continue reading “Polaris Partners Adds $450M for Seventh Fund”
Seven Blackstone LaunchPad Ventures Win Best of MichBusiness Honors
Seven ventures from the Blackstone LaunchPad business development initiative at Walsh College in Troy, MI, have been recognized as up-and-coming startups by the Michigan Business and Professional Association (MBPA). As part of the MBPA’s Best of MichBusiness awards program, companies that make Michigan a good place to do business are honored. The LaunchPad program was created at … Continue reading “Seven Blackstone LaunchPad Ventures Win Best of MichBusiness Honors”
The Risks and Opportunities in a Startup: Age 2-5 Years
In my previous article, I discussed the key risks and opportunities that startups face when they’re just starting out. This time, I’d like to go one step further to the second phase of a startup’s growth: age 2-5 years. This is a critical period. The initial excitement of starting a business is over, and now … Continue reading “The Risks and Opportunities in a Startup: Age 2-5 Years”
BioMarin Gambles $840M on Prosensa’s Duchenne Drug
It wasn’t too long ago that Prosensa Holding was kicked to the curb by Wall Street investors. Following a failed Phase 3 trial for its Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy drug and a decision by GlaxoSmithKline to dump a partnership between the two companies, Prosensa lost around 90 percent of its total market value. Since then, however, … Continue reading “BioMarin Gambles $840M on Prosensa’s Duchenne Drug”
Precision Agriculture Taking Root With Drones, AgBio Technology
To catch a glimpse of new technology that could help farmers get more from plants in the soil, look to the sky. Aerial drones might be more commonly associated with military applications today. But the precision an unmanned aerial vehicle shows in a military strike also has applications in farming. A drone can identify a … Continue reading “Precision Agriculture Taking Root With Drones, AgBio Technology”
MassChallenge Winner From MIT Aims to Kill Cancer With a “Squeeze”
Among the slew of challenges in drug development, there’s this: how can you efficiently get a big molecule, like a protein or nucleic acid, into a cell? That quandary has bedeviled a number of efforts to make and deliver drugs over the years, but it has also provided room for creative thinkers—including one from MIT … Continue reading “MassChallenge Winner From MIT Aims to Kill Cancer With a “Squeeze””
The Water Council’s Pilot Accelerator Startups See Mixed Success
Building momentum for a new startup accelerator can take time, and it’s probably too early to pass judgment on The Water Council’s water tech accelerator in Milwaukee, which launched last year. But now that the program is well into its second class, I decided to check its temperature. The verdict? A mixed bag. The accelerator—dubbed … Continue reading “The Water Council’s Pilot Accelerator Startups See Mixed Success”
Symbiota Maps Plant Microbiome to Boost Crop Yields
The role of the trillions of microbes in the human body is poorly understood—and that’s even more so in plants. A growing number of companies are trying to harness the power of microscopic bugs that live in and around plants to reinvent how agriculture is done. Last week, I visited a greenhouse where scientists are … Continue reading “Symbiota Maps Plant Microbiome to Boost Crop Yields”
Teaching Entrepreneurship, the Pirate Code, and MIT’s Bill Aulet
If there was a theme to Bill Aulet’s swing through San Diego last week, it was that entrepreneurship is a skill that can be learned. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that entrepreneurship can be taught. In fact, if there was a subtext to Aulet’s presentation at UC San Diego, it would have to be, “Let’s … Continue reading “Teaching Entrepreneurship, the Pirate Code, and MIT’s Bill Aulet”
Obama’s Immigration Changes Hint at Revival of Startup Visa Idea
Could the federal government finally be creating something like the startup visa, the long-stalled immigration reform that would make it easier for entrepreneurs from foreign countries to start companies in the U.S.? The door to that possibility might have opened slightly on Thursday night, following President Barack Obama’s speech about immigration reform. Obama used the … Continue reading “Obama’s Immigration Changes Hint at Revival of Startup Visa Idea”
Verizon Wireless Pulls Curtain Back a Bit on Its Innovation Program
At a gathering held for reporters last night in New York, folks from Verizon Wireless sought to talk up some of the ways the wireless carrier works with third-party technology developers. Nothing groundbreaking was announced, yet Verizon Wireless of Basking Ridge, NJ, seemed anxious to prove that it has its hands in more than just smartphones and tablets—even though they … Continue reading “Verizon Wireless Pulls Curtain Back a Bit on Its Innovation Program”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Agios, Vertex, Epizyme, Celldex, & More
One of the year’s biggest cancer meetings took place this week in Barcelona, and many biotechs from the East Coast were angling for the spotlight. Some wowed investors, others, not so much. We’ve got the ups and downs and the rest of the week’s news and tidbits below: —Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AGIO]]) was one of … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Agios, Vertex, Epizyme, Celldex, & More”
CS Disco Raises $10M for Software That Tracks Lawsuit Documents
Houston-based CS Disco announced on Thursday that it has closed on a $10 million Series B round of funding. The company makes software that enables attorneys to better find and organize the millions of documents gathered for cases during the discovery process. Bessemer Venture Partners led the round, with existing investor LiveOak Venture Partners also … Continue reading “CS Disco Raises $10M for Software That Tracks Lawsuit Documents”
Seattle Roundup: AWS to Clean Cloud, Pitch Winners, Techstars, & More
Amazon isn’t providing a lot of details—surprise, surprise—on its commitment to power its data centers with 100 percent renewable energy. Meanwhile, Northwest startups working on energy storage and water management won the Seattle Angel Conference and the Washington Technology Industry Association’s (WTIA) First Look Forum, respectively. Also, DocuSign named new investors; Placed released the top … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: AWS to Clean Cloud, Pitch Winners, Techstars, & More”
Data Companies Carve Out Niche In DNA Test Interpretation
For more than a decade researchers have been unleashing a deluge of information about the role of genes in disease, based on automated sequencing of DNA. Genetic tests on individual patients are slowly becoming more common, more detailed, and less costly. But patients won’t benefit if their doctors don’t know what to make of those … Continue reading “Data Companies Carve Out Niche In DNA Test Interpretation”
Vecna CTO Builds Solar-Powered Volkswagen Bus—And it Actually Works
Trying to run an electric car from solar cells on the car’s roof makes no sense—or so I thought. Earlier this week, I met with Daniel Theobald, the CTO of healthcare company Vecna, who has been driving a solar-powered Volkswagen bus for a year. His project won’t transform the auto industry overnight. But by taking … Continue reading “Vecna CTO Builds Solar-Powered Volkswagen Bus—And it Actually Works”
What We Haven’t Told You About Tech Agenda 2015, and Why
When we started recruiting speakers for Xconomy’s Tech Agenda 2015, we had a few major goals: Assemble a group of top-notch leaders that represents a healthy cross-section of innovation happening today. Make sure they’re all women. Make the program about tech, not “women in tech.” That third part is why, in marketing Tech Agenda, we’ve … Continue reading “What We Haven’t Told You About Tech Agenda 2015, and Why”
BioNano Raises $53M to Identify “Structural Variations” in Genome
[Corrected 11/24/14, 12 pm. See below.] San Diego-based BioNano Genomics, which has taken a fundamentally different approach to analyzing the genome, says today it has closed on $53 million in Series C financing to expand its commercialization efforts in North America, China, and Europe. Legend Capital, a Beijing-based venture fund affiliated with Lenovo’s controlling shareholder, … Continue reading “BioNano Raises $53M to Identify “Structural Variations” in Genome”
Bay Area Innovators To Shake Up “Biotech’s Epicenter” Event 12/17
We’re one month away from our annual biotech event in San Francisco. This year, it’s called Xconomy Forum: Innovation at Biotech’s Epicenter, and we’re gathering December 17 in the Mission Bay neighborhood to talk about the emerging science, great ideas, and risk-taking strategies that will spur the Bay Area’s biomedical innovation for the next 25 … Continue reading “Bay Area Innovators To Shake Up “Biotech’s Epicenter” Event 12/17″
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Gilead, Juno, Hutch, Fibrogen & More
Snow? What snow? The only thing piling up at astonishing rates on the West Coast this week is biotech news. Up in Seattle, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has unveiled its new president, and its neighbor Juno Therapeutics filed to go public—two events not entirely unrelated, as we note here. Down the coast, Gilead … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Gilead, Juno, Hutch, Fibrogen & More”
Cystic Fibrosis Drug Developer N30 Pharmaceuticals Raises $30M
N30 Pharmaceuticals, a Boulder-based pharmaceutical company developing drugs for cystic fibrosis, announced yesterday it has raised a $30 million mezzanine financing round. N30 Pharma will use the funds to continue clinical trials for N91115, for which it recently completed a Phase 1 dose-escalation trial. N30 Pharma’s new investors include Wellington Management, RA Capital Management, Rock … Continue reading “Cystic Fibrosis Drug Developer N30 Pharmaceuticals Raises $30M”
Seattle’s Fred Hutch Taps a Harvard, Merck Vet As New President
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle has unveiled D. Gary Gilliland as its new president and director. He steps to the helm with a strong tailwind, as the center’s research is part of a new field that has shown early promise eradicating leukemia from some of the sickest patients in the country. Gilliland … Continue reading “Seattle’s Fred Hutch Taps a Harvard, Merck Vet As New President”
Midwest Manufacturing Town Racine Adds Startup Accelerator
As America’s heartland tries to reduce its reliance on traditional manufacturing, small cities are starting to follow the lead of their bigger counterparts by investing in programs aimed at boosting entrepreneurship in tech and other industries. In Wisconsin, the latest example is Racine, a historically blue-collar city south of Milwaukee that was hit harder than … Continue reading “Midwest Manufacturing Town Racine Adds Startup Accelerator”
Roundup: NextEnergy, Start Garden, LLamasoft, Atterocor, U-M, More
Here’s a look at news from around Michigan’s innovation hubs: —NextEnergy, the Detroit-based nonprofit driving the development of Michigan’s clean energy sectors, has officially launched NextChallenge, a business competition meant to inspire the development of innovative energy solutions. The challenge will address the unique lighting technology needs of Ford Motor Company and RecoveryPark, a major … Continue reading “Roundup: NextEnergy, Start Garden, LLamasoft, Atterocor, U-M, More”
Biofuel Survivor Joule Lands New CEO, Plans Larger CO2-to-Fuel Plants
The list of advanced biofuel companies that failed to live up to their ambitions is long and discouraging. Joule Unlimited, though, appears to be making progress despite the headwinds of skeptical investors and, more recently, falling oil prices. The Bedford, MA-based company last week said that Serge Tchuruk joined as CEO. He was the chairman … Continue reading “Biofuel Survivor Joule Lands New CEO, Plans Larger CO2-to-Fuel Plants”
Using Big Data, Smart Grid Startups Itemize Utility Bills
Many smart-grid entrepreneurs have recognized that utilities could make better use of the reams of smart-meter data they produce every day. At the same time, entrepreneurs have learned that selling to utilities can be slow and frustrating. But after a number of stalled efforts, it seems that a growing cadre of companies can claim success … Continue reading “Using Big Data, Smart Grid Startups Itemize Utility Bills”
EdCast CEO: The University as Record Album In An MP3 Era
At first glance, Karl Mehta seems to have executed a sharp U-Turn when he founded an edtech company, Mountain View, CA-based EdCast, in 2013. He’d made his name in e-commerce and financial technology when the payment software company he co-founded, PlaySpan, was snapped up by credit card giant VISA for $190 million in 2011. Look … Continue reading “EdCast CEO: The University as Record Album In An MP3 Era”
Tricycle Collective Aims to Help Families Avoid Tax Foreclosure
The Wayne County tax auction is held every fall with the goal of getting blighted or otherwise neglected properties in Detroit, which have fallen into tax or mortgage delinquency, back into the hands of tax-paying homeowners. But many of those homes on the auction block still have people living in them, and some of those … Continue reading “Tricycle Collective Aims to Help Families Avoid Tax Foreclosure”
Clovis Shares Drop Following Release of Cancer-Drug Trial Data
Shares of Clovis Oncology dropped 10 percent this morning following the release of interim results for the ongoing trial of the company’s drug for lung cancer patients. Analysts said results failed to meet earlier estimates or show the drug is clearly better than a similar drug that pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (NYSE: [[ticker:AZN]]) is developing. Clovis’ … Continue reading “Clovis Shares Drop Following Release of Cancer-Drug Trial Data”
With Gilead’s $125M Purchase, FDA Voucher Program Gains Momentum
[UPDATED 11/19/14, 6:44pm. See below.] The next time Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GILD]]) has a drug ready for an all-important Food and Drug Administration review, it can jump the line. That’s because Gilead, the Foster City, CA-based maker of blockbuster drugs to treat HIV and Hepatitis C, paid a little-known Canadian drug company $125 million for … Continue reading “With Gilead’s $125M Purchase, FDA Voucher Program Gains Momentum”
Austin’s Bigcommerce Raises $50M to Expand Platform, Markets
E-retail software maker Bigcommerce announced Wednesday that it has raised $50 million in a Series C round. The Austin, TX-based company sells e-commerce software to small businesses. It’s in the middle of a growth streak, and the new funding will enable Bigcommerce to boost research and development and sales and marketing efforts to expand into … Continue reading “Austin’s Bigcommerce Raises $50M to Expand Platform, Markets”
Eyeview Gets $15M from Marker to Scale Up Its Video Ad Platform
New York-based Eyeview has raised $15 million from venture capital firm Marker, one of its existing investors, to help grow its personalized online video ad platform. Eyeview’s software lets marketers push digital video ads personalized and tweaked for consumers, says CEO and co-founder Oren Harnevo. The company was founded in 2007 and thus far has … Continue reading “Eyeview Gets $15M from Marker to Scale Up Its Video Ad Platform”
Houston Biotech Firm Bellicum Pharmaceuticals Files for IPO
Houston biotech firm Bellicum Pharmaceuticals has filed for a $115 million IPO. The company is developing immunotherapies that allow the suppression or activation of cells administered to patients with leukemia, lymphoma, or pancreatic cancers. According to the filing, Bellicum plans to trade on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol BLCM. The IPO would be the … Continue reading “Houston Biotech Firm Bellicum Pharmaceuticals Files for IPO”
CF Foundation Cashes Out on Kalydeco in $3.3B Sale to Royalty Pharma
Vertex Pharmaceuticals has developed a drug that has changed the way cystic fibrosis is treated for some patients with a specific genetic mutation. And now the non-profit organization that helped fund its development is reaping the rewards in a $3.3 billion deal—the largest, ever, of its kind. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has sold the royalty … Continue reading “CF Foundation Cashes Out on Kalydeco in $3.3B Sale to Royalty Pharma”
Smarterer Sold to Utah-Based Pluralsight for $75M
One of the Boston area’s most active entrepreneurs has found a buyer for one of his startups. Dave Balter’s Smarterer, an online job-skills testing service, has been acquired by Utah-based online training company Pluralsight for $75 million. The roughly 18-person Smarterer team will continue working on the company in Boston with a strong budget behind it, … Continue reading “Smarterer Sold to Utah-Based Pluralsight for $75M”