The VC who placed a $26.5 million bet on Uber in 2011 is now leading a $7.5 million investment round in Cue, a San Diego startup developing a wireless diagnostic device that enables consumers to run clinical lab tests at home to measure their own health. In a statement from Cue yesterday, Sherpa Ventures managing … Continue reading “With Uber Investor Driving, Cue Raises $7.5M for Personal Dx Device”
Category: National
Saver Rate Ends Today for The Tech Agenda 2015—Save $100
Our big year-end innovation conference, Tech Agenda 2015, is coming up fast—the afternoon of Dec. 2, at the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology in downtown Boston. So consider this your fair warning that today is the final chance to save $100 by cashing in our Saver Rate tickets for this blockbuster event, which features some of … Continue reading “Saver Rate Ends Today for The Tech Agenda 2015—Save $100”
Déjà Vu for Agios as Second Drug Shines in Small Blood Cancer Study
Agios Pharmaceuticals turned heads in April when it showed its first drug prospect might be able to treat a devastating blood cancer, acute myeloid leukemia (AML), in people who have a specific genetic mutation. It was the first shred of validation, in humans, for Agios’s work in a raw field of oncology—cancer metabolism—and the company’s … Continue reading “Déjà Vu for Agios as Second Drug Shines in Small Blood Cancer Study”
Analyst Shares Vision for How Digital Will Disrupt Healthcare
Well care vs. sick care. The “patient-to-consumer revolution.” Smart care. If you’re familiar with digital healthcare but aren’t an insider, you’ve probably heard these terms—quite possibly often enough to wonder if they’re buzzwords or actually represent concepts and trends worth learning more about. For someone like Tom Main, there’s no question the terms aren’t just … Continue reading “Analyst Shares Vision for How Digital Will Disrupt Healthcare”
Wisconsin Roundup: Bakken, Stemina, Solomo, Silatronix, & More
November has been busy for Wisconsin’s technology and innovation community. Here’s a rundown of some of the latest news: —Mark Bakken will step down as CEO of fast-growing Madison company Nordic Consulting, which consults for healthcare providers using Epic Systems’ electronic health records software. Bakken plans to raise $10 million for a venture fund that … Continue reading “Wisconsin Roundup: Bakken, Stemina, Solomo, Silatronix, & More”
Inside QD Vision’s Quantum Dot Factory For Making Vivid TV Colors
In an unassuming two-story building in a bland office park in suburban Boston, an MIT spinout is producing material to make beautiful TV images. On Tuesday, QD Vision received the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award from EPA officials for the company’s environmentally benign process of making a type of crystal semiconductor called quantum dots. Its … Continue reading “Inside QD Vision’s Quantum Dot Factory For Making Vivid TV Colors”
Hobson Acquisition Helps Zipments Prepare for Holiday Shoppers
Zipments, a New York City-based online delivery and “crowdsourced courier” service, is gearing up for a busy holiday season—and the company is hoping a market expansion and the summer acquisition of a same-day delivery service will pay off. In addition to New York, Zipments now operates in San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. As part … Continue reading “Hobson Acquisition Helps Zipments Prepare for Holiday Shoppers”
Baird Capital Raises $185M for 4th VC Fund, Beating Target
Baird Capital says it has raised $185 million for its fourth venture capital fund, exceeding the $150 million target it set when it began courting investors in February. The fourth VC fund is Baird’s largest to date. That’s likely a bit of welcome news for Midwest startups, where venture capital is harder to come by. … Continue reading “Baird Capital Raises $185M for 4th VC Fund, Beating Target”
Cleantech Cleans Up Message, Stops Selling Green
The hungriest thing in some restaurants may be an old refrigerator that gobbles up kilowatts of electricity. Luke Fishback’s analytics software can show that usage, teasing out energy consumption data in a commercial kitchen down to each appliance. Beyond analytics, the software recommends ways to cut energy usage. Fishback pledges he can deliver energy savings … Continue reading “Cleantech Cleans Up Message, Stops Selling Green”
Home-Assistant Startup Alfred Launches, Paying—Gasp!—Real Wages
What do you do for an encore after your big public debut is widely mocked in the press? For local home-service startup Alfred, the answer is apparently to keep plugging along with your launch plans. A sense of humor helps, too. After all, Alfred is a subscription service that lets people pay $99 month to … Continue reading “Home-Assistant Startup Alfred Launches, Paying—Gasp!—Real Wages”
John Maeda Talks Leadership, Learning, and Legacy From RISD to KPCB
What do you do after running one of the world’s most prestigious art schools? If you’re John Maeda, you dive into venture capital and startups—and find that the world moves even faster than you thought. Maeda, 48, is a computer scientist, author, and graphic designer who was president of the Rhode Island School of Design … Continue reading “John Maeda Talks Leadership, Learning, and Legacy From RISD to KPCB”
With Atlas Cash and Berkeley Tools, Intellia Joins the CRISPR Fray
Add another entrant to the race toward what might be called Gene Therapy 2.0. Atlas Venture and the research arm of the drug giant Novartis (NYSE: [[ticker:NVS]]) have put $15 million into the Series A round for Intellia Therapeutics, which is emerging today from stealth after two years of incubation. The Cambridge, MA, startup will … Continue reading “With Atlas Cash and Berkeley Tools, Intellia Joins the CRISPR Fray”
Breaking Bottlenecks, Opening the Floodgates to Genomic Data
There is a major transformational step underway for managing the growing amount of human genomic data. To date, the focus has been on amassing databanks of genomes and then developing new tools to analyze this information. In essence, the emphasis has been on breaking bottlenecks for analyzing the data. Now, there is an opportunity to … Continue reading “Breaking Bottlenecks, Opening the Floodgates to Genomic Data”
New Study Shows How ZMapp Binds to Ebola, Ways to Boost Potency
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have produced the first 3-D image of how the ZMapp drug developed by San Diego’s Mapp Biopharmaceutical binds to the Ebola virus, providing new insights about how the drug works and how it might be improved. ZMapp is an experimental drug that combines three “humanized” monoclonal antibodies. Mapp Bio … Continue reading “New Study Shows How ZMapp Binds to Ebola, Ways to Boost Potency”
With $12M More, HR Software Startup Namely to Double Staff in 2015
After tripling its headcount to 50 in the past year, Namely in New York plans to keep growing fast. “We will absolutely double in staff over the next year,” says Matt Straz, the company’s CEO and founder. Namely developed a cloud-based, human resources and payroll platform and early this month raised $12 million in a … Continue reading “With $12M More, HR Software Startup Namely to Double Staff in 2015”
New Research Could (Finally) Remove RNAi’s Commercial Limitations
[Corrected 11/17/14, 12:30pm. See below.] If nothing else, the acronym RNAi, which stands for ribonucleic acid interference, should be familiar to biotech observers as something that won two researchers the Nobel Prize in 2006, and that a few companies have tried to turn into drugs. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) is the most well-known. But in … Continue reading “New Research Could (Finally) Remove RNAi’s Commercial Limitations”
Raleigh-Durham Roundup: Appia, Chimerix, Ascletis & More
Here are this week’s headlines in North Carolina technology and biotechnology news: —Appia, a Durham, NC, company that markets mobile apps online, is being acquired by Mandalay Digital Group (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MNDL]]) in a stock deal that values Appia at $65 million. Los Angeles, CA-based Mandalay Digital will also assume $10 million of Appia’s debt, as … Continue reading “Raleigh-Durham Roundup: Appia, Chimerix, Ascletis & More”
Juno, Less Than a Year Old, Lines up IPO to Fund Cancer Work
Few biotech startups have burst onto the scene like Juno Therapeutics. The Seattle company secured $310 million in private financing in less than a year, budding out of cancer immunotherapy work at three of the nation’s premier cancer centers in New York and Seattle. With that type of momentum, it was only a matter of … Continue reading “Juno, Less Than a Year Old, Lines up IPO to Fund Cancer Work”
Investors Double Down on InsightSquared and Business Analytics
Business intelligence is coming to the masses—and one local company is cashing in. InsightSquared hasn’t “squared” its money yet, but it has doubled it. The Cambridge, MA, software startup has closed a $13.5 million Series C funding round that matches its total raised previously. The new money comes from Atlas Venture, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, NextView … Continue reading “Investors Double Down on InsightSquared and Business Analytics”
Deltanoid and Beyond: Madison Legend DeLuca Has More “D” To Play
Hector DeLuca is the embodiment of nearly a century of University of Wisconsin research into Vitamin D, and he’s working to extend that reach for at least another generation or two. Now in his mid-80s, DeLuca is the CEO and president of a small Madison, WI, biotech, Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals. He’s also the university’s former biochemistry … Continue reading “Deltanoid and Beyond: Madison Legend DeLuca Has More “D” To Play”
Plug and Play San Diego Seeks New Ways to Get Startups into Program
In a few weeks, Plug and Play San Diego will convene its fourth pitch competition—giving entrepreneurs in the region a shot at spending three months in a boot camp for tech startups at the Plug and Play Tech Center in Sunnyvale, CA. Alex Roudi, the San Diego investor and entrepreneur who helped Plug and Play … Continue reading “Plug and Play San Diego Seeks New Ways to Get Startups into Program”
Rosie the Maid 2.0: Savioke Builds a Hotel Delivery Robot
Robots have long been cast as human helpers in movies and the public imagination. Now delivery robots are becoming a reality—so long as the robots stay indoors. The Aloft Hotel in Palo Alto, CA, is now employing a robot from Silicon Valley startup Savioke to deliver small items from the front desk to rooms. By … Continue reading “Rosie the Maid 2.0: Savioke Builds a Hotel Delivery Robot”
Arts and Crafts-Focused Online Ed Site Craftsy Sews Up $50M Round
Craftsy continues its march to take over the e-learning world, one online instructional video—and megabucks funding round—at a time. The Denver-based company announced it has closed a $50 million Series D round led by the Stripes Group, a New York City-based growth equity firm. Prior investors Foundry Group, Tiger Global, Adams Street Partners, Access Venture … Continue reading “Arts and Crafts-Focused Online Ed Site Craftsy Sews Up $50M Round”
Leading Seattle Entrepreneurs to Share Stories at Xconomy Xchange Tuesday
How did Jane Park go from high-touch nail salons to an omni-channel social commerce brand? How did the local community convince Carlos Guestrin, a leader in machine learning, to move to Seattle where he’s built a company at the forefront of data intelligence? What are the valuable secrets—about business operations and security—hidden in the wire … Continue reading “Leading Seattle Entrepreneurs to Share Stories at Xconomy Xchange Tuesday”
Celldex Touts Brain Cancer Vaccine Data, Talks FDA Strategy
It’s notoriously tough to develop just about anything that helps patients with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, live longer. It’s just as hard to develop a vaccine that provides any sort of benefit to cancer patients. Yet Hampton, NJ- and Needham, MA-based Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLDX]]) is providing some data today indicating that it just … Continue reading “Celldex Touts Brain Cancer Vaccine Data, Talks FDA Strategy”
New Event Shines Light on Variety of Boulder’s Innovative Firms
It will still be chilly next week in Colorado, but a few dozen leading startups and tech companies in Boulder plan to give more than 700 people a warm welcome. On Tuesday, 42 companies including Google, Zayo Group, and Rally Software will host open houses as part of NewCo Boulder. Joining them will be startups … Continue reading “New Event Shines Light on Variety of Boulder’s Innovative Firms”
As Rival Sputters, FibroGen Heads to Nasdaq Via $146M IPO
When it comes to raising money from public investors, timing is everything. And it certainly didn’t hurt San Francisco-based FibroGen’s IPO pitch when one of its rivals released some data that spooked Wall Street investors a few weeks ago. FibroGen is debuting on Nasdaq today under the ticker symbol “FGEN” after pricing 8.1 million shares … Continue reading “As Rival Sputters, FibroGen Heads to Nasdaq Via $146M IPO”
TX Roundup: LiveOak, Ridescout, The Food Lab, SeedInvest, Ambiq Micro
Cold arctic air blasted its way from Canada south to the Gulf of Mexico, but innovation news in Texas has not slowed down. New funding was announced for startups, food-tech finalists competing for $30,000 in prize money were unveiled, and a veteran entrepreneur gave back to others who may follow in his path. Here is … Continue reading “TX Roundup: LiveOak, Ridescout, The Food Lab, SeedInvest, Ambiq Micro”
Ann Arbor SPARK Honors 15 Steadily Growing Michigan Companies
Ann Arbor SPARK, the nonprofit business development organization that offers incubation services to tech-based startups, has announced its FastTrack awards to recognize companies in the region that have demonstrated consistent growth. To be eligible for a FastTrack award, companies were required to have revenue of at least $100,000 in 2010, with an annual growth rate … Continue reading “Ann Arbor SPARK Honors 15 Steadily Growing Michigan Companies”
Device Maker Says Ebola Patient Recovered After Blood Filtration
As the global death toll from the current Ebola outbreak officially hit 5,147 this week, a San Diego medical device company is reporting promising findings in the treatment of one infected patient. Aethlon Medical CEO James Joyce said in an interview earlier this week that a Ugandan doctor stricken with Ebola is now recovering in … Continue reading “Device Maker Says Ebola Patient Recovered After Blood Filtration”
Entrepreneurs in WI Pitch Athlete Health, Physician Data, and Poop
A Chicago-based entrepreneur and ex football player scored first place in this week’s Elevator Pitch Olympics in Madison, WI, with a plan to help track student athletes’ health. The competition was held as part of the 2014 Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium, which took place in Madison from November 12-13. The competition saw eighteen entrepreneurs try … Continue reading “Entrepreneurs in WI Pitch Athlete Health, Physician Data, and Poop”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Regeneron, Sage, Tara, Alnylam, & More
The autumn chill has hit New York and Boston, which means one big thing for biotech: conference season is underway. Data are starting to pour in from a variety of scientific meetings, and much more is coming, as companies look to end the year or start 2015 with a bang. We’ve got those stories and … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Regeneron, Sage, Tara, Alnylam, & More”
Innovation Hub: The Next Wave of Sports Analytics
We hear a lot about how giants in tech and e-commerce are using big data to improve business. But what about the role of data in a very different industry, one rooted as much in numbers as in superstition and luck? We’re talking about the world of sport. Ever since the bestselling book and movie … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: The Next Wave of Sports Analytics”
Ultra HD Momentum & Modest Growth Expected for Consumer Electronics
This week, the Consumer Electronics Association offered up a mild, though positive forecast for the winter holidays—as far as anticipated sales are concerned. At the CES Unveiled New York show, the trade group talked up the quiet gains being made across the consumer electronics scene. The event is one of the annual preambles to January’s … Continue reading “Ultra HD Momentum & Modest Growth Expected for Consumer Electronics”
In Its Bumpy Second Life, Geron Signs Top Drug Over to J&J
As we saw this week with Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]), pioneers in the biomedical industry can end up with arrows in their back, bleeding to death. Geron (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GERN]]) has avoided that fate. Based in Menlo Park, CA, the former developer of a cutting-edge stem-cell therapy decided three years ago to ditch stem cells, even though … Continue reading “In Its Bumpy Second Life, Geron Signs Top Drug Over to J&J”
Dissecting the “Dataware” Technology Stack with Madrona’s Matt McIlwain
Big data is a catchphrase that’s getting stale and almost too broad to be meaningful. But behind the buzzword are some very real technology trends—and they paint a good picture for Seattle. Matt McIlwain, managing director at Madrona Venture Group, the region’s foremost investor in information technology companies, gave me a quick tour through the … Continue reading “Dissecting the “Dataware” Technology Stack with Madrona’s Matt McIlwain”
Boomtown Accelerator’s Second Batch of Startups Make Their Debuts
The latest startups to come out of the Boomtown accelerator want to help you find a parking spot, a good deal on an extended warranty for your iPad, or teach your kid to write code. The nine startups from the Boulder, CO-accelerator made their pitches to investors Wednesday. Boomtown is a startup accelerator launched earlier … Continue reading “Boomtown Accelerator’s Second Batch of Startups Make Their Debuts”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Intarcia, Dendreon, Amgen, Doudna & More
[Corrected 11/13/14, 5:40 pm. See below.] West Coast spotlights this week are on new ways to fight disease. Some are close to getting to market: Amgen announced late-stage development and regulatory news about two drug programs that aim to treat psoriasis and heart disease through novel biomolecular mechanisms. Some are a bit farther away: Bicoastal … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Intarcia, Dendreon, Amgen, Doudna & More”
Tech Agenda 2015: The Details on Our 12/2 Innovation Conference
We’ve been hard at work recruiting speakers and putting together a power-packed program for our latest tech event in Boston, and we’re finally ready to show it off—just in time for you to save $100 off the regular ticket price. We’re calling this conference The Tech Agenda 2015 because we believe the experts we’ve assembled will give … Continue reading “Tech Agenda 2015: The Details on Our 12/2 Innovation Conference”
Austin’s LiveOak Invests in San Antonio, Dallas Security Startups
LiveOak Venture Partners has made a new pair of investments in startups related to cyber and operational security. The larger of the investments, $3.5 million, goes to Razberi Technologies, a suburban Dallas maker of a plug-and-play video surveillance system. “You take a megapixel camera and plug into our device with a cable and you have a … Continue reading “Austin’s LiveOak Invests in San Antonio, Dallas Security Startups”
Medical Device Firm Baxano Files for Bankruptcy, CFO Resigns
Medical device company Baxano Surgical (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BAXS]]) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and the Raleigh, NC company’s chief financial officer has resigned. Baxano said today that bankruptcy would allow it to keep selling its minimally invasive spinal surgery devices. Along with the bankruptcy filing, Baxano says Hercules Technology Growth Capital has agreed to … Continue reading “Medical Device Firm Baxano Files for Bankruptcy, CFO Resigns”
How Will the Auto Industry Capitalize on the Internet of Things?
The “Internet of Things” is a very broad term, but think of it this way: in the future, all of our devices could talk to one another, enabling new ways to interact with the world around us. According to ABI Research, there will be more than 30 billion devices connected to the Internet of Things … Continue reading “How Will the Auto Industry Capitalize on the Internet of Things?”
Who Needs a Mega-Hit? 12-Year-Old Big Fish Games Sold for $885M
The video game business is notoriously boom-or-bust. Develop a hit franchise, and you can make a ton of money—but the novelty eventually wears off for players, and the clock is always ticking for your next hit. Seattle-based Big Fish Games has never really found that headline-grabbing mega-hit game, despite being in business for about 12 years. That means it … Continue reading “Who Needs a Mega-Hit? 12-Year-Old Big Fish Games Sold for $885M”
Ballmer Pumps Life into Boston Tech Ecosystem with Harvard Grant
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, only months after becoming an NBA owner, is further flexing his philanthropic muscles. On Thursday, he said he will bankroll a 50 percent increase in computer science faculty at Harvard University. Ballmer, who graduated from Harvard in 1977, is announcing the initiative today at Harvard’s Innovation Lab (iLab), a three-year … Continue reading “Ballmer Pumps Life into Boston Tech Ecosystem with Harvard Grant”
Quirky’s CEO Declares Death of the Thermostat—Even the Smart Ones
Despite the hype, widespread adoption of technology for connected homes has thus far been little more than a dream. New York startup Quirky and partner General Electric are on a mission to change that. At a press conference on Tuesday, Ben Kaufman, Quirky’s CEO, unveiled seven new products developed by inventors who brought their ideas … Continue reading “Quirky’s CEO Declares Death of the Thermostat—Even the Smart Ones”
From Tools To Therapies: Stem Cell Maker CDI Takes One Small Step
Cellular Dynamics International CEO Bob Palay envisions a world where the eyes of a person going blind from macular degeneration can be healed by implanting healthy retinal cells that were engineered from the patient’s own blood or skin. That scenario will still require at least several years and untold millions of research dollars, but it’s … Continue reading “From Tools To Therapies: Stem Cell Maker CDI Takes One Small Step”
Brain Corporation Builds BrainOS to Train and Democratize Robots
If you took apart a smartphone, you’d have many of the components needed to build a consumer robot: a low-power processor, software to run it, and an array of sensors. Qualcomm-backed Brain Corporation has turned the electronic guts of a phone into a foundation for making consumer robots, adding brain-inspired software to quickly program them. The … Continue reading “Brain Corporation Builds BrainOS to Train and Democratize Robots”
TeleTech, Humanify Hope to Bring Customer Service into Mobile Age
Think back to the last time you tried to fix something around the house that broke unexpectedly. What did you do? Maybe you searched Google and YouTube and found some articles or videos. One or two might have been helpful. You might have searched a manufacturer’s website for a product manual or FAQ, and if … Continue reading “TeleTech, Humanify Hope to Bring Customer Service into Mobile Age”
Bikes, Bitcoin, and the Next Billion: Techstars Boston Diversifies
Techstars has become something of a startup institution, now operating in 15 cities. The tech accelerator can still hold a surprise or two, though. At the program’s eighth demo day in Boston—has it really been that many?—an increasingly international flavor was on display. Founders hailed from Croatia, France, Russia, Hong Kong, the U.K., and Australia, … Continue reading “Bikes, Bitcoin, and the Next Billion: Techstars Boston Diversifies”
SBIR Award, $1M Investment Get ONL Therapeutics to Clinical Trials
ONL Therapeutics, a University of Michigan spin-out biopharmaceutical startup working on sight-preserving therapies for retinal diseases, announced today that it has won a $1.3 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II award from the National Eye Institute. The SBIR funding will go toward the development of ONL101, a small-molecule peptide initially created for the … Continue reading “SBIR Award, $1M Investment Get ONL Therapeutics to Clinical Trials”